Watching Mina draw was as soothing as watching the birds without the need for binoculars.
Her long, dark curls danced in the wind as her eyes shifted from the ocean to the canvas, from the canvas to the ocean, and back.
The tip of her colored pencils pressed against the canvas back and forth, back and forth, in a crosshatch pattern, sometimes gently, sometimes not, just like the ocean waves.
He loved how their lives intertwined like the lines on her sketchbook, adding depth and beauty.
He watched her cheeks glow a rosy pink under the golden sky. Her cream-colored blouse billowed in the wind.
She smiled as she sketched. Her lips – a soft, smooth magenta pink, and he wanted to kiss her right then.
She took a sip of her coffee, leaving some lipstick behind and interrupted his thoughts.
“What’s your story?” she asked, looking at him with her inquisitive eyes.
Cyan met Jillian in the hallway for their early morning run. She looked sexy in tight- fitting sports attire.
He recalled her knocking on his door late last night while he was satisfying himself and how he told her to go away.
A little embarrassed, he said, “Sorry about last night, I was tired.” “It’s OK, no prob,” she said, turning pink.
Confused at the time, she had called Jess, who had suspected what he would’ve been up to after an unfinished make-out session.
Cyan stretched his arms and legs while enjoying the morning breeze. Jillian followed suit, listening to the music of the ocean waves.
She glanced at Cyan – his hair ruffling in the wind, and she smiled to herself. Doing something she loved with someone she started to love was a beautiful gift.
“I’ll race you,” he said. “You’re on.” Jillian sprinted along the beach, kicking sand behind her.
Cyan watched as she ran gracefully, happily through the sand.
He admired her buttocks moving forward and back, but forced himself to focus on her ponytail instead swinging back and forth like a pendulum. Cyan was hypnotized by her.
Jillian felt electricity shoot through her body, tingling her heart, as Cyan brushed against her arm, catching up to her.
“Hey Beautiful, what are you running from?” he teased. She blushed.
Cyan slowed as they jogged by a juice stand. “Let’s stop here,” he said. Jillian tilted her head in question. “They have the best pineapple juice,” he chirped, like a little kid. Jillian grinned.
Realizing that his pocket was empty, he looked at her sheepishly. “Can you spot me? I forgot my wallet.” Jillian paid for the juices.
He was right. The juice was sweet, magical, refreshing. The liquid slid down her throat, flowed through her veins, and touched her heart. She savored every last drop before they kissed.
Jillian’s heart fluttered like a butterfly, listening to the ringtone as a million thoughts swirled into mind. She needed a soothing voice.
“Hello,” Jess said, “How’s the trip?” Jillian smiled, no longer flustered. “Great, I uh… think I fell in love.”
Jess raised an eyebrow, “At the beach house, while babysitting? Are you sure? Tell me more,” she sang, sitting upright.
“He’s Ted’s brothers close friend.” “How hot?” Jess teased.
Jillian blushed, remembering Cyan’s lips against hers, his rock hard body rocking against hers, his throbbing groin rubbing against hers, separated by cotton jeans.
She sighed… recalling the yearning sensation that burned through her and the self-control she mustered to suppress it.
Jess chuckled, “Fantasizing, are we?” Jillian turned red. “Yes, he’s hot…” “Well, what’s he like?”
“He’s got these deep blue eyes that make me melt into his arms, into his soul. Graceful at sports. Wisdom beyond his years, loves his bike, loves living life, and is adored by kids.
He’s smart and a smart ass. Bold enough to be goofy, bold enough to be sweet, bold enough to truly care, and I get lost in his eyes, in his heart, in his soul, as if I had known him for years instead of days.
I think I’ve fallen in love with a man I barely met, and I’m addicted to his touch.”
“Wow, soulful confession, but I sense a problem.” “He’s leaving in two weeks, back to Europe for school. I’m afraid to fall in love, especially for the first time.”
“Calling me late at night, gushing over a guy, this is a first and I know you’re not stupid. Jill, this is the guy you dreamt about, the one we thought didn’t exist.
You might regret falling in love and getting hurt, but you will definitely regret letting him go, letting go of something magical before it had a chance to start, to shine, to grow.
