Winds of Change

A dark blue 2000's Honda Accord pulls up next to my Impala and parks. A teenage boy with dirty blond hair emerges from the car. He is dressed in a black Attila cut off shirt and loose fitting blue jeans. My friends boyfriend walks over to her towel and disrobes to his boxers.

"Hey," Rex calls from the shore, as we have swam out farther. We all look at him and smile, Jackie swims towards the shore to meet him, letting out a squeal.

"Rex!" She calls out excited. Rex walks out to meet her.

I dip down under that water, filling the current trying to take me to the shore, as the undertow pushes at my feet. I gasp for air as I break the surface. The sun has been covered by clouds that have been building over the sea.

"Rayne," Garret says my name, it sounds so nicely coming from his lips. I look at him, he is watching me as I stay with water up to my neck.

"Hmm?" I respond, enjoying the weightless feeling of being in the water. Jackie and Rex's laughter can be heard a few feet away. "What's up?"

"Feeling more relaxed than this afternoon?" he asks, his eyes searching my face.

"Very much so." I say, with a bright smile. "Thanks to you and Jackie. Is your day going better now?"

"It is," he says coming closer to me again.

"Hey Rayne and Garret," Rex greets us. Jackie and he swim closer to us. "I heard about what happened with Harley and Jessica before lunch. Good thing Garret was there, huh?"

"It was," I say, smiling.

"It's already the talk of the school," he tells us.

"Of course it is," Jackie sighs, rolling her eyes. "Anything to do with Harley spreads like wildfire."

"That's because too many girls want to be with that jerk." I comment, remembering all the dirty looks I got from other girls when I dated Harley, the quarterback of the football team. "But enough about him. I am here to get my mind off of him."

Jackie giggles, and looks between Garret and me. She whispers to Rex something that makes him laugh. He whispers something back to her that makes her blush and playfully punch his arm.

"I have a feeling that I don't want to know what they are whispering about," I say softly to Garret.

"Oh it's probably something about us hooking up," he chuckles at the same quiet volume as my voice. I look over at him with a raised eyebrow. He laughs more at my expression. "It wouldn't be a bad thing would it?"

"Never said it would be," I answer. "But I'm not looking for a hookup."

"I'm not wanting that either," he replies, serious. Jackie and Rex giggle, but their voices seem distant as I look deep into Garret's blue eyes. My heart beats quickly.

"Then what do you want?" I ask breathless.

"For you to be mine," he replies cupping my face with his right hand. His hand is warm against my skin, I lean into his touch.

"I'm fine with that," I respond softly. He smiles, we kiss again. I can feel the want and need in his kiss. Garret pulls back, breaking our kiss leaving me breathless. A rumble of thunder crackles overhead. I look up to the sky, lightning jumps between clouds, with another crackle of thunder.

"I think we should head back to the shore," Jackie says. We all agree and head back to our towels and clothes. As we get to the shore, I get my keys wrapping my towel around myself and head to my car to get out the other towel for Rex. I head back to the group and hand the towel to Rex.

"Thank you," Rex says, accepting the towel. We dry off and put our clothes on, before we head to the cars. As both of my parents work long hours, they won't be home until well after eight o'clock. Jackie decides to ride with Rex to my house. Garret rides in the front passenger seat of my Impala. I lead the way to my house, even though Rex and Jackie know the way.

"So does this mean we are dating?" I ask bluntly, not sure if that is what I had just agreed to.

"Yes, if you want to," Garret confirms. A smile covers my face, I can feel his eyes on me. "I take that smile as a yes."

Sandman by Oomph starts playing, as I turn down the road that leads out of town to the residential development I have lived in since birth. "You look like you could be this band's singer's little brother or son."

"Is that a good thing?" He asks not sure if I am complementing or insulting him.

"It's a good thing," I chuckle. Not telling him that I had a crush on the singer even though he was way older than me. I take a sip of my drink, unfortunately the ice melted into the cola altering the taste.

"Are they your favorite band?" Garret asks, as I snake around the winding roads.

