Hi everyone! Thank you for 5 reviews, and a special shout out to Doppelgnger08 for following and favoriting me and my story! You don't know how much that means to me! So here are responses to review, then onto the story.
Doppelgnger08: Thank you, thank you, thank you! I'm really glad that you think so! I really hope you like this chapter!
LunarShell14: Thank you, and I'm not really sure how you would make bubbles fluffy, but calling someone that would be extremely difficult for me to do, so I figured, why not put it on the list?
catherandwren: I hope you like this chapter, and thanks for reviewing!
PennTheWriter: Thank you so much for the thoughtful review, I'm glad you liked it!
BookLuver28: Hope you enjoy this chapter, and thank you!
So, without further ado, on with the story!
1. Go Skinny Dipping
The first item on the list they decided to do one summer day. They were on the coast of Florida, and there was a secluded little cove a few minutes walk from their hotel, so Cress had agreed to do it. Now, as she got a towel and applied sunscreen to her face, she wasn't so sure. Her nerves were tingling, and her legs were wobbling. As soon as Thorne had confirmed her suspicions about what 'skinny dipping' was, she had become so much more nervous, which, until then, Cress hadn't thought was possible.
As Cress rubbed the last of the sunscreen(SPF 60) onto her cheekbones and nose, Thorne entered the room. He was wearing a plain blue T-shirt that clung to his skin, showing how toned he was, and khaki shorts. He looked handsome, per usual. Cress tugged on some wisps of her hair, pulled back into a short ponytail for the swimming, and adjusted her pale yellow sundress. It was early day time, and not many people were up, it being the summertime.
"Ready?" Thorne asked her, walking over to her, and looping his arm around her shoulders.
She nodded, and gave a weak smile. He grinned back at her, and together they left their hotel room. As they exited the lobby, into the early morning sunshine, Cress sighed. Part in anticipation, in nerves, and in contentment. While the prospect of what they were about to do terrified her, she was happy that she was here, with Thorne.
The palm trees swayed in the warm breeze blowing off the ocean on their right. As they walked to the cove, butterflies fluttered around inside her stomach. They approached the little turn off to the cove. As they entered, Cress caught a whiff of the salty sea air. The little piece of the ocean was surrounded by reddish-orange rocks. The beach was covered in white sand, soft as it slipped into her sandals. Bending over, she undid the straps. The water was warmish, but not hot when she dipped her toes into it. The rocks cast shadows onto the water, making it darker than the sunlit spots. The bright blue contrasted with its darker counterpart, making the place picturesque and beautiful.
"Okay." Thorne started, clapping his hands together. "Do you want to get in first, or should I?"
"Umm, I'll go." she replied.
"Great."
They had agreed beforehand to go in one at a time, so they wouldn't seeā¦.anything private. While they felt comfortable around each other, enough so that more revealing items of clothing or a missing shirt in his case was fine, they had agreed they should wait before going to that extent. He turned around flung his towel over his face. She laughed then put her towel close to the shore, and quickly threw off her sundress and undergarments, tucking the latter underneath the yellow fabric. She waded into the water and sat down in a shady spot up to her chin. "Okay, you can look now." she called out to Thorne. He turned around, grinned at her, then approached the water's edge. She rotated herself so she was facing away, but even so she squeezed her eyes shut, and felt her cheeks grow hot. After a short while she heard splashing in the water behind and to the left of her. She opened an eye, and turned her head to where she had heard Thorne enter the water. He too was in a darker spot, but was showing his bare chest. She blushed brighter despite having seen it plenty of times. He smiled at her, dimples showing, and she gave a grin back. They approached each other, staying in the shadowy parts of the water. She kept herself covered by the water up to her collarbone at the least, but often the coolness of the water surrounded Cress's shoulders like a blanket. The water was just dark enough that you couldn't see anything underneath it, a fact that made this entire endeavour just a little less frightening.
"So, umm, how long do we have to be in here to call it good?" she asked him.
"As long as we feel like it." he replied, winking at her.
She blushed, as she did so often while he was around. While anyone was around for that matter.
They moved around in the water for a while, not really swimming, as Cress barely knew how, and for fear of revealing certain things. After about 5 awkward minutes in the water, Thorne smirked at her. He cupped a bit of water in his hands, and Cress, realizing his intention, started to protest, but was cut of by the salty water entering her nose and mouth. She coughed and spluttered indignantly, before narrowing her eyes at him.
"You're dead." she growled.
He laughed, and she took the opportunity while his mouth was open to fling her own handful of water at him.
He stopped laughing immediately, spitting the water out while glaring at her. She giggled covering her mouth with her hand.
"It's on. You don't know who you're messing with." he said.
So they spent the next few minutes splashing each other in the face, laughing and smiling all the while. Cress finally fell back into the water, exhausted from all her gasping and dodging.
"Do you give?" Thorne asked her.
"Yes. I give." she told him, then threw one last handful of water into his face.
"Cheater!" he called, wiping the water from his eyes, gasping in mock horror.
She just shrugged, grinning playfully at him.
"I'm tired. Close your eyes, I'm going to get out." she commanded, twirling her finger in the air, as if to make him turn around.
He obliged, making a big show of covering his eyes with his hands. She rolled her own eyes, before slinking cautiously out of the water.
After toweling off, Cress got dressed as fast as she could, so as not to keep Thorne waiting, because he had absolutely no patience, and might end up looking while she was only half-ready.
"Okay, your turn." she yelled at him before going over the the rock wall on the opposite side of the sand.
She stood there, humming to herself until Thorne said that he was ready. She turned around and joined him over by the water's edge.
"So, what did you think?" he asked, grabbing her hand and giving it a squeeze.
"It wasn't actually too bad." she told him, looking up and smiling.
He smiled back, and they sat down, not yet ready to leave the pretty cove. She rested her head on his shoulder, and he scooted closer to her. Together, Cress and her Captain watched the waves reflect the sunlight and the water turn into rainbows.
So, how was that? Please review, each one makes my day!
Brynn
