I honestly don't know what to feel about entrusting Jamie with my spare key.
Things were calm in the early Saturday afternoon, at least on the outside. I'd brushed out my hair, put on some makeup, and gotten changed into a casual day dress with black flats. In my bag I'd put a towel and thongs; and a hair brush, just in case. On the inside, I was excited, and nervous. Technically, hanging out with Jamie was nothing out of the ordinary. But this was a date, our first ever planned date, and I had finally figured out what to do with myself regarding how I felt about Jamie. I just need to be open, and whatever happens will happen I think to myself as I sit on the couch and go to turn the TV on.
Things were calm in the early Saturday afternoon until Jamie burst through my door like an excited labrador, a blur a long blonde hair and white teeth clambering to join me on the couch.
"Ready to go?" His face is literally inches from mine.
I raise an eyebrow. "You could use some enthusiasm."
Jamie laughs, raising from the couch. He holds out his hand to me. "Ok, shall we go?"
I take his hand and stand up. "We shall."
We exit my flat, and I lock the door behind me. When I turn back to towards Jamie, I find him staring at me.
"You look...beautiful." He says, looking down slightly.
I giggle. "Thank you." I can feel myself blushing. Whyyyy.
It seems that I'm not the only one feeling very nervous about this date. What does that mean? A little voice says in my head. Nothing, it could mean anything. Great. Internal conversations. Maybe I'm just going nuts.
"Whose car?" I ask, changing the subject.
"Let's take yours."
"Okie dokie."
The festival was set up on a grassed area right next to the beach. If you looked past the flashing lights from the stalls you could see the crisp blue ocean. There were countless stalls selling food, clothing, card readings, and there were a few theme park rides too. The air smelled of salty popcorn and was filled with the sound of laughter and music. People milled around eating, laughing, talking. As Jamie and I walked along the stalls, there was a piano across from a music stall. "Feel free to play" said a sign sitting on top of it. I pointed it out to Jamie.
"Ah," he cracked his knuckles. "This is my calling." He sat down on the seat.
I knew Jamie could play the guitar, because he had shown me before, but I didn't know he could play the piano, too. Jamie set is long, elegant hands on the keys, and started to play. It was a light, fast, tinkling kind of song, that made you want to dance like a ballet dancer. My eyes moved from his hands to his face, his eyes concentrating on the piano, biting his lip slightly, hair falling in his face. He glanced up at me, grinning, and turned his attention back to the piano. He played for another minute or so, eyes closed as he immersed himself in the music. There's something beautiful about watching someone do what they love, I knew Jamie was very music-orientated, and seeing him so beautifully play the piano made my heart ache. He was gorgeous. A few people had stopped to admire his playing, too. Eventually, he stopped.
"That was beautiful," I compliment him. He grins in response, eyes twinkling.
"I want to swim," He says, taking my hand. "Do you?"
"Sounds like a good idea."
Jamie leads me through the lane of dawdling people towards the beach. We stop just before the grass turns to sandy beach and lay out our towels and dump our bags. I shimmy my dress off, having decided to wear my bikini underneath. I don't wear a rashie. I hear a gasp from behind me, and Jamie, now shirtless, is staring at my back. I bite my lip and look down, embarassed. I feel a warm hand come around my back, and a second one come under my chin, tilting my face to look into Jamie's eyes.
"You're still beautiful."
"They're ugly."
"I can barely see them, barely feel them," He whispers, tracing his fingers along to scars that run across my ribcage. "Let's swim," He takes his hand off my back and takes my wrist instead.
The water is much calmer today, water lightly lapping against the sand, slapping and fizzing. The water is almost like a pool, with fluid, changing shadows cast by the darkening sky - blue, with a tinge of grey. Soon, it'll be sunset. It's peaceful away from the loud noise of the festival; as we wade out onto the sandbank, all I can hear is the ocean water moving around us, Jamie's and my own breathing, and the occasional cry of a seagull. Peaceful. I turn to Jamie. "Are you going to get your hair wet?"
