Hey babe,
Seeing as how summer school is halfway done with, I think you need a break. Here's my idea...
Something came to me recently that never occurred to me before. You met my family, and I met your mom and Sam, but you've never met MY friends. I know you've seen them, but there were never any proper introductions handed out. That's a big time whoops on my part, but in my defense, I have to say you're one hell of a distraction!
I don't intend on doing this immediately because I know you have school and work, so I can plan around that. Let me know if you think it's a good idea and what days you have off or can spare some time.
If you want, bring Sam with and we can all hang out. Since June is hotter than hell so far, I figure we can congregate to the beaches and do whatever. I'm sure they have volleyball or something.
Write me back with an answer,
Inaki
June 7, 2098
It was an interesting idea, if only she hoped the three yokels didn't remember her from their only little run-in at the hotel.
When they basically blocked her path and wouldn't let her by.
She never did figure that one out, but it wasn't worth asking questions to something so outdated, it was beyond old.
Her lips pursed as she stared at the ceiling. It would be nice to meet his friends and connect a little more with that aspect of his life. Not to mention she hadn't seen him for four days and it would be nice to do so again.
What could go wrong?
Hi cutie,
Yea we can do that – I suppose that it's time I meet your friends. A year should be long enough for them to wonder about me huh?
We can do it on the weekend, though that depends on whatever one you want. You know mine are just morning work. So give me times, travel routes, stuff to do...you know - details.
I have a feeling Sam won't mind, and it'll give her the chance to get an even better tan than she's got now. I'll let her know what's going on and we'll be sure to be ready.
If you intend on making it too soon for me to respond, just give me a call.
Talk to you soon,
K
June 10, 2098
Green stared at her handwriting. Their letters were getting shorter and more to the point with less chatter. Did that mean something? Perhaps because they were spending almost every weekend together and a few small holidays that still let off school?
Was she changing that much where she didn't rant on and on over nothing?
'Who knows...'
~*~*~
"God it's hot... Remind me again why we're not spending the day inside with air conditioning?"
"Because it's time you three meet my girlfriend."
"Couldn't we do it in November? When it's cooler?"
"Shut up you pansy."
"Now, try and be on your best behavior and not grope either while in their house."
"Does the beach count?"
"Shut up Kelar! The two of us already have two very lucky girls you know."
"Two girls who would kill us if we did such."
"Besides you dork, that's your job as boyfriend, not ours."
Inaki grinned and took the final turn to the street. He stopped the car in front of the house and killed the engine. "Here it is."
Three pairs of eyes gravitated to the side.
"Not bad."
"Doesn't compare to your house though."
He snorted. "Of course not, but it's still really nice inside. And there's a.c., so let's head in instead of sitting out here shall we?"
Kelar and Robert hopped out while he was forced to let Chass out on his side. He led the way to the front door and knocked, watching as the three took in the porch.
"Hey, is that stained glass??"
Brown swung over to Chass as he headed for the living room window. "Yes, and there's more on other walls in the entry way. You can look when we're inside."
The door suddenly opened and presented four males with a rather nice view. "I thought I heard your voice."
Kelar, Chass, and Robert stared as a half-naked body presented itself.
Kelar sidled up to his friend and leaned close. "Are you SURE we can't grope them? PLEASE?? Just a feel??"
He shoved Kelar away with a flat look and went for the screen door. "You're an idiot. You can take your chances, but I doubt you'll get far." He muttered. He held the door open for the three and shut the inside when they were all in. "Kelar, Rob, Chass...this is Samantha Merth. Sam, these are my friends."
Light blue looked at each, lingering in appreciation. A hand stuck out to each with a smile. "Pleasure. But please, call me Sam." Sam looked to Inaki. "No one calls me Samantha. I may be old, but not THAT old."
Kelar's smile turned charming as he went to kiss the back of Sam's hand. "And you look very young for your age. May I guess at...twenty? Maybe nineteen?"
The three standing around rolled their eyes at such an obvious pick-up line.
Sam grinned and winked, taking her hand away. The boy had style - that was a certainty. "Close buddy. I'll be twenty-two in a few months."
Kelar's eyes took in the swimsuit and shorts again. "Well you certainly take good care of yourself." He appraised.
"Can we get on with it?? Yo K! You ready yet?" He called, walking through the pair to break them up. The last thing he needed was Kelar coming down to dig his dating hooks into Sam.
The girl would most likely give the joker a chance.
He stopped at the rise in between the set of steps and eyed a cracked bedroom door. An evil grin slowly sprouted. "You've got till the count of three to get out of your room or I'm coming up to see what's the hold-up!"
"Don't you dare you dork!"
