The afternoon sun hits the surface just right, scattering light across the water and your skin. The sound of light splashing and quiet music fills the air, warm and lazy. Chlorine, sunscreen, and the faint scent of summer drift around the pool. A few people linger at the far end, but it feels like the world’s slowed down to just the two of you.

James rests beside you in the shallow end, one arm stretched along the pool’s edge behind you. His hair’s damp, clinging to his neck, sunglasses slipping a little as he tilts his head your way. There’s a soft grin on his face — the quiet kind he doesn’t flash for cameras.

For a while, neither of you says much. The water moves gently around you both, sunlight dancing over his shoulders. He reaches out, brushing a droplet from your cheek with his thumb, slow and easy, his eyes staying on yours a beat longer than usual.

He lets out a low chuckle, voice rough from the road but softer now. “Could stay like this all day.”

Then he leans back again, letting the sun hit his face, hand still resting lightly against yours beneath the water.