"I actually don't feel sick this time!" I said, giggling as we got off Nick's hire boat and he tied it up on the shore.

"Good, I can't stand people throwing up!" Nick said with a grin.

We walked away from the boat and back to our house, walking over the sandbanks. It was mid evening and the sky was gradually turning to a pretty pink color.

"I'm so hot!" Nick said, wiping his forehead with his hand. "But it was way hotter in Tampa,".

I loosened the belt of my denim shorts. I was hot too. It had been very warm that day- about thirty degrees centigrade. England didn't often get that hot! But it was late July- one of the hottest times of year.

"Let's sit on the sandbanks for a while," I suggested. "It's so pretty here,".

"OK," Nick said, sitting himself down on the white sand.

"So how did you like Bournemouth?" I asked Nick. We had spent the whole day there and had only just gotten back.

"I loved it!" Nick said with a smile. His eyes were sparking with happiness. "The shops were cool, and the Oceanarium. I'm glad no sharks escaped!".

As he mentioned sharks, I looked at his tattoo, which I found really cool. He was wearing a sleeveless shirt which showed off the shark and chain on his other arm. He wore baggy khaki shorts so I could see his lovely legs, and a baseball cap wore backwards. He looked so hot, even though he was sweaty in the heat!

"If you liked the shops in Bournemouth, you'll love London," I told Nick, running sand through my fingers. "Not many places are better for shopping!".

"Cool, I wanna visit the London's Niketown," Nick said, looking at the Nikes he had on his feet.

"I'll show you around the whole London shopping scene sometime soon," I promised Nick.

"Thanks, that'll be great,".

We sat in silence for a few minutes, admiring the scenery. The sea in front of us was calm and tranquil. Far out there were a few fishing boats sailing on the water. Above our heads were seagulls and other water birds, flying in the dusky sky.

I studied Nick's face. He had a thoughtful expression, like he was concentrating on something deeply.

"What you thinking about?" I asked him.

He turned and looked at me. "Um, well...".

"A girl?" I guessed. Maybe he had fallen for someone, although I couldn't think who. I couldn't help feeling upset that he might be falling for someone while I really liked him.

He went red. "Uh, kinda,".

"Oh right," I said quietly. I didn't want to hear who. I looked straight ahead, at the bright blue sea. The color of the sea reminded me of Nick's eyes. Those deep, soulful eyes I drowned in whenever I looked into them...

"You look thoughtful too," Nick observed. "What you thinking about?".

"Um, I can't really say," I said.

"Why's that?" Nick asked, looking confused.

"Oh, don't worry. It was nothing important,".

We went back to the silence. My heart beat fast, scared Nick might ask again. How could I tell him I was dreaming away about him?!

"Do you remember the day we first became friends?" Nick asked suddenly. "In the video games store?".

I laughed at the memory. "Yeah! I bumped into some guy and made him drop his stuff. Then I got talking to you without recognizing you. I felt so stupid!".

Nick smiled with me. "I know, but I'm glad we met...".

Ah, that silence again!

I broke it. "Back then I was just a fan of you and the guys. Look at us now- best friends!".

But I wanted us to be more.

I laid down on the sand and closed my eyes. "Mmm, it's lovely here, can't we sleep down here?" I joked.

Lila giggled. "No Nick, what if it rains. Remember how unpredictable Britain's weather is?!". She lay down next to me.

My heart jumping at her closeness, I opened my eyes. I looked at Lila. She was laying peacefully in the sand, her eyes lightly closed. She was smiling happily. I wondered what, or who, she was thinking about. Why didn't she want to tell me? Perhaps she had a new boyfriend? I hoped not, I wanted her for myself! But I doubted she did as I had been with her everyday and hadn't seen anyone after her.

She looked very pretty, as usual. She had a little natural make-up on and her hair in loose waves, going lighter in the sun. She wore denim shorts and a shimmery white tank top, showing off the little unicorn she had recently gotten tattooed on her shoulder. She wore no shoes so I could see her cute bare feet and her blue painted toenails.

She opened her eyes and noticed I was staring at her. "Nick?" she asked, sitting up and running a hand through her locks.

"Sorry, I was just...".

"Don't apologize," she said with a little half smile. "You look hot yourself!".

I went pink with embarrassment. "Uh, no I don't!" I protested, taking off my sweaty baseball cap.

"Come off it Nick," Lila exclaimed. "You know you are hot! All your fans say it. Just look in the mirror,". She held up her pocket mirror and I looked into it.

"Um, maybe I'm above average," I said modestly, looking at my reflection. I didn't look to hot with my pink cheeks, sweaty forehead and flattened hair, which I then tried to spike up with my fingers.

Lila ruffled my hair. "So you admit it!" she said with a grin.

My heart pounded. She was getting flirty! This was good....

"You too!" I said nervously. "You could be a model!".

"No thanks, the industry is too fake," Lila said with a sniff. "Anyways, I know what I want to be,".

"What's that?" I asked.

"A video-game tester!" she joked.

"Me too!".

Lila was quiet. She was shaking a little.

"Li?".

"Um, Nick. I was just thinking what else I want to be,".

"What's that?" I asked.

"Well I want to settle down someday. Well, at least get a nice boyfriend. I want to be a mother one day,".

"Yeah, I'd love to start a family of my own...".

Lila nodded absent-mindedly.

"But Li, is there a certain guy you have in mind?" I had to know, to see if I was getting my hopes up.

She looked out to sea. "Yes," she said faintly.

"There's someone I like too,"I admitted. Now I knew she already liked someone, I had no chance. I might as well tell her how I felt,".

"Oh?" Lila said, her eyes widening. "Who?". She frowned, I wondered why.

This was it. I had to tell her.

I'm gonna regret this, I thought to myself. Here goes...

"She's not far away. In fact, she's very near me right now,".

Lila looked around. "But the sandbanks are empty! The only people here are you and...". A smile slowly spread across her lips. "...Me,".

I nodded, my heart beating like a drum. What now? Was she about to tell me who she liked? Humiliate me?

"Great," Lila said, beaming. "I won't need to tell you who the guy I want is...". She leant forwards and our lips met.

The kiss lasted a long time. Neither of us wanted it to end. We were making up for lost time. Time we had both loved each other but not known.

Raindrops began to fall down but we barely noticed, wrapped up in our own world.

"Ah, that was good," Lila gasped as we pulled away. "Let's do it again,".

I grinned. "Mmm, yeah,". I wrapped my arms around her and we made out passionately again. It was wonderful- it made up for all the lonely times of the past couple of years.

When we finally ended the kiss, rain was pouring down. "I guess we needed something to cool us down," I said, standing up and taking her hand. Rain splashed down all over us and dripped off us. It was cool and refreshing in the heat.

"We better go inside," Lila said. "Come on, let's run!".

We sprinted across the sand banks and into the cottage. Inside in the dry I found a couple of towels. I wrapped one around Lila and patted her down.

"That feels good," she breathed. She took the other towel and dried me off.

"I'm tired out now after all that making-out!" I said with a laugh.

"Aww!" Lila said, pouting. "Tired out already?". She raised her eyebrow and giggled. "Getting the hint?".

I got the hint. "I can stay up a few more hours yet!" I assured her. "Come on, let's go up,".

We ran up the stairs, both excited and looking at each other with gooey eyes. I knew what she wanted and I wanted it too!

I was so happy. Truly happy at last. Lila had made me the happiest guy alive.

>>>>>

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