It was a great night to be out on the beach in North California. A half moon, up in the sky, was reflecting on the undulating waves of the sea, creating the effect of silver when it has been polished. Yet it was a mild moon, intent on keeping the environs dark enough for us to relish a sense of privacy. A light breeze fanned us with butterfly wings as we walked at the edge of the shore, letting our feet get wet by the refreshing touch of the frothy seawater. There were six of us - three boys and three girls. Most of us were locals, born and brought up in the area around the beach and we went to the same school.
Only Nicole was an outsider. She was originally from Florida; a year had passed since her family had moved to North California. Luckily for me, her parents decided to enroll her in my school. I took no time in discovering that she was real beauty, as did many other boys. I am still not sure which one of the boys Nicole was attracted to, that is, if she was attracted to anyone of us. But in my own way I did all I could to make her realize just how badly I was infatuated with her. On occasions I offered to take her out to movies or to the neighborhood restaurants. She did accept my offers about half of the time.
That made me about a 50% success with her. But I was not satisfied with mere 50%, I wanted her 100%, I wanted her all for myself. When you are in school, it is difficult to keep your infatuation for any girl a secret from your friends. My crush on Nicole became common knowledge around the school. I guess Nicole too knew about it, the school was full of blubbering types and one of them would surely have told her. But she never made me realize that she knew about my infatuation for her, and naturally I never asked her if she knew. There were occasions when my friends at school would try to set me up with her.
They would try the obvious ploys like leaving me alone with her in the classroom or in the park. When we were traveling by bus they would see to it that I got the seat next to Nicole. I really relished every chance that I got to be in her company, but I don’t think I was ever able to have the desired effect on her. She never said anything that could be construed as a signal for her not liking my attentions, but she continued to act aloof. Her aloofness was most disconcerting for me. Today when I was walking beside her on the beach, my mind was full of her. But what was she thinking about. I turned my head to look at her. She was looking down towards her feet as she walked with us.
Did she even know that I that it was my hand that she was holding as we marched at a gentle pace? She probably took me for granted. To her I was an inanimate object, as the moon in the sky, the sand on the beach. I heard John say, “I feel like going that way. Why don’t you guys come with me? Nicole and you can continue walking the way you are.” He winked at me. That was his way of leaving me alone with Nicole. I thanked him from the core of my heart. The other members of the group walked away with sly smiles on their faces. I heard John say, “You would better make the most of this opportunity.” Nicole and I started walking away from the group, my grip on her hand got a little firmer.
We walked for about 100 meters when we reached a small alcove made by rocks. I looked back; my friends had disappeared in the misty darkness of the night. Nicole and I were all alone. “Why don’t we sit down out here, on the rocks?” I suggested. “I don’t mind,” she said carelessly. We were sitting on the wet rocks, taking about this and that. She talked about her life back there in Florida. But I asked her what I was really interested in knowing, “did she have any serious boyfriends in Florida?” “Oh, I have always had boys hovering around me,” she flashed a cool smile, “but it was hardly serious.” I was relieved to hear that.
…To be continued….
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