Private Finished The Cape Of Secrets

Eve was alone a lot, and he had a lot of time on his hands. Those two things usually lead him to loneliness, and since he had trouble seeking refuge with other people he usually ran it out. On those occasions Eve sometimes happened upon something new and wonderous when getting distracted by a butterfly or sunbeam.
That was how he had happened upon this spot, a hidden cape. Eve often came here alone to enjoy the sea breeze and sounds of the surrounding nature. Always alone.
But now Eve wasn't alone.
"It's just past this thicket here. Be careful of the branches."
Eve turned his head to send a warning and a small smile at Jake over his shoulder. They had been jogging and walking for some time now. The cape was some ways off the usual route that few people used due to it being quite rocky. Eve had once seen an exotic bird and by following it he had found a large rock. And circling it he had found a small opening that lead to an even smaller cape, only 5 or so meters wide and long. The water stayed shallow long ways from the sand and if you walked far enough it felt like you were walking on water. It was closed off from the rest of the beach and it was peaceful. And isolated.
Suddenly Eve felt embarrassed showing it to Jake. Sure it was a beautiful place, basically a small private beach, but it was seriously really isolated. Which meant just the two of them, in a small space. Eve blushed as he lifted a branch to let Jake follow him. Eve moved his head a bit to hide the blush from Jake and pushed on.
Almost right after his realization Eve already saw the rock from between the trees. Too late to turn back now.
"It's there. Follow me."
Eve mumbled a bit as he hurried ahead of Jake to lead him to the small opening in the rock.
"It's pretty low so you got to hunch down. Even if you're shorter than me."
Eve tried teasing Jake a bit, a habit he had recently picked up again. He had done it with his...friends in the past. But after cutting himself off of that unhealthy lifestyle the habit had been abandoned.
It felt nice to do it again in a more positive situation.
Eve went ahead of Jake again into the opening, hunching down pretty low. He trusted Jake would follow his example. And when Eve came out into the cape he thought 'This was the perfect timing'.
The sun was shining in an angle that made reflections dance in the slight ceiling the rock surrounding the beach formed. The sand and smooth rocks just below the water could be seen clearly and they looked like a painting. It was a bit hot but Eve wouldn't have known, since he couldn't feel heat that well. But the sea breeze occasionally made Eve's hair sway.
A genuine, wider than usual smile lit up Eve's face and he took a deep breath, closing his eyes briefly. Then Eve remembered Jake and while blushing a bit he turned to him, rubbing his neck.
"This is, um, my secret place. Or at least I think no one else comes here. I never see any signs of other people."

@Wolfie

Eve, feeling relaxed in his secret place, laughed quite openly, or at least more than he usually did. Though the talk of bodies and such brought unpleasant thoughts into mind Eve repressed them, not wanting to spoil the mood. He smiled at Jake before taking his shoes and socks off and dipping his toes in the sand. It felt silky and soft.
"True enough. This place is really isolated. Though I think it gets pretty hot, I'm not sure since I can't feel it."
Eve walked to a more shady spot and sat down, taking off his pouch belt. He stared at the sea for a second, small smile on his face. Then he looked at Jake again.
"I have a rule that I won't sketch in this place. So you don't have to worry about me drawing you."
Eve chuckled and threw his pouch belt a bit farther away like it was a weapon. Since it contained his sketchbook and pen.
"I usually don't swim, since you have to walk a long way to be able to. The shallow continues a long way. But you can if you want to. You must be hot."

Eve tried to fake pouting but it ended up as a slightly disapproving look when Jake was so obviously relieved that he had no intentions of sketching him. But Eve smiled slightly soon after and looked at Jake amused.
"How would you feel if I felt thankful you weren't going to play guitar, Jimi Hendrix?"
Eve chuckled.
"Though I think it's a bit different. Your playing is pleasant to listen anytime but me sketching you just makes you uncomfortable."
Eve said this casually, since it was true. But the shadow probably his the slight blush on his cheeks.

