(1) Learn How To Love

(Lime) The Beach

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At the beach, you and Steven laid out a large blanket to place your stuff on. You helped him unpack sunscreen, sunglasses, aloe, and a cooler filled with drinks and snacks galore. Once settled in, you peeled off your shorts and t-shirt so that you were only wearing your bra and panties. It felt super weird, but you reassured yourself that it had the same amount of coverage as a regular bikini.

Unbeknownst to you, Steven stopped what he was doing to stare. Every bit of your body was glowing in the rising moonlight. From your shoulders to your feet, it was as if the world had shone a spotlight on you... because Steven couldn't tear his eyes away from you.

"Need something?" You raised your eyebrow with a smirk, noticing his stare.

"Probably," he smiled.

"What?"

"Nothing."

You smiled and rolled your eyes before sitting in front of Steven on the blanket.

"Can you pass me the sunscreen?" You asked Steven over your shoulder.

"In 30 minutes, there won't be a sun," he smirked.

"Can't be too careful! I don't want to get premature wrinkles," you argued with a frown.

With a sigh, he complied; "Nooo that would be terrible!"

You rolled your eyes and squeezed some sunscreen into your palm; "it would!"

As you rubbed in the lotion, he still stared. Luckily for him, you were too focused on applying the sunscreen to notice. You rubbed your thumbs over the many mosquito bites on your calves and sighed.

"Fucking mosquitoes," you grunted, leaning back onto your hands and extending your legs. 

"Y'know... I could help with the bites," Steven leaned to the side so he could see your face better. "Healing magic and all."

You didn't know if it was the hot summer air or what Steven said, but you felt your cheeks flush pink.

"Here, let me help," he moved over so that he was kneeling in front of you.

Okay, so you didn't think it was the sun making you blush.

With one hand on the blanket, and the other under your calf, Steven raised your leg delicately and began kissing each one of your bug bites.

Even with the slowly setting sun beating down on the both of you, you shivered. Every square inch of your body felt electric, your feelings heightened. All of your nerves, especially the ones covered by your bathing suit, tingled in excitement. You pressed your lips together tightly and held your breath, eyes wide. You couldn't manage to do anything else with yourself.

When you had mostly regained your composure... as much as you could anyway, you immediately lost it again when Steven looked up at you. The eye contact startled a gasp out of you. You had almost forgotten to breathe. Your fingertips gripped the blanket behind you while you watched Steven work, his eyes still on yours.

You were two seconds away from hyperventilating.

Between the eye contact, kisses, and the fact that you were in public, it went without saying that you were feeling a bit overwhelmed. And he was still below your knees.

You had bites going all the way up your thighs.

It wasn't as if you wanted him to stop- you definitely liked what he was doing, and it was extra exhilarating being out in the open. But that was just the issue. You broke eye contact to look around. No one was on the beach for maybe half a mile, so they were definitely too far away to see what was happening. There was nothing stopping anyone from coming onto your section of the beach, however.

"Okay! That's enough!" You pulled your legs back and chuckled nervously.

Steven, with one hand still raised where your leg used to be, cocked his head to one side. "Too much?" he half-smiled with his lips.

"No, no," you stood and brushed yourself off. "Just too public," you looked down at him meaningfully.

He smirked and stood up next to you, his relaxed eyes fixed on the ocean. You were relieved to have his eyes off you, even if only for a moment. You took a deep breath.

Inhale, and exhale.

Because little did he know, your heart was not the only thing throbbing.

"Okay, let's go!" Steven took your hand and ran for the water.

"AH!" You exclaimed as he tugged you along. "What is with you and the running?"

"It's fun!" he let go of your hand and continued running until he was about waist deep in the water. Once you caught up, he playfully splashed you with water. You laughed and splashed back, the two of you gradually moving deeper into the water until it lapped at the nape of your neck. At this point, you were both swatting the water recklessly, splashing water in every direction, and laughing so much it was hard to breathe.

"Okay, okay!" Steven laughed breathlessly. "Make it stop!"

"You're still splashing!" You argued.

Steven laughed; "I'll stop when you stop!"

You didn't stop.

"Quit it!" Steven laughed and stopped splashing so that he could guard his face with his hands.

"Never!" You attempted an evil laugh, making the two of you laugh even harder.

Steven deflected your splashes the best he could before taking your wrists and wrestling your arms away from the water. You tugged on your arms and whipped your hair to no avail. His grip on your wrists only tightened.

Giving up, you looked at Steven and blew your hair out of your face. You both panted lightly and stared at each other, your chests moving in synchrony. He was still holding your hands between the two of you.

You spoke breathlessly; "Can I... have my hands back?"

"Yeah..." He slowly brought your hands down to your hips where they hung comfortably, but didn't let go.

"You're still holding them," You breathed.

"I know," Steven said, his eyes full of yearning. To call them "doe eyes" would be a severe understatement.

Before you could respond, he tugged your hands forward and pulled you in for a kiss.

Leaning into the kiss, your knees relaxed so much that if it weren't for the water, you might've fallen over. Steven let go of your hands and placed his own at your waist, pulling you even closer. You let your hands wander up his body, teasing him as he teased you before. From the hem of his boxers, to the side of his chest, you grazed your fingernails over his skin until you interlaced your fingertips at the back of his neck.

You seriously wanted this boy.

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