Chapter's song: Bubbly by Colbie Callat

҉       A ƤriƝɕҽsslɣ CoƝƝҽCƬioƝ        ҉

ChaPtEr TWELVE          _________________________

Blue ocean

Getting ready to spend the rest of the afternoon with Jason was proving to be a difficult task. First, since I wasn’t being productive, I asked Maria if she needed help.

Not a smart move. Maria always needed help.

The kitchen was working non-stop. Either it was for the guests or for the rest of the team, meaning us. The fact that she was trying to show Jason and me a new dish everyday wasn’t helping. Mole was going to be the main dish for dinner. It’s a never-ending list of different ingredients in between different chilies, spices, almonds, chocolate and even a burnt tortilla. Seriously. She burnt it until it was coal black for the sweet sauce. The kitchen smelled delicious but it was too much work. I helped in every task she let me. Apparently I was too slow; there were a few times that she took the knife out of my hands to chop the tomatoes herself and stuff like that. Always with a smile on her face, though.

“What time is it again?” I asked as I peeled the almonds she gave me. You had to put them in warm water and after a minute or two, you could take the skin off.

Maria’s sweet smile faltered, she looked at the clock on her right, “It’s a quarter to four. I think you could leave the almonds and get ready…”

Glancing at her, I frowned. She had specifically told me that the almonds were key to the dish. As any of the other ingredients I’d worked on. She seemed a bit tense having me there. I guessed I’d asked for the time more than a few times…In my defense, she was blocking the clock and I was worried that I’d be late to meet Jason. Feeling bad for her distress, I cleaned my hands on the apron with an apologetically smile on my face, “lo siento …” (sorry)

She shrugged, “apúrate! (hurry up), God forbid you’re late for your date!”

A small blush crept upon my cheeks. In a small voice I mumbled, “it’s not a date…” as I took off the apron and hung it on the rack.

Maria’s eyes watched me knowingly. She pointed the wooden spoon on her hand at me, “se ven bien juntos!” (You look nice together!)

Flustered I played with my hands not knowing where to put them, “he’s just going to teach me…that’s all…”

She shook her head, “I can see young love there.”

Ok. Time to go.

“Gracias, Maria! Can’t wait to try this later!”

I walked away as she laughed, “diviértete!” (have fun).

Geesh…

Running to my room, I changed to my bikini and braided my hair before applying sunscreen. I couldn’t stop thinking about how he reacted when I told him about Ed. To be fair, I thought that if Ed helped me it would easier for me. But he seemed a tad jealous. The fact that I felt like that just showed me how pathetic I was being.

Nervous, I grabbed a towel from the small bathroom and took a deep breath before walking out to the beach. The sun wasn’t as harsh as noon’s but it was still shining brightly. The beach was completely deserted. As usual, I left my sandals on the rocky ledge and walked on my bare feet. I loved the feeling of the sand.

A towel and a pair of beach shoes were laid on the sand next to a paddle and a large surfing board. Jason was at sea, stand-up paddling alone. He seemed afar, so I left my things next to his and walked to the sea. My stomach was churning uneasily as my feet reached the water. It was cold but totally refreshing.

I’d been to the beach every day but I hadn’t really spent much time in it. There was always something to do back at the large house. This was the first time that I was going to spend more time there. My hand skimmed above the turquoise water. It was so clear that I stared mesmerized at the small waves my movements made.

“Hey,” my heart skipped a beat just by hearing his dark tone. My eyes turned up and I swallowed hard. Jason was grabbing the board with one hand and running the other through his damp hair. I followed the movement with my eyes as his muscles bent.

Oh my God…

I cleared my throat, “hi.”

His grey eyes were bluer than ever. There was a subtle line of hair over his jaw following his collarbone. “Are you ready?”

I nodded. He smiled lopsidedly, “are you nervous?”

You have no idea…

“Yeah.”

“You’ll do fine, I’m going to be close to you all the time, ok?” He glanced at the beach, “Let’s get your board. I believe that you can carry it as it might be lighter than your suitcase,” he raised an eyebrow as a small chuckle left my lips.

