The cold sand tickled her feet as she treaded down from the last stair step and looked around, mindlessly brushing her khaki shorts in the process.
It never ceased to amaze her how the beach always was empty this time of night. If you were to ask anyone she knew, they would all say that this place lost its magic once the sun had set. The sand turned cold and the ocean grew bleak. There was nothing left to see.
Were they ever wrong.
A warm smile crossed her face as she spotted him, standing just by the sea shore. Strong waves crashed around his feet, and yet, he stood firmly in place as if the water was barely brushing him. His silhouette so majestic. So proud. She smiled faintly, taking him in fully before making her way across the undulating sandbanks. Not pausing until she reached him.
His head turned and their eyes locked, a smile of recognition lingering on both their faces.
“Hey.”
“Hi.”
“You should get inside soon, honey. It’s freezing out here. What are you doing anyway?”
He returned his gaze to the ocean and dug his hands into his pockets, the wind playing swiftly with his hair. “Waiting,” he replied simply and reached for her hand. “Come with me.”
She watched him in wonder and he led them further up the beach, settling down where the waves couldn’t reach them. “Kevin, what-?”
“Shh,” he hushed, catching her gaze again and smiling softly as he patted on the spot between his legs. “Humor me, Emma.”
She frowned, still slightly skeptical, but sat down nonetheless and leaned into his warm body, smiling as his arms wrapped tightly around her.
“I could get used to this,” she murmured, nuzzling her head into the crook of his neck and breathing in contentedly. Rough fingers intertwined with her soft ones and a light kiss was planted on her forehead.
“Same here,” he agreed, his voice oozing with warmth and affection. So loved she was, she mused with a soft smile. So incredibly blessed. “Look,” he whispered, his mouth right next to her ear, and pointed towards the water. “That’s what I wanted to show you.”
She looked up, immediately noticing the difference. Now sitting a little further away, with a clearer outlook of the ocean, she was able to catch the moon’s reflection sparkling in the pitch-black water, covering it like a shimmering blanket of black diamonds.
Complete beauty. That’s what it was. No sounds around her but the lulling waves, no people other than the man she loved the most and that amazing sight before her. This was completion.
She turned around in his grasp and rested back on her heels, tilting her head slightly as she watched him. “You’re incredible, you know that?” she asked quietly. “Every time I think you couldn’t possibly surprise me again…”
He smiled back at her, his eyes so peaceful as he leaned forward till their foreheads were touching. “I love you,” he whispered as her hand gently brushed his cheek. “And I wanna keep surprising you … even if you are just the old ball and chain.”
She laughed then, her gray eyes lighting up with happiness as she wrapped her arms around his neck. “Aimé,” she whispered tenderly before brushing her lips against his, tasting what she knew so well. Smiling again when she heard his small sigh of contentment.
Pulling away again long moments later, she reached for his hand as she stood up, watching as he did the same. “What now?” he asked softly, amusement twinkling in his eyes as he let himself be led back towards the water.
She looked back at him, grinning mischievously in return. “I have a little surprise for you, too.”
He cocked an eyebrow. “What would that be?”
“Well,” she drawled, stopping right at the sea shore and turning towards him, her hand resting lightly on his chest as the grin grew bigger. “When’s the last time we went skinny dipping?”