June 27th

Background color
Font
Font size
Line height

The Rogers and their guests spend the next couple of days lounging around the holiday home, finally relaxing for the first time in what felt like forever. Sarah and Joe had some activities planned but the kids decided not to join them. So on the fourth day when the parents went whale watching the kids pulled out the bikes again, packed a picnic, and headed down the boardwalk to the next beach along.

Ella wasted no time stripping down to her bikini and laying out on her towel, wanting to do nothing but reading and tanning. The boys didn't agree and instead played football until they were hot, sweaty, and ready for lunch. Ella grimaced when they all jogged back over to join her and Bucky wrapped her up in a hug.

"You're so gross," she laughed, swatting him away.

They tucked into their lunch and headed up the beach for more ice creams, cranberry, of course. For the rest of the afternoon, the boys finally decided to chill out alongside Ella. All of them caught the sun throughout the afternoon and Ella and Steve's hair was seemingly going blonder and blonder by the hour.

When it started cooling down they decided to make the trip back to the house, having not wanted to cycle in the searing heat of the afternoon. However, as soon as they got back they all ran inside, racing to be the first into the two bathrooms so they could rinse off the sand with a cool shower.

Sarah and Joe had a dinner booked for just the two of them in a neighboring town, and there was a drive-in movie theatre that Bucky and Ella were planning on going to that night, so Sam and Steve were being left at home alone with nothing but a crate of beer. Not that they were complaining.

After taking their turns in the shower, Ella drove them to the movies, stopping on the way to load up on popcorn. To Bucky's delight, Back to the Future was on. When they pulled up Bucky popped the trunk and dropped the back seats so there was room for both of them. They'd brought a couple of spare blankets so spread them out and they got comfy as the movie started. They cuddled up close together and Ella was so cozy she almost fell asleep on Bucky's chest a couple of times. Bucky's hand running through her hair also wasn't helping, but she managed to make it through the whole movie without nodding off.

When it finished, neither of them moved, even as the people around them packed up and drove off. They were the last ones there, just enjoying the peace, quiet, and comfort of laying and gazing up at the stars through the sunroof. However, despite the heat of the day, the nights were cool and neither of them was dressed for that. Bucky was a human space heater but in just her sundress, Ella was still catching a chill.

The drive home was quick but by the time they pulled onto the drive, the lights were all off inside the house.

Bucky looked down the steps to the ocean before turning back to Ella, silently asking if she wanted a repeat of the other night. She considered it briefly, but a gust of wind blew over them and she shivered. It was definitely not the night to be skinny dipping.

They headed inside hand-in-hand, sneaking up the stairs past her parents and the boys' room, padding along as gently as they could so as not to disturb anyone.

They climbed into bed and curled up together, Bucky assuming his regular position of wrapping Ella up in his arms.

"I'm not ready to go home," she whispered.

"We've still got another four days," he replied.

"I know, I know, I just love it out here. I've not been to many places but I can safely say it's my favorite place in the world," she said softly.

"Well then, when we're older we'll buy a place out here and we can come whenever you want," Bucky said, without any hesitation.

Ella wasn't sure what she loved more, his optimism that they'd ever be able to afford a place on the Cape, or the casual implication that they were going to have that kind of future together. So although she knew it was a pretty unattainable goal, she just said, "I'd love that."

With that, Bucky planted a kiss on Ella's forehead and they both went to sleep.

The next morning, Ella woke up early. The house was silent, no one else was up yet. She carefully pulled back the covers and rolled out of Bucky's arms. As quietly as she could she collected some running shorts and a tank top and disappeared into the bathroom to change.

When she was done she headed out, stretching on the deck before making her way down to the beach.

Her feet pounded the sand, leaving behind the first footsteps of the day. It was misty out, a haze was lingering over the beach, keeping her cool. She could run for miles and miles in this kind of weather.

She left her phone at the house, not wanting to listen to music. She did that when she wanted to clear her head, but today all she wanted to think about was Bucky's comment that had been playing over in her mind all night.

Ella loved the idea of finding the person she was going to spend the rest of her life with young. She wanted the kind of marriage her parents had when they were young and still had even though they'd been together 22 years and counting. They'd met in school too, and they'd been together ever since. Hearing about it growing up certainly gave Ella some high expectations of love and relationships.

Ella couldn't help but think that maybe, just maybe, she and Bucky might have the same future. If they were lucky. And they made it through college. It filled her with complete and utter joy to think that Bucky seemed to be on the same page.

Ella ran until she hit the harbor and the beach came to an end. She bent over, put her hands on her knees, and caught her breath. The haze was burning off and she could see far into the distance. She stood for a minute, looking out to sea, listening to the soft breaking of the waves. Just breathing in the salty air until she was ready to turn back and run home.

When she got back inside she put on the coffee pot, filling it up completely as she did every morning seeing as they had a full house. No one else was up yet, so she poured herself a cup of coffee and added some of the vanilla creamer her mom had picked up from the store, especially for her. The first time she'd ever drunk coffee her mom had put some in, it was while they were out on the Cape, so it always reminded her of summer.

She disappeared into her thoughts, planning out their day. Her parents were visiting a winery so the kids had the day to themselves, unfortunately, though it did mean they wouldn't be treated to another of Joe's barbecues.

She was pulled from her planning by the sound of soft footsteps on the creaky stairs. Sam appeared in the kitchen seconds later, greeting her with a smile.

