Love, In A Sense

A man meeting the love of his life for the first time.

Hot sand blistered my feet on that summery day. I remember it as if it had just happened. Nothing was able to get my mind off of the real world quite like hitting the beach with a couple of my friends and some beers. 

I had come with my roommates, David and Stephanie. David and I worked together and he offered me to stay with him and his wife in order to help them pay some of the monthly rent. I had no problem with it; it got me out of the barracks (which was a nightmare). One Carona later and David and I broke out the soccer ball and started running through some basic drills and trying to show off to the locals.

"David! Kick it up high. I'm going to try and catch it behind my neck!" I shouted to him as he was getting ready to launch the ball at me. 

It was a horrible kick and I ended up missing it by a long shot. I quickly ran over and grabbed the ball right before it hit the water. As I was picking it up, my eyes caught the swaying hips of a goddess. Perfectly tanned skin, medium-length brown hair, and a smile that made my heart drop. I couldn't take my eyes off of her and it was pretty obvious to David.

"Sam!" (that's what my military friends call me) "Let me see the ball." David said as he gestured to the soccer ball in my hands.

 

"Wait, what are you going to do?" I hesitantly asked, still clutching the ball for dear life.

"I wanna do something. Trust me, would I ever do anything bad to you?" 

I knew too well not to trust David, as he is always playing jokes on me. I was newly single and since this was the first time since high school, David took it upon himself to be my designated wing man. Not that I would need one or anything despite his fervent protests.

"I don't trust you at all, man." I told him as I suspiciously looked at him.

"Look, I saw the way you were looking at her. I'm just going to give you a reason to talk to her." He smiled and snatched the ball out of my hand before I could do anything about it.

I didn't like where this was going but I figured it would be more amusing to play along instead of complaining about it.

We continued to pass the ball around, still showing off and being rowdy as normal. The girl was coming closer and I despite my best efforts, I couldn't pull my eyes away from her. There were a few times where David nearly knocked me senseless because I wasn't paying attention. 

Suddenly, she glanced up at me during a pause in the conversation with her friend and in that moment nothing in this world mattered. She still wore the smile on her face with the remnants of what was said between her and her conversationalist on her mind. I couldn't do anything. My legs were rooted to the spot, my muscles felt like lead and my mind went completely mush. 

As our eyes met, her brown, gorgeous ones to my baby blues, my face uncontrollably curled into the biggest, doofiest smile ever. Her smile began to fade, but not into a scowl or frown. It was more reserved. As if I had caught her off guard and she was afraid I had seen too much of her. She gave me a smaller smile that indicated she saw, she understood, and she thought it was cute. 

"Sam, watch out!" My reverie was shattered as I heard David's foot collide with the soccer ball. I turned just in time to see it hurtling toward the girl and her friend. 

Oh no, I thought. He was going to hit her!

I broke into a mad sprint, trying to make sure this mystery girl wasn't harmed in any way.

"Heads up!" I called as I neared closer to the duo.

They both turned and gave me a panicked look as they feared getting hit by the ball. I closed the distance quickly, wind in my hair and fire in my lungs. Somehow the ball was still floating in the air. I leaped as high as I could, spun in the air, and grabbed the hurtling ball of pain right before it came crashing down.

I hit the sand backwards but my knees buckled. I came crashing down in the sand and was sprawled out on the ground. My momentum had carried me just far enough to have landed right in front of the mystery girl and her friend. 

Embarrassment washed over me and my face turned a deep shade of red. 

"Hey, you OK? You took a nasty fall." Her friend called to me as I laid there, attempting to gather my pride.

"Yeah, only thing that was injured was my dignity, no worries." I said trying to play it cool. I sat up and did my best at wiping the sand off my chest before standing up fully.

"Haha, you're pretty funny. Thank you for talking the bullet for us though. I thought we were going to have to come over there and kick your asses because you almost hit my best friend." The friend replied.

"Cassie! That's not nice!" The mystery girl chimed in for the first time, followed by a short laugh. 

I couldn't believe the sound that came out of this girls mouth. Pure symphony. As if Beethoven himself, in heaven, had created the sound of her voice. Once again I was rendered speechless. It was a good thing the two friends were more involved with what was said rather then the person it was directed to.

"What, Kaity? I'm just teasing him!" Cassie protested as her friend, which I now knew was named Kaity, raised an eyebrow at her.

"Anyways, we were just on our way home. Thanks again for saving us, Mr. Stranger!" Kaity said to me as she turned to go.

"It's Connor, by the way. And OK! It was nice to meet you, Kaity. Maybe next time it won't be under such life threatening circumstances." I replied. A smile danced across my lips to show her that I was trying to be funny. I was rewarded by the sound of her beautiful laughter.

"Well maybe you should be more careful so that you don't have to publicly embarrass yourself like you did." She shot back at me with that award -winning smile flashing across her face. 

This girl was amazing! Two minutes into knowing her and I'm already in love. I couldn't let her leave without getting her phone number. There was no way I would live with myself.

"Well, it wasn't so bad. I mean look, it got you to talk to me, now didn't it?" I pointed out. There it was again; her smile hit me like a ton of bricks. But instead of bricks, it was like the most amazing, soft pillows that consumed my body. What was going on? I was losing my mind for sure.

"So what you're saying is that this was all planned, just so you could get me to talk to you? I'm glad to know you're willing to jeopardize my safety for the satisfaction of picking up a girl." Her smile had faded and I could see my opportunity leaving.

"I would never! It was just a coincidence that you so happened to be walking by right as my friend had inadvertently kicked the ball passed me. I was just pointing out that me publicly embarrassing myself wasn't such a bad thing after all." I flashed her my smile in hopes that it would lighten the mood a little.

"I see." Kaity said, revealing a shy smile. "Well I hope you can keep that ball in check so that no girl is injured from your friend's kicks." 

"Oh don't worry, they have me to look out for them. What else could they ever need?" This got me a full on laugh which I considered a huge win in my book.

"Well, Soccer Boy, I should get going. Be careful out here. I wouldn't want you to get sand in the wrong places." Kaity said with a smirk and a wink. Her friend, Cassie, giggled softly at the joke.

"Well that all depends, would you be helping me remove it?" I asked with a mischievous grin on my face.

"Only if you're lucky." She smiles.

"Then maybe we can exchange numbers in case I am in need of your assistance later." I reply, mentally praising myself for such a good line.

"Hmmmm, I think I can do that." She says as she pulls out her iPhone from her little tote bag. I quickly jot down my number and save it under lifesaver, you know, because I totally am.

"You'll know which one is mine. Have a safe trip back home." I tell her as I hand her phone back. Cassie hasn't stopped grinning since Kaity and I started talking and I hear her immediately gossip about us as soon as they turn to leave. Kaity glances back and gives me that gorgeous smile again. My heart skips a beat as I watch the most incredibly woman in the world walk away. Of course, I was also checking out her butt, but that was besides the point. 

"Well, Sunshine?" David asked me as the two girls left.

"I owe you one." I reply as I gave him the biggest grin ever.

"Hell yeah! I told you to trust me!" He yelled, excitement and cockiness playing into his tone. 

"Yeah, yeah. This is the first time anything you have said actually worked. But thank you. Now I just have to wait for her to text me."