Never Say Never

Chapter Nine- Tom

The tables had turned, this time she was the one kissing me. As the shock faded, I deepened the kiss, wrapping my arms around her waist tightly, the ocean breeze running past our faces as we parted. I looked at her in shock just as she let out a smile, proceeding to walk past me down the seashore. I jogged up to her and entwined our hands once more, about to express my shock as she cut me off.
       "Don't question the unexpected," she told me as if reading my mind without even knowing I was about to speak, head facing the shore in front of her.
         I laughed, a mischievous grin spanning across my lips. "Oh, I wasn't going to do that, I was going to do this," I smirked, grabbing her phone out of her hand and throwing it on the sand, pushing her into the splashing ocean beside her.
       She fell on her knees and looked up at me, giving off an annoyed glare that made me laugh even harder. "You're gonna pay for that, Holland!" she yelled, getting up and grabbing my hand, pulling me down into the water.
        I tried to resist but her grip was too strong, and she eventually caused me to trip in the shallow water, getting my whole body wet. She fell into the water, back first, plunging into a slightly deeper part of the water. I got up and wet to go help her and as I held out my hand, she smiled and grabbed it, only to pull me down headfirst into the ocean. As I surfaced, she couldn't stop laughing at my drenched figure. Like a cat going after a mouse, I pounced on her, pushing her further into the water. We both shot up and looked at each other, letting out a series of shared laughs.
       "I must be a sight," she giggled, running her fingers through her sopping wet hair and glancing down at her soaked dress.
         I grabbed her hand and gazed at her with astounded eyes, letting out a small laugh as I looked up and down at her wet body while we sat in the water. "You have no idea," I grinned, making her blush.
         I slowly leaned in and she did the same, our lips merging. We parted a minute later, and immediately after I splashed her in the face with water, leaving her eyes squeezed shut while she let out a grin, opening them after the water finished dripping down. She gazed at me with wide, amazed eyes.
         "What?" I giggled, splashing her once more to make her talk.
         "I thought I was always going to hate you, I'm so glad I was wrong." she smiled, looking down at her bare feet that would've been covered by shoes if she hadn't left them at the house.
         "There's no way you could be more happy than me," I laughed, tightening my hand around hers.
        "Gosh you think you always have to be right," she scoffed playfully while letting out an eye roll, pushing me in the torso with her outstretched foot.  
          I laughed, pulling her hand towards me and giving it a kiss, causing her to eye roll again.
        "Always a charmer eh, Holland?" she smirked, standing up and trying to steady herself among the lightly roaring waves.
         I sprung up and did the same, putting my hands on her shoulder to gain both our balances. We walked hand-in-hand back to the house, her head on my shoulder and mine on top of hers. We arrived shortly after and stood on the patio for a few minutes, waiting for the initial set of the drips to pass off our bodies and onto the floor.
         I went inside and grabbed us both towels and some water, making ourselves comfortable on the patio couch after I came back out. I set a fire and cuddled up next to April, her head on my chest and my arm around her shoulders.
      "So, you still set on leaving me forever?" I asked, a smirk on my lips as I looked down at her, only to see her gazing back up at me already.
     "Hmmmmm..." she said as I nudged her defensively, causing her to let out a giggle. "I'm still not sure..." she smiled, looking up at me with wide eyes. I moved my head back to get a better look at her, a jokingly shocked expression strewn all over my face.
     "Really now?" I gasped, getting a giggle out of her.
     "Fine, fine, since it seems soooo important to you, I guessssss I'll maybeeee stick around." she grinned, giving me a kiss on the neck before nuzzling her head back into it.
       Hours passed and we stayed in the same spot, the night growing darker. But now, she had fallen asleep, her head laying on my chest. I lovingly stroked her hair, careful not to wake her up. Thankfully, my nose was feeling a lot better so all the laughing that we shared today didn't injure it more.
        I grabbed my phone and looked at the time, it was 11:54. I was too entranced by her calming presence that I wouldn't be able to fall asleep, so I watched her for another hour or so before gently carrying her inside. I carefully set her on the guest room bed, and after seeing her stir a little upon her new surroundings, I backed away, gently closing the door.
         I walked to the main bedroom and silently shut the door, tiredly stumbling to the bed. I stripped down till I was just my boxers and slid into bed, the day's occurrences running through my mind.
        If you were to tell me a week and a half ago that the girl I had done so much wrong to was now staying in my guest bedroom after I had kissed her numerous times earlier today, I would've said you were absolutely crazy. But now, even though her being here was as real as my broken nose, it still seemed too good to be true.