A day at the Beach

Derek's Chevrolet Camaro rolled up onto the sand parking lot, the owner gently tapping his foot on the break and coming to a stop. He stepped out, sliding his sunglasses on his ears. The sun was bright and sticky today, allowing a lot of people to be there. Families and groups of seperated girls and boys were dotted around the golden sand. He saw some guys sitting on their surfboards as if waiting for something. Derek veered away from them. They didn't have really great tans so it meant that they weren't ones to go onto the waves first. Derek stuck his board beside a tree and slipped off his soft T-shirt to reveal his well defined muscles and tanned chest. A group of girls gaped at him two yards away, a few whispering among themselves. He ignored them, feeling a vibration in his pocket. He answered the message eagerly. It was from Lesley, saying that she'd come. His smile was wide as he picked up his board and walked to the edge of the beach. A big wave was coming up and his heart thumped in his chest to tell him to go.

Derek's feet touched the cool clear water as he slid onto the board on his stomach and paddled out to sea. The onlooking girls, giggling and pushing at each other to see, cheered him on, as if he would even think of coming over to be with them. Only one of them was familier and the rest looked like visitors. Derek quickly noticed that Lesley hadn't arrived yet with a sigh. A small wave lapped on his surf board as he made his way farther and farther. He shook his blonde hair, water droplets splaying out. It would be great to see Lesley again.

Lesley jogged up to the beach, he heart racing from her quick run here, but also from the excitement to see Derek. She set her tote bag down in a shady spot reserved for the twins, because even here at the beach they were popular. Placing a hand over her eyes to shade them from the unusual sun, she scanned the beach for Derek. With a smile, Lesley realized he was on his board already. She hadn't known sufing was a hobby of his, but she retained this new found information for future references. She walked up to the crowd of giggling girls. A pang of jealousy filled her, but she knew jsut the way to make it go away.
"Hey, surfer boy!" She called, waving her hand in a hello. All the girls looked at her envoiusly, because she had just made it clear that he was hers. With a smirk and flip of her hair, Lesley turned away from them and back to the shady spot, ready to wait for him. Absentmididly she pulled out small sprouts of beach grass, throwing the pieces away from her. Then, pulling off her shirt and short shorts, she scooted out into the sun slightly, throwing her her head back to lay down in the sand. Might as well work on my tan, she though, smiling to herself. It was a simple excuse she made to herself to show off her body in the new bikini.

Derek looked up from his thoughts on the wave ahead to see that Lesley had come and was waving to him. He smiled, his snow-white teeth forming into a little satisfied smirk. He watched Lesley relax on a beach towel and layed on his stomach staring at the beach. A wave snuck up from behind him and tumbled over his althetic body, spraying little droplets on his skin. It looked like his skin was shining as the sun glared down on him. His brown eyes were laughing as he caught the next wave that came up behind him. He steadied his board as he went under the water tunnel of the wave. It looked like a move off of one of those cool movies as he came off the top of it in a flip. The water threw his head under and tossed his body around before he came up with board in hand and smile painted on his face. Nailed it.

Derek paddled in, shaking off the excess water before he came up to Lesley's towel, barely damp. He shoved his board into the golden sand nearby and then sat down beside her. "Sunny day today, huh?" he spoke happily, enjoying the warmth it gave off and the joyous mood.

Lesley squinted her eyes open. Much to her delight, Derek was standing above her. Pulling herself up into a sitting position, she smiled and patted the spot next to her for him to sit down. She scooted to give him room, and then responded to his comment. "Yeah, it's really hot too, which I love." She put emphasis on the word hot, and winked at him, hoping he was smart enough to catch the meaning underneath.
Watching the blue waves roll into the shore, it reminded her of his excellent surfing skills that he had just shown. "You know, you never mentioned you were a surfer. You were better than some of the locals here. Football, sufing, what else can you do?" She asked, jokingly. She felt her heart beating quickly, and the nervous feeling of a crush had almost faded away completely. It was amazing how fast she had fallen for him.

Derek caught her gaze as she spoke, chuckling almost silently when she winked. He shook his blonde hair out of his face and layed back on the golden ground, putting his hands behind his head, his dark brown eyes thoughtful. "In New York, we used to go on school trips just to go surfing and hanging out on the beach," Derek felt like a broken record, thinking about New York all the time like he did, but it had been his home. Not that he wasn't liking Seagull's Point though, "The school also offered football, baseball, and basketball as extra curricular activites." Derek stared at the practically cloudless sky, watching as a small one slowly moved across the blue blanket.


