we show off our different scarlet letters
Flora teases her curls back into place with damp fingers, combing through the worst of the tangles as Kai begins his archaeological dig through the bag. She’s still smoothing sea salt from her brows when the towel lands in her hands, and she murmurs a grateful "thank you" that’s swallowed half by the crash of the waves. Draping it loosely around herself she watches Kaisel, the way his body moves lit in full from two fronts; the warm, flickering amber of bonfire flames up on the beach and the cool, ethereal glow of bioluminescence lapping against the shore.
Saltwater still kisses the grooves of his skin in soft reflections, clinging to his ribs and catching in the fine hair on his forearms. The firelight throws a golden sheen across his shoulders and abs, sharpening each line and curve like it’s been carved from something hard and rare. And gods, she’s trying not to, but the way the towel settles around his neck only frames the rest of him in silhouette. Her gaze drifts lower, making a low humming sound of appreciation behind her teeth before he slips on his shark-pattern board shorts.
With a grin that’s nothing short of feral, she lets her own towel drop and tugs on the white knit coverup. It clings damply to her hips and chest, and every one of the diamond-shaped stitches gapes to reveal skin and sin in equal measure. The red underwear is a flare beneath it, unmissable even in the dimness, and she pretends not to notice the way her nipples peek through as she stretches her arms above her head.
As Mel arrives, wet and slightly dazed, but very much vertical, a breath of relief escapes Flora before she can stop it, followed by a shake of her head. "We were worried you were unconscious," she blurts out quickly, knowing that they only had a few seconds. But her tone softens into a fond eye-roll, affectionate and exasperated all at once. "Kai won, I think," she adds, shifting her weight as she tilts her chin toward him, lips twitching into a lopsided smirk.
Saltwater still kisses the grooves of his skin in soft reflections, clinging to his ribs and catching in the fine hair on his forearms. The firelight throws a golden sheen across his shoulders and abs, sharpening each line and curve like it’s been carved from something hard and rare. And gods, she’s trying not to, but the way the towel settles around his neck only frames the rest of him in silhouette. Her gaze drifts lower, making a low humming sound of appreciation behind her teeth before he slips on his shark-pattern board shorts.
With a grin that’s nothing short of feral, she lets her own towel drop and tugs on the white knit coverup. It clings damply to her hips and chest, and every one of the diamond-shaped stitches gapes to reveal skin and sin in equal measure. The red underwear is a flare beneath it, unmissable even in the dimness, and she pretends not to notice the way her nipples peek through as she stretches her arms above her head.
As Mel arrives, wet and slightly dazed, but very much vertical, a breath of relief escapes Flora before she can stop it, followed by a shake of her head. "We were worried you were unconscious," she blurts out quickly, knowing that they only had a few seconds. But her tone softens into a fond eye-roll, affectionate and exasperated all at once. "Kai won, I think," she adds, shifting her weight as she tilts her chin toward him, lips twitching into a lopsided smirk.
