A/N: Don't worry, Here Goes Nothing is still being written. I've just been writing this guy, too and thought I'd share him with you. =] He's just a lighthearted story I started writing on the beach this summer and wouldn't let go of me. Let me know what you think in a review!!

…

Chapter One: Walk on Water or Drown

…

"Lily, come on, seriously!" I couldn't help but to smile softly at the unmasked, familiar impatience in my best friend's voice as I put the finishing touches on my make-up. "We're going to completely miss the sunset."

"Its 7:30, give it a rest." I replied, taking a lingering look at myself in my bathroom mirror. My hair was getting long, I mused to myself, gathering it into a low side-ponytail and taking a step towards the door before I remembered perfume.

"This is not prom!" The voice was angrier, now, and I chuckled to myself.

"Jeez Louise, I'm coming!" I opened the door and was greeted with the sight that had summer written all over it. My best friend, Gabriel, was lounging on my bed, his hands over his face as he waited for me to emerge from primping. He was a boy and just didn't understand the steps that a girl had to take in order to look presentable. He was wearing a plain, white, v-neck, his summer staple, and his favorite Levi khaki shorts, worn-in flip flops dangling off the edge of the my comforter. "Well?" I prompted.

He lowered his hands and raised one eyebrow at me. I raised one back.

"You know we're just going to hang out with friends, right? There's no need to get all…" he waved his hand absently, but I noticed that he still hadn't quite looked away.

"I'm wearing shorts and a tank-top, Gabriel. Hardly prom attire."

He scoffed, rolled his eyes, and then sat up, checking his phone.

"Arty just texted me. They want us to pick up some chocolate. Apparently it all melted in the back of Nicole's car."

"Typical. Alright, let's do this."

It was the first official night of the summer and we would always go down by the pier and the boys would start a bonfire. Then, we would drink soda and cook smores and talk about people from school and what our plans were for the coveted three months.

As we got older, there were variations. Our group would grow, shrink, and then grow again. Sometimes there would be boyfriends or girlfriends, soda was traded in for something a little stronger, and soon it became a gathering that was a required summer kickoff.

"Don't forget a jacket; I don't want to hear you complaining the whole time this year."

"Shut up." I bit back, but all of the same I grabbed my favorite pullover and my keys from the bookshelf. "Walk."

I followed him down the stairs and into the living room, where the majority of my family was watching television.

"Bonfire night thing?" My dad asked, not even looking away from the screen.

"Yep," we replied in unison.

"Don't do anything stupid," he replied. My mom smiled and waved us away, my brothers giving us a pathetic nod as we exited. I realized that this was just habit for them…another night of Gabe and Lily heading down to the beach.

He took the stairs down from my porch two at a time, and when I finally joined him at the bottom he slung his arm over my shoulder in a gesture that he'd probably made a million times. I leaned into him slightly, sighing in satisfaction. This was the moment I'd been living for during the past few months – the moment when we'd be back home from school, without all of the distractions and commitments of FSU, and just get to be one-on-one again.

"How many times have we done this now? Like a hundred?" He joked, looking down at me playfully with his trademark smirk on his face.

"At least." I looked back up at him and felt the usual flip-flop of my stomach. It was really to the point where it was just annoying.

Gabe and I had been best friends since before I could remember. It was one of those romantic comedy movie situations where the mothers were enrolled in the same birthing class and we'd been delivered in the same week in the same wing of the local hospital. Since then there were play dates and shared birthday parties and all of those cliché things that new, young mothers deem important.

It was probably around fourth grade when I'd realized that there was something different about Gabe. Sure, he was fun to talk to, and we could play for hours, and I'd known him for forever, but…but he was also sweet, and cute, and caring.

And then, we hit high school, and everyone noticed that he was sweet, and cute, and caring. And then he went from being cute to kind of gorgeous and suddenly I wasn't the only girl who was trying to spend time with Gabe. And even though in the end he would always choose me over other girls – I mean, if it was something really important – he never would quite look at me the way I looked at him. Or the way he looked at the blonde who was touching his arm in study hall, or the pretty track star who slipped him her number in the hallway, or the redhead who promised him that she'd be available on Friday night. He was never wanting for female attention

And I, well…I was The Best Friend.

