Congratulations !
You have been awarded points.
Thank you for !
- Story Listed as: True Life For Adults
- Theme: Love stories / Romance
- Subject: Love / Romance / Dating
- Published: 01/22/2018
It was a beautiful summer day, almost a Goldilocks Day: not to hot, not to cold, not to windy, not to humid, but just right. He was sixteen, slender, willowy and strong. She was almost sixteen, a bit shy, and her curves had just finished smoothing out her adult figure. Both of them had startling clear eyes, smooth skin that was only occasionally bothered by a wayward pimple, and hair that shone with the vigor, vitality, and vanity that youth gives it.
During his breaks from Lifeguarding at the small development pool, they would lay together on the cement letting the rough ridges of the concrete soak up the water dripping from their lithe bodies, as the wind and sun conspired to dry their backs. They faced each other and let their eyes open the windows to their souls. Their hands would gently tangle in slow knots, unwind, and explore that touch again- and again. Just an ordinary couple, on an ordinary day, bonding without hurry for their future was all in front of them and blazoned with dreams that made the sunlight pale in their glow.
“Why do you love me?”
She smiled in that way that turned his heart into a pile of jello- it was a smile that only he was allowed to see. Had he known then what he would learn later in life, he would have recognized it for what it was: intimacy.
She smiled at him until she was sure he was Jelloed on the inside- then she answered:
“Well, you are taller than me.”
They both giggled. He was taller than her, but since she was not quite five feet tall, and he barely topped that number himself- it always made them giggle.
“What else?”
She heard the eagerness in his voice. She didn’t know a lot about guys, he was her first love (and she was his). But she did know when a question had to be answered with stark open honesty. He didn’t need reassurance. He knew she loved him. He was just curious, because at sixteen he had no idea what he had to offer a girl as pretty, smart, and sweet as her. Yet, she chose him. Neither of them had lived long enough to consider things like: their differences, careers, or education, the mundane plight of paying bills, rent, and utilities, might do to their time together or time apart. Innocence chose naiveté as its partner - as it did for most first and young loves.
“It is the little things you do. You are kind. You make me laugh. You trust me. (their hands stopped their playful exploring to squeeze tight for that last comment) You are interested in me, what I have to say, and you listen.”
“Everyone is kind to their girlfriend!”
She didn’t have the heart to tell him that wasn’t true. She already had seen how certain boys, and to be fair, girls, were unkind in many little ways to their sweethearts.
“Not as kind as you are to me.”
He heard the steel in her voice - and stopped that line of questioning. Time drifted by, the fifteen minutes was up. He went back in the chair, gave her a quick smile, and blew his whistle. She got up off the cement and went back to her beach towel on the grass, put her tiny transistor radio back on, and hoped to hear their favorite song come up soon.
That day, and many like it, piled up over the next few months of the summer. Each delightful day caught not in detail, but in mood. Fifty years in the future, all but the kindness and dreams would be forgotten. The fog of real life would lift for just a moment to let both of them look back through the Summer Daze- and realize how lucky they had been.
Summer Daze.(Kevin Hughes)
It was a beautiful summer day, almost a Goldilocks Day: not to hot, not to cold, not to windy, not to humid, but just right. He was sixteen, slender, willowy and strong. She was almost sixteen, a bit shy, and her curves had just finished smoothing out her adult figure. Both of them had startling clear eyes, smooth skin that was only occasionally bothered by a wayward pimple, and hair that shone with the vigor, vitality, and vanity that youth gives it.
During his breaks from Lifeguarding at the small development pool, they would lay together on the cement letting the rough ridges of the concrete soak up the water dripping from their lithe bodies, as the wind and sun conspired to dry their backs. They faced each other and let their eyes open the windows to their souls. Their hands would gently tangle in slow knots, unwind, and explore that touch again- and again. Just an ordinary couple, on an ordinary day, bonding without hurry for their future was all in front of them and blazoned with dreams that made the sunlight pale in their glow.
“Why do you love me?”
She smiled in that way that turned his heart into a pile of jello- it was a smile that only he was allowed to see. Had he known then what he would learn later in life, he would have recognized it for what it was: intimacy.
She smiled at him until she was sure he was Jelloed on the inside- then she answered:
“Well, you are taller than me.”
They both giggled. He was taller than her, but since she was not quite five feet tall, and he barely topped that number himself- it always made them giggle.
“What else?”
She heard the eagerness in his voice. She didn’t know a lot about guys, he was her first love (and she was his). But she did know when a question had to be answered with stark open honesty. He didn’t need reassurance. He knew she loved him. He was just curious, because at sixteen he had no idea what he had to offer a girl as pretty, smart, and sweet as her. Yet, she chose him. Neither of them had lived long enough to consider things like: their differences, careers, or education, the mundane plight of paying bills, rent, and utilities, might do to their time together or time apart. Innocence chose naiveté as its partner - as it did for most first and young loves.
“It is the little things you do. You are kind. You make me laugh. You trust me. (their hands stopped their playful exploring to squeeze tight for that last comment) You are interested in me, what I have to say, and you listen.”
“Everyone is kind to their girlfriend!”
She didn’t have the heart to tell him that wasn’t true. She already had seen how certain boys, and to be fair, girls, were unkind in many little ways to their sweethearts.
“Not as kind as you are to me.”
He heard the steel in her voice - and stopped that line of questioning. Time drifted by, the fifteen minutes was up. He went back in the chair, gave her a quick smile, and blew his whistle. She got up off the cement and went back to her beach towel on the grass, put her tiny transistor radio back on, and hoped to hear their favorite song come up soon.
That day, and many like it, piled up over the next few months of the summer. Each delightful day caught not in detail, but in mood. Fifty years in the future, all but the kindness and dreams would be forgotten. The fog of real life would lift for just a moment to let both of them look back through the Summer Daze- and realize how lucky they had been.
COMMENTS (0)