Games of the Heart

The Heat, The Lie

There was a brisk wind coming off the waves, warm and briny. Birds floated on the swells and wheeled above them. The sun was shining bright that she was glad she stocked on sunscreen. The cove was void of people except for them. What great luck.

“Only the locals know about this cove,” Eliza heard Alex telling Marco as they picked their way down to the beach.

“Only the locals are supposed to know about this cove,” Anthony mumbled snidely.

Eliza threw Anthony a scolding glance then smiled at Marco. “Don’t listen to him. He’s always cranky in the mornings. Everyone is welcome to come here, not only the locals.”

Underneath his sunglasses, Marco looked ill at ease. “It’s sand everywhere.”

“Were you expecting an infinity pool?” Anthony smirked. This time, Eliza elbowed him on the side.

“Let’s find a spot to rest,” she suggested, catching between her fingers a strand of her hair that had loosened from her ponytail and was fluttering in the light breeze to put it behind her ear. “And Anthony, if you keep being mean, I’ll have Alex throw you in the water.”

“I’ll smother you both in your sleep if you dare.”

They reached a spot near the shoreline that had some rocks marking near the surface and some tidal pools. The jutting rocks of the cliff nearby provided shelter from the sun. It was the best spot because it had just the right amount of shade and it was close enough to the water. Eliza placed the picnic blanket down on the sand and Marco put the food basket on top. Anthony was quick to flop down the blanket, grabbing Alex’s bag from him to use it as a makeshift pillow.

“Wake me up when we leave,” he muttered, adjusting his sunglasses.

Eliza frowned down at him. He couldn’t just play and try to get along with them, could he?

Alex had already taken his shirt off. Skimboard under his arm, he started making his way to the water.

“Let me check the waves first,” he called over his shoulder.

He was the most excited person in this trip, no doubt. As much as Eliza loved the beach, it couldn’t equal the passion Alex had for playing in the waters. No sooner had he reached the water than he started running, jumping on the skimboard to glide across the water’s surface to meet an incoming breaking wave, and riding it back to shore. Eliza had seen that too much to be impressed. Still she smiled.

“At least one of us is showing an appropriate response to this outing,” she mumbled, dropping the smile to frown at Marco, who was trying to stomp the sand off his slippers.

Marco raised his head. “Cut me some slack, Eliza. This is probably the third time I’ve been to the beach.”

Her displeasure was quick to turn to horror. Anthony, who she thought was fast asleep, burst out into loud laughter.

“Nice going, loopy loo. Embarrass yourself and the new kid more.”

“Oh, my God,” she whispered, ignoring Anthony. “When you said you hated the beach, I thought you’d gone to one multiple times to form an opinion.”

“I didn’t say I hate the beach,” Marco protested.

“Now I know you’re not entirely hopeless. There’s a chance for you.”

“A chance to what?”

“A chance to be a beach freak,” Anthony inserted.

“The water’s fine,” Alex called out, coming back to them dripping wet. “It’s not cold, just right. Aren’t you going in?”

Eliza gently pushed Marco to Alex’s way. “Yes. Why don’t you join him, Marco?”

“You need to ask him first if he knows how to swim, Rosa.”

“Shut it, Anthony.” She glanced at Marco, hesitating a bit. “You do know how to swim right?”

Marco’s lips twitch. “Of course.”

“Then let’s go,” Alex said eagerly. “I’ll teach you how to use the skimboard if you want to try it.”

Marco definitely looked like he didn’t want to try it. But with a sigh, he surrendered himself to the inevitable. He set his bag down and removed his sunglasses.

“I guess I need to experience new things too,” he muttered as he took off his shirt. Eliza immediately averted her gaze. “Aren’t you going to join us, Eliza?”

Bending down, she began to arrange their bags and folded the shirts they had taken off. “Later. You boys have fun.”

Fortunately, they didn't push and left. Eliza slowly let out the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding. Beside her, Anthony was snickering.

“You are such a hormonal teenager,” he was saying.

“I’ll make you eat sand if you don’t shut up.”

“You could have just let me sleep in my bedroom but no,” he drawled out. “So suck it up, loopy loo. This mouth is not going to shut it anytime soon.”

Eliza rolled her eyes then pulled the bag he was using as a pillow from under him. “Use the towels,” she said, lifting his head and slipping the towels she took from her bag under his head. “You’re going to have an ache in your neck if you keep using the bag.”

“You don’t usually wear long-sleeved tops to the beach,” he commented as he shifted into a more comfortable position.

Eliza looked at the two boys talking in the water. Alex was demonstrating to Marco how to use the board. Marco was starting to look interested.

She touched her right upper arm absentmindedly. “You’re right,” she said softly. “I don’t.”

