Kyle (brainoverbrawn) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2019-05-01 18:54:00 |
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Between the dreams, a bad evening with his dad, a long shift at the hospital and feeling antsy for reasons he couldn't even begin to fathom Kyle had done something a little different with his time this morning. He'd gone home, changed, grabbed his surfboard and wetsuit and then made for the beach and as it was early there weren't many people around which honestly was exactly what he was looking for. He stripped out of his clothes down to his board shorts and then slipped his wetsuit on before he'd taken to the ocean, chest flat on the surfboard as he stroked out into the expanse of blue until he felt he’d gone out far enough.
It was quiet and that’s exactly what he needed.
Honestly it was so easy to lose hours just surfing ways and laying on his board as he listened to the sound of the ocean lapping at the edges as well as immersing himself in the cool water and it was everything an escape should be.
Of course an escape could only last so long because at some point you had to return to reality.
This for Kyle came about four hours after he’d entered the ocean and probably good considering the beach was starting to fill up and he was in the process of staking his board into the sand and stripping out of at least the top half of his wetsuit.
It was Liz’s day off, but considering how much had changed while she’d been away she didn’t really know how to spend the day. Part of her wanted to stay in and read a book, something she hadn’t really had much time to do lately and part of her thought about looking into some more jobs, but ultimately she decided that she’d rather spend the day outside.
Of course she didn’t really have a plan as to where she wanted to spend the day so she decided to just get in the car and see where she ended up. After driving around for awhile, windows down and the radio up, she found herself near the beach. It had been a long time since she’d seen the Pacific ocean, so she decided to pull over and get out.
After finding a parking spot, Liz got out of the car and took a deep breath, inhaling the sea air for a moment. If there was one thing Liz loved to do in the summer, it was spend a few hours at the beach, laying in the sun and simply relaxing so that was one thing she was looking forward to doing in the coming weeks.
Her gaze had drifted towards a couple surfers in the water when she spotted another sticking his board into the sand and begin stripping down. It took her a moment, but if she were completely honest, she would recognize that torso anyway, “Kyle!” She smiled as she called to her friend/ex boyfriend and began heading out towards him.
Kyle was in the process of rubbing a towel over his wet hair when he first heard a familiar voice and as he turned his head his gaze landed on one Liz Ortecho who seemed to be making her way over to him on the sand.
Sure enough his lips tugged into a warm welcoming smile until she was within touching distance at which point he pulled her into a half hug but was careful not to soak her or drip all over her.
“Fancy running into you here,” he started before he held up his hands, “not that I’m complaining, mind.”
“I’d hope you’re not complaining,” Liz’s arms went around Kyle in return, a smile upon her lips, unconcerned with getting a little wet, “It’s so good to see you, Kyle.” While Liz knew that Kyle was also back in town, they’d yet to actually see each other so this was definitely a nice surprise and she was extremely glad that she had decided to come out that afternoon, “I mean, what are the odds that I’d just happen by while you were here?”
“Yeah you too,” Kyle answered with a genuine smile as he had spoken to Liz via text message but they had yet to see each other face to face. She looked good but then she’d always looked good. “Hundred to one I’d say but the odds are working in our favour so I think we shouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth.”
He stripped all the way out of his wetsuit and now just clad in dark board shorts he crouched down to start packing up his things. He’d get changed properly when he was back at his car.
“So, what brought you out to the ocean today?”
“I’ve been meaning to text you again, but when I haven’t been working, my parents have been wanting to catch up despite the fact that there’s nothing left to catch up on,” Liz knew that they had just missed her while she’d been away and wanted to spend as much time with her as possible, considering Rosa was never around, but it meant that Liz had little free time to herself.
As Kyle proceeded to strip the rest of the way out of his wetsuit, Liz couldn’t help but let her gaze wander over his body. After all, just because Kyle was her ex and nothing more than a friend now, didn’t mean she couldn’t still look. “I wanted to get out and just get some fresh air and enjoy the day. I was nearby and realized that I hadn’t seen the Pacific in quite awhile and here I am.”
“Yeah, that’s totally understandable,” Kyle said with a smile as he rubbed his towel over his hair though stopped when he caught Liz checking him out. “Are you- Liz Ortecho, are you checking me out?” He paused for dramatic effect before he just lightly nudged her in the side. “Shame on you,” he teased with a slow reaching smirk. Clearly not that bothered.
He glanced back at the ocean. “It’s really something else, isn’t it?”
Liz’s eyes widened slightly as she was caught then quickly narrowed them at Kyle and crossed her arms, “Oh like you don’t enjoy the attention.” She hardly thought that Kyle was offended that she’d been ogling him. “You wouldn’t be flaunting yourself otherwise.” Her lips now turned up into a smirk to match Kyle’s.
“It is.” She said, turning her attention to the ocean as well, “It’s like the last piece that tells you you’re home. You know what I mean?”
“Hey,” Kyle countered with an impressive lift of his eyebrow. “I’m just out here surfing minding my own business and is it my fault you can’t keep your eyes to yourself? Nope.” He grinned a second later before he was tugging on a t-shirt. “So don’t go blaming me for your shameless ogling, Elizabeth Ortecho.”
His lips curled into a softer smile as he watched the way the ocean rolled in and back out.
“Oh, I totally get it.”
“Oh, I’m sure I wasn’t the only one ogling you, Kyle,” Liz had missed this. Sure she’d had friends on the East Coast, but it was different when you’d known someone for years and despite not having seen Kyle in quite some time, it almost felt like no time had passed.
She ran a hand through her hair, trying to keep it from blowing into her eyes as she watched the ocean, “Maybe that’s why I came here. To finally feel like I was actually home.” Liz hadn’t planned on moving back and when she did she didn’t have a plan on how long she’d be there, but somehow standing there with Kyle as they looked out on the Pacific Ocean, it all felt right.