Through Your Eyes

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Marissa walked into the living room of the suite as she whistled an old 80’s song that was stuck in her head. She plopped down on the couch and lifted up her feet so the set on the table. Brushing a strand of hair that had fallen from her ponytail away from her face, she pulled out her phone.

A few seconds passed before her cell phone blinked a few times indicating it had finally turned on. Marissa waited patiently for her screensaver and the minor details of her phone to load up. When it finally did, she quickly replied back to the texts she had received over night from her friends, including one from Austin.

Picking up the television remote, Marissa turned the TV on and flipped through the channels. Nothing good was coming on at nine thirty in the morning so all Marissa could do was shut the television off and sigh. She glanced at her phone hoping that one of her friends had texted back but her inbox was still empty at this early hour of summer vacation.

Marissa tapped her fingers on the couch and looked around the living room. She couldn’t find anything to amuse herself at all. She let out a sigh and crossed her arms. Her parents and little brother had already left for the day while Marissa was still in the hotel suite. If she had known that she may have not had plans today, she would have gone along with them to the beach.

To her surprise, when she had come back home last night, her parents were still up despite the day’s activities. Marissa ran Nick’s idea past them and to her relief, they were fine with it. She had texted him back last night and quickly informed she had permission from her side and would love to hang out with him the day after, er, today.

Glancing at her phone again, Marissa was pleased to see that she had received a text message. As she opened up her phone, it blinked 1 New Message.

From: Nick 9:46am
Good Morning. :) Still up for today?

Marissa quickly texted back that she was, and waited for a response. Less than a minute later, Nick sent a reply telling her he would pick her up at ten. It took her a second to realize she only had fifteen minutes till he arrived causing her to scurry to her room and get ready as fast as possible.

She changed out of her pajamas and pulled on a pair of cut off denim jean shorts along with a grey tank covered with black swirls. Grabbing a brush, Marissa ran it through her already straightened hair and pulled a clip back into a half up ponytail. By the time she had finished her makeup, it was already ten.

And right on the dot, Marissa heard the suite’s doorbell ring. Glancing at herself one more time in the mirror, she grabbed her cell phone and shoved it in her pocket. Shutting the bedroom door behind her, Marissa hurried through the living room and to the front door. Taking the last suite key, she added it to the pocket that had her phone, and opened the door.

Nick had been looking around the hallway and focused his attention back to Marissa once the door had opened. A huge smile found its way to Nick’s face as he saw her in front of her. “Hey!” He reached his arms out awaiting a hug, which Marissa gladly gave.

Marissa locked the door to the suite as she stepped outside. Nick waited patiently as she dug out her key and swiped it through the system to lock it. She turned around and gave Nick a smile. “Okay, I’m ready. Let’s go.”

The two of them began walking down the hall and towards the elevator. Conversation quickly struck up between them as they descended the floors down the main lobby. They got stopped in the lobby by a small girl who looked like she was about seven years old. From the looks of it, she had just gotten enough courage to ask Nick for an autograph and picture.

Marissa smiled and let a small, “awh” as she watched Nick pose for a picture and give her a huge hug. He stepped up from the small girl’s height waved goodbye before joining Marissa again. “That was really sweet,” Marissa said with a small smile.

Nick let out a chuckle. “She was pretty cute. But at this rate, we’re never going to get out of here and do what I planned for today, so let’s go.”

It wasn’t until Marissa and Nick had stepped out of the air-conditioned hotel and into the blasting heat of the Bahamas that it dawned on Marissa she had no idea where she was going. “Wait, you never told me what we were doing today.”

Nick had already gotten ahead of her and was walking towards the beach. He turned around with a large grin and walked backwards as he held Marissa’s gaze. “It’s a surprise.” With that said, he turned around once more and continued walking.

Marissa stood right where she was and stared at him. She wasn’t sure if this was a good thing, or a bad thing. Nick looked behind him and motioned her to join him. “Come on, Marissa!”

Marissa sighed and started out into a slight jog to catch up to Nick. She continued pestering him to reveal where they were going, but no such luck. He was determined not to spoil the surprise and Marissa eventually gave up once she realized he wasn’t going to spill the details.

As they kept on walking, Marissa noticed that they were headed towards the beach. Once they hit the sand, she had taken off her flip flops and held them in her hand as her toes squished through the sand. She started making her way closer to the sounds of the crashing waves after the urge to walk through them came over.

But to her dismay, Nick tugged on her arm and shook his head no. “We’re going this way.” Marissa looked back at the waves and gave him a puppy dog look. “I promise this will be as fun as the waves,” Nick reassured.

Marissa sighed once again but followed Nick. She got more and more curious to where they were headed once they left the crowded area of the beach and more into the rental and tourist section. They came to a stop in front of a small white building with a huge sign above that said ‘Rentals.’

“Wait here,” Nick instructed. He quickly ducked inside the building and made his way to the counter. Marissa peeked through the doorway and watched as Nick handed the guy behind the counter his deposit in catch while in return gave Nick two life jackets.

