Chapter 3
Mel came awake to the awareness that she was in a great deal of pain. "Ow…"
"Good afternoon, Mel," Cole greeted her gently.
"Afternoon?" she asked, shaking her head and instantly regretting it as the pain in her head exploded. "Ah!" she protested, clutching her head. "What the hell happened?"
"You drank too much," Cole told her gently, resting one hand against her forehead and releasing healing, soothing energy to ease her headache.
"Why did I… oh, dear God." She covered her mouth with her hand. "Dear God!" she said again, feeling that it definitely did bear repeating. "Cole, this may, um, may sound like a strange question but… was I hallucinating from the Mai Tais or did you… uh, have on… a grass skirt and nothing else last night?" she asked quickly, running the last several words together.
"Yes, Mel." He smiled and nodded. "Well, that and the torches…"
"Ah… Right, them. I remember them. Sort of… Thought I just had a really strange dream." She frowned at the faint smile on his face, but dismissed it from her mind. "I wonder how many brain cells I killed last night?"
"Before I put you to bed, you said only the weak ones would die," he provided.
"You… you put me to bed?" Mel whispered, pulling back the covers and staring down at her pajama-clad body. "Cole, I did not wear pajamas to the Luau…"
He frowned faintly at that pronouncement. "No, Mel. You wore a sarong. The pajamas came after we got back to the room."
He felt a little guilty for misrepresenting the matter to her, but he felt that it would probably be easier for her if she did not know that she had taken her own clothes off for another purpose entirely and he had put the pajamas on her himself after she was already unconscious. Obviously she did not remember that by the time they had returned to the hotel room she had already invited him into her bed. Even her memories of the Luau itself seemed spotty, so he doubted she remembered many of the things they had said and done. It would be best, he decided, if he could spare her as much embarrassment as possible over her uncharacteristic behavior.
She gave a nervous laugh. "Right… Uh… damn I could use something on my stomach before I--" She stopped as Cole proffered a plate of French toast.
"It's not too heavy, is it?" he asked, frowning in concern. "I wasn't sure how much your stomach would be able to handle. There are English muffins as well," he offered.
"I think I'll start with one of those," she sighed, flopping back onto the pillows and closing her eyes.
What a night… The grass skirt, the torches, Cole doing things with a human body that Mel had not known it was possible to do, a faint recollection of being carried back to their room. And then the dreams. Not that she could have watched Cole do that kind of dance and avoid those kinds of dreams. Not that she was complaining about the dreams…
The dreams…
Mel, who had been talking in her sleep since childhood, could only think of one word to adequately express her feelings at the moment. "Shit!"
"Is something wrong, Mel?" Cole asked gently, frowning at her obvious agitation.
She hesitated, staring up at him as he gave her a concerned look and proffered half an English muffin. She accepted that, closing her eyes again.
"Did I… talk in my sleep… at all last night?" she whispered.
Cole nodded faintly. She seemed mortified at the thought that he might have heard what he had to say. "It was… muffled," he managed, uncomfortable and annoyed with himself for saying things that were not true, even to spare Mel pain.
"Oh. Good!" She smiled anxiously, nodding and stuffing the English muffin into her mouth to avoid further conversation.
Satisfied that Mel would not question him further on that topic, Cole rose and opened the window. "What should we do today, Mel?"
"I'd like to visit the beach, but we don't have to if you'd rather not."
Cole smiled and nodded. "The beach sounds nice, Mel. Will you show me how to swim?"
"Sure." Mel grinned and nodded, sitting up and climbing out of bed. Her mood was immensely improved already and a few aspirin would take care of the worst of her hangover. "I can't believe you never learned how to swim. Don't they have water up there?"
"Of course they do, Mel." Cole nodded. "Cirronians just don't swim," he explained as she gathered together several articles of clothing. When she entered the bathroom and closed the door, he raised his voice so she could hear him. "Cirron has many species of aquatic predators."
"Really?" she called.
"Oh, yes, Mel. And water on most other planets is just too cold. So most Cirronians never learn to swim."
"Well, the water here is much warmer than the water in Chicago," Mel assured him, emerging from the bathroom wrapped in her red sarong. "I think you'll probably enjoy it."
"Mel, that is a very pretty dress," he told her, smiling widely.
She flushed and grinned, bowing her head a little. "I'm glad you like it, Cole. It's a sarong… good beach-wear."
"It's very pretty, Mel. It makes your freckles more noticeable. I like it."
