The warm, dry breeze which skipped playfully across Cedar Point Beach from the West blew gently through Mary's hair, rousing her from her mental wanderings. Her eyes opened to peer through her sunglasses at the slowly setting sun. She removed the glasses to view the natural beauty of its many golden hues. It took her breath away. She sighed at the many resplendent colors created by the departing sun, almost jealous of how easily it painted it's perfect picture...of its mastery of shade and tone.
Stretching, she looked to her right, at her own painting as it rested comfortably on the sun-warmed easel. The setting sun even made the artificial colors she'd created in acrylic seem more beautiful. Her painting was also of a splendidly vibrant sunset, but the beach it bathed in its slowly cooling reds, pinks and lavenders was nothing like the beach on which she had spent the day reading and painting. It was completely different, having sprung from Mary's imagination and almost having painted itself on the canvas. Her hands had seemingly come to independent life, almost magically creating the sun-tinted hues of cooling sand and darkening rock. As she looked at her work, it seemed to draw her into it...beckon her in some mystical way.
Tearing her eyes from the alluring picture, her head slowly lolled to her left, pausing only briefly to again admire the natural sun as its lengthening rays caused the lazily undulating waves of the ocean to sparkle...creating merry giggles of light.
Still with her sunglasses removed from her eyes, she focused on Nathan. She'd known him for some eleven years or so, and was always impressed by his quick wit, compassion, sensitivity and down to earth nature. Of the half dozen friends she'd come to the beach with, Nathan was the one she most enjoyed talking to...and looking at. Despite the fact that he was gorgeous in the extreme, he didn't have the inflated ego that sometimes went along with it. He never put anyone down, at least not to Mary's knowledge. And his eyes had a way of looking intently at you when you spoke to him, as if they absorbed your every word and transmitted them directly to his clever, active mind. And those eyes...such a pale, limpid blue-green...almost like the very sea who's tranquility she'd tried to capture on canvas. Those eyes made her melt...gave her flashes of warmth and chills at the same time.
Looking around the beach, almost everyone else had gone back to the their hotels or rented villas. The other friends that she and Nathan had traveled here with had apparently called it a night. Only a few straggling strangers still lingered about, walking hand in hand in the darkening sand or more briskly through the lapping waters of the rising tide. It was a scene of serenity and bliss, and it filled Mary with a deep peace that made her breathe a long, soft sigh.
From this distance, Nathan appeared to be dozing in the barely swinging hammock. The bronzing rays of sunset made his tanned body appear even moreso with each passing moment. Clad only in pastel yellow swim trunks, his tan again appeared even more stark. His tall, lean body, each sculpted muscle glistening from either the remnants of his tanning lotion or a light spray of sea mist, stretched nearly the length of the twined rope of the hammock. His short, wavy blond hair, bleached even lighter by two days at the beach, playfully curled about his ears and forehead. Sadly, dark green shades hid his incredible eyes from Mary's prying ones, but his luscious body and full lips were certainly enough to keep her attention.
As she admired his reclining body, his head turned toward her, his shade covered eyes aimed in her direction. Her assumption that he was asleep was quickly proven wrong, as his low, deep voice greeted her. It seemed to bathe her ears in warm, pleasant vibrations as it said, "Mary...come her for a minute. I want to tell you something." Though his voice was soft, it bore into her...igniting her brain...fondling her soul.
Almost trancelike, Mary rose from her beach chair and began walking toward him. Her filmy sundress billowed in the soft beach breeze, reminding her of her wicked little indulgence. The cooling air flapped at her dress, lifting it just enough to sneak under it and witness first hand the unMarylike decadence.
Bringing her hand up to cover her self-amused smirk, Mary felt the warm waft of air play sweetly in the fine, soft curls of her naked pubic area. She felt it dance unobstructed between her legs as it stirred those tiny hairs and tingled the soft, pink folds of her sex. It tickled, and made her have to stifle a giggle...but it felt incredible, especially in the wake of her arousing - and moistening - thoughts about Nathan. It was the first time she'd ever worn a sundress - or any other type of clothing for that matter - without wearing panties beneath. But she very much enjoyed it...and made a mental note to so again...whenever possible.
Trudging barefoot through the warm sand and having successfully warded off the impish titter, Mary came up alongside the hammock with its tall, sexy occupant. The sun was almost below the horizon now, and the moon was stretching and flexing its muscles to take over the night sky. When Nathan removed his sunglasses, even the waning light couldn't mute their blue-green sparkle. His smile set Mary's heart aflame, and she sighed when she tried to speak to him. Taking a second stab at it, she managed to ask, "What is it, Nathan? What is it you wanted to tell me?" In her heart, she was hoping he wanted to profess his undying love for her, but she was a realist. This man could have any woman on this, or any other planet. How could she even hope he'd want her?
