didn't know you were cold ('til you felt my fire) // JENLISA AU

Epilogue

Long, wispy green-gold stalks of shore grass waved gently in the ocean breeze, fencing around the natural fade of grass and soil to rocky pebbles and sand. Larger boulders circled down to the ocean and bordered the small sandy beach, the dipped incline created by the tide currently dry in the mid afternoon sun. Shells of various species were scattered among the smaller stones, dried seaweed rested where it had been snagged by sun bleached driftwood and small birds and insects dug in the gravel and pebbles.

Overhead a flock of gulls circled and swooped in the air currents, calling out their familiar screeches, occasionally swooping down to land in the water, or on sand or grassy outcrop, lazily enjoying their freedom. A couple flew further up the beach, landed to peck and strut around the blue car parked on the gravel path, a 1979 freshly restored Pacer with dust on the bumper and mud on the tires, hoping the humans had left them trash to scavenge.

The car's occupants were out on the small beach, two towels laid out in the middle where the sand was softest and a large umbrella leaning to one side for a chance of shade. One of them, a girl of about eighteen in jean shorts and an overly large white T-shirt, with her long dark hair tucked under a blue trucker hat, was sitting in the shade to read a ratty old crime novel she'd found in a roadside antique store. Beside her, a small portable stereo played soft piano music music from a soundtrack CD, doubling as a paperweight to keep the gas station plastic bag holding their bags of chips from getting tossed by the occasional wind gust.

"Six skips! Watch, I'm gonna get it!"

Jennie glanced up from her book at the shout, over to the water's edge. She leaned forward, arms resting on her knees, and smiled down the beach to where Lisa was standing with her feet sinking in the wet sand, sandals discarded a some distance away. Lisa, wind rustling through her messy, short bob, faded pink hair with the dirty blonde showing at the roots, dressed in board shorts and a yellow tank top that she was holding out by the bottom to make a small pouch to hold the rocks she had collected, shot a wide grin Jennie's way before turning. She brought her other arm back and flicked it toward the water.

The rock bounced three times over the dark blue-green ocean water before it was swallowed by a wave.

Lisa was too far for Jennie to hear over the sounds of the ocean and wind, but she knew the girl was muttering from the way her shoulders shook this way and that, a disappointed motion of her fist by her side. Jennie laughed a little to herself, watching Lisa grab another rock from her collection and flick it out, only to lose to the waves once more.

They had been here for three days, this quiet little beach resort just outside a small tourist town along the coast. It was less crowded, small scattered cabins along the coastline, a decent drive from the town than the other sites, and the beach was more of an inlet, a nature landscape; not really somewhere to play and tan. Maybe not glamorous, but to them right now, it was perfect.

"Dammit!"

Lisa cursed again as another of her skipping attempts failed. With a smile curling on the corners of her mouth, Jennie set her book down and stretched her arms up, before pushing herself up to stand. She stretched her arms over her head with a satisfied pop of the her joints, brushed the sand off her bare legs and made her way through the shifting sand to reach her girlfriend at the edge of the shore.

"Are you using the right stones?" She asked over sound of waves as she approached. Lisa glanced over upon hearing of her voice, cheeks flush from the sun, and expression completely cocky.

"Little flat ones," she raised a stone up to show Jennie, twisting it slightly to display the shape. "And the curve and flick. Dad used to take us camping by a lake, I got really good at it. I swear Jen, I can get up to six skips!" She brought her arm back and swung it, the stone skipping three times before disappearing into the water with a faint 'plonk' sound. Lisa hissed out another disappointed curse. Her nose wrinkled as she pouted a frown, and Jennie wanted to kiss the expression right off of her.