It's the perfect weather to hang out at the beach.

The sun is not trying to fry us on the spot, and the breeze, though brisk, won't blow anybody away or whip the sand into bare legs hard enough to sting. The air is still fresh, not cloyingly hot and causing me to feel suffocated.

Well, it's still pretty early; give it some time. We'll probably be gathering in the shade at the waterfall pretty soon or hanging out in someone's air-conditioned living room.

The main beach is teaming with life when I arrive for the dream launching. Many people have already set their boats on the water and are lounging on the soft sand, joking and chatting. A few of the guys who were very rowdy and alive last night at the campsite are now passed out, taking a nap in the shade of boulders.

I would love a long nap!

My heart skips a beat when I locate Kira in the crowd, shining brightly above all others as if she is outlined in neon lights. She's standing near the jetty with Delia, Yvette, Tonia and... really?! Wendy! They're in a group with most of my friends, but still, Kira is actually chatting with Wendy and doesn't look on the verge of running away and hiding behind a boulder. 

Progress! But how did that happen?

Her head whips around when I whistle to get her attention, and instead of glaring at me and yelling that she's not a dog the way she normally would, she smiles broadly and runs over to me. Seeing her that happy to see me makes my heart race.

For the record, I don't whistle because I think she's a dog; I do it so she'll hear me and know that I'm looking for her. I could yell her name, but it's usually less effective, especially when there's wind and noisy people in the mix. Kira is not a name that makes good yelling material.

The sounds are too soft; only the 'ah' part is audible enough to be heard, and just at home, we have Delia, Kira, and Gemma... they all answer. I once suggested that Kicks change her name to James because that is a pretty yell-able name, but she refused. I think it is because Burlap might think I'm calling him, and she was being considerate. The fact that she pelted me with potato peels at the time only meant that she was cooking.

My whistle reaches her by piercing through everything in its way... including her dignity, according to her, when she's being dramatic.

She's wearing her black T-shirt with the roaring turtle on the front, covered by a loose shirt to protect her against the nippy wind we have today. The shirt streams behind her as she runs, and when we reach each other, she jumps, and I grab her from the air, hugging her tightly to my chest.

Look, Ma! I'm starring in a romantic movie now, and I love it!

This is so much more fun than the movie, in which I had to figure out what was happening in Burlap's amazing mind. 

After packing up the camp, I hurried home to shower and grab Kira's ring. She'd already come to the beach with our parents and Delia because we agreed that she would collect our boat-building supplies from the big box the council bought from Lurch's mom. There was a good chance that I would be a bit late.

Here we are now! 

It's the end of Founders' Weekend. It's the last ceremony in the festival, where we all write our dreams on paper and set sail to them. There's nothing superstitious about it, so if your ship sinks or crashes into someone else's and topples it, it doesn't mean anything. The guys and I attacking each other's boats (and random others) doesn't cause any bad luck or other BS, which is why we're only scolded because we splash the people on the jetty, still trying to launch their boats.

Since we've grown up a little bit, we wage our wars further away from the jetty now. This year, I will probably not do that. I think that is another torch we've passed on this weekend because the younger guys from camp are all in the water doing exactly that now, and they are having a ball.

This ceremony is purely symbolic. We write what's in our hearts and set it free. It's fun, and when the calmer area of the cove - with the long jetty from which we often dive - is covered in tiny sailboats, it looks really cool.

"How was your girls' night?" I ask Kira when I finally put her down, pleased that she hasn't asked me to yet.

"It was really cool," she grins, waving her fingers before my face to show me her nails, covered in butterflies and ladybugs nail art. I don't think I've ever seen Kira's nails all done up like this. She usually cuts them very short to keep them clean and out of the way when she goes bug hunting. 

Kira has never been interested in fashion, jewellery, or any of the other things Delia loves, but they still spend time together doing those things. Just like Delia often sits through long lectures on ecosystems presented by Kira and watches documentaries on ocean life with her.

"Cute!" I grin, grabbing one of her hands to get a closer look.

"Tonia did it," she smiles. "It's really pretty, but now it feels like my fingertips are dirty, and I keep washing my hands. I guess I'll get used to how it feels."

"Oh! Tonia joined you?" That is a surprise. Delia likes Tonia, but generally, when she hangs out with Kira, it's only the two of them. Kira only began to get to know Tonia when we started dating.

