“That was intense!” Angela shouted as she ran ashore onto the beach. She had just ridden some of the most amazing waves in her surfing career. It had been like flying almost, far above the land and floating through the air like God had reached out of the sky and given her a little ride that no one else had ever really had the privilege to experience.

“Way to go!” Richard said as she slapped her a high five before pulling her close to him.

Angela had started surfing when she was just eight years old. Her dad was an avid fan of the sport and while he didn’t have the coordination and balance to really do it well, he loved the ocean and made sure that she had the chance to spread her wings and explore everything in life. She had fallen in love with the beach right from the moment she saw it and she could not stop hopping into the water. So her father hired a teacher to give her lessons and she showed immediate promise. There was nothing like cutting through a great stack of waves on her board.

Richard was amazing. His athleticism and flexibility on the surfboard were better than anyone she had ever seen who was not a pro. Was there nothing this man could not do? She was really beginning to wonder. When she asked him about it, he laughed it off as he usually did compliments. He was just not the guy who enjoyed bragging on himself at all.

“No, seriously. How did you get so good at so many things?” Angela asked, refusing to take no for an answer.

Richard sighed as if he was being forced to divulge some great secret, but he did it with his typical charm and grace.

“I’m a man who has a lot of interests and when there is some new challenge or something I really want to be able to do, I fully immerse myself in it until I am happy with my progress. It’s a great challenge that I love to undertake and, when I’m done, I’m so much better than I was before. So over the years I’ve done this with many things and so now I’ve reached a level of competence in many different fields.”

“So, you’re a true renaissance man,” Angela teased.

Richard laughed, “I guess you can call me that if it makes you feel comfortable.”

Richard grabbed his board and jogged out for another set of waves. Angela wanted to go with him, but she was not in as good shape as he was. The man had endurance like she had never seen before; he could just keep going and going. It was pretty intense to watch, and it left her beaming with pride that the man who told her just a few nights ago that he loved her, was full of so much energy and enthusiasm about things. It was infectious, to say the least.

She kept thinking about when they told each other “I love you”. Angela could not believe that she had actually said it when it happened, but she just felt a beaming surge of love in that moment and she just had to vocalize it. After the shock wore off that she’d said those words so soon, she realized that she didn’t regret it and didn’t want to take it back. She meant what she said; she did love him. She was no longer just falling in love; she felt that she had reached the stage where real love begins and she was fully committed to it.

When Richard said it back to her the beating in her chest almost stopped, skipping over a few beats before resuming its normal rhythm. She had never had a man tell her that before and it was more special than she had ever seen in any Hollywood movie or read in any romance novel. And she knew he meant it; she knew that without a second’s hesitation. There was just something about the way he’d said it, the look in his eyes and the tone in his voice. It let her know that he was deadly serious and that he wasn’t just caught up in the moment as she’d feared. It was real. What they had was real and it was just getting better.

She hated that things had been left with Naomi the way they had, but she had to pick up and move on with her life. She and Richard deserved to be happy and somewhere deep inside, when she really searched her soul and reached out to what she knew about her friend, she knew that Naomi would eventually come around. It might take a few weeks or even a few months. Hell, it might happen on their deathbeds surrounded by grandchildren, but she knew that one day Naomi would feel that she was wrong and she would reach out to make amends.

Richard finished off his set and came running back onto the shore carrying his board under his muscular arms. He was not wearing a wetsuit; it was not his style. He surfed with a skimpy pair of swim trunks and nothing else.

Angela realized that this was the first time she had really seen Richard almost naked and her jaw almost hit the ground the second she did. He was toned and lean, with a great tan and just the right amount of muscular definition showing. He almost had a swimmer’s body, but with slightly more muscle. He was beautiful and she automatically felt self-conscious in the wetsuit she was wearing. It clung hard to her body and for some reason, she felt that it made her ass look fat.

“What are you staring at?” Richard said as he joined her. Up close his body was even better looking. She just could not stop looking at this beautiful creature that had been created so immaculately.

“Just looking,” Angela said, slightly embarrassed as she looked away. She could feel the warm blush rushing up over her whole body in one giant wave while she tried to stay rigid and still to show that she was not really checking him out. She wasn’t sure why this was embarrassing for her, but with Richard, she felt that she was constantly doing things that made her seem childish or even nerdy. She just wanted him to see her for who she was.

“Oh yeah?” Richard said in a naughty whisper. He reached up and slid his hands slowly down her arms that were hanging at her side. His touch was cool but strong and smooth. She felt the tingles up and down her arms and even into her upper back causing goose flesh on her neck. She tried to take a deep breath.

Suddenly she felt a sharp pain.

“What?” Richard asked immediately concerned.

Angela turned her arm and saw a big scratch moving along the outline of her tricep—it was bleeding slightly.

“That sucks,” Angela said. “I must have scraped it on a rock or something.”

