Chapter 10
“Ready to go for a swim?” Christina asked excitedly, as she slipped off her shorts and tossed her shirt into a heap beside Esmeralda.
“Are you sure the water is warm?” Esmeralda looked at the water, skeptically.
“Once you get used to it, it’ll be great.” Christina grinned as she ran towards the water. She stood there for a moment, her arms stretched out, and her eyes closed in absolute rapture.
She dipped her toe into the water and shrieked. “The water is great.”
Esmeralda crossed her arms over her chest and eyed Christina speculatively. “Yeah, right. Is that why you were shrieking just now? I don’t believe you, Chris.”
Christina stuck her tongue out at Esmeralda before she turned and splashed into the water. Esmeralda could see the ripples as she moved deeper and deeper into the water.
Her head surfaced a while later, and she waved at Esmeralda as she waved back. She made a movement with her hand before her face broke out into an even bigger grin.
Esmeralda turned around and saw Jack standing there waving at Christina. Esmeralda gave him a small wave as he walked over to her. He had stripped down to his boxer swimsuits, but he kept eyeing the water as if it was some sort of specimen he needed to study.
“You’re not going to go in?”
“Probably later.”
Jack nodded as he took a deep breath. “I’m not a big fan of squishy stuff touching my body, but it’s now or never. Here it goes.”
He splashed into the water, and Esmeralda ducked to the side as a wave water nearly drenched her. She shook her head in amusement as she watched Jack swim over to Christina.
They smiled as they spotted next to each other. Christina motioned that Esmeralda should come, but Esmeralda shrugged and pointed at her watch.
She wanted to give Christina some alone time with Jack, and this would also give her a chance to catch up on some reading. She had recently brought this book called Serena by Ron Rash. A friend from work had recommended it, and even though she found it hard to relate to the heroine who, in her opinion, seemed strangely cool and calculating even in situations where compassion is needed, she was determined to push through and finish it.
Esmeralda headed back to the beach and made a makeshift pillow out of her sweater, and Christina’s clothes. She fluffed them up and laid them behind her back as she kicked off her flip flops.
She took her time lathering sunscreen on her arms, legs, chest and face. After she was done, she took off her shirt and tossed it to the side revealing a black and white one piece. She slipped her sunglasses on, crossed one leg over the other and cracked her book open and began to read.
An hour later, she felt a huge shadow blocking the sun. She frowned as she moved her back a little to catch the angle of the sun once more, but the outline seemed to move with her.
She sighed as she looked up at the figure. “Do you mind you’re blocking my—“ She trailed off as she took in the sight of Daniel standing there in his swim trunks, his tan chest gleaming in the sun as sweat rolled off of his abs.
Esmeralda swallowed audibly as she realized she was still wearing her sunglasses which meant she could check him out and not worry about turning red if he caught her. She admired the smooth plans of his stomach, his taut muscles, and the smattering of hair on his stomach especially the ones around the V shaped area that led straight to his happy trail.
“I don’t mind you getting in my way,” he teased as he threw his towel next to her. He sat down next to her and gave her a winning smile.
“Um, Daniel?”
“Yeah?”
“What are you doing here?”
“Christina sent me over.” Daniel shrugged as he began to apply sunscreen all over his body.
“Christina?” Esmeralda echoed, confusion lacing her tone. She took a peek at Christina who gave her a thumbs up and made a shooing gesture.
“What exactly did she tell you?”
Daniel sighed as he met her gaze. “She made some very valid albeit forceful points. I know that she’s right, that we can’t keep doing this little dance of ours, not so long as my decision remains the same. The truth is my life might be easier without having to put in effort to maintain a relationship, but is by no means happier, and I know you deserve so much better than me.”
“But?” She tasted bile in throat as she realized that she didn’t want to relive their breakup all over again, but realizing that she might have no choice.
“But nothing…”
Daniel paused as he tore his gaze away from hers. “Esmeralda, the truth is, I wasn’t entirely truthful. The reason I broke up with you is because I knew I wouldn’t have enough time for you, that part was true, but there’s something else I didn’t say.”
He took a deep breath. “The truth is I discovered I have a daughter right after New Year’s, and that’s why I started acting weird. I didn’t know how to handle it, and I didn’t want to put you through that mess while I sorted through everything.”
Esmeralda began to chew on her bottom lip as she went through everything in her head. Backtracking as she wondered how she could’ve possibly missed the signs. She decided to sit on the ground as she processed knowing that Daniel had actually made what he thought was the right decision at the time, but he should’ve trusted her more than that.
“I don’t know what the right choice is here, but I do know that right here, with you, there’s no place I’d rather be, so how about we spend the day together, and take it day by day? I know it’s a lot to take in, and maybe way more than you signed up for, so I’ll understand if you no longer want to be with me, but I should’ve realized that you wouldn’t walk away from me for that.”
“Yeah, you should’ve,” she said weakly as she tried to picture Daniel as a father.
“How old is she?” Esmeralda finally asked.
“She’s sixteen,” he replied quietly.
“Wow,” Esmeralda breathed. The age difference between her and his daughter wasn’t that huge.
“Okay,” she said finally.
Daniel’s eyes widened in surprise. “Really?”
“Really. I’m not sure if I know how to deal with you having a daughter, Daniel. This isn’t what I thought you were hiding, but I want to be with you, more than anything else. I think in time, I’ll even learn to get used to it.”
Daniel gave her a wide smile before he leaned in and kissed her. “You’ve just made me the happiest man alive.”
