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DAY 140
Part One
California was particularly warmer than New York City.
The temperature settled at a perfect, toasty feeling for a day at the beach, the rays of sunshine washing over Honey's soft skin as she lay sprawled out on top of her yellow beach blanket. She couldn't remember a single time in her life that she had spent at the beach, and the serotonin coursing through her veins now was a prime example of how much she felt she had been missing out on.
She had always sort of pictured herself as a city girl - nothing more, nothing less. But as she listened to the sound of the waves crashing against the shore and Steve humming along to the song emanating from a nearby beach bar, she could definitely get used to being a beach girl.
Especially if that meant getting to see Rogers in a deliciously fitting pair of swimming trunks the majority of the time.
Honey had seen his muscular torso countless times now, but it never seemed to get old. She could admire the way his broad chest appeared for hours and definitely never feel an ounce of boredom. This man was built like a Greek God - the size of his arms, the veins that traveled down them towards his hands, the defined lines along his stomach.
Mouth-watering, truly.
"California suits you."
Her brown eyes flickered up at the sound of his voice, slightly embarrassed that she had been caught in the act of practically drooling over the sight of his body, catching the way his blue eyes observed her thoroughly. Pushing herself into a sitting position, she flashed him a cheeky smile as she swung her arm across the top of his shoulders. "Let's just stay here, no one will miss us, right?"
"Yeah, no one except Harry," Steve snickered lowly, his lips turning upwards as he continued to gaze at her. "And your professors when your classes start again in the fall."
"There's always online classes."
"I can't see you being the kind of girl who would be satisfied with a degree that was solely completed over a computer," he commented with a hint of sarcasm.
It always sent a warm feeling rushing through Honey's chest whenever Steve nonchalantly remembered certain things about her. It was a nice reminder that he listened to her when she would talk about stuff, regardless of what it was, and would cling on to the tiny conversations that they had together. This particular one being a brief discussion, weeks ago now, on her fondness of the college life and getting to experience it in person.
A conversation she almost had forgotten about, but he had not.
"Ah, I suppose I could always find a sugar daddy out here that would gladly take care of me so I could quit college and become one of those statuesque, influencer girls," Honey sighed teasingly, resting her sandy cheek against his shoulder, peeking up at him through her lashes to see his reaction.
"You do have a thing for older men."
A giggle burst through her full lips as she swatted at him playfully, brushing her dark waves over her shoulder as she shrugged coolly. "Only for the superhero ones, Rogers."
"I knew I was in competition with Banner," Steve hissed under his breath, shooting her a jocose look as he shook his head in a facetious, defeated manner. "For fucks sake, you haven't even met the playboy Stark yet - I've got zero chances now."
Honey shyly bit down on her bottom lip to contain her wide grin that refused to leave her features now, twisting in her seated position so that she could lay down as she rested her head in his shadowed lap - his blue eyes following her movements curiously. As she stared up at him, she rested her hands on her warm stomach, crossing her feet as she watched his beautiful face stare back down at her.
"Says you," she chided softly. "I've got to compete with the red-headed vixen."
"Red heads aren't really my type, actually."
"I guess now is a bad time to tell you that I'm a natural-born ginger, huh?" she whispered in a playful tone, scrunching her nose up at him as she teased him.
Steve's blue eyes narrowed down at her flippantly. "Hmm, you're quite the jokester today, aren't you?"
Before she could respond with another witty comment, his body was suddenly whisked out from underneath her, pulling her petite body up with him as he slung her over his shoulder with a natural ease. Her laugh turned into a surprised squeak as his palm gently connected with her backside, her body swaying as he started walking towards the water.
"Steve," she said in a cautious manner, pushing on his back for any sort of leverage as she swayed. "Where are we going?"
"Well, I'm going to dunk you in the ocean, duh."
The blood felt like it was rushing into her forehead now, her heart thumping against her chest at his words, as she blew her hair from her face with an exasperated huff. "I don't know if you know this, but I've never been to the beach - therefore, I have never actually learned how to swim-"
"You're learning today," he responded calmly.
The sounds of the salty waves were growing closer now, his body obstructing her view, which only made her heart thump harder.
"You want my death on your hands? If I drown, it's completely your fau-"
"Shut up, Daniels."
"The salt water is going to burn my freshly shaved legs-"
"Daniels."
"Oh my God, Steven, I didn't even think about sharks-"
And then she was being whisked back over his shoulder, interrupting her strings of panic, as he plopped her down into the thin layer of water that had just receded back into the ocean for the time being as a mischievous grin spread along his cheeks. Taking one of her hands into his giant one, he motioned her towards the withdrawing waves with a nod of his head.
"Trust me, yeah?" he urged tenderly, still smiling madly down at her. "Baby steps, come on."
Sighing crossly, Honey Daniels knew that her smitten, pure little heart would follow Steve Rogers anywhere if he had asked her to.
