Summer Nights

At some point, even with all the excitement and my inability of sleeping in moving vehicles, fatigue hit me like an atom bomb. I miraculously fell into a deep slumber, and before I knew it, someone was shaking me.
“Wynter,” I heard Jake’s deep, calming voice say. His hand gently brushed my shoulder, and I forced my eyes to open.
It was dark outside, but my surroundings were brightly illuminated by many light bulbs.
My eyes parted from the windshield and I turned over, yawning and stretching out my whole body. Finally, I gazed upon him, and his green eyes flashed from my chest to my face (I decided not to comment on this). “We’re here,” he said.
I nodded sleepily, smiling hugely. “I almost can’t believe it,” I said.
He smiled and raised his hand towards my face. However, it stopped midway and changed direction, instead going to his head and rubbing his eyes. I looked away from him as he got out of the car, and I sighed deeply.
It was so hard to keep hating Jake. It just didn't come naturally.
I got out of the car, stretching my limbs and hearing them crack. I caught up to Jake and walked shoulder to shoulder with him, over to my brother’s Camry. We were in a large parking lot, surrounded by tall (at least five stories) buildings. When my brother got out of the car, I let out a large squeak.
I realized that the excitement that had built up in the pit of my stomach (yes, even in my sleep, it had gathered) was about to explode. “Yay!”
The four of us got together, and I snaked my arm around Emerald’s. “Hiya,” I said.
"'Ello, there, young chap!" she exclaimed in an English accent.
“Hullo, my dear friend.” I sighed for the second time. “I can’t wait to see the hotel,” I muttered. I knew there was something very significant about this place, and I was about to find out exactly what.
“That’s not all you should be excited about,” Emerald said, and I was surprised to see she was smiling like the biggest idiot on the planet.
“What are you talking about?”
“Shh, take a moment to listen…”
I focused my senses to my ears, and paid attention for any abnormal sounds. Indeed, there was a quiet sloshing whisper…that was awfully similar to the sound of water.
“Oh. My. Fucking. God.” I looked around more carefully, and noticed the palm trees. Sure, I’d known we were going east (I’m not a dumb blond bimbo, I can read road signs) but I didn’t know we were going this far east. Because, when I ran ten meters forward from the place we were gathered around, I saw it.
The sand.
“Welcome to Ocean City!” Jake, Emerald, and Braxton all screamed at the same time. I shrieked.
I’d never been to the beach, believe it or not. I’d seen La Louvre, The Eiffel Tour, Venice, Rome, the Berlin Wall, the Grand Canyon, etc…but never, in all my time, had I ever seen the ocean (not from a plane, that doesn’t count!).
And so I got a spurt of energy, and, like a little kid, began running.
“Wynter, wait!” I heard my brother yell after me.
“Never!”
I laughed at myself, knowing I had just pissed him off even more. But I continued to run, the sound of the ocean getting closer and closer…You’d be surprised to hear how loud exactly it was!
I heard footsteps behind me, but ignored them as I finally stepped onto the hot sand. I bent over while running, and tossed my shoes in the air.
“Whoohoo!” I yelled.
The sand had gathered heat during the day, and now that it was nine-thirty, it was pleasantly warm between my toes. I squished it, reveling in the feeling. I avoided two people, who were glaring at me as I rushed passed them.
Almost there…
“Wyn, wait up!” Jake was the one chasing me.
I uttered a silent groan. Not now. This was my moment. Mine.
I picked up my pace, and that’s saying something. I ran track for five years, and more than once, I’d won for my school.
Finally, I reached the clearing, and, after a fifty meter stretch of sand, the moon reflected off the waves.
It was…astoundingly beautiful.
The stars shimmered brightly overhead, along with the clear, oval-shaped moon. There were no clouds, and the beach was almost void of life. The waves, with a reassuring rhythm, slid forward with a foaming sound, then retreated backwards, leaving the wet sand behind.
I stopped in my tracks, breathless. Not from running, but at the mesmerizing sight.
Finally, Jake caught up to me. He stopped, panting, and bent over.
“Phew! I didn’t think I could catch up to you, Wyn! Where did you learn to run like-” He broke off as he stood up and followed my gaze.
We stood like that for a minute, taking in the wonderful sight.
“Wow. It’s beautiful,” Jake whispered.
I couldn’t help but only nod.
Suddenly, Jake grabbed my hand, and tugged it gently. “Come on, Wyn!” His rough hands felt comforting, so I followed him as we edged closer to the water. And then my feet stepped onto the wet sand, and shortly after, the water came to splash at my toes. I suddenly came to life and pulled Jake after me as I ran, full speed ahead, into the water.
“No!” This time Jacob screamed like a pansy, and he pulled into the opposite direction. But I managed to get some inertia, and I dragged him along as I ran into the water. It was amazingly cold and felt slippery, different than normal water. Or maybe I was just imagining it.
“Shit!” Jake had time to mumble before he slipped and splashed head on into the water, wetting all of himself.
I laughed wildly and offered my hand to help him up.
Mistake.
