[31_days] The push of waves

[tickletheory]

31_days 8 Jan prompt: bodies against rock, beached until burning
Words: 1,008

The push of waves.

She liked this place. The view reminded her of Chinese paintings with tips of mountains that faded into soft gradients. Right now they were on the beach and the sand wasn't as fine as Boracay's, but here was a better view.

The others didn't care about the sun and a tan so they've gone off to play water sports on the sea. She felt too ashamed to say she couldn't afford the overpriced activities. Anyway, she's already a few shades darker. She isn't confident that her skin would be back to normal in a month when she flies back home. Already she regretted not bringing a sun hat.

The guys didn't force her when she said she wasn't joining them. In this weather, she'd rather get a drink. Bella only laughed and said she knew exactly why she's avoiding the sun because her own mom was surely going to scold her for not being as pale as she'd left. Only, Bella herself didn't care about that. The boys just didn't understand.

I'm here and I've paid for this trip. I should get something out of it.

She clutched her camera and wandered off, towards the cliffs and into the caves. The water was shallow until it emptied itself into the sand. She could see the the tiny burrows made by small crabs, perhaps. Here it was cooler. The dark vacuum of the cave was preferable to the painful kiss of the sun. Why did the heat have to be so harsh in April?

"Didn't you say you were getting a shake?"

Her heart skipped, startled. She knew who it was just by his voice.

"I got distracted," she replied without looking behind her. The sand muffled the sound of footsteps and she focused her camera on the sand. "Did you follow me?" She was a little curious."I'm not going to get lost, you know."

"The banana boat fits four and I know Bella really wanted to sit in front of Luke. What are you taking photos of?"

"I don't know. I'm figuring it out. I'm not like you. I'm new at this."

They were at the mouth of the cave. Even from here, she couldn't get clear images of the inside unless she jacked up the ISO. "I'm going in."

He caught up beside her. "I'll go, too."

"You like caves?" She looked at him briefly before focusing on her camera again, fiddling with the settings.

"I've never seen this one."

The cave was wide. They could stand on both sides arms stretched, and the tips of their fingers would never touch. But he hovered so close. Why was he here?

"Why are you here?" He echoed her words, but loudly.

Because I need a break. I need time to think. I want time alone. "I'm exploring."

She ventured to the walls, putting space between them. She pulled back the zoom of the camera to take macro shots. She could use them for textures.

"Exploring alone?"

He was beside her again. Two steps of hers were one stride of his.

"Why not?" She closed the camera and turned to him. "Hm, there's not much to see. Let's go back?"

He didn't say anything, and he wasn't smiling. His fixated attention on her was unnerving. In this space of rock and sand split between the middle of light and shade, she could see her face mirrored in his eyes. She didn't dare imagine what he was thinking. They were childhood friends and then they were strangers and it's only been nine weeks since she remembered his name.

"Shouldn't we go back?" She tried again. "And stop staring. I don't think I could bear this much attention. At this rate, I'm better off getting sunburned."

He smiled softly. "They'll take at least another fifteen minutes, you know."

She shifted her gaze away and stared behind him, back at the sea and the open sun. Somewhere along the horizon their friends were having fun.

"We can stay." His voice was neither loud nor soft, prodding her as if to say, in here there's no need for secrets.

He moved and blocked her view, taking another step forward. She looked up. This guy, he's really too tall now. He wasn't like this before. 

She came upon a memory. A pair of kids climbing up a gate and a pair of shorts getting caught at one of the barbs, revealing a little boy's bum. Her face crinkled into a lopsided smile.

"What are you thinking?" He hasn't stopped smiling.

"I remember. I remember running away from a dog, and us climbing a gate. Your shorts got caught, I think, and that was probably the one time I've ever seen any boy's butt." She laughed a little. "You're so different now."

"It's a coincidence we went on the same exchange. But it's not a coincidence you went here with me."

He sounded so...shameless. Confident? What did he expect her to say? Her ears grew warm as if the sun was pinching and pulling on them. "Bella asked me to go," she said a little defensively. She didn't want him to misunderstand.

"I wanted you to go."

This. This bold side of him was the side she admired, the side she just met, and the side that kept taking her off-guard.

He leaned in and her eyes followed his, panning a little upwards as her smile disappeared. She found her back to the wall of the cave and tried to breathe.

"Can I?" His tone had changed. A nudge lower, a little softer.

She'd barely tilted her head down in an assent when his lips pressed hers. She felt his hand gently move to the back of her neck and his tongue slowly pushed between her lips, urging her to reciprocate. She closed her eyes as she let him in, her tongue sliding against his while the pit of her stomach burned as if warm stones touched her skin.

He leaned closer until it was her body against rock, against skin, against his sudden affections.