A Sapphic's Summer (REVISED 2024)

10 | glistening like stars

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summer air,
freedom, and you
- butterflies rising

✧

goldie mindlessly watches as kau'i lathers the second layer of sunscreen on his arms, his black nail-polished fingers catching her eye. his skin glistens in the sun; it's a little later in into the morning, they don't exactly know how long. still, they haven't much except bask in the sun on towels they laid out next to each other, underneath the shade of a nearby palm tree. and, just for the extra measure, all of them have matching beanies on.

"we gonna to lay here forever?" imani asks no one in particular, sitting up so fast on her towel that she experiences a moment of whiplash. her surfboard isn't far behind, and she's getting bored of doing barely anything but exist on the beach; so much for opportunities.

goldie-fiddling with the silver plated charm that's on her bracelet-only shrugs, the sleeve of her loose shirt falling down her shoulders slightly. the flowery pattern embroidered on the sides of the sleeves is a simple touch that she's obsessed with; she's probably worn it a hundred times. the charm is a matching sunflower. (both of which are a lighter tone of yellow, so perhaps that's why she obsesses over it as much as she does.)

"it went from a gloomy, rainy morning to actually pretty sunny in like, what, five or so minutes? let's enjoy it," kau'i mumbles, setting the sunscreen on the smooth sand. he leans back and lies against the towel, looking up at the sky; the clouds are still out (but none are dark), the sun full of blinding light that makes goldie want to look away the second she glances at it.

"exactly," mateo agrees, talking out of nowhere, his deep, gravelly voice catching us all off guard. he has to leave his world of imagination for a second just to acknowledge our presence; he's been sitting crisscrossed on the sand, with no towel, for a while now, keeping his nose in a book that none of us can catch the name of. he likes to stay secret with that, and we assume it's because he likes the mystery.

he's the lead pianist of our friend group, and every so often you can catch him drumming his fingers against the fabric of his baggy pants as if it was the piano itself.

he wears a loose linen shirt with pride, the opening at his chest showcasing his small neck tattoo of the word breathe. when he moves, or just depending on the angle, you wouldn't be able to see it if his gold necklace covered it. the multiple rings on his fingers can feel like they're weighing him down, and it does kind of distract him during the shows (goldie absolutely observes everything and everyone-way, way too often), but he pulls through and plays freely with no imperfections.

when he's in the zone he creates melodies in the background and more rings dangle, but from his earlobes as he tells a story with his fierce movements. even though he's not particularly the main one being observed by the crowd during them, he's still the backdrop that really sets the scene and the others play around him.

the smallest of grins finds its way onto his lips. "we should enjoy the beach and have a bonfire just because," he throws out a suggestion, placing the folded magnet bookmark on his current page. be flips to the very first and closes it, setting it on goldie's towel.

he stands up, reaching his hand out for her to hold. eh, why not? she thinks, grabbing it and then she's being hoisted up so easily she thinks she's as light as a feather.

"come on," he says as he looks behind him, watching imani flick kau'i on the wrist (he scowls in response and runs after her, the both of them reaching the water first).