Two hands shaking, hair blowing in the wind. The fingers intertwining, the short breaths. Everything around seemed blurry, feet sinking into the sand near the bathtub. Ellie looked at you carefully, moving her gaze from your eyes to your lips. The beach was sparse with people. In the distance there were just a few families having fun and Ellie seemed to observe them for a few seconds. You parted your lips, totally lost in her warmth and you instinctively grabbed her face gently to force her to look at you. Ellie looked at you absentmindedly. Her facial features softened, her body relaxed. And you brushed your lips against hers with your heart pounding. You saw her look around once again, but you brought a hand to the back of her head to push her further into you. You could sense her fear. Fear of being watched, judged. I knew she felt everyone's eyes on her, but you wanted to love her unconditionally without being afraid to come out. Your lips parted and you kissed her slowly, bringing your arms around her neck. Her body was stiff, her heart pounding and you could feel it through the contact with your chest. Then she slowly relaxed, her arms tightening around your waist, then she lifted you off the ground, deepening the kiss. At that moment there was only you and no one else. All the prejudices, the fears, everything was dissolving. And no kiss had ever had the taste of freedom like in that moment. Ellie breathed softly, breaking away from the kiss to stroke her fingers up your arm.

Ellie: I don't believe in god, but I believe you are my savior.

You looked into her eyes for a few seconds, then you smiled softly, taking her hand and dragging her towards the water. Ellie laughed and followed you, walking as far as she could and finding all her clothes soaked. Your hair was stuck to the back of your neck, your clothes were transparent, your lips were red from the previous kiss. There was no malice. There were no judging eyes that could look at you. The eyes that spoke louder than words.