Our People (the Third Book of the Her Weakness series)

Chapter 147

Clarke's POV

It takes Lexa longer than I had hoped to come to the river. By the time she comes, Octavia, Raven, and I have all gotten in the river and are swimming. Or at least I am while Octavia and Raven take turns dunking each other underwater and splashing each other. Luckily, they keep their antics to a minimum. We're getting a lot of odd looks as it is.

Lexa jogs into view, her face lighting up when she sees me. She slows down slightly and I make my way out of the water. Her eyes rove over my body as she approaches me. When she reaches me, we're a few feet from the edge of the water.

"I love you in this bathing suit." Lexa murmurs, dragging her eyes away from my body and resting her hands on my waist.

"I know, babe."

Lexa flushes and meets my gaze. "Sorry I took so long to get here. I got caught up talking to someone and had to drop something off at the house."

"It's alright, you're here now." I reply, reaching out to squeeze her arm gently.

"Come on, Heda! The water's great!" Raven calls from where she and Octavia are in the river.

Lexa smiles and shakes her head fondly. Octavia and Raven take that as her response and rush out of the water and jog towards us. I notice that Raven's wearing a shiny new brace I haven't seen before. Maybe this one is waterproof or something. Knowing her, it's light so it doesn't drag her down in the water.

Raven latches onto one of Lexa's arms and starts tugging her in the direction of the water. It's hilarious. Especially because Lexa's so strong that Raven can't really pull her. At all. She's just dragging her a couple of centimeters at a time towards the river while Octavia and I watch with amusement.

"Raven," Lexa says once they make it a couple of inches. That making Raven stop in her tracks and stop pulling. "That was not a no. I am still in my clothes."

"Then strip! Come on, I want to play duck!" Raven tugs again.

"Raven, the only one she'll strip for is me." I say before Lexa can really comprehend what Raven said. When she does, Lexa's face turns pink and she moves so she's next to me.

"Oh my god, that's amazing. You got Lexa to actually-" Raven pales and stops talking when her girlfriend gives her a stern look. "Yeah, I'll stop talking about it now." Raven looks over her shoulder. "Oh look, a river!" She says with faked surprise.

With that, she flees. Raven walks as quickly as she can, her steps jerkier than usual.

"New brace?" I ask Octavia, keeping an eye on Raven as she slows down when she reaches the edge of the water.

"New brace," Octavia confirms. "It's made up of super fancy sciencey terms that so far over my head it reaches where the Ark used to be."

"Nice imagery," I remark.

"Nice use of the proper literary element, nerd." Octavia teases, nudging me.

"Hey, you knew enough to know that it's the right thing." I point out.

"My brother's Bellamy, the giant nerd. What's your excuse?" Octavia questions.

"I paid attention in school." I quip. "Anyway, did Raven say she wants to play duck? What the heck is that?"

"I have no idea." Octavia frowns, then speaks louder so Raven can hear. "Rae? What's duck?"

"I get on your shoulders and fight Clarke who's on Lexa's shoulders." Raven answers.

"Babe, that's not duck. That's called chicken. And it probably isn't safe to do in a river with a rocky bottom."

"Party pooper." Raven pouts.

"I'll show you a party pooper!"

Octavia runs into the river, her legs slowing down as she gets deeper because of the water's resistance. She ends up splashing Raven with a ton of water. Raven's eyes are squeezed shut against the onslaught and she spits out some that made it into her mouth. Raven wipes her eyes with the back of her hands and gives her girlfriend a menacing grin.

"Oh it's on."

With a playful shout, Raven starts chasing Octavia around in the water. I grin and turn to a smiling Lexa.

"Hey," I say quietly, getting lost in those beautiful green eyes that I love so much.

"Hey." She murmurs in reply, her expression softening.

Lexa pulls me closer to her by the waist again and kisses me. I sink into the feeling of her against me, into the wonderful sensation of kissing her that I'll never tire of. We pull back after a long moment and rest our foreheads against each other.

"I'm glad you're here," I admit.

"I am glad I am with you."

My responding smile is wide as I gaze at her in wonder and amazement. "How did I get so lucky?"

"I often find myself wondering the same thing."

I swoon and kiss her again gently. "Come on, let's go in the water. We can say embarrassingly sappy things to each other later." Lexa hums in response and steals another quick kiss, making me giggle happily. "You're adorable."

Lexa grins and pulls away. I find myself immediately missing the warmth of her body against mine, despite the fact we're in the desert. Lexa pulls off her shorts and lose shirt, setting them on the pile of my clothes that's nearby.

"How did you know that pile is mine?" I ask curiously as we slowly approach the water hand in hand.

"I recognize that shirt. It is one of my favorites." Lexa answers as we pause a few steps into the water, letting it gently lap at our feet.

"You just like it because of how my boobs look in it." I tease her.

Lexa flushes and is saved by Octavia and Raven interrupting before she can respond.

"Come on, the water doesn't bite." Octavia waves her hand, urging us deeper.

Lexa and I exchange a loving look before steadily making our way closer to the center of the river.

Swimming! Cool, right? And hey, at least I used my random literary knowledge from school for something! Thank you all for reading and for your lovely comments! Stay awesome!