Jamie frowns. "Why?"
I say nothing, and flick my hands out of the water, splashing his face. "Because I wanted to do it for you."
Jamie stares at me, water dripping onto his face off his now-wet hair. Mildy amused. He pounces, taking my shoulders and pushing me under the water. The pleasant coolness envelops me. I stay under and dive, grabbing his ankles, pulling on them so he loses his balance, and falls under too. I surface, laughing. Jamie comes up too, flicking his hair out of his face.
"Come here." He takes me and hugs me to his chest, bridal style, cradling me in the water. Unlike the last time I was being held like this my Jamie in the water, I don't feel the need to have to touch the sandbank, I trust Jamie's arms to hold me safe. I let the water flow over and around me in his arms, resting against his warm torso. I look up at him, and he's looking at me, shadows creeping on his face, contrasting his cheekbones and jawline, making his sapphire blue eyes stand out. Jamie seemed to notice my acceptance too.
"You're not going to wiggle away this time?"
I shake my head. "Nope."
He fingers my hair. "Why not?"
"Because I trust you." The words had just slipped out of my mouth, but they were true.
Jamie's eyes widened, lips parting slightly. "You trust me?"
"I do. Do you trust me?"
He sets me down again, and I dig my toes into the sand.
"Yes. I do trust you."
An idea pops into my head. "Okay, how comfortable are you in the ocean now?"
"As long as I'm with you, I'm fine."
Awww
"Okay, then lie back and float, eyes closed." I instruct him. His eyebrows narrow, but he does what I say. I let myself float, my hand in his, next to him.
"Okay, now what?" He asks.
"Now, we let the ocean flow around us."
"Like meditation?"
"Like meditation."
"And we won't get carried out to sea?"
"I'll make sure we don't." We're still floating next to each other, eyes closed.
"Okie dokie."
"Did you just mimic me?"
"...Maybe."
We float for a while in silence. I feel the water move smoothly around me, rocking our bodies back and forth gently, my hair swirling out around me. After a couple minutes, I feel the water change slightly, and crack an eye open. As I had guessed, the water was becoming choppier. I squeeze Jamie's hand. "We should go back in."
Jamie smiles, eyes opening. "'Kay."
We retire to the beach, or really, the grass. Jamie rests on his elbows and I lay all the way back, feeling my hair begin to dry and curl into beachy waves, but I find that I don't care too much what my hair looks like, after all, Jamie's is doing the same thing, curling from the salt and drying. Jamie breaks the silence.
"You know, if someone told me six months ago that I would be totally comfortable to float in the ocean with my eyes closed, I would of said they were crazy. Maybe would have reccomended they see their GP." He looks over at me. "Yet, here I am, having done that, all because of you."
I sit up straight, and he does too, we're close enough that our arms brush. "All because of me?" I ask, gazing out at the ocean. The sun has begun to set, tinging the sky with brilliant hues of pink and orange and blue.
"All because of you."
"You trust me?" I lean closer to him.
"I meant it before. You mean a lot to me, I trust you."
I trust you.
There was something in his voice that made me look at him, the golden orange light of the sunset glinting on his blonde hair, making it look as if it made of a thousand strands of pure gold. He looks at me with his luminescent eyes, his face now very close to mine. His eyes dart downwards, at my lips.
"Can I..." He swallows. "Can I kiss you?" He stutters slightly.
My chest fills with bubbles of nervousness. Without answering, I lean in and our lips meet. The bubbles pop into mini explosions coursing through my body as our lips slowly, sweetly, dance in the golden light. His hand comes to rest on my thigh as he moves in closer, and my hand goes to the nape of his salty curls. His lips are as sweet and soft as the hues of the remaining light from the sun that falls on us. He smells like the ocean; salt, water, and sunshine.
We break apart eventually, and my face breaks into a smile. I lace my fingers through his. We stay like this, and turn to watch the last remaining strands of light fade into a twilight blue
************
They finally kissed! :D (You have no idea how long I've been waiting to write this chapter.)
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