Smile

Blossoms on the Beach

"So, what were you guys doing?", Chris asked as we all packed into my car.

"Just played SKATE".

"Yeah, what took you so long to get ready, dude?", Crawford said clipping his seat belt on.

"I was helping Mom pack lunches", Chris replied settling into the passengers seat.

I have a Lincoln Navi 2013 that my dad got me for my seventeenth birthday. She's my baby and her name is Melissa. She has a silver and white iridescent paint job with chrome detailing and deep tinted windows and don't get me started on the rims.

"Alright, you guys, before we leave I have a couple rules for riding in Melissa. One-"

Crawford cut me off. "Melissa?", he snickered.

I glared at him through the rear view mirror, "Yes. My truck's name is Melissa. Got an issue?", I watched as he shook his mop of brown hair. "Good. Now, rule number one: no spilling of food or drink. If you do I will rip out your epiglottis. Rule numero dos! Don't adjust my seat. You adjust my seat, I'll adjust your internal organs with a pocket knife. And last and final rule: do not spit anything out my window and I mean nothing". I looked to see if the message had been received. It had.

Smiling smugly I backed out of my driveway and drove to Venice. It was pretty packed with locals and tourists but I found a parking space easy because Dad had taken the liberty to camp out in the parking lot for me. He sat in a parking space in his favorite blouse and green lawn chair. He walked in front of Melissa and off along the side as to protect me as I parked. A woman honked angrily as I parked smoothly in the spot she so desperately wanted. Too bad lady!

"Are you fucking kidding me?", she screeched from her minivan.

"Go suck an egg!", I countered slinging my oversized beach towel over my shoulder. Tourists have no idea how things work here. Locals get the spots first, they hunt for one down the block.

My dad shot me a stern look. "Stephanie", he warned.

Huffing out a sigh I apologized. "Sorry, lady. Go suck an egg at Vince's bistro, where all the food tastes like it's straight from Italia". I looked at my father who was now smiling contently. He truly is a madman for encouraging my bad behavior.

Everyone was all camped out in a nearly vacant part of the beach which means it took longer to get to. I don't want to complain but I was not expecting to go on a hike this afternoon. Upon seeing our place of leisure I tossed my towel to Dad, kicked off my shoes, stripped out of my tank and shorts down to my bikini and ran into the water. I love the ocean.

Chris and Crawford soon followed. The water felt great. It was over ninety degrees and the water was just cool enough to counter the heat of the sun.

I was innocently wading into deeper waters when a pair of arms sneaked around my torso. My body was hoisted into the air and slammed back into the water. Completely submerged in water I saw my dad's hairy legs and red swim trunks. That old fart.

Stealthily, I swam around him and emerged from the water throwing all of my weight into knocking him off balance. He wasn't expecting my sneak attack so he fell right in. I held on longer than necessary to drown him a bit and then took off for the beach. Dad could swim faster than me but I could run faster than him so if I wanted to make it to my next birthday I had to reach land.

I ran straight into an ambush. Chris and Crawford had water guns and were aiming right for me. I tried to fight back by splashing water but it was useless, the water was too shallow where they were.

The spraying of water ceased and then I was dragged underwater into a deeper area. Chris' smiling face welcomed me. He looked gorgeous even underwater with the soft white bubbles escaping his lips and nose. He held a hand out for me to take which I hesitantly accepted. We swam out further into the clear blue water hand-in-hand only surfacing momentarily for air.

The ocean is an absolutely beautiful place. Fish swam around us as we dove deeper into the water. The next time we surfaced we were so far out I could barely see the beach. I knew my dad would start panicking because of the random shark attacks but honestly he worries too much.

"So, how do you like it?", I smiled at Chris who looked like he was having a ball.

"I love it", he beamed at me but it didn't quite reach his eyes.

His smile made me melt from it's warmth. I couldn't fight the nervous giggles that fled passed my lips. "Come on, I wanna show you something". There's a cave near here that's half underwater and it's absolutely gorgeous. I took off swimming in that direction.

It was a longer swim than I thought but it would be worth it. A few meters before reaching the cave I dived and right before me was the reef. It was teeming with fish of every size and color, the reef itself was a rainbow. I swam right over it to the shore.

I waited as Chris walked in the cave. He emerged from the water looking like a Greek god. Butterflies erupted in my stomach trying to escape through my chest. Goodness, he was beyond attractive. His brown hair black with water and aqua eyes electric with the sun blazing into them. Water droplets clinging to his body made him look all the sexier. It was like a dream. I mentally slapped myself for ogling him.

"That is amazing", he smiled sexily at me.

You're amazing, I thought. "Glad you liked it", I returned his smile. He settled into the sand next to me. "Sorry, we can go back in in a second, I just need a second to relax. My shoulders are killing me".

"Lie down", Chris instructed.

I shot him a look of incredulity but complied.

"On your stomach silly", he laughed dazzling me with his white smile.

Embarrassed I flipped onto my stomach only to be straddled by a dripping wet Christian Collins. Gingerly, he worked his fingers into the muscles over my shoulders and upper back. I groaned in satisfaction and heard Chris chuckle.

"Shut up", I laughed, "it feels soooo good". It was weird because I felt oddly comfortable around him although we just met.

"Good. Tell me if I do it to hard", he said innocently.

I snickered and he caught the joke.

"Not that way!", he laughed bashfully. I'm sure if I would have turned around in that second I would have seen him blushing.

After a while I'd had enough and I knew he had to be exhausted as well. I instructed him to lie flat on his tummy like I had and before vsitting on his back I brushed the sand from my front and got to work. There was something so intimate about giving another person a massage, it was honestly too much to fathom.

I massaged Chris' entire back for almost a half an hour before I realized that he was asleep. Chuckling, I laid beside him and stared up at the cloudless sky. I felt a pair of arms wrap around me and Chris buried his head into my stomach. He looked so vulnerable and all I wanted to do at that point was tend to him.

I jolted myself for thinking like that. Get it together Steph, you barely know this guy. I mean, sure, he's attractive and sweet and funny, but he's a stranger. But even as I tried to rationalize all this I couldn't help the butterflies I felt right then or the buzz of warmth I felt everywhere he touched.