**********

Alex looked over his shoulder at Eliza, who was sitting on her heels on top of a rock, her hands on her knees and her neck bent, watching the corals and fish down the clear crystal water of the tidal pool below.

He clenched his jaw.

Eliza was worrying him. He thought this recreation would be good for her. It was true she hadn’t been to the cove since that incident, an incident that almost ruined her life. Her fear of the dark and closed spaces was the result of that. And Alex had only himself to blame.

He wasn’t the only one watching Eliza. Marco had his head turned towards her, a small frown on his lips. He had been a good student when Alex taught him how to skim and a quick learner. When Marco had started to try using the skimboard, he failed a couple of times but never fell, always seeming to regain his balance quickly. When Alex had started learning to skimboard for the first time, he fell a lot. To say he was impressed at Marco would be an understatement.

Alex enjoyed his company immensely. They had common interests like basketball and exercising in the gym. They even watched the same shows. He was easy to talk to. And Alex didn’t regret inviting him here.

Touched by the worry playing across Marco’s usually blank face, Alex tapped his arm. “Why don’t you rest and join Eliza for a little marine biology lesson?” he told him. “I’m pretty sure you’re tired.”

Marco didn’t even hesitate. He nodded. “Alright.”

When he had gone, Alex picked up the board and made his way to Anthony.

“Dude, stop sleeping,” he grumbled, nudging his leg with his feet. Anthony jolted upright and blinked around, his sunglasses askance. “Come join me in the water.”

Yawning, Anthony stretched his arms up. He was in a state of disarray, his hair tousled and his eyes bleary. “Damn,” he grumbled. “I had a good dream before you woke me up.”

Alex sat down on the sand and grabbed a can of coke from the food basket. “What kind of dream?”

“That you drowned in the sea.”

“That’s not a dream,” he chuckled. “That’s a nightmare. Look. You’re actually tearing up at the thought of losing me.”

Anthony tilted his head slowly to glare at him. “Tears of happiness, I assure you.”

He paused to take a swallow from his can of coke before he said, “There’s no shame in admitting you like me, Anthony. I like you too.”

“This is why I hate coming here with you,” Anthony grumbled, taking a can from the basket himself. “You get all disgustingly mushy after a swim. Where’s your nutty best friend?”

Instead of making some sort of deserved rejoinder about Anthony’s negative habits, Alex took another swallow of his coke and answered the question, “Over there by the rocks with Marco.”

“Are you playing matchmaker?” Anthony wrinkled his brows, shifting his glance from him to them.

“No,” he paused, rubbing his feet free of the sand. “I’m playing the friendship game. You might actually like it if you participate.”

Anthony was dumbstruck at the craziness of such a notion. “That’s bull,” he said sceptically. “You spent years making guys stay away from her and now you’re letting Marco in.”

Alex thought of the conversation he had overheard, when Marco was defending Eliza and Anthony from the gossipy girls. “Marco deserves good friends,” he muttered.

Anthony seemed to digest that and then reverted to his earlier line of thinking. “You really are disgustingly mushy,” he said, throwing a handful of sand at Alex.

He grinned, remembering how Anthony helped him distract Eliza in the cave. Raising his can as a toast, he told him, “You’re not bad yourself too, Anthony.”

**********

“Aren’t you being unfair?”

Eliza turned partway around. She was standing on top of the rock so she had to be careful when she did. Marco looking up at her from behind. Drops of water was dripping down his hair and body. Trying not to ogle too much, she gave him a confused smile.

“Unfair?” she asked. “How am I being unfair?”

He jerked a thumb back. Eliza’s gaze followed to see Alex dragging Anthony, who was bellowing angrily, into the water. “You said you would join us.”

“Did I?” she said, feigning innocence.

Marco frowned. “Yes, you did. You said you love the beach. But why do I feel like you’re avoiding the water?”

Hands clasped behind her back, she turned fully toward him and grinned. “I didn’t say anything about getting in the water right? You can love the beach without having to swim.”

A corner of his lips lifted and Eliza felt her heart pound.

“Let me see if I have this straight,” he said. “You loved the beach right?”

She was too preoccupied with the smile hovering at the corner of his mouth to say anything intelligent. So she nodded.

“And you do know how to swim since you love the beach right?”

“Right.”

“In fact, you loved the beach so much that, according to Alex and Anthony, you spent too much time until you were sunburnt?”

“Right again.”

He put his hands on his hips and studied her curiously. “I don’t understand.”

“I’m on my period, Marco,” she admitted with embarrassed laughter and was surprised when Marco threw his head back and burst into loud laughter.

Eliza was fascinated. She’d seen him smile and chuckle but she’d never seen him laugh so much. And her heart warmed knowing that she was able to do that.

“Well, I’m sorry to hear that,” he told her. His eyes were dancing. He was enjoying her embarrassed confession more than he should. “You’re missing out on all the fun.”

