The Color of the Ocean
Saturday. A winter day. I was standing on the edge of the pier, looking at the distant horizon with the sky dotted with stars, the twilight stretching as far as the eye could see, a beautiful sight of early evening. The pier was bustling with life: there were merchants from all corners of the country, smells of different foods, aromas of potions and perfumes, the sound of voices of those arriving. I was now with my arms crossed, a chilling cold from the winds passed through me and I was without proper clothing. I let my bag of utensils and berries fall at my feet, and tried to warm myself as best I could.
The citizens of Pelican Town were arriving in droves now, excited and with their fingers pointing at the colorful boats. I caught another scent, the smell of fresh coffee, and turned towards it. A woman as black as ebony, corpulent and wearing a turban was pouring hot water into a strainer with the wonderfully smelling powder. I approached her, still with my arms crossed from the cold.
"Hello, my dear! Would you like a cup of coffee?" The woman in the turban asked with a smile and I nodded. She quickly took the already full cup from the filter and handed it to me with a thin sky blue handkerchief. "Enjoy your meal!"
I thanked her and went back to where my bag was. Slowly sipping the hot liquid, I now watched the waves of the ocean, the seagulls, and the swaying of the masts of the boats with colored lights. I felt a certain melancholy at that moment, something I hadn't felt for a long time, since I had moved to Pelican Town.
"It's been three years since I moved here… three long years… I've done my best to take care of Grandpa's farm, and it's been a wonderful time. I've been so well received here… so why do I feel so sad?"
Hadn't I faced strange creatures in the caves? Collected and made my own tools and gold bars? Hadn't I managed to get any treasures and was one of the richest citizens? Yes, I was. But I hadn't felt that melancholy since I quit my job at Joja, the day I felt so anguished that the only breath of hope came from Grandpa's letter. And once again, after three years, that feeling of emptiness was torturing me again.
I was so wrapped up in these thoughts that I barely noticed the footsteps behind me and the person standing next to me.
"Hello, miss." A warm breath made my skin crawl. I turned around suddenly. It was Elliott, the resident of that beach, in the wooden cabin a few meters from the pier.
"Oh, good evening." I replied, still scared. I quickly ran my fingers through my unruly hair, still dirty and sticky from the sweat of having spent the whole day in the mines. "I didn't see you arrive…"
"Sir?" He exclaimed and then turned his head back in a loud laugh. "Tell me you don't think I'm that old either! It's not enough that Jas and Vicent call me an old man when they come to play on the beach."
"Oh, I didn't mean to..." I stammered, this time carefully running my hands and disguising myself on my charcoal-stained overalls.
"Don't worry, miss." He said, smiling. "I was joking. I'm used to it."
"Oh, well."
We stood there like that, watching the waves on the pier, the coffee cooling between my fingers. Elliott looked at the sea with compassion, now his eyes shining at the sky, now black and full of stars, now looking at the small waves that broke on the wooden boats. I let a heavy sigh escape my lips. He turned to me.
"Are you bored? I'll let you visit the festival boats as much as you want..."
"Oh, no, please stay!" I said with a start. I could hardly believe my words as I said them, and Elliott also had a confused expression on his face when I suddenly grabbed the sleeve of his suit. "Can we talk a little more? I'm not feeling well today."
"Sure, honey. What's wrong?" He asked and moved closer to me. I was breathless, because there was something I had locked away in my heart: I had felt something for him for a long time. I didn't know when it had started, when we first greeted each other, when we had drinks together at Gus's bar, I didn't know. Everything about Elliott was close to perfection—his face, his compassionate eyes, his long red hair, his pink lips, and how he loved to read and write. His story of how he had escaped to that piece of the world protected from nature was similar to mine, and I felt that I had a connection with him, even if he himself didn't know it. But what was a simple feeling was nothing more than that, a feeling. I never dared to speak to him, when he invited me for a drink of wine, he didn't seem to care about my clothes or my disheveled appearance after the day's work. I had a memory of him taking my hand, and just like that, pulling me to dance. I had never laughed so much, the exultant joy I felt in his arms could not leave my thoughts. And now, it was in contrast with the loneliness I felt. Suddenly, I felt that II laughed and cried.
Elliott noticed my eyes turning red and grabbed a lock of my hair and tucked it behind my ear.
"What happened? Are you okay?" He asked, worried.
"I'm just… tired…" That's all I could say, looking behind my shoulders and seeing that many people were near us on the pier. Elliott followed my gaze and understood, then took my hand and led me to the sand on the beach.
