I frowned. That was one time, but I digressed.
“My date with Chris.”
“Are you kidding, that’s one for the books!” He laughed.
Suddenly, I heard sparks going off behind me. I turned and found Jeff standing with two hands full of firework sparkle sticks. These weren’t the kind I’d seen at New Year’s parties. They were longer and the sparklers much brighter.
“All right, everyone. Follow me.” Jeff called, running straight into the dark ocean.
He ran in until he was knee deep, holding up the sparklers and handing them out to everyone who followed him in. I stepped back, deciding not to participate in the wet activity, although I was wearing a bikini under my dress. Haley followed Jeff in. Trish and Lindsey, two of the other camp counselors, slipped out of their dresses and went in giggling. A bunch of others slowly joined until there was no one but me, Rick, and the DJ left on the beach. Suddenly, behind me, I felt Rick’s strong, big hands at my waist. I turned to face him. His green eyes locked into mine. His lips were just inches from mine. I glanced down at them.
“You ready?”
“I think I’ll pass.”
“Really?” He raised an eyebrow. “You’d jump off a cliff, but you won’t get your feet wet?”
I made a sour face, which only seemed to encourage Rick more. As if he wasn’t close enough, he took a step toward me, looking deep into my eyes, and put his hands at my hips. He tugged lightly on my dress and scrunched up the cotton in his hands, slowly pulling it up until he’d reached the ends. His fingers lightly grazed my upper legs, as the lower part of my dress rested over his forearms. His eyes diverted to my lips for a moment before he met my eyes again and pulled the dress over my head. He tossed it lightly on the blanket and pulled his own shirt off.
He reached out his hand to me. “Come on. It’ll be worth it.”
I followed him, briefly looking around me, wondering if I had imagined what just happened.
We ran into the surprisingly warm ocean water and grabbed a pair of sparklers from Jeff. There must had been more than ten of us in the water at that point. Bob played the top ten Fourth of July party songs as we raised our sparklers into the air and slowly hopped through the small waves. The fiery sparks and bonfire were the primary sources of light in this pitch-black night—that is, until the first bang went off.
We all turned to witness the smoky air left behind as the first set of fireworks burst through the dark night. Vivid colors continued to ignite above us. Within minutes, our own sparklers went out, and the party slowly started making their way back to the beach. Rick and I slowly followed, but I stopped when the bright-yellow weeping willow firework came down on us. It was my favorite. Seeing it up close was extraordinary. The falling sparks seemed to disappear into the water. I broke from my mesmerized gaze, realizing my mouth was hanging open.
I immediately closed it and lowered my head to find Rick staring into my eyes. My feet were still in the water, that I knew for sure, but the rest of me went completely numb. I felt my heart racing, and I convinced myself it was from all the excitement.
Rick reached out and brushed a wet strand of hair away from my face. I expected his hand to drop after that, but it lingered just above my cheekbone. Then I felt his hand slide behind my ear and rest on the back of my neck. His foot swooshed beneath the surface of the water as he took a step toward me, his breath minty with a hint of saltwater. He leaned in until our noses were barely touching.
Before I could breathe or blink or say anything, Rick put his other arm around my waist and pulled me in to a kiss. It wasn’t innocent or sweet or anything like I’ve ever known a first kiss between two people to be. It was strong and hot. For a fraction of a second, I considered pulling away but immediately hated myself for even thinking it. Instead, I threw my arms around his neck and returned the kiss with equal intensity.
CHAPTER 19
Later into the night I met a few of Rick’s friends that I remembered from the warehouse, all of whom were friendly and welcoming. A lot of them seemed to have stories that made them unique from the others. Slowly during the night, Rick and I would find ourselves talking to many of them at length about their hopes and dreams. Rick had teased that I brought that out in people.
It was almost midnight when the party started to clear out. Rick playfully tackled me on the sand while we were supposed to be folding up the blanket and cleaning.
“Do you want to head back now?” he said quietly while he stood an inch away from me.
Not really. This was the first time we’d been alone all night and I wasn’t ready to go back now.
“Feels kinda early.”
A smile played on his face. “I was hoping you’d say that.” He picked up both our shoes and reached for my hand. “C’mon, let’s walk for a while.”
We walked for a few minutes, talking about some of his friends and the funny ways they’d all met the others. The stories seemed funnier to more of the drunker listeners and storytellers.
“Yours takes the cake.” He winked.
I glanced back when some of the beachfront store and restaurant lights went out.
He stopped to see if I wanted to head back, but I tightened my grip on his hand and pulled forward. We walked up to a long, dark pier that was just south of the cliffs. That part of the beach was barely lit, especially with the tall, ominous, dark cliffs behind it. He stepped up onto the pier and pulled me up. We sat along the edge for a while, watching more fireworks burst into the night sky. After they were over, we talked for a while longer before falling into a comfortable silence. His fingers wrapped through mine, and I turned to find his green eyes focused on my lips.
Suddenly everything that had happened in the last few hours had become a blur, and I was right back to where we were when he first kissed me in the water. I wanted him to kiss me again, softly this time. He leaned in, and I closed my eyes. But instead of feeling the overwhelming sensation on my lips, I felt it on my legs. I shrieked as the cold suddenly thrashed against my warm skin.
“The tide’s finally reached us,” he said, standing and pulling me up.
