Score: Señorita - Camila Cabello & Shawn Mendes

Mark

I walk away from the table and down the sand strip, looking for Lydia. There's a row of sun beds and parasols on the beach right in front of the line of beachfront tavernas, and, a little further down, there is a deserted area with clear, soft sand. I stalk to that lonely strip. Even though I want to find her, I don't want to hurry. I want to clear my head first, as much as possible. I take my shoes off and savor the feeling of the cool sand between my toes. I even walk to the water and let the tide wash at my feet.

This is when I see her. A white spot, sitting on the sand, at the far end of the clear strip of sand. The moon is shining high in the sky, painting a lunar path on the surface of the sea. The waves are softly lapping at the shore, muffling the voices of the people, dining in the tavernas, who suddenly look far, far away. Like, in another world.

She's sitting on the sand, hugging herself. It's warm, so she's not shielding herself from the night chills. It must be something else that she's trying to keep away, having her arms wrapped tightly around her shoulders.

I walk to where she's sitting. I take my dress jacket off and drape it on the sand, then I lower myself beside her and gesture to her to come to sit on the jacket next to me. She obeys, scooting closer to me. She reaches with her hands, smoothing her white, lacy dress over her shins.

"We'll figure it out," I'm the first to break the silence, saying out loud what we're both thinking.

She lets out a small laugh.

"How?"

Sooner or later, we would have to talk about what is going to happen with us, once the summer is over. I just hoped I'd have more clarity as to what's going to happen with us then. And I really didn't want to have to talk about this on my dad's wedding weekend.

Fuck, I can't even imagine how I'm going to say my best man's speech tomorrow. I fucking hate him right now.

"I meant what I said at that table. I'm not going to work on the merger. Which means I don't have to go back." I say, finally.

"You can't do that," she says. "Your father counts on you."

I click my tongue and shake my head, looking straight ahead of me. This woman amazes me every single day. Even after what happened, even after my father was so disrespectful to her, she's still thinking about him counting on me. I really don't get why she's still sympathizing with him so much, when she can chair a fucking Parents Haters club.

"He only wants me there, because he doesn't want me back in England," I say. "He doesn't need me back home, meddling with his new family. I don't have a dental clinic or an orthodontist lab." I chuckle, realizing that what I just said is at least partially true. I bet that even his decision to marry Laura was a carefully calculated business move. Now that I've seen Laura in action at the table, I can't help but wonder whether it's the same on her account, as well.

"Besides, he has way more qualified and way better-trained people, who can do a perfectly decent job, overseeing this merger. I'm not his last resort, Lyds. Neither am I his first." I bump my shoulder into hers.

"But it's a great opportunity for you."

"I don't want that." I shake my head. "I don't want to work at my father's company. He's always wanted me to take after him. But I don't want that."

She nods slowly.

"I can transfer to a university back home," I add, hoping to cheer her up.

She nods again.

"I never told you what I'm majoring in, right?"

"No." She shakes her head and turns her face to me.

"Psychology," I say.

Her eyes widen and her mouth drops open.

"No way!"

"Yes, way." I smile. "I always thought about you, being so passionate about it, when we were younger. I had no idea what I wanted to study. All I knew was that I didn't want to study Pharmacy or Medicine. After my gap year, I wasn't sure if I wanted to pursue a degree at all, but my father was pushing me to go to university. So, I applied to UCLA, knowing that they have an amazing Psychology program there."

"What did your father say about that?"

"He wasn't happy, of course. He's been pushing me to switch to another major since then."

"But, wouldn't a transfer of schools be way too great of a hustle?" She asks, her voice small.

"I'll figure it out," I say, reaching out and smoothing a wild strand of hair to the side of her forehead. "We can even be together in uni if I manage to transfer to Edin."

She winces at the mention of The University of Edinburgh.

"I'm not getting in there." She folds her legs in front of her and lays her chin on top of her knees, hugging her legs.

"Don't be ridiculous. Of course, you are. You're brilliant." I brush her cheek with the backs of my fingers.

"No." She shakes her head. "I failed Chemistry. I know it."

"You have not! Let's just wait for the results tomorrow, and you'll see!"

"No," she says, "I handed in a blank sheet. I didn't write anything."

I don't know what to say. This definitely doesn't sound like my Lydia, but I decide not to pry. She's been through a lot recently.

"Well, then, I'm sure there are other universities, that don't require a mark in Chemistry."

"I didn't apply anywhere else." She says, burying her face in her knees. "I was so sure I'd get in."

Oh. I really don't know what to say to that. I feel awful for not having the right words to comfort her, but I'm also angry at her, for acting so foolish. Why the heck apply to only one school?

I don't say that to her, though. I keep my mouth shut and we sit for a while in silence, watching the shimmering moonlight, painting the black waters of the night sea with quicksilver.

"But, why?" She breaks the silence this time. "Why would you do this? Why would you give up on an amazing work opportunity? Why come back to England, when your mum and Lilly are in LA? Why bother transferring schools?"

"Because," I begin, feeling adrenaline rushing through my system, because I know what I am going to say next, "I'm in love with you."

She sucks in a sharp breath. Her eyes widen and, even in the dark, I can tell that she's blushing.

A wave of relief washes over my body. I didn't realize how much the weight of those words had been crushing me for the past two years. Now that I finally said them to her, I feel like I can breathe again.

I wait for ten seconds, then fifteen, but she doesn't say anything. She's just chewing on her bottom lip, looking at her feet.

God, did I scare her off? I didn't expect her to say it back, but I had to tell her.

I reach with my hand to caress her cheek, removing a strand of hair from her face. She turns her head and her eyes lock with mine.