There, I left the coffee cup, and we sat on the sand, close to the cabin. The winter wind whistled between the small dunes, and I sighed in relief at being away from accusing looks. Elliott turned to me.
"Okay, now that we're sitting down, let's rest. Tell me how your day was."
"My day?" He said. "I fed my animals, picked the tomatoes from my greenhouse, and cleared the fields of dry grass. I also went to the mines, but I didn't get much done." I commented, and opened my bag towards him, so he could see the few copper nuggets still dirty that were there. Elliott shook his head.
"You know, I think you're amazing! I think I've told you that before. Doing so much on your farm is not for everyone... while I stay in this cabin, all alone..." And he turned his head towards his house. I wiped my eyes and saw something cloud his expression, as if he also felt what I felt. I put the bag aside.
"Do you feel lonely sometimes on this beach, Elliott?"
"Always." He confessed. "And you on your farm?"
"A lot." I said sincerely.
So we stayed like that for a while longer, sitting listening to the crickets in the distance and the buzz of the festival. I looked at Elliott while resting my hands on my knees, discreetly admiring his face, the wind blowing his hair over his shoulders and he also turned to me and we stared. He smiled, and to my surprise, he took my hand and began to draw circles on my palm.
"Shall we talk a little to pass the time? Ask me anything you want and I'll do the same," he said. I smiled at that moment, my heart racing at the touch of his finger on my palm but I tried to control my heartbeat.
"What kind of questions?"
"Whatever you want."
"Okay. How old are you?"
Elliott suddenly stopped playing with my palm and looked at me. A smile formed once again on his lips and he ran his firm fingers through his windblown hair. After placing his hand on his knee, he looked at the festival and gave a slight chuckle.
"I'm 34."
"Oh, really?"
"Yes, dear. Do I look older?"
"You look younger," he said, and it was true. It wasn't that I thought he was old, again, I felt a new kind of attraction for him. I pulled my knees up to my arms and said, "I'm 27." "You inherited a farm so young!" he said, laughing. I let myself laugh too. "Well. What's your favorite color?" "That's easy. Blue. But not just any blue." The redhead pointed to the sea and gestured with a circle. "Blue, the color of the ocean. The ocean at dawn, you know, when the sun touches its first rays on the water. It's so beautiful." At that moment I couldn't help but admire him. Everything he described was beautiful, and only someone who lived on the beach could have a view like that. I exclaimed with pleasure, and he smiled back at me. "That's beautiful, Elliott! I wish I could see that someday." He turned and watched me huddled against the cold. Then suddenly, he unbuttoned his jacket and took it off, wrapping it around my shoulders and pulling me into his arms. I was breathless, at that moment time stopped and I felt my heart beating strongly. I felt his heart too, and it was beating at the same rhythm. I pursed my lips at the moment.
"Get warm. It's very cold tonight."
"I don't think I'll stay for the festival. I've already heard the siren's song and I've seen all the paintings for sale. I think I'll go home."
I wanted to get up, but at the same time I didn't want to move from where I was. The heat of Elliott's body took me out of reality and I wanted to stay like this by his side for the whole night, but I knew I couldn't. What would he think of me? What was that nervousness I felt, that heat, that anxious longing that I had never experienced before? I was confused, but at the same time I was delighted to be in his arms. He moved a little and we turned to look at each other.
"It's okay, it's late. I'll walk you to the farm."
"No need. I can handle it on my own…"
"I don't want to leave you…"
My eyes widened at the redhead's unfinished sentence and he seemed stunned. We still had his arm around my shoulder and we looked at each other with something different, with hunger. His blue eyes made contact with my half-open lips and he came closer and touched me with his. My reflex was instinctive, my hands grabbed his shirt and tie and I closed my eyes to feel the heat of his mouth on mine. We kissed for minutes, each time more deeply, we let go to breathe and went back to diving, each time deeper andI felt our tongues dance together. I felt Elliott's firm, warm hand go up my overalls and hold my neck. He pulled away and kissed that area, and I couldn't help but let out a moan of pleasure. With his other hand, he went up my blouse and I pulled it back to my face, while he opened his eyes and I sucked on his lower lip.
"I..." I stammered with a ragged breath, now feeling red with embarrassment. I lowered my hands from his clothes and my head, trying to regain my breathing. Soon he took my chin with his hand and, leaning close to my ear, said:
"There are still people on the beach. Let's go to my cabin."
