Of All the Stars in the Galaxy

Waves

I sit staring out at the ocean waves, the sky now dark with a sprinkling of stars reflecting off the water's surface.

I'm listening to Tali, and processing her words carefully. It's just easier for me to watch the waves while she does so rather than her face.

The end result apparently is that she chose me. I can hear how torn she is over the decision though, and I honestly am not sure she is sure she made the right one. Which kind of hurts. I am empathetic enough to understand that it was an incredibly difficult situation and heartbreaking decision for her. I really am. It's just that nobody wants to feel like their beloved choosing to be with them may have broke their beloved's heart.

It's a hard pill to swallow, but I listen carefully. At this exact second, she is clearly feeling a large variety of feelings. Right now, it's really not about me. It's about how she feels. So I listen carefully, even when what I hear kind of hurts me.

When I hear her voice hitch, I immediately tear my eyes from the ocean waves and turn to look at her. I'm alarmed to see her face is tear streaked, and that she seems to be trying to stop herself from crying even harder. "Oh no no no" I croon softly reaching out my arms to pull her against me. I wipe one hand hastily on my jeans trying to free it from the sand covering my palm, and gently wipe away her tears.

She rests her head against my chest, tears still falling down her cheeks as she finishes saying what she has to say. She looks exhausted, emotionally and otherwise. I don't know what it is, but I can never resist the urge to try to make her laugh or distract her when she's sad.

I look out at the ocean and remember offering to teach her to swim one day long ago when we first started talking, and grin as I develop an idea.

When she's mostly calm I stand up and grin at her, before undoing the top button of my jeans and quickly dropping them. Tali's eyes widen comically at my red pair of tomboyx boxer briefs that I now stand in, along with my sports bra. I suppress the urge to laugh, but if she was a cartoon character her eyes would totally be popping out of her head right now.

I offer her my hand and help her to her feet, ignoring the fact that she's eyeing me up and down very intensely right now. Doesn't seem like the time. Besides I have a plan.

I gesture to the ocean and announce "It's time for my previously promised swim lessons.", grinning like a simp as I announce my plan. She raises her eyebrows and starts huffing about it being the middle of the night, a public beach, and the fact that neither of us have swim suits.

I badger her into taking off her jeans, leaving her in underwear and a t shirt. I say badge because I once nicknamed this woman Testarudez because she is STUBBORN. I counter this by being persistent. Balance is important, right?

I take her hand and lead her into the water, seeing her eyes widen when I try to lead her into slightly deeper water. "Woman, I'm not going to let you drown, relax" I scoff, but wrap an arm around her so she can use me to stay afloat. My five inches I have on her in height mean that even though the water is just barley hitting my chest, her little head is just above water. The alarm on her face would be adorable, if it wasn't also slightly insulting.

I spend the next thirty minutes trying to patiently instruct Tali in some basic swimming skills, and once she finally relaxes and decides to trust me a little, she starts to catch on quickly. I keep an arm near her at all times, ready to grab her if she starts struggling.

After awhile, she starts to seem tired, so I pull her against me, easily able to lift and direct her in the water. I look down and grin at her, seeing the far off stars reflected in the irises of her eyes. I lean my head down to rest my forehead against hers, which makes her grin.

I tilt my head and whisper "beautiful" before I press my lips against hers again. She tastes salty, likely due to the ocean. I keep my kiss soft and sweet, enjoying the sensation of kissing her, her arms wrapped around my neck, and her body pressed against mine to stay afloat as the ocean waves sway us back and forth gently.

It's almost surreal, a dream I've had a hundred times over the last year. Yet here she is. Real and warm in my arms, and I can feel her lips pressed against mine. If this is a dream, please god don't ever wake me up.

When we make our way back to the beach, I pull back on my jeans, due to the other option being walking though my hotel lobby in wet boxer briefs. It's gotten later, and after the ocean I feel slightly chilled. My cotton sports bra does nothing whatsoever to hide my bodies reaction to the cold, which I know Tali notices as I catch her full on staring at my chest.

"My eyes are up here." I snark, rolling my eyes. She slowly tears her eyes away from my chest and gets her jeans back on. "Let me walk you to your car, it's dark." I offer, offering her my hand as I let her lead me in the direction of wherever she parked.

It occurs to me I don't even know what kind of car she drives. This relationship is staring in a pretty serious place, but we really don't know much of the boring day to day stuff about each other. It's like fast forwarding a relationship to like the eighth or ninth date, without having had that face to face time. It's a little daunting, but she's worth it.

When we reach her car, I ask her if she's busy tomorrow afternoon. She smiles and shakes her head. "Want to go on a date with me?" I say feeling embarrassed, and oddly anxious. Her eyes light up and she laughs. "Of course I do." She says grinning. We work out some basic logistics, and than it's time to say goodbye. I reach my arms out and she slides into them, squeezing me tightly. I grin, she really does feel right in my arms. I lean my head down to kiss her softly again, before quietly wishing her a good night, and walking back in the direction of my hotel, whistling like a happy fool.

Once I'm in my room, I strip off my wet uncomfortable clothes and walk into the bathroom to turn on the shower. I wait for it to get hot. I like the water so hot it all but hurts when I shower. Once I can see steam, I climb in under the hot spray and let the hot water pound over my head and shoulders as I stand there and think.

I think about the feel of her lips against mine, and reach up and touch my own lips lightly with a finger, trying to imprint the sensation into my brain. I really love kissing her. I don't think I'll ever grow tired of it.

My mind briefly wanders to sex, especially as we live on oppose coasts, and I only two days and two more nights here, but I try to push that thought to the back of my mind. I want her so badly, but at the same time she just ended a marriage. So maybe I need to calm the fuck down. I've got time, I can always try to come back out here or see if she can come to me at some point. I'll just take my cues on that one from her, I can wait, I'm nothing if not patient.

After I'm throughly scrubbed and washed, I step out of the shower, drying myself quickly before pulling on another tomboyx pair of boxer briefs, pink this time. I brush my teeth throughly. I always brush too hard, and make my gums bleed, but I really hate tooth plaque. After I rinse with listerine, spitting the mixture into the hotel sink once my mouth starts to burn. I use my towel to wipe a drop off listerine that had dribbled down my chin onto my chest. I lazily drag a comb through my short wet hair, knowing that there is little point. I'm all too familiar with bed head.

I slip underneath the cool sheets and grin as I drift off to sleep.