It had been one of those perfect days at the beach. Everyone had swam and surfed, laid in the sun, and enjoyed the cookout. The weather had been warm and sunny but not too hot. Now, everyone had packed up and left for home. I didn't mind cleaning up after these get togethers I hosted throughout the summer. I figured it was part of the package when you owned a beachfront home.
Plus, I loved this time of day as the sun prepared to sink beneath the horizon. I could sit here in the sand watching the sky as the sunset bathed it in swaths of fading yellow, blossoming orange, and deepening red until the purple black of twilight erased the brilliant display. Then, to watch the moon ascend a cool, lemon pale orb glowing against the velvet night as it reflects in the glistening, shifting waves below it. I delight in the twinkling wink of each distant star as it blinks into view looking like diamonds set against the tapestry of the night sky.
I shivered as the loss of the sun and the breeze off the ocean rapidly cooled the beach, snapping me from my reverie. It was time to call it a day and head inside. As I rose, I heard a voice speak quietly from the darkness, "I was hoping you would still be out here. I know how much you enjoy the beach at night."
Startled, I turned around and found myself face to face with my neighbor, Vann. I had always found him very attractive. He was tan with a great body from surfing. And, he wasn't the stereotypical blond beach bum but had charcoal black hair that he kept very short. I usually avoided him because he was totally out of my league and married. Plus, whenever we talked I got so tongue tied, he had to have thought I was slow mentally. The truth is seeing him and his tattooed body always sent my mind reeling as I imagined tracing his tattoos with my tongue. Why was he here?