I walked along the shore toward the pier to give them time to talk. The heat from the sun was strong and I wished I had worn a hat. My mind wandered to Andreas and I imagined us running along the beach together. I walked all the way to the pier and ran back. By the time I returned, I was hot and sweaty. Daisy was sitting alone reading a magazine.

I waded in the water to cool down. It was refreshing and I loved the bubbles that surrounded me as the waves came in. The sand crabs tickled the bottoms of my feet as the waves receded. I moved further in and the waves crashed into my body as I tried to keep myself upright. The force of the water sucked me in. A huge wave formed in front of me. I had to make a quick decision. Dive under it or be pounded by it. I dove into it and came up to watch it crash ashore. The water pulled me out further. It was too deep for me to touch the ground. Another wave came toward me and I swam under it. I found myself alone past the breakwater. It was quiet and peaceful. The people on the shore looked tiny. There were hundreds of them as far as the eye could see, but none near me. I treaded water, enjoying the silence. Already tired from my run, I quickly began to feel weak. I floated on my back to catch my breath, but I was afraid of floating further out to sea. Fear crept over me. The nearest person was too far away to hear me if I called out to them. I didn’t want to be rescued by the lifeguard. That would be too embarrassing. Everyone on the beach would be staring at me and the news would spread all over school. I tried to swim back, but didn’t seem to get very far. My arms and legs were so tired they felt like jelly. I gulped for air as I tried to keep my head above water.

A boy of around ten years old on a body board appeared a few yards to my left. If I called out to him, he would be able to hear me. I wondered if he would let me hold on to his board so I could catch my breath. He was staring at the waves waiting for his next opportunity to take one in. Did I really need help from a little kid? I hesitated too long. He took the next wave in and was gone. I tried again to swim toward shore, but was exhausted. Oh my God. I might die here.

“Lilah!”

I turned around to see Marco. He was on a body board paddling toward me.

“Marco!” I sputtered.

“What are you doing out here?” His board glided up to me.

“Can I hang on? I need to rest.” I grabbed the edge of the board and tried to catch my breath.

He saw the panic on my face and slid off the board. “Here, take it in.”

“Really? Wha-what about you?”

“I’ll be right behind you. Don’t worry.”

He pushed the board down so I could get on top of it and I grabbed onto the sides. I waited to catch my breath before paddling toward shore. A wave began to form and Marco yelled for me to paddle. He pushed the board forward and I paddled as hard as I could with whatever strength I had left. The force of the wave propelled the board forward at a speed I had never experienced before. Faster and faster I went as the board shook and bounced on the wave beneath me. I hung on for dear life and screamed as I nearly collided with several people in the water. Everyone ducked out of the way and it was a miracle I didn’t hit anybody. I made it all the way in and jumped off when I got close to the sand. My legs were weak, but I walked away from the waves as fast as I could. It was impossible to run with the water pulling me back in. I staggered away from the waves and sat on the wet sand. To my surprise, Marco was coming out of the water just behind me.

“How did you get here so fast?” I said.

“I bodysurfed it in.”

Why couldn’t I have done that? I felt lame.

Water dripped off of his dark hair and the tip of his nose. He ran his hands through his hair to get it away from his face and sat down next to me. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah.” My breathing was slowly coming back to normal. Sand was stuck to my skin all over my body, but I didn’t care. I was alive. “Thanks. I didn’t think I was going to make it. You saved my life.” He gave me a funny look and laughed. “No, seriously! I almost drowned!” This made him laugh even harder. “I was swimming, but I couldn’t get back in.”

“You got caught in a rip tide.”

“Rip tides suck.”

Renewed laughter. “That’s exactly what they do. They suck you way out there and you can’t get back in unless you swim parallel to the shore.”

I rested my forehead on my hands and closed my eyes. “I didn’t think I would get tired so fast. The waves were bigger and stronger than they looked from the shore.”

“Sometimes looks can be deceiving.”

I looked at him and we locked eyes. Looks can be deceiving? What did Daisy tell him while I was gone?

“I should get back,” I said.

Before I could get up, he grabbed my wrist. “Sit with me for a while.”

I pulled my hand away from him and stood up. A look of surprise and hurt flashed across his face.

“I can’t,” I said.

“Are you adding another girl to your entourage, Marco?” I turned to see Trey walking up to us and snickering.

“Shut up, Trey,” said Marco standing up.

Trey stopped laughing when he saw who I was. “Oh. It’s you.”

“You two know each other, right?” said Marco. “Trey, you didn’t tell me…”

“Yes,” said Trey, his eyes still on me. “We know each other.” He looked down at my body. “I didn’t recognize you without your baggy clothes. Or your other junk.”

I could feel my temperature rise, but it wasn’t from the sun. Could this day get any worse?

He smirked, looking at my chest. “I see where it went.”

“Dude, stop being an ass!” said Marco pushing Trey away.

I turned and started to walk away.

“Lilah, wait…” he said, but I kept walking.

