Member-only story
Divine Circumstance
I knew her as if she were from a far-off dream.
The waves crashed against the shore as I watched my friends while we lingered on the beach.
Tara shook a can of soda and let it spurt all over Noel. “Oh, sorry!” she said, though her face was all mad glee. “I didn’t see you there!”
“I bet you didn’t,” Noel said. The next moment, he flicked his beach towel at her and sprayed sand all over her in the process. A cry of outrage sputtered out of her lips.
I shook my head, but I couldn’t help the spike of envy that flared through me. Tara and Noel were far from an item, but their easy camaraderie had always bothered me. Where was the girl I could banter with so easily?
“I’m going in the water,” I said. Tara waved in my direction to show she had acknowledged me, but her attention was still half Noel’s. I smiled in spite of myself because, though Noel didn’t realize it, Tara was mad for him.
The sun glittered on the water in a way that made it seem as if diamonds were splattered across the blue surface. I loved this place; during the summer, it felt like my second home. It was a rare weekend when I didn’t rush here just to feel warmth on my skin as the sunlight had her way with me and the lake whispered her secrets in soft lulls.
