The Revenge of the Radioactive Lady - Elizabeth Stuckey-French [81]
There was a loud squeal and some wild splashing right in front of Ava and Travis. A group of white people, some of them wearing T-shirts over their bathing suits, were yelling and dunking each other, and the men were slinging their long wet hair about.
“Rednecks,” Travis observed. “Did you ever notice how many overweight people there are in Wakulla County? Just take a look.”
There were a number of fat people with red necks and, in fact, entire red bodies, out frolicking in the pristine water, people with many tattoos who had no business wearing bathing suits in public. Some of them sat nearby in their beach chairs, swilling beer and eating fried chicken.
“Don’t make fun of fat people,” Ava said, slapping her stomach, harder than she meant to. She shifted so as to hide her pubic hair.
“You’re not fat,” Travis said, his eyes evaluating her body like he’d just been evaluating the rednecks in the water. “All the guys were talking earlier about how hot you are. I told them you’re going to be America’s next top model.”
Ava felt herself relax and well up with happiness. “Let’s go swimming,” she said, standing up. “Let’s jump off the tower.”
Travis adjusted his cap. “That tower isn’t safe. There’ve been thirty-two accidents on that tower since it was built in 1933.”
Ava took his hand and gave it a yank, pulled his hat off his head, and he came stumbling after her. He followed her up the steps of the tower, passing people who’d chickened out and were coming down. At the top the two of them waited in line with other mostly wet, shivering teenagers, and then, when the lifeguard gave them the signal to proceed, not allowing herself or Travis time to stare down and chicken out, she grabbed his hand again and the two of them leaped into the air and plunged down and burst through the surface of the frigid water, and she didn’t even care that her bikini bottoms came down to her knees, she was having so much fun. They were both laughing and whooping when they came up for air, and without even discussing it they swam back to the tower. They jumped off again and then dog-paddled around awhile until Travis suddenly got scared of alligators and beat it back to the beach and Ava floated on her back with her eyes closed, which made her feel better than anything else in the world.
After a while she drifted back to shore and stumbled up onto the beach, feeling like a frozen fish, and collapsed onto her towel. Travis had taken his towel and moved on. The cute boys and Suzi’s posse had also disappeared, but their towels remained. Ava stretched out on her stomach, thinking briefly about applying more sunscreen, and fell asleep. She woke up, feeling someone spraying something on her back. Travis?
“Hey, there! Sorry to bother you, but you’re burning up, girl!” Buff. He held up a spray bottle of sunscreen.
Ava sat up, groggy, blinking, trying to arrange herself into an unhideous position.
“Thanks,” she mumbled, smoothing down her damp, no doubt crazy-looking hair.
“Having fun?” Buff sat cross-legged in the sand beside her, dry headed, wearing a pair of dry navy blue bathing trunks and his polo shirt and Ray-Ban sunglasses.
“I am,” Ava said, remembering jumping off the tower with Travis, holding hands, and how scared he’d looked the first time, how gung ho he’d looked the second time.
“Me, too,” Buff said. “I’m glad you came.” He dug into the sand with his heel. “Haven’t had a chance to talk to you much.”
Ava made a sound of agreement. What did he want? Was he going to start in about Jesus and being saved? She’d heard all that before—most recently from Suzi—and wasn’t interested in hearing it again.
“I’d like to spend some more time getting to know you,” he said. He gave her a smile, but his