boywhoflew | (no subject)

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With school out of session and July in full swing, the boardwalk was alive with summer.

In a weird way, even having grown up in California, it felt more west coast that east coast in his opinion. The number of bodies wandering in shorts and tank-tops or even dressed down to their swimwear was so quintessentially standard that for a second he could almost picture it being more from a television show than real life. But for as many people were wandering the boardwalk, the beach proper was almost bare but for a few wandering families.

It was crowded up on the strip, but the water looked quiet. Almost private, if not for a few kids squealing as they splashed in the shallows.

He'd packed a duffle bag. Towels, sunblock, and a few bags of chips. Nothing but the basics when they had shops and food carts barely out of sight. But if he was honest, nothing seemed like much of a necessity when the apartment was a bus ride away and he had Dee to distract him.

With whatever black magic she somehow managed to use on him that left him with itchy palms and the impulse to smile like an idiot.

"In a few days when I'm peeling, I get to blame it on you." He said pointedly, raising an eyebrow and then giving Dee a wry grin.

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She likes the way his hand feels on her, the weight of it, the way her back springs into sweat under the press of his palm. She lets her head drop a little, just enjoying being touched for a moment. It won't be her first time - she's pretty sure that Carson knows that. She doesn't think it matters.

"Yeah," she says, softly, surprised by how raw her voice suddenly is. "Yes, we deserve special."

Carson considered the rougher edge to her voice for a second, wondered if maybe he had said the wrong thing, but he didn't think so. He meant what he said. He wanted to go all the way, probably a lot more than he'd ever really thought he would. But with Dee things felt different, and when they got there, he didn't want it to only be because their hormones got the best of them. Maybe it wasn't love, and maybe the idea of love scared the shit out of him, but it should be more than just a quick frenzy of limbs and hormones.

"At the risk of sounding sappy," he added, petting the warm slick skin of her back. "The fact it'll be with you stands to promise it will be."

She blushes just a little at that, looking back over her shoulder to smile at him. His hand feels so good against her back it's difficult to keep a clear thought in her head while he's touching her.

"That did sound sappy," she says. It doesn't sound like she minds.

"Sorry," he apologized wryly. His tone alone, while maybe a touch embarrassed, clearly suggested he wasn't actually the slightest bit sorry. Leaning over he pressed his lips to the warmth of her shoulder, a smile curling against her skin.

"I'll try to keep the sappy grossness to a bare minimum," he teased. "Last thing we need is to be one of those couples."

"What if I like it?" She asks, glancing back over her shoulder at him, her eyebrows raised. She gives him a crooked smile. "Nobody ever wanted to say things like that to me before."

"To be honest, I never figured there would be anyone I'd want to say things like that to." He admitted, tilting his head and giving a slight shrug. Most days followed the same pattern that his entire life had laid out, where nearly every other human being he encountered was some kind of annoyance. But as hesitant as he still felt at times, it was easier to just relax and enjoy Dee's company rather than try to pick at her potential flaws.

Though he was still trying to figure out how to diplomatically broach the topic of school and education with her.

"But if you do like it, I guess I can make that work." He grinned, trailing his hand up from her back to cup the back of her neck before he stole another kiss.

A little shiver goes down Dee's spine and she bites her lip once he's done kissing her. She pushes up off the ground and offers Carson both of his hands. "C'mon. I want to go in the ocean. I never got the chance before." She tilts her head. "Can you swim?"

Between the kissing and sex talk, a dip in the ocean to cool down seemed like an excellent idea. Carson even suspected that it may have been her throwing him a bone as much as actually wanting to go for a swim and if that was the case, he was pretty sure she might actually be perfect.

"I can swim," he assured her, grabbing her outstretched hand and pulling himself up. Giving her palm a squeeze, he squinted out at the lazy lapping waves and began to tug his t-shirt up and off. "Clover might have been in the middle of buttfuck nowhere, but at least we had a public pool. As much as I hated knowing I was probably swimming around in other people's urine as a kid." Pausing, he dropping his short on the blanket and glanced at her. "Wait, can you?"

"I hadn't even ever taken a bath before I arrived here," says Girl, eyebrows raised as she watches him strip off. She grins, holding out her hand again once he's ready. "Water's pretty scarce, in the Zones. You're just going to have to make sure that I don't drown, okay?"