He snorted. "Bad defense...needs to spend more time around me." He mumbled under his breath. "One!"
"Will you hold on a second?? I'm almost there!"
"You said you'd be ready when we arrived! Two!"
"Do you HONESTLY remember EVERYTHING I write you?? Hold your horses, the beach isn't going anywhere!"
"Too late – three!"
"Wait!"
He made a big show of stomping up the steps, hearing a few swear words and something land on the floor behind her door. Just as his hand slowly reached for the knob to push the barrier open, it swung wild and showed an out of breath girl.
"Are you happy now??" She snapped, trying to pull the top strap to her one piece in place. "What crawled up your ass that got you in such a hurry?"
Brown gleamed in amusement and took in her outfit. "Nothing...you just look beautiful when you're irritated."
A shy smile appeared as she fought not to blush at his compliment. The hand fixing the elastic to make it lay straight paused for a second before her brain registered she wasn't finished and went to complete the action.
"So they're all downstairs are they?" She whispered, leaning against the doorway.
He nodded and closed some of the distance. "Yup. Kelar is flirting with Sam already."
She tried not to giggle too loud. "THAT is going to make for some great entertainment." Kelar flirting with Sam...who was already a big enough flirt as it was.
This was going to be good.
"I can think of something else that'd be great entertainment..." He mused, head leaning in for a kiss.
She smiled and leaned up, slowly kissing back.
"Hey! I thought we weren't dallying!"
The two jumped in shock and regrettably pulled away. "Duty calls." He quipped, heaving a melodramatic sigh.
She giggled again and headed back inside her room. "I packed a few things just in case because you never told me exactly how long we were going to be gone." One hand hoisted it to her shoulder and the other went for the lights. "Some pop, bottled water, sunscreen, and two blankets."
He nodded, amazed at her thoughtfulness, and let her bypass him for the stairs. When they were on the main level, he took a hand and tugged her next to him. "Rob, Kelar, Chass...this is Kalie Himmen."
"As if we didn't already know that by default."
He would've smacked Chass if K hadn't moved, hand extended.
She gave a smile. "I don't know if you remember me. I work at the Hyatt. And just call me K. No one calls me by my full name."
Rob was the first to step in. "I'm Robert, but call me Rob. Pleasure to finally meet Inaki's girlfriend. We've all heard quite a bit about you."
"You did?" Green blinked in confusion before sneaking a sly peek over her shoulder. Inaki only smiled, not telling her whether it was all good or bad. "Do tell...I hope at least ONE thing was nice."
"Don't worry, it's good." Green looked back to the new voice and found a boy around her age taking Rob's place. "I'm Chass. I think I remember you now, but it's a little hazy."
She smiled. "Well it's definitely been a while...but I think you three look the same as when I last saw you."
"Perfection is hard to change."
"Oh shut up Kelar."
"He is right you know."
"You too Sam."
"Just stating the obvious..." Sam continued, looking to Kelar's build and good looks.
"And you are Kelar." Her hand wove through Chass and Sam, getting swallowed by a much larger one. "I hear quite a bit about you."
Kelar flashed a charming grin. "As you said, I hope at least one thing is good."
"Don't worry, it's not." Inaki piped up, stopping behind K. Arms loosely wrapped around her waist as he stared at Kelar with a sly grin. "Shall we finally head out? The sand is calling my name."
"And the waves – don't forget the waves." Rob added.
"Yea baby...body surfing!" Kelar added, opening the inside door.
Sam and K exchanged glances. Sam's was wary while K's was uneasy.
~*~*~
The drive was short, though it seemed longer with three men crowded in the backseat and complaining about being cramped. On top of that – literally – was Sam draped over their legs, though opting to sit on Kelar's lap.
Anyone who was single OR taken could see right through that move.
Inaki and K sat up front, even though Sam could've sat in the middle and give the backseat a little more room. But Inaki insisted K get the front with him and only him, leaving the others to stew.
The beach was incredibly busy, but that was a given for a Saturday and hot summer day. The waves were medium, and looked rather inviting.
Inaki's friends immediately made for the water to cool off, but Inaki held back as they set up a site.
"Are you sure you two aren't going to come out with us? It looks nice and cool." He offered, looking down as K adjusted the blanket.
She looked up with a smile, trying not to show anything. "If you want, drag Sam out. She's always whining about being hot and it'll give her and Kelar a chance to flirt more."
"I heard that." Said girl announced, only feet away. Sam pulled the drawstrings closed on the bag and set the sunscreen on the blanket. "But I agree with her. I'd like to go flirt with the body builder some more." A wicked grin crossed her face as one hand went to put sun block on her nose.
Brown rolled. "He's hardly a body builder. He doesn't even lift weights regularly."
