A Fresh Start

Author's Note: This story has been written exclusively for Literotica's "Summer Lovin' Story Contest 2010" writing competition. Thanks in advance for your votes and/or comments (but especially the votes, the higher the better, lol). I have tried my best to write this story in keeping with the spirit of the theme. Vote with your heart.

Description: Nothing says summer like baseball, the beach, new romance, and partying around a nighttime bonfire.

*

"Come on, Jen, you suffer through three seasons until summer finally rolls around again and you don't want to go to the beach?" Bridgette asked her roommate and best friend, Jennifer.

They'd met at the beginning of ninth grade and quickly became best friends, a lasting relationship that continued to the current day. The one thing they had in common was a love of water, and of the beach. They longed all year for its return, which made it so strange for Bridgette to see Jennifer's complete lack of enthusiasm at its return.

Jennifer was sitting down on a dark, floral print couch dressed in a thin, sleeveless halter along with a pair of denim short-shorts that left most of her long, shapely legs exposed. Her firm, upright breasts were unencumbered by any support and so they freely jiggled as Bridgette, standing in front of her, tried in vain to pull her up. Jennifer looked up at her roommate with her green puppy-dog eyes and frowned, her shoulder-length blonde hair shifting as her head moved.

Dressed in a tiny white string bikini that contrasted with her dark brown hair, Bridgette was ready to go. She got through the work week looking forward to this and wasn't about to give up so easily.

Sighing heavily, Bridgette sat down beside her friend. "What is it, what's wrong? Come on, it'll be fun. We can sunbathe, and then the party starts at four. There'll be burgers, hot dogs, beer, and really hot guys," she said in an excited tone, doing her best to talk Jennifer into going.

Observing no change, Bridgette grew frustrated. "Please, at least tell me what's bothering you. Is it Brad?"

"I met him at the beach party last summer, remember?" Jennifer finally spoke up. "I don't want to go through all that mess again."

"That mess? Yeah, you two met and had a fantastic time," Bridgette reminded her. "You'd come home at night raving about how great he was, how happy you were. I was so jealous. Okay, so he turned out to be a cheating sleaze-ball and you dumped his worthless ass after Christmas. Get over it. Summer's back, you have a fresh start."

"Even if I wanted to go I can't," Jennifer morosely told her. "I have to work the four o'clock game at the stadium."

"Ditch it," Bridgette suggested. "Come on, remember our senior year when we'd ditch the last class and drive to the beach? You love the beach, you live for it."

Jennifer rolled her eyes. "We're not eighteen anymore, we're twenty-six, remember? I've been out of a job for three months now, so I'm not about to ditch the one job I can find, even if it is only part-time."

Bridgette wasn't about to give up yet. "Then promise me you'll come after the game. You might miss out on the sunbathing and the food, but the party won't really heat up until they get the bonfire going anyway."

"I don't know, that's quite a drive from the stadium, and my car's only got half a tank of gas left."

With a puzzled expression on her face, Bridgette gently grasped her friend's head and rotated it until she was staring into Jennifer's green eyes with her blue ones. Tilting her own head left then right, Bridgette gazed at her much like a person might when inspecting a mysterious bug trapped inside of a glass jar.

"Jen, are you in there somewhere?" Bridgette teased. "Jen, it's summertime. You love it more than Christmas, even more than Thanksgiving, and we both know how much you love to eat."

"Very funny," Jennifer replied, the fact of her small appetite being well-known.

"Promise me and I'll leave you alone."

Jennifer caved in. "I'll promise I'll try. That's the best I can do."

"I'll take it."

* * * * *

Dale was sitting on an easy chair in the living room watching a show about the world's top ten beaches, which was offering a lot of eye candy.

"Oh, dude, she's sweet-looking," Dale's roommate, Edward, commented as he walked into the room. "Look at that ass, those tits. Damn!"

The two men hadn't known each other for long. Dale was in need of a roommate after his last one moved out and Edward answered the ad a couple of weeks earlier. There couldn't have been two more polar opposites than those two. While Edward was big into sports of all kinds, Dale was more into computers and reading. Apparently, the one thing they did have in common was an interest in hot-looking women.

"So, what do you have going on today?" Dale asked, more out of politeness than genuine interest.

"Golf," he answered, already aware that Dale didn't share his love for the sport. "You?"