Confusion set over her as Marissa racked her brain as she tried to figure out what on earth they could be doing with a set of life jackets. It took her a few seconds, but after putting together the clues, everything fit like a puzzle.

Nick came back with the gear and handed Marissa one of the life jackets. Marissa looked at him with a hesitating look. “Jet skiing?”

He grinned. “Jet skiing.”

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“I swear to God, if we don’t come out of this thing alive, this is your entire fault,” Marissa claimed as she looked warily at the Jet Ski boat.

Nick rolled his eyes. “Stop being dramatic. I’ve done this plenty of times before. I promise you that it’ll be fun.” He looked at her expectantly waiting for a response, hoping that his last comment would reassure her.

Marissa bit her lip and glanced from the Nick, to the boat, and then back at Nick again. “Promise?”

He nodded. “Promise.” Nick held onto the side of the sleek white boat and stepped in. He held out his hand which Marissa grasped to maneuver herself in also. She let out a squeal as the boat tottered causing her to quickly grab onto Nick’s forearm. He let out a chuckle but helped her with her balance.

“Thanks.” Marissa slowly let go of Nick and was pleased to find herself not falling over. She gave Nick a shy smile before turning around and actually taking in the boat for the first time. “So how do we do this?”

“I’ll stand behind you and guide the boat. We’ll sit down in the beginning but then once you’re comfortable we can stand up,” Nick explained. Marissa took in the information and nodded indicating she understood. Quickly, Marissa undid her ponytail and put it into a loose bun so her hair wouldn’t fly out.

Nick showed her where to stand and Marissa found herself oddly comforted by the fact that Nick was standingdangerously close behind her. She watched as Nick slid the attached key on the life vest into the ignition and the Jet Ski roared to life as he twisted the handles.

The adrenaline was starting to kick through and seemed to rise itself up a notch when she felt Nick’s hot breath on her ear. “Ready?” Unable to form any words, Marissa barely nodded.

But that was all soon forgotten as Marissa let out a scream from the movement of the jet. A large grin soon replaced her terrified look as the sound of the water rushing by her and the wind in her face. The boat started to tip upwards as it went faster. She could hear Nick laughing behind her and Marissa found herself doing the same.

About half a minute later, Marissa slowly stood up and Nick took the hint to do the same. The second that they were situated once more, Nick started to do fancier things with the boat. Marissa held onto dear life as he started to zig zag the boat.

They were out in the middle of the ocean, but not too far from shore. Nick slowly brought the boat to a stop and held it still. Marissa turned around and smiled. “This is so much fun, why did you stop?!”

Nick laughed. “I just wanted to make sure you were alright. Ready?”

Marissa nodded excitedly and turned back around. She set her hands on top of Nick’s and twisted the handles of the boat. Despite the fact that Marissa was the one who started it, she still managed to let out a yelp as it started up. The boat lurched frontwards along with the two of them.

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“Now I know why people do stupid and crazy things,” Marissa stated. She took a lick of her frozen orange popsicle and swallowed the delicious ice.

Nick chuckled. “And why’s that?”

“Because when you’re actually doing it, it doesn’t seem so stupid. And it’s so much fun! The adrenaline rush was so worth it,” Marissa concluded.

The two of them were currently walking back to the hotel in a slow manner. They both had popsicles in their hand, a little snack they decided to have after their days’ activities. When they had finished jet skiing, Nick had taken her to a small food shack that was nearby where lunch was served for them.

The rest of the day proved to be still more fun. Nick had taken her back to beach afterwards and much to Marissa’s delight, Nick had agreed to make sand castles or do whatever she wanted, whether be swimming in the ocean or just sitting around and talking.

Darkness was beginning to settle upon them and Marissa had regretfully reminded Nick that they both needed to be back in time for dinner, as promised by Marissa to her parents. Marissa couldn’t remember the last time she had had this much fun. Especially with something so unique, such as jet skiing.

Marissa tossed her empty popsicle stick into a nearby trash can as the entered the hotel. To their surprise, Nick’s family was already downstairs in the lobby. Nick closed and opened his right hand once indicating for them to wait five minutes. He turned around and gave an apologetic smile.

“Sorry, I thought they would be waiting for me upstairs,” Nick apologized.

Marissa brushed it off. “It’s alright, I have to go for dinner anyway with my parents.” She paused for a second before looking straight into Nick’s eyes. “Thanks for taking me out today. I had a lot of fun and I’m glad I got to spend time with you before you left.”

Nick smiled. “Me too. I’ll talk to you again tomorrow before we leave so no goodbyes yet.”

“Okay, but bye for now.” Marissa reached out to give Nick a hug which he returned. She held on a little while longer than usual before stepping back. “Thanks again for everything.”

She gave a quick wave to the Jonas family before heading to the elevator. It was already on lobby level and opened as soon as Marissa pushed the button. Stepping inside, Marissa turned around just in time to see Nick give her one last final smile and wave before the doors shut in front of her.