crappy relationship I had with my own father? I couldn’t quite put my finger on my uneasiness.
The late afternoon sun shone down on us as the tide rolled in. Gentle blue waves rippled ashore. I couldn’t believe we had this whole beach to ourselves. Off to the left stood a full-size volleyball net. Behind me, the patio extended far out onto the sand and was crowded with smokers, grills, refrigerators, and something called a Big Green Egg, which actually was this weird outdoor cooker that resembled an oversized avocado.
I’d taken only a few sips before the cider started to kick in. Then I began to forget all my worries. The sun felt nice on my face and arms, and I felt content to bask in the admirable glow of our championship season. I tried hard to erase everything bad from my mind, and the alcohol sure helped.
Someone called out my name. I sat up and saw Julian standing on his family’s side of the beach, wearing only surf shorts and sunglasses. The shorts hung down over his shins, and his hair was twisted up in one of those man buns. I tried not to stare at Julian, and yet I couldn’t take my eyes off him. He looked exotic and gorgeous, so totally different than Dakota, who I’d all but forgotten. He smiled at me in that goofy manner of his. I giggled and waved him over. He seemed to think about it for a few seconds before jogging over to me. He knelt down, grabbed a bottle of Corona out of the cooler, and let his long fingers twist it open. His nails were painted red and black. Then he slugged a good part of the beer down in one gulp.
“What’s up, gorgeous?” he said.
“Just chilling after our big win.”
“Congrats on that.” He gave me a fist bump, and his knuckles touching mine made my skin tingle. “You must be so psyched.”
“Big-time.”
“You going to stay for the getty tonight?”
“The getty?”
“That’s what they call parties in South Beach. I spent two weeks there on winter break, and it’s insane.”
“Yeah, I’m going to stay.”
“Cool.” He guzzled down the rest of his beer and tossed the empty in the cooler.
“Are you?”
“Girl, I was put on this earth to party.”
I heard shouting down by the water and sat up straighter to see what was going on. Willow and her father had started play fighting in the surf and were splashing water at each other. He picked her up and tossed her into a wave. When she came up, he moved behind her and wrapped his arms around her stomach. It struck me as odd, but then again, what did I know about normal father-daughter relationships? The people in my part of town rarely, if ever, showed any public affection. I guessed it was a Maine thing.
“Asshole,” Julian said.
“You don’t like him?” I asked.
“Hell no, and it’s totally mutual.”
“How could anyone not like you, Julian?” I smiled flirtatiously, but he didn’t see it.
“It’s pathetic how he hovers over her like that. He thinks he’s going to make Willow into a big movie star and then cash in.”
“You doubt she’ll be a star?”
“Nah, she’ll be a star, all right. Willow’s got serious game. I just don’t think that loser father of hers is gonna be the one to do it.”
“She obviously believes in him.”
“And that’s what I don’t get. It’s such a fucked-up relationship.”
“I think it’s nice to see a father love his child as much as he does. I only wish I had half the relationship with my own father.”
“Me, too, Katie Cutie.” He caressed my cheek.
I looked over at him. “You think Dakota’s okay?”
“Of course he’s okay. I’m just jealous the dude managed to get out of here and start his life over.”
“Have you heard from him?”
“Nah. You?”
“No.” I stared up at the blue sky. “You don’t think anything bad happened to him, do you?”
“Dakota? No way.” He laughed, as if I was crazy. “Why you stressing? You miss him?”
“No, not at all. Just curious.”
“Don’t worry that pretty head over him. Trust me, that dude’s living large right now.” Another fist pump. “I see you tonight. A’ight?”
“A’ight,” I replied, slightly embarrassed by my faux gangsta slang. I tried not to stare at his long, lean body as he strutted over to his side of the beach. I lifted the cold bottle to my lips and drank the rest of my cider. It went straight to my head.