"I'm… glad." She smiled and nodded, a little flustered as she always was when he praised her appearance. Nor was it lost on her that Jess had been right about Cole's attachment to her freckles.
"I don't think I've ever seen you wear it before, Mel," he added. "You wore a similar one to the Luau, didn't you? The style is different from what you normally wear."
Mel nodded. "Well, it's new. I got several after I got the tickets."
"Okay, Mel." He smiled again. "It's very nice."
"Uh, yeah… You want to eat outside again?" she asked, pulling the heavy curtain and opening the patio door.
"Yes, Mel." He joined her on the patio. "I like it here, Mel. It's very pretty and much warmer than Chicago."
"Yeah, well few places are colder than Chicago in the winter," she pointed out, grinning wryly. "But this is definitely nice. It must be eighty already."
"Eighty-three, Mel. The weather man says that there is a… heat wave and that the temperature will go above ninety."
"Whew. In February?" Mel drew a deep breath and shook her head. "Damn, that's hot. Guess we'd better do the beach early, get back in before it gets too warm…" She trailed off, grinning. "Of course, Cirronians are known for loving warm weather… You'll probably want to stay all day."
"Not if it gets uncomfortable for you, Mel," he assured her quickly. "Besides, I have been reading about something called UV radiation, Mel. It sounds very dangerous…"
Mel chuckled and shook her head, sitting down at the patio table. "Well, sure, in huge quantities…"
"The weatherman also said that something called the 'UV index' is very high. You should not go out in it without being covered, Mel."
She laughed and shook her head. "Cole, with this complexion, I just have to think about going out in the sun to get a nasty burn."
He frowned. "Then we should wait to go to the beach until the sun is down," he announced firmly, shoveling a forkful of French toast into his mouth.
"It's okay, Cole," she assured him. "That's what sunscreen is for."
"Sunscreen?" he repeated, swallowing.
"You put it on your exposed skin and it protects you from the sun."
"Oh." He smiled and nodded. "That's good, Mel. You should wear a lot of sunscreen. I would not want you to get burned."
She grinned at him. "Don't worry. I promise I'll wear lots of sunscreen and spend most of the day under an umbrella."
"Okay, Mel. You should eat now, Mel. And we should bring drinks to the beach with us, Mel, if we are going to stay for very long. I wouldn't want you to become dehydrated."
Mel smiled indulgently at her mother-hen of a Cirronian, nodding. "Sure, Cole. Whatever you say."
***
"Oh, this is wonderful, Mel!" Cole announced cheerfully as she spread the beach towel on the sand.
It was, in fact, so hot that most of the rest of the beach was completely empty as tourists sought out the comfort of the air-conditioned indoors. But Hell to a tourist was Heaven to a Cirronian like Cole, Mel supposed. She had always had a higher-than-average heat tolerance herself, so she did not really mind it either. As long as she stayed under the umbrella, spent some time in the ocean, and drank lots of water she would be just fine.
And, of course, she would need plenty of the one thing that no befreckled Irish redhead in her right mind went to the beach without.
"Sunscreen," she announced, fishing the bottle out of her bag and tossing it to Cole.
He caught it easily and examined the writing on the label as Mel planted a beach umbrella firmly in the sand. "SPF 60, Mel? Is this the strongest there is? You really should use the strongest there is…"
"You can't get stronger without a prescription," she assured him, grinning and relieving him of the bottle. "And the prescription kind tends to make me break out. Now this is waterproof," she told him. "But you should still reapply it every few hours or whenever you get out of the water."
"Okay, Mel." Cole nodded faintly, accepting the bottle from her again when she proffered it.
"Now, you're darker than I am," Mel added, reaching up for the ties of her sarong. "So you aren't as likely to burn…" As she spoke, she started unknotting the fabric of her wrap.
"Mel, what are you doing?" he asked, frowning in obvious concern. Shaking his head, he stepped in front of her and gently caught her hands in his.
Mel stared up at him with wide eyes, frowning uncertainly. "I'm taking my sarong off…"
"But, Mel, there are people here!" he protested. "You have always told me that it is necessary to keep clothes on when there are other people around…"
"Wh… Oh, Cole!" she laughed shaking her head and giving him a comforting smile. "It's okay," she assured him. "On the beach, you don't have to wear as many clothes as you do in most public places. Just a swimsuit is enough. I have mine on under the sarong," she explained. "And you remembered to put your trunks on under your shorts, right?"
