CHIZURU
The bus ride went quickly since everyone was in high spirits. It was too loud to sleep, although Ryu probably could have pulled it off if he hadn't been roped into talking stats with his new manager. What's with that guy anyway? Ryu's just too nice to say no sometimes.
I'd ended up sitting with Ayane, across the aisle from Kazehaya and Sawako. It was rare to see them looking so much like a couple. Too cute though!
Soon we were checked into our room and getting changed. Thanks to our early start, we still had a full beach day ahead of us. Sawako kept returning to the balcony, delighted by our high-rise view of the green sea, which was just across the street. She wore a pale yellow cover-up that danced about her knees in the wind. A sadistic part of me couldn't wait to see Kazehaya's face when she stripped down to a bikini.
He'd arranged to meet her in the lobby, so when the four of us (Tomo had joined us in the room) stepped off the elevator, he was there, attended by Ryu, Joe, and a couple other guys. My beach bag was loaded down, and Ryu eyed it dubiously. My happiness was undiminished, however. "I brought a volleyball, water ball, Frisbee, and umm, what else…."
The crowd began moving and soon we were spreading our towels over the warm sand. The air was heavy with a salty sea smell, but not too warm thanks to the steady breeze off the water. The guys broke immediately for the ocean, diving headfirst into the gentle waves. I kicked off my sandals and tossed aside my shorts and tank top. Grabbing the water ball, I tore after them.
When I'd waded to shoulder level like the rest, I sought out Ryu's form in the cluster of male heads. He was easy to find with that buzz cut. In a perfect toss, I hit him with the squishy ball right in the back of his head. He reached a hand back to feel the spot and rotated my direction in the water. Hearing my raucous laughter, he searched around and found the projectile floating nearby. He picked it up and slung it back, his baseball training allowing him to land it hard directly in front of me, splashing water right in my face. I growled and heaved it back at him.
He just held it. The other guys caroused nearby, but I'd forgotten them. "C'mon!" I yelled at him, raising my arms.
He shook his head. "You're gonna hurt someone."
"Oh, give me break, you idiot. Just throw it!"
He remained stubbornly in place. My wrath propelled me as I struck out freestyle toward him. He backed away, but not quickly enough to escape. In a moment I was all over him.
"Give me that!" I cried, jumping and pushing off one of his bare shoulders to grab for the ball he now held aloft in the other hand. He was taller than me, by just a few inches, and slippery with suntan lotion, so I missed. I continued madly scrabbling for it and he laughed as he kept it just out of my reach. Soon I was less angry than determined to win the contest.
Out of breath after a while, I decided to rest and rethink my strategy. I ceased struggling and dangled from him, one arm slung behind his neck. I was still panting. "C'mon…I'll be good…" I panted against his jawline.
"Right," he answered sarcastically. I could just see one side of his carefree smile as my face bounced next to his in the gentle surf.
A jolt of awareness struck me like a shock, its heat rushing powerfully from my head to my toes. All of a sudden I noticed how close I was to his mouth. I felt every point of contact where my arm and hand draped over his solid, slippery shoulders. His neck glistened with water droplets and the waves danced against the hollow of his throat, smooth and tanned from baseball practices. I felt the folds of his swim trunks wrapping around my legs with the undulations of the current. Next I realized that one whole side of me, including the contents of my push-up bikini, was pressed tight against his bare chest.
In a panic, I pushed away. I caught a glimpse of Ryu's surprised expression, just before I sank beneath the surface. In our struggles, he'd wandered into water too deep for me but not for him. I touched bottom in a moment and bounced back up, but Ryu was already reaching for me. He grasped me with both hands under my arms, holding my head above the waves as I coughed seawater. He wore a serious look, probably due to the alarm on my face. I hoped he would attribute it to my dunking and not the real cause. "I'm alright," I said quickly, the fight gone from me in the wake of this unexpected emotion. "It was just deeper than I thought."
While supporting me, he'd been taking steps toward shore. He released me now that it was shallow enough to stand. I felt kind of shaky. "I th-think I'll go in. It's getting cold," I said, hastily looking away.
He was silent as usual, but I could swear I felt his dark eyes watching me slowly emerge from the water. It was the first time I'd ever felt self-conscious about my long legs.
o-o-o-o-o
KAZEHAYA
The water was cool, exhilarating, and the guys roughhoused like little kids, dunking each other and wrestling and splashing. I could have stayed there all day, but part of me was drawn back to Sawako like a magnet. I was trying hard not to imagine her in a swimsuit, but curiosity soon won out.
"I'm going in," I announced to the group as I began walking toward shore. There was a general harassment to remain and I had to dodge one human missile, but soon I was on dry land again. As I walked, my eyes remained glued to the place where Sawako sat with her friends. Her hair was arranged in those adorable braids, and I could tell from here that she was wearing a bikini.
I pulled a hand across my eyes and swallowed. Must play it cool, must play it cool.
As I walked, I kept my eyes mostly on the sand, but snuck a couple quick glances at my destination. The little strings tying up the suit around her neck and at her hips were perfect on her slender frame. The suit was modest enough as bikinis go, but the deep pink color definitely drew the eye to admire her curves. She looked so soft. And delicate, almost breakable.
