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Spinning around I look to where Oliver was working and begin to laugh when I see all he’s done is made a big blob that somehow manages to look phallic. “You call that better?”
“Yep!”
When I turn back to face him, a big blob of wet sand smacks me in the shoulder. “Oh no, you didn’t.”
“What are you going to do about it?” His smile is full of challenge. I bend down to grab a handful of sand all the while he’s watching me with a look that tells me he’s not sure if I’ll throw it or not. I do.
This turns into a wet sand slinging war. “Score!” Oliver screams when a wet blob lands right in my stomach. I return the favor by landing one to his forehead, which makes me fall to the ground laughing at the look of complete shock on his face. He joins me and we laugh until our sides ache. I roll toward him and he to me and we smile ear to ear at each other. He reaches out a sandy hand and tucks some strands of hair behind my ear that fell from my bun. “That was fun.”
“The entire day has been a lot of fun.” This close to him I can see some freckles that have come out to greet the sun today. It’s endearing and I can’t help but brush a finger down his nose. “You have some new freckles.”
He smiles in a way that makes me catch my breath. His hand reaches toward my face and his thumb caresses my cheek, “So do you.”
We stare at each other for a moment and I swear he moves closer to me and I’m trapped in his gaze and the question of what he’s about to do. Whatever it is, it doesn’t happen because we’re startled apart by a Frisbee landing right between us and spraying even more sand on us at impact.
Oliver returns the Frisbee and I stand and look down at myself. “I need to wash all of this off of me.”
“I think I’m ready to go back to the room, are you? We’ve gotten a lot of sun today.”
“I think that’s a good idea. A shower sounds great right about now.”
“There are showers on our way back, we can use those so we can get the salt water off of ourselves too.”
“Perfect.”
When we walk back to our cabana we see our last shots the waitress brought us. I look at mine hesitantly, but when Oliver raises his glass toward me, “Cheers to a great first day,” I pick up mine and clink my glass with his before shooting it back.
I gather my belongings into my bag, swing it up and over my shoulder and almost fall over when the momentum makes me lose my balance. I laugh, but Oliver takes the bag from me, “Are you alright?”
“I’m great!” I tell him gleefully.
“Oh man, I knew we went overboard with the drinks. I should have been more careful. I’m sorry.”
“I’m not. I feel awesome.” I squeeze my bottom lip between my finger, “I can’t feel my mouth.”
Oliver laughs, “Come on, sunshine. A cold shower will do you some good.”
When we get to the showers, every single one is taken and there are people waiting. “I bet there are some on the other side of the hotel too since you can exit the beach from there as well,” Oliver tells me quietly. “Let’s go to them instead.”
I nod and we begin to walk the back way to our room expecting to enjoy the showers on our way. “Seems that everyone has decided to pack it up for the day.”
“I guess so,” he says and then stops. We’re behind the hotel, but there isn’t a shower in sight. There’s no one really back here at all. There’s only one large marble fountain. A mermaid sits proudly at the top and water spouts up from under her making it look as if she’s sitting on top of the water before it falls to the bottom. “Well, it appears that I’m wrong. The only water back here is that,” he gestures to the fountain.”
“Well that won’t work.” I look down at myself and do my best to start wiping sand off of me with my hands thinking I may have to go through the resort like this as I’m not sure I can make it all the way back to the other side. I can always just rinse off in the room. I hate the thought of tracking in sand, though, I suppose when you’re at the beach that’s par for the course.
“Or will it?”
I’m too busy slapping sand off of me and not sure my head is processing anything quite like usual to realize what Oliver said, but when I look up and see he’s placed our things on the ground and is currently getting inside the fountain I gasp and then laugh. “Oliver!”
“It’s not my fault they don’t have showers back here. I figure this will work just as well.”
“You’re drunk!”
“Yup!” he says and stops to turn on his radio again, then invites, “Come on!”
I hesitate for a moment, but standing there, watching Oliver stand and sit and laugh as he slaps water on himself to wash off makes emotion rise in my throat. I’m watching him live in the moment and suddenly I realize I don’t want to simply watch, I want to participate.
Quickly, I jump into the fountain too and before long we’re cracking up and stomping and splashing water at each other. We strain to capture the water flowing down over the statue placed mid-center. I look up at it. “Check me out!” I yell, “Don’t I look just like her?” I gesture to the mermaid and then myself as I mimic her pose.
