mascara to those same girls.
I leaned back on my elbows. “Well, I couldn’t turn down a guided tour of the beach. Plus, it’s perfect out here right now.” We both looked out at the water that sparkled gold as the sun made its way toward the horizon.
He buried his toes in the sand. “So, you renting a cottage here with family?”
“Yeah. well, just my dad.”
“A little father-daughter trip? Nice.” He looked around. “Where’s he at?”
“He’s around here somewhere. Actually, I haven’t seen him all day, which is kinda funny. He’s probably off on the other end of the beach somewhere, looking for shells.”
“Huh. Good, because he told all of us to stay away from you.”
I stopped abruptly. “What?”
“I’m kidding, I’m kidding. I’ve just seen it before. Most dads don’t like their daughters hanging around with some guy they just met on the beach.”
I laughed nervously and nodded. “Oh.” Then silence. A seagull cried out behind us. I traced a figure eight in the sand.
“So. You wanna walk or something?” He grinned at me, and at that moment I would have thought anything he said sounded good. I tried to appear casual as I checked the beach for any sign of my dad.
“Sure.”
We walked a few quiet paces, and I racked my brain for something to say. Nothing particularly witty or charming came to mind, so I settled on small talk.
“So how long have you been a lifeguard here?”
He kicked a mussel shell out in front of us. “This is my second season.”
I nodded, figuring he was seventeen or so. You could start lifeguarding at sixteen years old, something my dad had hassled me about doing this summer.
“How do you like it?”
“It’s a pretty kill er job. Last summer kind of sucked, being a rookie. They do stupid shit—’scuse me, stupid stuff—to you, but it’s that way everywhere. This year’s better, except we have a new boss who’s a totall ass.”
I cringed a little. “Really? What’s his problem?” I wasn’t sure if I wanted to know the answer, but I was morbidly curious at the same time.
“I don’t know. He’s totally old-school and worked here forever ago. He started out when he was, like, fifteen or something and worked his way up, so now that he’s back, he cruises around like he knows everything.” He stopped, checking to see if I was interested—which, of course, I was. “Anyway, it just sucks because none of us ever know when he’s gonna come by and harp on us out of nowhere. He’s just a pain in the ass, is all.”
I opened my mouth to say that I could sympathize, but he went on. “Like today, I ran down to those rocks all day long because he wants us to be
‘proactive,’ because he thinks that if someone has to be rescued, the guard wasn’t doing his job in the first place. Then I look like a dumb-ass, telling people they need to come in from the rocks, when they can see there’s no problem.” I nodded, able to recite my dad’s philosophy about lifeguarding in my mind.
“So today he comes down to my tower as I’m getting back from one of my laps to the rocks, and he tell s me that every time I run down there, the rest of the water isn’t being watched. You just can’t make the guy happy. I don’t know what his problem is.” Tyler shook his head. “He needs to get laid or something.” I laughed, a little too loudly. “Anyway, that’s the story of my life. What’s yours?”
“Well —” Before I could get anything else out, I heard behind us the familiar hum of a truck on the sand. We both stopped, and I hoped desperately it was the other lifeguard. For the last few years, every summer had begun with a lecture about staying away from the guards on the beach. They were only out for one thing, etcetera, etcetera.
“Shit,” Tyler said under his breath. “Speak of the devil.” The truck pulled up next to me, and my dad stuck his head out. Of course.
“Hey, hon. See you met one of our rookies.”
I cringed, probably
I leaned back on my elbows. “Well, I couldn’t turn down a guided tour of the beach. Plus, it’s perfect out here right now.” We both looked out at the water that sparkled gold as the sun made its way toward the horizon.
He buried his toes in the sand. “So, you renting a cottage here with family?”
“Yeah. well, just my dad.”
“A little father-daughter trip? Nice.” He looked around. “Where’s he at?”
“He’s around here somewhere. Actually, I haven’t seen him all day, which is kinda funny. He’s probably off on the other end of the beach somewhere, looking for shells.”
“Huh. Good, because he told all of us to stay away from you.”
I stopped abruptly. “What?”
“I’m kidding, I’m kidding. I’ve just seen it before. Most dads don’t like their daughters hanging around with some guy they just met on the beach.”
I laughed nervously and nodded. “Oh.” Then silence. A seagull cried out behind us. I traced a figure eight in the sand.
“So. You wanna walk or something?” He grinned at me, and at that moment I would have thought anything he said sounded good. I tried to appear casual as I checked the beach for any sign of my dad.
“Sure.”
We walked a few quiet paces, and I racked my brain for something to say. Nothing particularly witty or charming came to mind, so I settled on small talk.
“So how long have you been a lifeguard here?”
He kicked a mussel shell out in front of us. “This is my second season.”
I nodded, figuring he was seventeen or so. You could start lifeguarding at sixteen years old, something my dad had hassled me about doing this summer.
“How do you like it?”
“It’s a pretty kill er job. Last summer kind of sucked, being a rookie. They do stupid shit—’scuse me, stupid stuff—to you, but it’s that way everywhere. This year’s better, except we have a new boss who’s a totall ass.”
I cringed a little. “Really? What’s his problem?” I wasn’t sure if I wanted to know the answer, but I was morbidly curious at the same time.
“I don’t know. He’s totally old-school and worked here forever ago. He started out when he was, like, fifteen or something and worked his way up, so now that he’s back, he cruises around like he knows everything.” He stopped, checking to see if I was interested—which, of course, I was. “Anyway, it just sucks because none of us ever know when he’s gonna come by and harp on us out of nowhere. He’s just a pain in the ass, is all.”
I opened my mouth to say that I could sympathize, but he went on. “Like today, I ran down to those rocks all day long because he wants us to be
‘proactive,’ because he thinks that if someone has to be rescued, the guard wasn’t doing his job in the first place. Then I look like a dumb-ass, telling people they need to come in from the rocks, when they can see there’s no problem.” I nodded, able to recite my dad’s philosophy about lifeguarding in my mind.
“So today he comes down to my tower as I’m getting back from one of my laps to the rocks, and he tell s me that every time I run down there, the rest of the water isn’t being watched. You just can’t make the guy happy. I don’t know what his problem is.” Tyler shook his head. “He needs to get laid or something.” I laughed, a little too loudly. “Anyway, that’s the story of my life. What’s yours?”
“Well —” Before I could get anything else out, I heard behind us the familiar hum of a truck on the sand. We both stopped, and I hoped desperately it was the other lifeguard. For the last few years, every summer had begun with a lecture about staying away from the guards on the beach. They were only out for one thing, etcetera, etcetera.
“Shit,” Tyler said under his breath. “Speak of the devil.” The truck pulled up next to me, and my dad stuck his head out. Of course.
“Hey, hon. See you met one of our rookies.”
I cringed, probably
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