She laughs, returning to her previous position with her legs around my waist and her arms around my neck. “I think it’d be pretty impossible to hide it from you considering we were in close quarters on the plane and now the hotel. I feel much better, though. I’m sure it was just nerves. I was convinced something bad was going to happen.”

“Well, it didn’t.” I lower my head and kiss her.

She hums softly at the touch, her fingers flexing against my shoulders.

She leans back in my arms so the back of her head touches the water. She then stretches her arms out above her head while I hold her waist.

“This place is pretty magical,” she murmurs. “It’s so beautiful.” She sits back up. “What made you choose Greece?”

I shrug. “I don’t know. I always thought it looked like a beautiful place. And while I figured you’d prefer somewhere like Paris, because of the shopping, I just wanted to go somewhere where we could lay on the beach together for a while.”

She smiles. “You’re too good to me. What did I do to deserve you? I mean, I’m kind of a bitch, and you’re always so nice and thoughtful.”

I kiss her and she smiles even bigger. “You’re not a bitch,” I defend. “You’re passionate, there’s a difference. And you’re much more caring than you give yourself credit for. The way you care for your family and friends is one of the reasons I fell in love with you so long ago.”

Tears fill her eyes. “I’m gonna cry,” she warns. “I don’t want to, but I’m going to dammit.”

The tears spill forward and I wrap my arms around her. “Oh, Thea,” I sigh.

“I don’t even know why I’m crying,” she mumbles into my shoulder. “But that was really sweet and my emotions are all over the place with everything.”

“I get it. I do.” I rub her back, trying to soothe her. The last couple of weeks have been tough for her, I know. With her graduation approaching, and the move, mixed with no job lined up, then throw in my surprise vacation, and she’s been a mess. She’s so scared of falling, but what she forgets is that I’m always going to be right here to pick her back up. Besides, she’s the strongest person I know. She doesn’t give herself enough credit.

She pulls away, sniffling, and wipes her face with the back of her hand. I can’t really tell what’s tears and what’s water from the ocean.

She clears her throat and cracks a smile. “I need a drink.”

I laugh. “I think I do too.”

We swim back and Thea drops down on her towel, wringing out her hair.

“I’ll get our drinks,” I tell her.

“I want something sweet but full of alcohol,” she calls after me.

“You got it.”

I shuffle through the sand and over to the bar that’s part of the hotel. I squint against the grueling sun and curse myself for not grabbing my sunglasses.

I order a beer, and Thea their special—some kind of fruity drink that looks comparable to a Pina Colada. I doubt it really has that much alcohol, but it’ll do.

I write my room number on the slip so they can charge it there and then carry our drinks back to our towels.

I hold Thea’s glass out to her and she takes it, slurping at the hot pink straw before playing with the little umbrella stuck in it.

“Oh, this is good,” she comments with a thumb’s up, while I sit down.

I take a couple sips of my beer and then set it down, using the sand as a makeshift cup holder.

I turn to my side, watching Thea sip at her drink. I’m sure she thinks I’m weird for watching her all the time, but I can’t help it. She’s magnetic. I can’t help but be drawn to her warm spirit.

After a moment, I turn back and grab my book. It’s a book Jace recommended, and I figured while I had time I’d try to read it. Lately, I don’t have time to read. I’m usually too exhausted at night from practice or working out, and end up watching TV before I crash.

Plus, Thea prefers TV, so we always have a current show we can’t stop watching.

Right now it’s Scandal.

While I read Thea sits beside me sipping her drink and flipping through a magazine. We’re both happy being together, we don’t have to say anything at all, and that’s nice.

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