“Yeah, that might leave a little scar,” Richard said softly.

“Great, just what I need. A scar. It’s not like I’m trying to be a model or anything,” Angela joked.

“Ah, something like that is beautiful; it’s a battle scar. It means you are tough and you take chances in life. It’s very sexy,” Richard said moving closer.

He stepped behind her and began to slowly massage the back of her neck with his strong hands. This combined with the goosebumps she was already experiencing was almost too much. The tingles were magnified across her body as he continued to rub her neck, sliding slowly down into her shoulders.

“You want to know the secret of removing scars?” Richard asked.

“What’s that?”

“Kisses…”

Richard bent down slightly and kissed her wound. His lips lingered on it, cool and soft. Somehow the slight pain she felt at the moment of impact on the sensitive skin was no match for the pleasure she experienced right after. It was such a moment as Richard stood up and stepped in front of her again, pulling her to him. He kissed her on the mouth and then pulled her head to his shoulder where he hugged her softly.

“See, that’s better already, right?” Richard joked.

Angela could not help but laugh as she looked up into those magnetic eyes and suddenly she felt like she was back on that hansom cab again and the lust was coursing through them both, their bodies and minds filled with unbridled passion. Oh, how much longer? She needed him so badly.

Richard gently led her over to the running shower and, wrapping his arms around her again, they both stood there with the water running over their heads and rolling down their bodies. Angela felt her chest getting more sensitive as she poked against Richard’s hard pecs in the warm embrace. She was not sure she had ever had a sexier moment than this one. But luckily the cold water helped her curb her ravenous desires.

At least for now…

After they showered off they went back to the hotel to change and get ready for lunch. Richard said he was going to take her to one of his favorite spots in Hawaii for food. She was curious as to if she had ever been there; it was doubtful because when her parents had brought her to Hawaii as a child they ate at the same restaurant almost every night—a Mexican restaurant called Las Cinco Agaves. She may have had the name wrong, but she had not been overly impressed. It was Mexican food, which she loved, but even after eating there three days straight she was getting a bit sick of it. But her father didn’t often like to try new things back then. His response to trying something new was to order a different dish at the same restaurant.

Richard ended up taking her to Roy’s Waikiki. It was the best seafood she had ever tasted. The wait staff were amazing and the décor was beautiful. The food was an adventure of flavor and exquisite style and taste. Richard clearly had a great sensibility when it came to food. She wondered how he managed to stay so slim, especially given his voracious appetite. He ate all of his meal and half of hers when she could not finish it. She figured she probably should have been put off by this, but she was actually impressed and a bit charmed by it all.

“So, what do you have planned next?” Angela asked.

Richard gave her a curious look as if he was trying to decide if she was bluffing during a game of poker. It was dead sexy as he squinted his eyes and interlocked his fingers slowly while tilting his head back as if in deep thought.  She couldn’t help but blush.

“What makes you think I have something else planned?”

“Because I know you and how your devious little mind works,” Angela replied.

“Uh oh. Have I killed the mystery in the relationship already?”

“Not at all. I just can’t wait to see what you have in store next.”

Richard laughed as he continued to eat his dessert.

“Let me ask you, Angela. Do you ever dream?” Richard asked.

Angela paused a moment. She wasn’t sure exactly what he was getting at.

“I do occasionally. Why do you ask?” Angela said.

“I don’t. I haven’t had a dream I can remember in probably ten years. At least I didn’t dream until recently.”

“You mean you started having dreams again out of the blue? What about?”

“I’m not sure what to really make of them. When I’m having the dream it all seems to make perfect logical sense, but when I wake up I feel a bit confused as I can only remember bits and pieces of them. But that isn’t what I’m surprised by. I’ve racked my brain for a long time trying to figure out what it is that has led me to start dreaming again all of a sudden. And I feel that it has to be because of you.”

Angela didn’t know what to say. This was the strangest but possibly most beautiful thing she had ever heard.

“I think that being with you has opened up something in me that I can’t describe and never knew was there before. You have filled my head with a sense of wonder and adventure that I felt I was starting to lose. And I just wanted to thank you for that.”

The tears began to sting her eyes as she tried to speak over her choking sobs. The words he had just spoken to her cut right through the center of her and made her feel like she was more important than she had ever felt in her entire life. No one had ever told her that their life was better just because she was in it.

“That is the most amazing thing that anyone has ever said to me,” Angela said.

“Well, I’m sorry if I got you choked up, but I had to tell you that you make my life better. I can’t remember a time in my life when I felt as stress-free as I have the past few weeks with you. Even with everything happening with Naomi, it helps me to get through the pain of that, just knowing that you are by my side. I just wanted to tell you how much you mean to me. Thank you.”

