Delilah's POV

The longer I'm here, the more this all feels like a dream. I never want to leave.

Luke and I went to the beach today. It's the hottest day here so far. It's not too crowded since it isn't summer here and everyone is at school. There's only a few other people, which is nice.

"Remember our first kiss?" Luke whispers as we lay in the sand.

"Of course," I tell him, reaching over for his hand. "Why are you thinking about that right now?"

"That was the best night of my life," he says, laughing lightly. "I was so nervous, I almost didn't kiss you."

"If you didn't make a move that night, I would've," I tell him.

"I honestly didn't know if you liked me or not."

"Luke! I literally wrote it down in my project, and you accidentally read it! How much clearer could it have been?"

He laughs. "I was just unsure! Feelings change."

"My feelings did change. They got stronger the more I got to know you. They still do."

"You mean that?" he asks, getting closer to me on the blanket.

"Of course I do." I sit up and shield my eyes from the sun so I can see him better. 

Luke sits up too and quickly kisses me. 

"Remember when I dropped my coffee on you?"

"I recall it more as a throw, but yes, I remember that too."

He blushes. "I never said sorry for that. But sorry." He laughs.

"I don't care anymore," I say, laughing too.

"We have had some crazy things happen to us the past few months, haven't we?"

"I don't think I ever imagined my year being so crazy, but I wouldn't change it for the world."

Luke's phone rings, and he scrambles through the bag to find it. 

"It's my dad," he says, picking up the phone. "Hey, Dad... Yeah, I know... Okay... Tell her I said good luck... Okay, see you then... Bye!"

I watch Luke as he talks on the phone. The sun is directly behind him, creating rays of light all around him. His eyes look more blue when the sun bounces off of them. Sand mixes with the freckles on his shoulders, and his hair is salty. I quickly take a picture of him to capture the moment. 

He catches me and smiles. After he ends the call with his dad, he takes a picture of me.

"Everything okay?" I ask.

"Yeah, he was just reminding that they're going to the hospital in about an hour. It's her last appointment before her surgery. He said they should be home around 6 o'clock."

"Why so long?"

He shrugs. "I'm not sure. I think they just need to make sure everything is okay and ready for the surgery."

Luke looks somewhat worried when he mentions the surgery. I know things like that make him most nervous. He knows what happened after Delia's surgery, and I think that makes him fear it.

"I'm sure she'll be fine," I tell him, standing up and wrapping my arms around him.

"I know, there's always just a piece of worry."

I don't want him to focus on things that make him worried or sad. I'm actually happy I'm here for Liz's surgery. I want to help out as much as I can. Luke will need someone to make sure he's okay. I know he'll be worrying that his mom is okay, but he needs someone for him, too.

"C'mon, lets go in the water," I tell him, tugging him towards the water.

Even though it's not summer, the ocean is still warmer than Maine's oceans ever are. The beaches are much nicer too. The beach we're at is like the beaches that are used as computer wallpapers. The ocean sparkles when the sun hits it, and the sand is soft and warm. It feels like paradise.

I'm convinced all of Australia can't be real. How can beaches be so nice? And how are accents so pleasing? How can food be so much healthier? How is it so warm? The list goes on and on. More reason to believe this is all a dream.

Luke plants his feet in the sand. "Wait a sec. Go down to the water, I'll be right there!"

"Okay?"

I head to the waves alone as he searches for something in his bag.

I'm standing in the wet sand when I feel something hit my back. I quickly turn around, thinking it's a bug. I don't see a bug though. I see Luke standing behind me with Skittles in his hand.

"Hey!" I say, trying to splash him, but he's too far from the water.

He tosses some of the Skittles in his mouth and sticks up his middle finger. He throws another one at me, walking closer. 

"Taste the rainbow!" he yells.

Then I realize what he's doing. I think back to the day a few months ago where my feelings about Luke started to change.

A wave crashes at our feet, and Luke bends down and splashes me. I splash him back, and he shields his eyes. We continue splashing each other until I run away from the water. He smiles widely, the first real smile I've ever seen him do. I notice how straight his teeth are, and how big his dimple really is.

I stick out my tongue, and he runs over to me. I throw some Skittles at him, and he manages to catch one in his mouth.

I throw another one, and it hits him right in the forehead. He rubs the spot like it hurt, and I laugh. He jokingly flips me off, and I quickly put my hand over his finger.

"Hey!" I say, my hands still over his. "You have to taste the rainbow, not flip it off!" I say laughing.

He rolls his eyes and reaches into his jacket pocket, which I'm still wearing, for some more Skittles. We end up reaching in at the same time, and he grabs my hand, most likely on accident. He holds on to it for a few seconds before reaching away. Even in the dark, I can tell that he's blushing. I think I am too.

I laugh and give him some Skittles. "Don't be embarrassed," I tell him.

He waves his hand and tosses all the Skittles in his mouth. When I'm not looking, he throws one at me.

"Taste the rainbow," he mouths.

He smiles and I start getting teary eyed as I recall everything.

"Don't do this to me," I say, laughing. I quickly wipe my eyes.

"I didn't mean to make you cry! I thought it would be funny!"

He drops all the Skittles in his hand and runs over to me. He wraps his arms tightly around me and sways side to side. 