And I didn't get the kind of attention he did from the opposite sex. At least, not in High School, where I was awkward and had braces and glasses at the same time and couldn't quite control my acne or my mixed-girl hair. And then, when we went off to college – together, of course, because we were inseparable, I began to realize that maybe I wasn't as gross as I'd always thought. Sure I was no Gabe. I couldn't walk into a room and command everyone's attention. But I got hit on, and asked out, and I even had my first boyfriend (who Gabriel had hated every moment I was with him) and my first break-up and all of the things that came with it. I was never one for one-night stands or flings or casual relationships.

And though I told Gabriel that it was because I took matters of the heart seriously, I knew deep down that it was really because I was waiting for him. Maybe I was delusional…maybe I was stupid and it was really time to move on, but then he would grin at me and buy me a movie ticket or my favorite candy and race me to my car, I was head over heels again.

So I looked away from his gorgeous smile and beautiful, brown eyes and twirled my keys around my finger. Another day of pretending. It got easier, with time, but every once and while it could sneak up on me…the fact that I was absolutely and one hundred percent in love with my best friend.

When we pulled up they had already started the fire. Gabriel grabbed the Wal-Mart bag from the backseat and we traipsed over to the group of friends that we'd known for years. Gabe, Nicole, Carmen, Phillip, Shane, Ray, and Arty. When they saw us pull in they all started cheering sarcastically.

"We thought you guys got lost!" Phillip called from beside the fire, and Gabe flashed him a rude gesture as we crossed the short distance to our destination.

"Please tell me you brought more chocolate, because you-know-who left it in her car."

"Chocolate, tequila, and cups." Gabe held the bag out to Arty, who was mixing the Margaritas. "And I'm thirsty, so hurry up."

I made a beeline to my girls, who were already giving me and Gabe coy looks.

"I don't know why you guys act like this." I gave Carmen and Nicole a huge hug each, grinning stupidly when Nicole wiggled her eyebrows. "You know we're –"

"Best friends." They repeated in unison. I rolled my eyes.

"But God, you two would be so cute together. Like, honestly…you are beautiful and he is the hottest guy this side of Tallahassee." Carmen used to have a crush on Gabriel as well – pretty much every girl my age had at one point, but now they all appreciated his beauty from a distance. They all knew how I felt about him.

"I don't want to talk about it, honestly. He's got Sydney, and…"

"Lil!" I would always respond to his voice. My head jerked up immediately. "Get those jokers, its Margarita time!"

Forty-five minutes, two margaritas, and one Tequila shot later, I was buzzing comfortably and talking and laughing. Gabriel was sitting across from me, talking to Nicole and Phillip, but his eyes straying to mine every once and a while. I felt so comfortable, everything like it should be, everything in its place. The only thing that would make it better was…

Well, that wasn't going to happen. So there was no point in dwelling on it.

"So the water is supposed to be sick this week, that's what my uncle said." Shane took a long drink of his Margarita and then set it down in the sand next to him. "We should all go surfing one day."

"Absolutely." Gabe flopped onto his back. "I have got to get back in the water ASAP, my bones are aching."

"Your bones are aching?" Ray lifted an eyebrow and we all laughed good-naturedly.

He propped himself up on his elbows, making a face at her.

"Speaking of bones…" Arty looked down at his phone. "You're going to be late."

"Really, what's the time?" Gabe craned his neck over and cursed under his breath. "Damn it."

"Where are you going?" Thankfully, Nicole asked for me. I felt my heart drop. This was tradition, he couldn't just…

"Out." He replied. "Lily, isn't your coat in my car?"

"Out with Sydney?" Nicole wouldn't let it die. He rolled his eyes and brushed off his shorts.

"Is there something wrong with that?"

Nicole shrugged and looked out over the ocean. Gabe motioned for me to come with him.

