A Summer Story with Hannah and Beau

       “I’m not sure I can do this, Rachel.”

    Hannah fiddled with the fringed bottom of her swimsuit cover up - a baggy, beige sweater dress. It was how she’d managed to leave the house without her parents discovering the new swimwear she’d purchased last week at the mall. But now that she was here on the beach, she was having second thoughts. 

    “You look amazing, Hannah,” Rachel insisted, pulling off her own cover up.

    Her new bikini was even more risqué than Hannah’s - a black string bikini withbarely-there, cheeky bottoms. Her confident friend shook out her dark curls, drawing the attention of every male gaze on the beach, including her boyfriend’s. Micah ran up from the water where he’d been splashing around with some other kids. Rachel squealed about him getting her wet, but she also laughed and returned his kiss. 

     Hannah took a deep breath while Micah was distracted and pulled off her own cover up. The bandeau top in tropical florals covered less than her bras did, and the bottoms hung low on her hips. She felt extremely self-conscious as she started to apply her sunscreen. Luckily, Micah was too wrapped up in Rachel to pay her any attention.
 
     “Come in the water,” Micah pouted to Rachel. 

     “Not until I get some sun,” she told him, her arms still draped around his neck. “Besides, I like to watch my boyfriend get wet.”

     Hannah was slightly uncomfortable with their suggestive flirting and continued kissing, but eventually, Micah left Rachel to tan and ran back to the water. He never did notice Hannah. 

     “See!” Rachel told her as she settled down on a beach towel next to her. “I told you that you look fantastic.”

     Hannah squirmed. She’d really rather be down at the water, but she was afraid of losing her top. “I still feel naked.”

     Rachel shook her head as she slipped on her own sunglasses. “No way. I could never pull off that top with these hooters.” She laughed loudly, never shy about bluntly discussing her body. “On you, however, it’s perfect.”

     What she meant was that Hannah barely had any boobs. As blunt as Rachel could be, she never teased Hannah about her lack of curves or her lack of experience with boys. There were probably few people at Lightport High more unlikely to become best friends with Hannah Anderson, yet here they were. 

     The two girls chatted and watched the kids in the water. Micah was out there, and so was their friend Isaiah. There were a few other guys they knew from school, too, and also a couple of girls. Suddenly, Hannah sat up, removed her glasses, and squinted out at the water. 

     “Is that . . .” she gasped as a familiar figure rose from the water and pushed wet hair off his forehead. Beau Rockport had changed considerably since last fall. He’d shot up several inches, so his height now matched his weight. While he wasn’t toned and muscled like Isaiah, his broad frame still exuded strength. He’d also let the bowl cut grow out, and as Hannah watched him laugh with Micah in the water, she had to admit he was actually . . . kinda cute. 

     “Is that Beau?” she finally managed to ask again. 

     “Oh, yeah, he and Micah have been hanging out more. I think it pisses Isaiah off.”

      Hannah turned to Rachel in surprise. “Why would Isaiah be mad?”

     Rachel shrugged. “Who knows. I know you’ve got a thing for the guy, but he’s a little dramatic. He thinks Beau isn’t cool enough, or too religious. I don’t know, and I don’t care.”

     Hannah suddenly felt desperate to put her cover up back on. What in the world would Beau think if he saw her in this skimpy suit? She didn’t know why it mattered so much, but it did. She finally found the sweater dress shoved in the bottom of her beach bag and pulled it back over her head. 

     “Come on, Hannah,” Rachel admonished her, “you don’t have to cover up just because some kid from your church is here.”

     “That’s not what I’m doing. Besides, Micah goes to my church.”

     Rachel snorted out a laugh. “We both know he doesn’t count. Well, if you’re not covering up, what are you doing?”

     “Um,” Hannah looked up the beach, then down the other way, “getting an icee at the Snow Shack.”

     She grabbed her coin purse and slipped on her flip flops. 

      “Ooh, can you get me one too?” Rachel asked, fishing in her own beach bag. 

     “Sure, and I’ll treat. What flavor?”