"Yes, and Yvette. They invited us over to get our nails done, but then we got a message from Burlap asking if we would check in on Wendy, so we all went over to his house instead. We painted his grandfather's nails... Well, we didn't go there specifically to paint his nails, but when Tonia started to do our nails, he wanted his done too. She only did art on his - little stars all over. She didn't give him acrylic nails like she did for us. We played games on the console and ate loads of chocolate. Playing with these talons was pretty hard." 

Kira is babbling a mile a minute, which is a sure sign that she is nervous, but she is so cute right now, checking out the nails that are really not that long and giving me shy smiles and gentle giggles. I don't want her to stop being nervous.

I have so many questions, though.

"You and Deli okay now?"

"Yup, I know she loves me, and she can be a bit dramatic and nuts, so all good." Frowning, she reaches out to touch a scrape on my chin. "She wants to talk with you about Simon's black eye, but I told her to leave my boyfriend alone, or she'll be dealing with me, so she's going to have that talk with Jet instead."

"I missed you so friggin' much," I laugh, pulling her off her feet again for a long overdue hello kiss that sets my heart burning, sending fiery blood through my veins. 

Kira tastes so damn good.

"Did you enjoy the camp?" she asks when we come up for air.

"Yeah," I smile. "It was awesome." It was, but it left a sad note in my heart. Later, when we're alone, I'll tell Kira all about it and hear her opinions on all the changes waiting for us. Right now, though, I just want to have fun with everybody, especially Kicks.

"Come," Kira smiles, taking my hand. "I have our stuff all set up over there where Daddy, your parents and Aunt Eden are building their boats."

I'm glad to hear my aunt is here. I don't get to see her half as often as I want to because she often has to go away for work. We stroll across the beach to the area where Kira was standing when I arrived. I grin when I see her shyly duck her chin, avoiding the knowing looks thrown our way. I think Delia was as busy spilling the beans last night as I'd been.

Well, it's official now, and all I see is approval, even from the parents.

After I give my aunt a hello hug, we settle among our friends and family, and when I eventually look up from crafting flotsam into something resembling a boat, Delia gives me a narrow-eyed look. She meaningfully rolls her eyes to look at Simon's bruised and swollen eyebrow ridge, and I grin, giving her a thumbs up. 

Yup, Sy is one of the bros now.

"He went there a boy and came back a man," I assure her. "You're welcome."

"He went there a man and came back an idiot who has mud fights in the dark!" Delia scoffs, and chuckling, Simon reaches out to give me a high five. I see Kira give Delia a warning look, cheekily taking a sheet of paper from the pile of equipment she'd gathered for us, and the sight makes me laugh happily.

This really dating thing is going to be awesome!

"Wanna hear my dream?" Aunt Eden asks nobody in particular, lifting her paper and tapping her lips with her pencil. She has a way of just throwing statements out there, not really caring if anybody answers. She would read it aloud anyway. It's probably a side-effect of living alone with three cats. Sometimes, I mew to help her feel at home. I can tell she is up to something again from the sparkle in her sky-blue eyes. 

Aunt Eden is always up to something.

"Aren't they supposed to be secret?" my dad asks, causing my mom to glare at him.

"You have secret dreams, Ian?" she demands, lifting her eyebrow the way she always does when she finds candy wrappers in his pants pockets while sorting the washing. That look is always followed by: 'and where's mine?'

"No!" my dad laughs, pretending to be terrified... or maybe he is; since my mom is not above burying him in the sand, he's sitting on if she does not like his answer. Gemma Fletcher is a very gentle person... until you make her mad.

"Okay, then!" Aunt Eden says as if everybody begged her to read her dream. She clears her throat and lifts the paper very formally, holding it up as if she's taking part in a talent contest. "This is my dream."

When writing our dreams, we're supposed to think, 'My dream is' and then write the rest since the paper is pretty small and we need to keep it short. 

"My dream is to meet a handsome scientist with a little boy smile and hair that is never neat no matter how many times he brushes it. A man with a kind heart and a steadfast spirit who doesn't know his nose from his butt when it comes to things like love and romance."

I glance at Kira when she giggles. Yup, I think we both know that man all too well.

"A man who gets lost in experiments and has tunnel vision when it comes to scientific equations but who will take off his last shirt to give to someone in need. A guy who loves his daughter and his friends fiercely and would happily die for any and all of them. The end."

