“Being stuck down here,” she sighs. “I really didn't think this would happen like this.”
“It's all right,” I answer, playing idly with her hair. “I really am having fun tonight, all things considered.”
“I'm glad. Maybe we can actually plan something like this when summer starts.”
“Yeah, but if everything went according to plan today, we'd have fun but we wouldn't really have a story to tell, would we?”
“You've been hanging around Chisato too much.”
“Heh, maybe so,” I admit.
Saki raises her head again to look at me. “You're okay, right? You weren't just saying that, earlier?”
I frown. “Yeah, I always keep some spare pills in my bag. The doctors drilled that into me when I first left the hospital.”
Saki nods, satisfied with my answer. “Sorry, again...”
I pull my arm, and Saki, closer. “Well, you did say we needed to make a deal. I'll forgive you for that if you'll forgive me for freaking out over what we were talking about back when we were leaving the hotel.”
“Deal,” she says, moving in for another kiss.
It starts benign enough, but this time it lingers for several seconds longer, neither of us pulling away. Saki drapes her arm across my chest for leverage, deepening the kiss. Everything at once - the fragrance of the salt on the air from the sea, the sound of my pulse in my ears in time with the waves, and the taste of her mouth all combine in a heady rush that threatens to overwhelm my senses. My hands run up her back, and when I feel her give a small moan, it ignites something in me.
It's the same feeling I get when she pushes me to reach my limits – whether in conversation, or swimming laps, or learning to be more open about my scar.
Doing something that surprises both her, and myself.
Seeing a small smile of surprise on her face, either of joy or pride.
Exhilaration. Power. Control.
When that one simple sound reaches my ears, letting me know that I am the cause of it – me – there's not much room for anything resembling rational thought.
In one swift motion, I sit up and roll us so our positions are reversed, her upper body pinned beneath mine. We break the kiss only for a moment to look into each other's eyes, and even in the low light, the fiery intensity I see there makes me ache.
“Why'd you stop?” Saki asks breathlessly. I answer her by crashing my mouth into hers again.
Her body is writhing beneath mine, one of her hands in my hair, and even though some small part of me realizes we're out in the beach and the sand, there's nowhere else I'd rather be than this exact-
Bzzzzzzt! Bzzzzzzt! Bzzzzzzt!
We're interrupted by a loud vibration right near our heads that makes us both jump. My heartbeat spikes so hard I actually start to worry for a second, but Saki is already reaching for where we placed our shoes. I sit up and try to get my breathing under control, not just from the shock of her phone going off, but also because of how heated things were getting before that exact moment.
Saki's retrieved her phone from one of her shoes, and flipped it open. The screen casts a soft blue light against her face and a reflection of the icons that sparkle in her eyes. Even with that small amount of light, I can see her skin is as flushed as mine feels.
“What's up?” I ask shakily.
“Chisato just sent me a text. They're heading out for a midnight snack. Wants to know if there's anything we want.”
Retroactively, not sending that text when she did would be a great start. I sigh heavily, the last vestiges of the spell crumbling like the sand castle we had built earlier.
“Great,” I say, standing up, trying with futility to brush some of the sand off my shirt and clothing. Saki's types out a quick reply, and then stuffs the phone back into her shoe. I help her up, and it takes us both a minute to gain our balance on the uneven ground.
“Time to head back, then?”
“Probably a good idea,” Saki answers me, a bit shakily.
I pat my hands roughly down my clothing again. “Hopefully they won't care if we track a lot of sand in.”
“Let's get as much off as we can,” Saki says, and then in a motion that leaves me absolutely dumbstruck, she moves her hands to the bottom of her shirt and starts to pull it over her head.
In a panic I look around us, before realizing that there's nobody anywhere near who would see, or care even if they did. In another two seconds, Saki's squeezed out of her shirt, and starts to shake it with vigor. For my own part, it takes yet another two seconds of staring at such a beautiful sight before I get the idea. It takes me a bit longer to take off my shirt than it does her, but soon I'm stripped to the waist, holding the fabric with one hand while I try to slap the sand off it with the other.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Saki undoing the top button of her shorts.
“Uh, Saki? You sure that's a good idea?”
“Hm?” she looks up at me, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. “Why not? There's nobody else around.”
“Hah, guess you're right,” I offer up lamely, hoping that she can't see my face...or how my eyes keep wandering back to her, no matter where I seem to point them initially.