Without a word, I walked to the board and grabbed the paddle as well. They were heavy…but not that hard to carry. Jason waited for me at the shore. I reached him as he cleared his throat and glanced away for a moment.

“Ok, you need to lay on your board,” he placed his board in front of him and laid on top of it, grabbing the paddle with one hand and placing it on his left.

I did as told which presented a bit of difficulty with the large paddle, but he held my board with one hand as I settled. Taking a deep breath, I added, “That wasn’t so hard…”

Jason chuckled, “Things are going to complicate a bit here. I’m going to show you how to do it and then you’re going to do it by yourself, ok?” I nodded. He kneeled on the board and then placed his hands on the board as well. “You need to lay on four points, you see?” he glanced at me briefly as I concentrated on what he said. Soft waved passed above us as the water moved in rhythm. The muscles on his arms bulged. “Then, you need to raise your arms and lean on your legs…” his voice came out a bit strained as his right hand held the paddle as he stood up moving one leg trying to balance the board. “Then, you just have to paddle away. Easy, huh?” He glanced at me as I looked at him incredulously.

“I have a feeling that it won’t be that easy for me…”I trailed unsure.

He dropped to the water. Smiling, he shook his head, “I’m going to leave the board over the shore so I can help you out, ok?”

I took a deep breath as he left me for a moment. My eyes watched the horizon. It was such a beautiful sight that it left me breathless for a moment.

“Ready?” Jason asked as he stood beside me.

“As ready as I’ll ever be…” I took a deep breath and started to kneel. It was hard. The water motioned as I tried to raise my arms but the board shook making me yelp. Jason chuckled and grabbed the board steading it.

He was standing really close to me. Butterflies fluttered on my stomach as he murmured, “try it again.”

My heart was racing. Out of effort or nervousness. It was hard to tell. I stretched my arms and after a few efforts that made me blush like crazy, I managed to lean as he’d showed me. My arms were trembling after so many tries and I was as embarrassed as tired.

“Can I stay like this?” I said through clenched teeth.

Jason laughed, “Come on, this is the hardest but I know you can do it.” My arms kept trembling from the effort. Noticing this, he murmured, “I’m going to hold you by the waist so you can get up, ok?”

He's going to hold me the waist! He's going to hold me by the waist!

“OK,” my voice came out high-pitched.

He left the board and placed both hands on the sides of my waist. My breathing hitched and I was sure this was going to be harder now. His hold was strong yet soft at the same time and his touch was warm and tingly…and it felt nice. Too nice.  My heart was racing like crazy as I tried to get up but my legs felt like jelly.

“I don’t think I can get up…” I mumbled flustered.

“Come on, I know you can!” Jason said smiling. I had to give it to him. He was being the most patient he’d ever been with me. With that thought in mind, I started to get up very slowly. “You can lean on me,” he added as my legs were still trembling.

My heart raced even faster and my breath caught in my throat as I laid a palm on his shoulder. His quite muscular and warm shoulder. I was tingling all over as I swallowed hard and pushed myself higher, holding my breath. One leg followed the other and I found myself standing up on the freaking board.

When had the infamous idea fixed on my stupid head?

I had closed my eyes for a moment as I stood up. Jason’s hands were still holding me by the waist. The soft sea breeze caressed my skin as the soothing sounds of the waves crashed behind us.

“Open your eyes, Marianne…” he whispered really softly.

Slowly, I did so. The view was breathtaking. It was calming. A complete opposite to the turmoil of emotions I was feeling inside. Looking down, I found myself immersed in grey eyes. They were piercing and bold at the same time. His hold tightened a bit and my lips parted as I got lost in his eyes for the longest of moments.

Yes. Totally doomed couldn’t start to cover it.

“You can paddle now…”he mumbled as he averted his eyes. I hadn’t realized that I still had the thing on my hands and I was gripping it like my life depended on it.

His hold loosened considerably. I found almost telling him not to let go…I was already balanced on the board but I didn’t want him to stop touching me. God. Could I be more pathetic?

Taking a deep breath, I paddled once. Jason’s hands left me completely. “I’ll go get my board, ok?” I couldn’t even turn to look at him. I didn’t want to move any more than necessary. Jason chuckled, “don’t drift far!”

