#summer thing

Prompt:Folklore-Taylor Swift (album)

Well, I didn’t think I had time to write today but I came across @the-dream-team ‘s TPT for today, read the first few lines and RAN to see what the prompt was and write it myself. SO here’s the accidental 3 pages of summer Jily that I wrote for @petalstosarah training prompt tuesday :)

It was a pleasant sort of hot as they lay there, basking in the summer heat but protected by a gentle breeze. If he tilted his head ever so slightly he saw the curve of her face tucked into his side, a pointless attempt to shield her pale Irish skin from the beaming English sun. James held up a hand to cast a shadow on her features, admiring how his own tan skin soaked in the warmth unfazed by the pinkish burn that had begun to spread across her cheeks. They were silent, listening only to the sounds of nature around them, the whispering breeze rustling through the grass and the chirping of birds as they flitted through the trees behind his house. Their secluded spot in his expansive backyard afforded them privacy, tucked behind a mossy knoll in the lawn and far enough away from the house to not be seen by the prying eyes of his mother and brother. Not that those two didn’t know something was going on anyways; they always saw through his halfhearted excuses, his doting smile giving him away when he went off to meet her even as he said he was headed to Scrivenshaft’s for new ink. 

Her breathing evened out and he listened to her above the natural underscoring of the grounds, the rise and fall of her chest beside him lulling him further into the happiness of the summer heat. His hazel eyes flitted left again, taking in the golden glow of her auburn hair in the afternoon sun, framing her rosy, freckled cheeks perfectly as she dozed off contentedly beside him. He was happy to stay there for the rest of his life, frozen in this sliver of time where everything was perfectly, incandescently happy. 

But even as he lay basking in the August sun, he knew that this sliver of time could not last. It was August after all, and despite the joy of its sunny days, August alway brought September. And with September came the wake up call of normality, of school and Scotland and the marching on of time. September brought the end of their days in the sun, stifled by those chilled winds of their separate lives. So while he tried desperately to stay present in August, to get lost in the rays beaming on their faces and the bubble that they’ve formed in that golden hour, he could not help but frown at the prospect of September, the prospect of the end.

Hours passed like seconds as James pushed back the thoughts of September for one more day, focusing instead on the girl beside him. It’s as if August had two suns for him, her bright light compelling him to stay and bask just a moment longer in his happiness, in their bubble, in her. The real sun had begun to shift now towards evening and he knew that he needed to get the other home in from the night air. 

Moving for the first time in hours, he shifted towards her, pressing a warm kiss to her hair. The soft sound she made as she woke from her sunkissed nap tugged at his heart and he added that moment to the long list of memories he was keeping of the summer, of her. Lily’s eyes fluttered open and he watched in macro as her lashes gave way to emerald flashing in the setting sunlight. The corner of her pink lips tilted upwards as she smiled serenely at him, her mouth forming a breathy “‘lo”. 

“Hi there,” he smiled back at her, his eyes dancing across her features, aching to take in every second with her, building a composite memory of all that he could see and hear and feel so he would never be made to forget this summer. 

“Is it horrible?” she questioned, pulling his focus back to her eyes. “The sunburn, I mean, I think by now I know that you don’t find the whole of me repulsive.”

The smirk lit his face, as it was wont to do, and her teasing smile matched its energy. “Well not the whole of you I s’pose… your tits are pretty bangin.” Her eyes flamed as if you could floo through them and she slapped his cheek playfully, feigning offense.

“Damn right they are, you cheeky boy.” The hand she had swatted him with came to rest on his muscled chest and her eyelids fluttered lower, sultry as she leaned up to press her lips to his. The arm he wasn’t propped up on wrapped instinctively behind her, his strong, worn hand gripping her ribcage through the floral linen of her sundress, holding her tight to him. Her delicate fingers fisted in the fabric of his shirt she smiled into the kiss as his tongue probed at her lower lip. When her lips parted, James deepened the kiss and rolled so he was atop her, gently lowering her back to the grass and holding himself up with his forearms framing her face. He brushed back a strand of hair as he pulled back for air and she bit her lip lightly, even as their noses were still touching, breath ragged from desire. Lily reached up and wound her hand into his curls, pulling him back down to her. His body was thrumming with feeling and with want as they continued, but her moan brought him back to August, the precursor to September,  and he pressed a final kiss to her rosy lips before he pulled back enough to look at her.

