Two Weeks With Chelsea

Chapter 20

Commuters filed past Trevor and Chelsea as they stood in front of a large map on the wall of the Metro station. She scanned the web of colourful lines and finally pointed to the dot that represented their current location. Trevor finished off a can of Coke and slipped the empty into his backpack, being careful not to crush it.

"There's a place to dump that can just over there," Chelsea said as she pointed towards a waste bin.

"Nope, I'll need it for the beach," he replied. "So, where are we?"

"Wait, what do you mean, need it for the beach? Like—" Chelsea lowered her voice to a whisper as she snatched the can from Trevor's hand. "You're not going to use it as a urinal, I hope."

"What? No! That's a Creepy Steve kind of thing." Trevor laughed. "You'll see. Back to the map."

Chelsea paused for a moment with the can held just out of Trevor's reach. Eventually she reluctantly returned the can to him then turned back to the map.

"Stacy told me about Steve and... gross, just gross. Back to the map. There... Catalunya, that's where we are now. Right?" she said with unconvincing confidence. "And, if the beach is down here... We will take this train, the red one until... Urquinaona? That's not far."

"Right, but which direction?" he asked. "Which platform do we need to find to go the right direction?"

"Oh, yeah— here, Santa Coloma, no, Fondo." she said as she traced the red line along the map. "Then we take the Yellow... La Pau and get off at Barceloneta."

"Correct! You got this!" he said. "Now, remember that, just in reverse. If I get hammered again, you're responsible for getting us back to the hotel."

"What, your superhuman powers of drunken navigation don't work underground?"

"They work just fine. The train movement kind of makes me sleepy, especially when I'm drunk. I have been known to fall asleep on the T and miss my stop, a few times. Okay, now lead on; finding it on the map is just half the fun."

"The T? You mentioned that before. What is it?"

"Boston's version of The Metro."

Chelsea guided Trevor to the platform and eventually out of the Barceloneta station to street level. She mimicked his actions from the walk back to the hotel the night before. With her arms spread open, her finger tips pointed towards the waterfront, and a wide stance with her legs she presented their destination.

"Ahhhh! Am I good? Or, am I good?" Chelsea said as she nodded her head.

"Okay, smart ass, that's the water, but which way to the beach?"

She looked around for a moment, then boldly marched off, "This way!"

"Lucky guess!" Trevor said as he followed.

Trevor opened his backpack and pulled the large towel out while Chelsea took her pack off her back. She gazed around at the people enjoying themselves on the warm golden sand. From the corner of her eye she noticed he was attempting to lay down the towel. She grabbed a corner and helped him spread it out.

As she lowered herself to sit on the sand, Trevor said, "The towel is plenty big enough for both of us to sit."

She took a deep breath of the sea air as Trevor positioned himself right beside her. He handed her the sunblock then fished his sunglasses out of the pack. As Chelsea applied the lotion to her legs and arms, he removed his pants and shirt. She tried to look away, but her eyes kept drifting back to watch him strip down to his bathing suit.

"Could you put some on my back?" he asked.

"Sure!" she said quickly.

Chelsea was more than happy to rub the sunblock over his skin. She bit her lower lip as her hands moved ever closer to the waist band of his swimming trunks. She took a deep breath. Then a hint of regret set in. Had she been wearing a bikini top he may have applied the sunscreen to her back. She wasn't comfortable enough to wear a bikini so the brief thought of basking in the sun in just her bra was dismissed before it was completely formed. Then there was the conflict between not wanting him to see her that exposed yet wanting him to touch her to apply sunblock.

"Done?" Trevor asked.

Chelsea snapped out of the daze. The swirling thoughts in her head left her motionless with her hands on his back for who knows how long.

"Oh, yeah..." she said as she pulled her hands away.

"We can hang out for a little bit, then get lunch at one of those places over there," Trevor said as he pointed towards the beach side cafes and restaurants.

The sun and a gentle breeze combined in a comfortable warmth that surrounded Chelsea. Her eyes scanned the waters of the Mediterranean. As she surveyed the vast openness of the sea, a feeling swept through her body. It was something she hadn't felt before; a mix of serenity and contentment with a splash of pride and optimism. A natural smile set her face aglow as she closed her eyes to bask in the inner peace.

Trevor looked towards her, preparing to speak. He held back and let her be still for the moment. He had planned to get up and head to the water but didn't dare move and disturb her. The water would still be there in five or ten minutes, he let her have this time, undisturbed. There was something calming in just sitting and watching her.

Moments later, a child walking behind her yelled to his brother and broke Chelsea out of her meditation.

"Welcome back," Trevor said. "I was thinking of hitting the water but maybe I'll wait until after we eat. Getting hungry?"

"No, not yet. But, if you are, we can go."

Trevor pulled a can of beer from his backpack then rewrapped the remaining cans, "Still cold! Told you, this pack is great, wrap the cans in a towel in that middle compartment, they stay cold for hours. It's got all this heavy padding to protect a computer but it works even better for keeping beers cold."

Trevor opened the beer and began pouring the contents into the empty Coke can. He hid the operation between his body and the backpack. "You see, not a portable toilet. Do you want some?"

"No, thanks. Maybe just one of the water bottles," She replied as she wondered what he was doing.

Trevor slipped the empty beer can into the backpack and drank the beer from the repurposed Coke can.

"What's that all about?" She asked.

"What I read was, you can't drink out on the street and if you get caught, they give you a hefty ticket, so I figure they probably frown on beach drinking too. I'm being sneaky, I'd rather spend the money on the booze instead of the ticket."

"Oh... What's the drinking age here?"

"Eighteen... I guess you probably weren't technically allowed in the bar last night, but since you weren't drinking, they didn't care. That and you looked totally hot, so..."

Chelsea blushed.

In a matter of a few minutes, Trevor had finished the beer and slipped the empty can back into his backpack. He laid back and dropped his hat over his face. Chelsea closed her eyes once again and let herself melt in the breeze. Neither moved for over twenty minutes when multiple chimes from Trevor's phone interrupted the peace.

After checking his phone Trevor's face became expressionless and he coldly said, "Let's get lunch."