A minute later, he was paddling next to me. A wide smile was playing on his face as he looked at me, “Awesome, huh?”

“Yeah…” I said softly. Not sure if we were talking about the same thing…

“You do know how to swim properly, don’t you?” he raised an eyebrow as we continued to paddle.

I chuckled, “Well, if you mean if I can outrun a shark, no, I don’t.”

He laughed, “You should stay close to me then.”

Frowning, I glanced briefly at him. And may I say how absolutely handsome he looked standing over the board? Ugh. “Are there really sharks here?”

He shrugged, “Its open sea so I guess there might be.” My hand gripped the paddle harder and my eyes widened, “but I don’t think there are any here. Besides, you’re with me, right?” He raised an eyebrow sounding smugly.

“Oh, really? Have you outrun a shark, then?”

“Well, for starters, you don’t outrun sharks. Because you know, they don’t run,” I rolled my eyes at his I-know-it-all attitude. Even if he was right. “But I could surpass them. I’m that fast.”

“Oh my God! I wonder how the board is not sinking after carrying that gigantic ego of yours!”

He laughed as I smiled. I liked this. I liked it too much, to be honest.

This moment.

It was the best thing it ever happened in my life.

My eyes brimmed with tears as I knew I’d always remember this…

The sun started to set and I knew that I had taken forever to stand up on the stupid board. “I’m sorry for taking forever to stand up here,” I gestured to the board.

“It’s ok. Do you want to seat to see the sunset?”

I grunted, “Yes please!” making him laugh again. Sitting on the board was pretty simple, so I could do it on my own.

He grabbed onto my board so we wouldn’t separate. His fingers grazed on my thigh. I bit my lips as my whole body was tingling again. We watched the sunset in silence, reeling on the beautiful sky and a few birds flying by.

Just as the sun set, Jason turned to me, “now we need to get the hell back to shore.” His tone was totally serious, making me worry instantly.

“Sharks?” I asked eye-wide.

Chuckling, he shook his head, “no, but the tides change with the moon, so we should hurry.” Thankfully, we weren’t that far from the shore, so it was a quick trip.

My arms ached but my legs hurt more. “I’m going to be sore tomorrow,” I sulked rubbing my arms.

He nodded as he grabbed my towel and passed it to me. I stared at him after wrapping the towel around me, “thank you…” I whispered softly, “I had a great time.”

Jason’s eyes bored into mine, “Me too.” A small smile formed on his lips, “next time will be easier, I promise.”

Next time.

A shy smile drew on my face as well.

He carried the boards to the rocky ledge where I’d left my sandals. “I’ll pick them up later,” he announced as we started to climb up the trail back to our rooms. “I’ll see you at dinner?” he asked as we reached our hallway. “Which is in about ten minutes,” he added glancing at his watch.

I chuckled, “Sure thing.” We parted ways as each of us took a quick shower. I left my hair loose again. I loved how it started to look sun-kissed bringing soft highlights on the light. A purple blouse and denim shorts finished the outfit.

The kitchen’s sounds brought a smile on my face. There was soft music playing on the background and you could hear animated chatter from the other side of the house. Still grinning, I entered said room to find everyone already seated on the table. They all greeted me as Jason’s lips tugged up on that lopsided smile that drove me crazy as well.

Maria served dinner glowing proudly as we complimented her food. Turns out that the sauce she’d made, mole, was absolutely delicious. She served it over chicken and topped it with sesame seeds. The highlight of the night was when she offered me beans and Jason almost choked by laughing at my flustered face. But Maria seemed kind of offended when I declined the offer, so I ended up serving some on my plate.

During dinner, I couldn’t help but admire how peaceful and joyful everyone looked. A longing feeling etched in my heart again.

This was certainly the best summer I’d ever had in my entire life.

 And I didn’t want this to end.

Any of this.

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Aweee...I'm falling in love with this story...and I'm hoping you are too!! :)

I don't think I'll be updating anything else until next week, so bear with me. Pretty pleeaaaaseeee?

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Also, it was brought to my attention the fact that you don't have to pay for hospital bills in the UK. So I'm changing that little fact. So, their parents are making them pay a compensation for both the police officer and Peter :)

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