Rising Tides

8

"Thank you. I'm feeling better now." Sarah said as she drank the coconut smoothie Rowan had bought her. He had carried her to a quiet and remote part of the beach, far away from other people. It was just her and him, sitting on rocks and watching the waves softly lap at the sand. She welcomed the distance and Rowan's company.

Rowan sat next to her on the rocks, eyes the same color as the sea in front of them focused on hers. "Are you sure?"

She nodded. She felt so safe and comfortable with him. It made her forget about what happened. "Yes. I'm ok now. Its so beautiful." She said, looking back at the ocean. "The sea. I missed it so much."

"You look so happy and content."

She smiled. "That's because I am. I haven't been anywhere near the ocean in twelve years." She could tell he was curious, that he wanted to know more, but he held his tongue. She appreciated that he didn't want to push or pressure her.

A gentle smile curled his mouth. He looked like an angel, with his long blue-black hair softly floating around him in the breeze. It was free from its ponytail and was illuminated by the setting sun. Golden light surrounding him like a halo. "Happiness looks good on you. I like when you smile, Tesoro Mio."

She felt her cheeks heat up and her stomach flutter like it was filled with butterflies. "Why do you call me that?"

"Call you what?"

"Tesoro mio." She tried to pronounce the words and winced at how bad it sounded compared to how he said them. "What does it mean?"

That smile widened and he slowly reached out his hand towards her face, cautiously as if gaging her reaction, and gently tucked a stray strand of auburn hair that escaped her braid behind her ear. Her pulse quickened when she felt his fingers brush her skin, feather light and gentle as a whisper.

"My treasure." He seemed to purr, tongue rippling over the words like water. "Or my darling. You're my most precious treasure. My shining jewel."

She didn't know how to respond to that. This was like a dream she didn't want to wake up from. Far too good to be true. "Oh. Uh...Th-thank you." She swallowed hard, mustering up her courage. "Does that mean you...like me? In that way?"

He took her hands in his larger ones and looked deep into her eyes. "I fell in love with you the first moment I saw you, my treasure."

Sarah's heart pounded in her chest. She wondered if he could hear it. Her mouth dropped open in shock. "Really?"

"The more I got to know you, the more I fell in love with you. You have such great talent, such a kind heart, and you love the sea like I do." Rowan continued, his beautiful eyes swirling with emotion as they gazed into her wide coffee brown ones. "When I saw you with that guy, what he did to you, I wanted to kill him then and there. I could have easily ripped his body to shreds, but I restrained myself for you because I didn't want to fighten you. He is lucky he got away with just a broken wrist."

"Rowan..."

"If only I had gotten there sooner, I-"

Surging forward, Sarah cut him off by crushing her mouth onto his; spurred on by a sudden recklessness and desire that rose up inside her so quickly that her own actions surprised her. It was her first kiss, so she was more than a little clumsy, but what the heck. Rowan froze in shock, then melted into the kiss like butter. Excitement bubbled inside her and she wanted to pinch herself to see if this was all a dream.

De'ja'vu struck her like a bolt of lightning as he kissed her; the feel of his soft lips moving and pressing against hers, the taste of him, sweet and sort of lemony, it was all so familiar to her. Her soul ached with joy, her body trembled, her eyes prickled with happy tears.

This felt so right. Their bodies fit together like perfect puzzle pieces. Her soul hummed and sang and, faintly, she thought she could sense his doing the same. They stopped and pulled away to catch their breaths. Rowan's eyes were dark and hooded, shimmering like priceless jewels under his curtain of thick, long black eyelashes. His lips were parted and he was breathing heavily like she was. He was breathtakingly gorgeous and it made her head spin.

"Sarah, that was-"

"Perfect." She hummed, gliding her fingers through strands of his long dark hair. "Absolutely perfect."

"Si, tesoro mio." He purred, his Italian accent thickening and caressing every word. It made her heart skip a beat. "Absolutely perfect."

*****************************************

"I was six years old when it happened." Sarah said, curled up against Rowan's side and resting her head on his shoulder. Staring at the ocean. "My family and I were vacationing in Italy. My mother arranged for us to go on a little cruise around the Mediterranean. There was a storm and I fell off the ship and into the sea." She grimaced as the memories came rushing back to her. She felt Rowan's hand gently rubbing her back in a comforting motion. "If it hadn't been for the creature that saved me and pulled me to shore I would have died. That's why I'm scared of the ocean."

She felt him tense a little, then relax again. "Creature?"

Sarah nodded. "Yeah. Something grabbed me and pulled me to shore."

"I see. Did you get a good look at the creature?"

She shook her head, braid swinging over her shoulder. "No. I didn't get a good look at what it was. It was just a big, pale, blurry humanish shape. But I remember it had blue eyes and, I know it sounds crazy, but I thought I saw the blurry shape of a tail behind it."

He went stiff again and Sarah peered up at him. "What's the matter?"

He snapped out of his funk and languidly stroked her hair. "Nothing, angelo. Just thinking. So, are you never going to go into the water again?"

"I promised myself and my mother I wouldn't go near the water again. No matter how much I miss it and crave it." She said, sadness evident in her voice. "I don't know how to swim, anyway."

"I could teach you, if you're up to it." Rowan offered, planting a tender kiss onto the top of Sarah's head. "You don't have to if you don't want to."

"I...I don't know." Sarah pressed her face into his black t-shirt, nuzzling his chest. "I'm just so scared. I keep having nightmares of that day every night."

"I'm sorry."

"I hate it. I hate being so scared and weak." Sarah bit out, frustrated. Her eyes flashing mahogany as they focused on Rowan's. "You know what? Teach me. Teach me to swim. I'll never get over this fear unless I face it head on.

Rowan raised his eyebrows. "Are you sure?"

"Yes."

He smiled and gave her a peck on the lips. "I'm so proud of you, tesoro. When would you like me to teach you?"

"As soon as possible, please."