(sorry--- short)

"Do you miss New York?" Lesley asked, following his gaze up to the sky as she lay back down, her head not far from his. She sighed as a small cloud appeared, reminding her that this lovely weather would not last. Two, maybe three days at the most, and then it would be back to rain, wind, and gray skies, all of which were depressing. She had always fantasied of going to college in somewhere hot and sunny, like Miami, Florida. She constantly wished she lived somewhere else, because they dark weather got to her more then she let on. But now, as she spent time with Derek, she started to realize it wasn't that bad. He seemed to brighten the day for her, even though she hadn't known him for long. Of course, her old boyfriend had done that too, but he was out of the picture. Lesley turned her head to look at Derek as she waited for an answer.

"I did a little at first," Derek grinned, "but not so much anymore." His deep brown eyes flickered over towards hers for a moment before they moved back to the clouds. He had caught a glimpse of her hair in the sun. It had been shining and golden, richer looking than the sand beneath him. Her pleasant face warmed his body but he wondered if it was just the sun.
Just then, a little cooling wind tumbled through the beach, making the people around him get goose bumps and curl up in their towels. Derek then relized it wasn't the sun making him warm. He closed his eyes, feeling the wind playing with his hair and tossing the locks of dirty blonde hair around his forehead in a slow rythem. The beach made his thumping heart relax and a hollow breath come out of his lungs. It was one of his favorite places to be and one of his favorite people was here with him.

"That's good then." She said, not quite sure what else to say. She shivered slightly as a breeze swept through the beach, but she tried to ignore it. Still looking at Derek, she smiled as a strand of his hair got in his eyes. Propping herself up on one elbow, she extended her other arm and delicately moved the blonde lock. She smiled even wider and lay back down.
"So, is this like a date? Could you not wait until Friday?" She teased, scooting a little closer to him as another shiver ran down her spine from the breeze. Her arm brushed against his, and it immeditely warmed up, the goosebumps fading. Her gaze wandered over his face, but her eyes somehow found themselves drawn to his lips again and again. In her mind she was screaming at herself not to try to hard, but on the outside she was still just as calm and collected as ever.

Derek felt Lesley move a strand of hair from his eyes. They were still closed with content. Despite his damp swim trunks, he was still warm as ever. Derek chuckled to himself in answer to Lesley tease, "consider this your free sample." He laughed almost silently, his eyes fluttering open. They revealed the look of even more clouds and the blue sky above them. The sun was perched across the sky, as if on the verge of setting. Derek almost wished that he was from here so that he could show her a cool place to sit while watching the sunset but it was only his second day here.... maybe he could find one later this week.

Lesley laughed quietly when Derek replied, and then looked up at the setting sun. Pink and light purple spread across the sky, so beautiful that it looked like an angel had painted it. Lots of people had already left the beach, families with young kids had gone home, the groups of teenage girls had already gone to the movies, and all the couples were in secluded spots far away from them, so it seemed like no one was on the beach. Derek was new here, but he seemed to already know, or guessed, that the beach was one of the best date spots. Lesley felt very lucky to be the one he wanted to share this time with.
Feeling overcome with desire and a daredevil attitude, she whispered, "Oh, what the hell." Leaning over his face, she kissed his lips softly. A quick peck, and then she drew back, pink blush tinging her cheeks, matching the color in the sky. With a realization of what she had done, she began to speak. "I'm sorry," she said, apologizing for the random expression of affection. "I'm just tired of acting like I haven't been wanting to do that since I first got here." She smiled slightly, a sheepish expresssion on her face.

Derek looked back to Lesley as the few last lingering people left, leaving them. It was now serene and quiet, the sunset practically painted on the sky just for them. He let out a huff of breath in a deep, content sigh. He heard Lesley say something from beside him but couldn't make it out. He was just about to ask what she had said when he felt her lips on his. Derek's eyes watched as her soft lips withdrew and she sat back onto her beach towel. A little smile played on his lips as she spoke again. "I'm sorry," she said, an apologetic expression on her face. "I'm just tired of acting like I haven't been wanting to do that since I first got here." "It's ok," Derek bit his lip and then scooted closer to her. He took her hand gently, feeling his warmth spread onto hers.

"So how long have you and your sister lived here?" Derek asked softly. He wasn't entirely sure of what to say, not wanting to embarass her with any of the questions but he knew that one wouldn't.