I sat heavily on my towel, swiping dripping bangs off my face and studiously avoiding looking her direction. Thankfully Yoshida and Yano were in the middle of a conversation and let us be. I leaned back on my arms and let the sun dry me as I gazed at the sea.
I tried to sneak a peek at my girlfriend, but of course she picked that moment to do the same. We both sort of jumped, and I heard Yoshida and Yano burst into laughter. I wanted to bury my head in the sand, but I could tell Sawako was freaking out. The need to rescue her worked like a tonic on my own nerves.
"This is nice, isn't it?" I asked, turning to smile directly at her face.
She was still frozen like a terrified rabbit, but she seemed to draw courage from my casual demeanor. As I watched, her features softened and she smiled ever so slightly. "Mmm-hmm."
"Kazehaya," Yano called in a silky tone that boded ill. "We helped Sawako pick out her swimsuit. How do you like it?"
So annoying. I could feel the blush staining my cheeks.
"Want to go for a walk?" I asked Sawako quickly.
"Sure," she said, reaching for her yellow dress-thingy. I pulled on my t-shirt and we stood.
"Don't be gone too long or we'll come looking for you," Yoshida taunted.
"Let's go," I said to Sawako, more curtly than I should have.
Side by side we walked down to the water's edge. We turned and followed the shoreline, the waves washing over our bare feet. The cry of sea gulls sounded on the air. Predictably, I began obsessing about taking her hand.
"My family spends a week at the beach every summer," Sawako said. "When I was little, I loved to make sand castles. I would spend hours making entire villages, with houses and streets, and rivers made from buckets of water."
I chuckled. "I can see that. What else did you like to do?"
She related several anecdotes and I lost myself in the sound of her gentle, breathy voice. When we'd walked in silence for a minute or so, I gathered my nerve and said, "You look nice, by the way. I didn't like Yoshida and Yano trying to embarrass us, but I think you look nice." I began to babble. "I mean, you always look pretty, not just when you're…" wearing a cute little bikini. "…at the beach."
"P-pretty?" She seemed surprised.
"Y-yeah." She didn't know? "I think you're really pretty." I felt my face heat. "I mean, that's not why I like you, or, um, it's not the only reason. I mean, I just…"
She mercifully cut me off. "Thank you." I finally met her gaze. Her eyes were shining, and I felt like a hero. My nervousness melted and I smiled back.
From the other direction, Endou and several girls from our class met us. "See those rocks?" She pointed behind her. Sure enough, a large outcropping loomed ahead. "There are a bunch of caves inside, and one goes all the way through to the other side."
"It's totally cool," one her friends enthused.
"Want to check it out?" I asked Sawako.
"Sure," she nodded.
o-o-o-o-o
CHIZURU
With most of our group either in the ocean or off walking, Yano-chin and I were approached several times by guys who tried their hands flirting and asking for our numbers. Some of them were kind of good-looking, but I wasn't sure how I felt about guys hitting on me out of the blue. Fortunately, Ayane was used to it and expertly deflected them with excuses about not being from around here.
We were talking to yet another pair of guys who looked to be several years older than us, when Ryu came stomping up. He plunked down on the towel next to mine and proceeded to lean over my legs, clearly invading my personal space as he rummaged in a cooler bag he'd left in the middle of our stuff. He shot menacing looks at our admirers and they made excuses to leave. I breathed a sigh of relief. Ryu sat up again and began unwrapping a sandwich.
"You're eating already?" I asked.
Ayane piped in. "Like you can talk. You've already finished two bags of chips. You're going to get fat."
Ryu continued munching, his legs drawn up in a criss cross. I couldn't help smiling; sometimes he still looked like the kid I used to play with.
I had just opened my mouth to comment when Ayane continued. "I'm going to go rent an umbrella. I think I'm getting burned already." She found her wallet and stood, heading off to the vendor cart not far behind us.
Ryu finished eating and leaned over me again to stash his sandwich wrapper and retrieve his baseball cap. I kind of flashed back to the episode in the ocean for a second, and my heart seemed to beat more loudly than usual at his proximity.
He leaned up again and put on the hat, pulling the bill down low over his eyes. He was adjusting his towel—probably prepping for a nap—when a tinkling voice called out from his other side. "Ryu-senpai?"
He looked up to find the source and she continued. "I thought that was you!"
What the? It can't be her! But it was. The pixie girl—clad only in a bikini, of course. She knelt down in the sand facing him.
"What's she doing here?" I burst out without thinking.
Ryu looked at me, completely composed. "Oh, you know each other?"
"N-no," I sputtered, realizing my error. Quickly I covered. "But I've seen you around school, haven't I? Yeah, but you're not in our class. Are you here with your family?" It sounded like a stretch, even to me.
She giggled. "No, I'm in Miss Fujiyama's class." The teacher Pin leeched onto. Oh.
"Oh," I deflated. "Well, how do you two know each other?" I asked Ryu curiously.
"She's our baseball manager."