Sam tugged the edges of her blue, one-piece bathing suit down a little farther to cover her butt cheeks and smoothly rolled over onto her stomach. Her red Coca-cola beach towel was hot and rough against her cheek and through it she could feel the prickle of the grass against her sun-tender skin. It was the height of summer; one of those long, lazy days where there's nowhere to be and it doesn't matter what time it is.
The muggy air seemed to cover her like a blanket, and she felt a little surge of joy at being comfortable outside with naked limbs. The still, summer air was so close to her body temperature that it almost felt like part of her. She flexed her hands and feet for a moment just to feel the distinction between herself and her environment.
A neighbor was running a sprinkler, and the steady chick-chick sound coupled with the heat was making her drowsy. She began to wonder if Marcus would call her tonight and whether they'd have another chance to go to the beach together this summer. She thought for a moment about his lanky brown hair, how the fuzz in the middle of his chest smelled like herbs - clean and spicy, and the salty taste and softness of his lips. Sighing she turned her head, aware that the towel had likely carved a pattern into the side of her face.
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I love that Marcus smells of herbs and salt. This captures a girl's teenage years so vividly for me: the self-consciousness, the physicality of her changing body and of course those hormones! Lovely piece.
ReplyDeleteI liked that she flexed her hands and feet to feel the distinction between herself and her environment. Also the "chick-chick" of the sprinkler making her drowsy.
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