Behind The Scenes

110. Hero

I'm running my big hands over her back, while Jo is lying on her stomach with her chin resting on the back of her hands, and at the same time a myriad of thoughts that are best kept for myself are passing through my mind. My palms feel every inch of her skin, every perfect curve of her. I have the opportunity to print my prints — even if with tanning oil — on her amazing butt, so why lose it?

Her back and shoulders stiffen slightly as my slippery hands slowly pass over her buttocks, then move down her thighs to her calves.

I return to focus on her stiff shoulders. "Hey, babe," I whisper in her ear, "why are you tense?" I ask, as if I don't know why.

She grins. "Honey, don't worry. You didn't just touch my butt, what are you saying," she says sarcastically, and I love that tone, it drives me crazy.

I chuckle inside myself, but what she sees on my face is a dazzling smile. "Well, then you want me to? Again?" I add the last word in a low voice and stroke her spine with my index finger as I support myself on the other elbow.

She smiles and rolls her eyes. "There is an audience of minors in this place..." she tells me in my ear in a damn turning-on tone.

"Um, I know," I say groaning as I run my fingers under the hem of her teal green panties. "But the things I'd do to you..."

She looks at me amused and bites her lip. She shakes her head and shoves me making me fall onto my back. "Later, now I'm going to swim, bye," and she takes a short run to the shoreline.

Well, she has to keep her promise of later, though.

When I reach her, she's only knee-deep in water and her arms shiver.

"Cold?" I ask, grinning.

She clenches her fists on her hips. "Kinda."

She has always lived in a place by the sea, where it is always hot; I have lived in the lousy weather of England, so as soon as I have a chance to enjoy the sea there is nothing to resist me, not even the cold water.

I take a few steps back and Jo looks at me confused. "What are you—" she can't finish the sentence that I dive fish, splashing everywhere. When I come back to the surface I find her with a shocked face and I burst out laughing. "Hero... I swear I'll kill you!" She ends up laughing too.

I shake my head and she approaches, the water comes just below her pelvis. I go under the water and put my hands behind her knees and when I come up my nose is just inches from her pubis. She looks at me from above, her hands on her hips and her hair moving in the light breeze of the wind. She takes a few steps forward and when she is submerged up to her navel I take her by the hips and gently drag her with me a little farther, as far as I can touch the bottom.

"It's not cold anymore," she says before going under the water. When she goes back up she looks like a mermaid, literally. Ocean eyes and blonde—

"What the fuck...? Jo!" She splashed three fucking gallons of water in my face out of nowhere. I have my hair sticking to my forehead and I'm sure she'll make some jokes—

"I love the bangs! Aw, you so pretty!" Exactly, as expected.

I go underwater to bring my hair back, but when I come back to the surface another gallon of water ends up in my face. "What the fuck!" I exclaim laughing, because the scene is funny; we look like two five-year-olds.

Jo laughs out loud and her laugh makes this magnificent place even more beautiful.

"Come here," I order her, but she is slow to swim towards me so I approach her and take her by the wrists.

Her child side of her gives way to the woman side as she looks me in my eyes and puts both hands on my neck, making me shiver. I put my hands under her thighs and she wraps her legs around my waist. Oh God.

"Do you remember?" she asks me all of a sudden.

I frown. "No what?"

She smiles at me for a moment, then she becomes serious. "I thought you wanted to be friends," she says, and there I understand what she means.

"I don't think we can ever be just friends," I answer playing the game.

She giggles and gives me a soft, sweet kiss. I love these simple and loving gestures. "May I know... what were you thinking at that moment?"

We had only recently been together when we shot the lake scene. During rehearsals it was awful. We had... 'broken up' — in quotes, because we weren't even together — and I was terribly sick, and I think she was too. But the day we shot it it was better.

I take a deep breath. "Even though I was playing Hardin, those words... I meant them, Jo," I confess.

"That we could never be just friends?" she asks for security.

"Yup. Remember when we tried and on the second day in Atlanta we literally ended up in bed after that dinner?" I tell her, laughing slightly.

"Oh, please, don't remind me. What a fool I was, then, to take it out on you," she makes a disgusted expression , laughing at herself. "So what? What did you think?" she goes back to the opening topic, her legs still around my waist.

"I was wondering if you loved me, and when you wrapped your legs around me while I was holding you by your hips — just like now — so many things went through my mind that I wanted to do to you..."

She snorts. "You always end up there, huh?" she tells me jokingly.

"And do you blame me for it?" I tell her looking at her breasts.

She tilts her head to one side and shakes it as she bites her lip— so fucking sexy. She runs her hands through my wet hair and then places them back on my neck. She brings her face close to mine and our foreheads are against each other, our noses touch and our breaths blend together. She closes her eyes and a slight smile is painted on her soft pink lips.

"I love you, Jo, to die for. I swear." When I say these words in a sigh, the butterflies in my stomach take flight.

She kisses me, gently. And if a kiss could say 'I love you' it would say it just like that.

I know it will sound fucking cliché, but I swear I will always love her, even after my soul leaves the Earth. When I say forever, I mean until the end, despite everything and everyone, despite us, because a strong love like ours will never go out.