We're all chuckling and snorting, applauding her when she bows her head, waving her hand dramatically. Everybody is casting looks at Uncle Joe, but he is calmly finishing writing his own dream.

"You managed to fit all that on there?" my dad laughs, and Aunt Eden shrugs cheekily.

"Most of it is implied," she says with a wide grin.

"That was very specific," Uncle Joe observes absentmindedly, fitting his sail onto his mast. "You sure know what you want."

"Yes, Joseph!" Aunt Eden huffs. "It was very specific. Very, very specific! One has to be very specific about their dreams and very dense not to grasp all that specificness!"

"Jodan," Uncle Joe tells her. "I'm Jodan."

"Really?" 

They've known each other for 12 years, but she still hasn't figured that out. Maybe Uncle Joe isn't the only unobservant one around here. Actually, if I remember correctly, he's told her his true name quite a few times over the years.

"Since when?" she frowns, tossing her blond ponytail defiantly.

"Since I was born," Uncle Joe smiles. "My one grandfather's name was Joseph and the other one was Daniel... so... Jodan."

"You're a complete stranger to me now," my aunt says, sounding in awe. When she catches Kira and me watching her with matching amusement, she shrugs, waves the dream at us and lowers her head with a defeated sigh.

"Please tell me your dream is not all about a science project and Kira being healthy again," my mom laments, and when she tries to take Uncle Joe's boat, he lets her. "Though the Kira part is good, it will be really sad if the rest of your dream is all about electrons again. Oh!" she exclaims, a smile spreading over her lips when she reads what he wrote. "My dream is for my family and friends' dreams to come true and for Kira to be healthy and happy."

"That's so corny!" my dad grunts, and it turns into a groan when my mom pokes him in the ribs.

"It's lovely!" she exclaims. "You could do with some corn in your life, honey."

"That's what I have you for," my dad laughs. "You're all the corn I need."

"Gag!" Delia and I say together, dodging when my dad tosses a handful of sand at us.

"Well, Gem, you warned me about beating me up with electrons, so..." Uncle Joe shrugs. "Though I would love to see how that is actually done, I'll just avoid it for now."

"Well, let's hope your dream comes true," Aunt Eden smiles. "That way, mine is a done deal."

Honestly, is the man blind? Can't he see the way my aunt is looking at him? For an intelligent man, he is seriously dense in some ways. Then again, his daughter thought I was dating her to get a car! I still chuckle every time I think about it. Our children and grandchildren are going to have such a laugh one day when they hear about this.

"Wanna share ours?" I ask Kicks when the others scatter to launch their ships from the shallows or the jetty and our sails are ready to go on the reed masts.

"Sure, you first," Kira says, biting her lip, her cheeks flooding with pink. I wonder how long it will take for that cute shyness to disappear. I hope it isn't soon. I love how her eyes soften when she looks at me, and her cheeks light up.

It's beautiful.

"Okay," I smile, lifting my paper. "My dream is to sit on the beach with Kira Croft and watch our grandchildren play around us."

Kira is silently blinking at me when I look up from the paper. Does she not like that dream?

"What?" I ask, clearing my throat self-consciously.

"We're having grandchildren?" she asks with wide eyes, capturing her bottom lip between her teeth.

"Yes, when we're old... I hope... Don't you like-"

"That is such a beautiful dream, Ethy," she smiles, her cheeks growing from pink to red. "I would love to have grandchildren with you." Hearing her own words, she laughs, brushing a strand of hair from her face, unable to meet my eyes.

"What's yours?" I prompt when she just toys with the paper in her hand.

"Mine is a bit... well, it seemed really noble and lofty and special when I wrote it," she says, squirming uncomfortably. "But after hearing yours, it's just... well..."

"I'm sure it's great," I try to encourage her. "Go on."

She sees me smile and giggles nervously, lifting her page to hide her face. "My dream is to help preserve the Silotus Magicse's habitat in the marsh so their population can expand."

Now, it is my turn to blink in dumbstruck silence. Like her, I'm also feeling emotional and breathless, mainly because... what?!

"What's a slotymagic?"

"It's a type of cockroach," she explains, no longer nervous now that she's talking about bugs.

"Your dream that you want to write on your sail on our ship is about the habitat of a marsh cockroach?" 

