CHAPTER 97: SEA ABOVE

{Music Recommendation: Lost Without You ~ Freya Ridings}

"When are we going to get there?" Jenna asked for the second time since they started walking. Halfway, she was already regretting why she had agreed to follow Rhane, as her soles were beginning to ache.

Rhane stopped and turned. He looked at Jenna’s shoes and then at what she was wearing.

Jenna tried to hide her body. "What are you looking at?" she asked with narrowed eyes of suspicion.

"Thinking whether to carry you over my shoulder or on my back." Rhane tapped his fingers on his lips, seriously checking out Jenna’s body.

Jenna raised her upper lip. "I think I’m good now, let’s go." She stomped her feet on the ground. "I can walk better now, see?" She removed her hand from Rhane’s hold, walking past him in a hurry.

Rhane sucked his teeth. "We still have a really long way to go." He pointed ahead dramatically.

Jenna made a u-turn and walked back to Rhane, going to stand behind him. "I’ll get on your back."

Rhane pushed one knee down, with his hand on the ground for balance. He waited for Jenna to get on his back, then he stood up slowly, pushing his hand under her thighs to hold her steady.

"Patience, Jenna. You might want to try it sometime," Rhane muttered, half-amused. Then he began walking, mischief dancing in his hazel eyes as he moved.

Jenna rolled her eyes. "I don’t have the patience to walk all day, Rhane." She wound her arm around his neck for balance.

Rhane shrugged with a soft hum, but he didn’t say another word. Taking a few more steps, Rhane stopped and stood still.

Jenna raised her eyes. "Are you tired too? We should turn back, as I had suggested."

"End of the road." Rhane said, trying to hold back his laugh by pressing his lips into a thin line.

Jenna raised her body so much that she almost fell off Rhane’s back, but Rhane tightened his grip.

"Why didn’t you tell me we were already here?" Jenna tried to push him away, but Rhane started running with her on his back.

"You didn’t let me speak; you lacked a very important virtue," Rhane replied at the top of his voice, as he ran around the place.

Only then did she realize why he’d said the virtue line. Her annoyance doubled. Thinking about how Rhane must have been mocking her while she made a fool of herself.

"I’m going to kill you." She wrapped her arm around Rhane’s neck, then wriggled her body.

Rhane tried to keep them steady. "Stop, don’t- we are—" It was already too late, because both of them crashed into the cold waters waiting for its first victim.

"Argh!"Jenna yelped when the icy waters seeped into her clothes, sending shivers down her toes into her trousers.

Rhane’s body shook, but not with cold; he tried to stop himself from laughing. "Stop moving," he cautioned Jenna, reaching for her hands, but she kept flapping them in the air.

"Listen to what I tell you, Jenna, stop moving," Rhane repeated himself. This time his voice had an edge to it. And once Jenna stopped screaming, he curled his hand around her waist, pulled her to himself, and out of the water. They both fell on the wet sand, with Jenna on Rhane’s body.

"You pushed me inside the water," Jenna said breathlessly, still holding onto Rhane. Her teeth clashed together because of the cold.

Rhane didn’t let go either. Instead, he used both hands to wrap around her body. "I think the right word is... you pushed both of us."

"Yes, you lied to me!" Jenna exclaimed, trying to stand, but the cold breeze reminded her why she should stay still, and she did. "And where is this place?!"

It was then Jenna took her time to scan her surroundings. They were at the shore of a very large sea, and the ground they laid on was covered in pebbles and tiny shells. Pressing her palm on Rhane’s chest, Jenna moved her body up, her eyes drinking in where they had come to.

The sea was peaceful. Dark, eerie, yet strangely alluring. It stretched so far it looked like it could touch the sky. It wasn’t just the sea that caught Jenna’s attention the most, but the sky.

More like a sea above, its reflection lay on the sea below, but with beauty. A crescent moon hung above, with stars gathered around it in scattered flicks.

"Woah," Jenna murmured, standing from Rhane’s body and walking to the sea. Her eyes flickered from the sky to the shore.

She also noticed they weren’t all alone; there were others there with them. Some sat alone, while others were with someone. Jenna noticed some people had lanterns beside them while they just stared at the sea.

"Where is this place?" Jenna asked, biting her lips to stop herself from sneezing.

Rhane removed his shirt, looking around the place with a smile on his face. "Do you like it?"

"It’s breathtaking," Jenna confessed. "How did you even find somewhere this hidden?" She noticed how trees had covered their paths. It wasn’t a place anyone would randomly see.

Rhane squeezed the water from his shirt but noticed it had sand, so he dipped it back into the shallow waters.

"You see, love, some beautiful things go through tough processes. You don’t just get them; you put effort into finding them. That way you cherish them forever," he said this while looking at Jenna.

Jenna hummed in agreement, staring at the sea; she could live in the place forever if allowed. It was just the kind of quiet she longed for during most nights. And even the sounds she heard soothed her mind well.

"Achoo!" Jenna sneezed, rubbing under her nose. She turned to accuse Rhane for getting her drenched but found him shirtless. "Rhane, what the hell are you doing?!"

Rhane squeezed his shirt properly. "You should remove yours too, unless you want to return in that wetness."

"What?" Jenna asked with wide eyes.

Rhane got rid of his boots and turned them over, watching water drip from them. "The earlier you dry them, the better."

"But people are here," Jenna whispered, not sure if it was a good idea to remove her clothes outside.

Rhane raised his eyes to look at the people. "Those people don’t care about the rest of us. At least while it’s dark."

Jenna turned, and she agreed with Rhane. None of the persons there had their attention on anything or anyone except the sea or sky. They just stared in silence.

"I’ll need your shirt and shoes, then your trousers maybe." Rhane left Jenna and walked over to a short peg far from the sea, where he hung the clothes, placing the boots beside it.

When he turned to return to Jenna, he found her standing in a very small piece that did little to cover her chest and lower back. She stood with her clothes and shoes in the other hand, her wet hair latched to her shoulder, her full thighs and legs covered in sand and water.

Rhane’s throat became dry. "What are you wearing?" he asked sternly, his face hardened with annoyance.

Jenna rubbed her feet together, her body shaking. "Didn’t you say no one was looking?!"

"Bloody hell, I’ve lost my mind." Rhane confessed, his hands trembling.

Jenna sighed. "I’m really cold right now, can we—"

"Oh gods," Rhane interrupted.

"What is it?"

"Forgive me, Jenna... I can’t stop myself." Rhane gave her no time to think. He grabbed her waist with one hand, almost pulling up the tiny dress Jenna had on, while the other held up Jenna’s neck. He crushed his lips to hers reckless and raw. Salt and cold between them, all Jenna heard was her own heartbeat.