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“Are you ready, Stalker?” Max asked as she slammed the car door shut behind her.
She walked around the car to the sidewalk with a spring in her step, more excited than Lucas had seen her in awhile. Probably since he told her his parents gave him permission to come with her on this trip to visit her dad.
“I’ve seen Lake Michigan,” said Lucas. “The ocean can’t be that different. They’re both just giant bodies of water.”
Lucas was excited to see the ocean, but he didn’t think it would be life-changing or anything. Plus, he could never pass up the opportunity to give Max a hard time.
“They’re not at all the same!” said Max. “That’s like comparing a TIE fighter to the Death Star.”
Lucas was momentarily too enamored by his girlfriend’s nerdiness to respond.
“You know when you look at the ocean, it goes on as far as you can see,” Max said.
“You know you can’t see across one side of Lake Michigan to other, right?”
Max rolled her eyes and tugged on his arm, urging him to move faster down the street. “I’m sure it’s still doesn’t feel like the same vastness of the ocean.”
“And I’m sure it’s still just water,” said Lucas.
“Just wait, you’ll see!”
Max led them past the expensive homes that blocked the view of the ocean to a pathway that took them down the cliffside to the beach.
“You know Max even if the ocean’s a letdown, that burger from In-N-Out was pretty good. I’ll give you that.”
“Okay, yes, In-N-Out is amazing, but the ocean could never be a letdown,” she said. She stopped just before they rounded a corner which would put the ocean in their view. “Okay, close your eyes.”
Lucas looked at the uneven dirt path in front of them and gestured to the steep, jagged cliffside beside them.
“You can’t walk down this with your eyes closed.”
“Yes, you can,” Max insisted. “I’ll lead you and it’ll be fine.”
Lucas gave her a look even though they both knew he would give in. He closed his eyes and gave her his hands.
It was slow going. Lucas trusted Max not to let him walk off the cliff, but he still hesitated with every step, afraid he was going to trip over a rock or something. He could hear Max give apologies as other beach-goers passed them. The two minute walk ended up taking about ten.
“Okay,” said Max letting out a breath as they stepped from the dirt path onto the sand. “We’re almost there. Keep your eyes closed.”
She went behind Lucas and put her hands on his shoulders directing him towards what he guessed was the water. She brought him to a stop and put her hands over his eyes. He listened to the crashing sounds the waves made, some of them loud almost like the sound the plane had made when it took off, some of them quiet like the sound of the babbling stream by Hopper’s cabin.
“You ready?” Max asked.
“Yeah,” said Lucas, mentally preparing his surprised face, as to not let Max down.
She uncovered his eyes.
Lucas forgot all about acting surprised as his jaw slowly dropped as he took in the view in front of him. Max had stopped him at the exact spot where the water would come up just before his feet. He stared at the clear water as the wave rescinded back into the ocean and then looked up and out towards the horizon, seeing how the color of the water changed from clear to turquoise to darker and darker blue before meeting with the light blue of the sky. He looked south and the could see the beach disappear as the shoreline curved, leaving just cliff and seemingly endless ocean. He looked north and saw a similar sight: coastline extending infinitely further than he could see. Even though it was December, buckets of sunlight fell on him, keeping him warm despite the cool breeze.
If Lake Michigan was an TIE fighter, the Pacific Ocean was the whole goddamn Imperial Fleet—pre-Death Star destruction, of course.
“Amazing, right?” Max asked moving in front of Lucas, a giant smile on her face.
“Amazing,” Lucas repeated, feeling like the waves had put him under a hypnotic spell.
“Come on!” Max said, pulling off her strappy sandals and tossing them back onto the dry part of the sand.
She ran straight into the ocean, fully clothed despite the fact that they were both wearing swimsuits underneath. She turned and looked at Lucas before throwing herself backwards into a cresting wave and sinking into the water out of view.
Lucas watched her surface and comb her wet hair back out of her face.
“Lucas! Come on!”
Lucas slid of his shoes and threw them next to Max’s.
He took one step into the water and jumped back.
“It’s cold!” he yelled.
Max laughed. “It’s gotta be warmer than Lake Michigan!”
Lucas ran back into the ocean, eyes on where Max stood, jumping up every few seconds so her head would pass over each wave.
“I can’t believe it,” said Max as he approached her. “Lucas Sinclair. Cold. Max Mayfield. Perfectly warm.”
“I was just surprised! Don’t get used to it.”
“Oh, so, you’re not cold?” she asked in mock-innocence.
Lucas rolled his eyes at her.
“Then you won’t mind if I do this!” she yelled before splashing him against his chest.
“Oh, it’s on now, Mayfield,” said Lucas attempting to splash her back.
Max squealed and ran back towards the beach, kicking water at Lucas when it became shallow enough.
Max ran parallel to where the water met the shore and Lucas chased her. He quickly caught her, picked her up, and spun her around before setting her back down on the sand.
“So, does it beat In-N-Out?” she asked.
Lucas looked out at the ocean and then back at Max. He had often struggled to decide exactly what color blue Max’s eyes were, but now he saw they were the ocean: every shade of blue, deep and limitless and beautiful.
“Yes,” Lucas replied. “But just barely.”