HOLIDAY WITH THE HOLLANDS

Its Not You, It's Me

The day continued on, as usual, the sun shining brightly in the pale blue ocean shy, not a cloud in sight. Looking for some entertainment, you, Tom and his brothers headed down to the beach. Feeling the scorching sand sink deep beneath your toes almost felt like some form of heaven, releasing endorphins through your skin like ecstasy. The sea was clear and the colourful rocks beneath the surface of the water intrigued you deeper into the depths beyond the waves.

The relaxing flow of the rocky ocean calmed you, releasing the tension hidden behind your eyes as you laid back and enjoyed taking in the sunlight. It was nice, feeling the freedom of having slim to no responsibilities for just five seconds and having the time to be a human being again. Tom watches you from afar, perched beneath an umbrella where his brothers are setting up some sun loungers rented from the bar. He hasn't taken his eyes off of you since the moment you stepped into the water, fearing that at some point he could lose you behind the stormy blue waves.

"Tom," Harry's voice rang in Tom's ears, a gentle hand being placed on the young starts shoulder. Tom managed to tear his eyes away from you for just a moment to glance upwards at his younger brother, who was holding a cold beer in his hand, "drink?"

"Sure," Tom nodded, taking the icy cold glass from his hands. The condensation made Tom's skin shiver, the wetness contrasting with the heat created some kind of icky sensation. Sipping the bitter drink he held in his hand his eyes averted back to where he had last seen you, to his despair, noticing then that you had floated further out beyond the tide line. A sudden wave of nervousness crashed through Tom's chest as he placed his drink down, ready to jump up and save you when his brother Sam brought him back down to earth.

"She's quite capable of swimming, Tom. You need to relax" his younger brother soothed him, placing himself on the sandy towel beside his older brother.

"I know that," Tom brushed it off, making it seem meaningless. As the time passed, he watched as you swam around for a while, the complexion of your skin gleaming in the sunlight. Even with the shades of his sunglasses pulled down over his eyes, Tom was quick to notice your beauty even from a distance.

"What's got you all worked up?" Sam asked, noticing his older brother was clearly in some form of distress, the way his shoulders were tensed and his face was torn between biting his lip and frowning.

"Nothing, I'm fine" Tom managed to perk up a titter of reassurance, however, it didn't seem to prevail. "I'm going in the water, you coming?" Tom requested to his younger brothers, watching as a smile grew on Paddy's face.

"I'll race you!"

From the water where you had been floating, finally, you lowered your feet down to the soft sand of the ocean floor where the comfort of the sea bedding welcomed your feet. There you stood for a while, brushing your hair back and out of your face while trying not to swallow the salty ocean water. As you bobbed up and down in the waves, you watched as Tom and Paddy came charging down towards the water bringing a smile to your lips.

You saw closer to the shallow end where the ocean blanket broke into subtle waves as Tom and Paddy came crashing down feet first, straight into the deeper end of the water where they each soaked each other in playfulness. You parked yourself on the shoreline where the waves gently washed over your bare legs that were now dotted with small sand particles.

"Y/N, you coming back in?" Paddy yelled from deeper into the sea.

"Sure!" You yelled back, sliding back down into the deeper water where the waves lifted your body from the sandy ocean floor and carried you along the surface until you reached Paddy, who immediately clung onto you for safety.

"Forgot I wasn't a very good swimmer" Paddy wiped his eyes softly as you wrapped your arms around him for support.

"Sure you did," you giggled, moving some of the hair away from his eyes as he slipped his goggles over his head. "Don't go too far into the deep okay? Stick near the shallow end, I don't want to have to give you the kiss of life later"