If You Want to Know How Much I Love You, Count the Waves.

I was sitting on the beach when it hit me. Not an idea, or a thought. A volleyball. I was really getting sick of being injured every time I went outside. Groaning and rubbing the back of my head, I looked around for whoever had thrown it in the first place.

"Sorry," a girl said from behind me, running up to the ball. "The ball kinda went astray!"

"Nah, it's fine," I mumbled. I was glaring at the girl, but she couldn't tell since I wore dark sunglasses that covered up my eyes.

"Are you here on vacation?" The girl tucked the ball under her arm and smiled, as if she hadn't just hit me in the back of the head.

"No. I just moved in," I said in a matter of face tone. "In the condos right down the street."

"Oh, that's neat. You practically live on the beach, yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Well, I'm Victoria, but my friends call me Tory," Tory introduced. "I've lived here my whole life, but we come down to this beach to hang out and play volley ball. It's also nice to meet some of the tourists. They make pretty good conversation sometimes, really."

"Ah, I see."

"Have you met anyone else around here yet?" Tory asked, taking a seat on the sand beside my beach towel.

"Yeah, some guy who ran over me with his long board. I don't know his name, though. He just made me practically split my knee open." I nodded towards my knee, which was red and had scratches that revealed new pink skin underneath. I'd fallen three days earlier, so it was already healing, but it was going to leave a nasty scar when it did.

"Ouch. What'd he look like? I might know him. I long board. We usually all meet up and go riding down past the hotels, right across the street from those condos, actually." Tory was really talkative, and I wasn't sure how I felt about that, but I kept the conversation going anyway.

"Uh, he was extremely tan-"

"In Florida, we all are."

"-and he had brown hair. Brown eyes... Uh, yeah, that's about all I can think of, really..."

Tory tapped her chin thoughtfully, thinking. "Well, there's a few people that come to mind. Was he skating with a blonde guy?"

I remembered that someone had screamed "watch out!" right before I was knocked over, and I only got a quick glance of him before he laughed at his friend and continued on. I was sure he had been blonde, but I really couldn't tell considering I'd only gotten that one little glance.

"I think... I'm not really sure, though..."

"Then that was probably Dane and Jason. They're pretty much inseparable, which really isn't any good for everyone else, since they're complete idiots. Sure, Dane's alright in school, but he's got the common sense of a doorknob. Then Jason... he's dreamy. But he's going nowhere in life, so watch out for that guy. He's a nice guy, but he's trouble."

"Is Jason the jerk who ran me over?" I asked. She had called him dreamy...

"Yeah, that'd be him. Would be surprised if he'd done it on purpose, to be honest. He's a player who's one goal in life is to get with as many girls as he can. He'll do anything to get a chick's attention."

"Tory, hurry up!" Someone called from the volley ball net behind us.

"That would be my friends. Wanna come join us? We have room for more players," Tory insisted, getting to her feet. I took off my sunglasses and turned towards the volley ball net. Honestly, I really wasn't in the mood to meet anybody new.

I looked at Tory and tried to remember her in case I saw her again. It'd be nice to know someone who'd been here a long time. I took a picture in my head of Tory's dirty blonde hair, golden skin, and big, bright smile.

"I'm going to be heading home soon, so I'll pass. It was nice meeting you, though."

"You too! Here, put your number in my cell, I'll hit you up some time this week, we can hang out!" Tory pulled a cell phone out of the front pocket of her shorts and handed it to me, so I typed in my number and saved it under my name.

"Your name's Andy?"

"Nick name."

"Well, great meeting you, Andy. I'll see you later!" And she ran back to the net.

I sighed, slipping my sunglasses back on and staring out at the ocean. Instead of just sitting and allowing myself to get hit by another ball gone "astray", I decided to go for a walk on the beach. I stood up, shimmied out of my shorts and started walking.

I was enjoying the beachy breeze, watching the seagulls fly around, and little kids playing in the sand. That is, until I was interrupted by a light tap on my shoulder.

"We meet again," someone said as I turned around. Jason.

"Oh. You."

"And you sound so happy to see me!"

"I am. Can't you tell?" I shook my head. "Now, go away please. I'm just trying to enjoy the beach."

"I was enjoying the beach too. Especially the view I was getting as a little girl in a bright pink bikini walked past. Then, I realized something! I never got your name. So, what is it?"

"You're not getting my name," I snapped, crossing my arms over my chest and frowning. "I thought you agreed to leave me alone?"

"I'm not very good at keeping my word," Jason said with a shrug. "And why can't I get your name? I'll tell you mine, if you'd like."

"How tempting. No."

"Come on! I'm just trying to be friendly!"

"Were you trying to be friendly when you knocked me down with your long board?"

"Well, no." He sighed. "Just give me a chance! I'm a chill guy!"

"Fine. My name's Andy. Happy?"

He chuckled. "Andy? No offense, but isn't that a boys name?"

I gave him a dark glare that he couldn't even see. "No! It's a nick name! My name's Sandra, okay?"

"Sandra? Wow. That's even worse."

"Thank you for reminding me," I grumbled. I wasn't liking this conversation. I would have rather been talking to Tory than him, and she talked so fast I could hardly understand her.

"Well, my name is Jason, if you were wondering."

"I wasn't. And besides, I already knew that," I stated, giving him a smirk.

"That's a little sketchy. How exactly did you already know my name?"

"I met a girl earlier. Told her I got ran over. Described you. She knew who you were."

"And what girl is this?" Jason asked, his eyes narrowing.

"Her name was Tory," I said with a shrug. "She was a nice girl."

He started laughing, and I gave him a dirty look. What was so funny?

"Nice girl? She's also a whore. Slept with the whole school, pretty much. Now she's got a boyfriend, but she cheats, I'd bet you a hundred dollars."

"She seemed sweet," I mumbled, shaking my head. "And besides, she didn't really have very nice things to say about you either, so I'd watch it if I were you. I'm not going to assume she's like that unless I've gotten to know her."

"Suit yourself. I'm just giving you the heads up on that one."

"I don't need your help sorting the right people from the wrong. Especially when I get bad vibes from you," I snapped, stopping in my tracks. "I'm getting my things and leaving. I'll see you around."

"I'm not going to forget you said that."

"Fine by me," I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes. I turned around and left him where he stood.

I walked back to my things, feeling the sand between my toes and listening to the water. It was so peaceful. All I could think about was how I'd always wanted to camp out on the beach, have a bonfire.

That's when I decided I needed to go find my new friend Tory.