Getting chewed out by Dad actually wasn't that bad. He was mad, sure, but it's not like he'd never been mad before. I just tuned him out, imagining where I'd take Foster next. Maybe the beach or a lake or something. Swimming would be a nice break from the stress she was under.

I was trying to decide on which lake when my dad stomped off. I turned to Ro. "Did he say anything I should care about?"

She yawned, bored. "No clue. But if I had to guess... nope."

I smirked at her and pushed off the wall I was leaning against. Then I grabbed a book- Most Beautiful Places In The World- off my shelf and started flipping through it.

*****

Twenty-four hours later, I was leaning against a palm tree in light pants and a light tunic, waiting for Foster to show up. I'd dropped off a leaping crystal in her room, with no note.

I didn't have to wait long. She appeared in front of me, dressed in heather grey leggings and a pale red tunic with a high neck and three quarter length sleeves. She gasped and turned her head from side to side, gazing at the exquisite clear water, breeze-whipped palm trees, and the huge blue sky.

Eventually, she turned enough to spot me and smiled her beautiful smile. I tried to say something clever, but my brain blanked. I lost myself in her brilliant smile and deep eyes. She looked at me like nothing else mattered. And I could barely breathe.

Finally, she spoke. "This is beautiful, Keefe."

I still couldn't say anything. I probably looked stupid, my mouth hanging open and leaning against a palm tree, but I didn't even care. Nothing else mattered but her.

She laughed softly, which didn't help my stupor. Then she walked toward me and touched my cheek. The tingles shocking through my body snapped me out of my daze, and I pushed off the tree suddenly to wrap my arms around her waist and kiss her.

She kissed me back, long and sweet. All I could feel was the warm sun on our faces, her hand that had slid into my hair, and her emotions pulsing against mine.

She eventually pulled away from me. "Did we come here for a reason? Or just the view?"

I smirked at her. "Foster, Foster. Aren't I enough of a view?"

She laughed and lightly punched my chest.

"Ouch. But actually, I was planning on swimming."

"Swimming? But... we don't have swimsuits."

"What?"

"Elves use swimsuits, right?"

"I don't even know what that is."

"Um... you just swim in your clothes? But they stick to you and stay wet!"

"Eh, I guess."

She laughed. "Okay then..."

I pulled her back in, kissing her again. She closed her eyes and leaned in for a minute before breaking the kiss. "Aren't we going to swim?"

"Yeah." I jumped into the water, splashing her.

"Hey!" she kicked off her shoes and jumped in after me. I flicked a little water at her, and she splashed me back. We splashed and laughed until we were exhausted. I looked at her. Her hair was sticking to her face in dark strands, and her outfit was soaked through. If possible, she looked even more beautiful. 

I reached for her face, brushing her hair out of her face. Then I stepped through the water even closer and leaned over her. But just before our lips touched, I whispered to her.

"Take a breath." She gave me a confused look, but before she could speak, I tackled her and dunked her completely underwater. She shrieked, but I pulled her closer under the waves and kissed her. 

She kissed me back. The kiss was a little weird, but not at all unpleasant. After several seconds, I remembered that breathing would probably be a good idea. So I struggled to stand up, pulling her up with me.

She gasped for air. "What the- Keefe? Did you just dunk me?"

"I did. Wanna try again?"

She frowned at me, then turned away slightly. My face fell. "Sophie, I'm sor-" She cut me off by whipping around and tackling me. I didn't have a chance to pull in a breath before she pushed me under the waves. She started to stand back up, but I held onto her and pulled her back down into a kiss.

When we finally surfaced, she laughed at me. "You are crazy, Keefe."

"I know. And you know you love me."

"I do know that. I also know that I'm soaked to the bone."

I smirked at her. "Sorry."

"You are not."

"Not in the least." She laughed, and we crawled to the dry sand and collapsed.

The sun was warm, and our clothes dried quickly. A few minutes later, she remarked, "I guess evin clothes are different from human clothes. Back in the Forbidden Cities, you'd be damp for days if you swam in your clothes."

"That sounds awful." I hated feeling wet. My hair- OH MY GOODNESS MY HAIR! My hands flew to my head as I bolted upright.

She looked at me, alarmed. "What's wrong?"

"My hair! Ugh, swimming was a mistake."

She looked at me incredulously, then giggled and reached for my hair and ruffled it. It had dried, but it was sticking in all directions.

"Feels different without the products," she remarked. I looked at her curiously. "Not better necessarily, but different. Like when a girl doesn't wear makeup."

"You're pretty without makeup."

"And your hair is cute without products."

I considered for a minute. "Nah."

We laid there in the sun for several more minutes. Then I sat up and looked at her. She started to sit up too, but I touched her shoulder. She laughed and scooted closer so that her head was on my knee. I fiddled with her hair and stared at her face. I would never understand why the humans hadn't liked her.

 She was beautiful and brilliant and talented and powerful and sweet and oblivious and feisty and perfect. Maybe they were just jealous of her.

It was several more minutes before I realized her eyes had closed. I kept stroking her hair and started talking softly to her.

"I love you so much, Sophie. I love you so much that it hurts to be away from you, hurts to look at you, hurts when I can't kiss you. You are amazing and perfect and I know I don't deserve you, but I will try for the rest of my life to earn your love. I can only hope you love me a fraction of how much I love you. If you decide you don't, I will do everything- everything- to earn your love back. My heart would break without you. You're the only person I've really loved, and I can never lose you. Never."

A slight smile curved her soft lips, and my heart stopped. "You're still awake, aren't you."

"Mmh hmm." she murmured without opening her eyes. "I love you too, Keefe. I will never leave you. I don't deserve-"

I cut her off by leaning down and kissing her softly. "You deserve so much more," I whispered when I pulled away. She didn't say anything, her eyes trained gently on mine. My stare was probably much more intense.

Just then, a group of people in human clothes carrying giant backpacks burst through the trees about a hundred yards to our left.

"Hikers," Sophie whispered. "They'll probably be here a while. And ask questions when they see our outfits. We do not look like we just hiked here. Do you know where we are?"

"Nah, some island somewhere that humans aren't supposed to live on."

"They don't live here. They just came here for the view- like us."

"Well, I guess that's our cue to leave," I remarked reluctantly.

"Yeah. But I can't wait to see what you think of next." she smiled at me.

"Gee, no pressure there," I joked.

"I'm sure you'll think of something. You always do." She started to sit up, but I leaned into her path. Our lips met, and she kissed me back after a second of surprise. Then she actually did sit up, and we both stood.

I leaped her home, enduring a killer glare from Grady. "She's fine, I swear. We just went swimming."

He looked at me doubtfully. "Swimming?"

"Yes, Dad." Sophie cut in. "Swimming. It was very nice."

"So glad you had fun, sweetheart." said Edaline in that tone that makes Foster blush an adorable red. I wanted to kiss her so badly, but I knew that might not be the best idea.

I was trying to figure out a way to leave when she stepped back over to me and kissed me lightly on the cheek. "See you tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow," I agreed, relieved. Just as I turned to go, a hand caught my shoulder. I winced and turned back slowly.

"I think it's about time we had a conversation, don't you?" said the scariest overprotective dad ever.

A/N Love ya too!