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Parker inspected the half-crumbled sandcastle. A devilish smirk spread across his face.
“Are you ready?” Parker asked.
“For what?”
“Utter destruction!”
Parker threw his arm around my waist, pushing us into our sandy monstrosity. The few half-standing towers crumbled over us as Parker landed on me, holding up most of his weight. Sand tangled in my hair as I laughed, feeling Parker’s chest on top of mine. He slowly lowered himself onto my lips, silencing our laughs, before rolling off me.
After laughing in the sand for a few minutes, we went back into the water. A group of kids kept splashing us while playing games until Parker started splashing them back. He then chatted with them for a few minutes and introduced himself to their dad, who was worried they were bothering us.
“You’re good with kids,” I said when Parker swam back to me after chatting with the dad for a few minutes. We floated within the waves.
“They’re cute,” he shrugged.
“Do you want kids? You know, in the future.”
It was really none of my business whether he wanted kids or not, but I couldn’t stop myself from imagining how great of a father he would be. Someone would be lucky to have him one day.
“Maybe. I’ve never given it much thought, but I enjoy hanging out with my nieces and nephews. I figure that kids will be something to figure out once marriage is on the table.”
“You have nieces and nephews?
“Yeah. I have two nieces and one nephew.”
“Cute.”
“Do you want kids?” he asked, avoiding eye contact.
“Maybe one day. I’m not ready, but maybe one day I will be.”
“Well, for what it's worth, I think you’ll be a great mom one day.”
“I think you’d be a great dad.”
“Thanks, princess.”
He looked at me kindly, almost with a hint of sadness.
Around six, we got out of the water and tried to dry off. We were damp, and the day had started to cool down.
We laid on the waterproof towel. I was sure I had thousands of grains of sand in my hair and other places that would require quite a shower to get out, but it was worth it. The sun was going down, and the sky changed. The clouds were darker and wispily spread across the sky. I snuggled up to him, and we watched the sun disappear behind the water.
“Do you think the sunset is as beautiful as people say it is?” I asked.
“I’m sure it is,” he said, almost knowingly. “Otherwise, people wouldn’t say it is one of the most beautiful things they’ve ever seen.”
Today had been a perfect day. He pulled me closer as if he could feel my heart about to break at the realization that he would be gone in a little over a month. There would be no one to push me out of my comfort zone or give me secret sweet looks in the office. In a few weeks, he would be gone.
But today has been perfect, and I would rather have the memories than nothing at all.
Chapter Twenty-One
Sunday morning.
Thirty-four days left.
The commotion of the packed restaurant made it feel alive, even if it was a little too early in the morning.
