A Surprising Two Days

Noah's voice woke me.

"I hear a motor," he said. When his arms were no longer around me, the slight chill of the night air was much more prominent. He stood, offering his hand to help me up. I could see a bright light in the distance, plus the sound of a motor.

When the light fixed on Noah, he waved his arms. The boat slowed, and the motor stopped.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, we're good, but there's a rock or something out there, so be careful."

"Thanks. I think we've spotted it. Noah?"

"Yeah."

"Your dad figured something happened to the jet ski, so he's coming out in another boat to haul it back home. He suspected you'd brought someone out here with you when he got the panic message."

Noah stepped aside, and the bright light was in my face.

"Arianna is here," he called.

Standing there in my bikini with a spotlight on me made me feel slightly uncomfortable.

"Your parents are looking for you, so we'll take you back while Noah waits here for his dad. Can you swim out here to the boat?"

If I wanted to go back, I'd have to swim out. So, with thanks and a kiss on the cheek, I bid Noah goodbye and swam out to the boat.

I had lots of help getting out of the water, and they even had a fluffy towel for me. It not only dried me but hid me from the several curious eyes that seemed to be watching me.

◇-◇-◇-◇

Arianna

"Your mom and dad are waiting there on the beach, so I'll pull in fairly close, and you can jump off and wade in to them. It's easier than having them try to find our dock around back."

"Thanks so much for coming out there to help us. I know it's late, and you'd rather be home in bed."

The one with the big mustache said, "Seeing you in that bikini made it worthwhile, lady. Take care now."

I laughed, not knowing quite how to respond to that remark, then tossed them the towel, realizing they'd get another good view, even though the light from the half-moon was fairly dim. I jumped in the water and waded toward the beach.

"Honey, are you okay?" my mom called as the boat pulled away.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Mom. There was never any real problem, although Noah's dad won't be very happy about what happened to his jet ski."

"What happened?" Dad asked, extending his hand as I exited the water.

"Well, Noah saw my turtle tattoo, said he knew of an island a few miles out that might have turtles on it, and we went there. There was a rock in the water, and the jet ski hit it--pretty well demolished the jet ski. The ski had a GPS panic alert switch that Noah used, and we waited for someone to come get us."

"You had your cell phone, didn't you? You should have called us." My practical mom.

"Both of our phones were locked in a water-tight compartment on the ski, but with the damage, the compartment was underwater. We could have opened it, but the phones would have been underwater and probably ruined."

"So, will we have to get you a new cell phone then?" My practical mom once more.

"I'll run to his place in the morning and see about getting the phone. His dad was coming out in another boat to haul the ski back in. They're leaving tomorrow for a week, but I doubt it will be early, particularly after tonight."

"Come on, let's get back to the house. You're wet, and I'm sure cold. Weren't you cold out on that island?"

I chuckled. "Would have been, but we kind of cuddled together to keep warm. It was so pleasant, I fell asleep."

I could tell from the look on my mother's face that she was afraid to ask any more questions on that subject. Dad just looked at me.

"We were going to go to dinner, but that never happened. I could use a snack or something."

"You take a shower, and I'll fix something good for you to eat. How about a chicken breast and some mac and cheese."

"That and the shower both sound good." We hurried away across the beach to our place.

Noah

"You ripped that thing up pretty good," my dad said in his usual straightforward way. "Probably lucky one or both of you weren't hurt."

"I saw something, and the next thing I knew, we were in the water."

"Let's get it hooked up, and we'll haul it back. Did you lose anything that you know of?"

"Both of our cell phones are in the compartment. We'll get them in the morning."

"Well, your mother wants to be on the road by 6:00 a.m., so not much will happen with the ski in the morning."

"I'd like to have my phone on the trip."

Maybe Dad didn't mind going without his phone for a week, but I did.

"Aren't you due for an upgrade?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"When we get to your aunt's, we'll get you a new phone."

I knew all my info was on the cloud, so that should work. I could handle one day, even if I wasn't too keen on being up at five in the morning. It was already after midnight.