"Yes, Mel." He smiled in understanding, releasing her hands and stepping back to allow her to finish removing the sarong. "I put them on like you told me to. No briefs." His smile faded slightly. "Things are… in different places. It feels strange, Mel."
Mel flushed and giggled, nodding. "I'll bet it does," she chuckled. "Being used to briefs… Don't worry, Cole. You'll get used to it."
He smiled again, his expression trusting. "Okay, Mel."
She smiled in response to his obvious faith in her. She should have thought, she supposed, about the fact that Cole was used to briefs rather than boxers when selecting his swimwear. A Speedo probably would have been more comfortable for him. The mental image of Cole in a Speedo spurred her to chuckle nervously and she decided that trunks were probably better after all. At least one of them should be decently covered and after Jess' little stunt in switching Mel's swimsuit for another it was definitely not going to be her. Not quite able to look at him, she took a deep breath and untied her sarong.
Cole's eyes widened as the fabric wrap fluttered to the ground and Mel wondered what he was thinking. She did not have to wait long, thanks to that innate Cirronian honesty and Cole's habit of saying exactly what was on his mind.
"Mel, you wear more than this under your clothes!" he exclaimed, not even trying to hide his open admiration of her lovely body. A question he had always had but had never asked was answered, too. Those pretty freckles did cover her entire body. The Tracker approved greatly.
She flushed and bowed her head, shifting uncomfortably under his frank scrutiny. "Yeah, well… Jess decided it would be funny to…" She trailed off, frowning suspiciously up at him. "How would you know what I wear under my clothes?" she demanded.
Cole frowned at the question. "You put your underthings in the hamper when you are done with them, Mel," he pointed out, not bothering to add that, if he had not known anything about her underwear before, he would have after last night.
"Oh!" Mel gave a shaky nod. "Right! Sure I do…"
"Are you okay, Mel?" Cole asked gently, stepping towards her and gently caressing her throat. "It's not too warm for you?"
"What? Oh, no, Cole… I'm fine." She gave him an uneasy grin.
"Here, Mel. You are uncovered. You should not be in the sun," Cole announced, gently wrapping his hands around her arms and pushing her under the umbrella. Once she was safely in the shade, he smiled at her again. "It really is a very pretty outfit, Mel. Did you say it was Jess' idea?"
Mel rolled her eyes. "Yeah, Jess' idea. Jess' idea of a joke," she chuckled, shaking her head and retrieving the sunscreen. "Don't ask," she added in response to his blank look, squirting some sunscreen into her palm. "You put it on like this, Cole," she told him, demonstrating by rubbing the sunscreen into her arms. "Rub until you can't see it any more."
Cole watched for a moment, then picked up the bottle.
"Pull off your clothes first," Mel suggested. "That way you don't have to worry about getting all the skin you missed later." She closed her eyes against another surge of embarrassment at having just suggested to Cole that he strip. Shaking her head, she amended, "If you want, I mean. If you'd rather wear your clothes instead of just your trunks, that's fine, too…"
"No, Mel. I like not wearing clothes." Cole smiled and began unbuttoning his shirt.
"Yeah… I kind of picked up on that during our first few days together," Mel murmured, grinning and helping herself to more sunscreen.
Cole dropped his shirt on top of Mel's sarong, smiling at the feel of the hot sun beating down on his bare chest and shoulders. It was like going home, only better because it had Mel. Mel in a very tiny outfit provided by sweet Jess, whom he really was going to have to compliment on her taste in beachwear when they returned to Chicago.
"This is nice, Mel."
She chuckled and nodded, continue to smear herself with sunscreen while admiring the view out of the corner of one eye. Cole quickly dispensed with his pants as well, dropping to the ground and turning his face to the sun, smiling widely and giving a quiet, happy moan.
"Should have known you'd be a sun-worshiper," she remarked, shaking her head.
He smiled quizzically. "How did you know, Mel? We've never discussed Cirronian religions before…"
She frowned faintly. "You're… a sun-worshiper? An actual… sun-worshiper?"
"Yes, Mel." He nodded. "All Cirronians are. How did you know?"
"Uh… I didn't. It's a figure of speech here, for a person who loves basking in the sun and getting tanned," she explained, shaking her head. Frowning, she reached over her shoulder, trying to slather sunscreen on her back.
"Can't you reach, Mel?" he asked, watching her struggle with the task.