"Baseball game, no plans after that," Dale shared.

Edward was surprised. "Baseball? You?"

Dale nodded. "Not my idea, a guy at work had a pair of tickets he got from somebody else and he invited me. I figured what the hell, I'm not doing anything anyway, and it might turn out to be interesting."

"There's a killer party tonight at the beach, place will be crawling with hotties like her. You can tag along with me if you'd like, or meet me there."

Dale looked up, his curiosity suddenly piqued. "That actually sounds like fun. I haven't been to a party in a while."

"It's at Kensington, in case I don't see you before then."

"I'll be there," he decided.

* * * * *

Dale stood just outside the stadium entrance, one eye on the time and the other on the people approaching from the parking lot. None of them were his co-worker Barry, who had talked him into coming to the game in the first place. It was bad enough being stood up by a woman, but by a guy?

He kept waiting hopefully until after hearing the national anthem and the announcement, "Let's play ball!" before giving up and going inside.

As Dale walked toward his seat he began reflecting back on his life, wondering how he had gotten to this point. In a few short weeks he'd be thirty, leaving his twenties behind. He was getting old.

It all began when he'd met Lisa in the tenth grade. They began dating and quickly fell in love. Marrying right out of high school, he expected to be with her for the rest of his life. But before their third anniversary she wanted out. It wasn't about infidelity, it was just that they'd grown apart, and Lisa wanted to start fresh while she was still young and appealing. Dale didn't fight it as he'd also sensed the marriage's pending demise.

He'd had several girlfriends in the years since, but nothing serious. When one casual relationship ended, he'd ask himself, So where do I find my next girlfriend? But now, fast approaching thirty, that question was changing from, Where do I find my next girlfriend? to Where do I find a wife?

On the way to his seat Dale glimpsed a cute blonde working at a food concession stand. Deciding to buy a drink he stood at the end of a short line, admiring her while trying not to be obvious.

She was cute from what he could see, with a pretty face, bright green eyes, and a blonde ponytail sticking out the back of a baseball cap. The cap itself, not surprisingly, advertised the home team name along with a colorful emblem. She was wearing a red t-shirt and, as best as he could guess, no bra. He based this assumption on the way her perky boobs freely jiggled under her clothing as she served up food and beverages while exchanging money. It was a captivating sight, one he found difficult to resist.

"Can I help you?" he heard her asking before realizing he was next.

"Yeah, uh, just a bottle of water... please."

She smiled. "I had you pegged for a domestic beer drinker. Guess I was wrong."

"Are you wrong very often?" he couldn't help but ask.

"No, most blue-collar types of guys are pretty transparent. Beer and sex is what they're usually looking for. What's your name?"

"Dale," he answered.

"Dale, I'm Jennifer," she introduced herself before opening a waist-high cooler to her left and pulling out a water bottle. "That'll be five dollars. Make sure you come back here if you need anything else, alright?"

"I sure will," he agreed before paying up.

As he kept walking he was puzzled by the brief conversation and her friendly nature, until the thought occurred to him that she was probably being paid on a commission basis. That explained a lot -- her being so friendly, the way she was showing off her extremely nice body, giving the guys attention, doing all of the things women instinctively knew to do to keep them interested and coming back.

After finding his seat Dale made an effort to watch the game but his lack of interest made it an excruciatingly painful life lesson. While sitting there he decided to give Barry a piece of his mind the next time he saw him for not showing up.

He made it to the top of the third inning before the water bottle ran dry. Getting up he returned to the concession stand where Jennifer was working, which at the moment was devoid of customers. She was standing leaning on the counter looking the opposite way, showing him her pony. When her head turned and she saw him approaching she straightened up and warmly smiled in his direction.

"You're not much of a baseball fan, are you?" she asked when he approached.

He grinned. "Is it that obvious?"

"From what I'm hearing the bases are loaded with two outs and a heavy hitter is up to bat," she explained, "but you look absolutely bored."

"I am," Dale admitted, impressed by the young woman and her ability to read people so well.

"Let me guess... you're here for her sake but she stood you up."

"'She' is actually a 'he'," Dale clarified.

Jennifer was surprised. "I thought you were straight but that's okay, to each his own."

"I am straight, 'he' is a friend. There is no 'she' in my life right now."

