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Jumping Ship
Mallory woke up the next morning, smiling. She stretched and wiggled her body all over the bed. She had slept like a baby. She felt amazing. Jumping out of bed, Mallory headed to the washroom. She tinkled.
Heading back into her bedroom, she walked over to the little table and grabbed a banana from the small fruit basket she had brought up with her. She ate the banana and as she let it digest before going running, she tidied up the bed, her clothes from the night before. Brushed her teeth. Tied up her unruly hair. Dressed in her bikini and then her running clothes over her swimsuit. She knew it was going to be hot and didn’t want to have to come back up to change, just to swim after running.
She tied the small but functional pack around her waist; hotel key, money, bandaids, phone neatly tucked inside and a bottle of water inserted just beside the pouch. She didn’t need to tune anything out here, so she left the earbuds in her room. It was going to be heaven to run and not have to block out the LA noise.
As she exited the elevator, she looked up and there was Elric, leaning against one of the thick, marble columns that decorated the hotel lobby and was probably a very pivotal part of the structure. With more windows and doors open than a regular hotel, there was a gentle breeze blowing in. You could hear water splashing, and laughter, and all the other sounds associated with a resort close to boats and water.
Elric had his shirt tucked into the waistband of his shorts. Oh god. His shorts. She was going to die. Right there. They weren’t too tight, but they weren’t loose either. She could almost see... She stopped herself before she let it get any dirtier. They smiled at each other.
He lifted his sunglasses as she approached him. "Mornin’ beautiful." His blue eyes sparkled as he looked her right in the eyes, and asked, "Did you sleep well?"
She smiled at him. "Good morning Elric. Yes, I slept like a baby. Yesterday was a lot of fun and I was exhausted when I got to bed. Did you sleep well?"
Mallory watched Elric’s face as his eyes pulled away from her eyes, almost regrettably, and slid down her body and took in exactly what she was wearing. She wanted to smile but her body was too busy pulsing with his stare. She was very glad that she had picked the soft pink, tight tank top and snug, black spandex shorts to wear. The shorts stopped mid-thigh. She could hear his breathing. It was deep and speeding up. It sounded like he groaned. She smiled. He looked back up, into her eyes.
"Yes, Mallory, I slept great. God. I can’t stare at you for long or everyone in this lobby is going to know just how happy I am to see you. Let’s go running." She laughed. He laughed. They walked out of the hotel. He pulled the shirt out of his waistband and slid it over his head.
"Phew. That was close. An embarrassment that I didn’t really want to experience." They laughed louder.
They headed to the paved path that wrapped around the hotel property. There was a small hut with lockers inside where people could leave their stuff. There was a bottled water machine. You could swipe your room card and get a water. They stopped and began stretching their bodies. Arms and legs were extended and small grunts could be heard. Mallory loved the sounds coming from him. They were otherwise quiet in their minute of preparing to run.
Elric turned to Mallory and asked, "How long do you run for Mallory?"
She finished her stretch and replied, "I’m not a crazy runner. I just like to run to unwind a bit before my day, so 2 or 3 miles is good for me."
He smiled. "Perfect. Ready to go?" She nodded. They headed out toward the paved path and started pounding the smooth path. Within a few minutes, they were both breathing a little heavier. Mallory concentrated on running. She didn’t want to screw up and fall. Her body was vibrating to life. Every inch of her thrumming with the force of hitting the pavement. She laughed. This was why she ran. This exhilarating feeling.
Elric didn’t speak. They didn’t need to talk. They savored the peace and enjoyed the sounds of nature surrounding them. They followed the windy path around the resort and saw colorful birds in trees and on the ground. There was a pond in the middle of the natural sanctuary and birds were flying in and landing on the water gracefully. The squawked and frolicked in the water.
They had been running for about 20 minutes when Elric asked if she had been running long enough. Mallory nodded and they started to slow their pace down. They slowed to a fast walking pace for another minute and pulled in deep gulps of air. Once they had stopped running and were walking at a brisk pace, they turned around and headed back to the resort’s main building.
They were both sweaty and their skin was shining in the glorious early morning sun. Mallory reached behind her and pulled out her bottle of water. She took a few sips, wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, and said, "That was glorious Elric. God I love running outside."
He smiled and nodded his head, "Agreed. And you look amazing all sweaty and shiny." They both laughed out loud, and kept walking. As they neared the resort, Elric lifted his arm behind his neck and pulled his t-shirt off. Mallory reached for the waist of her tank top and lifted it up over her head too. Elric stopped walking and was staring at her. She smiled widely and said, "I’m wearing my bathing suit under my clothes."
