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The next morning the sun and heat chase me out of bed. I get up lethargically and get dressed in white shorts and a pale pink t-shirt. My lily-white legs reflect the light.
I go out to the kitchen to look for everybody and to get a glass of water.
The house is silent and through the kitchen window, I see Sean, Jared, Aaron and Esther kicking a ball around on the white sand of the beach. My mum is sitting on the porch steps.
Nobody woke me. I seriously overslept, and this on my first day on vacation. I feel instantly offended.
I walk out onto the porch and my mum smiles up at me. “Good morning, Elizabeth.”
“Morning. You should have woken me up.”
“You seemed so tired and Jared was concerned, telling us we should leave you. You know if it was up to Sean you would have been up at the crack of dawn.”
I grunt. “Yeah, I know.”
Jared waves at me and I wave back, smiling widely.
“Besides you were starting to get dark rings under your eyes, so we all agreed with Jared and decided to let you sleep in,” my mum explains.
I still want to retaliate, but Esther runs toward us and then sits down next to my mum, starting a conversation. With Esther around, nobody can get a word in edgeways, so I decide to go and kick the ball around as well.
The sand is soft and warm under my feet and I sigh content.
Jared is exuberant and runs toward me. When he reaches me, he lifts me high in the sky, his shyness and constraints being in the company of my parents seemingly abandoned. He twirls me around. As he slides me down against his body, he whispers softly, once my face is level with his, “Missed you.”
I smile. “Missed you more.”
From the corner of my eye, I see my mum and Sean looking at us concerned. I honestly do not know why. They have always told me when they met, they were immediately attracted to each other, and they are still together. Does that mean—in their opinion – a person could only really fall in love when they are much, much older? I doubt it, because I know what I feel right now.
We play an impromptu game of football and then we sit down to a light breakfast.
As the sun rises in the sky, the heat starts to get a roasting quality.
Jared and I decide to join the hordes of other people further down on the beach. According to Jared, and to the amusement of Sean, I need some colour on my legs.
As soon as we find a vacant spot on the beach, I lie down on my stomach on my towel, resting my head on my arms and I stare at Jared, who is lying on his back with his eyes closed. He is not as light skinned as you would expect, and next to him, my pale, un-tanned skin is like a beacon in the night.
After a while, he turns to me and asks lazily, “Do I pass the test?”
“Barely,” I say jokingly.
He gets up and stretches, his arms reaching up toward the sky. Suddenly, he bends down over me, and before I can resist, he throws me over his shoulder—like a bag of potatoes. He runs with me into the sea. The icy cold-water splashes against my warm skin, and I scream involuntarily, while he laughs boisterously.
A wave surprises us, and I am suddenly under the water, my legs tumbling over my head as I swirl around.
I come up coughing.
He slides through the water toward me, a twinkle in his eyes. “Are you okay?”
“Yes. No thanks to you.” I feel sorry for myself as I feel the briny water burn the back of my nose.
“Ah, I am so sorry. Come here and I'll kiss it all better.” He pulls me closer to him and wraps his arms around my waist.
The nakedness of his chest against my bikini-clad body takes me by surprise and I catch my breath. Goosebumps erupt all over my body and I do not know if it is from the cold water or having him so very close to me—closer than usual.
“Are you cold?”
“Yes,” I say, pretending to be angry.
He laughs. “No problem, I'll warm you up in a second.” He holds me level with him and he kisses me.
I taste the saltiness of the sea on his lips, the sun on my shoulders, and his naked skin against mine. I feel my hormones awaken and rush through my veins at an extraordinary speed. Throwing all caution to the wind I now understand Sean’s concern, because I am feeling very reckless. I wrap my arms around his neck and pull myself closer to him. His moan makes me smile inwardly and hurry my hormones even faster through my body. If there were not so many people on this beach with us, I might have gotten my way with Jared.
When the next wave crashes into us he manages to keep us steady as the water churns around us. He pulls away from me and says huskily, “I had nightmares, thinking I would not be able to hold or kiss you for this entire holiday. Sean is watching you like a hawk.”
“You are very inventive though.”
“I am, aren’t I?”
“Besides, Sean trusts me. It’s you he’s watching.” I laugh as I swim away from him and let the next wave carry me back to shore.
We body surf in the waves for the rest of the day, and every time his fingers brush against my skin by accident, it sends tingles up my spine.