Honestly, I know this is Kira, my nature-loving, bug-crazy girlfriend, but come on! We're supposed to be in the honeymoon stage of our relationship, where we say cringy shit to each other and draw hearts with our initials in them in the tide-smoothed sand. 

It's way too soon to replace me with some cocky cockroach!

"Yes!" Kira says excitedly. Seeing the look on my face, she slumps, her smile slipping away. "You hate it."

"No!" I assure her, trying my best to change my expression to enthusiasm. I know I'm failing, but I deserve a Noddy badge for effort. I hate seeing her look dejected. 

"No, Kicks! If the slutty mages are important to you, they're important to me too. I'm going to add it to the back of my sail in solidarity with you. See?" I say, turning my sail over and getting ready to write. "Uhm... let me borrow yours because I've forgotten half of that."

Biting her lip, Kira hands her page over, and I take a deep breath, getting ready to write a blooming essay about some annoying marsh cockroaches. At first, I struggle to make sense of the words on her sail and swipe at my eyes with the back of my hand to get them into focus. 

"To be with Ethan Fletcher forever?!" I read, flicking my eyes up to look at her face. She is blushing prettily again. "Your dream is to be with me forever?"

With the sunlight painting a halo in her golden-brown hair and her eyes sparkling with mirth and love, she is so beautiful she makes my heart ache.

"Yes."

"What about the salty cockroaches? We should still add that to the back," I say, my voice a little hoarse since I'm feeling emotional for very different reasons now.

"Uhm," Kira says, pouting her lips. "No, I made that up."

"Seriously, Kicks!" I laugh. "Most of the things you say sound made-up; how will I ever know the difference?" Leaning over the boat, I put my hand behind her head and pull her closer to taste her glowing lips, and show her how much I love her dream.

"We should go kiss behind the advertisement board at the restrooms like the other delinquents," Kira mutters, pulling away, acutely aware of the people around us. She has no reason to be so self-conscious; most people are either writing down their dreams, floating their boats or playing in the sand and sea. Nobody cares about what the two of us are getting up to.

"We're delinquents now?" I laugh.

"Yes, we should be delinquents," Kira assures me very seriously, taking my pencil from me so I  can mount our sails.

"Kicks, I don't think you know what that word means," I laugh, surprised to be the one with the better language skills for a change. "But if it involves kissing somewhere private, I'll be as delinquent as you want me to be."

Laughing, I get to my feet, lifting our boat from the ground while Kira shoves our pencils into the small bag she brought for our wallets and phones. Leaving the heap of shoes and towels left by our friends and family, we walk along the jetty until we find the perfect spot to launch our ship. 

The turquoise water is crystal clear beneath the wood and cement construction we're standing on. I can see right to the sandy bottom, where crustation-covered rock surfaces protrude at random intervals. This is a beautiful spot for daydreaming and also an awesome spot for a swim and snorkelling since there are loads of pretty fish here. 

There's not much in the line of waves and breakers, and small boats are already bobbing around on the gentle swell, heading towards the opening that leads to the wild ocean beyond. Some have already capsized, some are sinking, while their launchers sit on the jetty's edge or wander back to the beach.

I feel a bit sad to let our boat go, but after taking some cool photographs, I slide my phone into Kira's bag and lie down next to her. She's already on her stomach, hanging her arms over the edge, feeling the seaspray. I gently lower the boat until it's close enough to the water to let it drop, and Kira cheers when it lands upright and starts to float away. We lie side by side, watching it bravely sail off, mingling with the other boats.

My heart is so full it might start to leak from my ears.

"Kicks," I say, sitting up, and she rises too to sit across from me, looking at me with a sweet smile. She's happy. Right now, her eyes are almost the same funky fluorescent green as Jet's, shining radiantly into mine. 

"I've been thinking about my necklace," I say, pointing at the stones nestling against the soft skin of her throat and, gasping, Kira puts a hand over it.

"You're not getting it back!" she states emphatically, making me laugh.

"Of course not!" I assure her and relieved to hear that, she lowers her hand.

"You can borrow it sometimes if you really want to," she tells me, reminding me of the little girl who offered to lend me Mr. Big Bear when she caught me cuddling him on the beanbag in her bedroom when I missed my family, living in Briar Cove.

"Thanks, but I was thinking about what you said about girls not wearing the same necklaces all the time because sometimes they don't match your outfits and so on."

