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Derek sees me inspecting it, but this time, he doesn’t try to hide it. “Are you ready?” he asks after a moment, slowly dropping his arm and pulling my attention to his face. He nods at the ocean.
Behind us I hear Kamaya whisper to Alec about how we look like we’re about to rip each other’s swimsuits off right here on the beach. Derek hears them too and glances down at me with an almost apologetic smile.
When we get down to the water, Derek and I turn to face each other, and that’s when I make the mistake of looking at Alec. I see the harrowing lens aimed at our faces and the panic sets in. I try to smile at Derek. It feels stale.
“Um…” Alec lowers the camera. “Nora, maybe try shaking out your arms really quick.”
I do except that doesn’t help. I’m just hyperaware of my arms now. I’m a Betty Spaghetty doll from the ’90s and my arms are long limp noodles.
Kamaya jumps in to help. “Just…breathe out a smile, Nora, and maybe put your hand on Derek’s chest, like you’re leaning in to kiss him.”
It’s possible I’m moving in slow motion as I lift my hand and lay it on the hard lines of Derek’s bare chest. My hand settles against his warmth and I’m set on fire. “This isn’t working, Derek,” I say, yanking my arm back. “I can’t do it. I’m feeling more awkward than the time I ordered at Starbucks and then realized I had a tampon wrapper stuck to the front of my shirt the whole exchange.” Truly it was the barista taking my order who looked the most awkward. Poor guy. “We both know I can’t take a good picture to save my—”
Derek’s arms suddenly snag around my waist and he tugs me up flush with him, so tightly that my back bends when I look up at his face. All of me is pressing against all of him and I can’t breathe. His eyes are dark as the depths of the ocean. “Stop thinking so much and have some fun with me, Nora.”
I think maybe he’s going to kiss me until suddenly he bends down even lower and scoops my legs out from under me, carrying me out into the water.
“Derek!” I squeal and kick. “I can’t swim yet! I don’t have my sunscreen on!” It’s not even a fake excuse. I can’t be in the sun long without protection or we’ll need a fire extinguisher to stop the burns.
I manage to kick and wiggle myself out of his grip, landing on my feet with the waves only around my ankles. I don’t waste a second before I take off, slogging my way through the water and sand—aiming for my bag with sunscreen up on the beach chair, but really just trying to run from the unhinged joy overtaking me. I’mfeeling…scared again. Scared to care for someone so much. Scared to recognize a definite shift between us. Scared that I’ll mess it up—or he’ll mess up, and either way we’ll end up heartbroken when my career was just starting to go where I wanted it to.
But also…What if nothing bad happens? What if…it’s just wonderful?
I glance over my shoulder and Derek is running after me. His long lean lines and structured muscles flexing with every step. “Get back here,” he yells, and I trip my way up the sandy beach, laughing too hard to really run.
It takes Derek all of two seconds to catch me. He loops his arms around my waist and carefully tackles me to the ground, taking the brunt of the fall. I wriggle around laughing until we’re face-to-face, him lying atop me, but his forearm and legs taking most of his weight.
He pushes my hair back from my face and then cups the back of my neck. “You’re fast. Ever consider a career in football?” he says with a dimpling smile, leaving me dizzy.
Nothing about this feels fake.
“I wouldn’t want to show anyone up.”
“So kind of you.”
Distantly I’m aware that Alec is snapping photos of us, and hot sand is stuck to the backs of my arms and legs. I’ll be rinsing it from my hair for weeks, but for once, I really can’t bring myself to care about anything outside of this moment. Outside of Derek looking in my eyes—his body heavy over mine.
The grains of sand turn into glitter. It’s allmagic.
“We’re in public,” he says, quiet enough for only me to hear. “Fair to kiss you?”
My stomach twirls. “Absolutely fair.”
But apparently he didn’t mean on the mouth because he responds by leaning down and touching his lips to my collarbone. I suck in a breath from the shock of tingles that flood my system.
“I’m glad you told them they’re not allowed to airbrush your images.” He lingers there and nips at the stringy strap of my bikini like he can’t resist. “Because smoothing away any part of your gorgeous body would be a travesty.”
Oh my.
My body is putty under the feel of his lips—my skin is so sensitive. He might just be putting on a show for Alec, but I don’t think he is. Either way, my core is molten and I’m unable to care about anything other than sinking my fingers into the back of his gold-kissed brown hair. I pull my knee up, laying my foot flat against the sand, and almost automatically Derek’s hand goes to that outer thigh.
Alec’s camera frantically clicks now and the sun just behind Derek’s head is so bright I have to shut my eyes. It’s bliss. Pure bliss.
“Derek. Can I ask you a personal question?”
“Anything.” He kisses my other collarbone, making it very difficult to focus on my words.
“Is that a letterNtattoo on your arm?”
