love my way

The lake was a little after the front yard of the house. The water used to be warm during the day, and Elis was happy to realise that it remained that way when she dabbed her foot in.

She then walked further into the water, with a pair of shorts and a tank top, similar to what Gray wore.

"It's warm, by the way," Elis called from the water. The water reached her chest now, and she was determined to go deeper.

Gray got into the water, skeptic when she saw just how deep it went. "I'm not a great swimmer though. So I'm just gonna swim around here."

"Come on," Elis chuckled, going underwater and resurfacing a little while later. "You won't drown or anything, I promise."

"You don't know that," Gray laughed.

"I'll hold you," Elis suggested, and Gray's heart couldn't be a lot faster. "How does that sound?"

"Sounds like I shouldn't, actually."

Elis smiled and swam over to Gray. She stood in front of the smaller girl, and then she slowly circled her arms around Gray's waist, pulling her deeper in the water with her.

Gray couldn't deny the offer even if she'd wanted to. Not with the way Elis was holding her. It was the first time both girls have ever been so physically close, their bodies pressed against each other as Elis took both of them deeper into the lake.

And the deeper they went, the closer Elis held Gray in her arms. The taller girl chuckled, seeing Gray's horrified face.

"Relax," she cooed, "I won't let you go."

"Did you used to swim here a lot?" Gray asked, acknowledging the urge to wrap her arms around Elis's neck.

"Not really. We only did when some of our friends came over to swim," Elis smiled. "In fact, Bryson didn't know a lot about swimming. Just like you."

"What did you used to do during the summer then?" Gray asked, growing to like the water as she began to move her legs around, while Elis still held a secure hold around her waist.

"I'd paint, almost every day. Bryson would inspect each one of my paintings and rate them all out of ten. I'd use the highest rated ones for painting competitions that I used to enter too."

Elis loosened her grip a little when Gray wanted to turn around, and now Elis's chest was pressed against Gray's back.

"Did you ever win?" Gray continued to ask.

"A few of them I did."

Gray turned her head around to look at Elis, a grin settling on her face. "That just makes me want to see you paint."

"I don't think that's gonna happen," Elis contradicted. "Let's go back in," the curly haired girl said, beginning to swim the both of them out of the lake. "There's something I wanted to show you."

"Is it one of your paintings?" Gray asked as both girls walked into the house.

Elis shook her head. "No," she answered. "It's something else."

The curly haired girl had thought about it all day. She wanted Gray to see the poem she wrote, but was skeptical of giving it to her because of how much Gray was in it.

Elis felt like she was in trapped in a fire that affected everything she did, every decision she made and she was forced to do nothing but surrender into it. She knew that not being able to spend a day without Gray crossing her mind not only meant that she was genuinely an unforgettable girl, it meant much more than that, much more than what Elis originally thought.

It was something even pen against paper failed to explain when she'd tried last night.

But it was a revelation Elis was still to comprehend.

She walked over to tear the paper out of the notebook, folding it into a square and holding it towards the ginger girl.

"It's the poem," she said, unable to comprehend the amount of nerves she'd felt in handing it to her. Gray had said that she wanted to see what made sense in Elis's head, but Elis thought of it differently. To her, it didn't make any sense. It was a mess of thoughts, of unfathomable emotions and a heart that knew not to open up easily, but lately the test had begun to take over. It left her unable to make sense of Gray, and everything she was guilty of making her feel.

"Don't read it now," Elis almost begged, placing her hands on Gray's soft ones when she'd tried to unfold the paper. "You can read it whenever you're alone."

Gray nodded, folding the piece of paper again.

The girls were standing toe to toe. Elis's hands slowly moved from Gray's and trailed up her shoulders, leaving sentimental touches still tingling on the ginger girl's skin.

Gray felt, especially tender feelings, as apart from reason or judgment to why Elis would want to hold her like she did in the water, and would want to keep touching her like she currently was. It also could've been of a weak or foolish kind, but whatever her feelings in that moment were, she knew they were nothing short of the urge to touch back, to lean in, and breathe the same air as her.

And so she did.

The ginger girl reached out, first trailing her fingertips up the arms of Elis, until she reached her neck, locking her arms around it.

It was like an automatic reflex of her actions for Elis to pull her closer by her waist, soon finding herself breathing the same air as Gray, but needing more than just holding her. She needed to feel something a lot more than the ecstasy brought by their close proximity.

And then suddenly, even ecstasy couldn't describe it when Gray left a small kiss on Elis's lips, and pulling back to look into her eyes, holding her most perfect gaze.

It was as if a thousand words were spoken in one stare, and soon Elis was kissing Gray back, a lot longer now, her breath hitching against Gray's mouth as relief of long wanting to do this washed over her body.

Her hand rested against the shorter girl's face as she pulled her closer. Kissing Gray was unlike anything she's ever felt before. Her lips were like a summer rain, pouring over hers as if they had the power to take away and give back life.

And suddenly Gray was lost more in the mess the girl before her was. Elis's kiss was like a black hole pulling her in until all gravity was lost under her intesifying touch.

Elis pushed Gray onto the bed, both girls longing for more now. Their slow kiss became hurried as their lips moved in a heated sync.

Gray locked her legs around Elis's body, pushing her closer so that their wet clothes pressed against each other.

Elis's lips escaped Gray's and moved over to her neck, but that wasn't quite enough for Gray as she tugged on Elis's top, the taller girl helping her in pulling it over head.

Their lips met again, more forcefully this time as the older girl travelled her hand down the other girl's chest, slowly moving down over Gray's shorts before sliding her hand in between the smaller girl's legs. Gray released a shaky breath into Elis's mouth upon the contact, her legs tightening around the taller girl's body.

They'd been so taken by each other that they failed to hear the front door opening, and now Mrs Collins and Aunt Lauren's laughter filled the house.

"Shit," Elis pulled away from Gray as quickly as possible, standing up now to pull her top back on.

"Gray!" Aunt Lauren called from downstairs. "We have to go now."

The ginger girl got up from the bed, taking the dry clothes Elis had placed on the bed as she made her way to Elis's connected bathroom. "I'll change into these now," her voice was strained  "I don't wanna make her wait long."

Before she walked further away, Elis reached out to grab her hand, making the ginger girl turn around.

"I'll see you tonight?" She asked.

"Tonight?" Gray repeated, wanting nothing more than to do just that even though she had no clue how she would  get out of the house.

"Please?" Elis might've just as well pleaded, and Gray nodded, moving over to kiss the taller girl's lips once more. "I'll see you tonight."