He pulled me in, along with him. I gasped as the salt stung my eyes, but I wasn’t going to go down without a fight. I jumped on his back and tried to dunk him under the waves, but my plan failed as I slid off of him. He grabbed me this time, and slid me onto his back. I was getting a piggyback ride from him.
Chuckling, he yelled to me, “You’re brother’s going to kill us!”
I responded with another loud “Whoo-Hoo!” as I waved my arms into the air, shivering.

My brother glared at me disapprovingly as the bellboy helped carry our luggage in one of those big…cart-thingies (yeah, I know, I’m very creative). Jake and I were leaving large wet blotches wherever we stepped, but surprisingly, no one said anything to us.
After getting our keycards and room numbers, we got in an elevator and arrived on the tenth floor. No body said anything as we walked down the hallways. Finally we arrived at our room numbers 301 and 302.
“Same groups,” Braxton ordered ruffly after the bellboy discarded our luggage and left. “Emerald and I will take this room and you two can take 302.”
"Why? Shouldn't I share a room with Emma?"
"Uh-" Braxton started. Then stopped.
"We have to keep it like this for a couple days because of the bedding arrangement," Emma put in.
"Yeah," Jake said, too.
"What? You guys, me and Emma have the same body parts and you and Jake have the same body parts so wouldn't it just be-"
They were all shaking their heads. What the hell?
I shrugged and took the keycard from Braxton. This was an argument for another time. I was too freaking tired. I walked over to my bag, but before I could grab it, Jake had a strong hold on it.
“I got it,” he said, and I thanked him. I held the door to 302 open for him as he dragged three suitcases inside. Then, I walked over to Emerald, hugged her goodnight, and waved to Braxton. He stuck his tongue out at me. I turned my behind towards him and slapped it. He rolled his eyes.
“Real mature,” I heard him say as the door to 301 closed. And then I closed the door to 302, and it was just me and Jake, all over again.
“I can sleep on the floor, if you prefer,” he said, and there was worry plastered all over his face.
“What are you-” The large, king size bed caught my attention. “Oh,” I said with some difficulty. “I see.” The only king sized bed. But then I shook my head. (I had just told my brain, ‘Stop being such a bitch to him, Wyn!’). “N-no, it’s fine. It’s a king size, after all. We’ll split it in half with the pillows.”
His face broke into a grin. “Thanks, Wynter. Do you want to use the bathroom first?” he asked.
“No, you can go first.”
He nodded and walked past me. After closing a small door, everything was quiet. I took this time to examine the room. It was Hawaiian styled, with bamboo tables, chairs, and bed headboards. The room was painted beige and it was fairly large. The right side of the chamber was made of all glass, and there was a sliding door that led to a balcony.
I would further explore this tomorrow. We were staying here a week, a week and a half (I didn’t quite know all the details yet) and I wanted to get comfortable with my new quarters. So I took everything out of my suitcase, and distributed the things throughout the room.
By the time everything was finished, Jake also ended his very long shower.
As he came out in a plain white T and boxers, (I tried my best to ignore his bulging biceps, broad back, and…I’ll keep the descriptions only of his upper body…)
“That took you long enough,” I joked when he came out. He smiled and stretched.
“I needed to shave my legs. You know how it is.”
My mouth fell open, and as soon as it did, Jake fell into hysterical laughter. I grimaced.
“Okay, I fell for it. It won’t happen next time.” And with a huff, I grabbed my clothes and took a quick shower. When I was done, I exited in my pajama pants and a camisole.
He grinned devilishly when he saw my pants. “Spongebob Squarepants?”
“Don’t ask,” I muttered. At least I wasn’t wearing the Victoria’s Secret nightie. I smirked to myself. I didn’t think he could get through the night if I had put that one on.
He had been lying on the bed, reading. But now he placed his book (which I noticed was Dan Brown’s “The Lost Symbol”) on the nightstand and turned off the lamp on his side.
I noticed my heart rate sped and I forced a calming breath. Grabbing some pillows, I arranged them right down the middle, as a sort of barrier. Jake watched me with an amused smile on his face. When I was done, I pulled the covers back and lied down rigidly.
I turned off the lamp on my side and everything went pitch-black. I didn’t dare move.
The bed shook a bit and I heard Jake say, “Why are you all stiff like a corpse? Do you think I’m going to molest you?”
“No,” I snapped back, and then shook my head. “No,” I said gently this time.
He sighed. “I’m sorry Wyn. I just want us to be friends.”
“We are friends,” I said, and then bit my lip, waiting. Silence met my remark…
“Oh. Well here, let’s shake on it. I’ll stop being an asshole and you’ll stop being a bitch.” My eyes had become accustomed to the darkness, and as I turned on my other side, so that I was facing him, I noticed Jake was holding out his hand. I reached my right hand out and grabbed his fingers softly. We shook, and again, his touch sent the butterflies in my stomach wild. I stared at the dark blob that was his face, trying to discern his expression.
When we parted hands, I heard him sigh deeply. “Good night, friend.”
“’Night, Jake.”
And, after a while, I gave up on my ridged stance and finally relaxed. I realized I'd just forgiven Jake.
With that thought in my mind, I fell asleep.