As I walked away I heard Trey shout after me, “But I think you lost a little too much on your a..!”

“Trey!” said Marco. “Shut! Up!”

I glanced back to see Marco trying to cover Trey’s mouth and Trey struggling to get away. Trey was laughing like a hyena. Idiots!

Daisy welcomed me back with a sober expression on her face.

“What was that all about?” she said.

“Just Trey being a jerk,” I said, unsure of how much she had seen.

Daisy paused. “Was that Marco’s body board you were using?”

So she did see that. “Oh. Yeah. Well I sort of got caught in a rip tide and he happened to be there. He let me borrow his board to get back in. It’s no big deal. I’m fine.” I gave her a nonchalant roll of my eyes. “It doesn’t mean we’re gonna be friends or anything.”

That seemed to satisfy her and she laughed. “You’re terrible.”

“So, did you rub sunscreen on his…body?” I said with a giggle.

Her pale face turned bright red. “Yes. You are so bad! I can’t believe you did that to me.”

I tilted my head back and laughed. “I wish I could’ve seen the look on your face when you were doing it! So what happened after that? Did he hang out with you?”

Daisy’s face turned serious again. “Yeah. A little. He asked about you.”

“Me? What did he want to know?” I scowled.

“He thought you were mad at him or something. I told him you were just upset because the guy you like doesn’t seem to be interested in you.”

“What? Why’d you tell him that?” I said sitting up straight. “He doesn't need to know my business!”

“I’m sorry! I was trying to think on the spot and that was the best thing I could come up with.”

I calmed down. “The sad thing is, it’s the truth. I hope it doesn’t go around school that I’m a total loser that almost drowned.”

“You’re not a loser. Maybe Andreas will like you once he gets to know you.”

“If I ever meet him.” I gave her a doubtful look. “Anyway, you didn’t tell Marco that I didn’t like popular people, did you?”

“No, why?”

I shook my head and waved my hand dismissively. “Never mind. It just seemed like he knew.”

“I told you, he’s smarter than you think,” she said, smiling.

More kids from school arrived to join Marco and Trey’s group. Marco was still in the water and Trey was hanging out on the shore with cheerleaders, Trisha Crawford and Kayla McCoy. They were best friends who looked similar, except Trisha was shorter with a sexy body and Kayla had bangs and a large nose.

“I’m going to go dip my feet in the water,” said Daisy getting up. She walked to the shore close to Trey and the girls until Trey noticed her. They exchanged a few words before Daisy joined them.

That was a bold move. She’s getting brave these days. She actually looks like she belongs with them. A pang of jealousy began to rise up in me.

Trisha and Kayla ran up to Marco as he came out of the water.

Seriously? They’re like a couple of groupies!

Daisy eyed them as she continued talking to Trey. She looked nervous when she saw Marco heading toward her, the girls in tow. When he reached her, he glanced over at me. I looked away.

Daisy was rubbing shoulders with the enemy. We had talked about this before. I knew she wanted to be a part of that crowd. She knew that I didn’t. I promised I wouldn’t hold it against her if she became friends with them, but now I was not so sure. It felt like she was abandoning me. She knew how much I hated Trey, but she wasn’t the type of person to judge someone off of hearsay. It was a good trait to have, but I wished she would just take my side on this.

The water on my skin was drying and crusts of salt were sticking to the tiny hairs on my arms. Getting up, I walked to the outdoor showers.

Three middle school-aged boys took up the showers rinsing the sand off of their boards and bodies. I waited, silently willing them to hurry up. The heat was worse away from the shore. When they finally left, I stepped under the cool, fresh water. It felt great to rinse the salt water and sand out of my hair. I closed my eyes. A barrage of giggles disrupted my bliss. I opened my eyes to see Trisha and Kayla at the shower opposite me pushing each other and giggling trying to fit under one showerhead. They were drawing attention from people on the boardwalk. Annoyed, I turned away and spotted Marco using the shower next to me. He wasn’t looking at me, but I had a feeling he knew I was there. I quickly rinsed myself and let the water turn off by itself.

“Hey, Lilah?” he said, before I could step away.

I turned to look at him, water dripping off of his gorgeous face and body.

“I’m really sorry about Trey,” he said. “He’s…”

“No problem,” I said cutting him off. “Don’t worry about it. He doesn’t bother me.” I walked off before he could say anything else. Talking about Trey would just get me riled up and I didn’t want to go there.

Daisy was still hanging out with Trey, but sitting with the group now. Not wanting to join them, I plopped down on my towel to dry out.

Marco approached the group, but was looking at me as if he was debating whether or not to join me. What’s with him? I don’t need his sympathy! He’s probably going to try to play me so they can have a few laughs about it later. Well, that’s not gonna happen. I got out my cell phone and pretended to call someone.

Trisha handed Marco a soda and pulled him down to sit next to her. At the corner of my eye, I saw him look at me before he sat down. I closed my eyes and took a nap.

That was the last time we went to the beach that summer. Marco was out of sight and out of mind.