Coffee for Charlie

Sandy Toes

I took a breath as my toes rest in the warm sand. The salty water reached it's foamy tides as far as it could but my feet stayed just out of reach of the incoming tides.

"Ready?" I hear Charlie say from behind me and I turn to see him shirtless with swim trunks hanging off his hips. I blushed as he approached me.

I have never seen him with such a lack of clothing; it scared me. He wasn't quite built like most guys. There was an outline of abs running along his torso; he must work out. When we took our turns changing in the hotel bathroom, I had finished tying my bikini strap before stepping out into the room to see him shirtless. All I could do was gape at him as my eyes wandered over his body. There was a tattoo along his left arm that ended near his elbow. I had never seen it until then. He always covered his arms or rolled his sleeves up to his elbows. His arms weren't very..."meaty", if that's the word. He may lift but they were still a little thin.

Shaking my head from my day dream, I meet his eyes, and I bite my lip nervously because he's grinning a cocky smile. He must know what I have been thinking.

"Ready for anything..." I trail off, looking back over at the ocean. I feel his fingers lace with mine and I suck in a breath. He had also grasped my hand when we walked down the boardwalk. He was getting bold.

Ever since we had arrived at our hotel, there has been an awkward silence between us. I asked for two beds...I was not going to share a bed with him. After that he seemed to be trying to get closer to me which made me nervous but at the same time, I didn't mind.

By the time we headed out in our swimwear, the sun was starting to set. Orange and gold streaks out as if stretching for something in the far off distance.

It was beautiful.

I look down at our twined fingers and he takes the first step into the water. I follow after him, watching how his body sways.

The water is cold and almost uninviting as we wade deeper so that the water is to our bellies (his hips). I let out a soft squeal and shake my head.

"It's colddd!"

He just laughs at me and I glare up at him. I let go of his hand and take a few steps back, my hands barely touching the waters surface.

"Eva..." I hear him whisper softly but when I turn to him he pulls himself under the water and swims farther out. I stand looking at the water. If I calculated correctly, in a few feet there would be the drop off. I took a few steps and the water rose quickly to my neck and I sucked in air. I was going to call out to him but then I felt something touch my sides and I screamed, kicking out my legs and trying to push away before Charlie surfaced in front of me. His arms snaked around my waist and as instinct my legs hitched onto his thighs. He was moving his legs back and forth to keep us a float. I hadn't been this close to him and I could feel my heart slamming against my rib cage. His green eyes were on mine; dark hair stuck to the sides of his face.

 Why was he so good looking? 

That's when I felt his wet fingers against my cheek and my lips parted. My eyes flashed back to his and he was staring at my lips. Just as he began to lean closer to me, I dipped my mouth in the water and squirted him in the face: causing him to cry out and release me.

 That was too close... 

I laughed and began to swim backwards to shallow water.

"You just..." He rubbed his face before adjusting his gaze on me. "You're gonna pay for that." His voice almost sounded like a low growl which sent shivers down my back.

"No, no! That was payback for scaring me!" I laughed and finally I felt the sand between my toes and I could finally stand; the water lapping at my stomach. My gaze adverted to the darkening sky and I sighed heavily.

"I think we should get back to the hotel." I could hear the sadness in my own voice. I was having too much fun.

Charlie was wading out of the water with a huge grin on his face and then all of a sudden it was like I was watching something out of a horror movie.

Charlie clutched his chest. No, he was clawing at his chest and the way his face twisted and contorted, this was not a joke.

"Charlie!" I screamed, hopping through the water to him. When I got closer to him I could hear his wheezing and gagging for air.

"Someone help him! Someone please help him!" I cried. I turned in all directions. I saw a few people that were walking along and I quickly screamed in distress again. It was a middle aged couple and the woman made a gesture towards us before I saw the guy come running through the water.

"Mary, quick call 911!" The man yelled before knocking out Charlie's knees so he fell into his arms and then I saw Charlie twitch; uncontrollably. Foam began forming around the corner of his lips. When had his skin become to pale? His eyes were rolled back and just his eyelids twitched. I stood there in horror at what I saw until I realized the man was talking to me. His grey streaked hair bobbing in the air.

"What?" I said quickly.

"Do you have family here? What is your relation to this boy?" I hadn't realized that I had followed him ashore where he laid Charlie in the sand. "Put his head on your knees." I seemed to collapse before Charlie's twitching body. The man pulled his head up onto my lap before reciting the same questions.

"Miss, do you have family here? What is your relation to this boy?" My relation to him...I shook my head and stared up at the man.

"No...he's my..."I trailed off thinking of what we were. "My friend." I finished lamely. Charlie's body had gone still and I could hear the sirens in the background and everything seemed to slow down. Things began to spin and twist in many directions before I finally passed out. 

[ A/N: Sorry this was such a short chapter! I see more people are reading this! If you guys like it please comment and tell me what you like and don't like! I like the feedback! Thank you guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! ]