I turned and rose to my knees, making our eyes almost level. "I'm the lucky one," I whispered.
"Nope," he said, shaking his head and smiling. "You're my ladybug. Besides, if I landed on you I might crush you."
I giggled and leaned forward to kiss him, feeling his hands tangle in my hair. The kiss proved it. I was lucky. I was kissing Tony.
The sun finally surrendered to the ocean's embrace. Dark blues and purples filled the sky, reflecting the depth of the sea back to the clouds. Stars began to emerge and twinkle as they watched millions of lovers from their heavenly perches.
"You want to go for a walk with me?" Tony asked quietly. I turned around to nod, smiling at the idea of walking anywhere with him. Rachel and Dean were off in their own little world on the other side of the porch, and they didn't even look up as we left.
"I want to show you something," Tony said, taking my hand in his. I loved how warm he was. It was like he was my own personal oven. I wanted to go somewhere cold with him just so that I would have an excuse to cuddle closer.
We walked in comfortable silence through the deepening twilight. Even though I wanted to know everything I could about him, I loved that we didn't need to talk. There was no need to fill the silences with games or chatter.. We were comfortable with one another, even in the silences. I knew some married couples who didn't have that ability. It only made me further realize how perfect we were for one another.
The ocean shushed gently to our left as we walked along the beach. The sand was still warm under my feet from the heat of the day, and it squished between my toes in the most delightful way. I wondered where Tony was taking me as we wandered away from the lights of the houses.
The ocean came further into the land in a small inlet. Tony gave my hand a gentle squeeze as we approached the water.
"This is my favorite place in the entire world," he said softly, looking out at the ocean. "I wanted to share it with you."
A delightful warmth filled my heart. I wished I had something as beautiful to share with him, to make him feel the giddy happiness surging through me.
"It's beautiful," I replied. The stars and newly risen moon lit the small beach and bounced off the waves. The inlet was shallower than the rest of the beach, giving the water a slightly different color, even in the dark. It looked like the entrance to a magical world.
"When the tide goes out, this is the best place to find shells," Tony said. "When I was a kid, I used to find sharks’ teeth here."
I lay my head against his shoulder, enjoying the view of the ocean as well as the sensation of him standing next to me. This was my idea of heaven.
"Thank you for showing me this," I whispered. I felt like he was showing me something he didn't let the outside world ever see. Something that was only for me.
"I wanted to bring you here to tell you something," he said slowly. His voice sounded shaky in the dark. He ran a hand through his black hair, the moonlight accentuating his every motion.
"What?" I asked. "You can tell me anything."
Tony moved so that he could see my face in the moonlight. His eyes shone in the dark like oceans that I wanted to dive into and never surface from.
"I love you, Kimberly." He said the words carefully, as though he were afraid I might not understand them. I understood them better than he knew. I felt the same. I had felt it since the moment we met.
I touched his face, smiling softly. His eyes searched mine. "I love you, Tony."
I had more to say. I wanted to tell him how strange it was. How we connected so easily, so deeply, so quickly. I wanted to tell him I knew this wasn't just a summer fling, that in my heart of hearts I knew I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. If he had proposed right there, I would have said yes and not have thought about it twice.
But I didn't need to say any of that. I had said the only words that mattered. I love you. Anything more was unnecessary. He felt the same way I did. He knew that our love was unique and beautiful without me having to say a word. Perhaps that was part of why I loved him. We fit as if we had been made to be together.
Tony tucked his chin, and our mouths found one another. His lips were warm and soft, his arms strong and safe, surrounding mine in their embrace. His hands tangled in my hair as mine pulled him toward me. The kiss was everything my words couldn't say. The want. The desire. The way he made me feel. Every movement with him felt right.
I forgot to breathe. My heart forgot the need to beat. They didn't need to when I was with Tony. When we broke apart, I gasped for air as my heart struggled to restart. The kiss had frozen a moment in time that I would remember forever. I loved Tony, and Tony loved me.
"Say it again," I begged. I could listen to him say those three words to me until the end of time.
"I love you, Ladybug," Tony whispered again, his lips in my hair as he hugged me close. I closed my eyes and smiled.
We stayed there, wrapped in a loving embrace on the moonlit beach for a long time. The night became cool, and mosquitoes finally decided to drive us indoors. We hurried back to my condo, knowing that the other couples would be at the beach house. We would have our little condo all to ourselves. With it being just the two of us, it was almost as if it were real life. We had one more full day together before we had to return from vacation, and we intended to enjoy every second of it.
Chapter 8
Present Day
I lay in bed, listening to the world outside as I tried to fall asleep. The clock was ticking in the kitchen, but instead of lulling me to sleep with its constant rhythm, it was just reminding me that time was slipping away.