Fish out of water

Marie shook her head. “No, no, no. I don’t regret it at all. You’re wonderful and so good to me and I adore you, Nolan.” She sighed. “I’m just not the best at….things like that. I don’t really….I’m not used to doing things like that with people I like or am comfortable with. So um…I wasn’t really sure how to act.” Half of it was true which was more than she would normally give anyone. “So..sorry for being a dork?”

Nolan’s posture loosened. “Okay. I just wanted to make sure.” He smiled at her. “I adore you too,” he said in a shyer tone. “You don’t have to explain yourself. It sounds like something personal.” He smirked slightly. “Yeah, you are a dork.”

Marie almost let out a laugh. Nolan thought he was the one in the wrong and she wished she wasn’t so awful that he thought that. “Don’t apologize. You didn’t do anything wrong.” She sighed. “Look, you’re wonderful and I adore you. I just..have some stuff I needed to work out. But it’s totally okay. I am okay. Okay?”

Nolan forced half a smile. “Alright, if you say so. You made me a bit worried there for a while. I thought you, well, I don’t know...regretted what we did? Which, it’s okay if you do. I don’t. But..never mind. We don’t have to talk about it. Forget I brought it up.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “And I adore you! I’m not going to pry though. Just know I’m here for you while your work your stuff out. And if you need help I’m here to help you.”

Nolan was hot and shitty at video games, and those two things meant that he could hang whenever he wanted as far as Peter was concerned. So maybe he wasn’t shitty at all video games and maybe Peter just picked the ones he was great at whenever they were hanging out at his place, but he liked winning. Didn’t everyone? Peter answered the other boy’s challenge with an obnoxious guffaw, his eyes screwing shut with exaggerated laughter, and he tossed his own controller onto the armchair to his left when Nolan expressed needing a break. “Yeah, sure you are, bro, that’s why you need a break, right? Or do you gotta take a piss and center yourself for your next ass kickin’?”

“No, I really am next time. I swear. You’ve just caught me on a bad day.” Not bad necessarily but distracted. Distracted by how great Peter’s curls looked every time he blew them out of his eyes. “And I need a break because my eyes hurt. I can only stare at a screen for so long. I hated writing papers in college because the brightness on my laptop hurt my eyes.” Nolan set the controller down and stretched. “I’m going to literally kick your ass if you keep it up,” he joked. “Can I get something to drink?”

Nolan had hung out with Peter a handful of times. He was beginning to get to know him a little better. He liked his witty jokes and playful banter. He was nice on the eyes too. But that was something Nolan kept to himself. They were currently at Peter’s place, playing video games and just having a chill time. There was something eating away at Nolan though. Something he didn’t want to come to terms with or admit. For now he focused on the screen in front of him, trying his best to look at the other man as little as possible. “I may have lost the last four rounds but I swear I’m going to kick your ass on the next one.” He set the controller down and rubbed his eyes. “I need a five minute break though first.”

It was a good thing that Marie was home alone because a knock on the door would make Berli tense up as much as it made her. She didn’t let herself go near it or relax until she heard Nolan’s voice and even then she wanted to go to her room and ignore it. She felt bad for hurting him. She felt really bad for ignoring him. But she didn’t want to explain her reaction after their last bit of time together. Nolan seemed to think he did something wrong and it was far from it. He wasn’t the one who was damaged, messed up. So she went to the door and lightly pressed her head against it. She really didn’t want to do this. But she let her hands fumble for the door and stepped back to open it. “We can talk,” was all she said before gesturing for him to enter.

Nolan hadn’t realized how unprepared he was when she finally answered the door. He seemed to be at a loss for words. “Alright,” he said as he walked inside. He’d only been there a few times so there was still that awkward feeling of being in a new place there. “I uh.. I just wanted to apologize, I guess. In case I did something. I don’t really know what exactly I did but I just wanted to make things right. I don’t want to lose you as a friend. We can forget about what happened if that’s what you’d like.”

Nolan hadn’t spoken to Marie since their...last encounter. He had tried to contact her to no avail. He wondered if he’d done something wrong. Was it something he’d said? Afterwards she had seemed so far off and distant. He didn’t understand. Was it regret? Nolan wasn’t about to just let her go though. He was worried. So, he made his way to Marie’s place. When he got there he knocked on the door and waited. And waited. And then knocked again and waited some more. Finally he sighed and said, “Marie? I don’t know if you’re home. It’s me..Nolan. Did I do something that upset you? Did I hurt you? I just want to talk. That’s all. If you’re home please answer.”

“The scary part is, there’s probably someone out there who would. Yikes.” She chuckled,  “Nice to meet you, Nolan. Now that we have those pesky introductions out of the way, how about we go and enjoy the beach?” She offered with a grin. “I don’t know about you, but the water is definitely calling my name right now.” In truth, the water called her on a daily bases

“Yeah, you’re probably right. There’s plenty of weirdos out there that would like something like that.” Nolan thought that anyone who would enjoy a beach in winter had to have something wrong with them. “Hell yeah, let’s enjoy it!” he said. He was always down to meet new people and have fun with it. 

