Thirty Kisses: Meilin Li and Touya Kinomoto

Written by: Ciuline Ihmenjo

Card Captor Sakura does not belong to me. The characters in Card Captor Sakura do not belong to me. CLAMP owns CCS. Besides, even if you do try and sue me, I have no money.

From Start…

I hate when you are supposed to be doing something, but instead you procrastinate

o()o The Flavor of Tears o()o

30 Kisses Theme: the sound of waves

I can taste the salt on your lips. I can feel your arms, snaking around my neck in desperation, in longing, in need. Your eyes are closed in direct contract to my open eyes. The moonlight reflects off your slick black hair as you mash your lips harder against me. I can taste the hunger on your saliva and the bittersweet feeling of loss as your tongue cautiously, ever so gently, probes my mouth.

It is something I am unaccustomed to – how many guys have girls literally flinging themselves at them? Most of all, I just don't know how to respond. My mind is screaming kiss her, you fool! At the same time, my body just won't respond.

This alien feeling alarms me at first:

Your hair cascading from your head and over our faces in dark strings…

The sand on my back…

Your cotton shirt hanging off both sides of my chest…

The light of the moon on your trembling skin…

Your arms clinging to me like I am the last thing in this world…

The water crashing against our bodies…

The footprints there only moments before are slowly erased by the rolling water. I can hear the sound of the waves breaking, crashing against each other in fury and gently pushing up the beach in a gurgling foam.

My heart, thundering in my ears, threatens to block out any other sound.

And still, you are kissing me. Needing me. Pressing into me. I can hear your nostrils flaring as you heave sobbing breaths into your lungs. I can feel the tears rolling down your cheek only to find their way into the ocean. Your eyes squeeze tighter shut when you realize that I am not as eager as you are.

"I'm sorry." The kiss, broken in an instant, feels even more awkwards than the suddenness of it all. "I'm sorry for thinking this would work… for not thinking things through." You roll quickly off my chest, awkward in your movements and emotions. Standing in the crimson bathing suit and pale blue shirt, you are vulnerable. Your heart is almost straining at the surface of your chest. "I'm sorry for tackling you. I'm sorry for kissing you. I'm sorry for screwing things up."

I cannot find words. There is nothing to be said, at least not on my part. You seem to have drained every ounce of energy from my body. Instead, I must lay silent in the sands as the ocean threatens to suck me into the beach. We stand there for an eternity, watching each other for the slightest movement. It never comes. We seem to be statues, frozen in time save for the spray of water crossing our vision as the seconds slowly trickle past.

"It's okay," I say finally, working onto my elbows. The sand has worked its way into my hair and drifts down like spatters of rain.

"I…" you choke on your sentence and pop your mouth open and shut like a fish before looking away. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" I say finally. "It's not like you did anything wrong."

"Yes… no… I… never mind." You nod and then bow, moving in jittery motions.

"I'm fine," I insist, finally freeing my self from my human-shaped dent in the sand. The waves work quickly to erase the signs of my existence. "We can just forget about everything. Well, I can try to forget about everything." I flash what I hope is a comforting smile.

"I'm leaving," you announce.

I reach out and grasp your hand, slowly and gently so as not to scare you any more than you already are. Still, a tremor passes to me and your body gives a little jump at the initial contact. Your expression is steeled into force neutrality, to hide all of your emotions, but your posture and darting eyes break through the guise.

"Please," you whisper, "just let me leave."

I shake my head, but release your hand. "You're free to go but, but it's a beautiful night. The moon is out, and the waves make for great ambiance. We're out on a virtually empty beach. Let's just walk."

I am met with a stare. Disbelief is written across your features as my words penetrate your brain. You begin to back away, slowly at first and then you begin turning. Your head shakes back and forth, but your hair is sticking fast to your body, sliding back and forth along your shoulders.

"You don't need to be alone," I continue softly.

You stop. In fact, you freeze up. I'm almost scared that you aren't breathing. Jerking your head around, I can see tugging at the corners of your mouth. You wander towards me and place your head softly against my chest. I can feel your body press into me. Your legs continue moving, twitching back and forth.

"Can we just stand here?" you ask after your nervous shifting passes.

"Of course," I reply.

"Because," you look up for a moment before focusing on the round white orb, shimmering on the water, "sometimes, you just need to see the moon in the sky and hear the water rushing towards the shore to help you remember who you are." You smile, wider now. "Thank you for helping me to forget who I am not."

To Finish…

Okay, now that I got that damned ditty out of my head, I can finally get back to writing the essay that I SHOULD be writing at the moment. I just did not want to lose that idea. It was just so… well… amazing to me.

See you next update: Ciuline Ihmenjo