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“What are you wearing?” she asks with a grin.
I shrug, telling her I could wear swim trunks.
“Just in case we get swept out to sea or something. Wouldn’t want to be found naked by the coastguard,” I quip.
“Private beach, you say?” she asks, sounding a little suspicious, but once we’re at the top of the steps on the patio and we’re both looking down at the view, she gasps in surprise.
The half-moon is huge in the sky, bathing the bay with light.
Soft, shallow waves lap the sandy shore which I know stretches for a mile in either direction, walled in by natural rocks and cliffs.
“It’s private alright,” I remind her. Wondering if two days of this slice of heaven is enough.
Wondering if I should or even could convince her to stay here forever, not just as long as we can.
Hunger drives us both for now, and we find a spot out of the breeze behind a natural rock wall, which I spread out our blanket by and start to set out the food.
“It looks and smells amazing,” she chimes, gasping at each new discovery from the wicker basket.
“So, who actually owns this place?” she asks after we’ve eaten, spiced chicken, lobster, and fish all laid out before us under the moonlight, in silence for a few minutes.
“Not exactly sure,” I confess, licking my fingers and fishing for some napkins.
“Pretty sure it’s the same people who own the hospital. Investors mainly, a lot of them doctors,” I tell her. “But not me,” I’m quick to add.
“I could never share anything so beautiful,” she admits, looking back up to the house and then out across the sea.
I’m glad to hear her say it.
“Neither could I,” I agree, looking only at her face as it catches the moonlight. The smile and the calm in her eyes.
The night surrounding us like a protective curtain from the whole world.
“Neither could I.”
We eat and then we eat some more. Evelyn impresses me with her appetite and I remark on it, making her frown a little.
“I’ve always been an overeater,” she says guiltily.
“What’s overeating?” I ask, taken aback. “Is it the same as beach body?” I venture, making us both laugh.
“I have to eat, Evelyn,” I caution her. “Being a big guy I eat a lot, and I’ve never thought of it as overeating. I eat until I’m not hungry and when I’m hungry again, I eat.”
It’s the truth, and I tell her I don’t want her skimping on food or clothes or anything else she wants.
“We can afford a good life,” I inform her. “And you’ll be surprised at how easy it is to get used to the best of everything soon enough.”
Her eyes widen and she looks at me, almost embarrassed.
“I’ve never had money,” she says flatly. “My dad had his practice and was doing okay, until…” but she breaks off.
I can see the storm clouds of the real world gathering in her eyes, threatening our mood. Menacing over this, our perfect real first night together.
“C’mon. Let’s walk,” I suggest, breaking the solemn theme of her thoughts and lifting her by the hand, we do just that.
Walking along the beach, the warm water splashing our toes as they sink in the sand, I’m glad when our conversation turns to other things.
Happier still when I feel her head resting against me as we walk slowly from one end of the beach and back again, our fingers laced together and our thoughts gradually subsiding to nothing between us and the sounds of the waves on the shore.
Chapter Nineteen
Evelyn
What feels like a long walk for me, and some more of the delicious picnic-style food from our basket later, I lay on the blanket with my head in Mark’s lap as he strokes my hair.
He’s content to just sit and I realize too how easy it is for us both to be so close without the need for any conversation, even though when there is it feels natural and honest.
Once I start to doze, Mark asks me if I’d like to go back up to the house, but the night is so pleasant, and his body so warm against me, I only murmur something until I fall asleep.
Still feeling his fingers tracing through my hair, I wake up, feeling a cooler breeze without being cold.
The light from the moon has turned into the pink glow of predawn and looking up at Mark I can tell he hasn’t slept a wink.
“Hi,” he whispers.
“Hi,” I nearly choke, wiping what I’m sure is drool from the side of my mouth. Relieved when he politely ignores my morning face.
“Don’t tell me you sat there all night with me sleeping on your lap,” I finally manage, feeling his body rock with gentle laughter.
“Okay, I won’t,” he says firmly, looking out to the ocean.
“You wanna go for a swim?” I ask, hoping to change the subject, even though I don’t swim per se.
