Between Two Fires

^.^ Chapter 24 ^.^

"So - are you the reason Luca's here for the first time in a while?" He asks, curiosity evident as he scans me from head to toe.

"Uhm... I don't know?" I pause, "Why hasn't he come in a while?" I ask instead.

He shrugs, "Not too sure. Him and his sister used to come here often." He scratches the back of his head, looking uncomfortable."Maybe because of his sister I guess."

I bite my lip. The question is at the tip of my tongue, 'where is his sister now?' But I don't ask it. I knew it wouldn't be right to get the answer from someone else. 

"Hmmm," I say instead and turn my attention back to Luca. And boy do I regret it. He is walking out of the sea, his wetsuit hanging on his waist, leaving his chest bare for me to oggle at. I feel my breath catch on my throat as I watch him run a hand through his hair, causing the water to flick out around him and onto his naturally tanned chest. I stop my eyes from going further south as his eyes meet mine. I blush and look back at where Karl had been standing two seconds ago, noticing he's now gone.

I sit up and cross my legs, my wet suit was still fully zipped up and I'd found it quite comfortable to surf in but it felt a little awkward to sunbathe with. However, taking it off with the current audience was a lot more nerve-wracking.

"Hey," Luca says, a small relaxed smile adorning his lips.

"Hey, that was amazing," I say, returning his smile. 

He points to the spot beside me on the towel and I nod. His was still dry and folded and there was enough space for both of us. He sits beside me and takes a huge gulp of water from the bottle I'd opened.

"Thanks." He says sighing as he closes the bottle, returning it to the cooler. "I haven't done that in a while, it felt good." He shares, surprising me.

I make sure to choose my next words carefully, "Yeah... Karl said you haven't come here in a while actually..." I bite my lip nervously and pretend I'm focused on the people still out at sea.

"Yeah.. That's true." His tone is clipped this time which catches my attention.

Should I push him?

"Why?" I ask quietly. For a second, I think he hasn't heard me but when I look over at him he looks lost in thought. Finally he sighs and lies back on the towel, placing his arm over his eyes.

"Is that your second question?" He says finally.

"No." I respond quickly. He chuckles but there is no humor in it. "My second question is...." I trail off trying to find the right words to ask about his sister, but I just can't. It felt too personal. "Where did you live before Australia?" I say instead, remembering our conversation the other day.

Immediately, he shifts his arm so his eyes are no longer covered and squints up at me. His eyes scan mine curiously and his eyebrows slowly raise in surprise. Its only for a second before he smiles thankfully and resumes his previous stance, shielding his eyes.

"Vivi en españa hasta que cumpli los once años," It takes me a few seconds to accept that this translates to 'I lived in Spain until I was eleven.'

"You speak spanish?!" My mouth must be agape when he peaks up at me, making him laugh. "I knew you had a familiar accent..." I mumble crossing my arms. This was hard to believe, "No me lo puedo creer" I sigh. 

"It's a little rusty now but yeah, I speak spanish. My mum is from spain, originally." He says after giving me a couple of seconds to process it. "Both me and my sister were born in spain when our parents lived there. Then my dad's parents passed away, leaving him the Diner." He pauses and sits up beside me, "When they left him the Diner he moved here first, leaving my mum with us when we were still very young. Then my mum moved up to help him and we were left living with my grandma on my mothers side for five years. They made sure business was stable before bringing us over here also." He explains, surprising me in the process. I hadn't wanted to ask him to elaborate incase it might cause him to turn serious again but he'd shared more information anyway. I could feel his eyes on me but I pretend to be engrossed in the action out at sea instead.