Tides of Desire [GxG]

The sun was rising over San Belmare, painting the sky in soft shades of pink and orange. The waves rolled onto the shore, gentle and steady, filling the air with their calming rhythm. Mira pulled her thin blanket, which was nothing more than a big towel, tighter around her shoulders, feeling the morning chill against her skin. Nights on the streets were always cold, even in a place as warm as this.

She sat on the worn stone steps of an old church, watching the first few people of the day pass by. Fishermen heading to the docks, shopkeepers opening their stores, tourists taking early morning walks along the beach. No one paid much attention to the girl in the white summer dress and scruffy grey towel wrapped around her body, her dark hair messy from the wind. She had long since accepted that she was invisible to most people.

San Belmare was beautiful, but it had never been kind to her. She had been on her own for as long as she could remember, drifting between shelters and quiet corners of the city where no one would bother her. The beach had become her second home—the only place where she could breathe, where she could pretend, even just for a moment, that she belonged.

She stretched out her legs and sighed, staring at the horizon. In a few days, she would turn eighteen. It should have meant something, but it didn’t. No family waiting for her, no home to go back to. Just another sunrise, another day to survive.

Her stomach growled, reminding her that she hadn’t eaten since yesterday morning. She pulled herself up, dusting off the sand, and started heading towards the beach. It had become her standard routine in the summer—go to the beach, steal from whoever isn't paying attention to their spot, hoping she doesn't get caught, and then sell tourists their own stuff back at a low price.

She didn't like having to live like this, but what other choice did she have? This was her way of surviving. She sighed in relief as her feet made contact with the soft, cool sand and took a deep breath. She walked over to her usual spot and laid out her towel on the sand, sitting down for a moment and scanning the coastline.

Tourists had already started gathering on the beach, laying out towels of their own, setting up umbrellas, enjoying the sunrise, and just taking walks or talking. Mira always enjoyed mornings the most—they were peaceful, calm and cozy, as if she was being given a fresh start every day. She sighed though, knowing she would never be one of those carefree tourists, taking relaxing walks along the beach, because she knew they'd have a place to go home to at the end of the day.

After some time had passed, more and more tourists started gathering on the beach. It was almost time. Mira's emerald green eyes darted around, scanning the environment for easy targets—people too caught up in their conversations or with their eyes glued to their phones, probably unable to notice a girl like her slipping past. She had learned to be quick, to move without drawing attention and was naturally on the smaller side, which made it even easier for her. A few coins from an open bag here, a half-eaten sandwich left unattended there—small things, just enough to get her through the day was all she needed and frankly all she dared to steal. At least that way, if she got caught, the punishment would only be minor, right?

She got up and made her way along the shore, keeping herself in the background. She spotted a backpack left half-zipped near a sunbathing couple and took a slow, casual walk past it. Her heart pounded as she knelt, hoping no one would pay attention to her. Just as her fingers brushed against the opening, the woman in front of it shifted, turning her head. Mira yanked her hand back and stood up quickly, forcing herself to walk away without looking suspicious. "Hey, honey, did you see that just now?", is the last thing she heard her say to the man next to her.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck...", she mumbled to herself, making an effort not to walk away faster so she wouldn't raise even more suspicion. "What a great start.", she thought, heading back to her spot. "Ugh...", Mira grumbled, letting herself fall onto her towel, leaning back a bit. Her stomach growled again, reminding her that she still hadn't eaten anything in the last 24 hours. She clenched her fists, biting her lip. Maybe today just wasn’t her day. Maybe she should just wait, find another way to get through the hunger gnawing at her stomach.

That's when she spotted it, her eyes focusing like an eagle on its prey. A phone, left alone on a towel, its owner nowhere in sight. Sleek, expensive-looking, just sitting there in the sun. For a moment, she hesitated, barely able to believe her luck. If she sold it, she could feed herself for 2 months straight. Or she could keep it and... well, she didn't really know why she would keep it, but that was certainly an option too. A slow smile crept onto her lips as she took a deep breath, stood up, and started walking toward it.

It really was just sitting there on the lounger, and next to it even some expensive looking bag—but stealing the whole bag would've been way too obvious. She made sure no one was around and just picked up the phone like it was no big deal, maybe even like it was hers to begin with. After all, the key to not raising suspicion was to pretend like you're supposed to be there in the first place.

Her heart was racing as she walked away with the phone in hand. No one stopped her, no one even paid attention to her. She couldn't believe her luck! Was this really happening? She got back to her spot and took a look at the phone. She pressed one of the buttons on the right side and the screen came to life. She unlocked it with the swipe of a finger. It didn't even have a pin or anything of that sort!