"Not much of a friend," was all Jennifer could say. "Need another water?"

"Yeah, thanks."

"Can I interest you in anything else? A hot dog, nachos, chips, or popcorn?" she asked, pointing the items out as she mentioned them.

"Maybe, in a couple of innings. Five bucks, right?" he said as he reached for his wallet.

Jennifer liked this guy for some reason, he was different. She appreciated his short-cropped sandy hair and his athletic-looking body, which was several inches taller than hers. "Price change, seven dollars."

She nearly laughed at the shocked expression that appeared on his face when she told him that.

"Seven?"

"It's slow for a Saturday and I need to fill my tank," she teased him.

After he handed her a ten she opened the register and started to give him back five. "I was just kidding."

Dale hesitated. "Kidding about what?"

When her smile faded he sensed there was more to this.

"I was kidding about the price change."

But not about needing to fill the tank, he thought to himself. "Keep it."

Her smile returned. "Thanks."

"I'll be back," he promised before walking back to his seat.

* * * * *

Jennifer waited until the ninth inning started, and then she closed the stand. The day would've been a total waste had it not been for Dale. He returned several more times, once to buy a hot dog and nachos, leaving her a hefty tip, and again for popcorn, and another tip. She felt guilty about what she'd done, for saying anything to him to begin with to give him the impression that she was down on her luck, which she was. But that hadn't made it right.

Putting those thoughts behind her she felt a twinge of excitement at the prospect of hitting the beach. Bridgette had been right, she loved it more than life itself, and despite the hour-long drive that awaited her she drove it anyway.

As she got closer and smelled the salt air it set her heart to fluttering. Nothing mattered; not the crappy economy, not the lack of a job, not even Brad, not anymore. The salt from the ocean was racing through her veins as the summer season was beginning all over again.

Her roommate had been right; this was a new lease on life, an opportunity to start fresh with somebody new, somebody better than the men she'd met to this point in her life. Mr. Right was out there, and she needed to find him. And what better place to look than the beach she loved, because he had to love the beach too.

Not sure how late she might be, Jennifer pulled into a convenience store and filled up before driving the last couple of miles to Kensington beach. The paved parking lot was surprisingly crowded given the hour. After finding a place to park she grabbed a plastic grocery bag out of the back seat and nearly ran to a nearby restroom, her heart racing with eagerness.

In less than a minute she traded her shorts, t-shirt and tennis shoes for a pink string bikini and flip-flops, stuffing her removed clothing back into the plastic back. Leaving the restroom she returned to her car, tossing the bag in the back seat in time to watch a pickup truck carrying a pile of wooden pallets backing up over a curb and down onto the sand.

"Woo-hoo!" she cried out, loud enough to be heard over the blaring music emanating from the truck's cab, attracting the attention of several guys inside who returned catcalls.

Jennifer was really feeling the summer season now. While wanting to run down to the beach she instead forced herself to walk slowly as she approached a steadily growing cluster of partygoers not far from the water's edge. She mingled, keeping an eye out for Bridgette, who found her first.

"You made it," Bridgette said, loud enough to be heard above the din of voices and music.

Raising both arms, snapping her fingers and swaying her shapely hips, Jennifer was all smiles. "Hell yeah, let's party!"

"This is the Jen I know. Here, I just poured this, take it. I'll get another."

After Bridgette pushed her way through a wall of tightly clustered bodies, Jennifer drank down the clear plastic cup of beer. She was in party mode now, summer party mode, and she swayed her sexy body in time to the beat of the music.

"Jennifer?" a male voice hesitantly asked.

She opened her closed eyes and turned in the direction of the question to see, of all people, Dale standing there.

Jennifer was surprised, to say the least. "Dale?" When she looked down and saw the beer in his hand she couldn't help but ask, "Where's the water?"

"I'm just a transparent blue-collar kind of guy," he responded with a laugh.

She playfully slapped his arm. "So I was right after all."

"Yeah," he conceded. "What can I say? I am who I am."

"I'm glad you're here," she admitted sheepishly. "I want to apologize for this afternoon."

He was mystified. "About what?"

"How I acted at the stadium. Telling you the price went up, making you feel guilty, and then you were buying things every inning or two, giving me big tips." She guiltily sighed. "I shouldn't have done that, I'm really sorry."