I had to blink my eyes for a moment to realize the intentions of those words. I could just grab my bag, apologize for the misunderstanding, and stumble back to my farm and lock myself away to control myself. But I wasn't thinking anymore. I wanted him. I wanted to feel him completely, I wanted him to feel me and I wanted to devour him. Elliott saw the hunger in my eyes and he lifted me from the sand, leading me by the hand to his cabin.
I looked back, still anxious, but from afar people were gathering on the pier and on the boats, few of them looked in our direction and often it was only to comment on the lights arranged on the masts. No one had seen us. Elliott opened the latch and the door, which creaked slightly and pulled me with him. He closed the door lightly as soon as I passed.
Once again, I held on to his jacket on my shoulders and thought about running away. What was I thinking? He was my friend, what if I ruined everything? I gasped and was about to turn around when I felt his arms around my waist and his lips at my ear.
"I've wanted you for a long time... but I didn't know how to do it..." His voice sounded hoarse and I let out another involuntary moan. "Now I don't want to let you go anymore." Please tell me you feel the same way about me…
I felt my eyes well up again, because those words had been pulled from the depths of my being for a long time and my loneliness was overwhelming. I closed my eyes and felt a tear roll down my red face. I bit my lip. The words came out immediately and I couldn't hold them back when I said:
"I want you too, Elliott."
That was all he wanted. Elliott ran his hands over my shoulders and removed my jacket, now passing through the cufflinks of my overalls and opening them, sliding them down to my waist. I felt my heart race even more, and suddenly I remembered how inappropriate I was, with the smell of plants and mines, the color of soot on my skin. I wanted to move away and took a step forward. Elliott advanced once more.
This time he ran his fingers through my shirt, passing them through my bra and unclasping the clasp in a few seconds of trying. The garment slipped off my body and he pulled my shirt off and turned me around to face him, looking at me eagerly. I was naked in front of him and I wanted to cover myself but he wouldn't let me. He kissed my neck, then my collarbone and finally my breasts, and I moaned at the touch of his lips, unable to help but feel my femininity throb with desire. He was now finishing undressing me, taking off the rest of my pants and my belt at my feet, and as soon as he was done, he started to unbutton his own shirt and take off his tie. The sight of Elliott's bare chest made me delirious, my chest was firm and there was red hair all over his belly down to his pelvis, which he quickly took off his pants. He pulled me into his arms and carried me to his lap and I exclaimed in surprise. He was now carrying me to his small bed.
As soon as he put me down on the bed, he stood up straight and took off my underwear and his boxers. I was delirious with the sight of his erect, large, pink member and I felt my lips fill with desire. I couldn't hold back my actions and crawled to his waist, where I put him in my mouth and kissed his entire length, sucked him to the base and lingered on the head, sometimes slowly to feel the warm taste of his member and sometimes quickly, until I felt the warm liquid dripping from my lips, I sucked him with delight. When I raised my head, I saw Elliott enraptured with his head turned back, in a pure expression of maddened pleasure. He opened his eyes and looked at me, smiling mischievously now, and pulled my hair up to his face and took me for another long kiss. When we lay down, he didn't let me go a single second without moaning, my legs trembled and he kissed and sucked my breasts, my belly and licked my femininity there, wet with desire. I wanted him more, I wanted him inside me! When my hands landed in his long hair and I moaned his name, begging him to end my torture. He immediately responded, also unable to bear it any longer. He positioned himself between my legs and penetrated me. Oh my God! What was that feeling! He thrust slowly, feeling the walls of my sex squeeze his penis and then faster and deeper, and my body trembled with ecstasy.ada. My nails sank into his back, and I scratched him, my mouth half open crying out his name countless times, begging him to go harder and deeper, but he thrust more slowly the more I begged. Until he couldn't hold back and spurted his liquid inside me and fell next to me on the bed, panting deeply.
The clock chimed in the distance. It was already very late. I could barely breathe, feeling the spasms of pleasure in my body. When I was able to turn to see him, his face was red and he was also panting, but a huge smile was etched on his expression. He turned and we looked at each other. He smiled so deliciously at me, and I couldn't help but lean into him and kiss his lips once more. Everything had been perfect.
"Green."
"What?" he asked.
"My favorite color. It's green. But not just any green. The green of the meadow in spring, when the first flowers bloom." he said, smiling.
Elliott then pulled my hand and kissed it, stroking my hair.
"Sleep here tonight with me. That way you can see my favorite color at dawn."
"Only if you promise me that you'll go to the farm to see my favorite color too." I said mischievously and he smiled once more.
"I promise, my dear."