Author's Note: Those of you who know me know my adoptive heritage is Irish and Italian. The name Devin originates from old Gaelic, meaning poet or bard. I used this name because my inspiration is a Poet at heart.
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"Shit" she took off her glasses, rubbed her eyes and glanced at the clock. She had been writing and came across a picture he had sent her once and in the end wound up staring at the screen of her laptop for quite some time, getting nothing further accomplished. How was it that someone she had never personally met had such an affect on her? She looked at his picture again, closed it down and sighed.
He would not be her typical choice for a possible boyfriend, lover, fuck buddy, or whatever. As a matter of fact had she passed him on the street she would have just walked by, maybe smiled and not given him a second thought. He was tall, blonde haired, blue-eyed, the all American boy next door. Aside from the tall he wasn't her type at all. Her tastes normally fell into the tall, dark and handsome range. In looks at least, he was the polar opposite of most of the men that had flitted in and out of her life.
Not that he wasn't cute...he was actually quite adorable. He had a smile that drew an answering smile from her lips, and a shock of thick blonde hair, the kind she loved to run her fingers through. If she closed her eyes she could almost feel those silky strands sliding sensuously in her hand. And his eyes, sighing again, his eyes were like the ocean, she imagined they would change colors depending on what he wore on a particular day. Like the sea, she guessed they would also range from stormy blue to a deep sapphire in conjunction with his moods.
But it wasn't his looks that made him attractive to her; as a matter of fact she had liked him before she had ever seen his picture. It was his personality, his relaxed manner, his love of life that really drew her to him. He had the same "take me as I am or screw you" mind-set she had. They talked at length about everything and nothing. Their life philosophies were almost identical; their attitudes on relationships and people were strikingly similar. They had so many commonalities, sometimes it was eerie.
It wasn't only those things; it was his ability to easily make her laugh and smile. She swore he could get the pope to laugh in the middle of a homily...that is how comfortable he seemed in any situation. Plus, he loved tequila just like she did. How could she not like someone that loved tequila...shaking her head...funny...of all the places to meet him...an erotic chat site. Chuckling to herself she could only imagine what her friends and family would say if they knew.
Not that she ever expected she would meet him, he lived halfway across the world, but she wouldn't turn down the opportunity if it ever presented itself. It would be nice just to have dinner and chat with him face to face, to have a long conversation, hear his voice and be able to look into his eyes and see his smile in person instead of on a picture.
Sighing she got up from the desk and decided it was time to get dressed and face the real world. She slid the lavender silk robe off her petite body and pulled on a pair of black yoga pants. The pants were slung low on the waist and curled over her heels, allowing only her toes to peek through. She shook her head and laughed...if only she were a few inches taller. She dragged on a pink camisole and a white, side wrap ballet sweater to top off the outfit, it was her typical dress when she didn't have to go anywhere special. Twisting her dark, shoulder length hair on top of her head, she clipped it, blew the unruly strands off her face and perched her glasses on her nose..time to start her reading for the day.
She sat down lotus style on the bed and started flipping through her piles of research.
"Jesus I hate this crap!" she grumbled as she pulled her glasses off and threw the papers back down.
She would rather be anywhere else than stuck here in her apartment. It was a gorgeous day out. She glanced at her laptop but knew he wouldn't be on for a few days. He was traveling for pleasure but she had no idea where. All she knew was that he wouldn't have access to the Internet until he got back home.
She padded, bare footed, over to the window, luxuriating in the rays of summer sun that streamed in, warming her, before she gazed down at the street below. Everyone was rushing around. It seemed this city was always in a hurry, herself included. Giving up any attempt to finish her work she slung her camera over her shoulder, pushed her feet into a pair of flip-flops and headed for the door.
"Screw it, it's a beautiful day out"
She walked out her front door, never looking back as she made her way to her favorite beach to shoot some black and white photos of the surf, sand and whatever else caught her eye.