Richard held Angela’s hand in his and kissed it sweetly as he gazed into her eyes. She was definitely falling harder and harder in love with this amazing man. How had she become so lucky? Where had this gift come from in her life when she needed it most? She didn’t realize that there was a huge gap, a huge hole, missing in her life until it was filled by the love that Richard was giving her.  It was amazing and wonderful and altogether overwhelming at times, but she would not change a second of this ride for one moment.

After lunch, they went shopping in the expensive district of Honolulu. The stores there were immaculate, filled with designs and clothing styles that she had never really seen before. Angela decided to buy as many wonderful treat items as she could. She decided that it was time for her to live a little and that a little self-indulgence wouldn’t do any harm.

When she arrived at the cash register, Richard insisted on paying for everything. She tried to tell him that she would pay for her own things, but being the gentleman that he was, he refused to let her. She felt a bit guilty about allowing him to buy her things, but he was not a man to argue with. He seemed to insist that she get used to him spoiling her and by the end of the afternoon she had made up her mind that she would allow herself to be pampered for a change.

* * *

That night as they were relaxing in front of the large television in the living room of Richard’s huge Hawaiian getaway, Angela’s phone buzzed. She almost didn’t answer because she was too enamored with snuggles with Richard on the couch. Sometimes it felt too good to get up for anything else. But as she checked the caller ID she saw a number that she didn’t recognize. At first, she thought it might be a telemarketer, but after a moment’s thought, she realized it was a New York number and her heart fluttered. It might have been important after all.

“Hello?” Angela said.

“Yes, Angela?” a woman’s voice said on the other end.

“Yes, speaking.”

“This is Madeline Cale. How are you this evening?”

“Oh, Mrs. Cale. I’m doing great. I’ve been expecting your call.”

“Madeline will do fine,” she said.

“Okay, Madeline,” Angela replied. It sounded very businesslike and professional and it made her feel important.

“I’m sure Nick has told you that we are very interested in working with you and I’m calling to set up a shoot if that is something you are interested in.”

Angela felt the huge weight in her bladder pressing hard as she struggled to keep from wetting herself with excitement. She had never been this amped up about something before. It took every cell of concentration in her body to keep her voice smooth and normal.

“Yes, I’d be very interested. What did you have in mind?”

“It would just be a small shoot for starters. We are launching a new line of casual wear and dinnerware. So it would be modeling some clothes like those. Would you be free to do that say, Tuesday afternoon?”

“Oh, that sounds fine. Tuesday would be great,” Angela replied. She thought momentarily about how mad her bosses would be at the firm about her taking another half day so soon after starting, but she had her eyes set on something much bigger and brighter. If they fired her, they fired her. That would just make her life that much easier she felt.

“Wonderful. Then we will email you the details and the location where the shoot will be set up. Please arrive at 1pm for hair, makeup, and wardrobe.”

“I will. Thank you so much,” Angela said. “I can’t believe this!” Her excitement was getting the better of her as she could hardly sit still.

“Believe it; because your life, young lady, is about to change,” Madeline said before she ended the call. Angela thought she could hear the vaguest smile on the other end.

Angela looked at the phone in her hand and then back to Richard in total disbelief. That had just happened. The phone call she had been waiting her whole life to receive had just happened for her. She had just been hired for her first real modeling assignment.

“Good news?” Richard asked with a grin that said he already knew what it was about.

“Yes! That was Madeline Cale. She just hired me for my first photoshoot! I can’t believe it!”

Angela was leaping off the couch and jumping around like a schoolgirl who had just been asked to the big dance by the cutest boy in school and she had to tell all of her girlfriends about it right now so they could tell her how jealous they were and how amazing she was.

“Congratulations!” Richard said, jumping to his feet, sweeping her up in his strong arms, and whirling her around a few times. He finished this off with a kiss as only he could.

“This never would have happened if it weren’t for you. I don’t know how I can ever repay you,” Angela said.

“Hey, I didn’t do anything except put an idea in your head that should have already been there. This is all about you, honey. You deserve it all and I know you are destined to take the world by storm.”

Angela buried her face in his shoulder as he held her tightly. His warm embrace was the perfect thing for her right now to keep her from totally flipping out over the excitement. With so many emotions whirling through her body at once, tears began to erupt and roll down the corners of her eyes and down her cheeks.

“I’m so happy and so proud of you, baby,” Richard said.

“Thank you so much for believing in me when I couldn’t believe in myself,” Angela said as she wiped the tears from her face.

“Oh, baby. I will always believe in you because I can see how amazing you are. I’ve known it for quite some time.”

“Earlier you said that I have made your life better and I’ve enabled you to dream again. Well, you did that for me first, babe,” Angela replied.

Richard kissed her as he pulled her close. His warm, sweet lips were the perfect answer to all of the strong emotions that were pulling at her right then. She didn’t know how she had lived so many years of her life without this amazing man in her corner. It was becoming clear to her that she had no idea the love and the support that she had missed out on. But she would not have forced it earlier if she had known then what she knew now.

Everything happened at the perfect time.