'Freckles' - chapter 4. Eli's sixteenth birthday.

Stupid Gift

Ace was sitting on his bed, panting heavily from the run home.

Stupid, stupid gift, he thought, glaring at a small, blue-striped bag.

The reason why he even bought her the gift was still uncertain.

Because she wanted to swim... said a voice in his head.

He sighed deeply slumping down.

Still, it was so cheesy, she'd make fun of him for sure. She always did, for everything, and that stupid gift wouldn't be an exception.

Ace ran his fingers through his raven hair and raised his head a bit.

Yep, the bag was still there, and the boy could almost hear it laughing at him.

Stupid, stupid gift...

He stood up and grabbed the bag firmly. After all, he had bought her the stupid gift; it would be even more stupid to keep it. What would he even do with a girl's bathing suit...?

And she'd better be happy.

He slammed the door behind him and ran back to Makino's tavern.

Rapidly scanning the establishment, Ace soon found Eli in a corner of the room. She was looking at a group of laughing people with a soft smile on her face.

The boy inhaled deeply, exhaled slowly, plucked up courage, and marched up to the girl.

"Oi, Twig," he called out. His tone was sharper than intended.

She looked at him and tilted her head questioningly.

"I've got something for you," he simply said before walking away briskly. The boy didn't want this embarrassing moment to be witnessed by all the townspeople... or else they would surely make fun of him for the rest of his days.

Walking out of the tavern, Ace crossed Makino who gave him a knowingly wink.

Oh please... the annoyed boy thought, sighing deeply.

Once outside, Ace waited for Eli's footsteps to come to a stop, and he turned around resolutely.

The girl looked a bit confused, her wide green eyes locked on the boy. Apparently she wasn't expecting a gift from him, even though it was her birthday.

I knew I shouldn't have gone through the trouble at all... he thought. The party was more than enough...

Anyhow, he was there now, and he had the stupid gift in his slightly sweaty hands. There was no turning back possible.

Ace threw her the bag roughly. After all, it was just a stupid birthday gift, nothing to get all touchy-feely about.

He gulped involuntarily as he saw her look inside the bag.

She's going to think I'm a pervert...

It's not like he wanted to see her in a bathing suit. Who would, anyway ? The girl was so flat, it would be like looking at a little girl. A little girl with freakishly long arms and legs.

"Makino chose it," Ace specified hastily, scratching the back of his head. He didn't want her to start imagining things.

Eli raised her head from the bag and looked up at him, biting her bottom lip.

"But I can't swim," she said, obviously puzzled by the boy's gift.

"I know that." Ace rolled his eyes.

If she was going to be as slow as Luffy, he'd rather give the whole thing up.

"I'll swim for you," the boy said, resting a hand on his hip.

Eli grinned.

What ? No joke ? No 'you're so mawkishly romantic, Freckles, I might throw up' ?

She just gave a beaming grin and ran quickly behind a bunch of trees to change.

Ace sighed and walked to the beach with his hands in his pockets.

Stupid, stupid gift...

Ace was sitting on the beach waiting for her, digging his hands in the sand absently.

The boy had planned the whole thing in his head. He was going to take her on his back, swim a couple of minutes, and that was it.

See ? Nothing to be so anxious about.

He sighed, wishing this was already over. Hopefully, it would be soon, and then he could forget this stupid day.

"Well, how do we do this ?"

Ace stood up and looked at Eli. He had to admit, she looked better that expected.

The swimming suit Makino had chosen was a dark blue two piece with a tube top. Looking at her legs, the boy thought he might have been wide from the truth saying they were freakishly long. Somehow, without her usual small shorts, they seemed even longer. They were so thin, yet not frail. He could tell she had been training a lot. Her belly was tiny and firm. And her chest... well, flat it was, but not as flat as expected, and the swimsuit was so tight-fitting, he could perfectly make out the shape of her small, perky breasts.

Stop that !

Ace looked away, clearing his throat.

"I'll carry you and-" he started to explain.

"Bridal style ?" Eli asked eagerly, bringing her hands to her cheeks playfully.