I stood up, only a little shaky on my feet, and followed him towards his vehicle. We had made it halfway when I couldn't help myself. "You're really leaving?" I tried to keep the sadness out of my voice, but I didn't quite succeed.

He nodded lightly, half smiling at me, the pinks and purples of the sunset reflecting in his familiar brown eyes and illuminating the permanent tan etched onto his skin.

"You know Sydney. She gets pissed if I'm late."

I did know Sydney. We'd known her since the seventh grade, when she'd first told me that I would never get a boyfriend if my boobs didn't fill out. Sydney hated when anything wasn't completely revolved around her.

"Right. Well, have fun." I tried to take a step past him, but he grabbed my arm.

"Don't be upset, love, maybe we'll stop back by."

"No, you won't. " I glanced over his shoulder, at the bonfire, at our friends. I saw Ray and Nicole staring over at us. Then, I looked back at the boy in front of me, who had let his hand linger on my arm.

"Don't be like that. I hate when you're upset." He seemed strangely serious as he looked at me, his eyebrows furrowed together. "If you don't want me to go, I'll stay."

I opened my mouth, surprised, not expecting to see the look of sincerity on his face.

"No, go ahead. I wouldn't want to keep Sydney waiting. Don't worry about our traditional summer kick-off."

He sighed heavily, dropped his hand, and then raised it to scratch the back of his head, his hair being picked up by the wind and tumbling into his face. "I just want to see you smile." He muttered, poking my cheek where my dimple would be.

I couldn't help it. The age-old trick always worked. I smiled softly, looking down. When I did, I noticed that he was looking at me with a strange look on his face. I opened my mouth to say something, but he stopped me with his swift step forward, one hand closing around the top of my arm, the other cupping my neck . And then, suddenly and without warning, he pressed warm lips to my forehead, his body achingly close to my own. I felt his arms come up to his sides without meaning for them to.

"You know I love you, babe." He said lightly, his lips upturned in that teasing smirk of his.

"Yeah, yeah." And then he pressed his mouth against the top of my head.

The kisses, though unexpected and pleasant, weren't extremely rare. He had a habit of littering me with quick kisses that sent a chill down my spine. It had never been on the lips, but on my temple, cheek, the corner of my lips, his breath always minty and warm.

But this time, it was different. His mouth was still lingering too close to me, his hand still on my neck. There was a shift in the atmosphere as a cool breeze came off of the water and it tugged a few pieces of my hair loose and across my face. He gazed at me for a moment, as if his eyes were trying to tell me something. And then he pushed my hair back behind my ear, like he was going to kiss me, really kiss me, and I was standing so still.

But then he chuckled, and the moment was over. He stepped back, his smile one that was soft and almost sad. With one last look, he started off towards his car. I turned and watched as his shirt whipped around his body, his hands shoved deep into his pockets, silhouetted against the sunset.

"What did he say?" Nicole questioned as I returned to the group. I just shrugged, tugging my sleeves down over my fingertips.

"He's going out with Sydney." I mumbled. Ray made a soft, disappointed sound in the back of her throat while Carmen grunted.

"I hate Sydney Tabor. God, she's such a slut." Nicole was just getting started.

I tried to put the two out of my head, but all I could see in my mind's eye was Gabriel picking Sydney up, his hand lingering on her leg as they rode in his car, and she would be grinning at him like the Cheshire Cat the all the while.

"Don't even think about it, Lily." Carmen interrupted, as if she could read my thoughts. She slung her arm around me. "Let's find some hot tourists and get distracted."

As if it was that easy.

I thought, inadvertently, about how Gabe had looked me right before he'd left, the way he'd sounded when he'd said, You know I love you babe.

As if that meant anything. As if he ever really meant it.

But honestly, how could someone like him ever be serious about someone like me? How could someone like him be serious about anyone?

"Yeah!" Ray was jumping on board. "Tourists!"

It was summer. And it wasn't as if Gabe would be changing his ways anytime soon.

"Okay." I agreed, forcing the smile onto my face. "Tourists!"