Swimming

--Aric--

Why did I say that? I don't do things like this. I deliberate, carefully, before making decisions. I have never gone along with someone so easily. Why is it that one girl could make me go against everything I've been taught, every warning i've been given? Oliver looked at me, full of concern and confusion. Lan was speechless for a beat. I don't think she thought I was going to agree either.

All of a sudden, Oliver yelped, and I turned to see Amelia's little bonfire flare up high enough to have singed him where he stood, too close. Lan jolted into movement, pulling him away, then heading over to give Amelia a hug and stalking towards the water. She turned.

"You are coming, right?" she asked, quirking her brow like she was daring me.

"Yep, gimme a sec," I stripped down to my boxer briefs and strode forward to stand beside her, hoping to hell and back she wouldn't notice the growing tent in the fabric. "Okay, let's go."

Her cheeks pinked as she looked anywhere but at me. If she wasn't expecting me to strip down, what was she expecting? It's not as if I had brought swim trunks. She seemed so smart, but this innocent reaction was just as intriguing. I wanted to tease her, and bring out that blush again.

"Alright, come on then." She walked into the surf as the sun started to set, me trailing behind her through the icy waves. That solved my issue real quick. Once the water reached her waist she plunged in, diving under the water and swimming beneath the waves. I followed her.

--Lan--

The icy water cooled my burning cheeks as I glided through the water, cutting through the waves. As the chill of the night ocean seeped into my body, I felt myself calm, my body streamlining to arrow through the seawater and my mind clearing to focus on the present. In my opinion, yoga, meditation, mindless Netflix, none of them could restore my focus better than the water. No matter what, the ocean was here for me, calm, soothing, through my mother's death, cheating boyfriends, b*tchy girls, everything.

I feel the thrashing first. The water churned behind me, breaking through my thoughts. I was roughly yanked to the surface, and I saw Aric's face, dripping with seawater. His silver hair was wet, flipped back, his eyes panicked, breathing hard.

"What's wrong? What happened?" Aric crushes me to his chest, lungs heaving.

"Aric?" I ventured. The breath bursts out of him in a harsh sigh.

Quietly he said, "Lan, I thought you drowned." I feel him scanning my face, my arms.

"What do you mean? I was fine, I told you, I do this all the time," I said.

"Look back," he said, his voice low. "We're way past the wave line. And you didn't come up for air a single time."

Sh*t.

"Aric, I keep telling you, I do this all the time. I can hold my breath for a long time, and I time my air breaks so that I stay under for as long as possible." I hope this works.

"I watched you. Every second. You didn't come up," I can still hear the fear in his voice; he's not convinced. I feel terrible for scaring him, but I can't figure out a way to tell him why I was never in danger without making him feel like I'm lying to him.

"Aric, I... I would explain, but it's personal and I've only known you a few hours. Just... You have to trust me on this, swimming isn't hard for me and I'm not going to drown out here. Okay? I promise you, if you trust me, eventually, I'll explain." I wrapped my arms around his torso, soaking in his warmth. "Trust me."

I slipped from his grasp and once again dove underwater, feeling him follow me, more closely this time. I made sure to come up for air every 2 minutes or so, taking exaggerated breaths to make sure he noticed. We swam for a long while, going way out, until I stop, and we float amongst the half-submerged stone grottos. Here, we can see the slopes of the rock fade away into the depths, the seaweed and barnacles growing up out the moss coating the stones.

He looked around us as we treaded water.

"It's beautiful. I see why you make the swim," he starts.

"Just wait, they're better up close," I say, leading him towards one. We peer at the rock's shining surface, teeming with life, even in the icy waters of the nighttime Pacific. Among the spongy moss and crusty little barnacles are little fish, crabs, starfish, urchins. There was an eel making his home in the rock a few feet over, his head hanging out, swaying in the current. We steered clear. "Look up." Above us, dark leaves fluttered gently in the briny air, light purple flowers on dark green vines swaying through them.

"Do you know what they are?" he asked softly.

"Virginia creeper vines and creeping rosemary," I replied. "I looked it up when I first found them." We soaked in the tranquil waters, currents circling around us, until the moon was high in the indigo sky, stars winking brightly away from the light pollution of the city. Quietly, quietly, we slip under the water again and make our way back, gliding through the cool water, occasionally pulling up next to each other. Calmly and silently, we swim together back to the beach, and back to Oliver and Amelia.