"They are one of my top five," I reply. "I see you like the Transplants."

"Yes, much to my parents dismay," he says with a chuckle.

"Punk rock isn't for everyone," I comment with a smile. Looking in the rearview mirror I see Rex's Accord following me. We pull up to a brick two story ranch style house. "Welcome to the place I call home."

"It looks nice," he replies, as I park in the driveway. Rex parks beside my car, we get out of the cars and head into my house. I carry the towels inside and to the laundry room.

"Make yourselves at home," I call from the hallway. I hear them heading to the living room. In the laundry room, I put the damp towels in the washing machine and add more towels that were in the hamper, before starting the washer.

I soon hear barking from the backyard, I head to the back door to let Bane, the Rottweiler my parents got me for my 10th birthday. He wags his tail once he sees me at the door. As the door opens he rushes in, his nails click softly on the tile floor of the kitchen. Bane rushes to his water dish and laps it up, water drips all over the floor.

"Baney!" Jackie greets my dog as she comes in the kitchen. Bane raises his head, tail wags wildly, and trots over to her happily.

"Did you want to take a shower?" I ask knowing salt water makes our hair feel gross if it's not washed out.

"Yes, thank you," Jackie says, as we make our way into the living room. We find Garret and Rex sitting on the grey sofa in mid conversation. Bane runs over to Rex, who pets him on the head.

"You can borrow some clothes if you want," I tell Jackie.

"Thank you," Jackie says before heading up to the stairs to the bathroom. Bane walks cautiously over to Garret, who holds out a hand for him to sniff. Finding him not a threat, Bane wags his tail eagerly and tries to climb into his lap.

"Bane," I warn him. My dog looks back at me and gets down. "Sorry about that. He thinks he is a lap dog."

"It's okay," Garret replies. "He seems very friendly." Bane is loving all the pets he is getting from Garret and Rex.

"He is, unless you threaten my family or me." I tell him, sitting down in the dark brown cloth recliner. Grabbing the remote off the coffee table I turn on the TV to a station that places nothing but rock music videos. "Looks like you are his new best friend though."

"Well it's better than him attacking me," Garret chuckles.

"You can change the channel if you want." I tell Rex and Garret, setting the remote back on the coffee table.

"How is Bridgette these days?" Rex asks me about my sister that is two years older than me.

"She is doing pretty good," I say. "I think she is happy to finally get out of this town."

"I hear that," Rex comments.

"It's not that bad of a place," Garret says.

"That's because you haven't been here long," Rex and I say in unison.

"Small towns are nice though," Garret insists.

"They can be," I reply. "But rumors and news spreads like wildfire. Everyone will know if you mess up before the day is up."

"Well that is a downside," he agrees. I hear the faint sound of Jackie opening the bathroom door, the hurried patter of her bare feet on the wooden floor to my room before that door shuts.

"Won't our parents hear of us skipping school then?" Garret asks a hint of fear in his voice.

"If they do blame it on me," I reply. "Since it wouldn't be a lie, I did invite you to come along." He searches my face, his face doesn't show emotion. But his eyes betray the fear he has of his parents finding out he skipped any class in school. "Or do you want me to bring you back to school?"

"No, it will be fine," he says in a rush. I smile over at him and he returns the smile. Jackie comes down the stairs in my old Greatful Dead tie-dye shirt and a pair of black shorts, holding her clothes under her arm.

"Just put them in the laundry room. I will wash them before you leave." I tell Jackie, getting up from my chair. Bane gets up from where he was laying on his dog bed, at the other side of the living room. "I will be right back," I say heading up to the bathroom followed by Bane.

Bane lays outside the bathroom door as I shower. I step over him on my way out of the bathroom and dart to my room. The sound of chatter and the music on the TV fills the air. My dog follows me into my room, I close the door behind him. Going to my dresser to get clean clothes, I pick out my Rancid shirt and dark blue jean shorts. Once I'm dressed I go back to the bathroom to get ready and grab my discarded clothes, followed everywhere by my usual shadow, Bane.

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