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He looks at her. She looks at him. They stand on the creaky dock hanging over Lake Naboo. If not for the moonlight, Padmé couldn’t discern Anakin’s mischievous grin in the shadows. Somehow, she finds the courage to tease him with a light slap across his upper arm.
But the innocent contact gives her butterflies, and she attempts to recoil, but he grabs her hand and pulls her closer. She’s too starstruck to resist and still can’t wrap her head around how much Anakin apparently likes her.
Since the first week of summer camp, she noticed him watching her. He would always quickly look away when she caught him though. So, she didn’t think much about it at the time. By the second week, he became bolder, and whenever she did catch him staring, he wouldn’t look away. He started smiling at her and even waving. Padmé was too nervous to wave back. She was sure he was only making fun of her.
Eventually the things he was saying about her to his friends finally got back to her. Dormé, one of her bunkmates, mentioned that Anakin Skywalker had a crush on her. She couldn’t believe it because he was the cutest boy at summer camp. He’s a junior, and she’s only a freshman. The junior girls are so much prettier than she is. She’s a late bloomer still. The girls that always surround him look like they could be in college with their perfect bodies.
Dormé said, “Anakin has been telling all his friends that he thinks you’re gorgeous. He says you look just like an angel.”
Padmé laughed her off. “No, he doesn’t! Did you hear that from him?”
“I overheard Ahsoka talking about it!”
Anakin is barely a foot away from her as they stand now on the edge of the dock. The hands that hold hers are soft and very warm. His sweet blue eyes inspect her closely. “You’re trembling.”
It’s so embarrassing that he notices. She looks down at her bare feet. “I’m sorry.”
He chuckles at her. “Don’t apologize. It’s okay to be nervous.” He leans down until they make eye contact again. “I don’t know why though.”
He doesn’t know why? How?
Most of the girls she’s met here have a crush on him. He’s tall and handsome and good at sports. He looks great without a shirt. He’s practically all they talk about.
Padmé pushes him back. “Too close,” she whispers.
“Oh, I’m sorry.” He takes a step back. His concern is genuine. “Did I do something wrong?”
“No,” she says, shaking her head. “It’s me. I’ve never done this.”
“This?” His knitted brow shows his confusion.
“Been alone with a guy.” Padmé glances up at him to read his expression.
“Oh. I didn’t know.”
“No one’s ever liked me before,” Padmé says. She hopes that doesn’t come off as weird. Really, it doesn’t bother her that she’s never had a boyfriend.
Anakin coughs. “C’mon. That’s impossible. You’re so... pretty,” he praises. Tentatively, he strokes the side of her arm.
She has goosebumps all over her body. “It’s true. I’ve never been kissed.” Her chest tightens, realizing what she has admitted. Maybe, she shouldn’t have said that. How embarrassing. She’s fourteen and has never been kissed.
“That’s good,” he says, “I can kiss you first then.”
His lips are gorgeous. That’s one of the first things she noticed about him. He has a perfect mouth. Kissing him does sound... nice. She wonders what it would feel like. Involuntarily, she bites her bottom lip. He watches her closely.
Anakin lifts his hand to stroke the underside of her chin. “I remember the first time I saw you. It was the first day, and you were just leaving the pool.”
Her heat rate intensifies. She doesn’t know how to react to the tender way he touches her or the longing in his gaze. She knows what it means, and it scares her. “I probably looked horrible, like a rat.”
He shakes his head. “No. You looked like a siren, and I haven’t been able to get that image out my mind for the past month.”
“Thank you,” she whispers, wishing she could hide from him. The momentum of the night is picking up faster than she can process.
“Can I?” he asks, swallowing.
“What?”
“Kiss you.”
Padmé closes her eyes. “Yes,” she breathes.
She expects him to grab her and pull her against him and kiss her hard like the movies she’s seen, but instead, she feels softness brush against her cheek before he kisses her cautiously, like she’s fragile and even one wrong move would shatter her completely.
“Was that okay?”
Padmé is surprised. She thought he had meant on her lips. He stares at her lips often.
When she doesn’t answer quickly, his frown deepens. “Padmé?”
She straightens her posture. He cups her upper arms in his warm hands. “Sorry. It was nice. I liked it.”
He smiles again.
Padmé reaches out and hugs his waist. His muscles are so tight. He has hardly any fat on his bones. Anakin wraps his big arms around her, resting his head on top of hers.
“You’re so tiny,” he says. “You’re so pretty.”
He’s said that twice, but she’s still not sure she believes him.
“Did you bring your swimsuit?” he asks, breaking away from the hug.
She would have let him hold her for longer. “I don’t know if this is a good idea, Anakin. If we’re caught together after hours...”
He scoffs. “It’s the middle of the night. Everyone’s asleep. Just don’t make too much noise.”
Padmé lifts her shirt to reveal a baby blue bikini top. He smiles at the sight of her. He pokes her stomach, and she jumps.
“Sorry,” he says sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck.
“Don’t do that!” She tries to scold him, but she can’t wipe the smile off her face.
“Sorry, you just make me crazy.”
Padmé rolls her eyes. “You’re joking.”
“Not at all.” Without any warning, Anakin rolls up his white T-shirt and throws it over his shoulder.
She gulps and can’t seem to look away from his chest. She didn’t know high school boys could look so good. He catches her gawking, but he doesn’t call her out. Maybe he’s used to it by now.
“I’m going in,” he says. He steps back and then runs up to the edge of the dock and cannonballs into Lake Naboo. The water splashes her, getting her wet.
He’s underwater for a while before coming up for air.
“Is it deep?”
He shakes his head. “I’m touching the bottom.”
His head is barely above water though. Padmé isn’t the most efficient swimmer, but when Anakin asked her to go for a midnight swim, he wasn’t about to tell him no. She wasn’t going to deny herself the opportunity to see him shirtless. He’s ridiculously attractive, but she’s finding herself more interested in other things about him too.
He beckons her to come. “Jump in, Padmé.”
“I’m not gonna jump in, Anakin.” She sits on the deck and dips her toes in.
He swims up to the dock and offers his hands to her. Holding tight, he helps her into the water. The water chills her skin all over. Even stretching out her legs, she can’t reach the bottom.
“I can’t touch,” she says, treading water.
“You can hold onto me... if you want.”
Sucking air between her teeth, she rests her hands on his broad shoulders and fits her legs around his waist. That brings her so close to him. Too close. She can smell his sweet cologne or what still lingers on his neck.
They gaze in each other’s eyes. The moonlight illuminates his face. Their mouths are inches away.
“I wanna kiss you so badly.”
“Again?”
He nods. “For real this time.”
She closes her eyes, committing to the action. Hand to the small of her back, he pulls her against him, and their lips collide. Their teeth hit together, and they back away a bit disoriented.
“Sorry,” he whispers.
Padmé holds his face this time for stability. “It’s okay.”
This time he kisses her flawlessly. His lips are gentle, demanding nothing from her, only expressing his desire for her.
Anakin is Padmé’s very first kiss. Her friends are going to be so jealous when she tells them, but she doesn’t care about that in the least though. What concerns her are the feelings bubbling up inside over how much she likes this boy.