Flower Girl

04| Ariel

SUNSETS were Nathan's favorite time of day.

For him, they symbolized an end of something great but not the end. Sunsets symbolized the last light of day and the chance of a new beginning.

Nate's favorite type of sunsets were those reflected off of water, the ones reflected off the sea in particular.

Sunsets happened to be Calla's least favorite time of day and they symbolized everything for her that Nathan's didn't.

Calla saw them as an end; of  the day, and sometimes an end of the light.

Although, Calla did appreciate their beauty and oddly enough they also happened to symbolize kisses.

The thought always made her blush, but the romantic inside her (particularly the one that believed in Fairytales) melted at the idea of a sunset kiss.

A kiss that happened, almost happened or  didn't happen, almost like a promise.

It happened to remind Calla a lot of Ariel and Eric from The Little Mermaid  and their kiss, or, lack thereof  and that's what terrified her.

It was a fear of Calla's  that one day she would find her Prince and someone would destroy her chances with him for their own benefit.  Calla was terrified that one day like a sunset someone would end her happiness. 

It didn't hurt that both Nathan and Calla lived in a small coastal town, so it wasn't hard to find these sunsets.

Calla was quite the fish and had always loved water and Nate loved Calla which is why they often found themselves meeting at sunset on the beach.

That particular Tuesday, Nate had just come straight from Track practice and straight to the beach, actually hoping to find Calla there, as she hadn't been at school but he had a feeling that she would be there.

Sure enough she was sitting on the rocks watching the waves with her back to him.

"Calla?" She turned her head and smiled as Nate approached her.

"I guessed you'd come looking for me,"

He smiled and sat down next to her, "And I guessed that you would come here,"

Calla sighed and rubbed her forehead, "I wasn't particularly feeling going to school so I wandered around and eventually landed up here,"

"It's a good thing that you ended up here, because as much as I love treasure hunting I won't find you without a map," Nate laughed and Calla joined in.

"Currently, a bit of treasure doesn't sound like a bad thing,"

Nate smiled mischievously and stood up holding his hand out, "I think
I might have something even better,"

Confused, Calla took his outstretched hand questioningly, "What's better than a little treasure?"

Nate shrugged, "Guess you'll just have to wait and see," and started walking to the waves while taking his shirt off in the process.

Calla followed while snickering, "Hey Nate at least buy me dinner first, I mean, so much for being a Prince,"

Nate rolled his eyes but stopped just before the water and Calla came up next to him, "Funny,"

She giggled, "I think it's hilarious,"

Both fell silent just watching the waves before Nate started wading into the water, "Nate! Where are you going?"

He called back, "To find something better than treasure,"

In the water, a couple meters out was a boat. The owner almost never took it out, but it was in pretty good condition and had been around for a while.

When Nate was younger his parents used to bring him and some of his friends out and they use to climb the boat and jump off, somersaulting and diving into the water.

On the left side of the boat in light blue calligraphy font was the name The Sunset Kiss.

Nate hadn't jumped off The Sunset Kiss in a couple months but he figured Calla would enjoy it because she looked like she needed a pick-me-up.

After reaching the boat, Nate pulled himself up onto the deck before helping Calla up when she swam to the side.

"This, sitting on a boat is better than treasure?" Calla questioned while gesturing to the boat.

Nate stood on the edge of the deck, "No, but this is," he replied before jumping and somersaulting into the water while yelling at the top of his lungs.

Shocked, Calla scrambled to the edge of the deck as Nate hit the water and yelled as he surfaced, "Are you crazy?"

Nate laughed, "Maybe, but come on now it's your turn,"

Calla smiled, relieved that he was okay, and mock grumbled, "If I die it's your fault," before jumping into the water.

As she surfaced she laughed, "That was awesome!" And started swimming towards the boat again where Nate was already on the deck again, "We have to do that again,"

After spending the rest of the afternoon jumping off the boat and laughing and Calla realized that this was better than treasure.

Calla and Nate were sitting next to each other on the deck, their feet over the edge of the left side of the boat, her head resting on his shoulder, "Thank you,"

Nate turned his head and Calla lifted hers so that they were facing each other, Nate's face partially covered in shadows as the sun began to set, "You're more thank welcome, but there's no need to thank me, if anything you should thank me for The Sunset Kiss,"

She leaned in, towards Nate, "Maybe I will,"

Nate looked flustered, "I-I meant the boat,"

Calla leant in further, her lips almost brushing his, a teasing smile in place, and whispered, "So did I,"

Nate opened his mouth to reply, feeling confused and Calla giggled and bumped his shoulder before placing her hands on his chest and pushing.

Loosing his balance, Nate fell towards the water yelling in surprise as Calla stood up, and jumped in too, yelling for a whole different reason.

****
Hey guys,
Tell me what you think and if you have any other ideas for the story and if you'd like to see anything specific happen.

-Austen xx