"Coffee?" Ella offered.

"Absolutely," he said with a smile. "Can I get some of that creamer, I've been eyeing it up for days."

Ella nodded, "don't tell anyone else though, I don't share."

"I'm honored," Sam replied as he accepted his coffee.

The two of them went out into the decking so they could chat without disturbing anyone, Sam's laugh would ring through the house loud enough to reach even her parents on the top floor.

When no one else appeared after a quarter of an hour Sam suggested they take on breakfast duty.

"Waffles or pancakes?" Ella asked as she dug through the cupboards to find everything needed to make a batter.

Sam shrugged, a cheeky grin spread across his face. "How about waffles and pancakes?"

"Sam, you're a genius," she laughed.

Sam took control of the stove as Ella moved on to prepping the fruit. Slowly but steadily everyone else appeared downstairs, Joe and Sarah were pleased someone else was making breakfast. Bucky was the last down, he skipped down the stairs in nothing but his plaid pajama pants, his hair was messy and he had a golden brown tan from the few days in the sun.

"Morning, gorgeous," he greeted, bending down to kiss Ella on the lips.

"Hey, handsome," Ella teased as Sam made a gagging noise from behind her. She flipped him off and kissed Bucky a second time, this time it was long and drawn out, more to annoy Sam than anything else.

"Need any help?" Bucky offered to the pair of them.

"We're good thanks, bud," Sam quickly replied, adding another pancake to the already huge stack.

Bucky poured his coffee and joined everyone else at the dining table as Ella started bringing over plates and cutlery. A few minutes later they were all digging in.

"These waffles are great, Sam," Steve spoke with a mouthful of food.

"Where's my compliment?" Ella said jokingly.

"You don't deserve one," he retorted. "Didn't see you cooking."

"I made the batter," Ella replied petulantly as she smacked Steve around the back of the head.

Bucky leaned over and whispered in her ear, "good job on the waffles, Ella."

Bucky smiled as a quiet laugh escaped Ella's lips, and they both got back to eating.

Steve and Bucky were on cleaning duty, so Sam and Ella packed the bags for their day at the beach. They made sure to pick up a football and a frisbee to keep them entertained.

That morning, they only went as far as the beach at the bottom of the house's steps, it was a quiet stretch with only people from the handful of neighboring houses using it, so they practically had it to themselves.

Bucky wasted no time pulling out the frisbee and rallying them for a game. They played for ages, running up and down the beach chasing it and working up a sweat. They teased Steve ruthlessly at the number of times he dropped it, getting perilously close to making him storm off in a huff.

When it hit midday they all gave up playing, instead, they headed down to the sea to cool off. Bucky ran up behind Ella, wrapped his arms around her, and made her squeal in surprise. She picked her up so her feet were off the floor and spun her around before they both ran into the waves.

"You know, I love it here too," he said over the sound of Sam and Steve's distant laughter as Sam took the football to the face.

"Yeah?" Ella asked. "Well we come every year and I figure you pretty much have an open-ended invitation now. Maybe we can scout out our future house next time," she said with a cheeky smile.

Bucky was quiet for a second, suddenly a little nervous. His comment the night before had just slipped out, and he had been a little worried that it had been too much. Sure, they'd talked about college, but nothing past that. They'd only been together 6 months and to him, it still felt like maybe it was too soon to bring it up or drop a line like that out of the blue.

"I meant that, by the way," he said softly. "It wasn't just a throwaway comment."

Ella stroked Bucky's cheek, "and I meant it when I said I'd love it."

Bucky cupped Ella's chin and pulled her in for a kiss, "I love you, I can't wait to do life with you."

"I love you too, Buck. It's going to be amazing," Ella replied. She ducked her head under the water quickly to rinse off all the sweat from the day, when she came back up she gave Bucky a quick kiss and headed back up the beach, leaving Bucky to toss the football around with Steve and Sam.

She laid out on her towel, keeping an eye on the boys. They didn't stay out there for long, and Ella's jaw nearly hit the floor when she saw Bucky walking out of the sea, having his very own James Bond moment. Except it was ten times sexier than Daniel Craig's best effort.

Bucky walked up to Ella, towering over her and casting her in his shadow. The seawater ran from his hair down his chest and over his abs, he dripped droplets over Ella as he leaned over to pick up a towel. He rubbed it over his hair and slung it over his shoulder before picking up a bottle of sun lotion.

He did his arms and chest and handed it over to Ella so she could do his back and shoulders.

He sat on the sand between her legs as she squeezed some into the palm of her hand. Ella took her time rubbing it in, covering his back first before working up to his shoulders. She used her thumbs to work on  the back of his neck, no longer rubbing in sunscreen, just massaging him for fun. He dropped his head and let out a soft hmm of contentment.

Steve joined them, pulling a bottle of water from their backpack, he had to resist the urge to make the very obvious 'get a room' joke. However, Sam came over seconds later and didn't display the same self-restraint.

"The house is literally right there guys," he said pointing up the steps. "Pretty sure you have a bedroom where you can have all the privacy you need."

"Oh ha ha," Ella replied sarcastically, but much to Bucky's disappointment she dropped her hands and stopped massaging his neck. 

They stayed at the beach until the sun sunk below the horizon and cast the sky with pink and orange hues.


You are reading the story above: TeenFic.Net