Saturday, February 14, 2015
7 PM
Everyone had gone to the beach during the day and now they were all in their rooms. Since I wasn’t in the mood to stay alone in mine, I got the idea to head down to the pool. I fucking love swimming at night! I picked out an all-black bikini and threw on a little pair of shorts over it. You never know, right? Maybe I’d feel like taking a stroll on the beach.
I lay there, staring up at the sky and feeling that nice night breeze. I’ve always loved watching the stars, and that night the sky was especially beautiful—clear, not a single cloud. You could see every little sparkle up there. I closed my eyes for a second, just soaking in that peace…
Out of nowhere, I open my eyes and who’s right in front of me?
Diego.
Like a goddamn Greek god. In shorts, shirtless, showing off that ripped, perfectly defined body. Seriously… how the hell does he look that perfect?? My cousin was, no exaggeration, the hottest guy I knew. Eighteen, blond, straight hair always messy. He’d run his hands through it all the time, and I’d always loved that laid-back, effortless vibe.
He was holding a longneck Stella Artois, nodding his head to the music.
Then he looked at me with those hazel eyes—intense, almost hypnotic. The second our eyes met, he gave me that smile… the kind that makes your heart trip over itself. Mine straight-up jumped into the pool.
For real, every time I saw him in front of me, my heart would start pounding like crazy and my stomach would fill with butterflies. What got me the most wasn’t even just his gorgeous face or those abs—it was that ridiculous charm, you know? Like… he could hypnotize me with one look.
“Nickelback!” he said, recognizing the band.
“Yeah, I love Nickelback. Cool that you know them.”
“Of course I do, I’m into rock,” and he took another swig of beer.
I knew he was more into heavy metal. But I mentioned the playlist also had punk rock—Green Day, Simple Plan, The Offspring… and even heavier stuff like Avenged Sevenfold.
“Carol ditched you for her boyfriend and left you hanging, huh?” he teased.
“Yeah, but I’m good,” I answered, trying to sound casual. Truth was, I got completely awkward around him.
He walked over to the cooler and asked if I wanted a drink.
“Ah, grab me an ice!” I said. Beer was never really my thing, but I liked flavored vodka—lemon was my go-to.
He grabbed another beer, brought me the ice, and we clinked the bottles. Then he sat on the lounge chair next to mine, quiet, just staring at the pool. After a while, like it was nothing, he pulled out his phone and started scrolling.
Every so often he’d crack a little smile while looking at the screen. I figured he was probably texting his girlfriend, and it pissed me off just thinking about it. I felt like jumping in the pool just to see if he’d finally pay attention to me. But I was more in the mood to get out of there, get some different air… thought about heading to the beach for a little walk on the sand. I stood up and shut the laptop.
“Diego, if anyone asks about me, tell them I went for a walk on the beach.”
“This late, Rafa?” he asked.
“Ah, it’s not even that late… I’m going. You feel like coming with me or you staying?”
He looked at his phone, thought about it… I already expected him to rather stay. I turned my back and started walking toward the gate.
“Hey, wait up, princess,” he said, glancing at his phone again. “Okay, I… I’ll go with you.”
Fuck, my heart did a full flip. First because he called me princess. And second… because, honestly, I didn’t think he’d actually agree to come.
In reality, him calling me that wasn’t new. It had happened before. It was because of my usernames in games and chatrooms back then—like UOL, Skype. I always used something like RaFa_Princesinha or Princesinha14. It was basically my trademark. I’d always been obsessed with princesses, crowns, castles… all that fairy-tale shit. And since everyone said I looked like a Barbie, the “princess” thing just stuck.
“You don’t think it’s dangerous going to the beach this late? It’s pitch black out there,” he said as he caught up.
I shrugged and told him I always did it when I was in Búzios, but never alone—always with Carol. We loved walking on the sand, feeling the waves hit our feet, then sitting down to watch the ocean.
I remembered one of those times when the sea was so rough it looked like it wanted to drag everyone away. Carol, all excited like she always was, was so happy she looked like a mix of a kid at an amusement park and a hyper rabbit. We were walking along the edge, but every time a big wave came in she’d let out a little scream and jump like she was skipping rope. I tried to play it cool, but the second that cold foam touched my shins I was jumping like a lunatic too. In the end we came out soaking wet, looking like two crazy bitches, but laughing until our stomachs hurt.
I walked with Diego about three hundred meters to the beach entrance. It was like an alley, a narrow path, kinda sketchy, no lights at all. As soon as we stepped onto the sand, I felt my hands get sweaty. It was ridiculous, I know, but just being that close to him made me feel all weird, my heart beating way too fast.
We went down to the shoreline. I told him I was gonna take a dip and pulled off my shorts, left in just the bikini.
Diego warned me to be careful—the water was pretty rough. But I didn’t give a shit and stepped right in. Damn, it was freezing! Still, I went in anyway. A wave came, I turned my back and jumped, but it slammed into me hard. Soaked my whole body. I stayed out there for a while, jumping over the waves, feeling the water crash against me. It felt freeing.