Saki seems to get it, and with a smile, stands up fully, letting her shorts slide down her legs to step out of them. She turns to look at me, clad only in her underwear, the fabric black as ink under the starlight.
“I did tell you that next time, you wouldn't have to sneak, didn't I?”
“I didn't realize it would be this dark,” I chuckle nervously, then gulp when I see Saki's eyes narrow.
“Hey Hisao,” Saki says, that ever dangerous edge to her voice.
“Yeah?” I manage to squeak out, my focus instantly back on her face from where it was previously.
“You know, this takes care of our clothes, but doesn't do a thing for the rest of the sand...you wanna go rinse off?” she finishes, her eyes sparkling as she inclines her head out to the water.
“W...what?” I stammer, looking at the ocean, then her, then down at myself, before looking at her again. “Just leave our clothes here?”
“Sure! It's not like anyone's going to come and steal them. Besides, I'm going to need your help to make it down to the water.”
My hormones start mercilessly slamming every feeble excuse my conscience and sheltered upbringing is trying to come up with, and underneath it all, there's more than a little thrill at the idea of it. Saki doesn't want to wait for me to make up my mind however, and I see her reaching behind her back to unfasten her bra.
“Why the hell not?” I say, more to myself than to her, and reach to undo my belt.
“That wasn't as fun as I thought it would be,” I say, skin burning with every step.
“I didn't know it would be like this coming back,” Saki answers.
It started innocently enough. Well, as innocently as something like that could start. After stripping completely down, and trying desperately not to think too hard about what we were doing, we made our way down to the water as quickly as we could. When the first wave hit our legs, the full realization of what we were doing hit us, and all we could do was start laughing as we lost our balance and fell over.
We didn't go out too far, and despite the ridiculousness of it all, seeing Saki's stunning body in the waves was almost too much for my own to ignore. Thankfully for little miracles, the water ended up keeping her from noticing, both with its temperature and depth.
It did however, cause other problems. Dry sand is bad enough. Wet sand is even worse, and with no real way to dry off before putting our clothes back on, they're sticking in all the wrong places.
“It was worth it though,” Saki laughs. “God, that was fun!”
“I agree, but let's not do that again anytime soon.”
Saki turns to answer me, but before she can speak, she's cut off by a muted buzzing coming from her bag. I'm way more annoyed than I should be when I hear it, but then again, I don't think anyone would blame me given what that sound interrupted earlier. When she pulls out her phone and checks the display, she rolls her eyes.
“Chisato?” I ask.
Saki flips open her phone. “Oh god, when we get back looking like this...”
“...she's never going to let us live this down.” Suddenly the chafing clothes don't seem to be quite as bad.
“Maybe not,” Saki says, her eyes sparkling as she reads the message. “Her and Mitsuru decided to catch a movie after all.”
I'm instantly relieved, and then apprehensive when I finish comprehending what she just said. My heartbeat hasn't returned to normal levels since we were lying in the sand together, and when Saki looks at me – no, looks at me – I can sense that isn't going to change any time soon. The heat in my face is proof my nervousness is rapidly losing the war against my growing anticipation.
“Did she mention how long they're going to be gone?”
“At least an hour and a half.”
As soon as the door closes behind us, Saki's bag hits the floor, followed quickly by her cane and our shirts. I kick off my shoes and pull my socks off, finally giving my feet a bit of respite from the thin layer of sand that's concreted itself nearly halfway up my calves.
“Oh thank god,” I sigh.
“I'll start the shower,” Saki says, having slipped out of her sandals and moved into the bathroom.
We could barely keep our hands off each other in the elevator on the way up, and even though the ride only lasted a few seconds, both that and the trek down the hallway felt like an eternity. I wanted to scream when it took three tries to open the door with the keycard.
Our movements are fast, and tempered with a sharp focus – not on each other, but on a more immediate concern before we can focus on “other” things. Saki fiddles with the temperature of the water, and then sheds the rest of her clothing. I'm barely offered a glimpse of her naked figure before she hops into the shower. I shuck my pants and boxers, leaving them in an unceremonial pile on the floor, and quickly follow suit to step in behind her.
(continued...)
You guys are the best!
Seriously though, I'll add a little padding to it when I get home tonight!
Can't wait for more, cause I know there will be something missing from now, when I have finished reading. Keep up and enjoy your work. Cheers mate!