Felix Hauville Summer Scenario - Treading Water (Patreon)

“It’s, you know…” Felix pinches his lips together, face wrinkled as he tries hard to think of a word that is obviously non-offensive.

I arch a brow and sigh. “Go on.”

“It’s quaint. Yeah, quaint,” he lets out finally.

I roll my eyes but can’t help a soft laugh escaping along with the gesture. “Why is it everywhere I take you is ‘quaint’? Do you really not like it?”

“Hey, babe,” he says, curling an arm around my hips to tug me in close to his side. “Anywhere with you is somewhere I want to be.” His accompanying grin makes his eyes glitter.

I release my folded arms and give him a quick peck of a kiss on the lips. “It’s lucky you’re so good at flattery.”

“It is, isn’t it?” he replies with a melodic laugh.

We begin walking together hand-in-hand across the gritty sands of the cove, listening to the crushed shells and tiny pebbles crunch beneath our shoes.

“So if this is so quaint, what are places like this in the Echo World like? Do you have coves?” I ask. He never offers much information on the Echo World, so I always have to end up prompting. It’s hard not to be curious about the idea of another world just through the other side of a magical portal.

He shrugs. “Sure. They looked pretty much like this.”

“Then why the dismissal?” I ask through a chuckle.

“Because generally the coves I visited tended to…sparkle and, you know, glow.”

I come to a stop and blink at him. “You mean actually glow?”

He grins. “I’d love to have taken you to see one. Talk about a romantic atmosphere to set the tone. Mood lighting provided by the gentle glow of the ore in the rocks, and the sand glittering with the magic of stars beneath our feet.”

The thought of that sight almost takes my breath away. “…Now I get why this place isn’t quite so impressive.”

He steps up close to me, letting his lips brush against my neck in a teasing flutter of a kiss before whispering in my ear, “Honestly, I’m never looking at the view when I’m with you, babe. No matter where we are.”

The comment sends a ripple of heated excitement to course through me, making me suddenly even hotter beneath the pelting heat of the summer sun.

“Come on,” I say, interrupting our closeness before I’m tempted to lead us off the beach and back to my apartment. “Let me at least show you some of the cove’s ‘quaintness’ before you write it off completely.” I move away but catch his hand once again with mine so as I can lead him further around the curve of the cove.

It may not live up to the mighty standards of the Echo World’s magical scenes, but Wayhaven’s little shore is still enough for me with Felix by my side.

I scramble across rock pools, pointing out small crustaceans in the crystal-clear ponds. Felix does a good job at seeming as enthusiastic about it all as I am, but I don’t linger too long before showing him the next spot.

Towards the end of the small lakeside beach is a cave, and that’s what I am really excited to show him.

We approach the gaping maw of the cavern, its dark interior framed by the striking white limestone of the cliff around it. Cool air bellows out from within though is instantly beaten back by the scorching heat of the summer day. Treacherously wet rocks and a gentle tide over sinking sand make up the ground where as obsidian-slick rock makes up the walls and ceiling.

Felix lets out a low whistle as he steps up behind me to peer inside. “That’s pretty awesome.”

We begin to walk carefully into the gloom. At least, I walk carefully so as I don’t break my neck tripping on an algae-splattered rock, Felix skips across the dangerous surface as though it’s nothing more than a hardwood floor.

“It’s said that pirates used to hide their treasure here,” I explain, my voice resonating with a slight echo about the vast space.

He chuckles. “That’s said about every cave linked to water, isn’t it?”

I wither and throw him a stare. “Do you have to crush all of my dreams today?”

“Aw, sorry, babe,” he coos, hugging me into him and kissing the sun-warmed skin of my shoulder. “I guess I just had other plans for today.”

“Oh?” I ask, clasping my arms casually around his middle. “What plans?”

A smile teases at the corner of his lips in a way that makes my stomach clench with excited anticipation.

“Well, I was thinking…,” he begins, words muffled slightly as he kisses my cheek. “We could do the exploring thing.” Next his kisses move to just below my ear and work their way down. “But more…exploring each other.”

I let out a long breath, the promised coolness of the cave suddenly stifling as heat flourishes through me with every touch of his lips.

He leans back and meets my eyes before tracing a finger down the sensitive skin of my neck, down the centre of my chest, and all the way down over my stomach, stopping just above the area that suddenly aches for him to touch.

“You’re way more exciting to see every inch of than some musty old cave,” he admits with a flash of a smile.

I press into him, feeling the strength of him rock against me in return, his hands fisting into my shirt as though only just resisting the urge to tear it from my body.

I brush my cheek against his, lips leaving a light kiss against his neck as I mumble into his ear, “Then keep exploring.”

He doesn’t need to be told twice, and in a millisecond, my top is thrown my body. Felix retraces the line of his finger down my body but this time with his tongue, swirling it over my stomach before dipping down even lower as though sensing just where I need him to go.

And I have to agree, as my eyes flutter shut to let out a moan, that this is way more fun than what I had planned.