She nodded gravely but her lips kept twitching with the urge to grin with him. “It’s a pity.”

“You and I both.”

“I know,” she muttered in answer, preoccupied by the way he’d said ‘you and I.” She liked it more than she should.

Their conversation was cut off when Alex hollered for them.

“Hey!” He motioned for them to come. “Let’s eat! I’m starving.”

Waving her hand to tell him she heard, she looked down and met Marco’s eyes. Marco moved closer to the rock and held out his hand.

“Here,” he told her. “Hold my hand. I’ll help you down.”

She nodded hesitantly. “Okay.” She accepted his proffered hand. “Thank you.”

As soon as their hands touch, she felt her pulse quicken. She only hoped her hand wasn’t cold or clammy. That would be off-putting.

When she reached the sand safely, Marco gave her hand a squeeze before letting go.

“So what do you think about the beach now?” she asked as they made their way back to their friends on the blanket.

Marco surveyed her upturned face. “It’s not bad,” he admitted.

She laughed softly. “Then this beach outing was a success.”

Alex had already gotten the food containers out and had laid them carefully on top of the blanket. There were crispy fried chicken, spring rolls and broiled fish, veggies and meat skewers, and whole fruits and cupcakes that Eliza’s mother had prepared for them.

“Thanks for the food, Anthony,” he said, winking at the smaller boy as he picked up a chicken leg.

“Thanks for the food!” Eliza quipped as she and Marco sat down on the blanket.

“Thanks, Anthony,” Marco also supplied.

Anthony glowered at each and everyone of them. “I hope you choke, assholes.”

Even though he said that, he watched them take a bite of the food and seemed pleased to hear their murmurs of appreciation.

The day went by and the four of them played some more at the beach. They walked around the beach and drew on the sand. At Alex’s insistence, Anthony and Marco swam with him. It took him time to settle in and let himself go but, once he did, it was good. He wasn’t awkward and actually joked around with his dry humor that sent Alex into fits of laughter, even making Anthony snort once.

Eliza mostly watched safely on the sand while the three frolicked in the waves. She’d even managed to amaze Marco by skimboarding once and not falling on her face.

“Have you ever seen a driftwood fire before?” Alex asked Marco, coming back to the blanket after another round of skimboarding.

The latter shook his head. “No.”

“You’ll like it then. Come with me.”

They went to gather broken branches of driftwood from the cliff’s edge. When they came back, Marco helped Alex form it into a small ring on the sand.

“It’s still early and it’s still too hot to make a bonfire, dumbass,” Anthony said, edging the blanket away from the ring, making Eliza, who had already been sitting on it, squeal.

“The sun’s already setting,” Alex told him.

“Burning driftwood produces toxic fumes.”

“That’s why we didn’t get many.”

“I promised my mother I’d go home early.”

Eliza giggled and threw a matchbox at Alex. “We promised your mother we’d take our time.”

Out of arguments, Anthony rolled his eyes and lay down on his back next to her, grumbling about an online game he’d been wanting to play.

“Watch the colors, Marco.” Alex lit a small branch and laid it alongside the ring. The flames started to burn the dry wood.

“It’s blue,” he said in surprise, squatting down to take a closer look. “No, I think it’s green.”

“It’s because of the salt that has soaked into the wood. Amazing right?”

“Yeah.”

“It’s also toxic,” Anthony said loudly. “You’re going to make Eliza weirder by making her inhale those fumes.”

“Aw,” Eliza poked his side. “I didn’t know you cared.”

“He just called you weird, Liz,” Alex laughed. “Let’s go get some safer wood to make a bonfire, Anthony.”

He pulled Anthony up before he could refuse. When they were gone, Marco came to sit by Eliza.

“Thank you,” he said.

She turned her head to look at him, drawing her knees up and wrapping her arms around them. “For what?”

“For inviting me. It was… nice.”

“You’re welcome,” she returned with a sideways smile.

They fell into a comfortable silence, their gazes on the rolling waves. She shivered a bit as the breeze hit her, folding her arms to keep warm. Marco noticed and grabbed a dry, unused towel, putting it around her shoulders.

The incredible warmth of his action seemed to have momentarily robbed her of her ability to speak and ability to think. But she finally recovered her manners and gave him a smile, pulling on the towel tighter around her.

“Thank you, Marco,” she whispered, laying her cheek against her knees.

He nodded but didn’t speak, couldn’t because Alex was hollering for him to help them carry the branches and he had to leave the blanket. Eliza stared at him, wishing he’d stayed beside her for longer.

Wishing it was just the two of them at the cove.

She snapped out of her fanciful notions and quickly shook her head.

It’s just the fumes from the driftwood, she tried to convince herself. It must be the toxic fumes that was making her common sense and her logic malfunction.

It had to be.