Celestial Reviews Rating: 10,10,10
Top 15 Stories of March, 1996: #7
Top 100 Stories of 1996: #82
for K.
"Florida!?" Tandra cried.
"Yes, Florida. Sanibel Island, just off Ft. Myers. A friend of my family owns a house down there that we can rent dirt cheap."
She looked at me as though I had just proposed marriage. "Patrick, that's a long ways away. I don't think spending a week with you in Florida is such a good idea."
"Tandra Sue Danforth," I admonished her, "you are 21 years old. You are quite capable of acting like an adult. As am I. Think of it as a chance to get away from this freezing hell-hole and spending a week in the sun...and I just happen to be there."
She sighed. "It is damn cold up here, isn't it?"
"Freezing."
"All right. But you'd better behave like a gentleman."
"Don't I always?"
She smirked and gave me a swift poke in the ribs.
Tandra drove down to meet me on Thursday. I slept on the couch, she in the bed. She got up at 6 am, just in time to find breakfast ready for her on the nightstand. By the time I got out of the shower, she was taking hers. When she got out, all our luggage was loaded and we did a quick sweep of the apartment before locking up, then dropped the spare keys off at the Stewart's next door.
It was a long drive, but we had it planned all the way. We stopped in Macon, Georgia for the night. The room was small, but cheap. We tossed a coin over the bed and she lost. I felt guilty, but she insisted on taking the floor. When she came out of the bathroom, though, she was surprised to see me sleeping on the floor. In the morning, I was equally surprised to wake up with her next to me. Some people have a strange sense of honor.
We reached Ft. Myers late in the day on Saturday. It took a while to get out to the island, as the causeway drawbridge was up. But we finally made it, passing by all the landmarks, which I pointed out. We finally reached the one story house at Pelican Cove. As promised, the keys were hidden in the garden and I escorted her in. It took us a while to unpack and choose our rooms, but we managed to agree. In spite of the opportunities to go out, we decided we were tired and ordered a pizza instead. We watched some movie on HBO while we munched, then decided to turn in. Deep down inside I was aching to feel Tandra against me in the bed, but a promise was a promise.
The next morning I awoke to a wonderful smell. Tandra had either prepared a very scrumptious breakfast or she sneaked out earlier and bought it, then dumped the packages as evidence. Either way I was happy and the meal was delicious. We cleaned up afterwards and took a short walk down to the beach. We sat out in the deck chairs and planned out some of the week's activities. We decided to explore the shops in Periwinkle Place that day, then hit the Thai restaurant for dinner. The day was wonderful, as we found all sorts of things that we liked. In particular, Tandra liked this wonderful sea shell-flower sculpture at the Sand Piper, though it was a bit pricey. She seemed to be having a great time as we explored the island and I was glad. After we polished off some Gai Tom Kah and Red Curry Chicken at the Bangkok Inn, we returned to the house.
"Be right back," she said, then disappeared into her room.
"What are you up to now?" I asked.
There was a pause and her door opened a little way, barely revealing the fact that she wasn't wearing anything. I blushed.
"I wanna go for a moonlight walk on the beach."