Dirt

I woke up early and quickly showered and got dressed. I threw the last remaining items I'd need into my bag and ran down the stairs. I made breakfast for my dad as fast as possible, and called him to the table. He came out of his room and sat at the table. I dug into his breakfast and watched me eat an apple.

"So what time are you leaving?" I told him as soon as possible. He nodded. "And you girls are taking the bikes?" I told him yes. "Then you'll be taking the Sportster?" I once again told him yes. I had to remind myself to have patience. We've already had this conversation over the past week and a half, but I knew he was just worried about me. "Okay, so you'll call me when you get there?"

"Pop, it's only an hour away. We'll be alright." I tried to reassure him as best I could. The girls and I were headed down to the beach for the weekend, and I had to reassure my dad that we weren't going to get into a fiery car crash. I heard the girls pull up on their bikes and gave my dad one last kiss on the cheek before flying out the door.

Jessi and Erin didn't even bother turning their bikes off. I flashed them a grin, secured my messenger and duffle bags on the back, slipped on my sunglasses, and started the bike. As I was backing it down the driveway, I saw my father standing in the doorway. He waved down at us, and we waved back. Just to give him a heart attack, I revved the engine and peeled out. I knew he'd have a few choice words to say later, but the feeling was satisfying.

We rode together for the better part of an hour before taking a small break. We didn't have that much further to go, but Erin needed to walk around for a minute. We pulled into a gas station, and I went inside to buy a water.

"I'm so glad we decided to do this," Erin said, stealing my water bottle and taking a swig. "I've been dying to get away for a while. I'm kind of excited."

"Me too," Jessi agreed. I checked again to make sure she had reserved our little rental beach house. She said she was sure, and if I didn't believe her she would show me the print out receipt.

"Bitch, calm down. I just don't want another episode of spring break '09."

Erin burst out laughing, but Jessi just rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Just one time a bitch doesn't confirm the hotel, and we have to sleep in the car for a week, and motherfuckers never let you forget it. So, have you talked to Matt any?"

I smiled, but shook my head. "No. I saw him that one time they came over to the house, but I was on my way out to class. What about you? You and Zacky picking out china patterns yet?"

She laughed and flipped me off as she climbed back on her bike. "Don't be pissed cause I got a man," she said in a ghetto accent. "Don't hate!"

We got back on the road and pulled up outside of the rental house about thirty minutes later. It was pretty nice. It was a pretty yellow color, two story building, that was part of a long row of houses. It was right on the beach. We walked inside and set our bags down in the living room. It was your average house with a couch, a chair, and T.V. If you went further back you would hit the kitchen and small, attached dining room. Upstairs were three small bedrooms and one bathroom. We were stoked.

I made a call to my dad to let him know we had made it, and we decided to hit the beach. I changed into my bikini and threw on a pair of shorts and my purple Bazinga shirt. Anyone who doesn't get Big Bang Theory is stupid. I threw my hair up in a messy bun and slipped on my flip flops. I met the girls downstairs, and we went out the backdoor. There was a small patio with a small table and a couple chairs, and right outside of that was the beach. There was a slight wind, and I could smell the salt in the air. It was all really relaxing. I picked up our tote bag that had our towels and sun block in it, and we walked down to the shore line. It was early afternoon, so there weren't too many people out.

We laid out our blankets and put on the sun screen. Getting a tan was one thing, getting skin cancer was something completely different. We talked for a long time about classes and guys. I quickly discovered that Erin had a little thing for Brian. Apparently, they texted back and forth to each other quite frequently. With the lull of the waves, and the warm sun, I soon drifted off for a nap.

I was woken up a short time later, I think, by someone stepping into my light, casting a long shadow across my body. I opened one eye and smirked. "I should have known. I'm not really that surprised."

