Veronica made her way out of her bedroom and into the living room to find Nick putting the pillows back on the couch.
“You didn’t have to do that, I would’ve.”
He shrugged, “It’s no big deal. I left the sheets on so it won’t be too much to make it up again tonight.”
“That’s fine.”
“So…” Nick turned to look at her. “What would you like to do today?”
“I was thinking we could go to the beach.”
His eyes lit up, “Ohh yeah!”
Veronica smiled, “Great! Let me get my stuff up together. Do you have trunks with you?”
“As a matter of fact I do, I usually go swimming at my grandparents.”
“Alright, let me get ready, I’ll pack a lunch and then we can go.”
“Cool,” Nick smiled, grabbing his bag and digging through it for his swim trunks.
Veronica hurried into her bedroom and over to her drawer, looking for her bathing suit. She of course hadn’t stopped to think of the repercussions of her suggestion. She’d be wearing her bathing suit around him. She had to be crazy.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
An Hour Later…
They lugged the stuff out onto the sand. The beach was crowded today, kids screaming and yelling and splashing in the water could be heard from miles away. The head bore down on them relentlessly, which only made the idea of jumping into the refreshing water, more appealing.
“Here, how about over here? It’s a bit more deserted and we won’t have to worry too much about you being noticed, not that you don’t want to be noticed, just that maybe it won’t be as…noticeable to be here…” Veronica frowned.
Nick chuckled, “This is fine.”
Veronica set her mini stereo down and then spread the blanket she’d brought, out on the sand, sitting down, Nick sitting next to her.
“Beautiful day out isn’t it?”
“It is, I love the summer. I haven’t been to the beach in so long, this is a nice treat.”
“Don’t your friends come with you?” Nick asked as he whipped his socks and shoes off.
“Yeah, but most of the time everyone is busy or they don’t feel like it. I hate going to places alone. Granted I like to be alone sometimes, but not all the time.”
“Yeah, me too.
“But this is nice, it’s nice to be here with you and yeah…I’m not alone now and that’s all that matters.”
Nick looked over at her suddenly, his gaze fierce, “No you’re not.”
Veronica smiled and dug through the small bag she brought for something.
“You gonna go out in the water?”
“Nah, I’m gonna put some sunscreen on first and then read for a bit,” she announced pulling the bottle out of sunscreen and a magazine out of her bag.
“Alright, well I’m gonna go out for a quick dip, I’ll be right back.”
“Ok.”
Veronica watched as he stood, her eyes widening when he slowly pulled his shirt off and tossed it on the towel next to her. Her heart dropped as he sauntered across the hot sand and into the water.
She stared hard at him, her eyes following his every move. God she wanted him! She couldn’t believe she was thinking it, but she was. She’d been trying this whole time to not feel anything, to not be taken in by his charm, but she had. The opportunity had come yesterday, and she passed it up. Inwardly, she was still cursing herself for not taking advantage of a moment…of a situation that would never happen again. It wasn’t as if she had offers of men wanting to sleep with her piling up, what did she care if he really wanted her or not? She could’ve been with him and it would’ve been great.
But she did care; she cared too much to ever let herself be used. In reality she knew it wouldn’t have been great, it wouldn’t have been anywhere near great because he wouldn’t have been into it. She wanted him there, all there. She deserved that at least. She wasn’t a prime catch, but she was a human being and wanted to be treated as such. There was no denying that if she felt she could, or that she stood a chance, she’d want to be with him. Not just physically, but in every other way too. As much as she didn’t want to admit it, she did care for him, a lot.
Sighing, Veronica picked up her newest copy of Cosmopolitan and started reading.
A short time later, Nick made his way back over, sitting back down beside her.
“Ya know, you should come in with me, the water feels great and I‘m lonely,” he pouted.
“Aww Nick I’m sorry honey. I think I’d rather just read anyway.”
Nick stared at her a moment, “What have you got on under your shirt?”
She blinked, “Excuse me?”