"We'll stick to the shallows." He promised her, grabbing her hand and tugging her towards the water. "You can just... I don't know, splash around and look alluring or something. Meanwhile I'll just look like a wet, harassed sun-burning rat. It'll be great."

"Oh, shut up," says Girl, rolling her eyes at him. "You're really fucking cute. Even if nobody took the time to tell you that before."

"I wasn't fishing for that, but I'll take it." Carson said in amusement. Even after a good month of dating it still threw him off guard when she did that, jumped to defend him even if most of the time it was from himself.

Tugging at her hand, they walked the last sand squishy steps to the water. He may have only ever been to the beach back in California once, but there was still a difference that he couldn't quite put his finger one. Maybe it was the color of the water, or just knowing that it was what he guessed was the Atlantic compared to the Pacific. But it wasn't cold but not warm either, and he pulled her along as he started wading out into the water.

The water feels amazing, lapping over her bare skin, but Girl keeps a tight hold on his hand. She isn't scared, just a little bit nervous. She trust's Carson not to let anything happen to her. She stays close to him, though. A wave rocks her onto her toes and she makes a soft, surprised sound.

"Ah!"

He couldn't help but laugh. It wasn't mean spirited or mocking, just a reflex when her hand squeezed at his and the small gasp she made. It made sense if anything, she was shorter and lighter than him, so the waves pushing at her stood to get her more off balance than they did with him. At least until they got a little further out.

"Okay?" He asked, grinning as he kept tugging her further into the water.

"Just keep hold of me, okay?" says Girl, laughing when a wave hits her. She presses closer to him, wrapping her arms around his waist, holding on tight. "I've never seen this much water in my life. There isn't this much water in the world where I'm from."

"Do you seriously think I'm going to let you get washed out to sea?" Carson snickered, dropping her hand to grab her by the shoulders. They were only thigh deep, but the waves came in with surprising strength, and he assumed it was only the advantage of his additional height that helped him keep his balance as the water sloshed around their legs.

"Can you float?" He asked, raising his eyebrows expectantly.

"I don't know," says Girl, keeping a tight hold on him, looking up at him doubtfully. "Can I?" She doesn't even really like the bathtub, and here she is, in the ocean. It feels kind of amazing, and being here with Carson? That's perfect. But she can't help but be nervous about all of this water. The ocean in the Zones - it was something to scare children with, eradiated and poison as far as the eye could see.

"Probably?" Carson guessed, wondering if maybe they should have gone to a pool before literally jumping into the ocean first. The waves were steady but non-aggressive and the water was neither cold nor warm, so he figured if they were going to try, it was probably the best time for it.

"Just a little further and we'll try. C'mon, let's just get in up to our hips and we should be good."

"You're taller than I am," points out Girl, still holding onto him as they move deeper into the water. "Your hips are higher up than mine, remember." She grins up at him. "Just...you know...remember that you don't want to go through the stress of getting another girlfriend if I drown. And you definitely don't want to have to explain to P."

"I'd make a crack about ulterior motives, but this probably isn't the time for that." Carson grinned, but paid attention to the water level on her as opposed to himself. Even if he wasn't a particularly strong swimmer he at least had the advantage of knowing how to swim at all, and it was probably smart to keep her to the shallows until she had her bearings. Or at the very least until she wasn't as nervous.

"Here, floating should be easy." He said, stopping and letting the water rock into them. "Salt water has a higher buoyancy because it's denser. Do you wanna just go for it, or would you feel better doing it like a trust-fall? I can stand behind you incase you eat shit and go under."

"Yeah, stand behind me," says Girl, turning around, her hand still in his. She looks up at him dubiously. "Now what?"

Biting back a laugh Carson settled his hands loosely on her waist, backing up just large enough of a step that they had room between them. "Okay," he began. "You're going to drop your weight and lean back. If the water somehow doesn't hold you up, I'll do it myself. Ready?"

"Yeah," says Girl, but she doesn't really sound it. Still, she's a Killjoy, and she survived out in the Zones for twelve years on her own, and she's not going to let a little saltwater beat her. "Just make sure you're there if I need you, okay."

She leans back, carefully, ignoring the way her stomach dips and lifts her feet off the floor.

"Just relax," he warned, keeping a loose hold on her waist. Her body sunk down into the water and he stayed ready to grab her if her head breached the surface and went under.

Girl tips her head back, trying to keep her face out of the water, letting the water and Carson take her weight. It actually feels kind of nice.