Islands Away

Chapter 5

The next day, I awake to a clear day. Julian knocks on the wall and comes in. "I found a dock," he says slowly. "And I'm going to check it out. Want to come?"

I nod, getting up. We run the whole way there, shouting and cartwheeling. When we finally get there, I look out toward the ocean, breathing in the salty air.

And then my feet leave the ground, and a moment later I'm surrounded by the sea, soaked. I push toward the surface and float there, watching Julian collapse into laughter.

"That was priceless!" He whoops and continues laughing. I smile in spite of myself and, after a minute or two, Julian stops laughing, grins, and offers me a hand. "Want some help?"

I grab his hand and pull him into the water with me. He stumbles off the dock, turning it into a forward flip at the last moment, and I laugh. "Got you," I say. We're both soaked now. He splashes water toward me, soaking me, and I dive headfirst into the water. He soon follows, and I swim as fast as I can toward the beach. Julian catches up, and when I come up to take a breath, he turns over and swims backstroke easily, grinning at me.

When we reach the beach, I collapse on the sand, Julian following my lead. I must have woken up pretty late in the afternoon, because the sun was already sinking toward the horizon. I get up, saying, "We should probably go back," and start to head back to our camp. "Wait!" I can hear Julian scrambling to his feet, and I turn back. He grabs my hand and pulls me back, but holds it a second too long. I look into his hazel eyes, and he into mine. He leans forward slowly, as if we were magnets, leaving half a foot between us, then a quarter, and then he stops, waiting for me to close the gap between us, a gap that seems huge and charged with electricity. I look at him again, his eyes patient, waiting, all hints of a smile gone from his face. My body hums with nervous energy, and I close my eyes.

I stop there, too scared to move. Julian cups his hand to my cheek, his thumb idly drawing circles. I catch my breath, and my heart skips a beat. Julian leans forward just a little more, and closes the gap at last. His lips are soft, parted, and at first the kiss is sweet, tender. He presses in more, his hand at the small of my back, and I tangle my hands in his silky hair.

We stay there for what feels like an eternity, until one of us pulls away. The sky is dark, and stars are beginning to form.

"We should go back," Julian says, breathless. I smile shyly.

"Yeah."