Song Above: Ocean Khalid

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I walked along the beach, the sand in between my toes and the sun hot enough to cover me in an invisible blanket of warmth. I was lucky I had taken precautions and dosed myself with sun cream so I didn't burn this time around.

I narrowed my eyes at the memory of my cheeks. I had to wear a cap and sunglasses for a week to hide them. Ryan had been cute and brought me aloe Vera, which helped a lot. Brody kept his distance for a while knowing it was the safest option. He'd quickly walk in the opposite direction whenever he saw me and he was always suspiciously busy whenever Rose wanted to hang out with us.

If I caught him who knows what I'd do.

He couldn't avoid me forever and in the car, I think I heard something along the lines of an apology. The word that came out his mouth sounded like a sorry but it was strained and I wasn't too sure if he was speaking English. He didn't do it of his own accord. Rose made him do it and for that, I was grateful to her.

I glanced at my friends and smiled. Rose was walking as if she had crapped herself because her sandals kept filling with hot sand and Ryan and Brody were messing around with the football they had brought.

We had taken a road trip to the beach before we went to the escape room for Ryan's birthday. The day was hotter than normal and our time slot wasn't until the evening so we had some time to kill.

What's better than going to the beach?

After a while of surveying, I found a spot that wasn't filled with sharp stones, wet sand or had loads of people near it and laid my towel out. I was wearing a light denim high wasted skirt and a white off the shoulder top. I had my swimsuit underneath but I wasn't sure if I'd take my clothes off just yet.

Despite the fact all of the people who were with me had seen me naked, I just wasn't comfortable exposing myself just yet. Rose already had her skimpy pink bikini on display with a cosmopolitan magazine in hand and the boys were half-naked running towards the ocean, yelling and trying to shove each other towards the waves.

I tried to divert my eyes away from their torsos. The way their muscles flexed and their sun-kissed skin glowed under the light made my stomach flutter. Especially certain someone.

I was still in the process of training my body to not react that way towards him, but sometimes I relapsed.

"They're mental, the ocean will be freezing," I shook my head of any unwanted thoughts and applied more sun cream to my legs. I was not taking any risks.

Rose eyes peeked up from her magazine, "When their balls freeze they won't be in there anymore,"

We both laughed, which caused them to turn their heads towards us. They both looked confused which only made us laugh more.

"Don't worry we're talking about you, not to you," I yelled and they rolled their eyes and carried on diving through the waves.

Ryan had got a mouth full of saltwater and pulled a disgusted face coughing and spluttering, whilst you could barely see the top of Brody's head as he bobbled along in the water. He shouted at Ryan that sounded like something along the lines of "Man up," which Ryan then flipped him bird whilst trying to regain his breath.

I watched as they smiled and laughed, which in turn made me smile and laugh. It was in rare moments like this that you really got to see the bond Ryan and Brody had.

"What did you get Ryan for his birthday?" Rose asked without looking up from her magazine.

I pulled my eyes away from the boys and played with the sand at my feet, "Just some t-shirt of his favourite football team,"

"Football?" She cocked a brow.

"Yeah his favourite English football team in Leeds, I ordered it online, he asked for it,"

She shook her head, "I'll never understand boys and their sports."

"Me neither,"

She put her magazine to her side and waggled a brow, "Did you buy anything sexy for him to wear later?"

I almost choked on my saliva.

"No," I exclaimed turning my head to the side so she couldn't see the heat that had rushed to my cheeks. We'd only just kissed, I mean he was slowly getting better at that, I hadn't even thought about sleeping with him yet.

"Nothing at all?" She pressed. Her eyes scanned my face for a trace of a lie and her eyes widened at the realisation, "You haven't slept with him?"

I instantly put a finger to her lip and silenced her. A few people looked in our direction and I could feel my cheeks becoming redder than before.

I didn't understand the stigma behind sex in relationships. I mean just because I'd lost my virginity didn't mean I had to sleep with every guy I was with. I could have the choice to not sleep with someone if I didn't feel it was right or the right moment. With Ryan, I didn't think our relationship was at that stage. I mean I was still silently trying to get over the last person I had slept with. I wanted to wait and not rush things.

Of course, I couldn't tell Rose this.

"We're waiting," I said laying on my back and staring up at the sky. The vast infinite blue was spread out as far as I could see with a couple of clouds insight. I thought about what Brody had said before about the sky bringing some hope into the world. I'd never really seen it in that way but it made sense.

"Fair enough," She mumbled, "How's your mom?"

"Why?" I paused.

Was there something I wasn't aware of? 

Had she told Rose about our incident?

Sometimes when Rose came round she'd be left in the kitchen whilst I got dressed and my mom always tried to squeeze gossip out of her at every chance she had. She knew she wouldn't get anything out of me because I never spoke to her. So because of this she always interrogated the person closest to me. 

"Last time we spoke you said she was screwing her teacher,"

I let out the breath I had been holding, "Yeah I think she still is, I haven't seen her,"

"Figures," She rolled her eyes, "You been to see him recently?"

I felt my stomach drop. I knew who she was asking about and I knew she'd scold me if I told her I hadn't seen him for a while. As time passes I've found it increasingly more difficult to visit. Its as if my mind and my body were at war every time I thought about it.

Rose went to press me further on the subject when Brody and Ryan came charging towards us with their feet spraying sand in all directions. I put a hand up to shield my eyes and heard Rose squeal.

Droplets of water ran down their faces from their hair and they smelt like sea salt. They gave each other a look and I didn't like the devilish smiles on their faces.

Before I could protest I was in the air my face in contact with someone's butt. My body jolted with each movement and despite my curses, they didn't drop me. From the colour of their shorts, I knew it was Ryan. I could hear the waves crashing against the shore more prominently with each step.

My eyes widened at the realisation of what they had planned and before I could scream to the high heavens I felt cold water gush over me. The temperature caused all the air in my lungs to escape my mouth and I flew my arms around in an attempt to stay afloat. My fraying feet touched the soft sea bed and I realised the water was shallow enough for me to stand. I stood up and spat the saltwater that found its way into my mouth.

I caught sight of a hysterical Brody and Ryan, who had to hold their stomachs in order to control themselves. I crossed my arms over my chest and narrowed my eyes at them. My clothes clung to me like a layer of skin and I had to resist the urge to lunge at them.

"You should have seen your face," Brody said through ragged breaths.

"You were hilarious," Ryan added.

"Yeah very funny," Sarcasm rolled off my tongue. They were a bunch of idiots.

I uncrossed my arms and watched their faces freeze. Both their eyes zeroed in on my chest. I followed their gaze and felt my cheeks heat. Where my white top had soaked you could see a certain area in more detail. I instantly let out a curse and crossed my arms over my chest again.

I went to tell them to close their mouths but was interrupted by Rose.

"You guys are dead,"

We all turned to find her stood waist-deep in water glaring with her hair covered in seaweed. Her bikini top had come undone and she was holding it up with one hand whilst her other tried to salvage her hair.

Oh boy.