The dress Cassie wore today was a light floral print, fitting snugly at to top to accent her breasts and flaring into a short flouncy skirt that ended just above the middle of her thigh. She braided a loose ponytail into her hair, leaving her smooth brown shoulders bare. It all gave her the look of a delicate, graceful lady - an amusing contrast to how she'd appeared at the restaurant the night before.
"You're gorgeous," he told her as they exited the room together. "You make me just want to stay here all day."
She smiled and rose on her tiptoes to give him a soft kiss on his cheek.
They both found sunglasses necessary today, especially walking beside the street where the glints of sunlight bounced off chrome like laser beams.
The Marketplace was only a few blocks up from the hotel. They walked the whole area over, looking in every shop. Doug bought several things for his sister and her family and some of his friends at work. Everything was beautiful and new and interesting to look at but he kept finding himself distracted by the girl who walked beside him and trustingly held his hand.
Sitting at a small open-air cafΓ©, he reached across the table and took both her hands in his. For a few moments, he just stared into her deep blue eyes, knowing he was already hopelessly lost there, but not regretting it for an instant.
"Do you know I love you?" he asked her, squeezing her hands.
She smiled at him, genuine and bright as the sun overhead. "I know."
He didn't expect her to say it back, but she did add, "You know how I feel."
And Doug knew. She gave him all of herself that she was able to give and it was enough to make him happy.
After their break to rest and rehydrate, he asked, "What do you want me to buy you?"
"You don't have to buy me anything," she said, "I'm happy just being her with you."
"But I want you to have something to remember this time by," he told her.
Tapping a finger to her temple, she said, "I will always remember."
"So you don't want anything?"
She shook her head. "I've got it all. And what I have, no one could ever take away."
He couldn't argue with that logic so he simply smiled and let it go. For now.
"Actually there is something I want," she exclaimed.
"Yes?"
"A potty," she grimaced. "After that drink⦠you know⦠"
"I saw some back that way," he pointed in a direction they'd already explored.
"Okay," she sighed, relieved. "Will you be right here when I get back?"
"Sure," he said. "Be careful." As she hurried away, he knew it would take good fifteen minutes to walk there and back and to deal with the long lines in front of the restroom. He was glad because a plan had just formed in his mind. He'd have to hurry before she returned.
By the time she reached the head of the line, Cassie was just before dancing. She felt her eyes begin to tear. When she finished, she cut through the crowd quickly to return to the spot where Doug was supposed to be waiting for her.
With a puzzled furrow to her brow, she wondered if she'd remembered her way back incorrectly. He wasn't where she thought she'd left him. Shading her eyes, she rotated in a circle, scanning the crowd for him. Then with a smile, she noticed him moving quickly towards her from the opposite direction.
Doug put an arm around her and kissed the top of her head. "You haven't been waiting long, have you? I figured with the long line, you'd take awhile. I'm sorry."