"Do you want to go swimming?" she asked. Elric still hadn’t spoken but nodded and followed Mallory toward the water. She stopped as she stepped onto the sandy beach and hooked her thumbs into the waistband of her spandex shorts and shimmied her hips as she pushed the shorts and the waist pack down. Elric gasped. "Do you really have to get undressed... right here?" She smirked and nodded, and continued pushing her shorts down her legs and left them where they dropped.
Mallory smiled as she started walking backward towards the water. She rolled her finger at him in a come here motion and Elric dropped his shirt and followed. She turned and let him follow her. She snickered at what sounded like a groan from behind her, and she felt the heat of his stare on her booty. She swayed her hips a little harder.
The clear blue water felt invigorating against her heated skin. She sighed and swished her arms around her, making the water fly up a bit and land on their bodies. She giggled when she heard Elric’s sharp intake of breath. Eventually they were past the waves and had swum a few strokes before turning toward one another and floating on their backs.
She was relaxed at the summer retreat on Maui's East shore. She looked over to Elric as he floated next to her, his face up, looking to the sky.
He turned to her and asked, "Can you even perceive starlight in its intimate details or is it all just a concept to you? Lights in the sky?" Ok. Random. Kinda deep. She turned to Elric. Puzzled at the direction of the conversation.
"Starlight? I wouldn't want to be close to the microwave emissions from stars. I'm fine being this far from them."
"Because they're hitting interstellar water molecules!"
"I didn't know that," she said, looking toward him as she kept her arms spread out in the water to stay afloat and moved her feet slowly, lazily. "How do you know that?"
"It’s a subject that interests me," he said.
"Taking it all the way back to Kant's ‘The Island Universe,’ are you?"
"Surprisingly accurate work," Elric replied.
"Isn't it?" she agreed.
"Anyways, it’s just something I ponder when I’m bored."
A sort of look of severity came over his face. She thought she noticed something like a scale or two around his temple, but then shook her head and figured it was a trick of the sun reflecting against his skin.
She felt a closeness to him that she hadn't felt with anyone else. An understanding that he had about the universe that she had always known could be attained, but had never achieved herself. She wanted to be around him, learn from him, but before that she wanted, no, needed to kiss him. She imagined it as they floated, looking at the sky, and she let her hand drift over to his, to hold it.
He straightened his body in the water and waded over to her. She could feel the temperature in the water around her getting warmer as he approached, and she straightened her body and bicycle peddled in the water. He reached for her slowly, staring into her eyes and leaned his face in close to hers. She tilted her head slightly and slid her hands over his shoulders. His shoulders tensed under her touch and she dug her fingers into his skin as he pulled her body closer to his.
Mallory’s heart was pounding, she was panting. She could feel Elric’s hot breath against her mouth and she moaned really softly. Goosebumps broke out over her skin as he slid one hand around her neck, under her hair, and squeezed her neck lightly with his long, thick fingers. "Elric." She moaned as his mouth grazed over hers and his lips parted against hers slightly. She kissed him back as his mouth opened, and she felt his warm, wet tongue slide into her mouth slowly. Their tongues swirled around and Elric pulled her against his body tightly.
"This is something else," he said against her mouth.
"I've never felt this before," she agreed. "I don't usually kiss anybody this fast."
"Are you okay with it?" he asked.
She nodded. Something made this man in front of her seem totally different than any man she had met before.
"It feels different with you."
Their hands slid over each other’s body under the water. His hands held her hips, feeling the delicate curve of them, and she held his shoulders, feeling the muscles tense under her fingers. She liked the feel of him and the way he was able to touch her. She liked the way she felt comfortable and relaxed, but excited and ready all at once.
As they pulled away from each other slightly, Mallory felt a bright, white light shining on both of their faces. Even in the bright sun, it was brighter than anything Mallory had seen and she had to shield her eyes.
Elric did not. He knew where the light was coming from.
Quickly, he told her, "The thing about my family is," he took a breath and said, "They can always find me."
"What?"
"They're here," he said, as she was pulled from the water with him. He would have ordinarily gone into the direct transport tube, but instead chose to stay with Mallory in the human containment field. They were whisked away into the ship and the both of them stopped seeing the white bright white light quickly.
As for the people on the beach, the only thing they would have seen was a bright white light that was stunning, but only momentarily. They would never know that it was actually a spacecraft coming down to pick up Elric, delivering him to his family, and to take Mallory.
Mallory screamed as she was pulled out of the water. Elric tried to reassure her, but she couldn’t hear anything above her own screaming.