When the beach came into view, Jasmine took off her leather sandals and skipped over to the sand, digging her toes into the warm, rough texture. She’d forgotten her sunglasses and her tanning lotion in the house, but she wasn’t too bothered. She took in a deep breath of the scent of the sea and kept walking. She had to raise her hand to shade her eyes, but she could see a handful of people lazing around and a few kids chasing each other. This is the life, she said to herself and smiled. It wasn’t hard to see why her grandfather had picked this town as his annual getaway.
When she came closer to the water she sat down, folding her legs in front of her and placing her head on her knees, letting the sun seep into her skin and relax the tenseness in her muscles after spending so many hours cleaning. A few feet away, a man was lying on a beach towel, his face facing the sun. He had definitely come prepared for sunbathing; his dark glasses shielded his eyes from the sun, while a book lay open and forgotten on his chest. He seemed to be much older than she, although Jasmine found herself admiring his sculpted body. His tanned skin was smooth; the muscles on his shoulders and abdomen looked effortless, as though he was involved in hard physical labor on a daily basis. His bare chest was covered in a spray of dark curly hair. Jasmine jerked her head away when she saw him shifting in his spot; she wasn’t sure if he’d seen her staring at him behind his dark glasses.
She went back to admiring the view until she was uncomfortable with the silence again. Her days spent having loud and endless conversations with five-year-olds had put her in the habit of talking incessantly. She tried clearing her throat to get his attention, but he didn’t budge.
“Lovely day,” she finally said, loud enough for him to hear. She could see that he tilted his head in her direction, but he didn’t say anything in response.
“The sun never seems to set here,” she said, trying again for conversation. This time she said it directly to him and continued looking at him, forcing him into a response.
“Yup,” was his short and succinct reply. Jasmine smiled, she had her ‘in’. She dragged her bottom in the sand and wiggled over closer to him.
“Are you on a holiday as well?” she asked him, pasting a bright smile on her face. She could sense that he was studying her, even though his eyes were hidden behind his dark glasses. He didn’t respond for a few seconds, but Jasmine continued to stare and smile. He finally seemed to let out a sigh, pulling his glasses off his face. His sparkling, yet piercing blue eyes took Jasmine by surprise. They were focused directly and narrowly on her face and she couldn’t help but look away, embarrassed.
“No,” he said after what seemed like too much time. Jasmine looked back at him, gave him a weak smile and turned her face away again. She knew his eyes were still on her, making her feel naked and exposed for some reason.
“You’re clearly on one,” he said after a few moments. Jasmine looked back at him and tried to nod and smile.
“Yeah. Sort of,” she said and unconsciously licked her lips. Without the large glasses covering his face, she could now see his rugged sharp jaw lines clearly. He was clean shaven, while his thick, greying hair was neatly cut and brushed back. He hadn’t taken his eyes off her, and Jasmine was growing increasingly uncomfortable under his glare.
“So you live here? That must be lovely,” she finally said, hoping to distract him from studying her so keenly. He smiled suddenly, and her heart nearly stopped. His slim lips stretched broadly, and a boyish sparkle made his eyes shine even more brightly. Jasmine couldn’t help but smile back; even though she wasn’t entirely sure what they were smiling for.
“It is indeed,” he said eventually and in one quick motion placed his glasses back on the bridge of his nose again and picked up his book.
“What are you reading there?” she asked before she could stop herself.
“Ulysses and Us,” is all he said and offered no other explanation or illuminating insight into a book, which for all he knew Jasmine might be interested in. He didn’t even look away from the page he was concentrating on.
“Ah, Joyce!” Jasmine said, trying to drag the conversation on a little further.
“About Joyce,” he corrected gruffly. She could see that his brows were scrunched above his glasses. She bit down on her lip and decided to leave him alone, even though she had no idea what she had done to offend him. She turned around to face the sea again, although she remained in the same spot, a few feet away from this man she couldn’t stop stealing glances at from the corner of her eye.
“Have you read Ulysses?” she was surprised to hear his voice and turned around. He was looking at her with a smirk on his face, his glasses were off again. For an older mature man, he sure couldn’t make up his mind.
“I tried and failed three times over; now it’s only a doorjamb,” she said, trying to make a joke. It obviously didn’t impress him, but he still smiled.
“You’ll get there. I don’t think I managed to finish it before I was thirty-five myself and haven’t been able to stop thinking about it since,” this sudden softening of his tone took Jasmine by surprise, a pleasant surprise that made her heart skip a beat. The fact that he was willing to have an actual conversation with her made her self-conscious and she held her head up higher than usual.
“Do you read for pleasure or is it connected in some way to your work?” she tried to further the conversation and turned her body to face him again. He laughed at that and she liked the sound of it, it had a sort of wise and self-assured tone to it.
“I wish my avocation was my vocation. No, our family business kept me busy during my youth but now I seem to have more time on my hands for reading,” he said and smiled. Jasmine didn’t know if these references to his age were purposeful on his part or not, but she couldn’t stop herself from flicking her hair behind her shoulder. She was immediately aware that it might have been too obvious a flirtatious move on her part, but thankfully there was no change of expression on his face.
“What about you?” he asked, and she told him in brief about her life as a kindergarten teacher.
“That is very interesting,” he said immediately after she had finished. “My family, or whatever is left of it, runs a private school in Bloomingshire,” he said and Jasmine raised her eyebrow.
“Wait. You own Mornmouth House School?” Jasmine’s jaw almost dropped. She didn’t know many people personally who went to that school, but you would have to be living under a rock not to have heard of it. He only smiled in response. Jasmine licked her lips as she watched him return his attention to the book. He caught her looking when he suddenly turned his gaze to her and Jasmine dropped her eyes, embarrassed.
“What is an attractive young woman like you doing teaching kindergarten?” he asked and the word “attractive” was enough to make Jasmine blush like a school girl.
“That’s exactly what my mother says, well, not in exactly those words.” Jasmine didn’t want to meet his eyes; she could sense that they were on her.
“Not that there’s no nobility in it,” he added, and she looked at him; her cheeks were burning up, and it had nothing to do with the sun. He didn’t shy away from looking at her when their eyes met. He had a smirk on his face and he seemed to be drinking in her features. She was hoping it was more than general curiosity.
“I’m Marvin Byrne,” he said suddenly as he turned a page in the book. He didn’t look at her when he said this, but Jasmine couldn’t help but smile.
“I’m Jasmine. Jasmine Kiberd,” she said cheerily and stuck out her hand towards him. He just seemed like the kind of person who liked to shake hands. He apparently didn’t, though. He was looking at her again from behind his glasses, his book was still in his hands, not making a motion to accept the handshake at all. Instead he said, “I see,” and stood up suddenly.
Jasmine couldn’t help but look surprised as she watched him bend down and bunch up the towel from the sand and then start walking away. He didn’t look back at her or exchange parting words. She remained sitting, with her mouth hanging slightly open as she watched him walking away from her. His loose blue trunks outlined the sinews on his thighs as he took each step.
I see? I see! Who says that! Jasmine was screaming inside her head.