Chapter Text
The parking lot stretched for blocks, families and teenagers streaming toward the towering gates of the waterpark. Carina slowed, slipping her sunglasses down her nose as she took it all in—the neon banners, the cartoonish mascots, and the shrieks of children already echoing from inside. Her brows arched in disbelief.
“This… this is ridiculous,” she said, half laughing, half stunned. “It looks like an entire city built only for water.”
Maya was already two steps ahead, sandals slapping against the asphalt. Her grin was brighter than the July sun. “Exactly. Isn’t it amazing?”
Carina shook her head, lips twitching, but she followed. Italy had water parks, of course, but nothing this extravagant. This looked more like an amusement park. She pointed toward the skyline of rainbow-colored slides spiraling into the sky.
“Welcome to America,” Maya teased, catching her hand and tugging her forward. “Bigger, louder, more likely to give you whiplash.”
Carina laughed, but the sound faltered when Maya tugged off her tank top in one smooth motion, revealing the bikini Carina had tried very hard not to notice that morning. Black and strappy, leaving just enough to the imagination that her pulse stumbled.
“Maya,” Carina murmured, slipping into Italian under her breath. “Fanculo.”
Maya caught her staring and smirked, tossing her hair back. “Like what you see?”
Carina reached out instinctively, fingers sliding over the curve of her girlfriend’s hip as they walked. “You’re lucky this is a family park,” she whispered. “Or we’d never leave the locker room.”
Maya squeezed her hand, eyes sparkling. “Guess you’ll just have to behave… for now.”
But Carina didn’t behave. Every chance she got, her hand slipped back to Maya’s waist, her lips brushed Maya’s bare shoulder, and her fingers laced through hers tighter than necessary. She was intoxicated on sun, water, and the gorgeous body beside her.
****
They lathered on sunscreen before heading to their first slide. Maya stood behind Carina, rubbing lotion across her shoulders with practiced ease, fingers working in teasing circles. Carina tilted her head back, smirking. “Are you sure this is for sun protection, or just an excuse to touch me?”
“Both,” Maya admitted, leaning down to kiss the slope of her neck before handing her the bottle.
Carina didn’t waste the opportunity. She squirted lotion into her palm and began smoothing it over Maya’s arms, deliberately slow, then down across her back. Her hands roamed lower, skimming over Maya’s sides and her stomach, until she was kneeling in front of her, spreading lotion across her thighs with firm, purposeful strokes. Maya tried to keep her composure, but when Carina’s hands slid higher, slipping under the edge of her bikini top to cover every inch of skin, a low sound escaped her throat. Carina’s smile was wicked, eyes glittering as she leaned in, brushing her mouth along Maya’s ribs, then up to the swell of her chest before pressing a kiss just above her bikini line.
“Carina…” Maya’s voice cracked with warning and want.
“Relax, amore,” Carina murmured, nuzzling against her stomach before rising, looping her arms around Maya’s waist. She held her close, pressing kisses along her jaw and finally stealing one from her lips, tasting the faint sweetness of the sunscreen. “You’re protected now. From the sun, at least. From me? Never.”
Maya groaned, both exasperated and completely undone, hugging her tighter. “God, I love you.”
They started big with the tallest slide in the park. Carina muttered all the way up the endless staircase, clutching her mat tighter with each step. Maya leaned close at the top, pressed a kiss to her cheek, and whispered, “Trust me.”
Then they were off. The world blurred in rushing water and wild laughter as they rocketed down side by side. Carina’s scream turned into a laugh halfway through, her voice lost in the roar before they hit the bottom with a splash that sent water spraying high. She came up sputtering, hair plastered to her cheeks, but doubled over with laughter.
Maya caught her around the waist the second they surfaced, pulling her close and kissing the side of her dripping face.
“You’re insane,” Carina gasped between breaths, still laughing.
“And you love me,” Maya shot back, sealing it with a kiss right on her lips, careless of the water dripping between them.
They kept going, racing down twin tubes, twisting through a giant funnel, and sliding side by side until they splashed into pools at the bottom, tangled in each other before they could even catch their breath. At every stop, Carina clung to Maya, tugging her close in the water. Whenever Maya threw her head back laughing, Carina pressed a kiss to her throat. Whenever Maya reached for her hand, Carina pulled her in tighter, lips brushing the corner of her smile, unwilling to let even an inch of space come between them.
****
By midday, they slowed down in the lazy river. Carina stretched out on her own tube, arms resting lazily over the sides as the current carried her along. Maya floated beside her, one hand hooked over the edge of Carina’s tube to keep her from drifting away. Every few feet, Maya leaned across the gap to press quick kisses to Carina’s shoulder.
At one bend, Maya’s eyes lit up with mischief. She nodded toward a looming waterfall spilling across part of the river’s path.
“Maya…” Carina warned, narrowing her eyes immediately. “Do not push me under that waterfall.”
Maya only grinned wider. “What? I’m not doing anything.”
The grin was all the warning Carina got. A second later, Maya gave her tube a playful shove, and Carina shrieked as the cascade drenched her head to toe. She popped up sputtering, slicking her hair back, and glaring through dripping lashes while Maya doubled over laughing.
“Maya Kathleen Bishop,” Carina scolded, but the sparkle in her eyes betrayed her.
With a smirk still plastered on her face, Maya slid out of her own tube, letting it float away. She opened her arms in a silent dare.
Carina abandoned her tube without hesitation, launching herself across the short distance in a few strong strokes. She wrapped her arms around Maya’s neck, legs curling around her waist, pulling her into a kiss that tasted of river water and laughter.