"This one will always match," she assures me with wide, earnest eyes, and if it were possible to love her more, I would.

"You should wear the necklace whenever you want; I'm not saying anything about that as such; I'm just..." Oh, my soul! I thought I got better at saying what I wanted to say. I'm this close to calling Burlap.

"What is it, Ethy?" Kira prompts, her eyes losing their brightness while she waits apprehensively for me to get my words together.

"I thought you might like to wear this instead... or with it... doesn't matter," I hurry to throw the words out there. Rising to my knees, I fish the tiny pouch from my jeans pocket and reaching out, I lift one of Kira's hands to lay it in her palm.

She recognises the pouch as one of Delia's creations and flashes me a sparkling look, a surprised smile touching her lips. Kira loves Delia's jewellery because Deli knows what Kira likes. Untying the drawstring, she slips two fingers into the pouch to extract the ring.

"Oh!" she exclaims, her eyes once again twinkling happily. "Wow! This is so cuuuuuuuuute! I love it! Here! Put it on me!"

She hands me the ring and holds her left hand out to me so I can slide the ring into place on her ring finger.

"Is it tight enough?" I ask, watching her hold her hand out to admire the little bug on her finger.

"It's perfect!" she exclaims. "Wait! Is this stone from here?" she asks, touching the necklace at her throat.

"Yes, I asked Delia to take one and make the ring for you."

"That woman is devious!" she laughs happily. "I was wondering why she turned into such a clutz Saturday night. My heart nearly stopped when the cord got loose, and the stones went flying."

She gazes at the tiny beetle on her ring finger for a while longer, then scoots forward, wrapping her arms around my neck.

"Thank you, Ethy!" she breathes. "I would love to wear this always! I love you so much!"

"I love you, Kira Croft," I grin, and I don't care that there's no billboard to hide behind and no delinquents around to join us; I kiss my girlfriend as if we were alone. She doesn't protest; she kisses me back just as fiercely.

When I let her go, she puts the pouch into her bag and smiles up at me, looking as content as I feel. Behind her, I can see our friends walking toward us. Rising, I pull Kira to her feet.

"Come here for a second," I tell her, pulling her into my arms. I smoothly slide the bag's strap from her shoulder, lowering it to our feet.

"What are you doing? she asks, immediately suspicious.

"Nothing," I chuckle.

"Ethan Fletcher!" she warns, but I'm already scooping her up in my arms. While our friends run past us to jump, dive, and bomb from the jetty into the water, I leap forward with Kira grabbing my neck and yelling that she's going to kill me.

The cool water wraps us in its refreshing embrace, and when we break through the surface, regaining our breath, Kira tries to climb onto my head. I think she's trying to push me under, and she doesn't seem to realise that I can stand here. The water is a little lower than chin-deep for me. I'll give her an A for effort, though. She is hilariously grunting and pushing, nearly taking off my ears in the process.

"Why won't you sink!" she shouts, frustrated, and laughing,  I bend my knees, dragging her under the water with me - clearly not part of her plan - until I'm low enough to shoot up and launch her into the air.

"I seriously hate you!" she yells, gasping and spluttering when her head appears above the water, and I grab her hand, pulling her into my arms again. She's so friggin' cute when she's spitting fire! 

I cannot stop laughing while she tries to drown me again. Clearly, she learned nothing in the last few seconds; my ears are again in serious peril from her feet. I'm really glad we left our shoes on the beach with our towels.

"I really hate you, Ethan Fletcher," Kira sighs, gazing up at me when she's tired of wrestling with my obnoxious head. Yup, that's what she called it just now. She has given up and is calmly lounging in my arms, floating on her back, pouting her lips... begging for a kiss.

"Is that right, Kira Croft?" I chuckle, pulling her upright. When she slides her arms around my neck, I enjoy the salty coolness of her mouth as my lips capture the laughter spilling from hers.

My heart swells with the wonderful knowledge that Kira will hate me for many decades to come.

And I look forward to every second of it!

THE END

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Note:- I hope you enjoyed reading Friendly Dating 2, Ethan. Thank you for reading and for all the support. ❤️❤️

If you want to see what is going on in Kira's mind during this story, you can do so in Friendly Dating 1, Kira.

I am in the process of merging the two books into one while editing them extensively. I'll publish it as soon as I'm done for those who will enjoy reading it again.

♂♀