The Ugly Truth

That afternoon, I decided to make a trip to the beach. I didn’t go too often, and it was summer after all. I wish I had friends to go with. All mine were back at their home states for the summer, and I was here in mine, completely friendless. The only girl that I had been best friends with from third to eighth grade had been Linda, who had moved to the other side of the country. I had never really had much luck with friends, and I was never one to hang out with huge groups of people, like most people I knew. I just preferred smaller, more intimate gatherings.

So there I was, all alone at the beach, like some sort of loner. It was a wonderful, sunny day and, luckily the beach wasn’t too crowded. There was just a few families here and there and the occasional elderly couple, practically no people my age. Perfect. It made it a little less embarrassing.

I lay on my towel, soaking up the sun and listening to music on my Ipod. The experience was quite relaxing. For once, I didn’t have to worry about John or Riley or Ethan. It was just me and the beach, and I appreciated the peace greatly. But, unfortunately, peace never really lasts does it?

He was walking along the shore, his flip flops in hand, talking and laughing with a girl. A very pretty, very skinny blonde. His arm lingered on her shoulders and I cringed internally. It took him a while to spot me, but he did, saying what looked like goodbye to the Barbie look alike, and approaching me.

“Hey,” he said, sitting down on the sand beside me.

“Hi, Riley,” I responded, sitting up.

“How’s it going?”

“Good, you?”

“I’m good too.”

We just smiled at each other and didn’t say anything. Neither of us knew what to talk about. I couldn’t forget that gorgeous girl he had been walking with. She looked like a model. Why did she have to be so perfect? If she had been a little more normal, it wouldn’t have hurt so bad, because it meant I never really had a chance with him at all.

“You know when someone does something really stupid, they usually feel bad about it, right?” I said, surprising myself.

Why had I said that? It was clearly directed to the way he had insulted me.

“Yeah, I suppose they do, but maybe they don’t have the courage to apologize.”

“But, I mean, if they have the intention of apologizing and feel bad about what they did, it kind of still counts, doesn’t it?”

“I suppose so.”

Was that some sort of makeshift apology? I couldn’t stay mad at him when he took back his hurtful words.

“Do you mind if I hang out with you here for a bit?” he asked, grinning.

“Of course not.”

He laid down on the sand, but I felt sorry for him and offered a piece of my towel. He didn’t take it, saying he preferred I was comfortable, which only made me like him more.

“So, has anything interesting happened lately?” Riley asked me.

It seemed like he has hinting at my kiss with John, to which he had had a front row seat.

“Nope. You?” I said, trying to sound as convincing as possible.

“Me neither.”

Well, that blonde Miss Universe sure seemed like someone worth mentioning.

“Do you feel like going in the water?” he asked, after a while.

“Well… not really,” I said very honestly, laying on the sand calmly.

“Why not? It’s not like it’s cold,” he replied, sounding almost like a little kid.

“That’s arguable, so no thanks.”

“C’mon,” Riley almost pleaded.

“I said no,” I emphasized lightheartedly.

“What if I sort of kind of gave you a lift?” he asked, reaching out to carry me in his arms.

“No way,” I shrieked, instantly scrambling to my feet.

“I wouldn’t have dropped you,” Riley laughed.

“I’d rather not take my chances.”

“So, are you coming to the water or are you going to be carried there?”

“Neither. I am not going in the water, period,” I assured, sitting down cross-legged on my towel once again.

“How about we make a deal?”

“A deal?” I asked, puzzled.

“Yeah, if you come with me, I’ll share a piece of information with you that will most probably change your near future.”

It was so tempting. What if he told me about his new girlfriend? What if he told me I disgusted him and he never wanted to see me again? But, what if he finally declared his passionate love for me and asked to me be his girlfriend?

“Fine,” I said after a while.

“Curiosity killed the cat, huh?” he teased as we walked over to the shore.

“Absolutely. So, tell me that crucial piece of information.”

“In case you didn’t know or forgot, it’s my birthday next weekend. I’m going to have a barbecue party thing at my house, and I just wanted to invite you. You’ll come, right?”

“Of course.”

We swam around for a while and then returned to the sand. The sun was still hot, but there was a bit of wind, which was accentuated by the water covering our bodies.

“Wasn’t this were our stuff was?” I asked, confused.

I stared down at the empty sand and started looking around for our things. It was so easy to confuse one part of the beach with another, they all looked the same! Except, as I looked around, I still didn’t see them.

“I don’t see them,” Riley said, shielding his eyes from the sun and looking around too.

I spotted something pink sticking out of the sand near my feet, so I crouched down and retrieved it. It was my Chapstick. I was so sure because it was an exclusive flavor they didn’t make anymore.

“Riley… I think we’ve been robbed.”

“Damn. Why would anyone want a towel, some clothes and a beach bag for? Couldn’t they just have taken the valuables?”

“Oh yeah, that would have been great too,” I taunted.

“Well, at least we would have clothes to put on,” he replied, smiling.

“This is just great.”

We would have to parade our nearly naked bodies, which at the beach is acceptable, but not randomly in public.

“At least we had a good laugh.”

It was funny, because we hadn’t actually laughed, but that caused us to, until we were both hysterical. I sat down on the sand, instantly regretting it due to all the sand stuck to my butt.

“That was a bad idea,” I groaned, standing up and inspecting the damage.

“Nah, sand looks great on you.”

“I bet it looks great on you too,” I laughed, smearing some on his arm.

“This is war.”

Just like little kids, we started rubbing sand into each other’s hair, bathing suit and skin. People began to look at us as if we were crazy. It was all fun and games until I got sand in my eyes. We went back to the ocean water to remove all the icky sand, but the salt in the water wasn’t exactly ideal to rinse my eye.

“Here,” Riley said, grabbing my arm so I would stand still. He began gently blowing in my eye, which meant our faces were very near each other.

“I think that’s enough,” I said, trying to pulling away. I don’t know why I did that. I liked having him so close, but it was so embarrassing at the same time. But he held my arm.

“You sure?”

“Yeah. I’m fine.”

“You have beautiful eyes, you know that?” he declared, smiling down at me. We were still oh so close.

“Thanks,” I uttered, color flushing my cheeks.

In that moment, I was convinced he would kiss me. Why wouldn’t he? He had just complimented me, he was making physical contact and our lips were only inches apart. But he didn’t. He only hugged me, and said he had to go, offering me a ride. I knew it was because of that blonde girl. I just knew it. It may sound cheesy, but I saw it in his eyes. The way he had instantly broken the spell. He liked, or maybe even loved her. I was just a pastime.