Instead of being mad he only smiled. "I enjoyed it. Did you fill up the tank?"

Jennifer smiled while nodding. "I did, thanks to you."

"Then what's to feel guilty about? You're here, I'm here, it's all meant to be, right?"

Jennifer couldn't help but think that maybe it was. Her initial trepidation melted away as the excitement about another summer surged higher than ever.

"I'm really glad you came, Dale."

"Me too."

By this time Bridgette returned with each hand clutching a plastic cup filled with beer. Seeing this, Jennifer downed the rest of hers and placed the new cup inside of the empty one.

"This is Dale, I met him at the stadium today," Jennifer told her roommate. "He's totally awesome."

Bridgette saw the glimmer in Jennifer's eyes and smiled before turning to Dale. "Nice to meet you. I'm Bridgette, Jen's roommate."

They briefly shook hands.

Turning to Jennifer, Dale mentioned, "I'm nearly empty. Don't go far while I'm gone, okay?"

"We'll be here," she assured him.

On the way to the keg Dale ran into Edward.

"Dude, you're actually here," Edward said in surprise. "Kick-ass party, ain't it? There's a couple of chicks over here I've been talking to."

As Edward kept talking, Dale refilled his cup. "I got one over here I'm talking to."

"Does she have a friend?"

Dale wasn't sure what to say, but since they were roommates he decided to be honest. "She does, and she looks really good. Her name's Bridgette, a brunette."

Edward gave him a thumbs-up gesture. "I might make a pass in a little bit if things don't work out here. Thanks."

As an afterthought Dale grabbed his roommate's arm before moving his head closer. "Thanks for the invite to the party."

Edward waved him off. "No problem, dude. Happy to help."

A small group of men moved to the back of the truck and hoisted the pallets on top of a heap of wood and other combustible materials. A liquid was doused on top, and with a loud "whoosh" sound a large flame began to burn the materials while throwing off a considerable amount of light and heat. Several people shouted, the music was cranked up even louder, and dancing ensued.

"Up for a swim?" Jennifer asked Dale.

He nodded. She grabbed his hand and led him away from the party and towards the beach and lapping waves.

"I love the beach, the water," Jennifer shared as she led him closer to the water. "Always have. What about you?"

"Sure, the beach is great," Dale nervously replied. "Not quite dressed for it, though."

"Strip down to your underpants, it's not like anyone will notice," she tempted him before running and diving into the water until she was standing in it waist-deep. She challenged him with, "Come on, don't disappoint me."

Throwing caution to the wind Dale stripped down to his blue-colored briefs, leaving his clothes unattended on the sand not far from the water's edge before diving in. A few seconds later he was standing beside her.

"Why were you so nice to me?" she asked, curious, looking so desirable.

His shoulders shrugged. "I liked you from the first moment I saw you, a pony trailing out the back of your baseball hat. You're so... different, in a good way. Refreshing. I don't know, I can't really put it into words."

"You kept coming back, giving me tips," she persisted, "like you felt sorry for me."

"No, not at all," Dale assured her. "You're gorgeous. You made me feel important, like I'm a real person. You intrigued me with your trying to figure people out. And you're very good at it."

"Figure me out," she unexpectedly challenged him.

"I'm not good at this," he warned her.

She repeated, "Figure me out," moving closer to him as waves lapped around them, her firm boobs pressing against his bare chest.

"Okay," he reluctantly conceded, mind thinking as his cock began to stir. "You don't have a boyfriend, but I'm hoping you want one. You love summer, the beach. And maybe, just maybe, crossing my fingers here, you're interested in me."

Her slight smile was most revealing. She squealed before diving under the water, feet noisily kicking above the surface as the rest of her remained submerged for, perhaps, twenty feet.

"Come and get me," she happily cried out upon resurfacing.

She wasn't hard to catch, Dale discovered. After swimming up to her she allowed his arms to coil around her shoulders, allowed him to pull her body against his, allowed his lips to kiss hers. The embrace was uplifting and erotic for them both. As her breasts compressed between them he could feel the nipples getting hard, just as his cock was beginning its expansion.

After a few gentle kisses her mouth pulled away and her eyes found his. "I want you to know that I'm not the kind of woman who has sex on the first date. But with you, it's different."