Toulouse had never really loved swimming or the beach, but he did love laying in the sun. The warmth on his skin, the sound of the ocean waves crashing behind him, and the beautiful seascape were enough enticement to draw him to the beach, despite having little interest in actually stepping foot in the water. “I guess that technically counts as swimming, but indoor pools lack everything that makes the beach great. They’re cold, lonely, and the only thing you can do is swim. The beach just feels like summer,” Toulouse replied with a grin, his mood enhanced just by the shift in his environment. 

“Well, yes, technically. But it’s just not the same. I like the way the ocean smells and how I can taste the salt on my lips after a wave hits me. They are cold and lonely. And often boring. The beach is the epitome of summer. Nothing beats it,” Nolan said with a happy sigh. 

Berlioz was unsure why he found himself at the beach today, but here he was nonetheless. He enjoyed the beach at night when few people were around, so it was a bit different for him to experience it at the brightest time of the day. He walked along the shore, carrying his shoes in one hand, and watched as the water buried and unburied his toes in the sand. The shy guy had not expected anybody to notice him, let alone talk to him, so he was a little startled when he heard the other voice speak up. He tucked his shoes in between his arm and side, so he could reach into his pocket and pull out his small writing pad and the pencil attached to it.

“If you count them, then I do too. It is a lovely day to be out. “

He glanced at his note before adding:

“What brings you out today?”

He gave the note a little smile, before extending his hand out and showing it to the other male, the small smile still lingering on his lips.

Nolan couldn’t help but wonder where he had seen the other boy before. He knew he’d never met him before. Maybe they passed each other in the college hallways when he was in school. No, that wasn’t it. Maybe he had just one of those faces. He had no idea he was Marie’s brother. He seemed odd though and that put Nolan off but he responded nonetheless. “Um, the beach bash,” he said. “Is that not what brought you?”

Tessa lived for spending time at the beach. She is absolutely obsessed with it because it’s the place she feels more at ease. Plus, she did not have to worry about accidentally fusing anything here. Today, Tessa had on one of her favorite green bikinis, with matching green flip flops, a straw sunhat, and a towel wrapped around her waist. She was coming to bask in the rays of the sun when she heard a fellow beach lover speak up. “Unless those indoor pools had a glass ceiling then, no, they don’t count. There’s nothing like feeling the sand beneath your feet and the sun wrapping you up in its rays. I love it.” She happily sighed, smiling. She was always happy to meet someone equally in love with the ocean as she was, “Tessa, by the way. What’s your name?”

“They usually don’t have a glass ceiling, unfortunately,” Nolan said with a shrug. “You’re right though. There isn’t anything like the sand beneath your feet and the sun beating down on your skin. It’s just so warm. I’m not a big fan of the winter months. Too cold for me and the beaches are closed. Who want to go for a walk on the beach in the cold and snow anyways?” He wished it could be warm all year round. “Nolan,” he said. “Nice to meet you, Tessa.”

Peter had been waiting for something decent since the winter months, and he was taking the moment to enjoy the sand by the breaking waves, harder and more coarse under his feet as the water cooled and cemented it. He turned to the guy talking, gave him a little scoff of a chuckle as he shook his curls out of his face. “Why were you wastin’ your time in an indoor pool? Just wait for the good stuff, bud, we made it, didn’t we?” 

Nolan looked over at the other guy. “I couldn’t wait months and months to be in the water. I enjoy swimming far too much for that. Nothing beats the beach water though. I take it you haven’t been swimming since last summer?”

“I know! I can’t even remember the last time I’ve gone to a beach––have I ever? Maybe, I don’t know.” There was an easy smile that fit her lips as she looked out at the view. “Well, i’d say we’ve wasted enough time looking at it. I’m getting in.” Eilonwy began to quick to shimmy out of her shorts and pull her shirt up and over her head with ease to reveal her bikini underneath. “Come on!”

“I’m sure you have,” Nolan said with a soft laugh. “I agree! We definitely need to hit the water. I didn’t want to go alone because that’s not as fun and it’s always good to have a spotter in case the waves knock you down.” When she pulled her clothes of Nolan did his best to look away but he couldn’t help but take a peek or two. “Alright, I’m coming!”

Snow was sitting in on chair close to one of the decks at the beach. She had done a watercolor painting and was waiting for it to dry when she heard someone talk to her. “I’m excited myself! Indoor pools are awful, though. Chlorine is terrible for hair and skin.” Snow replied. “I haven’t had much time for myself because of work, so… I beach day with drinks feels like heaven!” The woman smiled at him. “Do you want one? Are you… Legal enough to drink?”

“Yeah, it really dries both the skin and hair out. I try and take good care of both though.” He ran a hand down his face, thankful it was soft and smooth unlike in his teenage years. “Yeah, same here. Work is crazy sometimes,” he said. Nolan rose an eyebrow at the woman. “Uh..yeah. I’m twenty-three.”

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Marie nodded her head, putting her free hand on his lips to shush him. She then started to massage him faster, making sure she got him right where she wanted him before taking her hand off his mouth and moving out of his grip so that she could pull his pants and briefs down further. “Hold my hair back?” she asked innocently as she got closer to him once more.