.RiBea.
"Cci, ligo na tayo! Ganda ng beach oh!"
Ricci looked at the view tinted by his shades as his brother, Prince, called out to him whilst taking off his shirt and throwing it into the sand.
'He's going to regret that,' thought Ricci as he imagined his older brother complaining about an itchy back or getting sand in his briefs. He chuckles to himself as he sets up an umbrella by their bags and sets up a blanket to sit on.
When Prince had said that he knew a place far away, peaceful, secluded, and beautiful Ricci hadn't really believed him. He only realized that it was actually far away after the third tricycle. His brother was right about everything else too, the beach had white sands and barely any trash littered the place. It was also quiet enough that the wind could be heard passing through.
Ricci didn't really take note of where his brother took him, he just trusted him to take him somewhere that would be sure to take his mind off of his problems back in the city. With how calm this place seemed, it looks like he'll be asking for their location soon enough though.
Deciding that sun burn is the going to be the biggest problem here, he takes off his shirt, leaving him in a pair of board shorts. He looks up at his brother, already beginning to fry under the sun and smiling to himself, "Ang sakit nang sun burn niyan mamaya, sampalin ko kaya yung likod niya hahah" with that, the younger one of the two began applying sun block.
Keeping an eye on his brother, he contemplated on asking for help in placing sun block on his back, "Mamaya na lang siguro, chill chill lang muna 'ko dito"
That's what he said before hearing a motorcycle engine stop. He turned his head and watched as a tall girl got down from what he assumed was a rented bike. His eyes landed on the surf board attached to the side and he quickly remembered what his brother said about the place's waves and how perfect they were for surfing.
He turned towards the boards Prince and him brought along with them, stabbed right into the sand. Looking back to his brother enjoying the water and seeing the waves still calm, he turns back to the girl who continues to sift through her bags, seemingly in search.
"Sa lahat ng pwede kong makalimutan, yung sun block pa," Ricci turns to the bottle of sun block by his side and thinks of calling her attention, but decides against it and continues to observe what she's doing.
Her shoulders drop along with a sigh and she scratches her head in slight frustration. She pauses, takes a few deep breaths and then closes her bag, she grabs it by the strap and begins walking closer to the beach with her surfboard in the other arm. She pauses a few feet away from where Ricci had set up and takes in the scenery with a subtle smile on her lips. She releases another sigh and begins to set up where she's standing, all Ricci could do was stare at her as she did so.
She plops down onto the blanket on the sand and puts on her shades, this causes a wave of recognition to fall on to Ricci. He opens his mouth to call out to the girl but before he could even let anything out his brother calls out to him, "Cci! Yung sunblock pala, nakalimutan ko!"
Ricci laughs at his brother and raises the bottle of sun block he was still holding on to, "Parang too late ka na, kuya eh, namumula ka na!" Another laugh escapes him as panic washes over Prince's face and he begins to run over to their umbrella, picking up his discarded shirt on the way.
"Dali, Ricci, lagyan mo ko, gusto ko nang bumalik eh," the younger brother raises his eye brow at him, "Bakit ka namang nagmamadali?" He says as he applies sunblock on his brother's back.
"May nakita kasi akong mga magagandang bato eh, nasan nga pala yung goggles ko?" Ricci responds with a chuckle and hands him his bag. Ricci's attention shifts back to the girl feets away from them as she shuffles through her own bag, seemingly continuing her search for sunblock.
Prince raised his head after finding his goggles and looks at his brother, about to ask him for the time when he noticed the girl he was staring at. A grin forms on his face and immediately thinks of teasing him before he realizes who the girl is.
"Uy! Bea!"
The girl stops her search before she turns to the two boys and takes off her shades, a smile forms on her face as she finally recognizes them.
"Prince! Ricci! Kayo pala!"
She laughs and then scratches the back of her head awkwardly, "Tanong ko lang, may sun block ba kayo? Nakalimutan ko-" before she get to finish, Ricci tosses her their bottle and she catches it effortlessly though a bit shocked at the quick reaction. She smiles at Ricci in thanks.
