Swimming lessons

It was a nice, hot summer morning on Rados. Ihara and Rion were outside, sitting on the grass near the small lake that surrounded the back of the dojo, snuggling under the shade of the aspen trees, silently watching the clouds drift in the pale blue sky. Rion wiped his brows.

‘’Phew, it’s hot even in the shade!’’ He exclaimed.

Ihara smirked. ‘’Want to take a dip?’’

Rion turned his head and looked around. He then looked back at Ihara.

‘’But we don’t have bathing suits with us.’’

‘’Then we’ll just go with our clothes on. ....If the others ask what happened, we can just say we fell.’’ She snorted.

Rion chuckled. ‘’Well there’s this pond not too far from here...’’ He pointed in a general direction.

‘’But that’s not big enough.’’ Ihara inquired.

‘’Well...it’s...huh...big enough for me?” The albino blushed, smiling sheepishly. Ihara looked at him, not buying into his excuse. After a few seconds of awkward silence, he sighed. ‘’Okay, you got me. I don’t know how to swim.’’

The brown-haired girl stood there, staring at her boyfriend, frozen for a few seconds before she shook her head and smiled.

‘’Well...I could teach you how to swim.’’

Rion grinned in response. ‘’You would do that?’’

Ihara nodded.

‘’But I’m not going to take my clothes off.’’ She giggled when Rion pouted.

‘’Aw why?’’ He pouted teasingly.

‘’You know why. ‘’

‘’But..clothes drag you down because they’re heavy, right?’’ He wiggled his eyebrows. Ihara burst out laughing.

‘’Yes, but I’ll have to for now. Either way, I am an experienced swimmer. Trust me.’’

‘’You know I trust you with my life.’’ Rion took her hand in his and kissed the back of it.

‘’Charmer.’’ Ihara giggled. ‘’Anyways...let’s get on with this, shall we?’’ She said, before jumping and diving into the water with all of her clothes on.

‘’Alright...let me just...prepare myself.’’ The young man eyed the water apprehensively. The level of the water wasn’t very high, but he was still feeling a bit self-conscious. ‘’Erm...’’

‘’Oh you’re fine, love. You’ll be fine, trust me.’’ Ihara said loudly from her spot in the lake so he could hear her. She dipped her head into the water.

Rion smiled at her, then hesitated before taking his shirt off and dipping his toes in. He then slowly, nervously started to get in. When Ihara resurfaced and shook her head so her hair wouldn’t be too wet, she glanced at him and felt herself blush at the sight of her boyfriend’s naked torso. She couldn’t help but roam over his chest with her chestnut brown eyes, secretly enjoying every inch that met her eyes. He smirked.

‘’Like what you see?’’

Snapping out of her trance, Ihara snorted in surprise and slightly covered her eyes, but left enough space between her fingers to continue staring. ‘’Er...maybe.’’ She bit her lower lip in a smile. Rion chuckled in amusement at her reaction.

‘’A...Anyways...’’ Ihara tried to regain her composure. ‘’Let’s go to a deeper part of the lake so you could learn proper swimming.’’

Rion’s smile faded.

‘’Come on honey, follow me.’’

Feeling his nervousness come back, Rion tried to imitate Ihara as she swam away and swam up to her. They stopped when they were in a part of the lake that was a few feet deeper.

Suddenly, Rion felt something strike him in the back and immediately panicked, taking a firm hold of Ihara’s arms with a ‘augh!’

Amused, Ihara giggled and pecked his lips. ‘’It’s just a wave, nothing to worry about.’’

At this, the albino relaxed and laughed sheepishly. ‘’Sorry.’’

‘’It’s okay. Now watch and learn!’’

The girl repeatedly batted at the water with her arms and kicked with her legs, all in perfect balance, almost...graceful. Rion looked on in awe, and she dived once again, performing a short series of simple acrobatics, as long as her lungs permitted her to hold in her breath. She then popped up next to him, sending a few droplets in his direction.

‘’Where did you learn that?’’ He looked at her, speechless.

‘’You could say I took swimming lessons. The turtles had a pool and they taught us to swim too.’’ Ihara answered. ‘’Your turn.’’

Rion gulped. ‘’Okay.’’

‘’ You don’t have to do acrobatics now, you may learn them later, when you feel more comfortable.’’ Ihara smiled. ‘’For now, just do what I did with my arms and legs.’’

‘’What would I do without you...’’ Rion looked at her fondly.

Ihara’s smile widened, and she waved a hand at him. ‘’Go on.’’

The young man sighed. ‘’Alright...let’s get this over with...’’

He imitated his girlfriend’s earlier moves, batting and kicking at the water, then dipped his head in and got it out a few seconds later. He beamed with pride.

‘’I...I can swim! Look at me, I’m swimming!’’

Ihara couldn’t help but laugh at his childish behaviour. It was so adorable. She was proud of him, too. ‘’Yes! Continue!’’

Doing as he was told, Rion continued for a few minutes, then grabbed Ihara by the hips, making her squeak in surprise. He cupped her cheeks with his hands and kissed her passionately. She placed her arms around his neck and returned the kiss. They both stared into eachother’s eyes for a moment.

‘’Thanks love.’’ He pecked her cheek.

‘’No problem.’’ She smiled. She then looked upwards at the sky, that had slightly darkened, and gasped. ‘’Oh wow, already? It’s getting late.’’

The couple swam to the shore and got out of the water, soaking wet.

Ihara looked at Rion’s shirt.

‘’Maybe we should put it in the water before you put it back on, so we could say we fell if the others asked.’’

‘’Good idea.’’

Rion took his shirt and lay it in the water for a moment, then got it out and put it on, trembling.

Then the two of them wrapped their arms over eachother and returned to the dojo, satisfied with their day.