RP: Late night swim

[tt_adrian]

Date: 21 January 2002, late night
Characters: Adrian Pucey, Ginny Weasley
Setting: Settlement 1
Content: TBD
Status: Public : Closed

Adrian was at Ginny's door - having walked over - at two to ten in the evening. He wore swim trunks, flip flops, and a thin gray t-shirt, all of which his mother had transfigured for him. He carried his usual backpack but he'd cleaned it (for once) and had packed charmed-to-cold beer, local fruits, towels, and a blanket to sit on if she wanted to have a snack or join him for a drink after their swim.

Knocking on the door he felt at once relaxed - this was Ginny, after all - and nervous - this 'date' being much more intimate in setting than their New Years Eve. But he took a deep breath and waited, willing the butterflies in his stomach to calm.

Comments

[tt_ginny]

After her shift at the med center, and dinner with Charlie, Ginny had curled up on the sofa and let the picture box lull her into a catnap for a couple of hours. At 9 pm, the datapad beeped to wake her and she groggily cast a spell to start a cup of coffee brewing before heading to her bedroom to change for her date with Adrian.

There wasn't much to fuss over. Her one and only swimsuit was a white bikini that Fleur had picked out for her the summer before last. Tying the halter behind her neck, Ginny pulled on a pair of denim cut-offs and opted for socks and her hiking boots. She checked the time - and her hair - before crossing back to the kitchen for her coffee.

The coffee worked its own kind of magic, shaking off the last of her sleepiness while she messaged Charlie that she was going to be at the beach for the evening. Ginny shrunk her datapad down at five to 10 and rolled her towel up in her windbreaker. Just then, the knock came at the door and she grabbed the roll, answering the door a moment later with a smile. "Hey you," she said with a grin, stepping out onto the deck and locking her door.

[tt_adrian]

When Ginny opened the door the air rushed from Adrian's lungs in one swift moment and had to blink. She was in a bikini top that brought out her tan freckles absolutely everywhere, and cut-off shorts that he couldn't imagine anyone fitting in the way she did.

"Hey," he stumbled on his words, "Wow," he finally let out. "I should have invited you swimming ages ago," and then he blushed and closed his eyes, suddenly embarrassed by his obvious helplessness.

Recovering, he moved so she could join him outside and held up his bag, "I brought a snack, if you'd like to join me for a bit after our swim," and he held out his hand, "Shall I apparate us there?"

[tt_ginny]

It was clear to her that she'd surprised him, and it was even clearly to understand how but it was a date to go swimming and Ginny could only blush. "Maybe you should have," she retorted smartly.

Ginny tucked her towel/jacket under her other arm and took his outstretched hand with a smile. "You thought of everything. I'm ready when you are," Ginny answered, giving his hand a squeeze. She was really looking forward to this since most of her friends at the med center were afraid to swim, even with the wards and markers.

[tt_adrian]

When she squeezed his hand, Adrian grinned and then closed his eyes, pulling her into him while thinking of the swimming spot he'd found, the feel of her flush against him gave him a tight, excited feeling in his chest and when he opened his eyes at his new favorite place, he knew it wasn't the apparation that had made him feel that way.

Looking around he gave her a moment to take it in and said, "I was marking this area for herbs and growth, and found this, the waters warm but cooler than the air here, and the waterfall keeps it clean. I've wasted more than one afternoon just lying on the rocks. I know it's not the beach, but there's just something I love about it." He set his sack down on a high, dry rock and took her roll from her to put it with his things.

"Did you swim much back home? I only really got to when I was visiting mum and dad, but they lived in the Caribbean so it's hard not to," he laughed.

[tt_ginny]

While she expected the pull, being there was something else entirely. Her heart fluttered and she was grateful for the shadowed moonlight to hide the blush warming her cheeks.

Ginny looked around, amazed by the beauty of the spot and she climbed around on a few of the rocks, trying to see everything at the same time. It was a real treasure of a place. Grinning, she skipped back to where Adrian was fussing with the bag. "This is better than the beach! It's really gorgeous here, Adrian. Thank you for sharing it with me," Ginny beamed.

"Oh, I used to swim in the lake up at Hogwarts in the summer and we had a pond behind the Burrow. I never went anywhere as exotic as the Caribbean. Is it better than here?" she asked, reaching out to take one of his hands with a smile.

[tt_adrian]

Looking at her now - the happiness on her face, her utter beauty - he shook his head. "Nothing is better than here," he answered sincerely.

"Come on," he nodded toward the water and then let go of her hand, stopping quickly to take off his t-shirt and slip off his flip-flops. Jumping in with a cannonball suddenly and coming up with a splash he shouted to her on the rocks, "Join me, and I'll you all about St Thomas back home, but only if you tell me about swimming in the lake at Hogwarts, I bet the mermen loved the view," he grinned and laughed loudly, floating on his back waiting for her.

[tt_ginny]

"It is quite beautiful here. It was rough getting used to at first, but I'm really loving being here. The warmth, the forest, everything is just amazing," Ginny agreed, flashing a smile as she sat to take off her boots.

Adrian took off his t-shirt and Ginny barely had a moment to see him before he dove off the rock into the water, splashing water up even to her. She shrugged out of her shorts, leaving them a bit higher up on the rock with her boots to keep them dry before padding to the edge. Checking to make sure she wouldn't hit him, Ginny dove into the watering hole, going deep before surfacing, pushing her wet hair back with a laugh.

"You first," she giggled, swimming over to where he floated.

[tt_adrian]

Adrian splashed playfully and finally said, "Fine then, it seems like the sun always shines there, my parents lived on the beach, sand so fine it felt more like dust than sand. And it was white, and quiet. The markets were always bustling, people always willing to help out or say a kind word. Mum and Dad tried more than once to get me to move there, but I wasn't ready to give up home yet. They got out not long after the war ended, Sera moved with them and then met Will, he'd moved from Boston for work or something." He shook his head, water spraying from his shaggy hair.

"Now you," he laughed, moving closer to her in the water, treading languidly. "What do you miss most?" Adrian enjoyed getting to know her better and figured a twenty questions round was just the ticket.

[tt_ginny]

Treading water was easy enough, as the water hole was much deeper than it looked. She loved the clear water and incredible beauty of the spot. "That sounds a lot like this place. The second day I was here, I couldn't believe that we were on an island this beautiful with beaches that just go on as far as you can see," she chuckled.

"What do I miss?" Ginny repeated, a slight flicker of expression flashed and then disappeared. "I know this sounds strange but I miss Harry. He's still, you know, back there, and, well, I worry about him. That sounds nutters, I know. I'm sure he'll come through, its just... he's been a part of my life for as long as I can remember, and I miss him."

[tt_adrian]

"It might sound silly, Ginny, but I'm pretty sure they still need him back there. It's not nutters to miss your oldest friend, right?" He made his way closer to her in the water, leaning into her space as he said it. "I still wonder about my housemates, but they weren't friends, so I can't really imagine, to be honest."

"Then again," he said, his voice low, "back then I didn't really have friends, hardly had my family around. Here... I like to think I'm doing much better," and still treading water and grinning in the moonlight, he leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek, slowly.

[tt_ginny]

"I know he's doing good things. I know the Ministry, they want him to stay, and I know he'll come through. I just, well, worry," she replied with an embarrassed shrug as Adrian moved closer.

When he kissed her cheek, Ginny sighed and said. "Are we just friends, Adrian? Because, um, I'm getting mixed signals from you. You invite me out here to this beautiful place but I don't know what to think."