The Magic of Salt Water (LGBT, wlw)

Beach

     Our car pulled up, and parked in a small, tolled parking lot right in front of the sand. Lil and Trish were wearing flowing, light sundresses over their bathing suits. Of course, throwing the wrench in their act, I wore something completely different. Shorts and a tank top.

     When we got on the beach, aunt Lil set up a chair, and got her romance novel. She was content sitting and reading. Trish discarded her sundress, and sprinted toward the closest pick-up game of volleyball.

     I sat back toward the boardwalk.

     I loved doing that. I still have the breeze that clears my sinuses, and the gentle lapping of waves, but none of the annoying beach people that try to get you to play frisbee and whatever. Not to mention, I'm never so close to the water that I have to see those old men in speedos that happen to love the beach.

     Now those are horrific sights.

     Those kinds of sights make me happy that I'm gay.

     For a while, I sat by myself, sifting sand through my fingers. I was humming Summer Nights, which got stuck in my head because it played so often on the car ride.

     Suddenly behind me, I heard a voice.

     "Jamie!" shouted a female voice, which was unfamiliar to me. A dog came up to me, and started licking at me. I turned to the source of the voice. A girl with short, blonde, layered hair, that was dyed purple toward the back, held a leash. I'd never seen her before in my life. Her eyes were a deep blue -- so deep, the shade was like the night's sky.

     I hated myself then and there... because Summer Nights played in my head even louder.

     "Sorry," she said with a laugh, "my dog Jamie tends to run off." She neared me, and hooked the leash back up to her dog's collar. Figures. She looked at me with a smile. "What's your name?"

     "Ah... Jamie," I said. She chuckled and knelt beside her dog.

     "I'm Iris," she said, putting a hand out. I shook it weakly.

     "I -- uh -- I like your hair," I said.

     "Thanks. It's meant to resemble the Iris flower, but I think all it did was dye my hands purple for a week," she said.

     "No, I got it," I said.

     "You're one of few who actually got it. No one knows about Irises. Actually, a few do, but think my hair is stupid," she said. I scoffed.

     "I think your hair is wonderful," I said. I could feel my face getting red. Uh-oh su-ummer nights. "Just like you! So, uh, tell me more about you." She smiled and sat beside me, having her dog lay on the sand in front of us.

     "Well, as I said, I'm Iris. She, please," she said. I paused.

     "She?" I asked. She nodded.

     "And you?"

     "She as well..." I paused again. He eyes were so kind, and she told me her pronouns. She's one of us. That last part was creepy, but I got the memo. I was picking up what she was putting down. "I'm... I'm -- uh -- a lesbian."

     She smiled. A lot.

     "I'm pan, actually!" she said. Pan. She's pan. I was thrilled.

     "Are you... Are you doing anything right now?" I asked. I had no idea where all of the bravery came for asking her anything. I felt like Wonder Woman.

     "Just taking care of the dog. Here, I'll run her home, and I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere," she said. She stood and ran away.

     My heart was racing, and I felt like I could do anything. It must have been adrenaline. Whatever it was, it made me want to know more about this girl Everything I could. The sand didn't feel scratchy and unbearable, but it felt wonderful -- like a cloud, almost. The sun wasn't hot and stingy, it was warm, and it swaddled me in comfort. And the ocean. By jobe, I could go right in it, and hug the first old man I saw.

     Then it really hit me.

      Oh geez, I knew nothing about this girl, and I like her already. What if she's weird? What if she wants to sacrifice me to some heterosexual genie? What if she wants to lead me on, then watch me crumble?

     No way, not a girl with hair colored like the flower she's named after. My gut said to get to know her, and that she is good... Why not throw caution to the wind like Trish?

     Oh yeah... Trish. That's why. She's not the ideal 'life model.'

     I would rather not be like someone who chases after boys she sees because 'they have nice noses' or who can drink a whole carton of orange juice, with pulp, in one sitting.

     In almost no time, Iris was running back. She must have changed in the time she was gone, because she wore a simple, lightweight t-shirt, and short-shorts. She ran in front of me, and put out a hand. I stared at it for a moment.

     "Let's go to the water," she said happily. I took her hand, and felt my cheeks get hot. Once she helped me up, she sprinted toward the ocean. I shrugged and followed her. It caught me off guard when she discarded her shirt. It was a good thing she was wearing a maroon tankini (as Aunt Lil has called those kinds) underneath everything.

     I guess I worry a lot for nothing. Not surprising.

     I followed along with her. She and I put our clothes in a pile, where the sand could get in them. She ran for the shallow waves that pushed at the sand, only wearing her bathing suit. I decided to keep my shorts on. I wasn't planning on going deep. I met her where the waves were only up to our shins.

     "So Jamie, I haven't seen you around here before. Where are you from?" Iris asked, cocking her head to the left ever so slightly. I didn't deny to myself that it was adorable. I looked at the foamy waves that approached us before I answered. I never noticed how much the water glittered when I sat in the back of the beach.

     "I don't live here, actually. I live, like, one hundred miles away or something like that. I'm just visiting with my aunt Lilith for part of the summer. She owns a cabin a fifteen minute drive from here," I said. Iris smiled, and put a hand to her brow to shade her eyes. She looked over the ocean.

     "Living near the beach is great," said Iris, looking back to me, "you know, aside from the hurricanes and floods and stuff." I nodded. "Sometimes tourists are annoying. Not tourists from other countries, though. We don't get many, but when we do get them, they are either adorable, or funny. Sometimes both."

     "Unfortunately, I'm one of those annoying tourists," I said with a chuckle. Iris waved away the thought.

     "I doubt that," she said. There was a silence between us, standing beside each other in the cold water. A larger wave came out of nowhere, sending the frigid water up my leg. I screamed, which made Iris laugh. She looked me in the eyes. "You are hilarious. Are you free for dinner? I'd like a little satire in my life," she said. "I'm usually left with my younger brother. I babysit him a lot, which means I'm surrounded by unintelligent humor. Fart jokes, essentially."

     My hands went cold... well, colder. I nodded.

     "I'm sure my aunt won't be mad," I said. "Sure, I'll go with you."

     "Pizza?"

      "Yes," I answered contently. Inside, though, I was exploding.