"And I bet you don't either, but he's a lot beefier than you are." A finger snaked out and poked his abs. "Scrawny. Hey – that's what I can call you from now on."
"I am not scrawny!" He defended, crossing toned arms. "I'll have you know I work out regularly and with weighted objects. My physical makeup is not the same as his." He looked to the blanket, finding K pouring out sun block in a palm. "I'm not scrawny, am I K?"
Sam's eyes rolled. "That's a biased opinion and you know it. She's your girlfriend – you think she's going to complain even though you DO look nice?"
"Sam!" She blushed, a little more knowledgeable of Inaki's body, also how well it fit when cuddling and...a few things, than her friend new. Being reminded of that when the boy was standing above in nothing but swim trunks was not helping her imagination right now!
"Fine...I'll shut up now and go play." Sam jogged down to the beach and jumped into the water - right onto Kelar, throwing them both under the waves.
Dark brown swished in a ponytail. "That girl is hopeless. But at least she'll leave me alone for a while."
"You mean us." He kidded, squatting down. "You sure you won't come out with me? You're going to fry."
Another fake, reassuring smile popped up. "I'll be fine. That's what this is for." One hand held up the bottle. "Besides, you mentioned volleyball and I don't remember the last time I played outside of high school. I also would like to find out how many people are here. Someone needs to guard the spot in case it's taken."
He finally relented with a shrug, a quick kiss, and bounded away with a wave.
She heaved a sigh, looking at the five with longing. This was one of the times she wished to be able to swim. Shifting her legs down, she cradled her head with both hands and prepared for a small nap.
Not like there was much ELSE she could do.
What seemed like a while later, she jolted to consciousness with a shriek from cold water dumped on her torso. "What the hell!?"
"You looked a little crispy and if you didn't want to come to the ocean, we thought we'd bring the ocean to you."
A hand finished wiping water from her eyes to open them and glared at Sam's voice, trying to see from the sun in her eyes. "You're HORRIBLE." She grit out. She stood anyway and shook her arms. "Don't tell me you're bored already."
Sam smiled and looked to her companion. "It's only been ten minutes girl. You haven't been napping that long." A hand waved to her cohort, letting him take the bucket. "You know...Inaki is asking if I can persuade you out to the water." She mumbled.
Green looked to the blanket solemnly. "How many times?" She lowly answered.
Light blue speared a look at the waves, finding all four roughhousing and trying to dunk the other. "Not much, but you know he will continue before he actually does drag you in. Are you going to tell him?"
She was silent for a bit. "There's not much point to it, is there? This is the first time we've been out near water we can swim in. We don't go to the beach or a pool much, so I'm not worried about it." A humorless smile slowly appeared. "Like I need for him to worry about something ELSE concerning me."
"So you're just going to keep him in the dark like this? Didn't you learn in the past that stuff doesn't work? Telling him as much as possible is what normally pulls you two through."
She scowled. "This is not anything big...and it's embarrassing. I'm almost twenty-one and I can't swim. When I tell him that and he wants to know why, he'll pity me. Like he doesn't do that ENOUGH."
"Calm down...I'm just saying here." A hand patted her shoulder lightly. "So we need to find something to stall until the sun leaves and the water is too cold for comfort, or the boys want to leave. You mentioned volleyball right? All we need to do is find a team, or start our own. We can get them involved or someone else. It's foolproof."
She nodded, teeth nibbling on a nail in thought. "Just try not to bring up water too much. He'll feel like he's leaving me out and then he won't go in until I do. I know he won't, and he doesn't need to stay out of the fun because of me."
"Are you even going NEAR the waves?"
She snorted. "I may sit on the shoreline, but nothing past my knees, max. I wouldn't want to get unbalanced and roll in."
"I wouldn't want you to either." Sam stretched, scanning the scenery. "Care to go with me and look? It'll kill some time."
After she stretched and made sure their stuff wasn't in a position to get yanked, the two headed across hot sand in search of their prey.
~*~*~
Chass came to the surface sputtering and arms flailing. "Damn it! Knock that off!!"
Laughter followed as the three jumped in time as a wave rolled their way and dragged them a little with it.
"You fell for it man. That was too easy."
"One of these days, you're going to dunk me and I'm going to get caught in a riptide." The boy grumbled, jumping as another wave came in.
"Relax...there's nothing this close to shore." Rob assured, looking around. "The water only comes up to our chests. That's barely enough room for sharks."
Brown widened. "Man, don't mention sharks right now!" He made move to slap Rob, but was forced to jump with another wave or be sucked under and swallow seawater.
"Yea stupid – where's your head at??"
