Here With You

We walked up to the crowd of people, weaving through them until we got close to the fire. I was faced with three other boys, Zach’s band mates. He slung his arm around my shoulder and pulled me into him, “Fellas, this is Valerie,” I smiled and gave a small wave. “Val, this is Michael, our drummer,” he gestured to a Filipino guy with dark, short, black hair. He smiled, revealing a pair of dimples on either side of his cheeks. “This is Cameron, he plays bass,” he then gestured to a guy with wavy, brown hair, and a charming smile. “And this is our savior, our new guitarist, Nathan.” I was then face to face with the guy from Hollister. Small world.

“It’s nice to finally meet you guys, I heard you practicing the other day.”

“What’d you think of the show?” Cameron asked enthusiastically.

“It was good!”

“Honestly?” Michael asked.

“Well…” I drug out. “It was a little bumpy at the beginning. It took you guys a while to warm up to the stage. It was a lot better when you started moving around and when Zach actually faced the audience.” I felt Zach squeeze my shoulder before dropping his arm. He began talking about a lyric he was thinking of changing with the other boys and I tuned out, looking around for Sarah and Emily. I finally spotted them and waved them over. I returned to the conversation in front of me and noticed that Nathan was staring at me oddly.

I looked away, waiting for them to finish their conversation so I could introduce Emily and Sarah who were now standing at my side.

“This is Emily and Sarah, they’re my friends.”

“You have friends?” Zach teased.

I rolled my eyes and noticed that Nathan was looking at me again. I ignored it and introduced Sarah and Emily to the band members. Zach was asking them what they thought of the show when suddenly Nathan cut into the conversation. “HOLLISTER!”

I looked at him and saw him looking right back at me, realization on his face. I looked down feeling self-conscious under his stare.

“What?” Cameron laughed.

“She came into Hollister on Wednesday! That’s where I know you from.”

I looked back up and nodded, “Oh, yeah, that’s right.”

“She was on the men’s side, so I thought maybe she was shopping for her boyfriend so I asked if she needed help.”

“You have a boyfriend?” Zach butted in.

“No! I wandered over there while I was waiting for Sarah.”

We all fell silent, not sure what to say next.

“S’mores?” Cameron suggested.

“You read my mind!” Sarah answered, patting her stomach.

I sat down on the sand and grabbed a long metal stick with two smaller extensions on the opposite end. Zach sat next to me, grabbing four marshmallows out of the bag and stuck two on each side. I held the pole on the edge of the fire, being careful not to stick them in; I didn’t like burnt marshmallows. I stared at the fire, captivated by it. I had always loved the look of fire, the flames danced on the logs, swaying back and forth like curtains on a windy day, and occasionally jumping up. The reds, yellows and oranges complimenting the dark wood that was now a shade of orange and the night sky was a bonus. I liked the feeling of the warmth on my face, the distinct smell that reminded you of hotdogs, s’mores, and good times. The coals were beautiful, glistening from yellow to orange.

“What do you think?” Zach asked quietly so only I would hear.

I glanced at him, his blue eyes meeting mine, “Of what?” I checked the marshmallows and gave them a half turn.

He smiled, resting back onto his hands. “The guys.” A quiet laugh escaped his pale pink lips.

“I like them. They seem nice, and funny, and just good people in general.”

“Your opinion means a lot.”

“So if I said I hated them you’d ditch them?” A smirk broke across my face.

“Mmm,” he thought, “Not necessarily.” He laughed. “I think they’re done.” I pulled the marshmallows out of the fire while Zach grabbed two graham crackers and a square of chocolate. He slid two marshmallows off of the stick using the graham crackers and set it down on a napkin before doing the same with the other two.

He held is up softly tapping it against mine, “Here’s to more nights like this.”

“Right on.” I smiled, taking a bite of mine. The graham cracker broke, crumbs falling over my lap. I pulled away, warm, sticky, ooey-gooey marshmallow sticking to my face and fingers. Oh god, these were heaven.

“Shit,” he mumbled. “I need to go put my stuff away, I didn’t get a chance since I came looking for you.” He shoved the rest of his s’more in his mouth. He stood up and wiped his hands on his shorts before giving me a wave and jogging over to their setup.

