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 Posted: Sat Apr 30, 2022 4:13 pm
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 She perched herself on the edge of a nearby lounge chair keeping an eye on her married friend arguing with each other in the distance. This was not how she wanted her vacation to go but at the same time, she wasn't surprised. It seemed like a regular occurrence whenever she joined her friends on a trip somewhere.
"You should relax," said voice behind her, as a faint whisper of a touch grazed her arm. "You're at the beach."
She automatically felt herself retract from the touch and turned to glare at the person who spoke. However, the fire in her eyes instantly died when her gaze landed upon the broad man lounging on the chair next to hers.
"Sorry," he apologized, raising his hands up in submission. "I didn't mean to startle you. You just seem so tense."
She heard her friend's voice call her name and she glanced back in the direction of her friends.
"Hey, I'm sorry, but we're going to head back to the hotel."
As I thought... She hated that she expected this to happen... or to think about her friends in that way. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the man behind her shift as if realizing what had been the source of her tension.
"Do you want to come back with us?" asked her friend.
She thought for a moment before shaking her head. "No. I think I'll stay here for awhile. The hotel's not that far away anyway, so I should be good."
"I'm sorry again," her friend apologized before she turned to walk towards the hotel with her husband.
A silence fell over the area, only interrupted by roar of the waves crashing into the shoreline and the occasional seagull call.
"Ah, so that's why," the man finally said. "Trouble in paradise."
"It was bound to happen," she replied, glancing over her shoulder at him. "Tension was building the whole drive here. I'm just glad they didn't decide to cancel the whole trip completely. Always sucks being the third wheel and having your vacation being dictated by the driver."
She saw the corner of his mouth rise in a sympathetic smile. Then he suddenly jumped off the chair to walk over and stand before her, holding out a hand.
"Come on, let's go for a walk."
"Oh. I don't want you to lose your chair. Seems like a pretty good spot."
"I've been lounging on that chair since morning. I need a good reason to do something else."
"You really don't..." she said but her thought trailed off. Although her mind was saying no, her heart was yelling at her to take advantage of this miraculous opportunity. It wasn't every day you got the chance to spend time with the guy before her.
"It would be my honor to spend the afternoon with you. And at least give you one good memory to remember from this trip."
She chuckled before placing her hand in his as she stood up. |
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Posted: Sat Apr 30, 2022 4:27 pm
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"You said you drove here? Where did you come from?" he asked as they walked along the beach, the cool water of the incoming waves swirling around their feet.
"My friends live in _________ and I'm from _______," she replied. Then realizing he may not know where either of those are, she added, "About a half hour drive north of _______."
"Ah, I've been in that area. Gorgeous place."
She stopped to turn to look at him when she noticed he disappeared from her side. He was kneeling down, digging around to unbury an object that had caught his attention buried in the sand. Using the incoming water to wash it off, he straightened back up and rejoined her.
"Pretty lucky to come across one of these," he said. "It's not often I see them along beaches here in America. When I was a child I always liked searching for them back in England."
"It's gorgeous," she said, looking down at the colorful, glittering object in his palm.
"Here, you can have it," he said, taking one of her hands into his and gently tipping it into her own palm.
"Are you sure?"
"Trust me, I've got a whole collection somewhere from my childhood. I don't mind giving this to you. Just a little memento you can have, I suppose."
"Thank you," she said.
She continued to gaze down at the odd gem-like object in her hand, trying to keep her heart at a steady pace as she realized he had not removed his hand from holding hers.
"What are you doing this evening?" he asked after a moment of silence fell between them.
"I..." she said, looking up and then looking over his shoulder in the direction of where her hotel lay in the distance. She didn't realize how far they had walked until now. "I honestly don't know. With how earlier went... I am going to assume the original plans are no longer happening."
"Well... if you wanted to... you could have dinner with me."
"What?"
"But only if you want to. I completely understand if you want to do something else besides spend more time with an old geezer like me."
"You're not an old geezer," she retorted.
"I'm no young rooster either."
She chuckled and flashed him a smile. "It would be an honor to have dinner with you."
"Alright," he said, moving his hand from hers to her lower back guiding her back in the direction they came from. "I can make you my ________. Absolutely delicious. Ask anyone who has had it."
"You're going to cook for me?"
"Why not? The food's not going to eat itself." |
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Posted: Sun May 01, 2022 9:44 am
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Posted: Sun May 01, 2022 9:45 am
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Posted: Sun May 01, 2022 9:52 am
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Posted: Sun May 01, 2022 9:57 am
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Posted: Sun May 01, 2022 10:17 am
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Posted: Sun May 01, 2022 10:19 am
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Posted: Sun May 01, 2022 10:23 am
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Posted: Sun May 01, 2022 10:27 am
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Posted: Sat May 07, 2022 2:12 pm
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