On the walk back to the villa we notice that there’s quite a bit of trash on the beach, in our drunken state yesterday we didn’t really pay attention to it, but now in the bright morning light it’s very visible. Wyatt picks some of it up on the way back, but we soon realize there’s too much of it to carry in our hands. 

“Would it be awful of me if I suggested to the others that we have a bit of a beach clean up session when we get back?”, Wyatt asks sheepishly, looking at the trash he has collected in his hands. 

“I mean, this is supposed to be a fun trip…”, I start, but as I see his face fall I add, “but it can’t hurt to ask! And we can’t force them to join, but you still have me, I’ll help.”. The smile on his face makes promising to pick up trash while hungover worth it. Besides, if I need to throw up, at least I’ll have a trash bag ready with me. 

As we get back, I see that Irene and Noah are up, eating breakfast. As they look back and forth between us trying to figure out if everything’s good between me and Wyatt, Noah notices the trash in Wyatt’s hands. Noah lifts an eyebrow in question. 

“Oh? This? Um… found it on the beach.”, Wyatt says, “I’ll go throw it away.”. He goes to put it in the trash. When he’s out of earshot Irene speaks up. 

“So…You guys okay?”, Irene asks as she continues eating. 

“Yeah, we talked it through.”, I reply and awkwardly add, “And I’m sorry for lying to you about the price. You obviously don’t have to pay more, it’s on me…and Eve.”. I pause briefly. “Speaking of Eve…is she okay? And how’s Camilla doing?”, I ask to change the subject. 

“Eve’s still asleep, I bet she won’t be up until the afternoon. And I think the same goes for Camilla. They went a bit too hard last night.”, Irene chuckles. 

“Yeah, I bet. I’m not feeling too great either, but those two really like to party.”, I say. 

Wyatt walks back into the room, holding a roll of trash bags. I don’t think I’ll be able to stomach breakfast so I just give him a smile as I say; “ready?”. 

“Yes, if you are. You don’t want breakfast first?”, Wyatt asks me, “I can make you something.

“No, I’m good.”, I answer, “Maybe later.”. 

“What are you guys planning to do?”, Noah asks as he puts away his cereal bowl. 

“Oh, we’re going to clean the beach, you guys want to come?”, Wyatt asks with a hopeful look on his face. 

“Seriously?”, Irene asks looking surprised, but as she sees Wyatt’s hopeful face, she softens her tone, “I mean, cool, just surprised Audrey would do that… voluntarily. But yeah, cool, why not?”. 

“Sure, I’m in.”, Noah says as he stretches his back and yawns. 

“Yay, join us when you’re ready!”, I say with as much enthusiasm as I can muster, but strangely enough the dread I usually feel related to manual labor is slowly starting to fade. I can’t say that I really want to do this, but I don’t actually hate it. Weird. 

We spend the morning cleaning the beach area near our villa, it’s tedious work as most of the trash is small plastic caps and scraps that have floated on shore, but I feel quite productive afterwards even though I did take a bunch of breaks since my hungover wasn’t miraculously cured just because I wanted it to be. Turns out you can’t really get rid of your hangover with pure willpower. 

.

The rest of the day is spent chilling. Everyone does their own thing, Wyatt and I sit on the beach in the shade reading comics, Noah’s strumming on a guitar he found somewhere in the villa as he chats with Camilla, who is sunbathing, she looks a bit worse for wear, but still not as bad as Eve. Eve finally made her way out of bed late in the day, she has her head in Irene’s lap, but like some sort of vampire she has her face covered under a sunhat as she insists the bright light is going to kill her. Irene is solving a crossword as she sips a drink. 

By evening we have all recovered enough to be in higher spirits. We eat a delicious meal together, but with less drinks than last night, and afterwards we toast some marshmallows over a fire Irene and Wyatt made in the fire pit outside. Noah plays guitar and Eve’s feeling good enough to sing a few songs for us. She has the prettiest voice among us, so listening to her is enjoyable. We leave tomorrow morning so we all just take in the moment and it feels good to just relax with my friends. 

“The sun is going to set soon”, Wyatt whispers to me as I sit cuddled up with him under a blanket by the fire. “Want to take a walk?”, he asks.

I smile up at him, “a romantic sunset walk? Count me in.”. Wyatt smiles back at me, kissing my forehead, before he helps me up and takes my hand, leading me towards the beach. Our friends let us go without too much teasing, just a few, “the lovebirds are at it again”, from Camilla and exaggerated kissy noises from Eve. 

Wyatt and I walk slowly along the beach as the sun sets, the pink, red and purple colors in the sky so vivid and magical as it reflects on the water, it’s breathtaking. Even if I tried to take a picture of it, I know the picture would never do this moment justice. I decide to just capture this moment in my mind, hoping the memory never fades. 

“So beautiful.”, I say in awe as I look at the view.

“Yes, so beautiful.”, Wyatt agrees with a soft smile. 

“But somehow I’ve always been a little scared of the ocean, I don’t know why.”, I muse out loud, “It doesn’t scare me when I’m on the beach like this, but when I’m out on the open waters, it’s kind of scary.”, I say as I let the gentle waves wash over my feet. 

“I’ve always felt a connection to the ocean.”, Wyatt tells me. “I know some are afraid of its vastness… so much of it is unexplored and it’s so massive, so I can see why it could be scary, but I’ve always felt a sense of calm, of peace, like I could finally breathe when I see the ocean. Its vastness doesn’t scare me.” He continues, “It’s beautiful the way the sun glitters on the surface like specks of gold. I feel like the waves could wash over me and take away all my pain and doubt. Wash me clean of stress and lull me to sleep like a song. And the salt air smells like home.”.

“So the ocean and its vastness and everything that comes with it never scared me. If anything, I’ve always been more afraid of my own mind, of people's opinions and judgment, but not anymore.”, Wyatt says as he turns to look at me.

“You’re my ocean, Audrey. When I’m with you, I feel so calm and more at home than I could ever have imagined. When I’m with you everything else fades. I don’t care about the voices of judgment, my own or theirs.” I can see the hues of the ocean reflected in his eyes and I’ve never seen anything as beautiful in my life. His words heal something in me. 

“I love you.”, I breathe out, letting the words I’ve kept in my heart out. 

“And I love you, Audrey.”, Wyatt says and we melt into each other, lips against lips, embracing, wanting to get closer. We hurriedly make our way back to the villa and our room. In our room our bodies become one as we strive to get ever closer to each other, skin against skin, hearts beating as one. Feeling all the love and lust between us gives me such a rush as I kiss Wyatt deeply, my hands wandering over his lean body. It feels like we are drowning in each other, frantically trying to get ever closer,  and only coming up for air. Tonight I’m intoxicated, not by drinks, but by this moment between us, by his taste and warmth, by how our bodies move together and how our heavy breathing sounds and syncs together, by the intimate bliss that washes over me in waves. I feel so loved and cherished in Wyatt’s embrace as we murmur sweet nothings to one another. I love him more than words. If I am his ocean, he is my shore - my safe harbor and unshakable ground.