A Summer Romance

Dropping her phone back into the large straw bag after reading Fernando’s text, Elina got up from her set at the table and said goodbye to her family before walking out of the large hotel restaurant. Repositioning the sunglasses on top of her head, she broke out in a wide smile as she caught sight of a very bottle blonde man walking through the front doors.

“Hey,” she greeted him once she reached him and he leaned down, brushing his lips against hers.

“You ready to go?” he asked as he reached out and brushed away a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

“Yeah,” she confirmed with a nod as he took her hand in his and led the way out of the hotel, towards where he’d parked his rental car.

Making idle chitchat, she placed her bag in the backseat before sliding into the passenger seat as he sat down behind the wheel and buckling their seatbelts, she glanced over at him. “Have you finally decided where we’re going?” she asked with an amused smile.

“Yes,” he smiled, clearly feeling pretty good about himself. “I was thinking about going to this beach that a friend of mine found when he was here, but then Natalia suggested something.”

“What?” she looked across the car, her blue eyes dancing with curiosity. All he’d told her was to bring a towel and swimwear. Nothing more, nothing less.

“We’re going out on a boat,” he revealed as he drove down the roads that was slowly becoming familiar to the both of them.

“Really?” she asked, unable to keep the excitement out of her voice.

“Yeah,” he nodded once, smiling slightly as he watched her from the corner of his eye. “We won’t be going very far, but it’ll be calmer than if we go to the beach.”

“It sound like an amazing idea,” she told him honestly, a small smile playing on her lips as she leaned back against the seat.

“Good,” he said in a mumble as he glanced over at her, unable to keep from checking her out. Dressed in a loose long-sleeved tunic and short, white cut off jean shorts, she looked just as good as she had the when she’d been having dinner at his house, meeting his brother and future sister-in-law. And he wasn't about to claim that he didn't notice how lean her legs looked, how the tanned skin seem to almost glow in the warm sunlight, how they seemed to go on forever even in the generic flip-flops she was wearing...



Lying stretched out on her stomach at the front of the boat that was much larger, and luxurious than she would have imagined it to be, Elina had her sunglasses on and were resting her head on her folded arms as she continued soaking up the sun. A natural blonde, she used to have troubles with getting burnt instead of tanned, but the last couple of years it had been getting better and for the first time she could actually enjoy laying out in the sun.

The boat moving in sync with the barely visible waves, she felt herself being slowly lulled to sleep only to jump slightly as she felt butterfly light touches across the naked skin on her back.

“What are you doing?” she mumbled, refusing to move even an inch as she could practically feel the tall man next to her chuckle softly.

“Nothing,” Fernando smiled lazily as he continued running his fingers across her warm skin, unbeknownst sending pleasant shivers up her spine.

“Mm-hm,” she only smiled slightly, not really bothered by it.

Silence spreading between them again, the only real sound heard was the occasional bird and the waves lapping against the sides of the boat, she was once again slowly lulled into a light sleep.

“Would you want to have dinner with us tonight?” he asked suddenly, his warm tone breaking through the semi-silence before he leaned over and brushed his lips against the soft skin of her shoulder blade.

“I’d love to,” she tilted her head slightly as she squinted her eyes behind her large sunglasses.

“Great,” he closed the gap between them and captured her lips in a slow, almost lazy kiss.

“You had that planned all along, didn't you,” she grinned at him as he placed a tiny kiss on the tip of her nose, causing her to laugh softly. Continuing to gently caress her back, he looked straight at her and she couldn’t help but squirm slightly under his intense gaze. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“No reason,” he shrugged slightly, but didn't stop as he attempted to ingrain every detail of her into his memory. The way her hair shone in the sun, the delicious arch of her back, the way her bright pink bikini contrasted against her softly tanned skin, the tiny, barely there, spot on her right hip just above the waistline of her bikini bottoms... “You're beautiful,” he stated softly, a smile spreading across his lips as her cheeks darkened even more, despite the constant flush in them due to the heat.

“Flattery,” she ducked her head slightly, shielding it from his penetrating gaze.

Not replying, he reached over and gently turned her head back so that she was facing him before leaving closer and kissing her again.

“When did you get these?” he wondered softly, his breath tickling the already warm skin of her shoulder as he traced the three small, different sized stars on her right shoulder blade which he’d seen a number of times since first meeting her.

“Last year, on my birthday,” she revealed as she glanced back over her shoulder to where she knew the stars were tattooed. “They started a bit of a craze actually,” she laughed softly as she picked up her right foot where, along the outside of her ankle the words ‘ Nothing is Permanent’ was written in swirly scrip, also allowing him to see the ‘C’est la Vie’ on the inside of her left foot.

“Which is the last one you did?” he continued tracing the stars as he attempted to tear his gaze away from her long, almost elegant, legs that were stretched out alongside his own, much more muscular ones.

“This year’s birthday present from a few of my friends,” she smiled amused as she turned her left hand around and revealed the words he’s noticed before sitting just below the heel of her hand, on the inside of her wrist.

“Dare to dream,” he read them, his thick Spanish accent tainting the words and causing her smile to grow.

“Yeah,” she nodded once. “My best friend and I got them done at the same time,” she revealed. “She’s got hers on her foot,” she added as she moved onto her elbows and ran her own finger of the words.

“Does it mean anything special to the two of you?” he asked curiously.

“Not really,” she shrugged slightly. “It just meant to...dare to dream,” she smiled at him. “We’ve known each other since kindergarten and we’ve always encouraged each other to go after what we want, no matter what others say. So I guess that was the reason for us getting them.”

“Mum thought I was crazy at first, but she’s gotten over it now,” she noted softly as he reached out and cupped her cheek, brining her lips closer before he kissed her, leaning closer and hovered above her, supporting himself on his forearm as he deepened the kiss. Feeling her hands in his short hair, he couldn’t keep from smiling into her kiss and running his hand down the curve of her hip as she moved onto her back.