Quarter of a Century - part 2

Taking the baton from author K.K. Weil, is author Amity Grays

The It place to be, Mallory Square was jam-packed with an eclectic mix of tourists and locals, all there to check out the shops and boardwalk entertainment while waiting for the famous sunset to fall over the Gulf of Mexico.

 

Lana and the crew were no exception. They’d hit just about every tourist attraction on Maddie’s must-see list and way too many of the vendors in between. Now, strolling through the crowds, toting much lighter wallets and sacks packed with souvenirs, they were ready to relax and let themselves be entertained.

“Over there.” Ray lifted his arm directly in front of Lana’s face, giving her nose a playful bump as he pointed a finger to yet another boardwalk gathering.

“Do you really have to do that?” she asked, swatting away the limb as she turned her gaze to the not-so-small assembly. At the front of the gathering, facing the crowd, a man wearing a pork pie hat sat on a stool tuning his guitar.

“I think that’s the guy my aunt was telling me about.” Maddie’s face lit with excitement. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her list of must-sees. She poked a finger halfway down the page. “Pork pie hat—it’s him. She says he’s really good.”

  

Sophie lowered her sunglasses to peek over their rims. “Oh la la, really good-looking, you mean.” In the very next second, she was gone, beelining her way to front-row ogling.

Maddie fisted the list into a wad and shoved it back inside her pocket. “Hey, Soph, wait for me.”

“Well,” Kyle said with a sigh, “at least it isn’t shopping.”  He sauntered into the crowd.

Lana watched, an all-too-familiar tingle dancing a two-step around her heart. The feeling didn’t last long. The moment Sabrina ran forward and took hold of his arm, it flickered and died. Not even Kyle’s look of indifference could bring it back to life.

“He probably wishes he’d stayed home,” said Ray, watching the same exchange. Grabbing hold of Lana’s arm, he mimicked the bombshell blonde. “Kyle, I’m thirsty. Kyle, carry my bags. Kyle, you’re not listening to me, Kyle.”

Unable to hide her amusement or deny the truth of it, Lana merely smiled and headed for the crowd. Ray followed at her heels.

Kyle had caved and decided to come along only after she refused to bail on their friends. At first, she’d been secretly ecstatic, but the excitement had since worn off. With Kyle came Sabrina, and all she’d done was complain. Though, Ray was right, the whines seemed directly related to Kyle’s less-than-attentive responses to her unmerciful attentions.

Something was up between the two of them, Lana just couldn’t put her finger on what. A part of her wished she’d agreed to stay behind. Maybe that what was one of the things Kyle had wanted to talk to her about.

The musician looked up. “Hello, Everyone. Welcome to Mallory Square.”

Even from the very back of an enthusiastic crowd, Lana could still hear Sophie’s squeal.

An impressive rendition of Garth Brooks’ Friends in Low Places rang over the cheers of the throng. Ray wrapped his arm around her and boisterously sang out the chorus each time it came around.

She’d always enjoyed Ray. He was the good-old-boy-next-door kind of guy, always good natured, always reliable. Nice looking to boot. Maybe not Kyle’s, Lord-have-mercy-there’s-another-Hemsworth variety, but handsome all the same. “Built, brilliant, brown-eyed hottie,” Maddie had once described him.

Back in college, the hottie had his own personal fan club. The Geekette Squad, he’d affectionately called them—computer geeks, just like him, only the female variety. He’d almost married one. Molly was her name. She was the sister of his fraternity’s president and the reason Ray ended up with the unlikely crew he hung with today. A bad breakup had left him homeless. Lana and Maddie had needed a third roommate…and so history was made.

“Not bad,” he said as the singer wrapped up the song.

 

Lana stuck a finger in her ear and wiggled it. “What’s that? I can’t hear you. Some idiot kept screaming in my ear.”

Ray smiled and pulled the finger away. “Don’t worry,” he yelled. “What you have is easily treated these days.”

Several around them turned and stared. Kyle and Sabrina, the only gang members close enough to hear, burst out laughing.

An hour later, they all stood near the docks admiring the breathtaking sunset as it cast its orange rays up, down, and across the waterfront; turning everything it touched to a magnificent gold.

Maddie snuggled up next to her, giving her arm an affectionate squeeze. “Now, aren’t you glad you came?”

“I am. It’s been fun, and I’ve got some great souvenirs to take home to the folks.”

“Yeah, so does Sophie.”

Their gazes both moved to the railing where Sophie and her new friend, the singer/guitarist, stood holding hands.

“She looks so happy,” Lana noted.

“Are you kidding me?” Maddie laughed. “She’s ecstatic. Her mother will so not approve.”

Lana’s gaze drifted further down the wharf to land on two broad sets of shoulders—one Kyle’s, the others, Ray’s. For once, Sabrina was nowhere to be seen. They’d lost her a while back to the bedazzle of a jewelry vendor.

Maddie gave her a nudge. “You should go talk to him.”

“Kyle?” Of course, she meant Kyle. Her friend knew her so well.

“I think you threw him for a loop when you turned him down earlier.”

She’d sensed it too. He’d expected her to stay, and it was exactly that truth which made her glad she hadn’t. For the first time since she met him, she walked away feeling as though she’d gotten the upper hand. Not that there was any kind of competition. She idolized him and tried to hide it. He knew it, but pretended he had no idea.

“I think I’ll wait. Come on, Maddie, let’s get a better look at the horizon.”

She was leaning against the railing, watching the boats sail through the sunset, when a deep voice whispered in her ear, “You know, I’ve heard it’s good luck to be kissed under a golden sky.”

Okay, Reader’s Choice, who should it be.

A.      Ray

B.    Kyle

You have until Tuesday evening, 11 EST to vote.