Tangled In Strings

Chapter Six

"You'll be a little overdressed out there, don't ya think?"

Giovanni slows, looking down at me and then at him with a quizzical brow. "Che cosa?"

"È una spiaggia nudista, signore."

"Excuse me?" Giovanni presses in disbelief. I don't have to know Italian to get what "nudista" means. I begin to laugh, looking down at my feet. This is definitely Marco's doing.

"It's a nude beach."

"I got that." I bite down on my lip, feeling my cheeks flame at the thought of it. "They won't mind if we keep our suits on, right?"

"There isn't anything against it, no," the man says with a shake of his head. Giovanni smirks, lacing his fingers with mine to urge me towards the door. The minute we're outside, laughter bubbles between us.

"I'm going to kill him."

"We're definitely about to get the full experience."

We cross the street, avoiding the cars circling the roundabout. The air is thick with humidity; the sea breeze grows stronger as we take the walkway to the beach. My sandals sink into the sand as the buildings clear, revealing a large beach, scattered with humans dressed down to their birthday suits, naked as the day they came into the world. Large, small, dark, pale, man, woman– versatility fills the gorgeous beach. Unable to help the awe, my lips curve in barely suppressed amusement at the sight. I hold myself together, determined to remain cool and steer clear of becoming the typical American stereotype.

"If you're uncomfortable with this–" Giovanni begins. I squint, shaking my head.

"It's fine... are you good with this?"

He shrugs as if it's nothing out of the ordinary. I'm reminded of Giovanni's words from many months ago. "I'll try anything once." King of taboo situations, I doubt this is at the top of the list.

We walk across the hot sand, and my eyes drink in the sight of the cerulean water. The waves have a fair choppiness to them, crashing into the shoreline with a surge of force. The minute anyone even turns to look at me, I quickly avert my eyes. I've never seen this many naked people before, ever.

Thankfully, Giovanni leads me to a spot that parks us quite a few feet away from the crowds. I'm actually relieved to remove my sarong, which sheds an extra layer. We lay a cover down, our long striped beach towels over it.

We garner a few looks, the oddballs out, as I drag Giovanni to the water without wasting another moment, not even to put on sunblock. I don't remember the last time I've been to an actual beach, years definitely. Many of them.

I skip into knee-deep water, the pads of my feet assaulted by shells, but I don't even care. I beam gleefully at Giovanni, who regards me warmly, walking in at a calmer pace. He walks right up to me, wrapping an arm around my waist to tug me close.

I hum, letting my hands drift over his sun-warmed skin.

"I like seeing you like this."

"I like being like this." My cheek tilts into his palm as the waves rock us. "I'm so happy."

"Maybe we should just disappear to an island, give up on everything else."

"That's actually sounding like a very tempting option right now... Just you and me and the open water."

"We'll achieve the finest leather skin."

I grin. "We'll become completely ancient. Heave all abhorrent technology into the ocean."

"Lose all sense of people skills. We'll only be able to talk to one another."

The current is continuously battering our legs. A wave crashes into my back, and I gasp as the cool water slams into my scalding skin. I hike up Giovanni's body like a cat, hearing his laugh as my legs circle his hips.