As always the sight of the waves lapping at the sand took her breath away. She gazed into the soothing blue waters and was immediately reminded of his eyes. It always struck her as odd...the little things that reminded her of him. Sighing with pleasure she kicked off her Reefs and dug her toes into the tiny crystals of sun-warmed sand, wiggling them to feel the grains rub against the soles of her feet.
Sitting down on the beach, she wiggled her toes again and let out a small sound of pleasure. It was like a massage...she loved massages. Massages....she remembered the last conversation they had. They never "cybered" only chatted. But during the last chat he had written about massaging her feet and calves, and the way he described it...wow...she swore she could feel his hands relaxing her tense muscles as her eyes scanned his words. Just thinking about that conversation brought chills to her spine.
She would miss talking to him while he was gone. Every time he logged onto IM she couldn't help but grin trying to imagine what kind of shit he was going to give her that day. She wondered what exotic locale he was at right now...it seemed he was always jet-setting somewhere tropical or remote or both. She supposed he was somewhere warm right now sitting on a beach like she was. Picking up her camera, she stood, adjusted the lens and the light meter and started clicking away.
Panning her Nikon around she remembered joking about how she would love to use him as a model for her pictures. Capturing his eyes alone would be a work of art if she could get the right angle and lighting. She had warned him that it would take forever...she was extremely picky about her photographs...which she supposed is why no one wanted to sit still for her.
She stopped mid-pan as she spotted a lone, fellow wave watcher sitting on the retaining wall...gazing out at the water. She couldn't guess how many times she had sat in that exact same spot hypnotized by the ebb and flow of the waves as they crashed on the rocks below. The sea and sky framed him perfectly, as if begging to be captured in a photo. He looked so peacefully meditative she hoped she wouldn't disturb him by taking his picture.
Pulling out her zoom lens and attaching it, she focused on her subject. Thankfully he didn't seem to notice her standing there snapping his image. As the lens closed in on him she noted he looked vaguely familiar. Zooming in even more, she gasped as she dropped the camera from her hands, not even conscious of it swaying back and forth on her neck.
"It can't be..." she whispered.
She stared at him for another minute, absorbing his image, locking it into her memory like a snapshot. She scanned him from head to toe. Watched the sun's reflection play off his hair and turn it into spun gold. His crisp white button down shirt was untucked...relaxed and hung over his jean clad thighs. He was as barefooted as she was. Grinning, she thought he looked like the perfect beach bum.
Dragging her eyes off his form, she looked around. It was at that moment she realized her favorite beach was close to the high-rise condos he had lived in for a while...that was another commonality..they had lived in a couple of the same cities at different times. She wondered if she should approach him...after all he hadn't told her he was coming to her hometown. Maybe he didn't want to meet in person...perhaps he liked the anonymity of the net.
She shrugged to herself and chuckled. What the hell, she was always a girl who took chances, she had nothing to lose. Walking barefooted in the sand, silver toe rings glinting in the sun, she strode up to where he was sitting and lightly tapped him on the shoulder.
"Devin ....is that you?
He looked up and chuckled, "I was wondering if you would ever notice me"
His voice was like aged bourbon...smooth with a soft undertone, leaving that same tingling warmth.
Gathering her senses she looked at him askance, "What....You knew that was me on the beach? But how did you even know I would be here?"
"Well babe...you did tell me this was your favorite beach and it is gorgeous outside..I thought I would take a gamble" he smiled.
His smile was absolutely adorable, so boyishly charming. She couldn't help but smile back. It was better in person than she had ever imagined, like a warm sultry breeze on a summer's evening.
"Why..."
His finger to her lips cut off the question.
"I didn't tell you because I wanted to surprise you...make it a more natural meeting."
His finger traced her mouth, tantalizing her as it lazily lingered on the bottom lip. He was so close to her she kept catching whiffs of his cologne. It smelled slightly spicy but clean and crisp like the sea...the perfect scent for him. He leaned into her and embraced her, resting his cheek on the top of her head as she wrapped her arms around him. He smiled as he caught the scent in her hair.