Silence prevailed over small talk for a while. The sounds of the ocean rolling in, people's voices nearby, and a few seagulls in the distances gladly took up the slack.
"So...what do you think of K?"
At least until that tentative question was asked.
The three looked at each other. "She's nice." Chass piped up.
Rob nodded and prepared to jump, ignoring his friend's eyes. "Seems like a good person, real friendly."
"Kind of boring though, isn't she?"
"WHAT?"
"Kelar you idiot! Inaki he didn't mean that, don't hurt him."
Brown darkened with a small glare as he made for Kelar who promptly started retreating.
No one back talked Inaki's girlfriends and got away with it unharmed in any way.
"What do you MEAN she's boring?? She's not boring at all! She does plenty of stuff!" He ranted, using his arms to propel him through. It wasn't helping that Kelar was going an entirely different direction the water was flowing.
"I just meant because she almost refuses to come into the water!" Kelar defended, using a wave to gain distance.
Inaki hopped the same mound, but stopped and stared at the vicinity of the towel.
He couldn't deny the fact that K hadn't gotten herself wet yet – other than what he heard Sam and Rob head up with – and barely gave the tide a second glance. He could almost sense some reserve in her attitude and her smiles not as meaningful as they should be.
Was she allergic to salt or something and hadn't told him yet? Did ocean water give her a rash?
He gave up the chase of his friend and went back to the others, mind tossed to thought. He wasn't having as much fun as he could've with K on shore and not by his side. He felt cut off a little bit, even though she was yards away. He felt a little guilt that she wasn't having any fun at all and he had an urge to sit with her for a while...if she hadn't told him to head on out.
"Yo, earth to Inaki."
His head jerked up and he turned to Chass's voice, missing his chance to jump and roll with the wave. He surfaced and tossed a glare to his friend at being off tune. "What the hell was that for??"
"You weren't listening. Rob said your girlfriend needs to loosen up and we were hatching a plan. Interested?"
Brown blinked in confusion as he let the tide bring him closer. Out of the corner of his vision, he noticed Kelar inching over and waved the man to join.
"Like what?"
~*~*~
At least an hour passed since she got off her duff and found a net. It was normally set up in summer – as the area was safe enough to leave it – and packed away in a shed nearby.
They found three other people who wanted to play, so she and Sam created a team against two other girls and the third was scorekeeper. They were almost ready to make a winning spike when she saw the four coming up out of the corner of her eye.
"Game point!"
Green jerked back to the net in confusion.
"K! That cost us the game!" Sam whined. The girl jogged over, wiping sweat from her brow. "That was an easy shot – what's the big deal?"
"Calm your jets. The guys are coming over." A thumb jerked behind and gained Sam's attention. She headed to the net. "Thanks for the game. We're done for now, do you want to use the court?" The girls shook their heads and headed off with a wave and thanks.
"Hey guys, what's up?"
She turned and met Inaki's smiling face, smiling in return. She headed for his side, shivering at his cool temperature when an arm went around her waist. "Tired of turning into prunes?"
"We figured we'd hunt you two down and see where you disappeared to." Inaki answered. His lips briefly met her forehead, feeling her skin burn. "I see you found someone to play with you."
She grinned. "Yea – Sam's no fun."
"Hey!"
"Care for a game?"
Brown looked to the three. "If they want to they can...but I'd like to spend some time with you by myself...I haven't since we arrived."
Her heart fluttered and she looked to Sam. The girl nodded and she returned it. "Does one of you want to move the bag closer so I don't have to keep an eye on it?"
The only thread was tied up and she took Inaki's outstretched hand and headed into the crowds. "This has been a nice day."
"Even though it's hotter than hell?" He kidded, weaving around bathers.
"Can't argue there. I think they decided to do the sand medium-well."
He stopped and gave her a look. "Your feet are scorched?"
She nodded, balancing on his arm to bring a foot into view. "Yea...pretty red. I think we have Aloe Vera in the bathroom somewhere."
He smiled. This would work more than perfect – she just handed him an opportunity. "Here...hop on." He kneeled, back to her, arms ready to clamp around her legs.
She couldn't resist. After all, when was the last time she was given a piggyback ride?
She climbed aboard and the wind blowing cooled her feet down immediately. She almost felt bad for Inaki having to carry her, but he hoisted her into a long-term position and didn't say a word.
Her arms wound around his neck, cheek against his back. "Your skin is all clammy." She muttered, smiling.
He snorted, taking the long way to the shoreline. "That would be because I've been in water...duh."
"Watch it mister. Your braid is in perfect reach for a yank."
"And I can drop you in a second." He warned. His arms laxed a second, gaining a yelp and tighter grip around his neck. He coughed and went to steady himself. "Okay...bad idea..."
