2.4 Sydney

Sydney walked through the front door of her little house, and her first thought was that she absolutely had to turn on the air conditioning. She had left all the windows open, but Misty was sprawled on the cool kitchen tile, and wasn't sitting up in the window sill as usual.

"Sorry Misty," said Sydney, scooping up her cat into a hug. "You're better off in here anyway. It's hot out there."
Misty had other ideas, and scrambled down out of her master's arms and out the still open front door into the evening sun.

Sydney knew it would be hours before she would see her cat again - now was the witching hour for cats, and the hunt for mice and chipmunks was about to begin. So, she filled the outside water dish, inspected her garden briefly - she really had to do some work on it soon - and then hurried inside to get ready to meet Olivia.

Message Status: Opened
To: Sydney Maxwell
To: Olivia Bodnar
Sent: July 20, 2007 6:15 PM
From: Summer Richardson
Subject: Re: Hot Friday Night!

Ladies, I’m in. But I’ll be late. I’m still at work and then I need to go home and change. Where are we going and what are we wearing?

Sydney tapped back a message.

Message Status: Delivered
To: Olivia Bodnar
To: Summer Richardson
Sent: July 20, 2007 6:16 PM
From: Sydney Maxwell
Subject: Re: Hot Friday Night!

We are hitting the beach and then the patio. Fashion calls for shorts and bikini tops, sweater for later. Page us when you get close and we will let you know where we are. Summer, it’s really hot and you’ll be in heaven. ☺

She threw her blackberry on the sofa, purposely ignoring the blinking red light that indicated there were work emails to be read.

"Nope," she thought. "It's Friday evening and the beach is calling me."

Now came the problem of what to wear. Sydney was blessed with a curvy figure, but lately she had been ignoring the gym and the curves were a little out of control. She didn't mind wearing a bikini top because her stomach was still pretty flat.

"Although," she thought as she examined herself critically in the mirror, "there is a roll that never used to be there. I can't wear this!"

Sydney agonized over what should have been a simple task of putting on shorts and a top. In the end, she settled on her favourite board shorts, a tshirt over her bikini top, and a cute sweater for later.

Brrrrrt. Brrrrrt.

Message Status: Opened
To: Sydney Maxwell
Sent: July 20, 2007 6:30 PM
From: Olivia Bodnar
Subject: Waiting…

I’m early Syd. Just waiting by the usual spot on the boardwalk. There is so much action down here. Hurry up!

Message Status: Delivered
To: Olivia Bodnar
Sent: July 20, 2007 6:32 PM
From: Sydney Maxwell
Subject: Re: Waiting

On my way. Be there in 10.

After throwing her hair into a ponytail, she grabbed her flip flops, locked the door behind her, and headed down towards the beach.

As she walked down the street, Sydney thought to herself for the thousandth time that moving to this neighbourhood was one of the best things she had ever done. She was only a short streetcar ride into the heart of downtown Toronto and all it has to offer, and yet her neighbourhood, the Beaches, was like a microcosm of old-style charm and modern conveniences. She loved walking down her street past all the hundred-year-old homes, inspecting the never-ending renovations and landscaping projects. There were always dozens of dogs of all shapes and sizes on leashes or frolicking in the off leash zones. There were restaurants and ice cream shops and amazing shoe stores, all mixed in with coffee shops and patios galore.

And then there was the beach itself. Sydney stopped at the bottom of her street to admire the view before her. Lake Ontario was calm tonight, the usually choppy waters stilled by the heavy warm air. The beach was jammed with a host of characters: kite flyers, extreme Frisbee players, a couple of guys jamming on acoustic guitars for the sheer joy of it, picnicking families, a woman selling handmade jewellery, a shiatsu massage stand, and of course the sun bathers.

The boardwalk beckoned in either direction, and Sydney turned right, looking for Olivia near their usual meeting spot, a bench not too far off.

She spotted her friend and waved, picking up her pace. Olivia was throwing her volleyball up and down, practicing her volley technique. Sydney admired how easily she handled the ball - being all thumbs, she appreciated anyone who was athletic!
Olivia was petite, but very athletic. She never exercised, but was always active and had a high metabolism, so she was toned and high energy all the time. Men loved her because she was the perfect height to fit under their arms, had gorgeous wavy blonde hair, and dazzling green eyes.

"She is also slightly exhausting," thought Sydney. "It's Friday night - how does she have all this energy?"

Aloud she said, "Hey Liv! Love the new shorts. You were itching for the chance to break them in, weren't you?"

"You bet! I got them on sale at lunch today. They're supposed to make your butt look good, and I had to have them. Anyway, come on. I have the perfect place to show them off."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. See that crowd over there?"

Sydney followed Olivia's pointed finger and noticed a small crowd by the volleyball nets.

"What's going on?" asked Sydney.

"Four guys playing beach. I was watching them for a while and they are wicked. And totally ripped. I say we go check them out."

"Couldn't agree more, my friend. And this way, you won't bug me to actually play because you'll be too busy watching them."
Olivia laughed and they headed off in the direction of the growing crowd, listening to the applause and laughter as the guys made a particularly good shot. Sydney and Olivia wedged their way in to a spot at the edge of the crowd.

"Come on, Syd," urged Olivia. "Let's get closer to the court and the action."

Sydney didn't move.

"Syd!" Olivia shoved her friend. "Syd! Go! What's the problem?"

But Sydney was rooted to the spot, eyes wide as she recognized the tall, bare-chested, in fact nearly naked, oh-so-strong-looking player on the near court.

"Liv, it's him!" Sydney whispered.

"Him who?" Olivia responded, somewhat densely Sydney thought later.

"HIM! Mystery TTC Guy!"

Sydney watched as he prepared to serve, stopped, looked up and straight into her eyes. She tingled everywhere, it seemed, and yet she managed to smile and wave.

Olivia watched as the big bald guy smiled back at her friend, and comprehension finally dawned on her.

"Oh. Hiiiiiim!” she whispered. “Sydney Maxwell, you've hit the jackpot. And, from the looks of that serve he just pounded into the net, I think he feels the same way. Now let’s go introduce ourselves and find out who his partner is while we’re at it."

Sydney had no words.