All In

Danny:

I stood there staring at my dresser, trying to find a bathing suit for the Avenue Hill Marching Band BBQ. I don't know if I should wear a bikini top and board shorts or a tankini.

"Danny we leave in twenty!" Mikey screamed from downstairs. Screw it! I am just closing my eyes and choosing. I counted to three and grabbed the first suit I touched. I opened my eyes, slowly to gaze upon the baby blue bikini top. I quickly changed into the top and slid on my grey shorts to match. I waltzed out of the room to see Mikey drop his mouth at the sight of me, "No! go change into something else!" he said rather loudly.

"No, I like this suit!" I yelled back. Slipping on my vans t-shirt and white jean shorts.

"Fine. This, I'm hoping is not all for a certain boy," he lifted his eyebrows and smirked.

"No! I just decided to wear this suit," I slapped his shoulder and slipped my blue ray bands into my dark brown hair. We arrived about ten minutes late to the party, making us some of the last people to arrive. I sat on the beach watching the waves break. I stretched out my legs and looked at my feet in the sand.

"Hey, Danny! Come join us for volleyball!" Ed called over and I shook my head and looked back at the ocean, "Don't be a party pooper! Yo Jackson!" Ed said and as soon as I heard those words, I took off running at top speed. Sadly, it was not fast enough for Amazon-legged Jackson. I was scooped into the air and into his arms. He threw me over his shoulder and tossed me into the salty ocean waters. Once I resurfaced, Jackson was standing in front of me with a cocky smirk on his face. I laughed but still lunged at him because I was mad.

"Danny!" he screamed and I pushed him down into the water. Sadly, I didn't think this all the way through. He grabbed my hands and I landed on top of him. His muscles tightened below me and he had a wild smile planted on his face. I took in a deep breath and got up, "I'm sorry." he said grabbing my hand.

"It's okay," I said, wringing out my hair. We sat down where I was before and just talked. I was mostly dry and most of the band was out on the grass dancing.

"Do you want to dance?" Jackson asked, holding his hand out for me to take, but shook my head. "Why not?" he whined. Standing up and stomping his left foot.

"Ha! Because I can't dance," I laughed and stood up.

"Please just one dance? For me?" he begged, holding out his hand once more. I took it and was pulled into the crowd of sweaty band teenagers. I held Jackson's hands and started to dance to the upbeat music.

Three songs later, Jackson and I left the dancing crowd and we walked hand in hand down the beach. He leaned down and picked up a rock.

"Do you know how to skip?" I shook my head and he tossed the rock which glided across the surface of the water three times, "It's pretty easy to learn, here." he placed a rock in my right hand, "You got this!" Jackson cheered for me as if I was about to compete in the Olympics. I stared at the rock for a minute to try and understand how the heck Jackson defied the laws of physics with a simple little rock. It was small, flat, and impossibly smooth. It was a perfect little rock. Gosh, I really hope I don't mess this up. I looked out to the ocean, moved my arm back, and...plop! The rock met the whitewater of a wave that just curled and sank almost immediately. My cheeks flushed with embarrassment. Without a word, Jackson took me a little further down the coast as we went on a scavenger hunt for the next rock I would fail at skipping across the ocean.

"Aha!" Jackson found another beautiful rock and handed it to me. I was about to throw into the water like the last one when Jackson came behind me and guided my arm through the motions, "Alright, so you just have to move your arm like this, and launch the rock with not too much or little force! Ready? One...two...three!" I closed my eyes. When I opened them, I saw my rock happily skid and jump across the ocean a few times, "Danny you did it! I knew you could!"

"Oh my gosh, I did it!" I wrapped my arms around Jackson's neck and he hugged me back, "That was so cool! I need to try that again!" he smiled down at me, pride shining in his eyes. I'm so happy. I'm so happy. I'm so happy! Happiness is all my brain can process right now. Jackson and I continued combing for rocks up and down the coast and made a little competition of who can skip rocks the longest. Even though I knew he would win, my competitive spirit took over me and didn't just want to win, I needed to win. He would skip every rock every time with grace. It was like watching a ballet that was rehearsed to perfection. I, on the other hand, was skipping rocks every once in a while, but sent most of them to watery graves.