"Kanina ko pa nahalata eh" the two laughed at that and Prince just stares at them but is then distracted when he remembers he has to get back to some colorful rocks.
"Una na ko sa tubig, Cci ha?" He didn't bother to wait for a response as he dashed to the sea.
Bea then walks up to Ricci, though a bit awkward and hesitant, she opens her mouth but then closes it as her cheeks are then dusted with pink. Ricci decides that he'll help her out, "Anong kailangan mo, Bei?"
She shifts her weight and glances around before responding, "Eh kasi, patulong naman," she smiles at him awkwardly as she then kneels down beside him, "Sa ano?" His eyebrows come together in a quizzical way.
She lifts the sunblock he tossed her earlier and it dawns on him, "Ah" They look away from each other in embarrassment but Ricci recovers and clears his throat, "Ah sige... uhm dito ka upo sa harap ko"
She smiles at him in gratitude and takes off her shirt before doing what was told, leaving her in a bikini top. Bea hands Ricci the bottle and he takes it before promptly popping open the top and placing a generous amount on his palm.
He rubs his hands together and is at first hesitant but repeats the words "no malice" in his head as if it were a mantra. He places his hands on her shoulders and Bea visibly flinched away, "Sorry, nabigla ba kita?" Bea nods, "Medyo lang naman" she chuckles at her own reaction, "Sorry din," Ricci shakes his head, "Okay lang"
Silence fills the air between them as Ricci's hands massage the lotion onto her back in an unconsciously sensual way. Bea bites her lip as his hands run across her shoulder blades and then down to her waist. She has to restrain herself from arching her back as he spreads the lotion towards her spine and then up to the back of her neck to her shoulders and then her upper arm, his hands trail back to her shoulders and he gives her a pat to signal he's done.
"Ayan, hindi ka na masusunburn sa likod" they share a short laugh but before Bea can retreat back to her own spot on the beach, Ricci asks a favor, "Ah, Bei, nakakahiya pero patulong rin sa sun block" he grins at her sheepishly and she chuckles at him, "'Lang problema, Cci, oh sige na! Tumalikod ka na diyan"
Bea situated herself behind Ricci and began to apply the lotion, her smaller hands running across his toned back. The effect Bea's hands had on Ricci wasn't obvious to Bea as she innocently rubbed at his lower back and went up to the back of his neck. Ricci felt hot and it wasn't just the sun but he kept his bearings even as he felt her hands go down to go elbows and back up to his shoulders, passing his biceps. He felt her touch reach the back of his neck once more and then it faded.
"Okay na, Cci," Ricci turned to thank her but got stuck when his eyes focused one her smiling face. Her smile caught him and he couldn't help but take in every detail. How her eyes disappeared and the sides of them wrinkled up as her teeth shone at him.
"Ano? Walang thank you?" She chuckles. Ricci snaps out of his trance and laughs awkwardly, "Ah eh thank you talaga, hirap makaabot as likod eh, sakit pa naman ang sunburn pag nasa likod" they laugh together in agreement and Bea thanks him as well before returning to her own blanket.
-
Later on Ricci notices waves looking safe enough to surf on and he immediately stands from his sitting position and grabs his board to wax it. He sits himself down in the sand to prep his board before he runs out to the sea.
Finally reaching the water, Ricci dives down under wetting his whole body and feeling the mood set it in. He looks out at the sea before getting on his board and swimming farther from the shore. He sits, balancing himself well, and sees a wave approaching. Taking his chance, he begins to paddle and as the wave nears he gets up and stands on his board as he rides the wave.
The wind knocks his hair back and away from his face as he takes in the feeling of surfing. The feeling of being alive and free from all the problems the world brings.
Moments later his brother and Bea join in with their own boards. The three of them just stayed in the water until they deemed it unsafe and the brothers started to walk back to the beach with their boards, happily conversing.
