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Another hot Summer day was coming to an end. As the sun began to set the assigned camping grounds started to come to life, with most families returning from their daily activities to group up at their temporary homes and usually have dinner together. While a couple of campers preferred to go to the nearby hotel to eat, most of those had their own meals prepped. They chose to stay at the camping for a reason after all, and being tucked away in the woods really gave off the feeling they were far away from the civilization. In reality the condos weren’t much further.
The Noceda family were one of those who chose camping. At least most of them, it was a three against one with Camila thinking staying at a condo would be much better. But she couldn’t say no when her husband and both daughters ganged up on her with those pleading eyes, and by the time they got settled for their Summer vacation she was glad they went through it.
It was bound to be a memorable experience at the Summer resort island, if not once in a life time.
While she finished prepping the dinner Manny returned with their daughters trailing behind, still damp from swimming all day and pouty for being pulled away from their day of fun activities for the sake of eating. Vee would’ve loved to stay at the beach just a little longer, but to her surprise her sister, Luz, seemed to give in and agree to return with less of a fight put up. Usually she’s the more stubborn one between them two.
That was because once Luz realized it was Dinner time, she had somewhere to be soon. And her family didn’t know about it.
The three joined Camila to prep the rest of the dinner and Luz had to really focus and not be clumsy about it as her mind wandered. Her mother already scolded her for being hasty with peeling potatoes a few days ago and she would prefer avoiding getting into another situation like that.
With their excellent family teamwork they huddled together around the folding camping table and began their dinner.
It always started off nice and quiet until usually Luz and Vee would start going off about how their time at different. Recently it was mostly Vee doing the talking, unless it was something that really had Luz excited; like the other day when finally after much begging their parents allowed them to try out the giant water slides they’ve been eyeing ever since they first saw them. Camila still worried about the potential danger of them but seeing just how enthusiastic and reassuring Luz was she agreed to let them go again another time.
For the dozenth time Luz was tempted to check the time, just to be reminded there were no clocks or watches for her to check. Aside from the one on her father’s wrist, but she wasn’t that desperate, and it would just make her look suspicious. After all she never cared about the passage of time and ever since their vacation started the days would pass so fast she’d complain about it.
But recently, dinner time has been slow, painfully so.
Her family would continue to pull her back into conversations during the dinner, and every time Luz would be so out of the loop her parents would begin to question what was wrong. Their Luz, talkative and excitable Luz?
Her sister had her back though, even if she wasn’t aware she was shielding her, shrugging it off by telling them she’s probably just tired from their daily activities and had her brain full of ideas for the new story she’s been going on about writing.
It wasn’t entirely untrue, but there were other things occupying the teen’s mind.
The family finished their dinner, and before Luz had a chance to slip away her mother reminded her it was her turn to do the dishes. She whined, but didn’t protest - she’d never protest her mother - so she bit down her excitement and rushed through the plates and bowls she had to clean. When she considered the job to be done well enough, she said she’s going for a walk and took off.
Her heart was racing as she jogged down the dirt path, but she had no intentions of following it. Luz looked left and right, and when she was sure nobody else was around, the teen took a detour into the bushes and through overgrown trees. Ever since she was little she enthusiastically explored the woods behind her house so this kind of adventure was nothing new to her, especially considering she already memorized the route towards her destination by heart. In the past few weeks she walked down the self-made track more times than she could count.
Careful not to trip over something, but fast enough that her excitement couldn’t hold her back, the Latina eventually made her way down a small hill onto a secret beach they discovered back when they first took a trip away from the camp. When she pushed past the trees she froze in place, breath catching in throat.
The sun was already setting, illuminating the sky in a beautiful fading orange color and reflecting against the calm water. On a log the two of them brought together to sit on someone already waiting for her; a girl with fading green hair and brown roots showing, tied up back into a small ponytail. Even from the distance Luz could tell it was a little damp, indicating she was probably swimming not too long ago. She wore denim shorts and a dark cropped top, with a light floral patterned blouse draped around her shoulders. Maybe it was just the way the setting Sun was hitting her face and making her amber eyes shine, but she looked absolutely ethereal. Then again, she always did.
Her name was Amity, and despite being only sixteen, Luz knew she was absolutely in love with this girl.
Luz stood there and watched long enough that her presence caught the other girl’s attention.
Weary of another person, Amity turned her head around. She had that cautious look on her face, like she was ready to fight or flee from unwarranted company. But then their eyes met, and all the tension disappeared in an instant.
“Hey.” Amity whispered after a moment that felt long, gaze soft to match the smile that slowly formed. It successfully made Luz’s heart thrash around in her chest every single time she’d seen it.
“Hi…” The brunette responded in equally quiet manner, secretive as if they weren’t all alone already.
For a while they stared at each other until Luz realized she might start growing roots in the spot where she’s standing, so she slowly made her way towards Amity, excitement causing her to fumble over a rock and almost trip. Embarrassed, she laughed when she saw Amity go from being all concerned to chuckling and calling her cute.
She walked over to the log, and when Amity rolled her eyes playfully and scooted over to give her space as Luz sat down next to her. Despite how many times they’ve met up by now they always end up a little shy like this at first, having trouble grasping this is real for either of them.
Luz’s hand then touched Amity’s, and instead of pulling away in fear she felt the gentle fingers slip between hers, intertwining.
They shared another look, soft smiles and absolute adoration in eyes. It was hard to look away, it was hard to believe they get to share a moment like this. And when they fell into that comfort, Amity scooted up closer to Luz’s side, making the Latina’s ears burn and act all giddy.
