Page 7 of Lost in the Current of You

He grinned. “Good. I’ll call you later.”

With that, I climbed off the bus, and we gathered our suitcases. Checking in was quick, as there were only a couple of people in line in front. Before we knew it, we were in our room, crashing on the bed with a sigh.

“Oh, this is going to be a great week. I’m gonna sleep like a baby and wake up to beach views. What a dream,” Alex sighed as he closed his eyes and nuzzled into the bed closest to the window.

I hummed in agreement from the bed next to him, staring through the big open window to the left of the beds at the vast ocean views and the buildings below.

Only a week of freedom. Then I would go back to the stifling weight of decisions of my future, brought forth by my mother and her need for reassurance and control over everyone’s life.

I was going to soak up every bit of the feeling being there gave me for as long as it lasted.

3

With the sun setting low on the horizon, casting a golden hue over the ocean and painting the sky in pinks and purples, Alex, Avery, and I linked our arms together as we made our way for our first night out.

The schedule given to us as we collected our schoolies I.D. outlined the dress-up themes of the nights throughout the week. The first night’s theme was tight and bright. It was a step out of what I usually wore, which was more on the side of flowy and breathable. Sundresses, overalls, loose crops, and printed palazzo pants were more of what I drifted towards. The outfit I wore that night melded to my skin and showed more than I was usually comfortable with. But the way Reece watched me as we made our way to him and his friends made me feel so much more confident.

Avery, Alex, and I had done some shopping online a few weeks before to find matching outfits for this night. Avery and I in skirts reaching mid-thigh with a slit up one side, and a triangle top held together with dainty strings. While I opted for a blue colour palette, hers was a mix of bright orange and pinks. Alex went with a neon purple and pink button-up shirt and purple board shorts to match.

The November air was sticky and humid, clinging to our skin. However, the slight breeze that came with being close to the ocean eased the feeling. Our outfit was light enough for the wind to filter through, thankfully. Although, I wouldn’t have the chance to change my mind with Avery’s statement that we either ‘look hot or go home’.

My camera hung around my neck, a promise I made to Nate. He told me I needed to take heaps of photos. To hold onto the memories that would fill the week away. He gave it to me before I left this morning and hugged me goodbye. It was the same camera that Dad bought for him when he moved to Townsville two years ago. It looked just as new as it did that day, barely used as Nate confessed when he handed it to me.

I took pictures of the setting sun over the ocean as we walked, trying not to pay attention to the burning heat of Reece's gaze on me. But it was hard when I could practically feel them trailing a path down my body.

Once we were close, a low whistle came from him, making my gaze jump to him. He was leaning against a tree, arms crossed against his chest. He made a show of holding a hand over his heart and slumping further into the tree.

“I think I must have gone to heaven,” he said as I reached him and I shoved his shoulder with an eye roll. He stumbled a little, but it didn’t stop the amused smile growing on his face.

“You idiot.”

He laughed and my lips tugged up. It was hard to ever stay annoyed at him, even fake. When he laughed, it made me laugh. His smile made me smile. His happiness radiated off him and spread to others like it was his job to make everyone happy. I missed the warmth of that. Nine months was a long time between seeing someone and his presence had left a hole in my life. And now, it was like that piece was fitting back into place.

The ground beneath us vibrated with the loud music coming from further up the beach, the night already in full swing.

We continued to make our way to the beach with Jake, Sage and Reece joining us. Reece had his hands stuffed in the pockets of his light blue board shorts, and his creased matching button-up hung loosely on his shoulders with the three top buttons undone.

“I like the outfit,” he said after a while. “You know, blue suits you.” I felt my cheeks heat slightly with his statement as I forced my lips down by pressing them together. “We match,” he added.

“That we do,” I agreed as I bumped my shoulder with his.

The music became louder as we reached the closed-off beach area, a stage facing the street holding headlining DJs. The line was long, but it moved quickly. It was only a ten-minute wait, but in only a few minutes of stepping onto the beach, we lost most of our group in the rush of the crowd.

With only Avery left by my side, our grip on each other tightened in fear of being completely separated on our first night out.

In our lost efforts of trying to find our friends in a crowd of unfamiliar faces, we gave up and headed to the bar to grab drinks.

“Well, this is going to be fun,” Avery said, turning from the bar to gaze at the few hundred people on the beach with all their bright coloured outfits. “There’s no point trying to search too hard when there’s so many people here. Maybe let’s just have fun, and if we find Alex and the others, we try stick to the group.”

I sank back onto the flat of my feet in my last attempt of scanning the faces around me, accepting her words, knowing it would be hard to find them. With the setting sun dimming the ability to see, I didn’t want to spend the whole night wandering around looking for everyone and not having fun.

We clasped each other’s hands again and squeezed through the crowd until we had pushed almost to the front of the stage. The bass of the music felt like it vibrated right through our bones. But it felt electric, the energy crackling from person to person as the DJ on stage heightened everyone’s adrenaline. We danced — or jumped — and sang remixed versions of our favourite songs. We had completely forgotten about the others as the hours went by until we spotted two of them through the crowd.

Jake’s familiar fluorescent shirt came into my line of vision, but just as quickly, he disappeared again when someone stepped into my view.

Avery found Alex a few moments later, pointing out the mop of blond hair with his lips locked passionately with someone slightly obscured from vision. We laughed because of course he worked that fast to find someone on our first night. His carefree spirit was magnetic, always attracting people to him. He was popular in our high school year, and it was easy to see why you spoke to him within the first moments.

He was ever-changing to please people and befriend everyone. He had always wanted to be a positive light in people’s lives. But to us, he was an absolute goofball, the sunshine in our lives with flaws we love and where he could show parts of himself he usually kept hidden.

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