Maya caught her easily, holding her afloat against her chest, their bodies swaying with the current. “Worth it,” she murmured against Carina’s mouth.
Carina rolled her eyes, but she was smiling when she kissed her again, this time slower, sinking into the moment until the rest of the lazy river disappeared around them.
****
Later, they wandered into the wave pool, weaving past kids with floaties and families clustered in the shallows. Maya tugged Carina toward the middle but stopped well before the deep section, where the swells hit hardest. Here, the waves were big enough to rock them but not so strong that either had to fight to keep her head above water.
Maya slid her arms around Carina’s waist, pulling her snug against her body as the water lapped at their stomachs. Carina looped her arms over Maya’s shoulders, clinging close when the warning horn sounded. The water stilled for a beat, and then the first wave rolled in, lifting them both before dropping them back down.
Carina let out a startled laugh, clinging tighter. “Oh my god! This is ridiculous.”
“You mean amazing,” Maya corrected, grinning ear to ear. She dipped her head, brushing her lips across Carina’s, quick and teasing.
Carina caught her before she could pull away, kissing her back mid-laugh, lips lingering this time. The next wave hit just as their mouths met, splashing over their waists and nearly knocking Carina off balance. She shrieked into Maya’s mouth, laughter bubbling between them as Maya held her tighter, keeping her steady.
“Don’t let go,” Carina said when she finally pulled back for air, still giggling, arms locked tight around Maya’s neck.
“As if I ever would,” Maya whispered against her ear, tightening her grip around her waist. “You’re stuck with me.”
Carina shivered at the husky edge in her voice, kissing her again, harder this time, fingers threading into Maya’s wet hair. Just as their mouths moved together, another wave surged up and smacked into them, knocking them under in a swirl of water.
They came up sputtering and laughing, Carina pushing her hair out of her face. “Seriously? These waves have the worst timing,” she gasped, half laughing, half exasperated.
Maya grinned, brushing water from Carina’s cheek. “I think they just don’t like sharing you.”
Carina gave her a look, but it melted into a laugh as Maya tugged her close again, their bodies rocking with the gentler swell near the edge of the pool. “Possessive even on behalf of the water, huh?” she teased.
“Damn right,” Maya murmured before kissing her again, saltwater and laughter mixing between them.
Carina wrapped herself tighter around her, legs tangling beneath the surface, the world shrinking until it was only Maya’s arms, Maya’s lips, and Maya’s heartbeat steady against her. The waves kept rolling, rocking them back and forth, but Carina barely noticed.
Because in that moment, all she could feel was Maya solid, steady, and absolutely hers.
****
When the sun started dipping low, painting the waterpark in soft gold, they sat at a table, pressed shoulder to shoulder, with a funnel cake balanced on the tray between them. Powdered sugar dusted their fingertips almost immediately.
Maya tore off a piece, popped it into her mouth, and grinned when the sugar stuck to her lips. Carina’s gaze lingered, her smile slow and mischievous. Without needing an invitation, she leaned in and kissed her, lips lingering just long enough to taste the sweetness.
“You taste like sugar,” Carina murmured, voice low, her hand sliding onto Maya’s thigh and giving it a squeeze.
Maya smirked, pulling her closer with a tug to her swimsuit strap. “Guess that means you’ll have to keep cleaning me up.”
Carina arched a brow and deliberately took a slow bite of her own, licking her lips with exaggerated care. But when Maya went to steal a kiss, Carina pulled back just enough to tease, her hand tracing up the edge of Maya’s hip. Maya groaned dramatically, caught her by the wrist, and finally pressed their mouths together, Carina’s laughter spilling against her lips.
They fed each other pieces between kisses, fingers brushing and tangling, and powdered sugar sticking everywhere. Maya reached up, pretending to wipe Carina’s cheek, only to dab a streak of sugar right onto her nose.
“Maya!” Carina squealed, swatting at her, but Maya just laughed and cupped her jaw, licking the tip of her sugar-dusted nose before sliding her mouth over hers again.
Carina melted into it, her hand sliding higher on Maya’s thigh, nails grazing lightly as she pulled her closer. Maya’s fingers found the strings of Carina’s bikini, playing with the knot just to make her squirm. Their kisses grew slower, deeper, until Carina broke away breathless, forehead pressed to Maya’s, laughing like she hadn’t in ages.
“Hopeless,” she whispered, brushing her thumb along Maya’s jaw.
“Completely,” Maya agreed, stealing another kiss.
By the time the plate was empty, neither cared about the mess. Carina’s lips were sticky with sugar, Maya’s hair damp against her shoulders, but they were tangled together, hands roaming lazy patterns over each other’s sun-warmed skin, kissing until the world around them blurred.
Later, with the crowd thinning, they found an empty pool chair near the edge of the water. Maya sprawled onto it first, and Carina slid in beside her, immediately curling into her side, head tucked under her chin. Maya wrapped an arm tight around her, pulling her close, her other hand absently tracing circles on Carina’s bare thigh.
Carina hummed contentedly, pressing soft, drowsy kisses to Maya’s shoulder, her jaw, and finally her lips. Each one was lazier than the last, until she finally nuzzled in and closed her eyes, her body molding against Maya’s.
Maya kissed her temple, then her hairline, before whispering, “Best waterpark day ever.”
With Carina asleep against her chest, swimsuit strings tangled in her fingers, and powdered sugar still lingering faintly on their lips, Maya knew it wasn’t the slides or the rides that made the day unforgettable. It was this—the sweetness of having Carina wrapped around her, with nowhere else in the world either of them wanted to be.