Clarity.

Rose’s POV:

He was gorgeous. He had such warm, inviting eyes. I could swim in their comfort for hours. His skin seemed to glow; it was smooth and tan. He had long brown hair that framed his face perfectly. His arms were well sculpted; they seemed to be inviting and caring, yet protective. Before I let myself stare any longer, I forced myself to tear my eyes away from his. I walked a little faster, shaken up by the moment. I don’t really know how to describe what I just felt course through my body as his eyes held mine. All I know is that it’s a feeling I wanted to feel again. Over and over again …

I shook my head as I rinsed my feet under the little showers to get rid of the sand. What just happened? My mind was racing. Should I go back? Should I have said something? I decided against it. There was no way I was going to let myself do it. I’d had too much hurt in my life. I promised myself that I wouldn’t let anyone in. So why should I change that now? I was fine now, right?

Or at least that’s what I kept telling myself. Being alone has been the only good thing for me. Just me and the sea. I didn’t need anyone else. I don’t even have friends, really. And I’m okay with it. It’s just the way I am. Bringing anyone else into the picture meant a whole world of things I’ve found myself better off without. But that feeling … What exactly was that?

“Drop it, Rose.” I muttered to myself as I slid my board into the back of my Jeep.

There was no use in wondering about it. It’d only lead to trouble. I’ll probably never see the kid again anyway.

I drove a couple of blocks down the shore to my Surf Shop that I owned. The shop’s my pride and joy. I opened her almost three years ago. It’s a small, homey shop that I run by myself. I have really awesome customers and I adore sharing my passion with them. I’ve even decided to start giving lessons. I’ve worked with a lot of younger kids, and it’s so awesome seeing their little faces light up while they surf.

I unlocked the doors of the shop and flipped the “Closed” sign to “Open.” It was a gorgeous afternoon, so I was expecting it to be a pretty busy day. I glanced up at the clock on the wall above the cash register. The clock had just struck 4. I open the shop later during the week. The beach usually doesn’t receive too much attention while everyone’s at school and work. I decided to finish painting a board I’d made myself while waiting for customers.

Vic’s POV:

“Where’d she go?” I said a bit frantically to Jaime.

“Whoa there, tiger. What’s the rush?” He replied.
I realized that I was acting a little weird and snapped out of it.

“Sorry. She just really caught me off guard.” I said finally.

“I could tell,” he said through a chuckle. “You drooled about a gallon.”

“Oh shut up,” I uttered with a laugh.

Tony and Mike were making their way back towards Jaime and I, tossing the football at our feet. Mike took a seat next to me on the towel.

“What was that all about?” Mike asked. “I know she was pretty hot, but you stared like you didn’t have any sense in you. You alright up there?” He asked while scruffing my hair with his wet hands.

“I don’t know man. That was weird. I mean I know I was staring at her the entire time she surfed and everything, but when our eyes met, she stared too.” I admitted.

“Love at first sight, eh?” Tony questioned in a funny voice.

Everyone fell silent for a moment. Tony had just recently broken up with his girlfriend of what seemed like forever. Hearing him say anything about love kinda threw us off. Tony and Stephanie were seriously the most adorable thing ever. They had even stayed together over various tours, which was always a difficult thing to do. You could see the genuine love they had for each other in their eyes. It kinda hit all of the guys hard when they split. Stephanie was like family to us. We hated to see the both of them hurting.

“Come on guys, say something before I start to think too hard.” Tony said in an exasperated voice.

“Let’s get ice cream,” Jaime said, breaking the silence.

We all got up and threw our towels over our shoulders and headed to an ice cream stand further up the beach. As we were placing orders, Mike’s cellphone rang. It was in my pocket since he’d gone in the water. I handed it to him, and a smile ran across his face as he read the caller ID. It had to be Frenchi calling.

Frenchi is Mike’s girlfriend. I really like Frenchi. She’s a beautiful girl and she’s perfect for my brother. Mike’s gone through some rough patches when it comes to girls, just like anyone else has. But I’m really glad they’re together. My brother’s happiness is one of the things I care about most in the world, and I’m really glad she’s the girl that can give him that. She’s so sweet and silly; it’s always nice having her around.

Mike told me to get him a vanilla scoop on a waffle cone, and slid away from the group for a minute. I’m sure he’s missed her. He hadn’t seen her all tour.
Mike rejoined us just as I had gotten his ice cream for him. We all sat at a picnic table in the sand, looking like a bunch of big kids with weird tattoos and piercings and ate our ice cream. Shortly after we finished, my mom called and told me to make our way home soon for dinner.

