Chemistry

Scars

She awoke to the gentle swaying of the boat and an empty space in the bed next to her. She wondered if he'd even slept there in the first place but his glasses and book on the bedside table told her he had been there at some point.

"Six. Still early," she muttered to herself as she stretched her arms high above her head. She clambered out of bed and poked her head above deck to find Ben, sitting cross-legged on the floor, with his eyes closed, his hands resting on his knees, palms open toward the sky.

"Oh," she whispered as her insides clenched. He's meditating, God damn that's sexy.

She snuck back down below in hopes that she hadn't disturbed him and started fixing breakfast. While he was on a different mental plane, she was dancing around the cabin in underwear and his tshirt, humming a tune to herself.

She finished cooking and peeked above deck to find that he was still sitting where he was before, facing the sun. She turned to go back down below but he started to speak, stopping her in her tracks.

"Just as a mother would guard her child, her only child, with her own life, even so let me cultivate a boundless mind for all beings in the world.
Let me cultivate a boundless love for all beings in the world, above, below, and across, unhindered, without ill will or enmity."

She placed her hand over her heart and gasped, "A prayer. Of course."

"Standing, walking, seated, or lying down, free from torpor, let me as far as possible fix my attention on this recollection. This, they say, is the divine life right here." He let out a cleansing breath and sent any ill will with it. When he returned to his surroundings, he realized Rebecca had been watching him. He could feel her close proximity.

"Namaste, Mister Cumberbatch. I hope you like scrambled eggs and toast with your morning meditation. There wasn't much else in the fridge."

"I didn't expect to be having breakfast here this morning," he smiled as he slowly opened his eyes, the world in front of him coming back into focus.

"And yet, here we are," she presented a mug full of coffee, black, just how he liked it.

"Thank you. You're an angel."

"Do Buddhists believe in angels? Or goddesses? You called me a goddess the other day," she asked as she handed him a plate. "I don't suppose you have any spare swimsuits onboard, do you?" she continued. "It's hotting up out here and a swim sounds nice."

"Matter of fact, I do. I keep extras just in case."

She rummaged around the drawers and found a black, two piece suit in her size with the tags still on it. Ben changed into swim trunks and went above deck to open everything back up. Rebecca emerged a moment later and took his breath away yet again; not because of her stunning figure but because of the set of scars that started on her right hip and continued up the entire side of her torso.

"Rebecca," he gasped, reaching out to touch a bright red scar on her ribcage.

"Yeah. Not pretty. I told you my past wasn't pretty."

"Who did this to you?" he tried to stifle the rage that threatened his calm demeanor.

"It doesn't matter anymore. It's done and over and I don't want to grant my past any more time in the present."

"But...but..."

She closed the space between them and draped her arms over his shoulders so he had nowhere else to touch but her sides, the pain of her past, burning under his touch.