"No, not really." She shook her head in annoyance.
"I'll do it, Mel," he offered, dropping on to the ground next to her.
"Thanks, Cole." She smiled at him and turned around, handing him the bottle. "It can be hard to reach your own back. I'll get yours next."
"Okay, Mel." Cole smiled and nodded, gently smearing the cream over her back and shoulders. "Like this, Mel?"
"Yeah, Cole." She nodded, closing her eyes and leaning back into his touch. "That's good."
It was, in fact, not just good but absolutely wonderful. Cole's amazing Cirronian hands were once more performing to their utmost. Whether he was Collecting a fugitive life-force, calming Mel, or just touching her like now, he always did so expertly. She would never get tired of the things those hands could make her feel: on her throat, her back, even just on her arm or hand. Or on any other part of her body that the Cirronian cared to touch, she allowed, smiling faintly at the thought.
Cole smiled widely, very much enjoying the sensation of rubbing the cream into Mel's skin. He kept rubbing long after the cream was no longer visible, reveling in such a prolonged opportunity to touch Mel. Judging from the slight smile on her face and the way her muscles relaxed under his hands, she was enjoying herself as well. Putting more sunscreen into his hands, he moved from her shoulders to the small of her back, deciding that they should come to the beach again tomorrow.
"Thanks, Cole," Mel murmured, sighing gently. The man had missed his calling. He was wasted as a Tracker. He should have been a masseur.
"It's okay, Mel. I don't mind. I like helping you." It was true, too. He adored helping Mel in every way. Being able to touch her at the same time was simply a built-in reward.
She smiled over her shoulder at him. There were times when she wondered why she shied away from the prospect of a relationship with him at all and now, with his strong hands gently massaging cool lotion into her back as he smiled placidly at her, was definitely one of those times. What was there not to love in this kind, gentle creature who always did anything she requested of him without a word of complaint or a moment's hesitation, often even going out of his way to help her in ways she had not asked of him?
"I appreciate it," she told him, grinning.
Cole smiled warmly back, his eyes carrying a hint of that intensity that always made her so nervous. As she stammered that she thought Cole had gotten all the spots she had been unable to reach, she wondered at the fact that she had never been able to put a name to that tender look. But if she did not know what it was, why should it make her nervous?
Shaking her head, she retrieved the bottle from the confused-looking Cirronian's hand. "Turn around and I'll do your back," she directed. "It's such a pain getting your own back that it's really helpful to have someone around to help you out."
Still frowning uncertainly, Cole obediently turned around. His frown faded at the first touch of Mel's hands on his shoulders. Warm skin grew warmer where her cool hands passed, sending little thrills of pleasure racing through his body. A body that was reacting in an all-too-human fashion to Mel's touch. At first when he had come to this planet and taken this body, his reactions to Mel's proximity and touch had confused and sometimes frightened him a little. Now he recognized them for what they were, a physical expression of his affection for his remarkable human friend. Except that 'friend' was no longer an adequate term for what he felt for Mel and he was beyond denying that.
He had known that for months now, with frightening certainty. The sensations of his body were merely a reflection of the feelings of his heart. He enjoyed being touched by Mel, enjoyed touching her, but it went well beyond the physical sensations evoked by the feel of flesh to flesh. Flesh to flesh, heart to heart, soul to soul, Cole enjoyed being with Mel in all of these ways, even needed it at times. It was both exhilarating and terrifying to a man who had spent ten years believing that he would never love or even feel again.
The cynical part of him found it amusing that he could be grateful to someone for giving him the capacity to be afraid, but he was grateful to her for that right along with everything else she had done for him. Smiling wryly, he shook his head.
"What you thinking about?" Mel asked, her hands stilling when he shook his head.
"You," came the honest and automatic answer. He immediately regretted it when Mel removed her hands from his back with a shaky laugh. He had made her nervous again. He turned around to face her, smiling reassuringly. "Thank you for helping me put sunscreen on my back, Mel," he told her, changing the subject. "What do we do now?"
Mel grinned and shrugged. "Uh… There are lots of things you can do at the beach… sunbathing, swimming…"
Realizing that she no longer had his attention, she trailed off and followed the direction of his gaze. He was watching a young girl building a sandcastle, his expression wistful. She had seen that look on his face a few times in the past and it always made her heart want to break in sympathy for what he had lost. Closing his eyes, Cole shook his head and looked away.
"You okay?" she asked gently, resting a comforting hand on his shoulder.
