Before them, the sun was just hitting the horizon. Purple, red, orange, and yellow rays spread across the sky, and the few clouds turned a shade of pink. “It’s beautiful,” Madeleine breathed after staring at it for a few minutes.
“I know something else that’s beautiful, and she’s right next to me,” Nick whispered in her ear. “So you like it?”
“Of course I do! Nick, this is the best birthday I’ve ever had. Thank you so much.”
“Madeleine, you don’t have to thank me. I enjoyed doing this for you more than you could imagine.” He paused. “There goes the sun.”
“I suppose we have to go back to shore so we can drive back to Orlando,” she groaned.
“Nope. That’s the best part. We’re staying the night here, just you and me.”
She grinned. “Awesome! Wait, I don’t have any spare clothes.”
“Oops…I knew I forgot something. I’m sorry. You can just wear my clothes to bed and my sister left a few outfits here that you can borrow.”
“She won’t mind?”
“Of course not. One of these days, you can actually meet my family. They would love you.”
“Maybe next time we have off, we can go see them.”
“Okay.”
They talked for another two hours before finally going back to Nick’s house. He pulled up next to the dock and tied the boat up before helping her onto the pier.
As they got to the beach, they heard a distant song playing: “Truly Madly Deeply” by Savage Garden. It was coming from a party next door. “Would you like to dance?” he asked shyly.
“You asked that like I might say no,” she giggled, taking his outstretched hand and leaning her head on his chest. No one spoke through the whole song, and she listened to his steady heartbeat. How romantic could he be? There they were, dancing to a love song on the beach behind his house, after dinner on the ocean and watching the sunset from a boat. No other guy would have done something like that for her.
When the song finally ended, Nick found his voice. “I had a great time tonight,” he said.
“I did, too. You’re amazing.”
“No, I’m just in love.”
They stared into each other’s eyes, and Nick lowered his lips to hers. He ran his tongue along her lips before she opened them. After a few minutes, he picked her up and carried her into the house and up to his bedroom. “Do you have protection?” she whispered into his mouth, not even breaking the kiss. He whipped out a condom from his wallet and lay her down on the bed.