"Those are normal sized pants, you know. Even a little bigger." *** "Maybe. Dating someone from within the clan would feel weird to me.. They're like my family." *** She looked thoughtful, observing him. "You made it nice." She looked down at the flowers then back at him. "Thank you."
"They're too tight," she complained. "What if I wanted to run?" * * * "Agreed, but... I don't know. It's all weird." * * * "It sounds like I ruined it," he said with a frown.
He shrugged. "I'm not sure.. You'll have to wait until yours dries or we get home." *** He nodded slowly. "A little." *** "You didn't ruin it.. There was just a misunderstanding!"
She huffed, resting her head on his shoulder as they walked. "That'll take too long." * * * "Good thing that the sickness seems isolated to those two couples," she said with a small laugh. * * * "Still. I'm sorry. I really like you, Blaise."
"It'll be fine. Don't worry." *** He scratched his temple with a slight laugh. "Right.. Want to look for more sea creatures?" *** She gave him a small smile, her head tilted as she watched him affectionately. "I really like you too, Ellis."
"I'm not patient, Dion, you know that. Maybe I could make my own..." * * * She brightened, taking his hand and leading him back towards the tide pools. "Yeah! Let's go." * * * "I'm glad we got that figured out," he said with a nod. "Took us a while, there."
"Why don't you try drying yours or using a different pair from earlier?" *** He followed, his head tilted. *** "It did," she agreed. "But I'm happy. Now I can do, like, whatever I want."
"I could do that," she said thoughtfully, looking over their shoulders at the car. * * * She returned to the tidepools, kneeling down next to it and watching with wide eyes. "I haven't seen any crabs." * * * "You are happy, then?" he asked quietly, reaching out and brushing her hair back. "You're really happy?"
"Would you like to?" *** He went into his ankles. "Maybe they're hiding?" *** She leaned into his touch, her expression softening. "With you, yes. I'm happy."
She considered this before sighing, shaking her head. "No. I should just deal with it." * * * "Hiding from us? We aren't scary," she protested, leaning against him for balance. * * * His slow smile crossed his mouth and he ran his fingers through her hair slowly. "Well, alright, then."
He shrugged. "It's up to you. Are we camping here for the night?" *** "We're probably like giants to them!" *** She grinned, leaning into his touch. "You're cute. Want to go look for shells?"
"Maybe, yeah," she said thoughtfully, looking out across the water. "There's nothing quite like your first beach sunset." * * * "That's true. The first time I saw you, I started crying." * * * "Dear God, Woman," he said with a playful huff, rolling his eyes. "You're addicted to shells."
"Are they nice?" he asked curiously. *** He squinted. "That's different. You're just short." *** "Yeah but I saw some wash up with the waves! Really pretty ones! I was just nervous to get them."
She looked up at him in something similar to surprise. "Yeah, Dion. They're really, really nice," she said with a small sigh, sitting down in the sand. * * * She laughed in surprise, nudging him playfully. "Screw you!" * * * "Well, let's go get them."
He pursed his lips, sitting beside her. "I hope we get a good view. I've never seen one. I was also thinking about what to make to eat since you guys don't eat meat.." *** He laughed going over to another tidepool. "It's true!" *** She grinned at him adoringly, standing up and offering a hand.
She looked over at him with a frown. "You don't have to make food, Dion. That's not why we brought you along." * * * "I'm five foot, six inches, I'll have you know. That's above average," she said, coming over to him. * ** He took it, standing up with a small grunt.
"I know, but I'd like to. I just don't know how." *** "I'm six foor four, Luce. That's still short to me." *** She grinned, squeezing his hand and starting off towards the shore with a sort of skip in her step.
She laughed slightly, leaning back against him. "Are you even a good cook?" * * * She glowered at him before moving quickly to hop on his back, wrapping her arms around his neck playfully. * * * He looked down for a moment, a small smile on his mouth. "Wow, it feels nice to hold your hand."
He laughed slightly. "Not bad but not the best. I think it's fun." *** He pretended to fall back slightly. "Agggh! I'm being attacked!" *** She looked back at him. "I like being around you, Ellis."
"I brought some food stuff we can cook," she said, looking over at him. "Don't worry." * * * She laughed in his ear. "If you're so tall, you have to carry me around." * * * He grinned at her brightly, squeezing her hand. "I like being around you too, Blaise."