She giggled and nuzzled his skin. "I sowwie honey." She drawled, kissing his tattoo. "But don't drop me and I won't choke you."
"Fair enough."
Green closed, enjoying the sound of his heartbeat and the jostling he created. Except...when her eyes opened...she noticed Inaki was only feet away from the edge of wet sand. "Inaki – what're you doing?" She asked, trying not to sound anxious.
He smiled. "Standing here."
She glared at the back of his head. "I KNOW that! I meant, what're you doing near the shore??"
Her question was peculiar and he couldn't brush it off. "Is that a problem?"
"No." She quickly answered. Too quickly she thought and mentally cursed herself.
"Good. I thought that if your feet needed cooling, we could enlist the aide of the ocean. It'd definitely help."
While his idea was a good one, that didn't help the agitation creeping into her veins. "Well..."
"If you're worried about your suit getting wet – a little stupid if you ask me – I'll keep you stationed. Don't worry."
Easy for him to say, but she'd try. She trusted Inaki more and more since they started going out and after almost three months, she had to admit she trusted him quite a bit.
That didn't mean she wasn't happy with this idea though...
He edged into the water more and more, going slow and moved with the tide. She didn't seem to notice, even though she tensed a little in his arms.
If she was worried about him dropping her onto the sand, she didn't need to worry.
She wouldn't hit sand.
By the time she noticed he edged up to his knees, her head was almost wildly looking beneath. "Aren't we...a little far out?" She skirted, biting her lip. Her arms tightened a tad, trying not to be noticeable.
He took it for her slipping – as his skin was still wet – and hoisted her up for a better grip. "Silly. Your feet aren't even touching water yet."
She mentally ordered herself to stop being so stupid, as they WEREN'T that far deep, and stop giving herself away. The last thing she needed was him worrying and doing the whole forgiveness thing for doing something so stupid.
As long as she kept her head, she'd be fine.
He was up to his waist, taking it slow. K's ankles brushed the water and he knew she expected him to stop there. He continued to inch forward, trying to keep a smile off his face.
This was going to be great! He couldn't wait to see the look when she surfaced.
Boy was he going to get her a good one.
"Okay now we ARE too far out." She said, tightly swallowing. "I just felt water brush my butt."
He laughed at that one. "You are such a romantic at heart you know that?" He kidded, giving her head a light knock. "I've got you okay? My feet are planted. Your feet were red; they need to be IN water for a bit to cool down."
She didn't know about that, but he sounded like he knew what he was talking about so she nodded. "Okay..."
He stopped when the water was mid chest. The waves lapped at his neck. They seemed to pick up a teensy bit, probably due to the change in sun, but it didn't bother him. He wanted a good wave.
Her anxiety was hitting boiling point and she was extremely close to demanding to be put down so she could head back to shore.
Except she NEVER dared venture this far out before and panic was clouding her senses. Clouding them to what she vowed not to do – tell Inaki.
"Um...Inaki?" She queried, wide eyes looking at the sand below. "There's - there's something I think you should know..."
His head turned, showing off the wolfish smile. Just one good opening... "Really?" He turned to the side, the wave slapping his arm and cooling his back down. "Like what?"
"Well...well there's this thing... I haven't told you about it because I didn't think it was that big a deal..." Her heart was racing and there was enough adrenaline to jump right out of the water!
This couldn't be a good thing.
His excitement dimmed a bit in curiosity. "You always think that way, you know that? You always think anything is no big deal with you." His smile widened. "You need to be taught that some things are a big deal. Especially when they concern you."
"You're right Inaki." She rapidly answered, watching a rather tall wave come in. She huddled against his back, trying not to tremble, as she spat out salt water. "But I don't think we can hold a conversation here...so if you'd just bring me a lot closer to shore –"
He sighed. "We can talk right here. We have so far. Now...back to what I was saying about big deals. Well, you need to be taught a lesson. Particularly a lesson in having fun."
She blinked at that offhand comment, momentarily thrown from reality. "Having fun?" She echoed. Water brushed over her chest, throwing her to reality again. "Please Inaki! I'm not playing around here!"
"No but I am! And I'm going to teach you how to body surf." Without any other warning or explanation, his arms let go. With the water running against his neck, her arms were too slippery to get a hold and she gave a split second shriek before being buried.
He turned and waited for her to surface. The light orange of her bathing suit blurred under the water and he picked it up, holding it in sight. He didn't want to miss where she surfaced.
She finally managed to and it was a foot deeper from where she was...though he stood almost five foot away. The waves drug her out a little before she surfaced on her own, thankfully pulling enough air to help her there. She gained a VERY small relief in knowing the ocean was shallow and one had to go quite a ways out in order to be this deep.