I finished eating my s’more, Emily and Sarah were across from me laughing at something Michael and Cameron were saying.

“Can I use that pole?”

The voice startled me and I looked up meeting a pair of brown eyes. “Oh, yeah. Go ahead.”

Nathan plopped down beside me. “Thanks.” He slid a few marshmallows onto the end before sticking it into the fire. “So, do you have something against Hollister?”

I laughed, “Yeah, the workers there are really, really pushy.”

He scoffed, “We are not.”

I shrugged, “It’s not really my style.”

He looked over at me and smiled, “You’ve got chocolate on your lip.” Embarrassed, I quickly swiped my finger across my bottom lip, wiping the chocolate away. I licked my lips to guarantee it was gone. I could feel my face was heating up, I was glad I had the fire to hide my blush. “I know what you mean though, I don’t really shop there.”

“Why do you work there then?” I questioned.

“They were the only place hiring. I can’t quit, I need the money. I’m saving up for this new guitar.”

“What kind?”

“It’s a Torzal six string electric guitar, the color is really similar to the coals,” he gestured towards the fire. I nodded and acted like I knew what he was talking about.

“Don’t all guitars have six strings?”

“Most do, but a bass has four or five, it really just depends on the brand, style and what you prefer. Cameron uses one with four strings.”

“How long have you been playing guitar?” I watched as he pulled his somewhat burnt marshmallows out of the fire.

“A couple of years. I got bored and taught myself how to play.” He grabbed one of the marshmallows right off of the metal stick and popped it right into his mouth.

“No graham crackers or chocolate?” He plucked the last one off and popped it into his mouth.

He chewed a bit before swallowing, “Nah man, the marshmallow is the best part!” He licked the remaining marshmallow off of his fingers.

“But the melted chocolate makes it taste so much better!” I argued.

He shrugged, “The graham cracker is too dry and takes away from the marshmallow. You might as well just pop the chocolate into your mouth with the marshmallow.” He grabbed the pole and put two more marshmallows on. “Just wait.” We both stared at the marshmallows in the fire in silence.

“Okay take it out.”

He looked at me like I was crazy, “No.”

“Yes!” I urged. “They’re going to burn.”

“That’s when they’re best!”

“No, they get all charred, it’s disgusting! You might as well eat ashes.” I reached for the pole only to have him pull it away. “C’mon they’re burnt enough!”

He held up a finger, “Just a bit longer.”

I rolled my eyes, “You’re ridiculous.”

“And you’re sassy.” He looked over at me with a smile playing on his lips. I felt myself smile back, shaking my head. He finally took the marshmallows out and grabbed one off of the stick, “Open up!”

The marshmallow was getting closer to my face, “I-uh. I can do it myself.” I grabbed the marshmallow from him and stared at it.

“Live a little!” He urged. I sighed and popped it into my mouth followed by a square of Hershey’s chocolate. “It’s not that bad, right?”

“I like it better with the graham cracker…and not burnt.” I said after I swallowed.

“You liked it a lot; you just don’t want to admit it.” He popped his into his mouth, “MMM, MMM good!” He set the pole off to the side of him and stretched before resting back on his hands. “How long have you known Zach?”

“Uh, five years?”

He nodded, “He talks about you a lot at band practice.”

“Funny, he doesn’t talk to me about you guys at all!”

He opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by a guy standing up and yelling “Midnight swim” at the top of his lungs. He took off his shirt, tossing it onto the sand beside him and took off towards the water. A whole crowd of people followed him, kicking sand up all around us.

Nathan stood up and looked down at me, “Aren’t you coming?”

“No,” I chuckled and looked at him like he was crazy.

“Why not?!”

“Because,” I started before Zach cut me off.

“You’re not supposed to swim at dawn and dusk because that’s when sharks feed.”

I smiled up at him, “I’ve taught you so well.”

Nathan raised his eyebrows at me, “I like sharks.”

“Riiiiiight, well I’m going for a swim.” He began running and peeled his shirt off before he was out of sight.

I stood up and stretched, “I think I’m going to head home.”

“Can I get a ride? Cameron picked me up.”

“Yep, do you have everything?” he nodded. We said a quick goodbye to Sarah and Emily before walking to my car.