❝every time i close my eyes,
it's like a dark paradise.❞
JUN 15,
one month and sixteen
days after the funeral.
FOAM
was coming to rest on the edge of the beach and the toes that nisha had decided to dip in the translucent salt water of the spanish island. with her eyes closed, she tried to concentrate only on the sound of the waves and the birds that she hadn't heard since last summer, a small smile on her lips. the sun was beating down on her bare shoulders with moderation, thanks to the gentle wind from the sea that was blowing a few rebellious strands of hair out of her afro. it had been a long time since she had felt such a great sense of inner peace.
"boo!" a male voice rose above her head and two hands came to rest on the heated shoulders of the young woman.
surprise made her open her eyes wide as she forcefully slapped the torso of the english number twenty-two behind her, "jude!"
but keeping his hands steady where he had placed them, the boy didn't seem at all phased by his best friend's rebuke, instead flashing a big, beaming smile as he laughed in a way that could wake up an entire neighborhood. placing her hand above her eyebrows, so as to cover the sun's rays, nisha raised her head higher towards jude, who was pleased that his joke had worked as she rolled her eyes.
"down for a swim? i'm too hot," jude offered and she responded positively by nodding.
toby had spent the day with some friends who had joined him here, therefore this was the perfect opportunity for jude and nisha to get together for a beach day.
in a motherly tone, she reminded jude of some precautions before going to the water, "we need to put on some sun cream first, come on," she then invited him to return to their towels placed not far from here.
letting out a grunt of discontent, jude trotted alongside her, "you do realise we're black, right? we can't get sunburned," the midfielder remarked.
frowning, she shook her head negatively, "it's not about sunburns jude," as she began to apply the sunscreen to his back, she continued, "it's about protecting your skin from wrinkles, cancer, and all that. don't you want to stay the girls' favourite footballer?" nisha joked, which tickled the corners of jude's mouth.
once she had finished applying the lotion to his back, jude turned to face her again and she took the opportunity to put both her hands on each of his cheeks, leaving their marks in white on them as he began to complain again. his face ended up glistening with the cream and nisha was finally able to ask him to apply it to her back. he complied and she gasped at the lack of delicacy that men could sometimes show; the girl almost felt as if he was tearing her skin off.
to make matters worse, the excess on his palms landed on her face, but more importantly in her eyes. nisha's retina was damaged for minutes as jude apologised, although laughing like an idiot. to make up for it, he thought a sunshine drawing on her cheek would be a good idea, and finished his work of art with a small dot on the tip of nisha's nose as she rolled her eyes, a small smirk on her face.
then, as two best friends would do, they began a race to the water. whoever got there first won nothing, except the satisfaction of having beaten the other. of course, it was the footballer who got his feet wet before the woman; he had cheated by leaving before her.