Arianna

I slept well that night, even though I was in a strange bed. I liked consistency, and strange beds didn't fit that well. Plus, being up till after midnight, coupled with some extra excitement, had sapped about all of my energy. Mother had allowed me to sleep in, and it was after eight when I climbed out of bed, dressed, and headed toward the smell of frying bacon.

"That smells so good, but let me skip out for just a minute. I want to run up to Noah's and rescue my phone."

"Why don't you eat first." Practical Mom again.

"They're leaving sometime today, and I want to catch them before they go."

I considered jogging to his place but found out it would have been wasted effort when a neighbor informed me they were gone when he'd had his morning coffee at about seven. I'd be without my phone for a week unless I went to the shopping center and sprung for a new one.

After two hours of dying to call Darcy --I always had a daily review of my vacation adventures with my best friend--I borrowed the car and headed for the mall and the MetaPhone store.

We talked for an hour until the new phone, not fully charged when I got it, ran out of charge.

The rest of the week was surprisingly entertaining as there were a couple of guys who were a little older and another of the permanent residents who appeared each day when he wasn't at school. I didn't know any of them, but for a week's adventure, it didn't really matter.

We had a couple of beach volleyball games and did a lot of boogy boarding too. The waves weren't cooperating very well, so we spent a lot of time talking, laughing, and throwing Arianna into the air and watching her splash into the ocean. Thank goodness I was wearing a two-piece and not a bikini, although, when I flew off the jet ski and my bikini stayed in place, I had more confidence in their clingability.

I'd been able to rent a jet ski one day but hadn't allowed myself to head to the island to see if there really were turtles there. It was fun, and I couldn't help remembering the ride that night with the crash and subsequent rescue. I'd probably never have another experience like that.

The week ended all too soon as I enjoyed the warmth and the ocean that I wouldn't have in Pennsylvania. I spent the trip home searching the internet for turtle information and where they might be found in their habitat.

Noah

The jet ski was still in the water...on its side, and I wasn't anxious to don my snorkel and spend who knows how long underwater struggling to open the compartment and probably ruin the phones. Better to wait until we returned and could get the ski out of the water. I demurred on the early morning swim, and we left for the reunion.

It wasn't too bad as there were three cousins about my age, two girls and a guy. Although we were related, we didn't know each other, so hanging out, eating pizza, and even browsing the malls was fun.

When I picked up the new phone, I was ready to talk to a couple of good friends about my night on the island with the gorgeous girl in the bikini. When I began to dial, I hesitated. I thought I'd spice up the story by noting that we needed to stay warm, so we cuddled, and... I'd leave the rest to their imagination.

I pictured Arianna as that thought filled my head, the fascinating hazel eyes and the nearly perfect bikini body. So why was I hesitating? I debated with myself, finally realizing what it was. It was that very thing that was the heart of my tease. She clearly wasn't interested in sex with me but trusted me to cuddle with her when about ninety percent of her body was bare. I'd probably never see her again, but, in a way, I was glad I'd made that decision not to finish the call. It showed that perhaps I was maturing and wasn't simply a mass of testosterone looking for someone to... Ugh.

Back home at last, we found that a couple of neighbors had hauled the jet ski out of the water, and it was resting on the bank, still on its side. I was able to roll it over and get into the compartment where the two phones were still very dry. I tried Arianna's phone, but it was locked, and I couldn't access any information.

The next day I went to the MetaPhone store with her phone.

"How may I help you, sir?"

I'm sure she was anxious for me to purchase a new phone, but I'd already done that.

"I have an unusual problem," I began. "A friend and I went on a jet ski ride, the phones locked in the watertight compartment. We, um, wrecked the jet ski and couldn't access the phones, and she had to leave for home. Here's her phone, so if you could somehow get her information from that phone, I could send it to her."

The smile I received told me that maybe that wouldn't happen.

"I can access the information, but I can't give it to you. Privacy and all that, you know."

"Bummer. But you can find out who owns the phone, right? I only know her first name."

"I can find that for sure, and I can contact her and see if she wants me to send the phone."

"Okay, that would be great," I said, trying to hide my disappointment. "But, let me give you my name and number to send to her. We really didn't get time to formally introduce ourselves, but she might be interested in having my name. It was my jet ski."

The lady shoved a pad of paper in my direction and handed me a pen.

