The Last Song(45)
“All right,” she finally said, breaking the silence. “Your turn. What’s your story?”
“I’m a volleyball player slash grease monkey slash aquarium volunteer.”
He heard her laugh again, liking its unfettered energy. It felt contagious.
“Are you okay if I stay with you for a while?”
“It’s a public beach.”
He motioned toward the house. “Do you need to tell your dad I’m out here?”
“I’m sure he already knows you’re here,” she said. “Last night, he must have checked on me every other minute.”
“He sounds like a good dad.”
She seemed to consider something before shaking her head. “So you love volleyball, huh?”
“It keeps me in shape.”
“That doesn’t really answer the question.”
“I enjoy it. I don’t know if I love it, though.”
“But you do like crashing into people, right?”
“That depends on who I crash into. But a few days ago, I guess I’d have to say it turned out pretty well.”
“You think drenching me is a good thing?”
“If I hadn’t soaked you, I might not be here now.”
“And I could be enjoying a quiet, peaceful night at the beach instead.”
“I don’t know.” He smiled. “Quiet, peaceful nights are overrated.”
“I guess I’m not going to find out tonight, huh?”
He laughed. “Where do you go to school?”
“I don’t,” she said. “I graduated a couple of weeks ago. You?”
“I just graduated from Laney High School. It’s where Michael Jordan went.”
“I’ll bet everyone in your high school says that.”
“No,” he corrected. “Not everyone. Just the ones who graduated.”
She rolled her eyes. “All right. So what’s next for you? Are you going to keep working for your dad?”
“Just through the summer.” He scooped up some sand and let it slip through his fingers.
“And then?”
“I’m afraid I can’t tell you.”
“No?”
“I don’t know you well enough to trust you with that information.”
“How about a hint?” she prodded.
“How about you go first? What’s next for you?”
She thought about it. “I’m strongly considering a career in guarding turtle nests. I seem to have a knack for it. I mean, you should have seen the way that raccoon took off. It was like it thought I was the Terminator.”
“You sound like Scott,” he said. Seeing her blank expression, he explained. “He’s my volleyball partner, and the guy is the king of movie references. It’s like he can’t complete a sentence without one of them. Of course, he usually works some sexual innuendo in as well.”
“That sounds like a special talent.”
“Oh, it is. I could get him to give you a personal demonstration.”
“No, thank you. I don’t need any sexual innuendos.”
“You might like it.”
“I think not.”
He held her gaze as they bantered, noting that she was prettier than he remembered. Funny and smart, too, which was even better.
Near the nest, saw grass bent in the breeze and the steady sound of the waves surrounded them, making him feel as if they were in a cocoon. Up and down the beach, lights glowed in the oceanfront houses.
“Can I ask you a question?”
“I’m not sure I could stop you.”
He pushed his feet back and forth in the sand. “What’s with you and Blaze?”
In the silence, she stiffened slightly. “What do you mean?”
“I was just wondering why you were hanging out with her the other night.”
“Oh,” she said. Though he had no idea why, she seemed relieved. “Actually, we met when she spilled my soda on me. Right after I finished cleaning up what you did.”
“You’re kidding.”
“Nope. As far as I can tell, dumping soda on people is the equivalent of ‘Hi, it’s nice to meet you’ in this part of the world. Frankly, I think standard greetings work better, but what do I know?” She drew a long breath. “Anyway, she seemed cool and I didn’t know anyone else, so we just… ended up hanging out for a while.”
“Did she stay here with you last night?”
She shook her head. “No.”
“What? Didn’t she want to save the turtles? Or at least keep you company?”
“I didn’t tell her about this.”
He could tell she didn’t want to say more, so he let it drop. Instead, he motioned to the beach.
“Do you want to go for a walk?”