Her Abyss | Completed

Four

I didn't know how to explain this one.

Because London straddling my waist was never supposed to happen and Noah wasn't supposed to see it regardless. He'd tell my father and then I'd never live it down because the jokes would roll in faster than my embarrassment.

My brother would have to be bribed and I didn't have the funds necessary for that. She found it amusing and I found it absolutely terrifying.

We were playing twenty questions on the beach while Noah ran around with the girls as usual. I wondered if he had a crush on one and as secretive as he was, I knew he'd tell me if I asked. His floppy hair covered his eyes and he ran through the sand away from three small blondes that giggled as they tried to catch up to him.

In the process of improving my tan, London had decided to join me. She brought American candies to share and I was growing fond of the Milky Way.

"Sometimes I forget you're Scottish and then you open your mouth and your accent is all thick and whatnot." London smiled when I laughed and shoved a few skittles into her mouth.

She was more enthusiastic than usual and I wondered if she was always like this on Sunday afternoons.

"My accent is normal, yours is quite basic." I stuck my tongue out at her and she raised her brows at me.  Sometimes when I teased London, her features deepened with something that I couldn't describe. Her mouth wore an indifferent look and I wasn't sure how I felt about it. But that was only sometimes.

"I most definitely am not basic Victoria. Basic Americans don't look this good and besides, that's not fair. You're the only Scottish person I know. There's no one to compare you to." She purses her lips slightly and laid on her towel beside me. London adjusted herself on her side and her eyes examined my features similar to the manner I did with hers.

"Do all Scottish people have freckles?" Her fingertips brushed against my cheeks and I covered my face to prevent her from seeing me blush. Unfortunately for me, London wasn't letting this one go.

I turned on my side to prevent her from seeing my red cheeks and suddenly cursed her stubbornness, "Stop that American."

And then she was prying my hands away from my face and I was protesting similarly to the night we went swimming in the ocean. One thing led to another and before I knew it, London was straddling my waist and her weight against me proved to be the distraction necessary. She won.

Her fingertips held my wrists above my head and I could feel myself blushing even harder now that she knew. At first, her features were blank. But as they deepened it became clear that she was aware of her effect on me.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you were blushing because of me Victoria." Her eyes were definitely green today as they bored into my own. They were defined with hints of hazel laced in between the deeper clusters of sea green and I wanted so desperately to regain my composure. The manner in which my name rolled out of her cherry lips didn't help at all.

The crush I bared for her was proving itself to be problematic. Out of the corner of my eye, Noah tilted his head and raised his eyebrows, "Oh I get it."

He raced back towards the house and I groaned inwardly. He was only seven for God's sake! What exactly did he get?

Did he understand that when London looked at me I thought about intertwining our fingers and telling her things that I usually kept to myself? Or was it the manner in which she looked at me that he understood? Because if it was that then maybe he could enlighten me.

"Now he's going to tell my father that we're getting married. I hope you're prepared to pay for that, considering this is your fault." I licked my dry lips and London's eyes swept over my mouth so quickly that I hardly noticed.

She shrugged her shoulders, "Could be worse. Besides would marrying me be that bad?"

I already knew my answer. Marrying London would be the peak of my life because we'd get to do things that married couples typically did and I didn't quite mind that at all.

Staring at her mouth was becoming my new hobby and made my cello seem all the less appealing. I'd been choosing London over music theory for the past week and I didn't regret it at all. Even Dad noticed I'd been playing less and he used the quiet to invite his business partners over to the house. This meant that the house was off-limits, hence the reason Noah and I were at the beach more than usual.

"I wouldn't mind marrying you American, even if you are a little basic." I grinned and London insisted on beating me up if I repeated myself.

She knew about my brother Noah and my father who was destroying the rainforest and my mother who was still in Scotland for 'business.' Only to her, the business part wasn't in quotations.

"Tell me something that's not basic about you London and I'll take it back." I shrugged my shoulders loosely and tried not to frown when she rolled off of me. She propped her elbows against the sand and cupped her face with the palms of her soft hands.

For some reason, she hesitated before parting her lips, "I really want to be a mechanic. My parents don't know that I dropped out of law school for it so it'll be pretty bad when they find out."

I tilted my head with confusion, "How come?"

London shrugged her shoulders, "I'm their only child and I have to live up to their expectations. But damn, I really love cars."

"That's not very basic of you American, is this the part where you pour out your heart to me?" I teased and London rolled her perfect sea-green eyes at me.

She traced the loose strands of her towel and stole small glances at me when I closed my eyes, "No. It's your turn."

And then I opened my eyes and found her staring at me expectantly. Fortunately for me, my cheeks didn't betray me this time around.

I grinned, "What do you want to know?"

She mumbled the word anything and I decided to tell her about my acceptance letter to Juilliard, the college I'd been dreaming of for years. I told her about the dark clouds of New York that seemed to scream my name.

"You are, passionate about that aren't you?"

When I nodded London grinned, "You'll fit right in with your gloomy aura. I'm serious Victoria, that place was hand made just for you."

I raised my brows with curiosity, "I'm gloomy?"

London laughed humorously while I eyed her features. It never occurred to me that I gave off that kind of energy and I expectantly waited for her to explain it.

She nodded slowly, regaining her composure in the process, "Just a little. It's kind of your thing though. You have this dark humor and you don't really do a lot of smiling, it's obvious you're not Californian. I'm not really sure why it works for you but it does. It's almost hot."

The words left her mouth before she could stop them and suddenly I wasn't the one blushing. London's eyes left mine and she swiftly changed the subject. I stared at her as she continued to pull at the loose strands of the beach towel she'd brought. To my disappointment, she ignored my stare and continued to tug at the loose fabric.

"Just to be clear, you think I'm hot. There's no way I'm letting that one go London, like over my dead body." I teased her and those green eyes narrowed on my own. Her scowl was so cute that I couldn't quite take it seriously.

"If we're being technical I said almost. I'm not hitting on you Victoria," She paused before mumbling the softest three words I've ever heard, "not this time."

I kept quiet this time because maybe one day, London would reciprocate what I was beginning to feel for her greenish eyes. And if that ever happened then hell, I'd have to give her a cuter nickname than American.