Chapter 11 Always Apply Sunscreen, Children #2
Without needing to think about it, I run up to the group and rejoin the game, but that goofy smile? It stays on my face for a little longer. I know that when it fades, it’ll come right back, returning to and leaving me like the ebb and flow of the sea.
That evening, when we’re back in our cabin and Sierra is changing out of her volleyball shirt and into her pajama top, I catch a glimpse of her back, which is almost completely red.
I don’t mean to look at her while she’s in just her sports bra. I really, really don’t, but she just sort of…catches my eye.
Sierra is already putting on her top when I clear my throat and say, “Oh god, Sierra, you’ve seriously burned your back. Please tell me you’re not one of those people who think putting on sunscreen is too much of an effort…”
She blinks at me a few times, but she doesn’t deny the fact that she has a sunburn. Which means it must hurt, because as far as I know, she hasn’t looked in a mirror yet. “I can’t exactly apply sunscreen to my back, Eleanore. My arms are long but not that long,” she explains.
I put down one of the romance novels I brought with me. It’s addictive, and I really want to keep reading as I’m nearing the end, but this is more important, so I get out of my bunk bed. Sierra watches me, a frown between her brows when I disappear into the bathroom.
“I packed after-sun lotion somewhere,” I let her know while I dig through my stuff. When I’ve found the right tube, I walk back to Sierra. “With sunburns like yours, it’s best to apply this as soon as possible. I’ll help.”
“Oh,” she says. “No, thank you.”
Now it’s my turn to frown. “It’s really no effort. Genuinely. And I’ve got more than enough of it with me, so don’t you worry.”
“I just don’t think it’s necessary.”
I shrug. “Better safe than sorry, right? Come on,” I say, nodding toward the bathroom door. “It’ll only take a minute.”
Still she shakes her head. “It doesn’t even hurt that—”
“Sierra, everyone and their mom can tell that protesting won’t help when it comes to this,” Veronica interrupts suddenly, and I’m reminded of the fact that she and Sloane are just behind us.
I look at Veronica. “Thank you!” I exclaim, even though I’m not entirely sure I should actually take her words as a compliment. But at least they make Sierra finally give in.
“Fine.” She sighs, gesturing for me to go to the bathroom, “After you, Eleanore.”
“You’re such a gentlewoman.” I smile over my shoulder, entering the bathroom.
Sierra follows me, shutting the door behind us as I open up the tube of lotion.
We’re on opposite sides of the bathroom, and yet we’re standing so close to each other that it gets harder for me to breathe. I take a tug of air, pushing away my sudden claustrophobia and telling Sierra to “Turn around, please. And take your T-shirt off.”
I blush at the bold words leaving my mouth, but luckily Sierra immediately follows my instructions before she could’ve seen my reaction.
Now that she’s in just her sports bra, I’m able to catch more than just a glimpse of her back, and when I say her normally white skin is red, I mean it’s red.
Not a little undertone, but actually red.
I swallow, putting some of the after-sun lotion on my hand, then carefully applying it to her shoulder blades.
She breathes in sharply at the cold touch against her skin.
Meanwhile her warm body makes my fingertips grow hotter by the second.
I rub her back in slow circles, tracing the freckles on her bare skin until the thin layer of lotion is spread all over.
I pull away, trying my best not to think about the way a shiver goes through her whole body or about how fast my heart is beating right now.
But everyone knows that if you desperately try to avoid thinking about something, your brain will automatically lead every single one of your thoughts back to the forbidden topic.
“There you go,” I tell Sierra now that I’m done, my voice barely above a whisper.
Sierra immediately puts her T-shirt back on, then turns around so she’s facing me.
I used to be one of the tallest girls back in elementary school, but now I’m only just on the higher end of the average height for girls my age.
Sierra, however, is as tall as you’d expect from the daughter of a beach volleyball legend.
Of course, I already knew this, but only right now, as I tilt my head up the slightest bit to meet her eyes, do I acknowledge it.
For some reason, it makes my heart beat even faster. Worryingly so.
What is this feeling?
I wrap my arms around myself in an attempt not to shiver in the same way she just did, but I fail. Thankfully Sierra doesn’t seem to pay attention to it, just giving me a nod instead. “Thank you, Ellie,” she says.
“Anytime.”
She turns away from me to leave the bathroom, but I grab her wrist before she has the chance. If only for an excuse to make this moment last longer…and to pull her closer.
She stares at my hand wrapped around hers but doesn’t back away.
I swallow again. “Actually, we won’t need to use after-sun lotion anymore. Because from now on, I’m going to apply sunscreen to your back every single morning. Okay?”
Sierra groans in protest, freeing herself from my grip. She leaves the bathroom as quickly as possible then, but we both know there’s no escaping this.
It’s like David, Gigi, and now Veronica have implied: I’m nothing if not persistent. Especially when it comes to Sierra Levine.