     Rachel easily abandoned the search for her own money and smiled up at Hannah. “Strawberry.”

      Hannah made her way across the packed sand towards the distressed wooden structure that was only open between Memorial Day and Labor Day. It was early evening on a weekday, so the beach wasn’t very crowded. The only other customer at the shack was a young man in a wetsuit. The Massachusetts coast wasn’t exactly famous for surfing, but people still did it. Even Josiah Barrett, who loved the water, had taken a stab at it from time to time. For a moment, Hannah almost thought the surfer was Josiah, with his thick, dirty blonde hair and muscled frame.  She realized she had stared at him a little too long when he gave her a bold look and a crooked smile. She hurriedly looked away, embarrassed. 

     “Can I help you?” the employee behind the counter asked.

     “Um, yeah, two icees please. One strawberry, one watermelon.”

     He took her money and gave her change, but before he could make the icees, the phone in the tiny office behind him started to ring. He apologized and told her he would make her icees as soon as he took the call. 

     Hannah didn’t mind waiting, but she felt a little awkward standing there while the surfer remained leaning against the Snow Shack’s wall. He kept looking at her, and it was making her uncomfortable. After a moment or two of awkward silence, he pushed himself off the wall and approached her. 

     “Hey, you from around here?”

     “Uh, yeah, I live in Lightport.” 

     She avoided eye contact, praying that the icee guy would hurry it up already. Now that he was closer, she could tell he was older than she’d originally thought. Older even than the college students in town. 

      “That’s good.” He was way too close now. “I’m just passing through, and it would be great to have a local show me around.”

     What was with this guy? She had the body of a twelve-year-old boy, so surely he knew she was young. She turned to face him fully, sick and tired of his rather creepy attentions.
 
     “Look, in case you couldn’t tell, I’m just a high school kid. I don’t even have my license yet, so no, I won’t be showing you around.”

     He didn’t seem fazed at all and stepped further into her personal space. Hannah took a step back, scowling at him. 

     “You’re a smart girl. I like that.”

     He reached out and touched her arm. Lightly, but it felt like a spider had brushed up against her. She flung her arm out while simultaneously spinning away from him. Forget the icees, this guy was freaking her out. She yelped when she immediately ran into a solid, wet, and warm obstacle. 

     “It’s just me.”

     The tension completely drained out of her at the sound of Beau’s voice. She looked up into his eyes with absolute relief. Beau, however, wasn’t looking at her, but at the man behind her. 

     “Oh, you’re not alone,” said the creepy surfer dude. 

     “No, she isn’t,” Beau told him through clenched teeth. 

     “Cool, cool,” the guy said as if he hadn’t just been hitting on a minor, “enjoy your icees.”

     “Thank God you showed up,” Hannah laughed nervously before the guy was even out of ear shot. “I don’t know what that guy’s deal is, but he was so weird. And was it just me, or was he like super old? Had to be, like, thirty at least, don’t you think?”

     She paused to really study Beau again. His eyes were still following the guy as he made his way back to his surfboard, as if he hadn’t even heard her. Hannah reached up to trace the line of Beau’s jaw. Even under her touch, his muscles remained rigid. His eyes blazed as he continued to watch the man. The set of Beau’s shoulders were rigid, and she glanced down to see both his fists clenched tightly. She took them in her hands and slowly unfurled his fingers.

     “It’s okay,” she assured him. “I’m okay.”

      His gaze suddenly landed on her, and it seemed to snap him out of it. His cheeks pinked at how close they were and the way she still lightly held his hands, his palms up in hers. He took an awkward step back. 

     “Icees are up,” the guy in the Snow Shack called out. 

     Hannah collected her order and Rachel’s, and Beau walked her back down the beach. She chatted the entire time, about absolutely nothing. Beau listened, nodding and chuckling in all the right places. He shuffled along, his shoulders hunched and his gaze on the sand. Suddenly, he was that awkward boy she had always known once again.
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     However, Hannah had seen for one brief moment a glimpse of the man he would become.