Wanderlust ✓

9. Serene

"What? It looks fine! Just try it on, see if it works before we have to find you another one."

I groaned, snatching it out of his hands and made my way into the bathroom to change. I stripped off my over-sized hoodie and shorts that I had slept in, placing them neatly folded on the sink. I pulled the bikini on, tying the back and around the neck before slipping on the thin cloth that passed for bottoms. I inspected myself in the mirror, turning around and looking from all angles. The piece didn't look horrendous on my body, accentuating the right curves. My stomach stuck out a little and it was extremely easy to see my pretty much non-existent thigh gap but that didn't bother me too much. My main problem was with the amount of air I could feel on my skin, especially on my torso. It made me shiver. I wrapped my arms around myself as I walked out of the bathroom.

Parker was sitting at the end of the bed, he had changed into his swim shorts and was scrolling mindlessly through his phone. He looked up as I shut the door behind me, his eyes roaming my body with a small bit of what seemed like hunger in his eyes.

I wrapped my arms tighter around my body, feeling a little more self-conscious under his gaze.

"You got a shirt or something I can borrow to wear down there?" I mumbled, unconsciously fiddling with my hands, squeezing my sides and then snapping my fingers to distract myself.

"Um... Yeah, yeah er... here," he got up and walked over to the drawers, pulling out a light blue shirt. He passed it over to me and I slipped it on, the material almost drowning me and we hadn't even reached the water yet, let alone left the room.

"So are you um," he clears his throat, gesturing towards the door, "Ready to go?" I nodded my head, grabbing my beach bag. I had already packed a towel, book and sunscreen. I placed my sunglasses on my head and slid on my flip flops. Parker did the same. We made our way out of the room making sure we had the key before making our way down to the lobby.

•••

We were in a cab on our way to the ocean's coast which was just around the corner from our hotel. Neither of us wanted to be out in the heat for longer them we had to, hence the cab journey. We sat in silence once more but it was more comfortable this time, we were more comfortable with each other. My hands were tucked neatly in my lap and his rested on either side of him, drumming gently on the smooth leather of the seats.

The cab driver pulled up to the side of a pathway, signaling that we were here. Parker pulled out a couple of five dollar bills and we made our way out and onto the side walk.

The smell of salt immediately invaded my nostrils as the summer breeze passed through, lifting up Parker's shirt, which was practically a dress, with it. The sand was almost white as the sun's scorching rays reflected off of it, warming it up for the other beach goers.

I quickly pulled my shoes off to feel the warm sand sink in between my toes and started walking further in towards the water. I heard Parker catch up to me as I kept moving forward.

"Wait up! You're going right in, aren't you?" He seemed surprised at my feverish pace at getting to the gorgeous ocean.

I turned around to look at him for a millisecond before continuing on my way. "Yeah, why wouldn't I? Do you think I'm one of those girls who sit and tan and never go in? Hell no, I'm too pale for that shit."

He chuckled, now next to me, as I threw down my bag and quickly pulled off the large shirt, just wanting to get into the water which I started running into.

"Catch me if you can!" I shouted with a smile, taking off.

"Hey! No fair you got a head start!" I hear from behind me, gradually getting further away as I run towards the water. I could hear him gaining just behind me but then I felt the coolness of the water lapping at my feet and knew I had won this meaningless race.

I paddled further in, slower then usual letting the water soak my feet and rise to my ankles.
I forgot Parker was behind me until I heard large splashes coming close up. But then I turned around at the wrong moment. Parker grabbed my waist and tackled me down into the shallow waters.

We both went under but before I knew it I was being dragged up again by Parker. He hulled me up by my waist, laughing uncontrollably to himself as I struggled in his arms, twisting and turning, trying to break free.

"Not fair asshole. That was uncalled for."

"Well you cheated first so we can call it even n-"

"I did not cheat!"

"Did too!"

"Nope I win fair and square!"

"You had a head start how is that fair?"

I shut my mouth before I realised this was a battle I wasn't going to win. As we had been arguing, I hadn't noticed us drifting further away from the shoreline. The water was now above Parker's waist. I looked down to see where the water was up to on me because I could feel the warm summer breeze on my thighs. My legs were wrapped around his waist and his arms around mine. Shit.

I could feel the heat rising to my cheeks as I started to feel uncomfortable in the position. Parker, clearly seeing my new pink shade, followed my gaze and landed on the same problem I had found. This time, his cheeks caught the blushing disease. He continued to stare.

Slowly, I slipped my legs away from his hold and placed them onto the sea bed, burying my feet into the sand. I looked down at the murky ocean water, staring at my reflection. My arms slowly wrapped around my sides, my hands pinched at the soft skin and nails dug in creating small crescents along the surface.

Parker looked as though he wanted to say something, but no words left his mouth instead they kept themselves pursed and sealed. The uninterrupted awkwardness was starting to get to me.

"I think I'm just going to go read for a bit," I nodded towards the shore, towards our abandoned bags.

"I'll just stay here a little longer," his voice was low and was barely a mumble. I had to strain slightly to hear him. I nodded once more and began to make my way towards the shore. I wanted to fix the awkwardness now growing between us but I just didn't know how.

What am I going to do?