“Great, so um, yeah, do you want me to put sunscreen on your back?” he asked, a devilish grin on his face.
Esmeralda chuckled. “Any excuse you can get to touch me, eh?”
“Always,” he responded as he helped her lather her back. He began to stroke her back muscles as he if he was plucking guitar strings, and it was sending her nerves into overload.
She bit down on her bottom lip hard. “I think we’d better stop now, or else these people are going to have a front row seat to a show they don’t particularly want to see.”
Daniel leaned in to whisper in her ear. “I’m just getting started.” He stood up and held out his hand to Esmeralda who took it without hesitating.
They ran towards the water and stopped at the edge. Daniel waddled in first, and when Esmeralda took too long to follow, he began to splash her with water.
She screeched as the cold water made contact with her body. After Daniel made multiple attempts to get her into the water, it was the threat of him coming out to hug her while he was dripping wet that got her to jump right in.
She sucked in a huge gulp of air as she kicked for the surface a few minutes later. The water was warmer than she had originally imagined, and she gave Daniel a sly smile as she splashed him.
He wiped the water out of his eyes as he shook his hair.
“It’s on Dunbey.”
“Bring it, Austin.”
They began chasing each other around the water, each trying to dunk the other person until it was well past the afternoon.
They finally got out a while later, their skin like prunes as they giggled like love-struck teenagers. They headed to their respective tents after a quick hug and a promise to meet for lunch later.
After lunch, they got into their hiking gear and prepared to climb Saint Catherine, so they could see the sunset from the top.
Daniel kept a close eye on her the entire time to make sure she was okay, and once they made their way to the top, they watched as the sun bathed the world in its eerie effervescent glow. Their hands interlocked as Esmeralda leaned her head on his shoulder, and Daniel wrapped his arm around her waist.
As they made their way down later, Daniel pulled her in and buried his face in her hair. “Come by my tent later?”
Esmeralda nodded shyly as she pulled back and made her way to the tent. She began to feel the butterflies flutter in her stomach as she rummaged around her bag for something sexy to water.
Christina stepped into the tent a while later and smirked. “I’m glad to see you two lovebirds have figured things out.”
“We’re trying, at least. Chris,” Esmeralda sighed in frustration. “I have nothing sexy to wear. I wish I had packed some lingerie or something, but I mean it’s not like I thought this was going to happen.”
Christina sat down. “Luckily for you. I had the foresight to intervene just a little. Check the front pocket of your bag.”
Esmeralda found a sexy pair of black underwear with red lace on the top, and a pink and black lacy bra. She gave Christina a big hug as she changed into them before throwing on a hoodie, her parka and a pair of sweats. She shoved her legs into a pair of boots and tossed a quick ‘Thank you’.
Christina laughed. “You’re welcome.”
Esmeralda practically sprinted to Daniel’s tent where she stood for a moment, unsure of whether she should just walk right in. Before she could decide, Daniel had zipped the tent open and smiled at her.
“Hey,” he said quietly.
“Hey, yourself.”
He stepped aside to let her in. She slowly stepped in, and as soon the zipper went up, they both threw themselves into each other’s arms and began to kiss each other with an unparalleled frenzy.
Daniel groaned in the back of his throat as he pushed Esmeralda backwards. When her back hit the back of the tent, they both slowly moved to the floor, never once removing their lips.
The sound of their labored breathing intermingled with their sighs as their hands explored every inch of available skin.
Esmeralda arched her back as she dug her nails into Daniel’s back. He moaned against her lips as his hands traveled down her sweater. They rested on top of her bra where he lightly pressed his fingertips until Esmeralda began to moan in impatience.
Her hands began to move down until they snuck underneath the hem of his hoodie. She tore her lips away from his and eagerly helped him out of his hoodie as he eagerly helped her out of hers.
Their lips collided once more as Esmeralda wrapped her legs around Daniel’s waist. He pressed himself into her core, and they both whimpered at the contact. Their hips began to gyrate against each other until they were both frantic with desire.
Daniel kicked off his hoodie, and he impatiently helped Esmeralda out of hers. His fingers began to trail lightly over her stomach until they found their way to her panties. Her breath hitched in her throat as his fingers dipped inside and found her bundle of nerves. She dug her teeth into his shoulder as he began to push in and out of her, building a temp until she cried out in pleasure.
Coming off of her high, Esmeralda leaned between them and cupped Daniel. She bit down on his lips, and she took advantage of his momentary distraction to slip his boxers off, so that his erection sprang free.
Daniel froze as he pulled back and stared at her. “Esmeralda,” he said her name softly, “before we continue, I need you to know something.” He met her gaze squarely. “I don’t ever want to lose you again. You have to know that I won’t ever leave you again. I will fight for you, no matter what happens because you are worth it. You’re everything I’ve ever wanted.”
Esmeralda pressed her lips to his for a soft kiss. “You’ll always have me,” she said simply as he lowered himself into her. He reached behind her back to undo her clasp, and as soon as her breasts swung free, he took one nipple into his mouth and began to suck and bite until Esmeralda was writhing in pleasure. He began to fondle the other breast then he switched his attention.
Esmeralda began to wriggle her hips in impatience until Daniel smiled against her breasts and thrust into her. They both moaned at the contact as Daniel pulled out of her then thrust into her again. It was slow at first, building up a steady pace until the tempo increased, and they both came together in Earth shattering clarity.
When they were done, they both curled up towards each other as Daniel reached over and wrapped a huge blanket over the both of them, and they drifted off in each other’s arms.
THE END