A cold wind was blowing that Saturday in October at Headlands Beach. Dani and I felt the chill in the air as we walked along the edge of the water. The ubiquitous beachgoers of summer were no where to be seen.
We had let our relationship move at its own pace, fast. The nightly FaceTime chats, the weekends together, and occasional personal chats were reminiscent of my days with Tom.
Tom had learned of my attraction to women shortly after that first time I had indulged in sex with Dani. A subconscious desire to be caught doing a woman had led to fucking Dani in the master bedroom. He just happened to open the bedroom door that weekend afternoon.
I stared across the park observing its landscape: its narrow beach, grasslands, the distant trees, buildings.
"This place in summer is interesting. Have you ever seen the sand sculptures?"
"I have," said Dani. "They're awesome."
The contest to construct larger than life sculptures was last held in summer 2021. The figures included an owl head, a family of cats, Neptune's head, mother with child, to name a few.
I mentioned that "I used to make sand castles as a little girl."
She replied, "I used to just dig holes."
"I like Neptune's Head."
"Is that because you're into Greco Roman mythology?"
"That must be it."
If it wasn't so cold I would love to skinny dip. I wish I could do so without being arrested.
Ex lovers came to mind.
"I met Tom when we were in juniors at Ohio State. He approached me in the cafeteria one day. We didn't really get serious until after graduation."
"So you guys were just friends for a couple of years."
"I was 26 when we got married and not long afterward I became curious about making love with a woman."
"I'm betting you used to sneak a peek at his girly magazines."
"He didn't have magazines. I had to go on the internet and look. I always made sure to clean the browser history."
"That's the smart thing to do."
"I still think about him. He's a really good guy."
She nodded then spoke candidly. "My first love was Kristen. We were sophomores at Canton High school."
"Did you guys have a class together?"
"We were on the swim team."