Before I get the chance to reply to Connor, Tyler returns in black swim trunks, and no shirt...GOD HE'S HOT. No, snap out of it Evan, he's straight. Ugh.
TYLER: Hey! Here's that extra pair of trunks I brought for you.
He throws me a pair of the most hideous shorts I've ever seen in my life. They're covered in various emojis, and I can't figure out why Tyler would own something so ugly. He starts cracking up.
TYLER: Your face! Sorry, I feel bad for making you wear those but they're the only other pair I had.
"Are they from Melvin's Island??"
TYLER: 14-year-old Tyler had a vastly different idea of style, okay!
"You can say that again."
I head to the bathroom and reluctantly change into the swim trunks from hell, then it hits me that I opened Connor's Snap and didn't respond. Crap. I pull out my phone and send him a reply telling him I'm with my family but I'll be ready in about half an hour. I hate lying, but I'm not about to tell him about Tyler. I don't know, it would just be kinda weird.
I walk outside and see Tyler smirking.
"Do I look fashionable?"
TYLER: I don't know if I'd call it that, but it's some kind of look!
"I hate you."
Tyler lets me store my jeans in his bag, and we walk down to the beach. It's busy, but a lot of people are packing their stuff up due to the approaching weather. He sets his backpack down on an empty patch of sand.
TYLER: Race you to the water!
"Huh?"
TYLER: 3, 2, GO!
He starts bolting towards the Gulf.
"HEY! Get back here!"
I take my shirt off and use it to wrap my phone and wallet so they don't get wet if it starts raining. I pull my socks and shoes off and chase after Tyler but he makes it to the shore before me.
"Cheater!"
TYLER: You're just salty I beat you at the claw earlier.
"Shut up!"
He smiles. I stick my toes in the water and am shocked to feel how frigid it is.
TYLER: Come on in, I'm not gonna bite! A shark might, though. Just kidding...kinda.
I roll my eyes.
"Is it normally this cold??"
TYLER: During early spring, yeah, but you get used to it quickly! Come on, dude!
"It's freezing!"
TYLER: Where's your sense of adventure?
I sigh.
"Okay, fine. I'm coming."
I slowly inch my way in, when suddenly a giant wave appears out of nowhere and crashes into me, splashing water up onto the rest of my body.
"FRICK!!"
He laughs.
TYLER: Here, I'll help you get acclimated some more.
"TYLER, DON'T YOU DARE-"
He splashes me with a massive amount of chilly saltwater. I wade further into the water and give him a splash back but he dodges me.
YOU ARE READING
A Breath of Fresh Air
Teen FictionFor 17-year-old high school senior Evan Brooks, life could be better. He's a social outcast at school, stuck in a rural small town he never wanted to move to, and he's got a secret he's desperately trying to keep: he's gay. When his family decides t...
