“I do, but I need to take a short walk by myself for a few minutes, just to cool off a little. I don’t want to snap at someone and say something I’ll regret later.” You tell her. She looks at you with one of the sincerest half-smiles you have ever seen. You squeeze her hand as she heads to the room to change into a dinner outfit. You head to the elevator.
As you are walking in the lobby you hear Jessica and Lauren calling out to you. Not really wanting to talk, you head towards the beach but they catch up to you before you make it to the boardwalk.
“Hey !” Lauren greets you. “Where you goin’?”
“Just out to the beach for a short walk before dinner so I can calm down.” You tell her.
“Where’s my sister at?” Jessica snaps at you.
“She’s upstairs changing. She’ll be down in a minute.” You say as you turn around and walk away. Jessica starts shouting and cursing at you, despite Lauren’s pleading. Not interested, you keep walking.
“IF YOU’RE NOT AT DINNER I’M GONNA KICK YOUR ASS, MOTHER FUCKER!!!” She shouts as Lauren unsuccessfully tries to cover her mouth. “I MEAN IT!!! YOU HURT MY SISTER AND YOU’RE FUCKING DEAD TO ME !!!”
“Geez sis, nice to see all that soap mom stuck in your mouth growing up didn’t help one damn bit!” says.
“You do realize he is treating you like crap for no good reason other than he wants to get drunk and pass out, right?” Jessica tells her baby sister.
“No, that’s not what he wants. I can tell he wants this to work. It’s just that you guys picked a bad time to spring something like this on him and he’s upset. And…” Your date defends you.
“NO!!! He’s being a drunken prick and you’re gonna get hurt again! Stop feeling sorry for him and forget about him! I’m gonna go after him and tell him what’s up!” Jessica retorts as Samantha and the guys have wandered over.
“AS I WAS SAYING: He’s upset and I think I know why. Give him a few minutes by himself and then I’ll go talk to him. And watch your mouth. There are kids around!” walks away from her sister and her friends to catch up with you.
After fifteen minutes or so, she finds you about 200 yards down the beach leaning up against a huge chunk of driftwood, stoking a small fire. You don’t notice her, but she watches you as you push a small piece of wood in the fire. A tear rolling down your cheek confirms her suspicions.
“Can we talk, ?” She asks, startling you.
“Sure, pull up a seat.” You respond while wiping your eyes dry. Rather than sitting next to you in the sand, sits behind you on the log, swinging one leg on either side of your body. When she puts her hand on your shoulder, you reach up and put yours on top of it. She gently brushes yours away and starts rubbing you shoulders and neck in a soothing massage, intending to comfort you. You can’t help but feel a little excited about the moment, but you keep that suppressed.
“That feels good!” You tell her.
“It better! I used to get paid to do this!” She smirks as she continues.
“I’m sorry I was being an asshole before.” You apologize.
“There’s no need for that. You weren’t being an asshole. Just answer me one question: When were you going to propose to her?” asks as she adds a little pressure to the back of your neck with one hand while rubbing your cheek with the other. The moment she asks, a tear falls from your eye and runs over her soothing hand.
“Tomorrow night, at sunset.” You reply as another tear drop runs down your face. “How’d you know?”
“Experience. After my fiancé dumped me, I felt worse the closer we got to the day the wedding was supposed to be. So as soon as I saw your reaction, I knew.” She finishes by running her fingernails down your arms and whispering in your ears. “Everything is going to be okay .”
“Now the question is: Do you want to continue to mourn a memory that didn’t happen? Or do you want to make some new memories that will be a lot more pleasant?” She continues the massage for a few more minutes, before ending it by planting a kiss on your neck. Which is soon followed by another.
“New memories! But first, let’s get something to eat. Before we go, let me put the fire out.” You finish by drawing her into a kiss. Her lips explore yours and you resist the urge to push things further, but only because her stomach growls, causing you both to laugh.
With that, you break contact and stand up. You offer a hand and she gladly accepts it. When she is back on her feet, you draw her into another quick smooch and pick up an abandoned sand box pail and head towards the water.
“I’ll see you at dinner, . I need to use the rest room.” She says as she dusts off a little bit of sand.
“I’ll be there shortly!” You say as you throw her a wink. She smiles as she starts back to the hotel.
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