As Theo reached for a second slice, Ryan changed the subject. “Have you guys figured out where you want to go to school?”
Bill faked a yawn. “Really? You want to talk about this now?”
“Well,” Ryan said, “I just think it’s important that we focus on the future. We aren’t going to be young forever.”
“And I think,” Bill said, “that you’re killing me. Can’t we focus on the present?”
Ryan shrugged and went back to playing with his iPhone. Theo heard female laughter and looked up toward the entrance. Leaning against the counter was the blonde from the Mazda. Next to her were the thin brunette and a short, Asian girl. She was almost definitely the girl from the passenger seat.
“Guys, we’ve got company,” Theo said. The others looked up.
“I can’t believe it,” said Mark, “this is fate.” He was already getting up and making his way over to the girls. Theo and the others followed. Mark introduced himself and his friends.
The blonde girl (whose name was Jamie) clicked with Mark right away. She invited the guys to sit with them. Over the course of the next hour, Jamie and Mark laughed it up while Bill awkwardly flirted with Michelle, the Asian girl. Ryan seemed more interested in his phone, so Theo had no trouble focusing on Kylee, the brunette.
Kylee was beautiful. She had her hair styled so that a chunk of it fell over one eye and she continuously brushed it back with her hand as she talked. Theo was entranced. The girls were all from the town next to Mifflin and were about the same age as Theo and his friends. Jamie and Michelle had been friends since childhood, much like Bill and Ryan. Kylee had met them in middle school and they had been close ever since.
Theo found himself second-guessing almost everything he said. For someone who had spent a good amount of time drifting through life, he was suddenly quite focused. He wanted Kylee to like him, and it seemed like she did. Of course, Theo thought, it’s not like he hadn’t misread those kinds of things before.
The girls followed them to the arcade. Bill wowed Michelle by defeating the robotic arm wrestling game, while Theo and Kylee played skee-ball and air hockey. Ryan went from machine to machine, playing all the fighting games he could find. Mark and Jamie were nowhere to be found. Theo knew what that meant; Mark was not known for wasting time when he found a girl he liked.
Theo was one point away from defeating Kylee in air hockey. He intentionally gave up the next two points. “Are you letting me win?” Kylee asked with a smile.
“No…” Theo couldn’t help but smile back. It was amazing just how much he liked Kylee. She was gorgeous, sure, but he actually wanted to talk to her and not let himself drift away into his thoughts like he usually did.
Kylee won the last point without any help. Theo walked around the table and high-fived her in a show of good-sportsmanship. As the group all headed for the exit, Theo made a calculated gamble. He stuck out his hand, intentionally brushed it against Kylee’s, and breathed a sigh of relief when she closed hers around his.
On the walk back to the parking lot, Theo took time to marvel at how much fun he was having. Mark and Jamie had found them outside the arcade and were laughing it up loudly. Mark’s arm was around Jamie’s waist. By contrast, Bill walked next to Michelle, keeping a small distance between them. Bill was always so nervous when he met a girl he liked. Theo couldn’t help but smile.
The girls were staying at Jamie’s mom’s place not far from the Sea Son’s Motel. Somewhere in the conversation it was decided that they would all go back to the motel to hang out and see where the night went.
Theo sat in the back of Jamie’s Mazda with Kylee. Mark sat up front in the passenger seat. Ryan drove the Accord, with Bill and Michelle in the backseat. Bill kept the same small gap between him and Michelle.
Kylee leaned over and whispered in his ear. “Let’s go for a walk when we get back.” Theo looked at her as she brushed back that errant piece of hair. A walk sounded like a very good idea.
When the cars were parked, Theo and Kylee walked up on the boards leaving the others to their own fun. “So,” Theo said, “tell me something interesting about you.”
Kylee shrugged. “I don’t know; I’m not really all that interesting.”
Theo took her hand. “I can’t imagine that. Well, what are you planning to do this summer?”
“I have a job at the pharmacy a couple minutes from my house. I do gift-wrapping and help people find greeting cards. See? You’ve found a really interesting girl.”
Theo smiled. “I happen to think it’s fascinating. I mean, I’ve always wanted to know how to tie one of those fancy curly bows.”
“Oh it’s very simple, you take scissors and…” Kylee raised an eyebrow. “Are you making fun of me?”
“Maybe…a little?”
Kylee grinned. “Okay, I’ll remember that.” She walked over to the railing and pulled herself up on top of the metal bar. “So what do you do, funny man?”
Theo looked toward the water. “I don’t really do much right now, I mean, I hang with the guys and I’m obviously thinking about college. I just haven’t figured out exactly what I want to do.” He turned back to Kylee. His eyes wandered over her body and focused on her lean legs in short jean shorts, perched on the railing. He returned his gaze to her face. Making eye contact with Kylee was a challenge he hadn’t expected.
“You’ll get there,” Kylee said. “Just enjoy the summer.”
“Oh I am,” Theo said. “It’s off to a great start.”
Theo stepped in front of Kylee and she nudged him playfully with her foot. He wrapped his arms around her and lifted her off the bar. With a grin she shoved him backwards and ran for the stairs leading to the beach. “Come on!” she called.
Theo, captivated, shed his sandals and followed Kylee on to the sand. He chased her down to the water where she splashed in the edge of the tide. Kylee’s silhouette in the moonlight beckoned to him. He reached out and pulled her around. This time she didn’t push him away.
Chapter 2
Theo felt Kylee’s lips against his. His arms were secure around her waist and she wrapped hers around his neck. He was so lost in the experience, so overwhelmed by the force of nature that was this new girl, that he didn’t hear the low rumbling on the horizon.
A louder series of booms in the distance made Kylee pull away. “What was that?”
“I have no idea,” Theo said, pulling her back toward him. “Maybe a plane breaking the sound barrier or something. I think there’s an airport near…” A massive, echoing bang interrupted him.
The sky lit up with a series of flashes emanating both from miles behind the condos along the boardwalk and far out over the ocean. The rumbling continued and began to intensify. Theo’s ears were ringing. “Okay, not a plane!”
Kylee was holding her head. “What? I can’t hear anything!”
Well, thought Theo, the noise took her hearing too, so at least I’m not having a stroke or something.
The ground began to shake, vibrating like a massive motor. The sand shifted around Theo’s feet as he stumbled toward Kylee who was struggling to stay upright. The ocean began to churn and the waves rolled higher up the shore. Theo looked at the frothy surf reflecting the flashes of light in the sky. He took Kylee by the shoulder and pointed to the boardwalk. Run.
They took off together, bobbing and staggering through the agitated sands. Small explosions and booms intermingled with pulses of light as they ran, and through it all, that roar of an ancient machine suddenly and angrily awakened. They made it onto the boardwalk, which seemed to be holding strong against the shaking ground.