A Summer Romance

8.17am.

That’s what Elina’s phone said as she shuffled out from the restaurant, hiding a wide yawn behind the hand she was clutching a bagel in as she tried to spot Fernando in the seemingly deserted lobby. Not that she blamed anyone, eight o’clock was much too early to be up on your vacation.

Noticing him sitting in one of the couches a moment or two later, she shuffled over to him and glared at him as she unceremoniously plunked down next to him.

“Hello,” he smiled sweetly at her before leaning over to kiss her, only to find that she backed away slightly from him. “What?” he asked, suddenly concerned that something had happened, that she didn't want to see him again.

“Why am I up, showered and completely ready to go somewhere, at 8.30 in the morning?” she questioned frankly as she looked at him pointedly. “On my vacation?”

“Oh,” he nodded understanding; he had found that she wasn't a morning person. “We’re going somewhere,” he announced simply.

“Did we really need to get up so early for it?” she whined pouting.

“We’re going somewhere,” he repeated with a wide grin as he stood up and reached out, taking her hand in his.

“But I want to sleep,” she complained as she reluctantly let him pull her onto her feet.

“Trust me, you do not want to sleep,” he argued with her and wrapped his arms around her waist, slowly backing her towards the front doors of the hotel.

“I don't?” she questioned.

“No, you don't,” he smiled at her as he stopped and looked at her before pressing a quick kiss to her lips. “You, want to go somewhere with me,” he announced simply.

“Fine,” she huffed in surrender, just barely refraining from throwing her hands up in the air as she glanced up at him.

“Good,” he smiled satisfied, brushing her lips against her once more before stepping around her and pulling the door open. “Let’s go,” he stated, letting her walk through the door first before following her. And here she thought chivalry was dead.

“Where are we going?” she wondered as she followed him down the steps outside and towards the car that was parked just a couple of feet away from the front gates.

“You’ll see,” he smirked at her, unlocking the car and opening the passenger side door for her.

“We went over this the other day,” she stated pointedly as she sat down. “I do not like surprises.”

“I remember,” he smiled simply, closing the door behind her before quickly rounding the small hatchback and slipping in behind the wheel.

“You enjoy torturing me, don't you?” she arched her eyebrow, buckling her seatbelt as she looked at him from the corner of her eye.

“No, I don't enjoy ‘torturing’ you,” he rolled his eyes as he pulled away from the curb and drove down the streets that were quickly becoming familiar, following the signs that would take him towards the east of the island. “I just like teasing you,” he smiled amused as she glowered at him.

“Yeah, that is like torture,” she retorted simply.

“You still want to spend time with me, right?” he looked over at her, only then realizing that the question held a lot more meaning and importance than he’d intended.

“Yes, I still want to spend more time with you,” she smiled at him, reaching out and taking his hand in her own and loosely lacing their fingers together. They were on vacation, they seemed to like each other, she didn't want to make it over-complicated and ruin their time with petty problems that really weren't problems, she just wanted to have a good time and enjoy spending it with him...



“Where are we?” Elina asked as she stepped out of the car in the parking lot where Fernando had stopped, glancing around and finding that she could find no clues as to where they were.

“We are at Monte Toro,” Fernando smiled at her as he walked around the car and gently took her hand in his before leading the way up the small hill before them.

“Really?” she asked, sounding pleasantly surprised.

“Yeah,” he nodded with a smile. “Yesterday you mentioned that your family never got around coming out here, so I figured you wanted to see it,” he looked over at her. “I’ve been told that the views are amazing, and I wanted to share that with you.”

“That’s so sweet,” she smiled softly, pulling him to a stop before she leaned up and pressed her lips against his. “Thank you,” she told him before they walked the rest of the way, both of them stopping once they reached the top. “Wow,” she breathed as she looked around, you could see the entire island...

“I have to second that,” he agreed softly as he too looked around, taking in the sights. It was a clear day so you could practically see straight across the island; it was like some sort of map.

“You can see the airport,” Elina smiled as she watched the large charter plane taking off from the only airport on the small island. “This is amazing,” she decided as she felt him wrap his arms around her waist and gently rest his chin on her bare shoulder. “I’ve never seen anything like it,” she said softly, leaning into his embrace like it was the most natural thing in the world.

“Me neither,” Fernando whispered just beside her ear, smiling softly as he felt the shiver that clearly passed through her body.

Neither of them saying anything else, silence seemed to envelope them like a thick blanket. “Is there anything we can do up here?” she asked softly, not wanting to break the serene atmosphere between them.

“There’s a small tavern just that way,” he motioned over his shoulder, back towards the parking lot they’d just come from. “We could get something to eat.”

“Sounds good,” she agreed with a slight nod. She’d only had that one bagel at the hotel, as well as a glass of juice in the restaurant and she could be a downright bitch when she didn't keep her blood sugar up.

“Great,” he smiled before reaching up and tilting her head towards him, kissing her slowly before they slowly walked back down the hill and towards the tavern overlooking parts of the island. “Is there a time that I have to have you back at the hotel?” he asked smirking as he looked over at her.

“I'm not a baby,” she stated frankly, raising her eyebrows as she looked over at him.

“I know that, but I don't want your family to hate me,” he pointed out with a slight smile.

“No, but before midnight is probably good,” she smiled cheekily.

“I’ll keep that in mind...”