The first birds hit me with their sharp morning chatter, then the small waves lapping gently at my side, cold and insistent, until I finally cracked my eyes open.
Celestine was still draped over me, her head resting heavy on my chest, both of us completely naked in the shallow water of the artificial lake. The lake had turned itself into our bed overnight and we'd let it. Pale morning light spilled over the capital's rooftops, painting the water in soft, shattered pieces of gold and silver. Tiny waves kept rolling in, swirling around our skin and tugging lightly at our bodies.
"Celestine," I said, voice rough from sleep. I tapped her bare shoulder.
She didn't move.
"Celestine."
She stirred slowly, pushing herself up on her hands. The cold water hit her all at once as she sat back in the shallows. Her long brown hair clung to her neck and breasts in wet ropes. Her dark eyes widened.
"What the hell," she muttered, fully awake now, voice husky.
