Jake
"We really have to go back now…" I said when Laura wouldn't stop having her fun with the oranges. She looked at me and I thought she was about to persuade me again, but she didn't.
"Alrighty…" she let out.
We packed the remains oranges and headed back on the road. Her mouth wouldn't stop moving, she had so much to say and I just had to force myself to meet up.
Seeing the cottage from a distance, I was so happy. Finally I would be free from her and probably get some quiet to myself.
"Finally, we are back." I let out and maybe I shouldn't because once she looked up and saw the cottage, she yelled, almost scaring me out of my wits.
"Yayyy!!!"
Before I even had a chance to settle in, Laura darted past me, heading straight toward the ocean. She didn't look back once, just peeled off her shirt and shorts as she ran, leaving only her lingerie, which clung to her body like a second skin. It was technically a swimsuit, but damn if it didn't make my head spin.
I stood there, frozen for a moment. She didn't care that I was watching, didn't care about anything, really. She just dived into the water, her body cutting through the surface with an effortless grace. She stayed close to the shore, though. She had already told me of her fear of deep water so I understood why she didn't go deep even though her body wanted to.
Still even in the shallows, she moved like she was born to be in it.
I wanted to join her. God, I did. But I was still standing there, watching her like a fool, completely taken aback by how stunning she was. It wasn't the first time I'd seen her naked, or close to it, but back then, I'd been half-drunk, just looking for a quick release. We were both high from the alcohol and we barely made it into the room before we devoured each other. I had no time to observe or take a good look at her body. Besides, I'm not that guy. I've been with so many women to care about the body of a particular one.
This was different though. Now, I was sober, my senses sharp, and I couldn't tear my eyes away from her. Every curve, every movement, was doing things to me I couldn't quite explain.
My head was almost spinning on my neck as I tried to peel my eyes from her body but I couldn't. They were deeply glued and no matter how hard I try, I was hooked.
I swallowed hard, trying to shake off the feeling that had crept up on me. She was playful, splashing around, diving in and out of the water, her laughter carried by the wind. My heart pounded in my chest, my emotions running high. I couldn't help but be drawn to her, like some magnetic force I had no control over.
"Come on, get in here!" She yelled, waving her hands to me, beckoning at me but I just couldn't.
"Nah, enjoy yourself…" I let out but before I knew what was happening, she had taken a deeper dive, disappearing under the surface. I chuckled as I waited for her to come back up. I wasn't expecting her to take my words to enjoy, that seriously. A few seconds passed, and she still hasn't come back up. A few seconds went by again, then a few more. My pulse quickened. Where was she?
Panic shot through me. Without thinking, I ripped off my shirt and jeans, my heart racing. "Laura!" I called out, but there was no answer. I couldn't see her anywhere.
Without hesitation, I sprinted toward the water and jumped in.
Laura
I was grinning like a fool underwater, waiting. I knew it. He wouldn't be able to resist coming into the water now. I'd noticed him standing there, eyes glued to me, and I could practically feel the tension in the air. That was why I asked him to join me. I knew he wanted to, it was written all over him and the way he ate me piece by piece with those seductive eyes of his. It was his ego and pride that held him back.
That was when an idea popped in my head.
My whole plan had been to bait him, to pull him out of whatever thoughts he was stuck in and get him to join me. And sure enough, it worked. I chuckled hard when I heard him jump into the water.
I resurfaced just in time to see him diving into the water, panic all over his face. I laughed, my voice ringing out over the waves.
"Gotcha!" I exclaimed while he blinked, completely bewildered.
"What the hell, Laura? That's not funny. I thought—"
"I know what you thought," I cut in before he could finish, still laughing as I wiped the water from my face.
"But I was just messing with you. If it's all enjoyment like you said, why don't you want to enjoy too?" I let out while his expression started to slowly soften as he realized what had happened, but then his eyes narrowed. "You think that's funny, scaring me like that?"
"Kind of," I teased, swimming closer. "I just wanted to get you in here with me."
He shook his head, but I could see the smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth. "You're impossible."
But I stopped laughing the second I got a good look at him. He was standing waist-deep in the water, his chest and shoulders glistening under the setting sun. His body broad, chiseled, and impossibly perfect, had my heart skipping a beat.
Memories of our first night together flooded back, unbidden.
Our tongues collided as we pushed ourselves into the room, he used his leg to close the door and we went loose that minute. It was as if we were in a competition, the sexual tension was f*cking too high. The way he'd touched me, the way his hands had roamed over my body, igniting something in me I hadn't felt in a long time. And now, standing here with him, those thoughts and sensations came rushing back all at once.
I swallowed hard, trying to focus on anything but the heat building inside me, but it was useless. The sight of him, the water, the memory, it was all too much. I couldn't help but let my gaze wander, drinking in every inch of him, remembering how good he had made me feel that night.
"Are you okay?" His voice broke through my thoughts, and I realized I had been staring.
"Yeah, I'm fine," I muttered, though I was far from it.
"Doesn't look like it," he said, swimming toward me, his eyes locked on mine. "You're blushing." He chimed in and the smirk on his face was almost as if he was also baiting me now. He had caught me drooling on him just now, and knowing him well, he would want to rub my face in.
"I'm not," I protested, though the warmth creeping up my neck said otherwise.
Jake chuckled, his deep voice sending shivers down my spine. "You are."
Before I could respond, he reached out and splashed me, water flying into my face. "Hey!" I sputtered, wiping my eyes.
"Serves you right for scaring me," he said with a grin, splashing me again.
"Oh, so that's how it's gonna be?" I smirked, splashing him back, and before I knew it, we were in a full-blown water fight, laughing and dunking each other like kids.
But beneath the playful surface, the tension between us was undeniable. Every time he touched me, whether it was an accidental brush of his hand or the way he grabbed my arm to pull me under, I felt that familiar spark, the one that had been there since the moment we met.
And when I surfaced again, our faces were inches apart, his breath warm against my skin. The laughter died on my lips as I met his gaze, my heart pounding in my chest. The air between us felt charged, thick with the unspoken things neither of us wanted to admit.
"Laura…" he whispered, his voice low, almost hesitant.
I held my breath, waiting for him to say something else, but he didn't. Instead, he just looked at me, like he was seeing me for the first time. And for a moment, I forgot about everything, about the island, about the past, about all the walls I'd put up to protect myself.
All I could think about was how close we were, and how badly I wanted him to kiss me.
But he didn't. Instead, he pulled back slightly, running a hand through his wet hair. "We should probably head back before it gets too dark."
I nodded, though disappointment tugged at my chest.
"Dark even when the cottage is right there. I never knew you were this bored. You know?" I intentionally said that to push his boundary.
Maybe he would react and I would get to know if he felt that too - whatever it was that I felt just now…