*Cora*
"C'mon Cora! It's so nice in here!" Elle shouted from the water.
I shouted back that I was perfectly fine where I was: under the umbrella in the shade with my book. It wasn't even eight am and Elle had yet to come out of the water.
She returned with: "You're no fun!"
"I know!" I smiled as I settled back onto my towel, scanning the page I was on to remember where I was.
Elle's phone, which was laying abandoned on her towel, buzzed. Then buzzed again. And again.
Knowing Elle wouldn't bother getting out of the water to check her phone, I did it for her.
It was the Theo newsletter. The winner of the contest had been announced. Now I needed to get Elle.
Ducking out from my safe haven, I jogged to the water and walked in until I was knee deep. She was right: the water did feel incredible.
"Elle!" I called. "Elle!"
She popped up about two inches in front of me and yelled, "Boo!" I screamed and fell over, splashing into the water.
I fought my way to the surface of the water that was now waist deep, spluttering. "Did you know that I hate you?"
"Aww, poor baby. At least you're in the water now. What'd you need anyway?"
I was seriously debating not telling her to get my revenge, but I knew how much she wanted these results. "Oh, nothing much. Just that your phone's blowing up because somebody forgot that today is the day the contest winner is announced."
As soon as the word contest came from my mouth, Elle was starting to sprint towards the beach and our towels. Though, thanks to the water, she was doing more of a slow jog.
I followed her back at a walk and found her pouring herself into her phone.
"Well?" It wasn't necessary to ask. The exact second she read the name, she'd tell me who it was.
Her eyes flicked back and forth, presumably reading something, before she announced who won. "Naomi Watson."
"Oh." I shrugged. I didn't really think either of us was going to win, but I had hoped Elle would anyway. This would've been a literal dream come true for her, like she actually had dreams about things like this. Hey, she talks in her sleep and I'm a light sleeper, remember?
Elle looked deflated and I almost regretted telling her so early in the day, but I knew she would've found out sooner or later.
We sat in silence for a few minutes before I realized I would have to do something kind of drastic if we wanted to succeed in having the amazing beach day we were planning on, so I came up with a plan.
"Elle," I began, and she looked up. "I need your help."
That really got her attention. "Go on," she said, and I could see her excitement coming back.
"Well, I'm sure you agree that I'm not your stereotypical beach girl."
"Duuuh."
"Ouch. You could've at least denied it even if you agreed so I would feel better. I see how it is. Fine." I held up a hand toward her and looked away to shame her.
When I peeked back, she was grinning like an idiot at me and I broke.
"Anyway. For one day I want to be like everyone else. You have to take me shopping." I pointed back to shops behind us. I really didn't want to dress in a bikini and short shorts, but I'd do anything for Elle.
She was on her feet before I'd even finished my sentence. "YES!" she cheered, fist pumping. "I've wanted to give you a makeover for a long time. I mean, I know your mom's in the fashion industry and all, but you've learned nothing from her."
"Oh gee, thanks."
"You know it's true. I mean, I know you don't get along all that well and stuff since... well, yeah, but you could still learn from her. Now come on. Before it gets busy." She put her shorts and shirt on and grabbed her bag while I looked around. She was right. The beach was deserted and we only had an hour or so before it was filled with people. We'd better hurry if we don't want to worry about our stuff getting stolen.
Half an hour later, we were back under the umbrella and I was decked out in completely new stuff. Elle had convinced me to buy really short (albeit really cute) shorts, a cropped tank top, and a deep red bikini. It wasn't as scanty as she wanted, but there wasn't enough fabric there to convince that I could ever be in waves while wearing the thing.
Elle was back in the water and I drug my towel out into the sun. I was on the beach; I might as well use it. I'd coated myself in about 10 layers of sunscreen and laid out, enjoying the sun.
After a while, I decided to flip. You know, so I don't look beautifully golden on one side and like an uncooked chicken breast on the other.
Mid flip, I saw a figure surrounded by a few people. I sat up and watched for a second before a dripping wet Elle appeared in front of me. "It's him!" she said breathlessly. "It's Theo! Come on!"
Before I could object, she had my arm and was dragging me towards him and his entourage.
