Free Seasons by Katrina Alba

car,” Charlie offers.
    “Nah, I’m good. The fire is cozy.”
    He sighs seeming relieved and smiles his amazing dimpled smile. I didn’t even realize how much I had missed his smile. I would do anything to see that smile instead of the tortured look I had seen in his features the last time I saw him. Melanie and Austin are chatting it up, and Charlie and I stare into the fire for a bit before he starts up a conversation.
    “So, your brother was home from school?”
    Mesmerized by the fire, I respond without looking up. “Yeah, he leaves to go back in the morning.”
    “I saw him at a party last weekend. A lot of the guys were home from school the past week. It was good to hang out with everyone again.”
    “Yeah, it was nice having him home. It’s been just Mom and me for the past year. It was good having someone else in the house, and the three of us spent a lot of time together.” I smile remembering all the teasing Brett and I hauled at Mom the past two weeks, all in good fun.
    I look over at Charlie and he’s looking at me with the most serious face. “What? Do I have something on my face or something?” I ask self-conscious.
    He chuckles. “No. Do you want to walk down the beach? When you get away from the light of the fire, you can see all the stars. It’s a pretty amazing view.”
    “Oh, sure,” I say getting up to follow him.
    We walk down the beach a bit, and I notice the music coming from the car has gone from upbeat to more relaxed ballads. We walk until we can still hear the music, but the light from the fire is dim. Charlie stops and has a seat in the sand. I sit close enough to feel his presence, but not actually touching.
    He looks up at the stars and points. “See? They’re so pretty out here. You can see all the constellations.”
    I smile over at him biting my lip, and then I look up where he’s pointing. “It’s absolutely breathtaking,” I sigh. I lay back resting my head on my arms like a pillow and crossing my legs at the ankle. A second later, he lies back, too.
    “Brynn…I wanted to apologize for the night of the party.”
    “Don’t, Charlie. It’s fine. Hey, at least you didn’t puke on my shoes.” I can laugh about it now. “Or my car, for that matter.”
    “I know, but I mean about the things I said. I mean, I’m not sorry I said them, I just…” he breaks off and stares at the sky for a beat before he turns to me. “I don’t want anything you don’t want, Brynn. We are good friends. I enjoy spending time together, and I don’t want to do anything to jeopardize it. I just hope I didn’t ruin our friendship. I don’t want to lose you.” He sounds so vulnerable, not at all like the confident Charlie everyone else sees.
    “Hey, you didn’t ruin anything. I promise…pinky promise even.” I put out my pinky and laugh. He laughs and locks his pinky with mine and shakes on it. Something about him brings out my playful side. Usuallly, I’m so self-contained and serious, but with him, I can just be me—goofy and fun. We stop laughing, suddenly caught in a locked gaze. He brushes a stray hair out of my eyes and I release my breath He has barely brushed against me the times he has touched me, but it feels like comfort—like he’s home. This is the only way I can explain it. He’s a safe place for me, similar to the feeling I get at the cliff.
    He breaks our eye contact and looks down a few inches to my lips. I bite my lip out of habit and if I’m being totally honest, part of me is flirting. He rolls back to his back and covers his face with his arms. What did I do? Then he hops up and offers me his hand. I take it and get to my feet brushing the sand off with my free hand.
    “Dance?”
    “Huh?”
    “It is a gorgeous night, and there is music playing down the beach. Brynn Carsten, will you dance with me?”
    “Hm...I suppose that could be arranged.” I laugh as he pulls me into his embrace. He pushes me away spinning me before bringing me back. The song