What is wrong with this girl !? he yelled inwardly. One day, I'll really carry her 'bridal style' and she won't be laughing.

"...no Twig..." He sighed, forcing a smile.

She giggled. The girl really enjoyed tormenting the poor boy. Didn't she see how difficult the whole thing was for him ?

"Okay then, let's do it," she said cheerfully.

Eli climbed on his back as soon as he turned around. She secured her arms around his neck and tightly wrapped her slender legs around his waist.

Ace had carried the girl in this same fashion countless times before, but he was always wearing a shirt, and so was she. This time, there was too little fabric to prevent him from feeling her soft skin brushing against his.

As Eli nestled her chin on his shoulder, the nervous boy felt her soft breathing on his hair.

Stupid, stupid gift...

Ace shivered as he slowly strode through the chilly sea. When the water level went past his waist, he already felt the girl's embrace weakening.

"Are you okay ?" he asked.

"Yeah... Hey, what if you fall asleep in the water ?" Eli asked.

Even though she was making fun of him and his narcolepsy as she always did, the girl's voice was a lot softer than usual. It was almost sensuous. Was it because of the closeness they were experiencing or the weakening effect the sea water had on her ?

Probably the latter...

"I won't, don't worry, Twig," Ace replied softly.

The water was now reaching his chest. He decided it was enough to start swimming.

Eli let a soft gasp escape her mouth as she tried to keep her arms around his neck.

Ace was surprised. He had never imagined that the boyish Eli was even capable of emitting such a... delicious sound.

"Oi, are you feeling sleepy ?"

It took the boy some time to process the meaning of the sentence as the lustful-sounding tone of the girl's voice made his guts twist.

Oi, it's Eli. Your buddy. Better keep that in mind.

"Nope."

As the minutes passed, the girl became heavier. Eli tried to pick herself up a bit, but her body seemed so weak and unresponsive that Ace had to secure her arms around him so that she wouldn't slip away.

"Are you feeling sleepy now ?"

The wrenching feeling in the boy's guts strengthened as her lips softy grazed his ear. Was she aware of what she did to him ?

If he didn't know her, he would have called her a tease.

Ace inhaled deeply to ease the ache in his stomach.

"Nope," he managed to say despite his tightened throat.

The boy blamed it on the hormones.... There was no other plausible explanation for his sudden arousal to his friend.

The hormones, and her lascivious behavior.

Hopefully, the nightmare would soon be over, and she would be back to her normal boyish and jesting self.

"... Ace... dive... please..." she stammered really slowly.

It was the last straw for the poor, hormone-driven boy. Eli had said his name in the most exquisite way, effectively setting his body aflame.

Ace dove under the sea, hoping that the fresh water would clear his perverted mind of the graphic images that were now playing over and over again.

He let her go for a split second as he couldn't bear to feel her body pressed against his any longer.

A few seconds later, as the boy came back to his senses, he whirled around and saw Eli slowly drifting away.

Damn !

A few minutes later, Ace keeled next to her wet body now lying on the beach in what he couldn't help but see as an extremely luscious way. She looked so vulnerable there. Water dripped from his raven hair onto her heaving chest as she panted for breath.

The boy jerked away and fell on his back next to her.

Oh god...

Ace rested his forearm on his closed eyes.

He couldn't understand how he had let himself get excited over a girl like her. Her figure was rather bad compared to the girls he had went out with before. Plus, more importantly, she was his friend, his pal, his buddy.

Damn, she was almost like a sister to him.

"Thank you, Freckles."

He rolled his head onto its side to look at her.

Drops of water trailed over her smiling face.

"It was really the best !" she told him heartily.

Maybe that wasn't so stupid after all....

Betaed by Iwin Ulose.

So as you can see this side of the fic will be more... heated...
I hope you'll like it though.

Also I didn't want to make Ace actually angry toward Eli.
You have to understand that he uses anger to lessen his nervousness.
And don't forget he's only sixteen now, he wouldn't react like that if he was twenty.

Well, tell me what you think :)