James shifted onto his hips beside her, his palms pressing into the sides of his head as he exhaled and raked his fingers through his hair. He felt Lily move beside him as well, knowing that the preemptive stop was out of character for him and that she would want to know why. He felt the weight of her hand lightly on his shoulder and he looked up at her, his eyes glowing in the sunset with a painful passion. Lily’s brow was furrowed slightly, and he resisted the urge to lift his hand and smooth that wrinkle with his thumb, not wanting his feelings to mar her pretty face.

“James…”

“Lil I-” he stopped to take a breath and she watched him carefully as he shook his fingers through his hair again. “I just- I don’t want this to end.” Her eyes glistened as she let out a small sigh through her nose, her expression one that he couldn’t quite place. Not able to bear the words that he knew were to come, he spoke again quickly.

“I know this is just a summer thing, but I want you to know that when I’m with you, I’m happier than I’ve ever been. These summer months that we’ve been together have been the best I’ve ever felt.” He shifted towards her again, nearly facing her but not yet ready to look into her eyes, afraid of the roadblock he might find there. “It’s like I was in this dark room, content and cared for, but not knowing what living with the lights on was like, and then this summer you kissed me for the first time and it’s like you turned on the light. You were the light, the sun, and now I can see… everything... and I feel so much. I can’t imagine a life where I don’t get to lay here in the sun with you where I don’t get to kiss you. I can’t imagine a September where I have to pretend like this August never happened.”

Lily’s emerald eyes shone back at him as he finally met her stare, and he only hoped that the passion he’d expressed hadn’t ruined everything. Resolute to conclude his speech, he put a calloused hand on her arm, holding her attention and conveying the magnitude of his feelings as he finished. “I know what we said, about the summer, about keeping this thing between us… contained. But I am happier than I’ve ever been. I’m in love with you. And I’m not willing to just let that go without fighting for it.”

In the moment of silence, besides James’ slightly ragged breathing, anxious from the declaration, the air around them was quiet. Even the birds paused as if they too were waiting to hear her answer. The soft wind blew by for a moment, darting in between them, as they sat in the orange glow of the setting sun, so much riding on this very moment in time. 

Within seconds the fear in his chest was cast aside as Lily surged forward and kissed him passionately, her hands clutching onto his shirt, pulling her as close to him she could get. Her hair curtained around them keeping them in their bubble as he broke from the shock and met her passion enthusiastically. His hand snaked behind her neck and held her there as she confirmed all he had ever wanted. 

Having properly kissed him, she pulled back ever so slightly, her warm breath still feathering his cheeks as she whispered to him. “The only Septembers I want are with you by my side and I never August to end. If we’re just a summer thing then summer is all year long baby, because I couldn’t handle not being yours. I’ve spent years of my life trying not to fall and two months of you in the sunshine has thrown all that out the window. I love you James. I am happiest when I am with you.”

“Summer Thing” by Tomu DJ & kimdollars1

DV:

One of my favorite ~albums of 2021 was Tomu DJ’s FEMINISTA, the kind of record that’s both fun and laid-back enough to soundtrack most any situation. I think I first found Tomu DJ via a set on the Lot Radio, but now I mainly hear from her whenever she sends out free download codes for her releases to anyone who follows her on Bandcamp. This is a wonderful gesture! And also feels weird coming from someone who sells her work for less than $10 on a semi-indie record site. It’s like she’s modelling behaviors that fucking Ed Sheeran should be doing, but will never even notice. This makes Tomu’s messages feel futile in one sense and utopian in another, a combination I can’t resist. “Summer Thing” is a collaboration with kimdollars1, and it’s just as sweet and just as liminal as those download codes, sent into the ether for anyone who might need them. The beat skitters and stutters but the synths are warm and slow: find which one you want to live in and follow it on a journey, or bounce between the two as your attention meanders along their path. “Summer Thing” sketches a world to get lost in; with Chicago coated in dirty ice and slush, it’s an irresistible one.

MG:

Dragonette, Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano, Cat Dealers, Bruno Martini - Summer Thing Mp3 Download