I moaned silently. I wasn’t ready for our night to be over. I pulled up his blanket, and he grabbed our shoes and his clothes, and we ran off the pier.
Once we reached the sand, Rick jumped off and helped me down. I looked past him. Everyone had gone, and the only source of light were the streetlamps along the boardwalk, which had ended about a quarter of a mile back. We were completely alone. Rick had apparently not lost the momentum once we’d reached the shore and dropped our belongings into the sand. He pulled the blanket out of my hands and laid it on the sand, tossing our shoes over it.
I pursed my lips and squinted as he indirectly implied our night wasn’t over. Then my heart fluttered and fell into my stomach as another thought crept into my mind. I turned to face the swooshing sound of the ocean waves, rather than focus on the loud beating coming from my chest. I silently but heavily breathed in the ocean air and opened my eyes as a softer, more welcoming feeling swept through me. It wasn’t nerves or excitement. It was a feeling of complete and total freedom, belonging, and happiness.
Before I had a chance to wonder how long it would last, I felt Rick’s hands gently trail down my arms and land on my waist. I closed my eyes again, the sound of the waves now a distant memory. All I heard was his breathing in my ear just before he kissed the back of my neck. I felt as though I could have sunk right into the sand, but he held on to me and spun me around. We let ourselves tumble down onto the blanket. His breathing intensified, and he pulled away, searching my eyes.
“Do you want to go back?”
I never wanted to go back. But unable to speak at the moment, I just shook my head, putting my hand on the back of his neck, pulling him toward me. I wanted him at that moment more than I wanted to take my next breath. I didn’t care if it was too fast or impulsive. I just wanted him.
As he kissed me, his fingers playfully lingered on the back of my neck where my bikini top was tied. I pulled away from his lips and gave him a small smile. He grinned back widely at me and slowly pulled the strings apart. He pressed his body against mine, kissing me again and pulling the rest of the blanket over us.
There was still the fluttery feeling in my stomach when I woke up to the sunrise the following morning. This time it might have been nerves and excitement. I knew it hadn’t been the first time for either of us, but the coyness of waking up together was still there. At least for me.
I reached for my dress, which was lying half off the blanket and covered in sand. The wind blew most of it away when I lifted it. I felt Rick’s hands graze the back of my neck when he reached to tie the strings of my bikini top. I turned my head slightly and grinned sleepily at him and then slipped my loose cotton dress on over my head, grateful that I hadn’t chosen a denim skirt and complicated halter top.
Rick looked out into ocean for a moment. Then he twisted around to face me. He had a look on his face like he was about to challenge me to a debate.
“What are we doing?” I asked cautiously.
“Close your eyes.”
I looked at him skeptically, then I closed them.
“What do you see?”
“The sunrise.”
“What color is it?”
“It’s not out yet. It’s just pink lines,” I answered, though vividly seeing the image under my eyelids. I was playing along with wherever he was going with this.
“Is it warm where you are?”
“Yes.”
“Where’s it coming from?”
“Somewhere in the east, I suppose.”
“Are you sure?”
“Of course, the sun always rises in the east.”
“How do you know you’re not watching the sun set?”
“Because it’s never a sunset; it’s always…” I trailed off.
“The start of a new day?”
I frowned, then slowly opened my eyes. Rick was watching me intently. “Yes,” I said after a moment.
“Why do you watch the sunrise every morning?”
“It’s not every morning,” I replied, shifting uncomfortably. “Just seasonally, and I do sleep in some days.” I felt myself getting defensive and wondered if he’d known that the sunrise would have been what I imagined when I played along with his out-of-the-blue game.
“Have you ever wondered why?”
