Heat blisters across the ocean in waves. Summer is at its peak, rippling the air.
The others in your party have decided to dip down the beach's scorching sands and into the ocean foam, but you've decided to stay put. Marcille's griping partially carries over the break of waves, only the overtones of her voice and Falin's giggles reaching you, a distant siren's song that beckons you closer.
Instead, you pop the last crumbling bit of your popsicle into your mouth and close your eyes. The flavor spills across your tongue, flashes of citrus and blossoms of berry, and you hum in appreciation. When only the wooden taste of the stick is left, you open your eyes and catch how Laios has been watching you.
His lips are slightly parted, blush pink and gently moist, still wet with the same seawater that hangs from his dirty blonde hair. Those golden eyes are wide and just as bright as the sun.
The attention makes you glimmer; Laios is... different than other men you've liked, but he's certainly the most attractive. Wide shoulders and a thick frame, you can see how his muscles move through his sweat soaked undershirt, coiled and strong. It makes you act differently; you curl your spine and stick out your chest, pointing your toes to make your legs seem longer and more alluring-- all of the things women do when they want a man to want them.
Then, you remember who you're dealing with.
"Oh, sorry." You gesture with the empty wooden stick. "Did you want some?"
Laios blinks. Then, blinks again.
"Oh, uh-" he laughs, cheeks red. "Yeah."
The excitement inside you slumps. Yeah, he just wanted your snack.
"You should have asked." You roll your head to your shoulder and shiver at the bead of sweat the dips across the open curve of your neck. He does the same, rubbing the back of his neck with the flat of his palm. "I didn't know you liked sweets. It was really good."
Laios swallows and you watch his throat bob.
"I just didn't think you'd want my spit all over it."
"Spit doesn't bother me."
He doesn't say anything back. The silence unsettles you; Laios isn't one to ever stop talking. He's filled with tidbits and tangents that are seemingly never-ending. Shuro and Chilchuck hate it, but there's a certain charm to the joy he has when he's dumping information on your lap.
"Do you think there's any monsters in the water around here?" You try to spark that joy in him.
"No, they don't come in this close to shore; it's too overfished." Laios rattles off with ease, no passion behind it. "Do you really not mind spit?"
"I guess not?"
"Cool." Laios leans back again, watching the shore where everyone else relaxes as if searching for something. When he seems to find it, he turns back to you and swallows again before quickly diving into you. Before you can process what's happening, his lips find your cheek. They're somehow warmer than the air, but not as warm as the wet flash of tongue that creeps out from between them. It's nothing more than a quick swipe, but it's enough to rip a gasp from your lungs before he pulls away.
"You're right." The sticky orange juice of your dessert is stuck to his lips. "It was good. A little salty."
