Go, enjoy your summer break, let loose, nothing
can go wrong. That's the last time I listen to Ashley about anything.
Which is not to say I haven't enjoyed this last two weeks, I have, who
wouldn't enjoy two weeks in the sun, at a luxury resort, with roller
coasters minutes from your bed, but nothing can go wrong? I beg to
differ.
It started out glorious, I was so happy to get away from college and my parent's divorce, and just have some time to myself. I couldn't thank Kade enough for inviting me along when his sister bailed on their summer trip. He knew what I was going through, we've been friends for ages, and he thought a trip to Florida was just what I needed. We arrived at a swanky hotel, got adjoining rooms with queen beds and jacuzzi bathtubs. I spent that first night just wandering the resort taking in the three pools, spa, restaurants, and beautiful gardens and gazebos. It was in one of those gardens that I first ran into Jackson. He was lounging on a bench reading a book, and I'll admit I admired him from afar for quite awhile before building up the courage to speak. He was sexy, in a very nerdy way, with thick brown hair, square glasses, a tall lanky frame, and a shirt that read "Keep Calm and Don't Blink", and I was smitten. Eventually I made my way to stand over his bench.
"What are you reading?" I tried to sound casual, but I could feel my hands shaking. He looked up from the pages and I saw his bright blue eyes for the first time. I tried to remember to breath.
"Nothing much, it's a choose your own adventure book about the zombie apocalypse." He slipped in a piece of paper and held the book out to me. I flipped through the pages, trying to keep my hands still, and noticed the post-it tabs marking each ending.
"I do that too," I said without thinking, "mark all the endings so I know I don't miss any." Then my mind caught up with my mouth and I clamped it shut, what was I thinking talking to this strange boy I'd only just met. He didn't seem to notice, just nodded and took the book back when I offered. He studied me for a long moment and I was painfully aware that I was sweaty from running around and hadn't brushed my hair after the eight hour car ride. I resisted the urge to pull the tangles with my fingers, not wanting to draw more attention to my disheveled appearance.
"I'm just getting ready to start at the beginning again." He sat up as he spoke. "Want to help me survive the zombie apocalypse?" I must have given some reply, but I honestly don't remember. What I do remember is suddenly realizing it was getting too dark to read and that I had somehow ended up snuggled into the boy's side. We died for what must have been the dozenth time, and he closed the book. "It's too dark to read now, guess I'll have to save the zombie killing for another day."
I sat up straight and looked everywhere but at him. I couldn't believe I'd spent hours with a stranger, snuggled up to him even, and I didn't even know his name. "Well, that was fun," I said, still avoiding his eyes. "It was nice meeting you." I turned and walked quickly back towards my room, but a hand on my arm stopped me. I turned to look at his face.
"Hey, I just realized I didn't get your name, I'm Jackson." His voice was calm and cool, like he snuggled with strange girls every night, for all I knew he probably did. When he got back to his friends I'd be nothing but Sunday July 1st, another notch in his snuggling with strangers belt. I realized I was staring and shook my head.
"My name's Taryn." I managed, and then I turned and walked away. I waited until I was sure he could no longer see me and I sprinted back to my hotel room. I collapsed into bed, but even my dreams were invaded by a pair of bright blue eyes and zombies.
"You were out late last night." Kade commented as we walked to the park the next day. I felt my face flush and turned away.
"I got caught up reading in one of the gardens." Alright, so it wasn't the whole truth, but it wasn't exactly a lie either.
"That's good, I'm glad to see you relaxing instead of worrying." Kade gave me one of his wide smiles and lead the way through the turnstiles.
I hadn't been to a theme park in almost five years, not since my parents started fighting and family vacations ceased to exist. I was thrilled to be riding roller coasters and eating funnel cakes and corn dogs. Kade worked hard to make things fun, buying me silly souvenirs and joshing me into riding the kids rides and seeing the shows. I raced around as excited as any of the little children, laughing and smiling and delighting in every little thing. I happily went along when Kade grabbed my hand to pull me towards yet another ride, and when he didn't let go all the way through the line or even during the twists and turns of the coaster, I didn't give it a second thought. I was so happy to be having fun without my parents fighting or school stress weighing down my mind that I didn't even notice when he went from holding my hand to holding my waist. I was still riding the oblivious high when we sat down for dinner and Kade placed our haul in one bench and scooted in to sit next to me while we ate.
I finally noticed when we got back to the hotel and collapsed side my side on my bed. I noticed Kade was tracing patterns up and down my arm and it was like I suddenly awoke from a dream. This was Kade, my best friend, the boy who used to let me paint his nails and put lipstick on his face, my partner in crime when someone needed to be taught a lesson, the one who listened to all my boy troubles and offered sound advice in every situation. This was not the person I had a summer fling with. Not the person I ruined a friendship with for a pointless make out session. I bounced up from the bed.