"Holy shit... haha!", she giggled from joy, looking back to the spot where she got it from. She saw a woman, in her 40's maybe, and a girl, probably her daughter, approaching it. Her eyes widened. She quickly put the phone away and got up, taking her towel and booking it out of there. Luckily, Mira knew the streets and alleys of San Belmare all too well, so she quickly made her way to a back alley that no tourists ever, or sometimes rarely, came through.

She took another look at the phone and wondered where she would even be able to sell this. It looked very expensive, that was for sure. If she wasn't careful, someone might even steal it from her. Just as she was about to turn around and go look for someone who might buy the phone from her, she bumped into someone quite a bit taller than herself.

"Oh, excuse me...", she mumbled, trying to walk past the woman in the blue bikini, before suddenly being grabbed by the arm and shoved against the brick wall. "Not so fast there.", the tall woman replied, making an effort to pin Mira between her and the wall. Suddenly, she recognized the tall, blonde girl. It was the daughter of the couple she had stolen the phone from! She started sweating bullets and blushing—partly, of course, because she had been caught like a deer in headlights, but… then there was also the girl’s intimidating beauty and aura, stirring up feelings in her that she didn’t quite understand.

Mira couldn't even speak to make up any kind of excuse, she just ended up staring at the tall beauty in awe and fear. "I believe you have something of mine.", she said, clearly not happy. Mira shook her head, before the words left her mouth. "N-No, I... I think you must be mistaking me for someone else. S-Sorry...", she stuttered and attempted to leave again, but was quickly stopped by the tall blonde, this time being grabbed by both shoulders and quickly pinned against the wall again, without the intention of letting go.

"Oh, I don't think so. Hand it over, I know you have it.", she demanded, this time pressuring her more. Mira looked down to the right. The girl followed and saw Mira had been hiding her right hand behind her back. "I knew it. Give. It. Back." She looked back at Mira and let go of one shoulder, holding her hand open. "Now." Mira's heart was racing. She knew if she gave up the phone now, she could say goodbye to her 2-month-supply worth of food. In a moment of desperation, she shook her head. "N-No..."

The girl raised an eyebrow and looked at Mira, who avoided all eye contact. "What did you just say? Okay, you know what- I'll just call the police then, how's that sound?", she threatened, letting go of Mira completely and taking out a phone from the familiar expensive-looking bag. Mira's eyes widened in confusion. Did she have another one? Was it her mother's phone? And more importantly, was she actually going to call the police on her? "N-No wait! Please! Don't call the cops! Besides, why do you want it back so badly if you have a spare phone? P-Please, you don't understand... I need this!...", she begged the intimidating girl.

"A spare phone? Are you stupid or something? This is my mom's phone! I used it to track down mine—aka the one you stole!", she yelled, getting more angry, while Mira got more desperate and was on the verge of tears. "No... no please... c-can't we... can't we reach some kind of agreement? Please, if I don't sell this, I'll starve to death! Is that what you want?!", Mira tried to convince her one more time.

Finally, the blonde girl put her phone down and crossed her arms. "You'll starve to death? You don't look like you're about to die from starvation. Is that the best lie you could come up with?", she asked, still skeptical, but somehow also seeming like she was willing to listen to her. "No, I—look, I don't have a home, or caring parents or any of that shit that you have! But if I sell this phone, I'll have enough money to buy food for a long time!", she pleaded with her.

The blonde girl still seemed skeptical and put her hands on her hips. "You're homeless?" Mira nodded slowly, surprised by the question. Was she willing to let her keep the phone without any consequences? That would be amazing—but of course Mira knew not to get her hopes up. "How old are you?"

Mira hesitated for a moment. "Eighteen.. my birthday was a few days ago." She had thought about lying, but couldn't really think of a reason to do so. "Oh wow, happy birthday.", she sarcastically mocked the girl. "How long have you been homeless?", she kept asking, almost as if interrogating Mira. "All my life, pretty much...", she replied, still avoiding eye contact. "L-Look, if you really want it back so badly, if you're really comfortable with letting a homeless girl starve, then take it.", she said, slowly bringing forward the phone from behind her back and looking at the ground in shame.

Without saying another word, the tall blonde took the phone and put it away. Mira's eyes widened in shock—did she actually just take it back without a second thought? She was about to cry, knowing that the only chance for living a somewhat good life for a while just got taken away from her. "Well, look, I'm sorry about your situation, but at least you did the right thing in the end.", she said, before walking away, leaving Mira to stand there, empty-handed and back at square one. She couldn't believe it. How heartless could someone be? Despite what Mira told her, she just left. Like the world had left Mira alone all her life.

She could feel the devastating weight of the sadness and hopelessness crush her in that moment. It felt like the girl had managed to stab her right in the soul. She slid to the floor with her back against the wall and silently cried into her arms.