Andrew Malinovich, a twenty-one year-old junior at Belhave University, sat comfortably on the sands of a Texas beach that was tucked up against the warm Gulf. He was dressed in jeans and a BU cheer team t-shirt. A bottle of Smirnoff was hanging loosely out of his hand and he took a sip as he watched his girlfriend standing in the tide.
She was dressed in a blue bikini, intricately decorated with a dragon she had designed herself. The windbreaker she had worn lay crumpled next to her boyfriend while her t-shirt was tied around her waist, fluttering behind her like a loose skirt. Her dark blonde hair, pulled back in a relaxed pony-tail, blew gently with the breeze. Lauren Frazier was a nineteen year-old sophomore.
It was a beautiful March afternoon and the end of the day was made perfect by the silhouette of her body against the sunset.
Lauren turned around and began to wade out of the water towards him, sand sticking to her feet and ankles as she walked. A small smile was plastered on her face, her bright blue eyes sparkled, and her beauty seemed to grow the closer she got to him. Lauren sat next to Andrew and clasped his hand in her own.
As the sun continued to dip beneath the horizon, Lauren crawled into her boyfriend's lap, taking his arms and wrapping them around her waist. Her scent permeated the air around them, tangible only by Andrew. She smelled sweetly – addicting – almost like his very own drug. He couldn't help but bury his face into her hair, hearing her giggle as he kissed the back of her neck.
"Beautiful day, wasn't it, Andrew?"
"Mmhm. Beautiful like you."
Lauren chuckled. "You try too hard..."
Andrew kissed her cheek. "Only you would know." He tightened his grip around her body and she squeezed his wrist comfortingly.
There was a long silent pause, broken only by the sounds of the waves lapping against the sAndrew beach. Andrew could feel his heart beating heavily against his chest, thumping so loudly there was no way Lauren couldn't hear it. In an attempt to relax his own nerves – in order to calm himself – he gently began to stroke the soft skin of her stomach with the edge of his thumb.
Lauren scooted more into his lap. "I always thought you were quite cute whenever you got nervous." She ran the back of her hand on his cheek. "Especially when I sit in your lap..."
"Should I consider that as a compliment?"
"Consider it whatever you want, because this next thing I'm gonna do, I'll do no matter how you take it."
She drew him slowly into a gentle kiss, savoring the feel of their lips on one anothers'.
Andrew's heart continued to beat heavily with the twirling nervousness in his stomach gradually growing stronger. "You ready to head back?"
"Yeah, but let's take the long way."
Andrew helped her up and tossed her hoodie over his shoulder. Lauren's beauty, simply compounded by her bikini, garnered impressed glances from everybody – both guys and girls – as she walked down the boardwalk with Andrew, hand in hand. A huge, proud smile cut across his face. "Hey, what's it like being a cheerleader?"
"It's pretty fun. Why'd you ask?"
"Well, I used to want to be a cheerleader way back when... It really looks like a lot of a work, especially for you with all that tumbling." She squeezed his hand. "How do you do all of that stuff at the games and not hurt yourself?"
"I guess I'm not exactly sure. Probably because I don't want to embarrass myself in front of everyone. Besides, it looks awesome when I look at the review videos."
"Review videos?"
"Yeah, sounds weird, right?" He chuckled. "Our coaches do those videos so that they can show us stuff we need to improve on. It's actually pretty useful, I wouldn't have mastered my back tuck without 'em."
Lauren giggled.
"What?"
"I remember when you first tried to show me your back tuck."
"Hey, that doesn't count!" Andrew gently punched her arm. "I was just learning it then! I really didn't know what I was doing at the time!"
The couple joked all the way back to their hotel room, brushing off the glances that people shot at them. Once they got to their room, though, the atmosphere around them changed dramatically. Lauren went into the bathroom to take a shower while Andrew relaxed on the bed to read a book.
Lolita had always been one of Andrew's favorite reads despite the novel's controversial theme. Recently, Lauren had gotten into it too although she still poked fun at him for having a 'little girl complex.' Often times if she shot that at him, he'd harass her by asking if she thought she was a little girl.
She'd say 'Yes' every time, just to tease him...
