Casey woke to the warm Florida breeze drifting through one of his condo's open windows. Rubbing his weary eyes, he rolled onto his side and reached for his phone on the nightstand. Groaning that the time was only quarter to six in the morning, he rested his head back on the pillow and stared up at the ceiling. His mind drifted about, playing back the events of the past couple of months in his head. Casey's life in that short time period had been quite up and down, to say the least. The lowest of the low-lights was the breakup between him and his girlfriend of nearly two years. Losing her was a crushing blow to his self-esteem until being offered the internship of a lifetime the spring semester of his senior year of college.
Casey had scored a paid internship with the Minnesota Twins baseball team. Getting into the University of Minnesota was something he thought he'd never accomplish, but now being able to work for his favorite baseball team was icing on the cake. The organization had him working as a technology assistant for their game broadcasts, both television and radio. As a mass communications major, this was right up Casey's alley. It got even better: since the spring semester started in January and ended in May; he spent a majority of his time down in Fort Myers for spring training. A college boy's dream, being able to work for a professional sports team, and on days off, hitting the sunbaked beaches full of gorgeous women in the skimpiest of swimwear.
Working for the Twins was hard work. Casey would spend extremely long hours at Hammond Stadium and sometimes wouldn't get back to where he was staying until late in the evening. The upside to working longer days was that he didn't have to travel with the team when they were on the road. He quickly took advantage of those days off, crossing the bridge to Fort Myers Beach and giving the gals the best that this freshly single male specimen could offer. Attempting might be a better word because he was in quite a dry spell since his breakup. Sure, he would chat up some hotties on the sand, but it never really seemed to go anywhere and his confidence was fading fast.
Taking another glance at his phone, he cursed and slid out of bed. He worked till nearly eleven the previous night and only being able to sleep a little over six hours was frustrating to him. Walking to the open window, he peered out. The condo the team gave him to use wasn't near the beach, but close to the ballpark and its offices. Casey scanned the fading darkness of the city and took a drive.
If I can't sleep, I might as well see the sunrise, he thought as he threw on a t-shirt and some athletic shorts. Stepping out of the condo, he headed down the stairs to his rental car. Turning out of the condo complex, he made his way onto Summerlin Road in the general direction of the beach.
"A run on the beach might do me some good," he said to himself, as he made a left onto state road 865.
Several quiet minutes went by as he drove through the early morning, the sun slowly rising to welcome the world. Crossing over the bridge to the beach side, Casey hooked onto Estero Boulevard and drove southeast along the many rows of hotels, condos, and bungalows that made up this sought-after vacation destination. Driving along, he realized he had never driven this far down the island and his curiosity got the better of him.
Continuing along, he reached another bridge that crossed over a large channel. Looking down into the clear, blue water, he thought a swim might be in order after his jog. As his car made its way to the far shore, Casey noticed a sandy parking lot just past the bridge. Pulling in, he parked as close as he could to the beach. It was still relatively early, so his car was the only one in the lot. Several large walking trails meandered off into the wooded areas, but he was more interested in the long stretch of beach in front. He took out his phone and googled his location, wondering just exactly where he had ended up.
Finding his location, Casey concluded he was on the very northern edge of a small island that made up the Lovers Key State Park. The body of water he crossed was the Big Carlos Pass. Scrolling down the map, he went along the beach with his finger, looking to see where it led. Down a little way from where he was, there seemed to be a small point that jutted out into Big Carlos Pass. The beach wrapped around the point and ran southward towards the state park.
To the point and back, he thought as he exited his car and began stretching his legs.
Putting his earbuds in, Casey took off at a relaxed pace down the sand, the soft relaxing guitar riffs of James Taylor gliding him along. With the sun continuing its slow rise and the humidity increasing, he quickly drenched in a layer of sweat. Several heart-pumping minutes later, Casey neared the point he had previously mapped out. As he moved along the beach, he thought he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. Wiping the sweat from his forehead and away from his eyes, he noticed it again. Turning his head to look towards the water, Casey squinted and looked about. There it was: someone was swimming just offshore, a few hundred yards in front of him.
"Damn, they can move," he huffed as he ran along, watching the figure glide between the waves.
The figure didn't swim like any normal person, rather moved as if it was marine-like. Casey slowed his pace and watched with wonder at how someone could swim so fast. As he drew near, the figure had made it close to the shore into shallow enough water where one could stand. As the person stood up, Casey's eyes nearly popped out of his head. It was a woman standing in the water. She had shoulder length, blonde hair that was pulled back and tied in several places, giving her hair a braided look. What sent his brain reeling along with the blood rushing to his crotch was the fact that she was completely naked!
This woman had an amazing body. A large set of ample breasts bounced and jiggled about as she trotted from the ocean. The lines from a skimpy bikini contrasted nicely from creamy white to freshly tanned skin, as if kissed by the sun. She had a very taut stomach and strong, sexy legs that pushed her up out of the water and onto the sand. Casey watched her, still moving at his decreasing pace, as she jogged up to a blanket and pile of clothes near a long stretch of sand fence.
Turn around, turn around!
His mind screamed at the thought of the awkwardness of the situation as he approached.
His body kept pushing him onward, much to his brain's dismay. When he got within twenty yards from her, it looked like she might not even make eye contact with him. She was breathing heavily as she lay flat on her stomach on a beach towel, her head resting on her arms.
Put your head down and run by, he kept telling himself as he drew near.
Running by wasn't in the plans today. Nearly to her, Casey tripped and suddenly fell face first into the sand. His slow speed causing him to fall over his own feet. His earbuds flew out as he hit the sand with a soft thud. Quickly, he scrambled to his feet to wipe the sand from his body.
"Are you alright?" he heard her ask.
Brushing the last of the sand from his arms, he looked up and gave a glance her way. She was sitting upright now; her body covered with sand from the tops of her supple breasts to her toes. Casey stared, speechless, at what was before him.
"I uh, I'm alright," he squeaked rather quietly.
She smiled brightly, gazing over his entire body. He stared back at her for what seemed like forever. His mind fogged up when she spoke again, snapping him back to reality. "Want to sit and rest a while? You look exhausted."
On wobbly legs, Casey pressed towards her and plopped down hard just a few feet away. He closed his eyes and slowly caught his breath, not wanting to stare. They sat there in silence for several long moments, the sounds of the waves crashing and the occasional bird chirping filling the air as he tried to calm his body down.
"Is this your first time on this beach?" she asked, breaking the awkward silence.
Opening his eyes, Casey turned to meet her gaze. Using every fiber in his body, he tried not to sneak any peeks below her chin.
"Yes, it is. I couldn't sleep this morning, so I went for a drive and just happened upon it," he explained, not daring to break eye contact.