Lesley smiled to herself when he didn't reject the kiss. Not the best reaction, but still better than most. When he took her hand, she laced their fingers together, her thumb gently brushing his hand. Heat seeped through her, accompanied by pleasure. She watched as the sun sank deeper in the sky, now darker purples above it, signaling night was coming soon.
"We've lived here our whole life, really. I know my way around." She said, looking at him. Several things she could say or do next flashed through her mind. She wasn't quite sure whether she should keep the conversation going, or just let silence settle between them. She squeezed his hand gently, finally deciding that he could talk if he wanted to.

Derek's mouth formed into a small smile, hearing her talk, and feeling her soft hands rub against his. A silence settled between them for a minute or two before he watched the sun set over the horizan. The rays flowed through the clouds and streaks of pink, orange, light yellow, and purple filled the sky. It was probley one of the most beautiful things he had seen from nature. He then relized how late it was and that Lesley didn't have a ride. "I'll give you a ride home," he spoke at last, feeling a teeny bit awkward for inturupting the quiet. He sat up and let her hand go, his knees pressed into the sand. His dirty blonde hair was spread out along his forehead, naturally straight. His deep brown eyes looked over to hers and then he leaned down. Derek put his hands on either side of her head, not touching her pretty locks as he leaned down and touched their lips again. The kiss lasted a little while before he seperated and whispered, "if you need it of course." His heart wasn't pounding and his head wasn't spinning. Derek could tell Lesley was true and he couldn't feel nervous around her.

Lesley felt a small shiver of pleasure run down her back when his soft lips touched hers. She closed her eyes and let the kiss last, before he drew back. Opening her eyes, she focused her gaze into his gorgeous brown eyes, as if trying to convey the message that neither had spoken yet.
"Absolutely." She said quietly, her voice light and breezy, a little dazed maybe. This was by far the best date and kiss she had gotten. With a little skip of joy in her heart, she felt herself finally get over of her old ex-boyfriend. She stood up slowly, rubbed a little sand off herself, and pulled out her shirt from her bag. Pulling it over her head, she shook her hair out, letting it fall back into it's natural position. She grabbed her bag and slung it over her shoulder.
The sky had grew dark, the sun now set. A deep dark blue took over the sky, faint stars beginning to show. "Lead the way." Lesley said with small smile.

Derek nodded and stood, grabbing up his board, wallet, and cellphone from the sand. His car was parked on the nearest side of the lot, pretty close to where they were standing at the moment. He jogged up to it and popped the trunk open with only a beat on it. It was a pretty old and had been his car ever since he got his license. He stowed his board in it and then the trunk was closed with a thunk. Derek leaned against the car to wait for Lesley, brushing a little bit of sand off his arm.


(sorry... it's short.)

"Nice car." Lesley said as she followed. Walking around it to the passenger side, she could see that it wasn't the newest car, but that meant it had character. "You know, I don't mind if you take a more scenic route." She said, feeling the need to tell him that she wasn't quite ready for this date to end.
Opening the door, she gracefully sat down, shutting the door behind her. She placed her tote bag by her feet, and then waited for Derek to start the car to drive her home. Looking out the window, she saw one or two palm trees swaying in the slight breeze. Behind them were the lights of businesses in the town. The scenery was as familiar as ever, but she felt so excited to be here.

"Thanks," Derek uttered, turning in the sand and slipping into the front seat. His keys lay where he left them, in the cup holder and a warm coke sat beside that. His hand reached over and he took the silver keys, starting the car. The Chevrolet Camaro lurched forward before starting down the long way to their neighborhood. Big trees whizzed by the car windows as Derek steered the car down a black road tinged with gold from the sun. Birds were flying gracefully towards the horizan, flapping their wings in unison and Derek smiled at the sight, it was nothing like what he saw back in New York. Even with the bright buildings in the distance and the lack of stars on the sky, it was a beautiful sight to be sharing with Lesley. With one hand, Derek steered down the long road ahead and with the other, he held her hand in his, a small smile on his face. "Isn't it stunning?" he asked, almost at a whisper.

(creative juices are lacking greatly)
Lesley turned to Derek and smiled, sqeezing his hand back. "Yes, it is." She agreed, looking at the beautiful scenery. Watching the birds fly into the distance in the usual formation, she realized how extra nice this must be for Derek, who had probably never seen this kind of stuff before. Lesley herself saw it almost every day, but it still brought out the same kind of reaction from her, that there had to be something more out there, to create such wonderful things.
"That's my street," Lesley said, almost a little bit dissapointed. This time with Derek had been absolutely excellent, as good as the scenery. A mischievious smile arranged on her face. It would be funny if Derek "accidentally" passed up her familiar road, like she had suggested earlier. Besides, she had told her mom 12 am at the latest, and it wasn't even near that.