Planning to ask Bea a question, Prince turned to face her but stopped short as he noticed she was absent, "Nasaan si Bea?" Ricci perked up and a small stab of panic pierced him as he looked around before his eyes landed on a figure out in the sea. She was sitting on her board, waiting for another wave to hit.
"BEA!"
Ricci was the first to call out as Prince unintentionally echoed his yell. Bea either ignored them or couldn't hear their calls as a large wave began to rush in. The earlier jolt of panic increased as they stared at Bea as she met the wave head on.
Their worry didn't even fade a bit when they witnessed her ride the wave as the wave then took over and sent her down under. Prince could only look on as he prayed she survived when he heard a splash.
He turned to his brother but he was gone, apparently the root of the splash as he began swimming over to where he assumed Bea had went down. He waited for her board to surface as she was connected to it with the tie around her ankle. No board came up however and he tried to calm himself before he dived.
On the shoreline, Prince's concern grew as he had just witnessed his brother dive down in search. He wanted to go and help him but he knew he had to stay in the sand in case he needed to run to call for help.
His eyes were stinging, that's what he tried to ignore as he swam in search of the girl he applied sun block on just this morning. Feeling his lungs burn he swam up to gather some air before diving down once again. His eyes landed on a struggling figure and he wanted to sigh in relief had it not been for the fact that he was underwater.
He swam closer and their eyes met for a split second before he realized why she was struggling. Not only was her board stuck in the corals but her foot was too. Ignoring the increasing pressure in his ears, Ricci swam closer to the board and freed it rather easily, it began to float upwards but stopped as Bea was still stuck.
Ricci began to feel the panic rise in his chest as he noticed she was no longer struggling. He rushed to her foot and grabbed hold of the coral with both his hands, placing his feet somewhere sturdy and began to pull as hard as he could. Bea was quickly running out of air and he was well aware of it.
Noticing a rather large rock near, he took it, raised it above his head, and brought it down with as much force as he could manage while his whole body was pleading for air. The coral broke and Bea began to rise but not fast enough so Ricci grabbed hold of her body by the waist and swam up.
Prince breathed a sigh of relief as he witnessed his brother and friend resurface, he immediately went to meet Ricci by the shallow waters as he pushed the board with Bea's limp body lying on it.
Prince carried her off the board and placed her on the sand, trying to decipher if she was still breathing. Ricci ran over, placing her board closer to them as he placed his ear to her chest.
His adrenalin was up and he was panicking so much but he held together as his brother looked at him, he knew Ricci was the only one who knew CPR between the two of them.
Placing his hands atop each other on Bea, he began to pump. With his arms straight and sturdy, counting in his head, before he parted her lips and met them with his own. This time, he didn't need his earlier mantra as he knew the girl's life depended on him right now.
After repeating the procedure twice, the girl sat up, coughing out water. Prince and Ricci helped her sit as she started coughing her lungs out, Ricci rubbed comforting circles on her back and he was finally able to breathe.
There was silence before Bea spoke up, "Thank you, both of you," she was staring out into the crashing waves as the sun set, causing the sky to turn a nice shade of orange.
"Wag ako, Bei, si Ricci lang. Siya talaga yung tumalon at lumangoy para masagip ka, siya na rin yung nagbigay sayo ng CPR," Prince laughed as he slapped his brother's back, "Heroic din to eh"
Bea turned to her savior and softly smiled at him, "Salamat, Cci"
He met her gaze and couldn't help but be captivated once more as the setting sun behind her made her look more beautiful than he already thought she was, "Wala yun, basta hindi ka lang napahamak" Prince didn't mind them and only stared at the sun melting into the horizon.
They gazed at each other with so many questions being passed silently but all were left unanswered. Fingers touching in the sand, they both smiled meaningfully and yet all that was felt was the cool breeze.
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Hours of hidden looks and shared smiles and yet all that were left the next day were tan lines, but for some reason, that was enough.
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A/N: I also made a crappy edit to go with the crappy one-shot, medyo inspired sa Siargao heheh