"INAKI!!" She screamed, enraged and fearful at the same time. Her arms wildly thrashed around, every thought of remaining calm fleeing from her mind. Her face tilted up as high as possible, making it near impossible to see him, to keep above water. She was too short for this and her toes just barely touched bottom.
He laughed at her disgruntled expression, seeing hair almost cover her face. "Hey K! See...water's not that bad! Just come back and I'll teach you how to body surf!"
Her mind practically froze as she tried to think and make sense of where she was and him. He didn't know and she was futilely trying to swim, what she speculated from movies and tv shoes, to keep above the waves. She didn't know what body surfing was, but whatever it was, it sounded like something she could use right now!
"Inaki! Get me out of here! Help! I can't SWI -"
With her head facing the shore to see her boyfriend, she missed the waves coming in...and was effectively pushed forward and underwater when one crashed overhead. She was unable to breathe to prepare and sucked in water automatically in surprise.
He stood there, a little unsure of what he just heard. He pondered that as he waited for K to surface again.
'Did she just say she couldn't SWIM?!' That couldn't be right – she seemed to be holding her own staying atop the waves. Even if anyone knew you jumped the waves to not tire out half as much.
Maybe he heard wrong. She never did complete the word and it could mean almost anything. But...'I can't swi'? He was surrounded by the water, but she yelled that quite easily.
"INAKI! What the FUCK are you doing!?"
Whirling around as fast as he could, he met angry, panicked blue. "Sam what –"
"She flipped out and started running for the shore the first time K went down." Kelar explained. "We told her he was just playing a joke and she looked ready to spite fire."
Sam used the tide to haul it to Inaki and promptly hit him on the shoulder. "You dumbass! Start searching! I didn't see her surface yet!"
"She went with the tide, give it time." He explained.
If he had a shirt, Sam would've grabbed it to choke him with. "You asshole – K CAN'T SWIM!!!"
His heart almost stopped beating. The look of shock, panic, and horror crossed his face. He watched Sam swim past and stood paralyzed until a wave moved him and brought him back.
'Oh gods...I killed her!'
"KALIE!!" He whirled for the deep, but stopped and twisted as much as possible. "Kelar! Go get the coast guard or whoever the fuck watches this area! And then tell Chass and Rob to get their asses out here and start looking!"
Kelar was already heading back without giving a response, mind plagued by guilt and every horrible thought. They thought up the gag, and Inaki agreed to it.
They were all murderers if they didn't find K and SOON.
Disregarding the salt water and it possibly hurting his eyes, he deeply inhaled and dove, desperately scanning the area. 'I'll never ever, EVER forgive myself!' He wanted to punch himself, but wouldn't do any damage under water. 'How could I be so fucking stupid?! I could tell she was agitated, but I just thought she didn't want to go in the water! I didn't know she couldn't swim!!'
"There's - there's something I think you should know... I haven't told you about it because I didn't think it was that big a deal..."
He was the biggest prick in the world and this just proved it. Not even three months and he just sent his girlfriend to drown!
Surfacing for air, he scanned the area in hopes of seeing orange, but not one spot. He looked for Sam, but she was either under or too far away in one direction.
This was not good...
'No fucking shit Sherlock!' He took a second to harshly slap himself on the forehead before going under a second time.
He had to've scanned a few blocks before despair started weighing heavily on him. He spotted Rob in an underwater pass and rose to confirm what was going on. Rob spotted Sam, but the girl hadn't seen K either. Kelar had the lifeguards out as well, telling them which direction everyone went to start and a few radioed for boats.
That was all they managed to do so far.
A fist came down repeatedly in the water when he surfaced yet again. He was beginning to think it was hopeless. The minutes seemed like hours, but still nothing. The ocean was too vast and there weren't enough swimmers or surfers out here to see.
His jaw clenched as sorrow washed over him. Tears stung his eyes and he quickly dove under to hide them.
He would NOT cry until he knew they hadn't found K. There was still hope!!
He looked up to see something big pass over and turned, fearing it was a shark. He was relieved to see a motor boat and waited for the chance to surface to ask if they spotted K yet. "Hey! HEY!!" He called, waving an arm. The motor was too loud and he tried to swim for it, but the thing was going faster than he could. He risked following it, seeing a few people quickly move around the top – curiosity peeked.
He called out a few more times, finally getting someone's attention when he splashed water inside. They tossed him a rope and waved him to follow, but didn't stop or slow down to let him speak or say what was going on. Helpless, he grabbed hold and sent prayers out to every god who dealt with water that his friends were successful in his absence.
