Down the road of memories

On the coast of Santorini

Noah POV

Elle and I were on our third week of vacation in Europe when we arrived in Santorini. In Paris and Rome, we lived in hotel rooms and visited magnificent places every day. It was wonderful days full of discoveries but we were both starting to get tired of this pace.

In Santorini, I decided to rent a villa near a beach with a terrace and an infinity pool. I wanted us to be able to slow down and just the two of us to rest before the return to reality that was unfortunately going to happen. It's not that our daily lives are unpleasant, but Elle and I both have professions that require us to be available, which leaves us little time to savor the present moment together.

And that's what I planned to do during this week in Santorini... enjoy the present moment! The view of the Aegean Sea was magnificent and... so was my wife in a bikini most of the time. Both of us seemed to be in the mode of wanting to enjoy as much as possible the proximity of each other remaining less than an arm's length away. And I even told myself that a single deck chair would have been enough because we shared it most of the time.

We were just sitting together on the lounge chair, Elle between my legs with her head resting on my chest and her eyes closed. She had put aside the book she was reading and seemed to have dozed off. I let my left hand slide down her arm to her hand and intertwined our fingers carrying our wedding rings. It was the first time since our wedding that I was able to stop and contemplate the fact that despite everything my biggest dream has come true. That at the end of this journey, which I found painful, we were able, against all odds, to find each other again. I was brought out of my thoughts when she said:

- It's truly a magnificent view!" Elle said with a contemplative voice.

- Indeed, it's truly a magnificent view!" I said, moving my hand from her arm to the neckline of her bikini.

- Even marriage won't have changed you, Noah Flynn!" she told me, laughing.

- Nope!" I said to her, emphasizing the p. "That's the effect you have on me!

She sat down between my legs and turned around to say to me:

- It reminds me of the day before high school started during your senior year. You were back from football camp while Lee and I were hanging out by the pool. You asked me: when did my breasts grow?

I couldn't help but laugh at this memory. And Elle continued by saying:

- I think it's the first time I've seen you look at me that way.

- I think it's more that I was more subtle before because you didn't need to have a pair of breasts to be beautiful, Elle!

- What do you mean?" she asked me, frowning.

- I was very aware at the time that my popularity was a trap in some way. That several people, girls or boys, could want to be with me or around me for what I represented but... not for what I really was.

- You mean ?

- For example, a girl may want to date the hot quarterback at school but what happens when that quarterback loses an important game or is injured on the field?

- I see...

- This is why I was popular but also lonely in high school... I was afraid to show others that deep down, I was afraid of not being good enough.