"Well, I'd say we had a pretty full day. I'm gonna take a walk and then head to bed. Thanks for all the fun. Night, Kade." I spoke in a rush and left before Kade could even begin to protest. I wandered out across the resort gardens, needing to clear my head. It wasn't that Kade was unattractive, and his hand had certainly felt nice in mine, but I didn't have the best track record when it came to relationships, and I didn't want to add Kade to that list. I tried to convince myself that he was only being friendly, having fun, but I knew that was a lie. I sat down on the grass trying to think of a way out of this whole mess.
"Taryn, fancy meeting you here. Up for another round of zombie fighting?" Jackson's shadow appeared in the grass at my feet. Well, I'd already made a mess of this day, might as well go the whole nine yards.
"Sure, escaping into fiction sounds like a blast." I muttered. If Jackson heard what I said he made no comment, just settled on the grass next to me and pulled out the book. I forced Kade out of my mind as I focused on the best way to kill a zombie with a Nintendo 64. Soon enough Jackson and I were lying on the grass side by side and I was reaching over his arm to point out a particularly important sentence. When he placed his hand on mine I didn't shrug away and I found myself leaning in to his touch as he brushed my hair behind my ear when it fell onto the pages. When the light faded neither of us made a move to leave. We turned to our backs and he held my hand and we watched the sky as we talked. We talked about my parents' divorce, his father pressuring him to be a lawyer, my worries about school, his parents shipping him off to this resort and that hotel every summer because they were too busy to spend time with him, our shared love for Doctor Who and zombie books. Talking to Jackson was easy and no subject was off the table. Hours passed and yet still neither of us stopped talking. Then at some point Jackson was leaning over me, the moon shining a halo around his head, and then he was kissing me, and I was kissing him back.
Kissing Jackson was just as easy as talking to him. There were no worries, no guilt eating away at my stomach, just a happy little warmth in my gut. His lips were warm against mine and I closed my eyes, savoring the sensation. He came up for breath, but I didn't let that last long before I curled my fingers in his hair and pulled him back down.
"Taryn?" Kade's voice hit me like ice water and Jackson rolled away as I sprung up. I didn't know how long Kade had been standing there, but a look at his face told me it'd been long enough. I opened my mouth, not sure what I was going to say, but I never got the chance. Kade turned and ran.
"Well shit."
It started out glorious, I was so happy to get away from college and my parent's divorce, and just have some time to myself. I couldn't thank Kade enough for inviting me along when his sister bailed on their summer trip. He knew what I was going through, we've been friends for ages, and he thought a trip to Florida was just what I needed. We arrived at a swanky hotel, got adjoining rooms with queen beds and jacuzzi bathtubs. I spent that first night just wandering the resort taking in the three pools, spa, restaurants, and beautiful gardens and gazebos. It was in one of those gardens that I first ran into Jackson. He was lounging on a bench reading a book, and I'll admit I admired him from afar for quite awhile before building up the courage to speak. He was sexy, in a very nerdy way, with thick brown hair, square glasses, a tall lanky frame, and a shirt that read "Keep Calm and Don't Blink", and I was smitten. Eventually I made my way to stand over his bench.
"What are you reading?" I tried to sound casual, but I could feel my hands shaking. He looked up from the pages and I saw his bright blue eyes for the first time. I tried to remember to breath.
"Nothing much, it's a choose your own adventure book about the zombie apocalypse." He slipped in a piece of paper and held the book out to me. I flipped through the pages, trying to keep my hands still, and noticed the post-it tabs marking each ending.
"I do that too," I said without thinking, "mark all the endings so I know I don't miss any." Then my mind caught up with my mouth and I clamped it shut, what was I thinking talking to this strange boy I'd only just met. He didn't seem to notice, just nodded and took the book back when I offered. He studied me for a long moment and I was painfully aware that I was sweaty from running around and hadn't brushed my hair after the eight hour car ride. I resisted the urge to pull the tangles with my fingers, not wanting to draw more attention to my disheveled appearance.
"I'm just getting ready to start at the beginning again." He sat up as he spoke. "Want to help me survive the zombie apocalypse?" I must have given some reply, but I honestly don't remember. What I do remember is suddenly realizing it was getting too dark to read and that I had somehow ended up snuggled into the boy's side. We died for what must have been the dozenth time, and he closed the book. "It's too dark to read now, guess I'll have to save the zombie killing for another day."