"I know where it is," he said softly, his words framed by the hushed lapping of waves on sand.
"What? You know where what is?" Mary asked, confused.
"That beach. The one you painted so brilliantly in your picture. I've seen it. I know where it is." His eyes gazed into hers with not only honesty, but a childish eagerness...like he wanted desperately to share something with her.
"Nathan," she laughed lightly, mildly disappointed at not hearing the words she knew she'd never hear anyway, "I painted that from my imagination. It's not a real place. I made it up."
"Well, hon," he smiled, "I hate to burst any bubbles, but that place exists. It's about twenty miles down the coast. Beautiful, too. You've captured it almost exactly."
Turning to look at her picture, fading in the encroaching darkness, she started to become irritated, thinking Nathan was making fun of her.
"Nathan...you've never made fun of anyone before...why are you doing it to me? If you're just teasing or joking, that's fine, but...."
"Mary," he interrupted, sitting up quickly and reaching out to take her hand in his. The hammock swayed vicariously, Nathan rocking from side to side in it. When the rocking slowed, and an awkward fall to the sand was averted, he continued. "I'd never make fun of you. I think you're great. You're fantastic. Why would I make fun of you? No...I swear...I wouldn't lie to you. That place exists....or one damn close to it."
"Nathan...c'mon. Don't..."
"Mary, believe me, I...." he started, but then realized words alone weren't going to convince her. Swinging his legs over the side of the hammock, he stood up quickly, his broad shoulders thrust back in firm resolve. He was apparently upset that Mary didn't believe him...or that she had believed he was being cruel to her. It almost seemed to hurt him....and provoke a need in him to prove himself.
"Mary, I swear I've seen that place. I thought you had, too...and that's why you painted it. I can prove it to you. I can prove it exists."
Mary was still skeptical, but her doubts seemed to flounder when Nathan stood close to her and held both her hands, those limpid eyes looking down at her. She gulped hard and tried to keep her weak knees from buckling under her. "Nathan, I believe you. You don't have to...."
"Oh, but I want to, Mary. If you haven't seen that place for real, then you need to. You'll love it. It's a little slice of Heaven right here on Earth." Then, a cloud seemed to cross over his beautiful eyes. He said, "Unless...you don't want to go there with ME."
Mary was shocked. It appeared as though the gorgeous Nathan was hurt that she didn't want to see this lovely beach with him. She tried to tell him this wasn't so, but all she could do was stammer and sputter. "No! Nathan.....it's.....I mean...it's not..I...really...I'd.....that would be....I....."
Nathan put a stop to the babbling. He let go of one of her hands and lifted his hand up, placing his index finger on Mary's blithering lips. Her incoherent, verbal fumbling stopped. He looked her in the eyes and said in a low, clear voice.
"Do you or do you not want to visit that beach with me? I'd love to show it to you. We could go see it...and maybe....talk a while...just the two of us. I know that place will look awesome in the moonlight. Please, Mare? Let me show it to you. If you don't agree with me that it's gorgeous, we'll come right back if you want to. How 'bout it? Let's go right now and see it. What do you say?"
Mary was shivering all over...every inch of her body....even though it was warm. But somehow when she spoke to Nathan, the stammering didn't return. She sighed, and the trembling almost stopped as well. With a smile, and a glimmer of hope in her breast, she replied, "Nathan, I'd love to see a beach like that - or any other beach - with you. Sure, let me just pack up my stuff and we'll go."
Nathan's smile was genuine. Mary could feel a warmth radiating off of him. As she turned to gather up her belongings as quickly as she possibly could, , Nathan said something that made her sweat from head to toe. It was one simple word.
"Hurry," he said.
The drive from Cedar Point Beach to the their new destination took hardly more than twenty minutes. During that time, conversation between the two of them was light and friendly, as it had always been between them. The one thing that Mary noticed that was different this time, however, was that her pulse was racing and she could swear she sighed at least once every thirty seconds or so. She'd had many wonderful conversations with Nathan before, but never had she felt like this. She felt like she was going to explode, as if skin and muscle could barely contain the energy that was quickly reaching critical mass deep inside her.
After driving for miles along the ocean road, Nathan steered his SUV left, onto a dirt road. It wound snakelike for a few miles, slowly meandering its way down a moderate grade. Mary was certain she'd never been down this road before, though she surely must have passed it dozens of times during her fairly frequent seaside trips, both with friends, and alone to ply her artistic talents.
