AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’m not sure how healthy it is with all of the sugar, but I’ll call it diet food just so I don’t have to feel guilty when I guzzle down a large shake,” Jess says.
“You don’t have anything to feel guilty about. You’re hot,” I tell her. She beams at me.
“Okay, we need to head straight there when we leave the beach. We have to restore all of the electrolytes the sun is draining from us,” Emily informs us.
“Doesn’t the sun give us vitamins?” Jess asks.
“Shhhh, we need to restore,” Emily says with a wink.
“That sounds like a perfect plan,” I say. “We might need to have a small smoothie to save room for a double scoop of Oreo ice cream.”
“You know the way to a woman’s heart,” Jess says. “Count me in for sure.”
“It’s settled. Smoothies, ice cream, lipstick, strolling along the boardwalk. Who needs the dang bowling alley when we have so many delectable options right at our fingertips?” Emily says.
“Plus we have each other and the sun shining down on us the majority of the year. Life can’t get much better than this.”
The afternoon stretches on as we laze in the sun and meander from topic to topic, touching on just about everything. We’ve been best friends forever, so it’s pretty certain we’ll never run out of things to talk about. That’s what friendship is all about. There are times we don’t have to talk at all; we’re happy simply being together.
The waves pick up and several people head into the water with their boards. We love to sit and watch them. If we’re being honest, our favorite part is the epic crashes. No one ever gets hurt, and the faces they make as they go down are priceless.
“Remember when we attempted surfing for the first time?” I chuckle as a man falls and does an impressive cartwheel on top of the water before sinking under. He pops right back up, then makes a mad dash for his board which is trying to escape to the sea.
“We were so bad,” Jess gasps. I’m pretty sure I swallowed half the ocean and became a mermaid that day. I might still have a few scales left on my legs.”
“We might’ve sucked horribly, but we had a blast, even if the majority of the day was filled with falling off our boards.”
“At least there was a beautiful bonfire to warm us up when it was over. Those hot dogs were the best thing I ever tasted. I was sore for a solid week after that,” I say.
“I know. It’s probably why we’ve never done it again. I’d much rather sit by the fire, roast marshmallows, and tell ghost stories than repeatedly crash into the water.”
“I agree, Jess. I hope we get to be this carefree and full of passion for the rest of our lives,” Emily adds.
“It’s up to us,” I throw in. “We don’t have to be what the world tells us to be. We can be anything we want. There are many more adventures awaiting us for the rest of our lives. Just look at my aunt Eileen. She doesn’t let age slow her or her friends down at all.”
“As long as we stick together, we’ll be able to handle whatever life throws our way,” Jess says.
“There’s no question we’ll stick together. We’re besties and that’s a bond that can’t be broken.”
“Cheers to epic friendship, sunny days, beach bonfires, people crashing, and unforgettable moments in our little piece of paradise,” Emily says as she holds up her can in a toast.
We clink our cans together, our laughter drifting away in the breeze. Life really doesn’t get much better than this. I’ll fight with all I have to keep it this way. A lot of people who grow up in our small town run as fast as they can after they graduate from high school. I’ve never had the need to run. I love it here and nothing can drag me away.
I lean back, soaking in the beauty of my complete contentment, then turn and see Aunt Eileen walking in the sand, her pale skin covered by a light long-sleeved shirt with a large sun hat shading her timeless face. She’s wearing the grin that transforms her face from pretty to absolutely stunning. She’s timeless like Grace Kelly. On top of that, her infectious zest for life is where I got my own personality. Why be sad when you can be filled with joy?
“Sasha, Emily, Jess, so good to see you,” Eileen exclaims, her voice filled with such vibrance, it makes all of us smile.
“Hi, Aunt Eileen,” all three of us chorus. My friends love my aunt as much as I do.
“What brings you out today, Auntie?” She doesn’t often come to the beach, saying her delicate skin is too precious to ruin with sand, salt, and radiation. It cracks me up since she loves living by the ocean.
“Well, I have some business to take care of, darling,” she says, giving me the look I know better than to trust. She’s up to something. I’m very aware I won’t figure it out until she wants me to, though. I’ve also learned it’s useless for me to fight her when she’s determined.
“What are you up to?” I ask. My friends giggle. They know her as well as I do and know this look in her eyes spells trouble for me. They might get a bit too much enjoyment out of this fact.
“I have an offer you simply can’t refuse,” she tells me as she sits on my lounge chair, her back perfectly straight, her aged hands tucked in her lap. She really is beautiful. It amazes me. I hope to look half as elegant as I get older.
“Oh, please share,” Jess says, giddy in anticipation of what my aunt has to say.
