Restless, Maybe Reckless
((Post-series fic - romance - Rating: T; Words: 732))
It's cliché but Mindy likes the feel of the silk sheets sliding against her skin. She loves lazy mornings, just laying in bed, one of Drake's arms draped over her. He composes songs, tracing the lyrics with his fingers on her stomach, her arms, and her back. Her voice, the way she laughs, is always soft, ethereal, when his fingertips dance over her skin.
The weekend retreats in Coronado are her favorites. The sounds of the beach, lounging in the hammock, cuddling, and watching the sunset. She loves it, being so close to home and yet feeling so far away.
There are fireworks on the Fourth of July, lighting the night sky above San Diego, as they lie on a blanket in a secluded area of the park doing things that they could be arrested for if they were caught.
It's supposed to be a summer fling before her senior year of college, the first summer he hasn't been touring since high school ended. They both like to pretend that Josh hasn't picked up on the fact that they mysteriously disappear at the same time for hours or days at a time; he doesn't say anything to either of them but they know that he knows.
They watch artsy foreign films because Mindy likes them; Drake would like the movies better if he didn't have to spend two hours reading subtitles. Halfway through every film he lies down on the sofa, his head resting on her lap, and she combs her fingers through his hair. He dozes off before the credits roll.
Starry nights and moonlit walks, him convincing her to go skinny dipping one time because they're the only ones out right then as he starts tugging on the lower strings of her bikini top. When they're in the water and his hands start roaming, his kisses become more insistent, Mindy wraps her legs around his waist and informs him that this skinny dipping excursion will not lead to sex on the beach; he nibbles at her earlobe and asks about sex in the ocean. It's a no to that too as she untangles herself from him and swims to the shore. It's not a no but a yes in the shower when she's trying to rinse the sand and salt out of her hair and off her body; Drake could point out that due to the acoustics in the bathroom, it was a resounding yes.
She lounges in an oversized Belleview High t-shirt that falls to the top of her thighs and a pair of boy-short panties and socks. Watching her stand in the kitchen preparing dinner or a late night snack, Drake sometimes wishes that could draw better or that he was into photography because he wants to capture Mindy in these moments, when she is oblivious to how effortlessly beautiful she is. That in these moments she looks obtainable, not like she will one day soon slip between Drake's fingers. Instead of sketching her, he pulls out his guitar and starts plucking out random chords before eventually segueing into Van Morrison's "Brown Eyed Girl."
Him playing that song for her is as cliché as her loving the feel of the silk sheets. It's cheesy and it's sweet and she doesn't ask because she doesn't want to know if he's sang this song to other girls. There's charm and sincerity and he only has eyes for her, she is the only girl in the world he wants when they're together. She holds on tightly to every fleeting moment because soon enough the last one will come and go, leaving her with bittersweet memories.
Do you remember when, we used to sing…
The end of the summer approaches quicker than either of them are ready for, than either of them want. Two in the morning, their fingers intertwined as they swing on the hammock, watching a meteor shower. Watching the meteors streak across the sky, falling from the heavens, Mindy is the first to admit, quietly, "I don't want this to end."
His arms tighten around her and he presses a kiss to the back of her neck. "Neither do I."
They don't discuss how their relationship should proceed, deciding instead to play it by ear (play it by heart). It's enough for them to just be, to dance in the candlelight, and to slowly but surely fall in love.
*** Finis ***