After school lets out I usually hop on the bus or catch a ride from Meredith. But Meredith was taking Kate and Joselyn on a trip to the mall. Nick was staying late at school to weight lift and then going to the beach since it was Friday. I was invited, but I still didn't have a ride. I picked up my burgundy Jansport bag and walked out of the school about ready to climb onto the bus. "Wait up Rebecca!", the voice boomed across the beams supporting the school. I turned around and saw Cody. "You going to the shore?", ew, surfer talk I thought, "I want to I just can't catch a ride". That's where I realized my mistake. Cody was a junior, which meant he had a car. "Come with me", I followed him trusting he wouldn't put me in a fatal situation. Cody walked me half across the parking lot when I thought, how does he have a car if my brother picked him up? I didn't question Cody though and walked like a turtle all the way back to the junior lot.
We arrived and I saw the whole lacrosse team and half the basketball team, plus Nick. There was only one other girl and she was the girlfriend of a varsity basketball player. The whole team laughed and spotted me and grinned. I was like bait for them, the youngest out of 26. The only thing holding them back was Nick. Everyone started getting into 4 different cars and Cody, Nick, Stephanie, and her b-ball boyfriend hopped in the back. Nick started driving on the main roads to get to the beach. Cody sat next to me in the back as well and we were a little too close for comfort. I doubt he thought the same. 15 minutes later the whole group crawled out like a bunch of tall spiders, AKA the basketball team, and grabbed their supplies. 3 Guys had speakers and were already blaring their obnoxious rap. Cody grabbed his surfboard and headed for the water. He climbed in and waited for me to get undressed to join him. I did as expected and walked out into the water with Jonas, #8 on Lacrosse. Cody was swimming towards me and didn't realize a wave was behind him. The wave pushed the surfboard point directly at me and Cody sprang off the board to protect me. Thank God he did or else a surfboard would have been stuck in my neck.
"Look I'm really sorry about that" he quietly said, I could tell he was truly sincere. By now, the whole group had separated and were sort of far from Cody and I. He was still holding my waist until he realized it had been 30 seconds. But honestly, I wouldn't have minded if he kept it there for a little longer. What am I thinking? If Cody was trying to get a connection, his vibes were very unclear.
He smiled, yet again flashing his pearly whites, and asked me, "Do you surf?". This sort of ruined my vibe but I shook my head no. "I'm teaching you then!", he took my arm and led me further into the water. "I don't know about this Cody.. last time I tried I ended up twisting my ankle". He giggled and helped me onto the board. "Here look, there's a gigantic wave coming, alright? I want you to ride that. Swim out on your stomach and then stand up. Don't stress, I'll be by your side". Those last words attacked my emotions. I crawled onto the board, with the help of Cody and started paddling like a duck. He did as promised and gave me encouraging sayings about how I can do this. I thought, wow he's actually really sweet. I looked behind me and his eyes met mine, which was nice because it meant he wasn't staring at my butt. Respectable, I liked that trait. His eyes were pale green with a speck of ocean blue and his ashy blonde hair was soaked with salt. "Bec look ahead!", Cody pushed the board forward and moved out of the way. I paddled fast, and tried to stand up, when I did the wave came at me. I rode for 2.3 seconds and then flew over the board and head first into the beautiful water.
As I climbed out of the water, Cody suggested we take a walk. He knew all the trails on the beach so I trusted him. We set out on a path named "Sunset Dream". Kind of cheesy, but the sunset was happening in 20 minutes and Cody said it gave the best view. By this point, I could barely see the Lacrosse team, but I could still see them. Cody wasn't quiet, he asked me about Chemistry and talked for 10 minutes about how delicious fettuccine pasta was. We finally reached the end of the trail right as the sun was setting. The sun gave off a yellow cast that made his tan skin contradict with my somewhat pale self. He led me to the sand where we sat and admired the pink and orange sky. In most movies, this is where the guy would lean in and kiss his dream girl. But Cody put his arm around me and I snuggled into his chest. We sat like that until the sun went down and it was officially night. Cody saw me shivering and while we were walking back, he held me to warm both of us. Clearly, he wasn't embarrassed to be seen with me because he held me like that all the way to the cars. I secretly enjoyed it though and ever so often I would look up and smile.
Still, after all the holding and affection, I didn't receive any vibe that let me know if this had started something. I just wanted Cody to clearly state, "I like you a lot, Rebecca". Although I knew this wouldn't happen, I still hoped.
