Memories

1 Year Anniversary

It's been a year since my dearest partner and I began writing "Memories"! We can't thank you all enough for the support throughout this journey, and as a special gift from us to you, we've written up a 1 year anniversary special.
Please, without further ado, enjoy this special chapter where things are a little different!

~

The scent of salt fills my nostrils, the taste clinging onto my tongue. Beneath my feet, warm sand cushions each step I take.

Soft rays of the setting sun hits my face, making me squint. I notice Felix next to me doing the same.

He takes a lick of chocolate ice cream, a small smile on his face as he does. I do the same with my cone of strawberry cheesecake.

"I'll never get tired of the beach," Felix says in between licks, "One of the only good things about living in California."

I shake my head. "California beaches have nothing on Bahía de Kino," I say, savoring the taste of strawberry on my tongue.

Felix lightly squeezes my hand which he holds in his own. He rolls his eyes playfully at me.

"Bahía de Kino is alright," he says, shrugging in feigned indifference, "but Santa Cruz has a special place in my heart," Felix says, nodding proudly.

"Nuh uh! The sight of the beach at Kino is so pretty! I gotta take you one day!" I say, ecstatic at the idea of taking him to my favorite beach.

He shrugs again, meeting my gaze with a softness reserved only for me. "I prefer this sight."

I blush, looking away from him and instead to the crashing waves hitting the shore gently.

"Come on!" I say, pulling him by the hand onto the wet shore, the water reaching up to just our ankles.

"Hey! Careful with the ice cream!" he says, letting himself be dragged along.

I giggle, relishing in the feeling of the cold water refreshing my feet.

I guess I drag Felix too hard because the next thing I hear is a "splat!"

I look down and a scoop of chocolate ice cream lays on the sand.

Felix and I both look up at each other the same time, our expressions serious. Seeing Felix's genuine distraught, I throw my head back and laugh.

"Susanna! Not funny I was really enjoying that ice cream!" he says, fighting back a smile as my laughter continues.

He only seems upset about his fallen ice cream for a second, because the next, he's pulling me closer to him.

He lets go of my hand to grab me by the waist, closer and closer until our chests are mere inches apart.

"Careful with the ice cream," I repeat his words from before, firmly grasping the waffle cone in my hand.

He rolls his eyes, taking a lick of my ice cream without asking. I gasp in fake shock, pretending to be offended by the action. He raises an eyebrow, one of his signature playful smirks on his lips.

I giggle, shaking my head before taking a lick of the ice cream myself. A real Lady and the Tramp moment.

He lets me go, grabbing my hand again to continue walking along the shore.

We walk for a while until the moon hangs high in the sky. At that point, we're sitting on the sand, side by side looking into the dark sky.

The sky is starless tonight, clouds obscuring impossibly tiny specs of white against a black canvas.

Regardless, we take in the view of the moon over a gentle tide, sitting in silence for a moment.

Felix eventually drops his head, resting it on my shoulder. I place my head on his, interlocking our fingers as I do.

——

"You need to stir it slower, you're going to fast." Samuel instructed right beside me, sat on his kitchen counter with his phone in hand.

I looked down at the bowl in concentration, slowing my pace as I mixed the mix of heavy cream, sugar and vanilla. I tilted my head up, looking up Samuel for approval. "Like that?"

He shook his head, gently hopping off the counter and positioning himself behind me. I felt myself tense up as his hand held mine, moving it at a medium-high speed in order to make the perfect whipped cream. He tilted his head to the side, his breath trickling down my neck which only made my cheeks heat up. All I could do was stand there and let him move my hand with precision.

Sam is a good cook, but who does he think he is— man-handling me like this? I am perfectly capable of making whipped cream on my own.

Without a second thought, my hand that held the bowl scattered to the flour right next to it, grabbing a hand-full of the powder and throwing it at his face.

"What the fuck!?" Samuel exclaimed and took a step back, to which I replied in a giggle as I turned to face him. He looked at me in shock, which only made the stupid smirk on my face widen.

I laughed harder at the sight, my hand covering my mouth as Samuel's lips began twitching into a smile, a slight chuckle escaping his own lips.

"Whew! That was a good one, Sam!" I breathed out, flicking a fake-tear off my eye as I watched him stand up straight, wiping off the powder off his face.

"Yeah, yeah. You're so funny, aren't you?" He asked, taking cautious steps closer to me. Before I knew it, he grabbed a handful of flour and threw it at me.

"Ah!" I let out a yelp, my hand instinctively traveling to my face and shirt which was now covered in flour. I looked up at him, a stupid smile now plastered on his face as he cackled at me.

Soon enough, we both began throwing flour at each other relentlessly, continuous giggles and cackles escaping the both of us. That was until, the flour bag flopped onto the floor, both Samuel and I immediately freezing.

We stared down at the floor scattered with flour, looking back up at each other and sharing a knowing look.

"I mean, we can always go order the strawberry cake from the restaurant." Sam mumbled, his flour-coated hand scratching the back of his neck.

I let out a razzed snort, which only put a smile on Samuel's face. We shared another laugh together before having to get all serious and cleaning up the whole kitchen.