HIP #2: Summer Of Love

Chapter 7

The warm water left my body when I decided to get out of the sea after it got crowded with more people. I stepped on the white sand with a few pebbles and shells while Peter stayed. I just don't like it when it gets crowded. Not that I hate people, but I can't enjoy the ocean all to myself. In addition, I can't move freely because everywhere I look, people are there.

I ran to one of the empty cottages to avoid getting burned by the hot and shining sun. Funny how even if the sun is alone it can still shine like that. I sat on the wooden chair and rested my arms on the wooden table as I watched Peter swim freely, even with many people around him.

He swims so perfectly that he already looks like a professional swimmer. I sighed and when the wind blew me again; I wrapped my arms around my almost naked body. Hot temperature but icy breeze because of the air and water.

I leaned in the back of my seat and watched the birds fly and stare at the group of kids playing with sand and making castles. This makes me feel like I want to be a kid again. I miss being a child. I miss the days back when I was free from problems when I used to just be happy; never lonely, always smiling, loves butterflies, kissing was eeww, playing dolls was normal, never knew what life was really like, and nothing was more important than Disney. Because right now, my life is filled with problems, not always happy, always lonely, smiles just a little, hates butterflies, kissing is normal, thinking that playing with dolls is eeww, now I know what life really is, Disney is nothing anymore.

I smiled and wiped my tears of joy. Time flies. We get older each day and wish that we can get back to being kids. After drowning in my set of fantasies, I didn't even notice that Peter was already standing right here beside me. My eyes grew bigger and I fixed my seat. I faked a smile and let him sit beside me.

I shouldn't have made it too obvious that I was fantasizing things about me being a kid once again. But what can I do? Can't change it anymore. "That was nice," he stated and looked at me with water dripping off his wet body. I looked back at him and saw his dropped-down blonde hair with water wrapping it around it. He looks even better when he's wet.

Uh-oh. Come on, Charlie! Stop it!!! I reminded myself. I don't know what was wrong with it but I hated the way I thought about those things. "Yeah, it was warm... did you pee?" I laughed at my own joke which was not even funny. But he also laughed with it, making me think it was hilarious.

"Hey! I didn't do that. My grandma said that if people are blaming others they did one thing. No need to hide it, did you do it?" He looked at me with the devil's eyes which rarely appear on his goody-goody face.

"So, you're suspecting your best friend!" I demanded.

"You started it, remember?" He's right. I did start it. Feeling awkward again, I just laughed.

It was a moment filled with chuckling, giggling, and laughing. In general; it was a moment of happiness. Thought this was boring. Well, still boring but not a hundred percent. Perhaps just fifty or forty.

Subsequently, he stopped laughing and sighed. When I found out what he was staring at, I smiled. He was watching the same kids I was watching earlier. I bet he thinks about the same things I thought about. "I miss being a kid," he whispered without a smile or any expression.

He was frozen with wide eyes open pointed at the happy playing kids. "Me too," instead of staring at what he was staring at, I watched him blink and wet his lips when the wind dried them.

"Back in the days when we can do anything and be everything we wanted to be," he lets out a small chuckle and I smiled. For real, today he's smiling without any mix of being fake.

"Those times passed already, at least we were able to experience them. And regret nothing now that we're grownups," I sighed.

He kept smiling but looked away and held his deep blue ocean eyes into my green ones. "Are you sure you don't regret anything in your childhood?" He began wrapping his arms around the back of the wooden chair and rested his right foot on top of his left one.

"Yeah," I confirmed.

"Are you sure?" He laughed and moved closer to me and kept teasing me.

"Well, except for when I accidentally broke one of my neighbor's windows and didn't admit that it was my fault. Also when Shane got bitten by a dog because of me, when I destroyed one kid's sandcastle, when I spilled Coca-Cola on my mom's desktop, and when I secretly made potions in the bathroom out of detergents and shampoo." I stated while his jaw dropped at my words. Furthermore, he giggled and even looked up, and clapped his hands sarcastically but I shook my head.

"Very funny," I rolled my eyes with my arms crossed.

"You said you regret nothing but you just mentioned lots of things!" He couldn't stop laughing that the influence got onto me; I laughed at my own weird situations in the past. On the other side, it's good that I won't go back there anymore.

"So, what? I was a child, okay? I was messy and clumsy and careless!" I complained.

He kept giggling as if he is in a comedy show. And I'm his comedian? That's not fair.

"I know, that's why I'm laughing!" Not even funny. If I knew he's just going to laugh about it then I shouldn't have told him about those things. What can I say? Friends laugh at the experiences they share.

"Don't tell me you regret nothing," I smirked.