He was Hot, I was Not!

Kayla's POV

My heart skipped a beat when I saw Stan walking back towards where I was on the beach. I really didn't think he would come back...I thought maybe it was some bad joke on his part...thinking it was funny to leave me here by myself. I sighed thinking how handsome he was and how glad I was that he had kept his word.

"I'm back," Stan said unnecessarily.

"Yeah, I see that," I smiled up at him, "Would you like something to eat? I have an ice chest full of snacks and drinks? Were your friends angry? I really hope I'm not screwing up your weekend. I am so sorry, I really am, but I really appreciate you doing this for me." I realized that I was babbling and decided to shut up already, god but he made me so nervous.

"I would kind of like a drink," Stan replied not bothering to answer the rest of my questions, "I am kind of thirsty right now, but not too hungry. Maybe I'll get a bite to eat later."

I grabbed two sodas out of the ice chest and handed one to Stan and we sat on the blanket I had spread out earlier.

"Would you like to go in the water?" Stan asked after chugging his drink.

Gosh, he was thirsty, I thought as I watched him drink his soda. "Yeah, that would be great," I said as I hurried to finish drinking my soda. "Burp," I couldn't help it, that's what happens when I drink soda too fast.

"Excuse me," I apologized, embarrassed.

"Hey, it happens," said Stan as he intentionally let out a burp even longer and louder than I had. "See."

We both laughed as we turned towards the water. The wind had died down some, and the waves weren't nearly as fierce as they had been earlier. The sun was going down--it was almost dark, but not quite. We still had a little time left to enjoy the water.

"I love the water, but I'm not a very good swimmer," I told Stan as we entered the water, "so no playing rough, okay?"

"I can't hear you. No what?" asked Stan as he purposely dunked me.

Oh it was on now, I thought as I came up sputttering. Stan was laughing at me, I must have looked like a drowned rat. I used my arm to swish a big wave of water over towards him and it went right into his face, some of it even went into his mouth.

"Ugh, gross," he said spitting, he wasn't mad, but he wasn't laughing anymore either. "Do you know how many people have been in this water...and what some of them have probably done in it?"

"Serves you right," I said, now it was my turn to laugh.

"Oh you think that's funny?," he asked as he grabbed me around the waist, lifted me up and body-slammed me on the bed of the water in a pretend fight. A combination of things made me gasp: Stan's ability to lift me, the coolness of the water, and the tingle that went through me when his hands were on my waist. I wondered if he could feel it?

Laughingly he helped me back up to my feet as I wiped the salty water out of my eyes. Suddenly he stopped laughing and lifted his hand to help me push some ringlets of hair out of my face.

"I love your hair, it's really pretty," he said as he examined one of the ringlets in wonder. It seemed like an eternity went by as he held my hair and examined it with awe, wrapping a strand of it around his finger. Then he leaned down a bit, lifted it to his nose, and inhaled the scent of it.

I almost fainted from shock. "Thank you," I whispered softly not wanting to spoil the moment.

At the sound of my voice he looked into my eyes, let go of the ringlet, and put both of his hands on either side of my face. Then he swept my hair back out of my face and over the crown of my head freeing it of some of the water with his hands. His hands seemed to linger in my hair until they eventually rested on my shoulders. I just looked at him not knowing what to say. I was in shock: I couldn't move, I couldn't breathe. My face and body were tingling from his touch as we gazed into each others eyes. I wondered if he knew how I felt, and I wondered if he felt the same. His eyes were darkened by some emotion that I couldn't comprehend...

"Stan...," I began...

He removed his hands from my shoulders, breaking the spell, which automatically made me stop saying what I was about to say.

"Are you ready to get out of the water now?," he asked sounding as if he were in pain. "All of this playing around has made me hungry," and his stomach growled to prove it.