“I only want to know if you have your bathing suit on under,” he grinned.
“Oh…oh well yeah, yeah I do.”
“Well it’s pointless to wear a bathing suit and not go in the water don’t ya think?”
“Not necessarily. I’m not comfortable with people seeing me in my bathing suit. It‘s mostly guys really, and especially you.”
Nick frowned, “C’mon Veronica, it’s just a bathing suit, there’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”
“Uhh Nick…have you looked at me lately? I’m not exactly thin you know. Let’s face it, guys don’t like…chubby girls.”
Nick’s eyes widened, “What?”
“It’s the truth, I remember my dad telling me that one time and I‘ve learned that he‘s right. Those rare times that I do actually go swim or whatever, I wear a long shirt over to cover it.”
“Your dad is a liar.”
Veronica looked over at him, “What? No he‘s not, he…”
“He’s lying Veronica. Not every guy likes thin girls, and that’s the truth.”
“You do,” Veronica whispered suddenly.
Nick blinked, he could feel his face flaming. He didn’t know how to respond to that, he knew to everyone that that’s what it seemed like, but it wasn’t true. He couldn’t tell her that he didn’t like thin women, because most of the time, that’s who he was seen with. But there were girls, girls he’d dated or been with who’d been way more than thin, but people never took pictures of them.
She stared knowingly at him, “You just proved my point.”
“Come swim with me.”
“Nick, I really don’t want to.”
He stood, leaning down; he pulled the magazine out of her hands and tossed it aside.
“Nick!”
Reaching out, he grabbed her hands and tugged, forcing her to stand up.
“Nick c’mon, leggo!”
Turning, he pulled her with him.
“No Nick! Please don’t make me do this.”
Nick led her out into the water and deep enough so that the water was just above her waist before turning to look at her.
“Nick…please, let me go,” she whimpered, a hint of panic in her voice.
He stared at her a moment before pulling her into his arms.
“There’s something I want to tell you,” he said softly and pulled her tighter against him, he felt her body stiffen slightly. He waited a moment before slowly sliding his hands down into the water, clutching at the hem of her shirt.
“N-Nick…”
He leaned in, his lips right by her ear.
“You shouldn’t hide yourself, you shouldn’t be embarrassed,” he murmured, carefully inching her shirt up her body.
“I…I…”
Nick brushed his lips over her temple lightly, closing his eyes, “I like chubby girls…and I like you too.” With that he stepped away and quickly pulled her shirt off, letting it drop into the water.
“Nick!” Veronica squealed, trying to pull away.
Nick pressed her tightly to his body, “Don’t…move,” he whispered, his breathing labored, his heart pounding.
She stilled, her heart pounding so hard and so fast she thought it’d fly right out of her chest.
“Let me see you.”
Veronica swallowed hard, “What?”
“Let me see you Veronica, I want to look at you.”
“No.”
“Veronica…”
“I…I don’t, I don’t know…”
“You don’t have to be embarrassed.”
She closed her eyes, what should she do?
“Veronica?”
Again she went still.
“Please?”
Groaning inwardly, she gave up the fight and slowly took a step back and then another and then another until she was about three or four feet away from him, her head lowered.
“Look at me,” he whispered.
She hesitated.
“Veronica, look at me please.”
Slowly she lifted her head, her eyes meeting his. He stared at her for a few seconds, his expression serious and then ever so slowly, his eyes made their way over the course of her body. She stood there before him, letting him look his fill and found that his intense perusal of her was oddly arousing. Her arms were tingly, her legs shaky, and yet, with his eyes on her like this, she felt strangely powerful. Veronica watched as he looked her body over, there was no look of disgust or anything of the sort in his eyes. If she didn’t know any better, she could swear it was something else, something else entirely.
She heard his sharp intake of breath and looked to find he was staring at her again.
“Veronica?”
This was it.
“Yeah?” She replied wearily.
He smiled suddenly.
“You have no idea how wrong your dad was.”