I lean in closer and kiss her, softly. She doesn't move at first, but then she leans in, too, kissing me harder. Deeper. She reaches out and grabs my face with both her hands, pulling me closer. I put my left arm behind her back and plant my hand into the sand to support my weight. I use my other hand to cup her face.

She moans into my mouth, then lifts onto her knees. I sit back, giving her enough space to throw one leg across both of mine and to sit on my lap.

Her hands are still on my cheeks, holding me in place for her to kiss me.

"Say it again." She says, running her tongue over my bottom lip.

"I love you," I say, pulling back slightly, searching for her eyes in the moonlight. "I'm in love with you."

She dives back in, pressing her body to mine and crushing her lips into mine again.

I fall back onto my jacket, taking her body with mine. My hands move from her neck to her shoulders, and down her back, and finally stop at her hips, gripping them. She starts to rock them forward and back, creating the sweetest friction. She moans again in my mouth and then moves down slowly to plant kisses on my jaw.

I can feel where this is going...

But I can't let it go there right now. I left my wallet on the table.

"Lyds," I whisper over her hair, "We should stop."

"Uh-huh," she shakes her head, moving further down to kiss my neck. God! This is hard enough without her warm tongue drawing circles on the skin right below my ear. I feel like there's a direct string to my crotch, from the exact same spot she's tormenting right now.

"I'm serious," I say. She's unbuttoning my shirt now. "I don't have any condoms."

"That's alright." She whispers in my ear. "I am on contraception."

I grab her by the shoulders and lift her so that I am looking into her eyes.

"Since when?"

"Since I was seventeen," she chuckles. "I got an implant." She lifts her arm, pointing at something there, but it's too dark for me to see.

"What the hell? Why didn't you tell me at the beginning? You've not let me feel you, like, really feel you, for almost a month now?"

She shrugs her shoulders. "I had to feel right about it. You could be infested with STDs or something."

"Lyds," I laugh. "It's me."

"I know, but, for all I know, you could have fucked half of LA."

"What makes you think I haven't?" I say, putting my hand over my chest in a mock-offended gesture.

She shrugs her shoulders again.

"I trust you."

I raise my body until I'm sitting up. I cup her cheeks and look into her eyes. "Are you sure?" I ask. "You don't have to." I don't want my declaration of love to push her into something she doesn't feel right about.

She nods. "I'm sure."

I let out a groan and lean forwards to kiss her again. She kisses me back with so much emotion that my heart swells. She might have not said the three little words back, but her kiss and her body are telling me everything I need to know.

She reaches between us and undoes the button of my jeans and then moves on to the zipper. I turn my head first to the left and then to the right, making sure that the beach is still deserted, before moving my hands up her thighs under the floaty, white fabric of her dress. The last thing I want is to be chased by the police again, on the night before my father's wedding, in a foreign country.

When she's done with my zipper, I push her up until she's on her knees, and then lift my hips, pulling my jeans down my thighs. She is biting her bottom lip, watching me.

"We can still stop," I tell her.

She shakes her head and pushes my shirt, now undone, down my shoulders.

I lean forward and kiss her, and then I reach under her dress and push her knickers down her thighs. She lifts her knees, one after the other, helping me slide them off her legs. Then, I look into her eyes, as she lowers herself onto me.

The moment she slides all the way down, I close my eyes, but it doesn't stop me from seeing fireworks. Being inside her like this, skin to skin, is the most exquisite feeling in the whole world.

"Oh, God!" I groan. "Oh, Lydia! Oh, my God! Oh, fuck. Me!"

"I'm trying," she hisses, rising up only to lower herself back down again. "Now keep quiet before we get caught." She frowns.

"I don't care," I pant. "I don't care, even if my grandma walks right in on us right now..." But she clamps a hand over my mouth and all that comes out next are incoherent mumbles.

"Can you just shut up for once?" She hisses in my ear. "Now I'm gonna think about your grandmother watching us the whole time!"

I chuckle and she moves her hand away from my face and plants it on the sand beside us for support. She's moving up and down, working the sweetest rhythm, driving us both into a panting, moaning mess. I push her up gently, until she's sitting on top of me, and then slide the straps of her dress down her arms, letting her dress pool at her waist, baring her chest. Her breasts come into view, enhancing the sensation.

I don't know how much time passes like this, she, driving me absolutely insane, until I can't see straight anymore. "Lyds," I groan in warning. I can't take her sweet torture anymore.

I clench my jaw, my vision blurring, and I roll us over until she's on her back. I prop onto my elbows and drive into her, as the world around us shatters into a million pieces.

"Mark!" She screams my name, as I feel her body shake from her head all the way to her feet and then back up again. Her teeth sink into the skin of my shoulder, muffling her cries.

My body convulses and I can feel my own release washing over me. I feel it in every cell of my body. I feel her in every cell of my body, engulfing me, infiltrating my every fucking breath.

I allow my head to fall on my jacket next to her face, and, with a final jerk of my hips, I spill inside her, claiming her completely.

The sensation is beyond words to describe. It's like a piece of me has never been in the right place, at the right time before. Like all of my previous experiences had been nearly missed high-fives with the Universe. But now, everything falls into place. The high-five with the Universe comes right on and the sound of its slap echoes through space and time, letting me know that, finally, everything's going to be fine.

I lift my head and look into her eyes.

"I love you", I tell her again, before I kiss her slowly.

I slide out of her and lie down on the jacket, trying to catch my breath. We lay like this for a while, on our backs, staring up at the moon and stars above us. And I can swear the moon and the stars are staring back down at us, blessing us.