"Elle-"
"Shh. I'm doing this and you're doing it with me."
I resigned and started running ahead of her, taunting her. "Well if we're gonna go, we might as well get there."
We were just catching up with the group of people that was growing by the second around the singer. That's when Theo Archer, who was turning around hugging fans and getting pictures, turned a final time and looked straight at me. A smirk lit up his already beautiful face.
Famous Boy.
I'd love to say I just stopped dead out of shock and Elle rushed past me blowing my hair attractively around my face, but this is reality. And in reality, I was so shocked that I tripped over my own feet, crashed headfirst into the sand which caused Elle to trip over me and fall directly on top of me, knocking the breath from my lungs and resulting in an unladylike and unattractive "oof" as we got all wound up together.
We laid there for a second, out of breath before untangling and righting ourselves and I could feel my face burning with embarrassment as my booty burned in the hot sand.
Elle was faring no better beside me and I saw that her face was a lovely shade of cherry as well.
Then Theo was standing in front of me, hands extended to help me to my feet. I accepted the help and little tingles shot up my arms as he grabbed my hands and it wasn't an unpleasant sensation, but I still let go quickly. I wasn't sure what was happening, but I know I didn't want it happening right now in front of all these people.
"You alright, Pip?" he said lowly in my ear, while looking me up and down. I realized that I was still only wearing the new bikini I'd gotten a few hours earlier and immediately crossed my arms over my stomach, feeling extremely self-conscious.
Pip? I wondered. Where'd that come from?
"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks," I mumbled back.
I wasn't sure quite what to do with myself. Theo Archer was staring at me and all I could do was stare back. He'd obviously come to swim and, as I glanced behind him, surf, judging by the lack of clothing and board behind him.
Can I just say that Theo shirtless is an absolute blessing? He wasn't exactly broad shouldered, but he was built. His shoulders and arms were really muscular and oh my, Lord, the abs! The guy seriously had a six pack to die for that I so badly wanted to reach out and touch. See, abs and eyes were my weaknesses and his abs were honestly starting to make my knees go weak and my insides to heat up to melting point.
I forced my eyes away and looked back up at his face, but it didn't help. His eyes were shaded from the sunglasses resting on his straight nose, but I knew they were beautiful. His jaw was just defined enough and absolutely perfect. Distinct cheekbones jutted out over the nicest pair of lips I'd ever seen, and it took a lot of doing to get my focus off of them. I was starting to think things I shouldn't around this boy.
"Can I get a picture?" Elle thankfully interrupted as she scrambling to her feet and held her phone up. The embarrassment didn't faze her and it wouldn't until this life altering moment was over.
"Sure thing," he said, giving her a smile.
That picture was going to be her background for a very long time I knew.
Theo was whisked away into the crowd again and eventually we were shoved out of the way. Elle wanted to stay, but I managed to get her to understand that we had our time, she got her picture, we could go and we wouldn't be missing anything.
Back at our little camp, we sat for a few and I smiled a bit as Elle rambled on and on about Theo and our embarrassing episode. She particularly liked the part where he helped me up and kept asking me about it. I told her he helped me up and asked me if I was alright and that nothing else happened. Then she wanted to know why I'd tripped in the first place and caused the whole scene.
"Elle. That was the guy. Theo was the guy I bribed for the table the day we signed up for the contest. When he turned around, I recognized his grin. I never knew it was him," I explained with splayed hands. "You may want to shut your mouth, too, before you start to suck in flies."
She blinked and snapped her mouth shut before sitting in a stunned silence for a few moments. Then she was back talking about what happened even more animatedly than she had been before if that's possible.
Eventually I couldn't stand thinking over that moment one more time, so I took off running for the water. About halfway there, I felt eyes watching me and turned to see none other than Theo Archer himself, still surrounded by people, watching me run.
I reached the water and splashed in. After a few steps, I couldn't exactly run anymore, so I dove into the water and started swimming. I kept my eyes squished shut and hoped I didn't run into anyone. One time was all it took for me to never open my eyes in this water again. I was 14 and new to seawater when I'd tried opening them and, as you can imagine, I couldn't see. It had burned so bad I had to sit on the beach for 15 minutes before I could go back in.
