When the Sun Goes Down

There are many places in the world where an outsider can travel by and instantly be amazed by the beauty of it. Places with tall buildings or beautiful beaches that cause those passing by to stop and stare. While these places may be breathtaking and intriguing, their glamour often wears off after a person spends a few weeks experiencing them.

But then there are those rare, secretly beautiful places, places that magically grasp those traveling by and never let them go. Places that only get lovelier in time and keep inhabitants coming back like bees to honey. These wonderful locations are often small, quiet towns where everyone knows each other rather than large cities where people are too busy to say hello or gorgeous beaches that are crowded with tourists.

Well, at least that’s how Travis Blanchard thought about his home in Bayley, North Carolina. It was a place he knew he would always return to, no matter where his life took him. Big cities or mysterious forests, his tiny town would always own his heart. Of course, he had never really seen much of the world…actually he had never been outside of North Carolina, but he didn’t care if he stayed inside it his entire life.

Jesse Buchanan felt a little differently about the world. He had been to many places and felt exactly the same about each one. He didn’t even really have one place that he called home; his parents had been drifters since as long as he could remember. He had traveled to an entire list of places, and now he was adding Bayley to it.

Both boys glanced at the sign that read WELCOME TO BAYLEY as they rode in sunglasses and smiles in Jesse’s silver 2008 Lexus SC-430. The car passed a small town filled with cafes, little shops, a few homes, and lots of people. Jesse laughed when he saw Travis waving to practically everyone on the street, “I didn’t know I was riding with a celebrity,” he added coolly after turning down the radio. Travis’ smile widened. The truth was that it was quite the opposite from that.

While Travis was a hometown hero, Jesse was the famous son of Drake Buchanan, an NBA player, and Rebbeca Lamore (now Rebecca Buchanan), an actress and heiress to all of the Lamore hotels and resorts. Like a lot of celebrity kids, Jesse was kept out of the limelight for most of his youth, but not so much once he was a superstar on his high school’s basketball team. He had been pictured in several magazines, some for basketball, but most for who his parents were and the good looks he inherited from then.

Jesse Buchanan had GQ written all over him. His dark brown hair covered less than an inch of his forehead when he didn’t comb it back or spike it up, and his naturally tanned skin mixed perfectly with his deep brown, almost black, eyes. He towered at 6’7” and had a rather toned body for a basketball player. He had a tiny scar that ran vertical from the left side of his lip that contributed to the bad boy look he had to him, a look that he had no matter what he wore or how he acted.

Travis Blanchard, on the other hand, was a little different in appearance. While Jesse was manly sexy, Travis had a cute little boy look to him, despite his size. He was tall at 6’5” and was very skinny, although, after his college partying and basketball workouts he had bulked up a great deal. He had blonde hair shaved close to his head and hazel eyes that changed color depending on what he wore. He was adorable, but his smile and personality are what melted girl’s hearts. He had a huge grin that flashed perfectly white teeth and caused two tiny dimples to form on his cheeks. He was a gentleman and could charm his way out of pretty much any situation with his smooth, southern voice.

The car passed the last few buildings and then turned down a sandy road lined with trees. Five minutes later it was pulling into a long driveway that led to a decent sized house. The house was painted white with light blue shutters and had a wrap around porch with several white pieces of furniture on it. The house had three floors and a large garage to the right of it with what appeared to be an apartment up top. Behind the house, Jesse could see a dock and the bay with several boats sitting in it. The sun was nearly setting and it reflected off the water in a breathtaking way, Jesse already loved the place.

“Your house is gorgeous,” he said in awe as he put the car in park and continued to stare up at the home.

“Wait til’ you see what we got out back,” Travis replied, looking over at Jesse with a childish grin on his face. If Travis had any doubts about having to come home for the summer, they were forgotten about at that very moment when he followed Jesse’s gaze towards the house he had grown up in, the house where his heart would forever remain.

Both boys were knocked out of their trance by the sound of the front door opening and the loud voice of Mrs. Blanchard as she sprinted out of the house.

“You boys made it!” She yelled as if she were completely surprised to see them, “Travis, you got so big,” she wrapped her arms around her son who towered over a foot and a half above her. Once she pulled away from him she turned her attention to Jesse, who sat quietly on the hood of the car. “And you must be Jesse,” she said as she made her way to Jesse and pulled him into a hug which took him aback a little bit, “Travis failed to mention that it was Jesse Buchanan who was coming home with him. I hope our accommodations can compare to what you’re used to” she added a little nervously.

“You’re house is beautiful Mrs. Blanchard, thank you so much for letting me stay here,” he said in his most charming voice.

“Wait til’ you taste her cookin’,” Travis added as he opened up the trunk. Mrs. Blanchard didn’t argue, she just smiled proudly. “Where’s dad?”

“He’s out on the boat, should be home any minute now, but come on let’s go inside, I know you boys are starving. Leave your stuff in the car for now, you can get it and show Jesse around later.” The boys followed her inside and were instantly sacked with the smell of a homemade meal, something they hadn’t had in a very, very long time.



Thanks to everyone reading, please leave reviews on what you think so far. I know it's not much and I've only introduced 3 characters so far, but hey..it's a start! I promise the story will pick up soon, thanks again for reading and please leave some comments!