Rose’s POV:

I had one more lesson to give for the day: a set of adorable twin girls. Their dad drove them all the way from Texas for the weekend to come to the beach. They were about eight or nine years old. We started out with their boards in the sand, so that they could learn the technique. Their father snapped photos of the girls along the way. Once I’d felt that they’d gotten a hang of it, we took to the water. We could only go so far, since the girls were young. They started paddling when the water got a little higher than waist length, and I shouted over the sound of the waves crashing, telling them to wait for the wave to curl, then stand up and gain their balance.

The girls were naturals. I was so excited with how well they caught on. Even when they fell off, they weren’t discouraged, which is crucial in learning. They could keep at it for hours, but the sun began to set. We lugged their boards back up on the shore where they rejoined their dad. He hugged them and told them how proud of them he was. I lead them back into the shop, and reached under the counter. I decided to give the girls bracelets that had waves and a surfboard on them. They were my favorite customers I’d given lessons to over the years. Their eyes lit up as I squatted down to their level to give them the bracelets. They wrapped their little arms around my neck with a smile and said thank you. They were the cutest.

The family left the shop and the sun had almost set. It was almost 7. I closed up the shop and locked the doors behind me, then headed back to my Jeep. I pulled into the driveway of my small home about a 5 minutes drive from the beach. I preferred driving since I always came back after dark.

I retreated to my room and stripped myself of the day’s clothes while starting a hot shower. I took a shower longer than I’d realized. I couldn’t get my mind off the guy I’d seen earlier at the beach.

After throwing on a big t-shirt and sweatpants, I plopped down on my bed with a long sigh. Why was this even bothering me so much? That thought was followed with an angry growl from my stomach.

I went to the kitchen and made myself some spaghetti. After watching a little TV in the den, I headed back to my room and got ready for bed. Before I laid down for bed, I grabbed my acoustic guitar from its stand by the window, and played after sitting back down my bed. I was just dilly-dallying, putting random chords and melodies together.

“Shit,” I muttered under my breath as the fourth string of my guitar burst.

I sighed and directed my gaze towards the window on the far end of my room. It was lightly raining, making the most perfect, and soothing sound. I unfolded my legs from my position on my creaky bed and stood up, guitar in hand. I walked across the cool hardwood floor of my room and gently laid it in its place. I briskly turned back around towards my bed and plopped back down on the bed and fell to my back to listen to the rain. After a few moments of relaxation, I turned my head towards my nightstand on the right side of my bed to look at the time. 1:32am. I sighed once again and sat back up to retreat to the warmth of my blankets. I quickly tied up my long, dark hair and turned off the light.

My eyes adjusted to the darkness as I stared at the ceiling. It still felt like I was staring into those warm, brown eyes.

Vic’s POV:

It was about 1:30am and we were just about to leave from my parents’ house after dinner. The conversations lasted for a while since we were all so glad to be home. But I still had the girl from the beach on my mind. I decided I wanted to talk to my mom about it, even though I couldn’t really put things into words.

“Hey mom, can we talk for a sec?” I said as she put the last dish in the dishwasher.

“Of course, my dear. What’s the matter?” She replied. We made our way over to the couch in the den and sat down.

“Something weird happened today at the beach.” I finally said, not really knowing any other way to put it.

Her face slightly frowned for a moment.

“It’s not about Cara,” I muttered, knowing that that was the reason she’d frowned.

My mom knew I’d been hurting since Cara and I split. It hit me pretty hard. I wanted to give that girl the world. She’d made me the happiest I’d ever been. But she got pregnant. With another man. When she told me, it seemed like my whole world came crashing down. I’d never felt my heart be ripped out of my chest the way she had. Ever since, I’ve been a little empty, and my mom always worried about me. My only way of coping with it has been to forgive her. She was my best friend, so I couldn’t not forgive her, no matter how much it hurt. Even though it hurts, I’ve been slowly healing. She’s even been inspiration in several songs I’ve written.

“While we were at the beach,” I started. “I saw a girl.”

“Okay? Is that not normal?” My mom asked in a confused voice.

“But she was unlike any other girl I’d seen in … ever. I stared at her regrettably way too long but when our eyes met it was like the world stopped turning.”

My mom chuckled. I felt a little embarrassed saying it, especially since I didn’t know how to say it. All I knew is that I needed to say it.

“You know,” she started. “That’s how your dad and I met.”

I raised my eyes from my feet to meet hers.

She sighed and rose to her feet, pulling me up with her. She reached up to bring me into a hug.

“Go find her, Victor. That’s all I have to say,” She muttered into my hair.

And that was all I needed. I’m going to look for her tomorrow.