"Jackson: two million! Danny: five!" Jackson teased. I stuck my tongue out at him and accepted defeat. The sun was starting to set, so we made our way back to the bonfire, where all the ingredients necessary for s'mores were waiting for us. The smell of marshmallows, both roasted and burnt, filled the air with the aroma of high school memories, "Shall I interest you in some s'mores, mademoiselle?" I laughed as Jackson assembled the little gooey sandwich for me. Once he made one for himself, we left the fire pit and found some big rocks to sit on by the water, which was slowly creeping towards us as the tide rose. We clanked our s'mores together, "Cheers, Danny!"

"Cheers to me eventually beating you in a skipping rocks competition in the future!" I joked, nudging his shoulder with mine. We both bit into our messy s'mores as the sunset behind the horizon.

Splash! Just as I finished my s'mores, a small wave crashed against my legs, giving me goosebumps. Man, the water is freezing! We definitely underestimated how fast the tide was rising. I looked over to find Jackson laughing at my misfortune, so I took the opportunity to give him a taste of his own medicine. While he was having his laugh attack, I snuck up behind him and splashed him as hard as I could.

"Hey! What was that for?" Jackson gave me his best puppy eyes.

"You totally asked for it! You're not supposed to laugh at me, you're supposed to help me!" I said in between my giggles.

"Well, you're not getting away with it! Not if I can help it!" and he started sprinting after me. I ran as fast as I could in the water, as we were laughing hysterically, splashing each other here and there to try and disadvantage each other. Soon enough, my legs couldn't carry me any further, and Jackson tackled me into the water, "So close, yet so far, Danny," he muttered, offering me a hand. I took his hand, and he stared at me. A few moments went by in silence.

"What?" I asked, looking back at him in this strange staring contest. For some reason, my heart was skipping, like the rocks from earlier, and my stomach fluttered like butterflies. Standing there together, in the shallows, Jackson moved his face closer to mine, so close that it felt as though we were sharing the same air. His eyes peered right through mine, and my mind finally caught up with what was happening. I felt my cheeks go hot as I found myself beginning to lean in as well. Oh my gosh, this is really happening! Wait a minute, what do I do? I've never even done this before! My brain was spiraling with excitement and anxiety, and I was getting lost in the moment and in my thoughts, "Are we really doing this, Jackson?" his name rolled off my tongue.

"If you want to, Da—"

"Hey, Danny! It's getting late, I gotta take you home! Danny? Where are you? Are you on the beach?" ugh, Mike. He's walking towards us, "Dan—Ooooo, am I interrupting something? Hey Lover Boy, I know that this is a moment for you guys, but I have to take my sister home like yesterday."

"Mikey! Can you seriously not wait like five minutes?" I scowled at him. I began shooing him away when Jackson put a hand on the small of my back.

"Danny, it's okay. Maybe another time when your parents aren't waiting for you to get home, and your brother isn't being a pain in the you know what," Jackson always finds a way to make me smile. I giggled at the idea and squeezed his hand as a silent goodbye. Mike and I hopped into the car, and as soon as Mike turned on the car, I switched the bluetooth to my phone and played my music.

"Ugh! Danny turn that crap off! I was listening to my music!" he yelled and I just gave him a smirk.

"I find it weird that you don't like Green Day. Most guys go crazy over their music, but no you're all country," I mocked.

"Ugh! Just change it!" Mike turned out of the parking lot.

"No! I don't want to listen to a guy singing about beer and how he can't get the girl!" I said, glaring at him.

"Stop insulting my music, Danny! At least I don't listen to people screaming about how they're going to kill themselves and the rest of the world!"

"It's quality content! Mikey!"

"It's horrible, Daniella."

"You did not just go there, Michael David Anderson!" that's right, I used his full name. That will definitely push some buttons. He glared at me, and we drove the rest of the way home in silence.