He took a seat next to me on my towel. "You guys did let Jessi decide where to go. It didn't take Zee a whole lot of convincing to get her to pick our town." I chuckled at Matt. I looked over and Erin was sitting with Brian, while Zacky had his arms around Jessi, and they were kissing. I turned back to Matt and asked him how things were going. "You know, same shit, different day. How's your classes going?" Good, I told him. "What are you studying to be?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "Not really sure. Just studying my basics right now. Whatever it is I'm gonna be when I grow up, I only hope it's bad ass."

He laughed. "I get that. So let me ask you something." He waited until I asked him what. "I'm trying to figure something out. You're going to school and smart, you love and have tattoos, you ride a bike, you're funny, you're bad ass, and you're drop dead sexy. Why are you single?"

"What makes you think I'm single?" He gave me a funny look and asked if I was. It was my turn to laugh. "No, actually. The man of my dreams is supposed to meet me here today. Oh, there he is," I said while pointing to a much older man with grey hair. "I knew he'd come."

He laughed good and loud. "Okay, so that's the kind of guy you go for? I have no hope, then, huh?"

I shook my head. "Nope. Just look at him. He's sex on a stick. What with all that back hair, and his grandpa hat. And he really makes me feel safe when he wraps me up in those big bear arms." I sighed wistfully.

He playfully nudged my shoulder. "You're hard to read, you know that?" I asked him what he meant. "Well, it's just that, sometimes I look at you, and I feel like-" He was cut off by his cell phone beeping. He checked to see who it was, and then looked around the beach. I guess he spotted who he was looking for because he apologized, and said that he'd be right back before jumping up and walking off. He nodded once to Johnny, and he got up as well and went with Matt.

I watched them walk over to a guy standing several yards away. The guy nodded to Matt and Johnny, and Matt did that guy handshake thing with him. As Matt stuck his hand in his shorts pocket, I could see the bills that were sticking out. Once I realized what they were doing I tried to subtly look around to make sure no one else was watching. I was taught from a very early age how to be a good lookout. They were in the clear. They talked for another minute, then it was Johnny's turn to handshake/hug the guy. Matt just waved slightly and walked back.

That wasn't the first time I'd ever seen a drug deal go down. Even though I'd been around it before, I wasn't sure how I felt about knowing that Matt and the guys did it. I needed a minute to think, so I stepped off the towel and headed for the water. I let the water rush up over my feet. I wasn't too cold; just about perfect. I walked out till the water hit my waist, and let my body adjust to the temperature. I decided to just get it over with, so I dove in.

I surfaced a minute later and was further away from the beach. I stood up and the water was now chest high. I felt a pair of strong arms wrap around my waist. In that second, any hesitations I had a minute ago seemed to melt away.

"You're not upset cause I left, are you?" he asked me in my ear. I shook my head instead of answering because I had to fight from melting. "To be honest, I like the look of you wet." You've got to be fucking kidding me. How was I supposed to keep my cool with all of that going on? "Do you know what else I've been thinking of?" He didn't wait for me to answer, he just continued on. "I've been thinking about what you said about asking you out. You're right. I haven't done it. I plan on rectifying that."

Then he swam away. This fool said something like that and swam away from me. I wasn't paying attention, I guess, because the next thing I knew I felt something grab onto my leg. I screamed bloody murder and thrashed around. Then I heard the deep rumble of laughter and spun around to punch Matt in the arm.

"That was not funny," I told him menacingly. He didn't seem fazed, so I swam away, plotting my revenge. And I would get revenge. I swam to shore and started walking back to my towel with Matt hot on my heels and my friends laughing at me.

"Come on, Ash. It was pretty funny. Maybe not now, but you'll eventually find it as funny as we do." He stopped talking suddenly, and I turned to see what had made him shut up. There was a guy standing not that far away that was staring. At me. I looked at Matt. He seemed a little more than pissed. He addressed the random staring guy. "Hey! Not gonna happen, Romeo. Move along before I break your neck." The guy took off, and Matt turned to me looking slightly embarrassed. Hmm. "So, do you think you'd want to go out with me tonight?"

I laughed as I turned on my heel and went inside the house. I was going to take a shower. Matt could wait. Revenge was sweet.