Beach Walk

 

It was warm out, but not overly hot as they walked along the beach, their toes covered in the soft sand. His arm was wrapped around her middle, the soft warmth of her skin under his hand; he glanced over at her with a smile. Her curls floated on a cool breeze and he noticed she seemed lost in thoughts. A slight smile on the corner of her lips made him guess it was one of her many daydreams.

She must have felt him watching her because she turned to him with a shy smile, knowing she had gotten lost in her thoughts. She slipped her arm around his waist and rested her head on his shoulder as they walked. His arm moved to her shoulders, his thumb brushing back and forth.

 

Spotting something ahead of them in the sand she quickly slipped from him. He felt his heart sink a notch at the loss of holding her, but he watched as she picked up her pace walking ahead to what she had seen.  He watched the way she moved, there was even sweetness to that, a gracefulness she had without effort. He watched the warm glow the sun gave her bare skin as she picked up what she'd seen in the sand, turning to face him with a smile that made his heart skip a beat. "I haven't found a sand dollar since I was little!" she said happily as she walked up to him holding it out for him to see.

“I mean, I've seen pieces of them but not a whole one."

He chuckled lovingly at the pure joy she radiated from finding it as he looked it over. Handing it back to her, he put his arm back around her shoulders and kissed the side of her head as she slipped the sand dollar into the side pocket of their beach bag.

They walked along the beach as she told him of the early summer mornings she spent at the beach with her grandmother collecting the sand dollars and other shells and sea glass. When she finished she smiled, the memory still floating in her mind as she again slipped out from under his arm, but this time she intertwined her fingers with his walking closer to the water. She kicked at the small waves as they lapped over her feet. She stopped and turned to face him,

"Trust me?" she asked simply.

"Of course," he replied hesitantly, confused, with the sudden question.

She reached down taking his other hand and slowly backed into the water. As the water reached her thighs she felt his grip and body tense.

"Hey, look at me." she said trying to catch his eyes. He glanced at her showing no signs of the hesitation she felt in his body.

"Look at me baby." she smiled at him as he caught her eyes. They were warm, the golds, browns and greens of her hazel eyes. Her smile was sweet and comforting; it gave the warmth to her eyes. Her light brown curls blew and bounced against the side of her face as she looked back at him. She'd stop moving, the water level was just at her hips. Her body, her shoulders, arms and bare stomach were covered in goose bumps. He smiled as he noticed this and wrapped his arms around her. She could feel his body was still tense so she wrapped her arms around his neck tucking her face into it. The waves pushed her body into his as crashed against her. They stood there a few minutes as the water moved against them. Then she felt him slowly move backward, she chuckled softly as she followed him, knowing he'd have enough for now. She tilted her face up kissing him softly, and then took his hand as they made their way back onto the beach. They finished their walk, the sun drying and warming them, and that sand dollar she'd found, sat on a shelf tilted against a photo of them, bringing a smile to her lips when she saw it.