He nodded faintly. "I'm sorry, Mel. I was just thinking. I didn't mean to worry you."
Not sure what to say, Mel just smiled weakly and nodded.
"What is she doing, Mel?" Cole asked, returning his attention to the little girl.
"She's making a sandcastle. Uh… when sand is wet, you can press it together and it holds its shape. So you can build things." She smiled faintly. "I used to build sandcastles when I was little."
Cole smiled. "What happens when the sand dries, Mel?"
"Well, it'll start to fall apart. But the tide will wash that one away before that can happen; it's too close to the ocean."
Cole's smile faded and he watched the girl with concern. "But she's working so hard on it, Mel!" he protested sadly. "Doesn't she know?"
"Yeah, Cole. She probably knows." Mel sighed gently. He could be so gentle and childlike at times, and always so concerned about others, that he tended to get hurt. She hated to see him hurting, even over something so minor, so she told him, "It's only a sandcastle, Cole."
"Not to her, Mel. She's working so hard on it." He sighed and shook his head. "Time and the tide take all precious things eventually," he whispered.
Mel felt her eyes fill with tears at those words. They really did say it all about his life. Everything that he had ever held dear had been taken away from him.
"Come here," she whispered, pulling him into a gentle hug.
Cole accepted the comfort she offered gratefully, but could not help but be concerned by how sad she seemed. She had always been a compassionate woman, suffering right along with those around her. It was one of the things he loved in her.
"It's okay, Mel," he whispered, holding her close and watching as the tide started to wash away the castle. "Don't be sad." The little girl wandered off, settling down again farther down the beach to start another castle. "What time takes away from us is never really lost," he assured her. "Time is like a circle, Mel, so when we lose something it eventually comes back."
She looked up at him with wide eyes. "People, too?" she whispered.
"No, Mel." He shook his head and gave a regretful shrug. "Not people; not in this life." He pointed to the girl. "If Nallia's soul passed into a new life-force as soon as she died, she would be that age. So even if I found her again, it could not be the same between us."
"You must miss her so much, Cole…"
"Always," he told Mel. "But I'm not lonely for her. I don't have to be because she's not gone. She's here." He touched his chest, over his heart. "Nothing you have ever held here can ever really be lost," he explained. "Nallia, your grandmother, everyone…"
"That is a beautiful sentiment," Mel murmured, touching her hand gently to his chest and smiling.
"Would you like to know the truly beautiful thing about it, Mel?" he asked, smiling down at her.
"It gets better?"
"It does." Cole nodded and gently touched his hand to her heart. "You can never hold too many things here. There more things you hold here, Mel, the more room there is. There is always more room."
Mel let out a shaky breath, nodding. "Yeah, Cole. You're right. There always is more room, isn't there?" She looked around uneasily, not quite able to meet his eye.
Cole smiled faintly. Mel was nervous; he had managed to do it again. "Teach me to swim, Mel," he requested, wanting to distract her from that.
"Okay." Mel grinned and nodded, rising.
She was grateful to him for sensing her anxiety and trying to defuse it. The gesture alone dispelled much of her uneasiness. As intense as he could be at times, he was a gentle, attentive man and she loved him for it.
"Are there any aquatic predators out there, Mel?" he asked hesitantly.
She smiled faintly and shook her head. "No, Cole. Deeper water has a few, but there's nothing dangerous this close to the beach," she assured him, glad that he had never seen 'Jaws'.
He smiled and nodded. "Okay, Mel. That's good. I wouldn't want you anywhere dangerous."
"Well, that's very sweet of you, Cole," Mel told him, smiling.
"I want to keep you safe, Mel. I like keeping you safe," he added, gently caressing her throat. "Your safety is very important to me," he whispered. "So is your happiness."
She grinned up at him. "Well, I appreciate your concern for both, Cole. Thanks."
The tempo of his caresses changed and his expression grew tender and openly admiring. "It's okay, Mel. I like making you happy."
Mel smiled uneasily up at him, aware that the air was suddenly charged with sexual tension. Maybe Jess had been right about the temperature going up ten degrees when they were together. She had been so busy trying to ignore her own feelings for Cole that it had honestly never occurred to her that he might feel the same. She had only ever seen him as ambivalent if genuinely fond of her. Was there more to his feelings than that, though? And what did she do if there was?
"Come on, Cole. Lesson-time."
Cole smiled and nodded, obediently following Mel down to the ocean.