Andrew looked up from his book when he heard the bathroom door open. Her hair was lank and wet, smelling strongly of that strawberry-scented shampoo-body wash she loved to use. Lauren had on a long-sleeve shirt marked with the dragon of her customized clothing line. She was also dressed in a pair of sweatpants, the loose tassels of her bikini bottom hanging at the sides of her waist.
For a minute or two, she just stood looking at him, leaning against the doorpost.
Andrew closed the novel with a thud and placed it on the nightstand.
She smiled and winked.
Lauren slowly made her way into the bed, cuddling tightly against the chest of her boyfriend. The way she pressed herself against him reminded Andrew of a young kitten, but the girl he had curled against him meant more to the 21 year-old than anyone could ever imagine.
Only a few years ago they had been so apart Andrew never would have thought they'd be here today. During her high school career, Andrew could sense that she was emotionally overwhelmed by her tendency to be the person other people wanted her to be. Lauren had too many faces for too many people, and she was failing to be herself. As a result, rumors and stories spread like wildfire.
And the things he heard worried him.
When Lauren came to Belhaven as a freshman and befriended him, Andrew was tempted to ask her what was true and what wasn't. However, he felt that it was better to leave the past alone, for it might tell him things that were best left unsaid.
It was time to make a fresh start.
The vast college environment let Lauren open up again and for the first time in awhile she had friends who liked her for who she really was. And Andrew was one of them.
As they talked and hung-out more, it felt as if they were meeting for the first time again. It was a rediscovery, for the both of them. They grew close again and she remembered how much he loved her and how much she meant to him. That undying love of his, that constant bright flame that had burned relentlessly for years, once again won her over.
All of their clothes now lay in a disorganized pile on the floor next to the bed. How they got there, Andrew could only vaguely remember, the only sensation he could feel was the touch of Lauren's soft and naked skin against his own. Her body was moist with perspiration and her chest rose and fell with each heavy breath she took.
Lauren was sleeping quietly on his chest and after kissing the top of her head, Andrew fell asleep too.
---
The next morning, the sound of running water forced Andrew awake. Still half-asleep, he had to blink several times and look around before remembering exactly where he was. The conglomeration of clothes they had stripped off last night was still piled on the floor. The shower was running and the door was closed, there was no need to wonder who was inside.
Andrew made his way out of the bed and to the suitcase. He dug a comfortable set of clothes out and put them on.
He parted the curtains slightly, allowing a single beam of sunlight to illuminate the hotel room. Watching the sun peek slightly over the horizon, Andrew couldn't help but think about what happened last night. The memory of it, sitting precariously at the edge of his mind, was blurred and fragmented. There was this feeling of doubt in the back of his mind, but at the same time he was positive they had done something.
The bathroom door opened and Lauren joined him by the window, scrubbing her hair dry with a towel. She was adorned with her self-labeled clothes, a white tank-top and gray pajama pants both beautifully decorated with that dragon of hers. "You wanna go out and watch the sunrise?"
Andrew didn't really know how to respond besides smiling and taking her outstretched hand.
It was a cool morning, the sand warm beneath their feet. Andrew walked slowly, watching Lauren frolic in the light tide. There was this certain beauty in how confidently she walked and in the way she proudly carried herself.
As he watched her, he couldn't help but remember some of the things she said in high school. It was strange to think that, even though they had dated for three years, she knew nothing about him.
In February of 2011, at the back end of Andrew's senior year in high school, Lauren said she couldn't possibly let him back into her life. At the time, it forced him into an emotional frenzy until he realized that she was judging him based off of how he used to be. He had to figure out a way to show her who he really was.
Another two months would pass before he would be given that chance. Graduation was already over and only a week or two was left before everybody else was let out. After a massive amount of convincing, Lauren eventually agreed as long as there was another person who would be there too.
That day was strange and it was nothing like he had dreamed it would be, but it didn't matter to him because it was Lauren. Over the course of their time together, there was a gradual change in her attitude towards him. He was different and she was finally coming to realize that. When they left that day she gave him a small smile which he took as a good sign.
Andrew was knocked back into reality when Lauren pulled him into the lapping tide. Before he even had a chance to react to what was going on, she had tackled him into knee-high water. Struggling and gasping for air, He broke the surface soaking wet from head to toe. Lauren was standing a couple feet away, giggling.