"I really thought you'd laugh, not cry," he says.

"I'm just a little emotional. Those were basically the first words you ever said, even if you didn't say them out loud."

"That was the day I realized I liked you. Today I love you," he whispers.

"You're gonna make me cry more, stop!" I tell him, laughing.

He picks me up bridal style and runs further into the water. He spins me around and kisses me gently.

"This is so cliche," I say, laughing.

"I know. I'm trying to make you laugh now since my last attempt didn't work. And now you're laughing, so I accomplished it."

Instead of dropping me in the water like I was anticipating, he gently places me into the water beside him. 

He stares at me for a few seconds and smiles. He splashes me a little, breaking the silence.

Standing in the warm water, I think back to that first day on the beach. It was November and the air was cold. Luke smelled faintly of cigarettes, a scent which no longer lingers on him. He was mute and mysterious.

Now, a few months later, the air is warm and welcoming. Luke is always laughing, and he's constantly telling stupid jokes. I know more about him than anyone else. So much has changed.

We stay in the water for a few minutes before both of us start getting hungry. 

As we get close to our stuff, I realize there is food all around our towels. I then realize the mess that is surrounding all of our things.

"Uh, Luke, did you leave the bag open when you got the Skittles?" I ask him.

"I don't think so, why- Oh..." He starts laughing and his cheeks turn red. "Oops, I guess I did."

Sea gulls definitely got into our bag and took our food. Pieces of our lunches and snacks are spread all over the place. 

"Now what?" we both say in unison.

"Guess we'll head home. We can get something on the way," Luke says, still laughing. "I can't believe I did this."

"Oh, I believe it."

He rolls his eyes and throws one of the many Skittles that are now in the sand at me.

We pack up our things. Thankfully we had one bag for food and another for the towels, phones, and clothes. I wouldn't have liked for a sea gull to fly away with my phone in its mouth.

The beach isn't too far of a walk from Luke's house, and it's nice out, so we walk back. We stop at a sandwich shop on the way since we're starving.

When we get to Luke's, he almost yells out hello.

"I haven't had the house to myself for awhile, I was about to say we were home to my parents. But they're not here," he says, laughing.

"Did you sleep enough yesterday? You're very forgetful today."

"Okay, leaving the bag open was a common mistake. Anyone could have done that."

"If you say so. I'm gonna go shower and get all the sand off me," I tell him.

"Okay. I'll go shower in the downstairs one. Don't miss me too much."

"I'll try not to," I say, as I grab a towel.

Luke listens to music sometimes when he showers. When we first met, he never wanted to listen to music. He's willing to listen to songs now, and actually enjoys some. Certain songs he skips whenever they come on shuffle. 

He listens to music so loudly though. Even though he's downstairs, I can faintly hear the songs from upstairs. I smile as I listen and dry off from my shower. I change and sit on my bed, waiting for Luke.

I hear his music stop and shortly after, he's upstairs. He walks into the room and runs his hands through his damp hair.

He smiles and sits down across from me on the bed. "Today was fun."

"Always is."

He runs his hand in small circles on my thigh. 

"You're tan and sun-kissed now," he says. He kisses me. "Now you're Luke-kissed."

I roll my eyes at his joke and pull him closer. 

He wraps his arms around my waist gently. He continues to kiss me softly. The only sound is the gentle breeze through my open window and the sound of our hearts beating.

I lie down and pull him with me. Our bodies start to collide gently like waves on the shore.

His breathing quickens, and he runs his hands through my hair. 

I kiss his shoulder, followed by his neck, and finally his lips. I tug gently on his bottom lip.

I can feel Luke's lungs quickly rising and falling. The tempo of his breaths mixes with mine.

We continue like no one else matters. And no one does. It is just us in this moment.

Luke's hands make their way to the middle of my back. His warmth on my skin sends chills up my spine. 

He starts to tug at my shirt.

My heart starts racing with our actions, but also my thoughts.

I don't know if this is what I want. I don't know if I'm ready.

This is an important moment. We're both possibly taking something away from each other.

And I'm scared. 

I have no idea how Luke feels about this.

"Luke," I whisper between a kiss.

"Yeah?" he says breathily, leaving a trail of kisses on the crook of my neck.

"Are we going to do this?" I ask.

He pauses and looks up at me. "Only if you want to."

"I don't know... It's just... I don't know."

His hand moves slowly up and down my back. It's a familiar and comforting feeling.

"We don't have to. It's okay." He smiles gently. "It's your choice."

"It's our choice. Not just me. We both decide in this."

"Honestly, I'm nervous as hell right now."

"Me too," I say, laughing lightly.

I'm happy to know he's feeling the same way.

He lies down beside me.

"We can wait until we feel more ready," he says, reaching for my hand. "I love you regardless. We don't have to do anything to know how we feel about each other."

"You're right, we don't. I wouldn't want to share that moment with anyone but you though."

"Someday we will. Just not today. And that's okay."

He's right. We have all the time we need. Everything will happen when we're ready.

you know I try to make my writing as real as possible. and for them, this is what feels most real. 

is anyone going to slfl colorado? I'm going and don't really know who else will be there!

also if you're not, please subscribe to my youtube channel! I want to hit 10k by my birthday (September 6). my channel is callmeashley98 :)

-ashley