Memories of Before

Splashed Surprises and Warm Hugs

Chapter 8 - Splashed Suprises and Warm Hugs        

        Alex drags me out the back door and through my backyard. My house sits on the skirts of more woods (our town is mainly woods), so we are going into the wilderness. I look down at myslef and realize I am still in the short pair of pajama shorts and a tanktop I put on earlier, luckily its warmer outside. No way I am running around town looking like this! I stop running and grab Alex's attention, gesturing to my attire. He smiles, "Trust me Eli, you'll be fine with that on." This is too much, he can't have this much control over me, its scareing me, my brain tells me. 'Shut up' I think to myself, 'You aren't going to ruin this stupid senseless moment for me with worry!' I ignore my conscience and keep going.

        Shortly after my little panic attack, I start to hear water in the distance. Alex turns around and says to me, "we are almost there." A few minutes lake, we come upon a little waterfall type place, just in the middle of the woods, surrounded by trees. It's magical. I finally pull my arm from Alex and walk over to the small falls. They are probably a foot or two taller than me, and I'm 5'1". The water sprays on my face as I step closer and run my fingers through the water. Alex appears behind me, "The actual lake is only like 5 feet deep, I can stand in it." I turn around and realize just how close Alex and I are. Feeling uncomfotable, I step back, but the ledge is slick from the waterfall and I slip. I scream as I fall down into water. "Eli!" I hear Alex scream right before I hit the cold water. I gasp from the cold and my head goes under. Another splash erupts right next to me, and strong hands grab my waist and pull me up. I suck in air as I break the surface. Alex is standing in the water with me, his hair is wet and he took off his shirt before jumping in, so he is shirtless. He is holding my waist because I can't touch. I shiver from the cold water on my skinny body. "I was so worried you go hurt," he looks at me. I can't believe he just jumped in to get me, for no real reason. I know this seems stupid, but no one has ever done something like that for me. I am suddenly compelled to thank him in a bold way.

        With out thinking, I bring my arms up and wrap them around his wet muscular chest, pulling him into a hug. He stiffens, shocked at my bizzare action, before wrapping his arms around me and holding me close. The warmth from his body is comforting. The two of us stand there, Alex holding my in the middle of this lake, wrapped in eachothers arms for a while. I close my eyes, trying to memorize the feeling.

        After a few minutes, I break the hug. Pulling back a little bit, I look to Alex for a reaction to what just happened. His face is void of emotion. My eyes drop down to the water, loosing the confidence I had before. Why did I do that, this whole think was a bad idea. A tear drips down into the water, making a tiny ripple. Suddenly, two hands grasp my cheeks, pulling my gaze up to Alex's.

        "Thankyou." He whispers.