I carefully wrote Noah Brown on the paper, along with my cell number, and handed it to her.

"Thanks so much. I appreciate it."

"I'd love to have you as a MetaPhone customer," she said, a big smile coming my way.

"Already am, and I just picked up a new phone a few days ago." I held up my new iPhone.

"I'll see what I can do with this, then," she said, holding Arianna's phone."

It was the most I could hope for, I guess.

Arianna

"So, how was this guy you spent the night on the island with?"

Darcy always got right to the point, and the almost lewd smile on her face told me what kind of story she was expecting.

"It wasn't the entire night, Darcy. It was just until the boat came to rescue us."

"Still, long enough for good things to happen."

"The good thing that happened was that he put his arms around me and kept me warm."

"Is that the only thing he did to keep you warm, or maybe hot?"

I shook my head. Darcy seemed to think that anytime two people were together, alone, there had to be sex involved.

"Darcy, we'd known each other for about an hour when we got to the island. It usually takes a little longer than that to, you know, have at least some sort of a relationship."

"For you, maybe," she answered, that lecherous grin on her face once more.

My cell phone rang: a strange number showing on the screen.

"Ignore it," Darcy said. "I always do when it's a number I don't recognize."

Maybe just to spite her, I answered.

"Hello."

"Hello. Is this Arianna Atkinson, answering on her new iPhone 14?"

That took me by surprise. "Yes, it is, and how did you know that?"

"This is Sandy from the MetaPhone store at Sand Castle Beach. A young man brought in an iPhone that he said had been locked in the waterproof compartment of a jet ski, and he wanted to get it back to the owner but didn't know her full name or address. We were able to access the phone and got your records from the MetaPhone database. Would you like me to ship the phone to you?"

That was a surprise. Good old Noah and I didn't know his last name, either.

"Sure, I guess so. That would be fine."

"One more thing. He asked me to give you his name and phone number along with the phone. If you have a pen and paper, I'll do that."

A tiny shiver of excitement ran through my body. "Sure, that would be great."

She told me his name, Noah Brown, and I copied down the phone number as well, catching the gleeful look on Darcy's face as she realized what I was doing.

"Thanks so much."

"I'll get the phone out right away. You should get it in a couple of days."

"Is that Mr. Cuddle on the Island?" Darcy asked, pointing to the paper.

"Yeah, it is. I probably should send him a text to thank him for returning my phone, even though I don't need it any longer."

"Don't text him, call him. That's a lot more intimate, you know."

"Darcy, drop it," I said, but couldn't keep from laughing. "You know that with all my one-week summer camp adventures, I've never kept in touch with any of them. It's like we both understand that it starts when we get there and ends when we leave."

"Does," she leaned toward me, "Noah Brown know that too?"

"I don't know what Noah Brown knows. He was a nice guy, and we had fun together for a few hours...not even a week this time."

"Well, you need to give him a call. Hearing your voice will mean more to him than just getting a text message."

I hated it when the things Darcy was saying made more sense than what I was thinking. It didn't happen all the time, but when it did, it stung a little. Plus, there was the convention I had established of not contacting my one-week crushes after the week had ended. I wondered if I should apply that to Noah as well since it had only been a few hours with him. It seemed like a technicality, but...

Another half hour of talking and laughing and Darcy had to leave. I sat staring at the piece of paper with the name and phone number I'd written there. He'd taken the time and effort to ensure I got my phone back, and I couldn't ignore that. At least I knew I shouldn't ignore it. I shook my head, realizing how silly I was being. I pulled my phone from my hip pocket, punched in the ten numbers, and waited.

"Hello," said a questioning voice.

"Hello, Noah. This is Arianna. I wanted to thank you for taking the trouble to see that I'd have my phone returned."

"I'm so glad you called, and I hope the phone gets back to you okay."

"I never got to say goodbye at the beach--I went to your place in the morning, but you'd already left."

"I know. Mom wanted to get started early, and the jet ski was still in the water, so I couldn't get at it before we left."

"No problem. I've been wanting a new phone for a while, so that gave me a good excuse to get it."

"Same here. If I'm not being too nosy, what's your last name?"

