Pulled Under

Every night Ben and I walk on the beach and check on the turtle’s nest. Sometimes we just sit there in the sand for over an hour looking at the nest and talking about anything and everything, except for the future. Then one night we’re about to get up when I notice the sand above the nest shift ever so slightly.

“Check it out,” I whisper. “I think it’s time.”

The sand begins to drain down and we see a tiny loggerhead, less than two inches long, pop his head up from underground.

“He’s so tiny,” says Ben. “How does he grow to be so big?”

There’s a flurry of activity, and one by one little turtle heads start popping up from the sand as the hatchlings use their tiny flippers to crawl out onto the beach. Within thirty seconds, there are nearly a hundred of them.

“Look at them all!” he says in total amazement.

“They’re going to follow the moonlight,” I remind him. “The reflection of the moon on the ocean is their guide.”

“This is the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen.” Ben looks over at me in the moonlight and adds, “Well, maybe the second most amazing thing.”

“Is that so?” I ask. “What’s first?”

He gives me a coy shrug, then gets up onto his feet and follows behind the hatchlings as they scamper to the sea.

I follow too, and once the last turtle reaches the water, I hug Ben from behind and press my cheek up against his back.

“What’s the most amazing thing you ever saw?”

“There was this girl,” he says. “And she had a wrinkle in her chin.”

“And eyes that seemed to change colors?” I joke.

“That’s right,” he says. “And a big old guacamole stain on her shirt.”

He turns around to face me, but I still keep my arms around him.

“You’re never going to let me live that down, are you?”

“Well, I’m certainly never going to forget it.”

“You also better not forget that I have pictures of you . . . on the beach . . . in shoes and socks, coach’s shorts, a belt, and a tucked-in shirt. I’m talking photographic evidence that can be enlarged and printed.”

He pulls me even closer. “I only dressed that way to get your attention. I knew that you’d have to rescue me.”

I stand up on my tiptoes and give him a kiss. I close my eyes when I do and let my lips linger on his for a moment.

“You know, I haven’t officially asked you to the Sand Castle Dance,” he says.

“I was wondering when you’d get around to that,” I say. “And I think it was a big oversight on your part.”

“Is that so?”

“Earlier in the summer I’m sure I would have jumped at the chance to go with you. But now that I’m King of the Beach, I’ve got other offers to consider.”

He looks down at me, and I can see the moonlight in his eyes.

“Don’t even joke like that,” he says.

I give him an apology kiss. “I’m sorry.”

“Isabel Lucas, would you like to go to the Sand Castle Dance with me?”

“More than you can possibly know.”

He kisses me again, and then we walk back down the beach.

There are three days left of summer.

For more than fifty years the Sand Castle Dance has signaled the end of the summer season as the locals come out to the bandshell to dance the night away. Nicole and I have been many times, but this year is significant because it’s the first time we’ll be going with dates. We’re at my house and I’m putting on the finishing touches.

“You look amazing,” Nic says when she sees me in my dress.

“Really?”

“Absolutely.”

“So do you,” I say.

I’m wearing a white summer dress with floral lace over a soft interior layer. I’m hoping to strike a balance between cute and comfortable that will still look good after hours of dancing outside on a hot and humid night. A tall order indeed.

Officially Ben and I are doubling with Nicole and Cody. Sophie’s boyfriend, from Florida State, is coming, but they’re going to meet us there.

“Can you believe this summer?” I ask her. “I mean seriously.”

“It’s been a whirlwind,” she says. “Starting with Sophie’s first day back at the shop.”

“That’s the day I met Ben.”

“And the day you sentenced me to talk to Cody.”

I smile. “That turned out to be a good day for us.”

She looks at me, and I can tell that she’s concerned. “Are you going to be okay?”

I nod. “I’m going to have to be.”

“Have you told him?”

I shake my head. “No.”

She goes to say something else, but there’s a knock on the door.

“They’re here!” I say as I get up and start to walk down the hall to the front door.

Nicole comes right behind me, and before I answer it, she takes me by the shoulder. “Tell him how you feel. You owe it to him and you owe it to yourself.”

I nod.

Both of us take a breath and we open the door. Ben and Cody are standing together on the porch. In keeping with tradition, each one is wearing board shorts, a short sleeve button-down shirt, and a tie.

“Okay . . . wow!” Ben says. “You look sensational.”

“You look pretty good yourself,” I say, trying not to blush too much.

The dance is great. The band, which Ben picked out, is fun and plays covers of music from all different eras. This is important because the dance is for all ages. There are couples who have been married for more than fifty years dancing right next to teenagers like us.

“I know our big talk isn’t until tomorrow night,” I say while we’re slow dancing. “But there is something that I kind of need to tell you tonight.”

“Sure,” he says. “What is it?”

“I lied to you.”

He looks down at me with deep concern in his eyes. “When?”

“The first time we climbed up into the lifeguard stand. I asked you about Beth and why you broke up.”

“That was a fun conversation.”

“Anyway, you told me that you broke up with her because she loved you and you didn’t feel that way toward her. Then I said—”

“‘Lucky for us we don’t have to worry about that,’” he says, quoting me from that night. “‘We both know that this is just for the summer.’”

“So, you really do remember,” I say, surprised.

“I really do,” he says.

“It was a lie,” I say.

“I know.”

This catches me off guard. “What do you mean, you know?”

“I knew it was a lie that night. You were worried that if you told me that you loved me, then I might break up with you, too.”

I stop dancing and look right at him. “You knew that I loved you?”

He nods.

“But you didn’t break up with me.”

He shakes his head.

“Does that mean . . .”

“That I love you too?” he says. “Yes, it does. I’ve loved you from the begi

Tears stream down my face. “Well, I do now.”

Luckily there are a couple more slow dances in a row, which gives me a chance to compose myself.

“Very nice, Ben,” Sophie says as we go back to a table and meet with the others. “You have organized a very nice Sand Castle Dance.”

“Why, thank you,” he says.

The boys head over to the snack bar to get us some sodas, and Nicole sees the tears in my eyes.

“You told him, didn’t you?”

I nod.

“And?” asks Sophie.

“And,” I say, “he loves me too.”

This is the moment it hits me. This is the moment I realize what’s really been bothering me. I haven’t been worried that he didn’t love me. I’ve been worried that he did. Because that makes what’s about to happen all that much worse.

“He’s loves me and he’s leaving.”

“You’re going to be okay,” Nicole says. “You really are.”

I nod. “I know. It’s just hard to imagine.”

I try to compose myself again as I see the boys come our way. Then the most unexpected thing happens.

“‘The Rockafeller Skank’!” I shout as the music blares from the speakers.

The band has taken a break and a DJ has taken over.

“Did you do this?” I ask Sophie.