Two Weeks With Chelsea

Chapter 33

The waters of the Mediterranean were a mix of bright teal and dark jade with waves crested in brilliant white. Wave after wave gently massaged the beach as Trevor and Chelsea claimed a spot on the sand. The sky was a light blue with only a few streaks of fading clouds. The desk clerk at the hotel circled Roucas Blanc, the closest of the Le Prado beaches, on Chelsea's tourist map.

Chelsea didn't ask him to avert his eyes as she stripped down to her bikini. She handed Trevor the sun block and waited for him to massage a layer into her back. The mood that had darkened his spirit for the preceding day and a half continued as his hands moved across her skin.

"Did you read that email from your dad? Did you reply to him, like you promised?" she asked.

"Yeah, sort of."

"Are the guys happy with your latest posts?"

"I guess. I'd rather not talk about it," he replied.

Chelsea turned herself to lay face down on the towel regretting her inquiry about the email from his father and the messages from his friends. The tone in which he answered set her mind on the familiar journey down a path of self-doubt. Was it the lack of photos of 'booze and babes' that were part of his original travel plans? Perhaps one of his friends had said something about travelling with her. Any scenario that crossed her mind led her to believe that he was now embarrassed that he had posted photos of them together. Then, there was their final night in Béziers.

Trevor looked to his right where Chelsea lay on her stomach with her face turned away from him. He prepared to speak, wanting to say something but had no idea what to say. The conflict in his mind that had started like a silent shouting match had developed into a mini brawl with multiple factions slapping and kicking while others tried to cut him off at the knees. His friends' desire for scandalous photos of the promised drunken adventures and questions about his travelling companion didn't even play into the turmoil.

The emails from his father that outlined the plans for him upon return from break renewed his thoughts of an alternate ending for this vacation that would see the return leg of his airline ticket go unused. The texts form Letya added motivation to this plan. And, there was the girl at his side, unaware of the forces that pulled him in directions away from her; unaware of her own contribution to the churning storm that clouded his thoughts.

Chelsea turned her head towards him and opened her eyes. She could see he was deep in some depressed thought and wondered how to break him out of it.

"What's that place up on the hill?" Chelsea asked. "It's up on the top of the hill on this side of the port. I saw it all lit up last night, it looked beautiful. I think its a church."

"Oh, ahhh, that's probably The Basilique Notre Dame."

"Notre Dame, like in the Hunch Back... I thought that was supposed to be in Paris."

"It is, well... this is a different one. There's another up in Lyon too, not sure if it is a Cathedral or Basilique or what the difference is, really. We can probably go for a tour tomorrow. There's that old theatre or opera house near the hotel that we should check out," he said with a hint of a happy Trevor coming back to his voice.

"Really? I'd love to!" Chelsea replied, content that her question had done exactly as she intended, diverting his mind away from whatever had troubled him. "What are you doing now?"

Trevor tapped at his phone, "Looking up the difference between Basilique and Cathedral."

"You're such a nerd. I love it!"

After listening to the definitions Trevor found, Chelsea closed her eyes for a moment then opened them briefly as Trevor tapped out a message on his phone. When he dropped the phone back in his pack, she closed her eyes again and relaxed. Five minutes later her eyes fluttered open once more as she sensed Trevor scrambling to his feet. A young woman approached and cast a shadow over Chelsea without blocking a single ray of sunlight.