He didn't know why they had never left. The two of them were the only ones that had stayed. Everyone else had moved away or moved on. But they had stayed. They grew up and grew older. They had jobs and a mortgage. They had the home, the family, and the dog. They were living the American dream. It was so far from the nightmare that had brought them together; the nightmare that almost destroyed them. The nightmare they instead destroyed.
Or so they thought.
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A girl danced in the middle of the crowd, almost to her own song. She seemed oblivious to those around her and perhaps even the band playing. With Gabe, there was no doubt that he didn't notice anything but the girl swaying and rolling her hips out of time to the music. Her hair was long and black, almost straight but not quite. From this distance, it seemed her eyes were black too. Her skin was almost translucent. She wore a loosely fitting silky green top and jeans. Jewelry twinkeled in the firelight at her neck, ears, and hands. And then she looked up, over the bonfire...and straight into his eyes.
Gabe's breath caught. There was an intensity in her eyes that made it hard to breathe...it made him hot and at the same time frightened him. A fire burned behind them that was sexual and...predatory. Her lips turned upward slightly, and she turned away.
He shook his head, slowly. He looked away from the girl and her ill-suited yet seductive dance. He could be a bit shy around a girl but this... this wasn't shyness. This was something else entirely, something he couldn't put into a single word. This was wanting to find out every secret behind those mysterious black eyes, no matter how long it took. This was wanting to throw her down in front of everyone and take her, like an animal. This was wanting to hold her to him until the stars fell from the skies. She had looked at him like she was the huntress and he the prey, yet it was he who felt an intense animal instinct taking hold of him. Gabe took a few deep breaths and looked back across the bonfire. She was gone.
Gabe's eyes scanned over the crowd, trying to see where the girl had gone. Seeing nothing, he pushed his way free of the audience. He could see the boardwalk, covered with people milling across the planks. He knew he'd never find her amongst that crowd. Sighing in exasperation, he looked out towards the beach. The moon hung bright and heavy over the water; each crest of the surf was illuminated like bits of glass. There, the girl walked slowly across the beach, her shoes in one hand.
Gabe ran down the width of the beach towards her. As he drew closer, he slowed down. The girl turned to him when he was still easily 15 yards away, and took a defensive stance. Gabe smiled at her. "Hi," he said. "My name is Gabe. I saw you at the concert, dancing...um...I wanted to say, uh, hi...well, I wanted to get your number...
The girl looked at Gabe and smirked. He hated that. Within seconds, he'd managed to look like a complete and total idiot. So much for his animal instincts. He wasn't some geek that was inept around girls. He wasn't Don Juan, but hey, he was barely eighteen. He did pretty well in comparison to many guys his age. Considering the girls his age weren't exactly the pinnacle of maturity themselves (giggling was a constant), he was a Don Juan, at least of the high school crowd. But this time, he didn't have the upper hand, and he knew it. This girl looked at him with the confidence, no, the cockiness he could only fake. Gabe wanted her so much he could taste it.
"What's your name?" the girl suddenly asked Gabe, effectively knocking him out of his trance. Have I been drooling? he thought. "Errr... Gabe... Gabriel." he replied. The smirk on the girl's face didn't waver. "Nice to meet you, Er-Gabe-Gabriel." With that, she turned around, and started walking away.
Gabe was shocked. He could handle the girls at school, sure, but couldn't this one at least squeeze out a little giggle, put him a little more at ease? "Wait! Wait!" Gabe yelled after her. "What's your name?" The girl turned back to him and grinned. A wolf, Gabe thought. She reminds me of a wolf. "Shea." The girl replied matter-of-factly to Gabriel, and continued walking away.
At this point, Gabe was more than interested. He was enthralled. He was frustrated. He was a little pissed off. "Hold on for a minute!" he said for a moment, rather forcefully. "Can I just talk to you for a little bit?" This girl, Shea, was driving him crazy. "Without stuttering? Now that might impress me." Gabe frowned. Shea laughed at him. Finally, a little encouragement, Gabe said to himself. He jogged a short distance to catch up to her, and began walking side-by-side along the shoreline, under the light of the moon.