If he'd asked me at the beach, I'd have told him without question, so I guess there was no sense in being secretive now.

"I'm Arianna Atkinson."

"Nice to meet you formally, Arianna Atkinson."

"Indeed, Noah Brown. The lady who called from MetaPhone gave me your name and number."

"I hoped she would. I enjoyed our time together, and it just seemed weird to have it end so quickly the way it did. How was the rest of your week?"

"Not nearly as exciting as that first day," I said with a laugh. "But it went well. I even rented a jet ski but was too chicken to go out to the island."

"I sure understand that. Not sure I want to go back there again...unless, of course, you show up, and we can go look for turtles."

I chuckled. "I'm thinking of getting another turtle tattoo on the other shoulder, this one with a question mark on its shell to remind me of my island adventure."

"If you do, you have to send me a photo of it."

"For sure." I was definitely going to get the tattoo, so that would mean at least one more contact with Noah.

"You said you were skipping a semester of school because of the two professors, but I never asked what you were studying."

He hadn't, and I hadn't told him, either. I usually kept that a secret for two reasons, neither of them valid, I was sure. It was just me.

"Do you really want to know? You'll probably think differently of me if I tell you."

"As long as you're not studying how to make crystal meth or something like that, I think it would be fun to know."

"Theoretical Physics."

"Wow, no shit?"

I knew he was picturing the girl in the blue bikini and trying to connect that to theoretical physics. For most people, that title was just two words that had little meaning to them.

"Afraid so. See, I told you you'd think differently of me when you found out."

"Well, you're right about that. I'm a pharmacist, so a long way from physics."

"That's science, so not that far. For some people, those two words are like a foreign language."

"I'm just speaking the truth here, but you don't expect a beautiful lady like yourself to be a physicist. It's prejudice, I know, but I'm a little guilty, I guess."

I laughed and, on impulse, punched the facetime button on the phone.

"Hi there," he said, a big smile on his face.

"Hi. I thought that, since we had such a short time together, it might be good to get another glimpse."

"I like your thinking. I see you're dressed a little more warmly than you were when we met."

"It's not quite winter in Pennsylvania, but tending toward coolness."

"Where in Pennsylvania?"

I wondered if Pennsylvania was specific enough. Normally it would be. What was the difference with Noah?

"Latrobe."

"No kidding? I know three things about Latrobe. Arnold Palmer, Mr. Rogers, and Rolling Rock beer."

"You've got it pegged pretty well. The only thing you missed is that the Pittsburgh Steelers have their preseason camp here."

"Well, that's pretty important too." Noah was quiet for a moment. "Are you coming back to the beach next summer?"

I had a choice. I could be noncommittal, or I could be cute and tease a little. I surprised myself.

"Why do you ask?" I said, smiling coyly at him as I did.

"I said I enjoyed being with you, and I'll do some research on turtles and see what we'll have to do actually to see some of them. And there's always the jet ski."

I remembered riding behind Noah, my arms locked around his waist.

"Hard to refuse an offer like that. I'm sure Mom and Dad will be going to the beach again. Plus, I'll have graduated by then, so I may be out on my own with a job. Or I may be ready to start chasing a masters. Either way, there's no doubt that I'll be back there next year. I like the heat, and I love the ocean."

"I'll be here too."

Something suddenly struck me. "Did you say you were a pharmacist?" I was sure I could see his cheeks turning a little rosy, and he looked away from the phone for a second. I wondered what he was thinking.

"Yes, and you're wondering why I still live with my parents?"

My turn to fumble. It wasn't what I was thinking, but was a curiosity.

"Not exactly, and besides that, it's none of my business." Noah had broached an awkward subject.

"It's my dad. I wanted to move out and get an apartment or a small house. He insisted that I live at home for a year or two and stash the money I'd be using for rent or mortgage payments. In a couple of years, I can save enough to pay for a tiny house or make a nice down payment on a larger one. I fought against it at first, but I'm watching the savings grow, and it looks better every day. And, when I buy the house, I'm sure my friend's teasing will stop."

"That makes a lot of sense, Noah."

"Plus, I get free use of a jet ski," he said with a smile.

"Did you get that jet ski repaired?"