I was pulling my empty Styrofoam cup apart, its former carbonated caramel-colored high-fructose contents forming acid in my already upset stomach. I was hanging on Seaside High’s front lawn, sitting on a bench, oblivious to the exciting festival around me.
Brightly colored lanterns hung over Seaside’s entrance, between the trees and around the statues, with a spectacular view of the ocean below. Gutsy dancers bopped on the lawn around the flagpole. A makeshift tiki hut housed a snack bar, and speakers hung from the palm trees cranking out top-forty tunes from the master DJ on the pier as we awaited the annual fireworks.
Fireworks. That’s how I felt about Lilly, exploding emotion, romantic reds, beloved blues, passionate purples bursting through a darkened world.
But I feared the only thing was exploding was my heart.
Chainsaw approached with Robin, who was decked out in a tight red dress and hipster boots. Radical for her, as she normally hid her body beneath dark cloaks from medieval times.
“Here, eat this!” Chain said, tossing me a bag of chips. “You need some nourishment.”
“Yeah. You’re not attractive when you’re depressed,” Robin teased.
“Can you believe the way she looks?” Chainsaw whispered, sitting next to her. “Like we had a total babe underneath our noses all along!”
“Yeah—we did.” I sighed.
“It’s going to be a stellar—” Chainsaw started. He stared past me, suddenly silent.
“Have the fireworks started?” I asked, not wanting to look.
“They have for you!” he answered. “Dude, turn around!”
“I’m too tired for one of your jokes,” I said.
Chain grabbed my jaw and turned my head toward the tiki hut.
It was Lilly—standing only a feet away. In all her beauty, searching the crowd, in a red sequined halter top and a white flowing skirt with dangling seashells. She was sandy, and barefoot.
“Lilly,” I exclaimed, overjoyed and confused. “Lilly!”
She turned toward me, and smiled radiantly when she recognized me.
“Spencer!” she said breathlessly, running toward me.
I held the necklace out to her, but she shook her head and hugged me hard. I wasn’t about to let go.
“I missed you,” Lilly said, looking up. Her words rained magic on me.
“But where did you—”
“Let’s not talk now,” she said, placing her salty finger on my lips.
There are some people who touch you and you know they are yours—or if not, they should be. Not as a possession, but as an extension of yourself. Adding, enhancing, liberating the real you with their touch, their aura, their spirit.
She had already left me twice. But for some reason she kept coming back. Whoever she really was, at least she was with me now.
Lilly grabbed my hand and pulled me underneath the stars and stripes. We held each other close while the DJ played “Baby, It’s You.”
Our embrace was magical, different from any other—not that I had done much slow dancing in my fifteen years. But this dance was different. Although I didn’t know much about Lilly, I felt I knew everything. It was as if I could feel her soul press through her body into mine as we held each other tight.
Suddenly a rocket shot into the air, and a explosion of red showered down, reaching over the sea.
“The city of Seaside and KGMS Radio proudly present Seaside’s tenth annual Festival of Fireworks,” the DJ’s voice blared through our radios.
“Come on!” I said, grabbing her hand. Our hands fit so nicely together, as if they were made for the sole purpose of binding us. We raced down to the crowded beachfront and found an empty spot on the rocks jutting out from the pier.
Chainsaw and Robin followed and we all lay back, staring at the confetti-colored night sky.
“Ouch,” Lilly said suddenly, pulling at her side.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“Look at that!” she said, pointing up to a burst of golden sprinkling dust.
I stroked her silky hair. The beauty of the fireworks didn’t compare to the beauty beside me.
Suddenly she sat up, clenching her stomach.
“Are you sure you’re all right?” I asked, worried.
“It’s just something I ate.”
“I’ll get you a drink,” Chainsaw offered, uncharacteristically polite. “Come on, Robin.”
“Do you want me to take you home?” I asked.
“I am home.” She smiled, resting her head on my shoulder.
“Are you a runaway?” I asked, concerned.
“I’m not running away. I’m running to…We’re connected, you and I,” she said, looking up at me.
“My life hasn’t been the same ever since you saved me.”
“Neither has mine. The rhythm of the sea is different. I feel a peaceful surf when we’re together and a storm inside my heart when we’re apart.”
Lilly spoke so poetically!
I wanted to tell her how much she meant to me, but I felt she already knew. This was good, because suddenly Chainsaw and Robin returned, invading our love space.
“If this doesn’t settle your stomach, we’ll try something else,” Chainsaw said, plopping down a two-liter of Coke.
I opened it for her. She drank the whole two-liter in one gulp!
“Wow, girl!” Chainsaw exclaimed. “You drink like a fish!”
“Lilly!” a voice shouted. “Lilly! Where are you?”
Suddenly a barefoot girl with a seashell skirt like Lilly’s and seashells woven tightly into her black hair was stumbling toward us on the rocks.
“Oh, no!” Lilly exclaimed, as if she were seeing a ghost. “I can’t believe it!”