Eve shifted a but when Jake insisted he swam. Eve had no problem swimming, of course, he could swim. But somehow swimming in the huge ocean made him nervous. And then there were his scars... Nevertheless Eve stood up and dusted his pants a bit. He also had but swimming trunks on, they were under his long sweatpants.
Eve chuckled a bit again and looked at Jake other brow slightly up.
"Why do I doubt that you find ocean scary?"
Eve was stalling, naturally he was. He stood unsurely, though he didn't seem that. Eve didn't want to disappoint Jake so he decided to just...try his luck. Maybe Jake wouldn't see them.
"I'll swim then. Race you."
Eve smiled a little, slid down his sweatpants and just sprinted. His speed was maybe around 50mph after few seconds, Eve really pushed it. But thanks to it he was deep enough in the water to cover up the burn scars on his legs really quickly.
But the speed had a backlash. When Eve tried to stop he lost his balance and fell straight off his feet. Eve stood up sputtering a bit, entirely soaked. But he laughed and wiped his hair off his face. It reached just past his shoulders whem wet.

Eve felt sad, when Jake put himself down again. Sad and, surprisingly, irritated. Eve hadn't felt irritated in a long time, he didn't let himself. But then again, Eve hadn't been close to anyone in a while. And when people he was close to underestimated themselves it irritated Eve. So Eve let himself frown just a bit, just for a second. But then the frown disappeared and Eve tilted his head slightly.
"There are many things I want to draw, that is true. And one of them happens to be you."
Eve smiled a little.
"You say I should draw better things. But I think you are one of those better things. Although I naturally won't push you."
Eve didn't feel that embarrassed right away, he was too comfortable after saying his honest feelings. Moment later the embarrassment did come and it tinted Eve's cheeks red. Again. Eve had already admitted to himself he was having a small crush on Jake, another thing he hadn't felt in a long time. But Eve didn't want to associate this crush with the old ones. Those had not been the same, not exactly. They had been...darker. But this one felt warm, light. Like Jake. It wasn't a bad feeling at all. But Eve knew Jake would only feel burdened by his feelings. So Eve repressed them as well.

Eve only realized he had left his shirt on when he felt it stick to his skin. The feeling didn't bother him and he would've probably kept the shirt on from the start anyway. Eve had the stone on his chest and he didn't like showing them off. Same with his scars. Though the outline of the stone could be seen against the fabric.
Eve hadn't noticed Jake getting into the water so he flinched a bit when his head popped up near him. Eve tried to shield himself from the droplets Jake shook off and chuckled. Then he blushed a bit at Jake's words.
"I just...didn't want to disappoint. And it's not like I hate swimming."
Eve moved his hands a bit and felt the water. The area with the scar tissue in his legs felt bit colder than the rest of his body, the skin thinner there.
"It might have been a mistake to come in so quickly though. My shirt is all wet now."
Eve pulled on his shirt a bit, it was a black tank top. It was a size or two too big and the stone on Eve's chest almost showed. He tried to tug on the tank top to cover it better.

The water Jake flicked Eve's direction hit him right on the face and joined all the water Eve's hair had sucked up. Eve looked a bit stunned but before he could even think of splashing Jake back he dove down and disappeared. Eve had the thought that Jake could see his legs underwater and reached down to try and cover them. But Jake didn't rise to the surface, demanding explanations or making evasive remarks. Eve looked around and didn't see Jake surfacing. Eve started to feel a tinge of panic just when Jake surfaced, pretty far out ahead. Eve sighed a bit from relief and started swimming towards him. He was quite fast and so Eve had plenty of time to see, and get flustered by, Jake's upper body. Eve felt ashamed the moment he thought Jake looked good, very good. Eve wanted to slap himself, he had no right to think things like that. So he tried to convince himself Jake's body was purely aesthetically pleasing.
Eve didn't succeed in convincing that to himself.
When Jake's eyes suddenly snapped open and he lowered himself back to the water Eve blushed, probably pretty red. He was such a creep. This time Eve submerged himself, and stayed under until he thought the blush on his face had receeded enough to be called sunburn. It took 20 or so seconds. And the moment Eve came back to the surface he swiped the surface of the water, sending a wide wave of water Jake's way. There was a small amused smile on Eve's face.