The warm colors of the sunrise promised a beautiful day. A smooth beach and calm water awaited, providing the perfect setting for either relaxation or play.
But Trey didn't see it, his gaze was fixed on a lonely lifeguard tower. It took him back fifteen years, to a beach on the other side of the continent.
"Are you sure you won't have a party on the tenth, Trey? You only turn sixteen once."
"Who needs to plan and host a party, Nick? We pretty much live on Starfish Beach. We can go to a party every night if we want to."
Nick shook his head. "This is different. It's like a coming of age thing."
Trey laughed involuntarily at his friend's earnestness, but quickly controlled it.
Nick looked at him, obviously curious. "What?"
Trey looked at his feet. "Sorry, I didn't mean to laugh. It's just that before we volunteered for lifeguard duty, neither one of us had ever been out past eleven. And we'd never tasted anything stronger than root beer."
"I know, but that seems like a lifetime ago. This feels natural. Like we've always been here. I don't know how else to explain it."
Trey looked up at his best friend. "I feel the same way, Nick. And I can see how much you've changed. But I don't feel like I need a big party or anything. It's just a date on the calendar."
Nick straightened, his jaw set. "It might be just another day, but three weeks of staying with your Uncle Curt sure has changed us."
Trey grinned. "Yeah, our moms would have us back home at warp speed if they knew what we've been up to."
Nick laughed, then nodded. "Your uncle is the best. He understands that we don't need to sleep in our beds every night, when it's warm enough to just spend the night on the beach."
Trey squirted some sunscreen on, and stood. "I'll think about the party, if you really want to do it. Hi ho, hi ho, it's off to work I go."
Both boys laughed as Trey walked towards the lifeguard tower in a perfect dwarf imitation, towel swung over his bare shoulder.
A few minutes later, Trey was busily watching a group of bikini clad girls tossing a beach ball around.
Then he sat bolt upright, and grabbed his binoculars. "I can't believe it! Nick actually invited himself to play ball with them, and they let him?!?!"
One of the girls ran out of the water, laughing. When she returned, she had two small surfboards.
Separating from the rest of the group, Nick and the girl headed out into the warm, gentle water. "Maybe he should be the one having the party," thought Trey, grinning.
The other girls put the ball away, and all but one began to sunbathe.
She swam towards a small lagoon popular with snorkelers, but currently deserted. Trey was dividing his attention between the sunbathers and the swimmer.
"Oh no... please no, not that. I have to do something," whispered Trey, as he dropped the binoculars.
""Everyone out of the water! SHARK!" Trey shouted, as he raced towards the water.
The shark was lazily making its way to the lone girl. "Maybe I can intercept it," he thought.
Grabbing a large surfboard which had been carelessly left by the water's edge, he made his way out.
Trey paddled furiously, until he felt a powerful tugging. "Wow, this strong current is taking the board exactly where I need to be," he thought, grateful for the opportunity to rest.
A few seconds later, he gulped. "Uh oh, it looks like my plan worked. Maybe a little too well, judging by how fast that shark's coming. What did the instructor say about them?"
He stood, trying to keep to the center as much as possible. "Oh yeah, they like to go for surfboards. That explains why I got his attention right away..."
He forced his eyes away from the large grey fin to check on the swimmers. "Everyone's safe now. All I have to do is make it back to shore. I just wish it didn't look like it was a million miles away..."
Then he looked down. "The board... I know he's interested in it. But would he follow it, even with me in the water? I guess it's worth a try, I could probably swim back faster without it anyway."
Trey slipped into the water with as little splashing as possible. Then he gave the surfboard a little shove on its way, and dove down below the depth of the shark.
Without looking back, he swam towards shore.
When Trey finally stumbled out of the surf, a bikini clad girl bowled him over, inadvertently landing on top of him.
She smiled. With her full red lips only inches from his, she asked "are you alright? When you went under, I was so scared. I thought maybe there was another shark we couldn't see."
After he caught his breath, he grinned widely. "It takes more than a shark to keep me down. Say, I'm having a big birthday party on the tenth. Would you like to come?"
She slowly untangled herself from Trey, and stood. "I'd love to!"
He blinked, momentarily speechless at how easy it had been to ask the impossibly gorgeous girl out.
He accepted her outstretched hand, and got to his feet. "Have you ever seen the view from the top of the lifeguard tower?"
She shook her head, suddenly shy.
Without letting go of her hand, Trey led her towards the tall structure.
"That sure brings back memories," a soft female voice sang out happily.
Trey blinked rapidly, suddenly back in the present. "Yeah, I took you to the top of one the day we met."
She smiled. "I remember... maybe we should test this one out? Just to make sure it's still structurally sound, of course."
Without a word he climbed up, helping the tall, lithe woman take her rightful place beside him.