I sat up straight and looked everywhere but at him. I couldn't believe I'd spent hours with a stranger, snuggled up to him even, and I didn't even know his name. "Well, that was fun," I said, still avoiding his eyes. "It was nice meeting you." I turned and walked quickly back towards my room, but a hand on my arm stopped me. I turned to look at his face.
"Hey, I just realized I didn't get your name, I'm Jackson." His voice was calm and cool, like he snuggled with strange girls every night, for all I knew he probably did. When he got back to his friends I'd be nothing but Sunday July 1st, another notch in his snuggling with strangers belt. I realized I was staring and shook my head.
"My name's Taryn." I managed, and then I turned and walked away. I waited until I was sure he could no longer see me and I sprinted back to my hotel room. I collapsed into bed, but even my dreams were invaded by a pair of bright blue eyes and zombies.
"You were out late last night." Kade commented as we walked to the park the next day. I felt my face flush and turned away.
"I got caught up reading in one of the gardens." Alright, so it wasn't the whole truth, but it wasn't exactly a lie either.
"That's good, I'm glad to see you relaxing instead of worrying." Kade gave me one of his wide smiles and lead the way through the turnstiles.
I hadn't been to a theme park in almost five years, not since my parents started fighting and family vacations ceased to exist. I was thrilled to be riding roller coasters and eating funnel cakes and corn dogs. Kade worked hard to make things fun, buying me silly souvenirs and joshing me into riding the kids rides and seeing the shows. I raced around as excited as any of the little children, laughing and smiling and delighting in every little thing. I happily went along when Kade grabbed my hand to pull me towards yet another ride, and when he didn't let go all the way through the line or even during the twists and turns of the coaster, I didn't give it a second thought. I was so happy to be having fun without my parents fighting or school stress weighing down my mind that I didn't even notice when he went from holding my hand to holding my waist. I was still riding the oblivious high when we sat down for dinner and Kade placed our haul in one bench and scooted in to sit next to me while we ate.
I finally noticed when we got back to the hotel and collapsed side my side on my bed. I noticed Kade was tracing patterns up and down my arm and it was like I suddenly awoke from a dream. This was Kade, my best friend, the boy who used to let me paint his nails and put lipstick on his face, my partner in crime when someone needed to be taught a lesson, the one who listened to all my boy troubles and offered sound advice in every situation. This was not the person I had a summer fling with. Not the person I ruined a friendship with for a pointless make out session. I bounced up from the bed.
"Well, I'd say we had a pretty full day. I'm gonna take a walk and then head to bed. Thanks for all the fun. Night, Kade." I spoke in a rush and left before Kade could even begin to protest. I wandered out across the resort gardens, needing to clear my head. It wasn't that Kade was unattractive, and his hand had certainly felt nice in mine, but I didn't have the best track record when it came to relationships, and I didn't want to add Kade to that list. I tried to convince myself that he was only being friendly, having fun, but I knew that was a lie. I sat down on the grass trying to think of a way out of this whole mess.
"Taryn, fancy meeting you here. Up for another round of zombie fighting?" Jackson's shadow appeared in the grass at my feet. Well, I'd already made a mess of this day, might as well go the whole nine yards.
"Sure, escaping into fiction sounds like a blast." I muttered. If Jackson heard what I said he made no comment, just settled on the grass next to me and pulled out the book. I forced Kade out of my mind as I focused on the best way to kill a zombie with a Nintendo 64. Soon enough Jackson and I were lying on the grass side by side and I was reaching over his arm to point out a particularly important sentence. When he placed his hand on mine I didn't shrug away and I found myself leaning in to his touch as he brushed my hair behind my ear when it fell onto the pages. When the light faded neither of us made a move to leave. We turned to our backs and he held my hand and we watched the sky as we talked. We talked about my parents' divorce, his father pressuring him to be a lawyer, my worries about school, his parents shipping him off to this resort and that hotel every summer because they were too busy to spend time with him, our shared love for Doctor Who and zombie books. Talking to Jackson was easy and no subject was off the table. Hours passed and yet still neither of us stopped talking. Then at some point Jackson was leaning over me, the moon shining a halo around his head, and then he was kissing me, and I was kissing him back.
Kissing Jackson was just as easy as talking to him. There were no worries, no guilt eating away at my stomach, just a happy little warmth in my gut. His lips were warm against mine and I closed my eyes, savoring the sensation. He came up for breath, but I didn't let that last long before I curled my fingers in his hair and pulled him back down.
"Taryn?" Kade's voice hit me like ice water and Jackson rolled away as I sprung up. I didn't know how long Kade had been standing there, but a look at his face told me it'd been long enough. I opened my mouth, not sure what I was going to say, but I never got the chance. Kade turned and ran.
"Well shit."
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