Midnight Summers

THREE

P.S. Snow on the beach has been stuck in my head all day so, I thought to post it for this chapter because why not!

It has been exactly two weeks since we came to the summer house, and my life couldn't have been better. Everything seems to go by as a blur, but sadly I didn't get the chance to talk to Ares properly; he's been too preoccupied with his best friend, Jake. I love my brother, trust me, I do. But right now, I want to rip his head off for stealing Ares. Their bromance is a replica of Mr. Aetos and Dad's friendship. It makes me grateful that I have Athena to keep me company when the boys purposely exclude us girls. They claim their stuff is "too manly," but I don't think taking the ATV to do "cool tricks" is considered manly. Honestly, I think it's sexist, so Athena and I retaliate by taking the extra AVTs and joining them whether they like it or not.

I lay in my soft, comfortable queen-sized bed. Usually, my bed is very comfortable, but today I'm having trouble sleeping. I keep tossing and turning, my body is overheating, and the house is too quiet to my liking. I turn and look to the right of my small room. The night table clock reads 3:45 a.m. "Hmm, maybe this is a sign from the cosmos saying I should go night swimming," I think to myself. Without thinking much, I rush to my walk-in closet and grab my favourite midnight blue one-piece swimsuit. Softly closing my room door and making no noise, I silently run down the creaking stairs. It's dark in the halls, but I know my way around the house even if my eyes are closed. It isn't the first time I've gone night swimming, and it won't be the last. I jump straight into the deep end, and the water is freezing! I tread water and do a couple of laps until my body regulates a steady temperature. The trick is always to move your body when feeling cold. After a while, I get tired from swimming laps, and I start to float on my back, looking up at the star-filled sky. For the past two weeks, my mind has constantly drifted off to what Dad said before our trip, that this might be the last summer break in Kelowna. I still don't understand how Kelowna will distract me from anything. Kelowna is what keeps me whole. Yet, I also don't know why Ares is even here, wasn't he supposed to be in North Carolina for school?

"couldn't sleep?" Ares's voice startles me. Think of the devil, and the devil appears, but Ares isn't the devil; he's quite the opposite. He looks like he just woke up, his voice sounds sleepy, and his pyjamas have wrinkles indicating he was asleep earlier.

"Yeah, something like that," I mumble, "needed to swim to clear my mind, you know" I slowly swim closer to him at the end of the concrete deck, and Ares crouches and sits at the ledge.

"Why, what's up," he says, looking at me worriedly, "is it school? Did Jake say something?"

"No, I'm just upset we have to take a break on coming to Kelowna," I said, moving closer to him.

"A break?" he asks, taking his shoes off.

"Yeah, my dad said you weren't even coming to Kelowna this summer cuz you were going to be busy with school. So, he thinks it would be a great idea to take a break and focus on school, too," I say, rolling my eyes.

"You don't know, do you?" he says, taking off his shirt and sweatpants. He jumps into the pool and swims up beside me.

"Yes, this is our last summer here until university is over," I point out the obvious.

"No... ever," he says. He comes closer and closer, our legs brush one another, and his woody scent hidden under his masculine musk could be smelt from just an arm's length away. His proximity diverted my attention from whatever words just came out of his distracting mouth. It took me a moment to realize what he had just said.

"Wait, what!" I blinked more times than I could count on my fingers.

"My Dad's selling the house since we all are moving to the United States," he says, reaching to hold my hands. Our legs tangle as we tread water, he pulls me closer, and my mind goes foggy. I've never been this near his face, I could almost count every faint freckle, and his bright-blue eyes are now dark as the night, captivating me.

"No, stop lying," I feel so confused, "why would your entire family move to the States?"

"Well, my dad bought a firm in Raleigh, which is about a thirty-five-minute drive to my university campus," he explained, "and he needs to stay there until it's up and running. Which will most likely take a couple of years." his eyes are gleaming with sympathy. I'm going to miss getting trapped in his hypnotizing gaze. His hand moves to brush the wet hair from my face and wipes my tears away. I hadn't even realized I was crying until now.

"Ares, please tell me this is some sick and twisted joke," I beg, holding his broad shoulders. My breathing begins to quicken, and before I can even process what's going on, I'm picked up by Ares and taken out of the pool. The thought of never seeing my home again and selling it to random strangers, who probably won't even appreciate its magic, makes my stomach hurt. I'm gasping for air. My mind has gone foggy, making it hard to see, my heart feels as if it will burst out of my chest, my stomach knots, and last night's dinner is all over my swimsuit and Ares's arm.

"It's okay, you're okay, just breath Issa, breath," Ares's voice sounds distant, though I could feel him wiping me clean with a nearby towel.

"Ares, I... can't...breath" I let out a sob. My stuffy nose makes breathing even more complicated, and everything around me spins. The ringing in my head sounds like a chant, "No more Kelowna, no more summer house, no more Kelowna, no more summer house."

"Listen to my voice Clarissa," Ares demands, "breath in, hold, 1... 2... 3...4 and breath out, hold, 1...2...3...4" We repeat this exercise until I've slowly steadied my breathing.

"Thank you," I speak up after a long pause. We sit there on the pool chairs, looking at one another. There's a comfortable silence that I don't want to disturb, so I refrain from saying anything more. However, my mind is racing at a hundred miles an hour. Why did my dad lie to me?

"Clarrissa will you be all right with me gone for so long?" he asks.

"Yes, why wouldn't I?" I lie straight through my teeth. I can't have him thinking I'm so dependent on him when I'm not. I'd spent ten months without him, and I was perfectly fine.

"I can tell when you're lying," his face moves closer with every word he speaks.

"I'm not lying. I don't need you-" I never finished my sentence because Ares grabbed my neck and crashed his lips to mine. My body shivered against his cool touch, and my mind stayed frozen in place. My eyes were closed but flames of warmth danced beneath my eyes. The passion, the need, the desire to have him close to me was overwhelming. He tastes like mint mixed with cherries, his skin is smooth and silky, and his face is hard and chiselled. I'm unsure how long we kissed, but it felt like days had passed. He smiled against my lips, and I quickly pulled away, remembering I had vomited pizza dinner not too long ago. "No, this is our first ever lip-to-lip kiss, and my breath probably smells so bad!" I cover my mouth with my hand, muffling.

"Don't worry about it," he laughs, "I've been waiting to kiss you for so long, and this couldn't have been the perfect moment."

"Perfect moment?" I ask, "I literally just had one of the worst panic attacks ever after you told me your family is moving to another country, and you call that perfect? You and I have two very different meanings behind the word." smiling up at him, I give him a slight push, and he pushes me back. On the outside, I keep my composure, but on the inside, I feel as if I've won the lottery.

"you're shivering, let's go inside," he says, getting up extending his hand towards me. I slip my palm into his and we tiptoe our way in through the big glass doors.

"What time is it?" I ask, yawning, trying to read the time on the giant clock near the memory wall.

"Time to go to bed, Issa. I'll see you tomorrow morning," he gives me a small peck on the lips and walks me to my bedroom door. Once in my room, I do a small victory dance and go to the connecting washroom; Jake and I share. I shower quickly, put my fuzzy pj's on, and hop into bed. Snuggling close to my adorable stuffed bunny, Mr. Hopps, I fall into a deep sleep as the smell of my lavender shampoo flows through the air. 

Yay they kissed! This is a short story so the end is almost near!? Please let me know your thoughts.

- XOXO HKL<3