By the time they reached shallow, he not only felt like a complete ass, total heel, and beyond all hope, but those in the boat were still ignoring him. The motor was cut and he shouted if anyone spotted a girl fitting K's description and was beckoned aboard.
He shimmied up a metal ladder to see inside interior and froze...eyes impossibly wide.
K was sprawled out on the boat with someone pushing on her chest, another near her head. She looked unconscious and extremely frail.
"Is this the person we were told to look for?"
He startled and blinked out of his trance, eyes jerking to his side. "Y – yes." Eyes still on his girlfriend, heart hurting, he fell to his knees. "When did you find her? How long have you been doing c.p.r?? WHY HASN'T SHE WOKEN UP YET?"
"Someone restrain him!"
Hands pulled his arms and kept him from shaking the man he grabbed a hold of. "Let go of me! KALIE! Damn it onna, wake up!! Please! Gods – I'm sorry!! Let the fuck GO of me! Kalie!" He struggled and yanked one arm free, using it to elbow the person and gained his other back.
"Someone stop him!"
"Chikushou onna! Wake up – I didn't mean it! You have to believe me!! WAKE UP!" A hand rose and harshly lowered, slapping her across the face and jerking her head to the side.
She promptly started coughing, water spewing from her lungs.
He froze, hand ready to strike again, when someone grabbed hold of it and preventing him.
"She'll be okay now... She'll recover."
A blanket was immediately produced and wrapped around her as someone lifted her to sitting position. A sting on her cheek brought awareness away from the cold temperature of her body, even with the sun beating down and hot wind blowing.
"Ma'am, can you hear me? Ma'am??"
Wide, blank, horrified eyes stared at the floor she sat on. God...she nearly died!! She remembered inhaling water and feeling consciousness slip, but not much else.
Her body started shaking, tears pouring down her eyes.
'Ohgodohgodohgodohgod...'
"She's going into a small state of shock. Someone get some more blankets. Hurry it up! We have to keep her warm!"
Shouts and movement was ignored as she continued to pin the floor with the same stare. The medical aide by her side left her to help search, but she didn't notice all the commotion they were making.
She DID notice a body that hadn't moved after she was brought up.
She pinned him with that stare...relief and guilt burned tears down his face. He ignored them, barely feeling them, as he met her eyes. She looked like a scared rabbit that had a run-in with a hungry cat. She didn't even seem to recognize him at all and his heart lurched.
Teeth bit his lip. He wanted – no HAD – to say something...but how the hell did he bring her back and start trying to apologize?
He nearly killed her!!
His mouth opened, trying to push a syllable out, and closed. He repeated the process twice before shifting further to the floor. "...Kalie... I..." Brown stared at his hands, feeling like throwing himself in and dishing out a little of what he gave. He felt worse than scum. "I...I'm..."
At some point in his rambling, her brain finally jumpstarted and she turned to him more. Her eyes returned to normal size and some of the horror left. Her body still shook as an effect of the ordeal, but she disregarded it.
She wanted to be furious, she wanted to hate him for nearly killing her – though unintentional, and she wanted to comfort him from the way he looked. This was the first time she ever recalled seeing him cry, though it was understandable. If the rolls were reversed, even if he COULD swim and got dragged under, she would still be unable to speak and feel horrible for it happening.
Her eyes lowered to the floor.
He wanted to crawl into himself and cry his eyes out. He wanted to get on the floor and beg for forgiveness...even if he didn't expect it to be given. He would understand if she wanted to toss him away and say to hell with him. He would be asking too much if he managed to keep her FRIENDSHIP at this point.
She looked up and scouted the area when the boat jerked. They made it to sand. Those running around stopped with supplies and she solemnly met their eyes. She nodded at their questions of her health, sparing Inaki another glance.
Her heart went out to him. He had his legs drawn to his chest, arms tightly around them. She met his eyes, seeing them completely miserable and unlike the happy-go-lucky person she came to adore, before he looked away.
She couldn't leave the boat with Inaki while he was in this state. This had no doubt gained attention of people on shore, and she didn't want that public.
She knew Inaki wouldn't want it public.
"May I have a moment alone?" Her head jerked to her boyfriend. They nodded and thankfully exited, probably to go find those in charge.
His head dropped onto his knees, still crying. Tears almost casually flowed down his face, even if every harrowing emotion was doubling by the second. He was plagued with doubt and was preparing his goodbye speech.
And trying to tell himself if she left, he was okay with that.
The barest of touches quickly got his attention and his head jerked up, eyes widening when they met solemn green. He didn't get his hopes up and looked to her fingers, finding them pale from cold.
Her temperature ate at him even more. "I...I don't...really know what to say..." He whispered, face crumbling a degree.