“So how was your day?” Amity inquired, eyes not moving away from Luz.
Besides her Luz felt like she could crumble over under her gaze, so to prevent dying young from her heart bursting she brought herself to be the first one to look away, her heart leaping when she felt Amity try to stifle a laugh leaned against her shoulder.
“It was pretty normal,” she said sheepishly, eyes steady on the setting sun. It’s a sight she couldn’t get enough of from this little secret beach, second most beautiful only compared the her girlfriend. “I finally perfected those backflips off the cliff I told you about!”
Amity hummed, grinning up at Luz, “You’ll have to show me one of these days.” Her smile then faltered, replaced instead with a concerned expression. “Preferably not from that cliff though. I told you to be more careful jumping from there.”
Feeling confident about her nurturing skill Luz huffed, waving it off. “I told you, don’t even worry about it! You’re talking to a pro jumper at this point.” She grinned then, jabbing a thumb to her chest. As confident as she was in not breaking anything while jumping off high places into the ocean she didn’t like worrying Amity, and luckily by the way the taller girl smiled it was safe to assume she did well enough reassuring her. “What about you though, how was your day? You were early today.”
The smile disappeared once again, and Amity sat up straighter. When Luz felt her tense up, she reassuringly squeezed her hand a little tighter and the taller girl squeezed back as a thank you a moment after.
“It was okay. I kinda ditched dinner because mom was annoying again.”
Worried for her girlfriend, Luz frowned and wrapped an arm around Amity in hopes to bring her some comfort. She’s aware her mother tends to be, in nicest way she could think of putting it - pretty shitty.
“I’m sorry, anything you wanna talk about?”
Amity thought it over, but ultimately shook her head. “No, nothing worth wasting time on.” She knew Luz was about to object, she learned to read that look in her eyes. Before she could though Amity cut her off with a slightly forced, but reassuring smile.
“Last thing I’d want for her is to soil my time with you.” She punctuated the mildly flirty statement with a boop to her girlfriend’s nose, and Luz’s heart leaped again.
“Uh-huh! Whatever you say!” She stammered, scrambling to find her words in a way that Amity found endearing. “But if you do change your mind, you know I’m here for you.”
“I know Luz.” Amity whispered, affection in her tone. “But I mean it,our time is limited enough as is.”
Luz wanted to keep talking about it, but she didn’t want to push it. As much as she wants Amity to be safe and happy her comfort comes first. So she sighed, got down to kneel in front of Amity and smiled, delighted to see her usually pale face flush by her chivalry move . Then she took her hand, smaller and softer, and brought it up to her lips to kiss the knuckles of her fingers. There was no way her girlfriend could’ve possibly turned any redder after that, the romantic within Luz huffing with pride.
“Fine. In that case, what would you like to do?” She asked, confident after watching Amity melt the way she did.
But she should’ve known it wouldn’t last long. Amity, looking so beautiful as she always does, smiled back at her and got up, successfully yanking Luz up onto her feet as well with a tight grip. Her dashing confidence immediately faltered, cheeks burning as she noticed Amity’s brow raise and eyes light up when she realized she’s receiving the upper hand. When they stood so close like this face to face Luz couldn’t help but think about the fact Amity is just a little taller.
She watched mesmerized while Amity bit the inside of her cheek in thought. Then she grinned at her and shrugged, making Luz’s heart dip into her stomach fast.
“I didn’t have anything in particular in mind. I just liked spending time with you.”
Luz reluctantly freed one of her hands to clutch the shirt around her heart. Amity’s eyes rolled playfully and then she pulled her closer, close enough that Luz felt goosebumps in the middle of Summer.
“Why not tell me more about the thing you’ve been writing?” She asked, almost in a whisper, as if they weren’t already hiding.
“Isn’t there something more fun we could do?” Luz retorted in an equally quiet tone. “I’m starting to think you just like listening to me talk.”
It was supposed to be a joke to start banter, but instead of returning in same energy Amity took is seriously. She should’ve expected that probably. She inquired in the most sincere tone, “And what if I do?” She paused to gauge at Luz’s flustered reaction, then smiled sweetly and continued, “You talk about interesting things. I like you…”
One arm snaked around Luz’s waist and pulled her closer. Amity leaned in so there was barely any space between them, eyes filled with pure adoration. The sand underneath Luz stood on felt like it could burn through her skin.
“I like you.”
If Amity wasn’t holding her so firmly her knees would’ve given in by now. Luckily her strong girlfriend kept her grounded as she nervously laughed, her heart hammering too hard for her brain to function properly. No matter how many times she heard those three words since they got together they never failed to hit her with realization how real this was.
“Wanna know a secret?” Her voice cracked, but Amity didn’t laugh at it. She just hummed for Luz to continue. “I might like you too?”
“Yeah?”
She nodded, “Yeah.”
And then her brain both went black and exploded with overwhelming emotions all at once. It was like magic, a feeling she couldn’t get enough of and that made her forget how to breathe. Whenever Amity would kiss her it was exciting. It was soft and affirming and everything . She felt genuinely loved, genuinely cared for and not ridiculed or something of the sort she’s used to feeling.
Moments after she pulled away, Luz leaned right back in, both of them smiling into the kiss. This was something theirs and it was real, something nobody else could possibly understand. It was worth all the sneaking around even if it sometimes pained them to do so. Who could possibly understand this feeling meant just for them, after all?
On their secret beach on the warm sand with the sun setting behind them and soft waves crashing against the shore, in this very moment, Luz knew for a fact what being in love feels like.