Life's A Beach

Gone

Life's A Beach: Chapter 19: Gone

"Are you sure you'll be okay?" Luca's head bent lower in the window of the car with his face just inches from mine

The air conditioner of the car rumbled gently and the flow of cool air stung my cheeks pink and flicked around stray blonde hairs in my messy ponytail. The only smells I could pick up were Luca's lime cologne, my tropical air freshener, and the salty beach air. His light blue eyes focused on me as he shyly shifted the weight on his hips with his tan arms placed on the top of my car advertising his bundle of muscles.

"I'm more worried about you, dummy." I giggled while wrapping my arms around the hot leather steering wheel

Luca straightened up tall, reeling his head back out of the car, and scratched nervously behind his neck. The soft pink morning clouds swirled in the horizon mixing with the baby blues of the sky. The colors were so breathtaking I wanted them to be transferred right onto a canvas and put in my room. The image that hung in the sky was reflected in his mirror-like eye color.

Luca nibbled gently on his swollen bottom lip and I noticed his bruises had only worsened in the last hour. The purples were changing yellow like a withered flower and the cuts healed over with painfully looking scabs.

"I'm going to be alright. I just can't believe Nelly invited them over. I'm going to be in deep shit once Nelly finds out about what happened. Deep shit." Luca's hair tousled gently in the soft breeze as he spoke

I swallowed hard as I pictured him hooking up with Dani. The thought nauseated me and I blinked it away.

While this whole incident went down, I had to leave. Nelly didn't want me involved so she sent me off to run errands in Kendall. And by errands, she wanted me to look for a job or do something productive, but I had a feeling I couldn't do either by myself.

"Are you okay, Marley?" Luca's voice lured me out of my thoughts

I felt my skin crawl cold and the blood stopped pumping to my face. My hands grew sweaty on the wheel and my anxiety only peaked. I hated the feeling I was experiencing. It was jealousy.

"I'm fine." I snapped

His lashes fluttered as a smile pulled across his plump lips causing his face to glow in the sun. He reached inside the car and gently picked up my clammy hand. He brought it to his lips where he placed a sweet kiss on it and he held it for a long time tightly. I blinked as I watched his gentle yet huge tan hand cradle mine.

"You're not. I can tell. Just don't be mad at me, okay? At least not while I'm not with you." Luca leaned back into the car and placed a warm kiss on my cheek causing the color to appear back in my face

"Okay." I murmured

"You know where to meet me after this right?" he whispered close to my ear

I blinked a couple of times noticing my eyes were still glued on his tan hand. Luca caught my gaze and it caused my heart to thud a few beats faster than before. The blue in his eyes were electric and intriguing.

"The Kendall Slop?" I recited

That caused him to laugh a deep goofy laugh. I couldn't bite back the smile it created on my face.

"Slope. The Kendall Slope," he corrected and added "You could use some of Ray's hot chocolate and this time don't spill it everywhere, alright?"

He brushed his thumb over my knuckle before tilting in and planting his lips against mine. My heart jumped into my throat and my face grew hot with blush. Luca's gentle hands cupped my cheeks before  tucking hair out of my face. In one swift movement, he ducked out of the car, turned on his heel and began walking back towards the house. My emotions were racing and my heart hammered in my chest. Luca glanced back over his shoulder while walking towards the front door and mouthed "wish me luck".