jovialcontrarian:
August settles into the kiss, into her touch, letting out a contented sigh. It’s enough, for the moment, to sit in relative stillness, his hand over her heart, her hand over his pulse. She keeps catching him in these spaces where he ought not to be, where words hold less meaning than the absence of them. He’s still not sure how to feel about it, nor how to process the words she spoke from his heart but it’s…nice, being with her like this. He should have a better word for the feeling, he’s a writer for God’s sake but…”nice” would do, for the moment. It’s enough.
“Of course not, don’t be silly. If there ever is a point in time where you are inconveniencing me, rather than the other way around…well, I simply wouldn’t be doing my job.” As if to illustrate his point, he pinches her in the side as he did earlier, before he went and ruined the entire mood of the outing. It’s gentler this time, though the mischief in his grin is still very much the same as it was. Before she can react, August pushes himself off the bank back into the water.
“I’m glad we agree that our liaison is mutually-” he gives an obnoxiously exaggerated wink,”-pleasurable. Shall we make the most of the remaining daylight?”
Oh, he is ridiculous. Jessamine sputters with something mimicking indignation for a moment, then leans down and splashes him in retribution, irrepressible smile stealing across her face despite herself. She gives him plenty of time to notice the view she herself had noticed bending in front of the mirror when she first tried the swimsuit on, then slips into the water, gliding over to him and reaching up to cup his cheek in her wet hand.
“Oh, I think we shall,” she says, eyes gleaming as she drops her hand to his shoulder and presses in close against him, careful not to kick his legs as she stays afloat. “In fact, I believe we can start right now.”
And then she pushes down on his shoulder, shoving him just barely under the water without warning and pushing herself out of reach all in one motion, laughter pealing in the serene quiet of the springs.