I'm a good swimmer and have a scary lung capacity so when I came back up for air, I was a very long way from the beach, and I could barely make out Elle in the shallows. I could hear her calling my name though.
I swam slowly back to her and the closer I got, the more she looked like a disgruntled mom with one hip severely cocked and both hands on her hips. When I reached her, I stood and started wringing out my hair. "Sorry."
"What the hell was that about? I thought you drowned!" Elle's hazel eyes bore into mine. Yeah, she was blond haired, hazel eyed and tanned. I don't know how guys ever even glanced in my direction when she was nearby.
I gave her a sheepish grin. "Sorry, I was embarrassed, and I didn't want to relive that moment for the hundred-and-eightieth time."
She seemed satisfied with my answer and was quiet for a minute before a smile made its way slowly onto her face. "Well, now that you're not dead and you've explained yourself, care to tell me how you managed to swim halfway to Japan in one breath?"
For as long as I can remember, I'd been able to swim very long distances in one breath, so I told Elle just that.
True to Elle fashion, her next idea made me face-palm.
"You gotta go back out there! I wanna time you to see how long you can hold your breath!" She saw the look of reluctance on my face and gave me puppy eyes. "Pleeeeease? It'll be really fun I promise!"
"Fine." She knew I couldn't say no when she acted like a three-year-old. It's just so cute!
Elle sprinted back up to our umbrella to get her phone while I waited where I was. Doing everything in my power not to look in Theo Archer's direction, I watched her go for a few seconds thinking how lucky I was to have her as a best friend. She was so awesome and beautiful, and she consented to hang with me: the human peanut.
I turned my attention from Elle to the waves behind me, still avoiding Famous Boy. The ocean was so beautiful and if I didn't have an extreme phobia of deep-sea creatures, I would probably pick a career dealing with it. Given that whenever I see a shark, though, I curl into a ball and stop breathing, it may not be the best choice. I do better with lakes, rivers, and streams.
Even with the fear, I love the water. A huge part of me wanted to just dive in and feel the cool rush of it against my skin and never come up. I'd be a good mermaid.
Or, if not a mermaid, at least a fish.
A mermaid would be cooler, but then I'd have to worry about the hair and the seashell bras, and I'd pass on that. Do mermaids have good skin? Would I have to worry about that? Being a mermaid was suddenly a lot less appealing and I was thankful for the return of Elle with her phone.
"You ready," she asked.
"Uh, no. Let me do a few practice runs, get my lungs stretched out and used to it." I was happy doing this only because I got to be underwater for prolonged periods of time. It was just so peaceful under the water, a lot like sitting on a roof at four a.m.
After a few times practicing, I was ready.
"Ok. On three," Elle said and I nodded. "One. Two."
I took a breath.
"Three."
I submerged and stayed that way, eyes closed again. I sat on the rough sand and felt the sharp edges of long broken shells jutting up from it. I let out small amounts of breath periodically to trick my body into believing I was actually breathing, but never surfaced.
After what I even knew to be a long time, I noticed my lungs were burning with a ferocity that I didn't know they could. If I hadn't been controlling my stay under the water, I'd have wanted to claw at my throat and cheeks until air could reach my lungs but instead, because I was controlling it, I just surfaced.
Elle, it seemed, was completely focused on the spot I'd disappeared into the water at. The second my head popped up, I saw her tap what I assumed to be the stop button on her phone before sea water rushed down over my face and obscured my vision.
"Oh, my gosh! You're like superhuman Cora, how'd you do that?!" she gasped out.
"Do what? How long was I under?" I said, brows knitted as I wiped the water from my eyes.
"Almost five minutes! I didn't know if you were still alive." Her excitement took the punch out of her last sentence a little. It's hard to believe someone thought you were dead when they're eyes are lit up like a kid's on Christmas.
"Well no worries, mon amie. Not dead, just apparently slightly superhuman," I assured her with a smile.
She grinned and rolled her eyes in response and we walked back up to our towels, plopping down on them.
"Yeah. No worries, my butt. You're a freakin' superhuman."