She shuffled closer on her knees, keeping the blanket around her. She stopped inches away and rose to them, looking down. Her hand grasped his knee tighter as the boat rocked a bit. She heavily shivered in renewed fear, but forced it down to deal with matters right now.
"You...didn't know." She mumbled, legs spreading for balance.
His attention jerked to her, blinking. "What did you say??" He breathed, fists tightening.
Her gaze lowered – almost unbelieving she was doing this so easily – before meeting his after a moment. "You didn't know. I didn't tell you because I was embarrassed. You didn't know...it's not your fault."
It's not your fault. It's not your fault. It's not your fault...
He froze, brown avidly staring into green for the longest time, those four words constantly running through his head.
He startled her when arms shot out and embraced her waist, face pressing against her body.
She would've been embarrassed, as he was practically cradling her breasts, but maternal instinct at that position took over and her arms went around him. Her head ducked to press a small kiss to his forehead before resting over matted hair.
More tears fell, grateful and relieved. He hugged her to him as though she'd leave in a second. What kind of woman would forgive someone for what he did? She was special in a way he never saw in a person before. They hadn't personally touched dry land and she forgave him.
He never understood what he felt for her until this moment. He was definitely attracted to her physically, and a lot emotionally. He came to know her and a lot of her mood swings...what made up her personality and the quirks she possessed. But he never felt anything this deep with any of his other girlfriends – never.
Grasping the extent of these emotions as they hit him in the face made him realize something else. Something that brought calm and finality...another piece of his life that fit.
He found the one he was looking for. Something inside him told she was right here, warm despite being stranded in cold water.
He needed Kalie in a way he didn't even need his family. He needed, wanted, her by his side as much as humanely possible. He needed to hear her voice, to see her face, kiss her lips, hold her near him, read and write her letters, and just know she was his.
His face turned to her stomach and pressed a heavy, lingering kiss to it that spoke volumes. Fingers slowly rubbed his hair, trying to lend comfort, and the emotions he felt intensified.
She was in peril, yet she tried to comfort HIM.
He forced himself to stop crying and slowly pulled away to get on his knees. Hands took hold of hers, pulling them to his lips to kiss her fingers. Arms went around her back, tugging her to him and she went. His chin rested over her hair and he sighed.
"I want to make this up to you."
She blinked and pulled away enough to look at him.
"I can't tell you how sorry I am and no amount of apologizing is going to make me feel you've forgiven me. I WILL make this up to you."
Her brow furrowed a degree. "It's an unmanageable Inaki." She murmured, a hand rising to touch his cheek. "You didn't know because I didn't tell you. There's not much you could've done."
His eyes blazed with guilt. "I didn't save you. I didn't do enough – I didn't do anything."
"You're beating yourself up too much. You're soaking wet and that tells me you went looking for me."
"The guys and I planned a prank to get you in the water. I went along with it, but it might as well have been me plotting to toss you to your death in the ocean. I can't believe you're -"
Her lips closed over his to halt his rambling, unable to hear him demean himself.
Wasn't this the biggest irony of the world? She was trying to cheer HIM up for once!
His lips attacked, arms tightening almost painfully. He poured every emotion in that kiss, trying to convey to her, trying to tell her.
There was NO getting around this – he WAS making it up to her. He was going to do and do until he felt satisfied for himself, not for her. He was everything he tried not to be...dishonorable, an ass, shameful, no respect...
He was honest in his words. He might've agreed to be the one to toss her in the waves, but he might as well have thought it up all by himself. He was horrible; he almost didn't deserve to live!
He knew he certainly didn't deserve the divine forgiveness she was granting.
Voices sounded and splashing finally pulled them away. They both looked to find Sam, Kelar, Chass, and Rob trying their damndest to get around the water.
"She's up! She's breathing!"
"Kalie! Kalie are you okay!?"
Sam didn't let the guys get up the relatively small boat, nor did she bother to see the crew returning to get everyone off. Anger blazed in her eyes and she pinned it at Inaki solely.
"You," She pointed, voice ice, "are the biggest, most crass asshole I've ever met! Va al infierno!!" She shouted.
K's eyes widened at her friend's anger. Green looked to Inaki and the guilt that returned to his eyes from what she saw on the boat as he looked away.
She was suddenly pushed aside by Sam, crying out in surprise. She turned to see exactly what her friend thought she was doing when a fist captivated her vision.
Sam's fist.
Inaki's jaw.
Inaki's head whipping to the side.
She watched in shock and horror as he fell to the deck and didn't get up. It took a second for it to penetrate.
Sam – her best friend – just knocked out her boyfriend!
Spanish language will be translated under the Japanese when it appears together. This language will be correct, as I have half put half a decade into learning.
Translations: Va al infierno-Go to hell