I'm not going to lie, the best thing about being a teacher is having the summer off. My friends and I have done the math and if you count all the time we spend planning, reading journal articles to keep current, and the mountains of grading, we end up working more than enough hours during the school year to makeup for our extended summer break. A lot of teachers take on summer jobs to make extra money, but I can't bring myself to do it. I give so much of myself to my job, that I really needed to step back in the summer and just be me. That's why, after my dad died, I bought a small condo on the beach with some of his life insurance money. I spend two months of my year living in North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and reading as many books as I possibly can.

That is why I am currently walking up the wooden stairs of my condo complex with a pile of books stacked high from just under my chin to below my waist. Just as I reach my landing, my foot catches on the slightly uneven step, and in order to preserve my face, I let my books fly all over the landing and catch myself with my hands just in time. To my embarrassment, I see my spill did not go unobserved. A tall man with crazy hair and a petite woman are now looking my way. As I bend down to pick up my books, the couple comes over and starts to help as well.

I laugh a little bit to myself as I gather the books into a stack again. The man is holding a stack of books, and I finally look up at him with a grin on my face. "Thanks," is all I say.

He can't seem to decide if it's ok to laugh at what just happened or not, so his eyes are dancing with laughter, but his mouth is set in a line. The woman is holding another stack and I thank her as well and say, "It's ok to laugh you know. I know you want to. It's not every day you get to see a pile of books fly."

The man chuckled, "It did sort of look like an explosion from down the hall. I didn't even see you at first, just books flying everywhere."

I noted absently that he had a nice, deep voice as his companion added, "Are you all right?"

I laughed, "Nothing hurt but my pride. My best friend from back home told me I wasn't going to get all those books up here in less than three trips, and I bet her I could do it. I guess I owe her a dollar now."

They both laughed.

"Do you need any help with the rest of your things?" he asked.

"No, this was the last of it, and I'm right here." I indicated the condo right next to the stairs by wiggling my right elbow at it as I stood facing them, still holding onto a stack of books.

"Well then, allow me," the man said as he pulled back the wooden screen door and opened the brown metal door behind it. I placed the stack of books just inside the hallway and turned and retrieved the stacks from each of them.

"Thanks a lot. I guess I should introduce myself. I'm Bella Swan." I turned around and stuck out my hand in greeting toward the couple.

The dark-haired woman stepped around the man, who seemed a frozen, and shook my hand. "My name's Alice and this is Edward. I hope you'll be around a while?" she questioned.

"Oh, yeah. I stay the whole summer. I'm actually the owner of this unit. Are you guys new or just renting for a while?" I kind of hoped that they had bought a unit because they seemed like a nice couple and they were fairly young. Most of the owners here were older couples. It would be nice to have some people my age to have over for dinner once in a while.

Alice answered again. "We're just renting, but Edward will be here the whole summer too."

"Oh, well that's nice. I should get settled in and all so I can get to the grocery store before it's too gets too late. It was nice meeting you two, and I'm sure I'll see you around." I smiled at both of them genuinely and thought that they seemed nice. Edward was still just staring at me with a bit of a grin on his face.

After I unpacked my suitcase, put my books on the bookshelf in my living room, and opened the sliding glass doors to let in some air, I went through my refrigerator and threw out anything that had expired since the last time I was here. I only had a few condiments in there to begin with, but I wanted to make sure I didn't buy something I already had. I also went through the cabinets and checked what I had in them as well. Once I had an idea of what was already here, I sat down and made a menu for the week and then a grocery list. It might seem a little over-organized to some people, but I like doing things this way. I don't always stick to my plan exactly, but I find I need to go to the store less often because I get everything at once, and it does save me some money.

I left my condo, list in hand, and headed to the local grocery store. As I drove past all the beach shops selling the same things and all promising drastic discounts or free items with purchase, I couldn't help but feel home. While Myrtle Beach wasn't my home really, it did have a special place in my heart. I remember the trips we took here as a family when I was a child and how my dad didn't really like the sun or the sand, but he'd come anyway to spend time with my mom and me. Even though it wasn't really his favorite place in the world, it would always make me think of him. I think that's the main reason I bought my condo. That and my mom loved to come visit.

The grocery store was in the same place it has been since my days here as a child. It wasn't the fanciest grocery store in town, but I was loyal nonetheless. I couldn't see myself driving down to a newer one, when this one was still open.

I picked up most of the items I needed and was standing next to the rows of lotions in the personal care aisle when I noticed someone familiar at the end of the aisle. He seemed to be pretending to look at the deodorants, but really he was sneaking peaks at me every few seconds. I decided to ignore him for the moment and searched for the cocoa butter. The smell of cocoa butter always reminded me of the beach. My mom bought it for me here one summer when my sunburn was finally gone and my skin was very dry. I closed my eyes and brought the bottle up to my nose and thought I could even smell it a little through the safety seal. I smiled.

"Is there a reason that lotion makes you smile?" the man from the hallway earlier asked and interrupted my memories.

"Is there a reason you were contemplating your deodorant selection? I thought most people just bought the same one each time," I teased him right back. His tone and nosiness made me a little uncomfortable, but I didn't want to seem rude.

"Well I don't have one that makes me smile, so I thought I'd keep looking," he answered back with a crooked grin.

"Maybe someday." I give him a fake smile and shrug and put my cocoa butter in my cart.

I'm about to walk away when I hear his voice again, very quietly, "Bella?"

I turn back to him and see he is hanging his head and kicking the toe of his shoe against the wheel of his cart. "Yes?"

"I'm sorry if I offended you somehow by asking about the lotion. You looked like it reminded you of something pleasant. I just wanted to know." He looked up at me during his last sentence, and I was shocked by how green his eyes were. They were beautiful. It took me a second to get back to the topic, but I don't think he noticed.

"You didn't offend me. I'm sorry if I acted annoyed or anything. The smell makes me think of my childhood here at the beach. I'm a pretty private person and I work in a high school so I guess when someone asks me a question I'm even slightly uncomfortable with, I'm likely to turn into teacher mode and act kind of condescending. I try to turn it off, but it's difficult."

He smiles at me and asks, "So I got a glimpse of Ms. Swan there?"

I can't believe this guy remembers my first and last name. I'm struggling to remember his name at all and I'm drawing a big blank right now. "Um, yeah, I guess you did. Well I should finish up here and get home. I'm getting hungry."

I smile to let him know I'm not upset and walk away. I chance a glance back at him as I round the corner, and he's still watching me.

What was his name?