You’ve never felt like this before, if you let go now, would you want to look back and wonder what might have been?”
A few gentle knocks on the door. She opened it and let him in. “I missed you,” he said, cupping her face in his hands, kissing her tenderly.
She embraced his shoulders, kissing him back, running her fingers through his hair, massaging his neck.
His hands caressed her back. He kissed her lips, her jaws, her neck. Consciously or subconsciously, they made their way towards the bed.
He gently laid her down, her hair spilling onto the pillow. He straddled her, kissing her tenderly on the lips, sometimes coming up for breath.
She removed his button shirt and caressed his arms. He pulled her t-shirt over her head, admiring her brassiere, kissing her on the lips, to the neck, to the chest. She sighed tenderly.
He touched her abs gently. She felt a bulge and a pulse. His hands laid gently on the button of her jeans. She flinched, he stopped.
“I’m sorry, I can’t,” she said. He sighed and whispered, “It’s OK, I didn’t expect… to get this far.”
She sat up, searching his eyes. He smiled, kissing her on the forehead. “Goodnight.”
She watched him leave not knowing what to feel a tightening in her chest.
Standing barefoot on the beach,
wearing a borrowed teal dress,
Jillian felt butterflies in her stomach
as all eyes were watching her.
Seven year old Ted had insisted
she sing “A Whole New World”
in the carefree way she did at home,
only in front of the beach bonfire.
She glanced at Cyan.
His face glowed in the moonlight.
“You’ll do great,” he said.
Ted had insisted
Cyan play Aladdin.
Sam started the music,
his fingers strumming the guitar,
rhythmically, bringing them to the city
of Agrabah.
As if on cue, Cyan reaches out
his arms, towards Jillian. “I can show you the world shining, shimmering, splendid.”
He admires the moonlit rays
shining on her dark, long hair,
illuminating her gentle face. “Tell me, Princess, now when did you last let your heart decide?”
He dances on the sand around her,
barefoot, in his rolled up slacks
and purple button shirt. “I can open your eyes take you wonder by wonder,”
he holds her hands and twirls her. “Over, sideways and under on a magic carpet ride.”
She dances with him.
“A whole new world A new fantastic point of view No one to tell us ‘no’ or where to go or say we’re only dreaming.”
She joins in. “A whole new world a dazzling place I never knew.”
He holds her by the waist
and lifts her towards the sky. “But when I’m way up here, It’s crystal clear that now I’m in a whole new world with you.”
He sets her down, they twirl in the sand.
Cyan and Jillian dance to the music,
with the moonlight as their spotlight
and the stars as their witness,
for a moment, forgetting
the rest of the world. “Unbelievable sights, indescribable feeling, soaring, tumbling, freewheeling through an endless diamond sky.”
As the music comes to an end,
Cyan pulls Jillian close to him. “A whole new world.” “A whole new world,” she repeats. “That’s where we’ll be,” he sings. “That’s where we’ll be,” she echoes.
He pushes her out with his hand,
she twirls away. “A thrilling chase.”
She twirls back in. “A wondrous place.”
Holding her close and meeting her gaze, “For you and me,”
they finished together.
Every so often, I will take a break from our main characters, Cyan & Jillian, and focus on some of their friends. This week, we will witness a special moment shared by Sam & Rachel.
Sam & Rachel: The Proposal
Painting at the beach was Cyan’s idea. Proposing to Rachel was Sam’s secret.
Sam felt the weight of the box inside his pocket. He knew the weight of her happiness was in his hands. He continued to paint.
With a simple brush stroke of white paint, Sam highlighted the sparkle in the ring just before Cyan approached his piece of work.
Fidgeting in place, Sam felt Rachel’s eyes of curiosity burn through his back. He felt dizzy from the afternoon sun.
“And Sam, here, has painted a lovely scene at the beach,” said Cyan. “Soft blue ocean waves cascading onto the sand. A beautiful young woman in a violet dress standing next to her beau. He’s down on one knee…” Cyan pauses in realization.
Rachel’s heart skips a beat. Sam moves aside so that she could see the painting. A gasps escapes her lips as she covers her face.
He reveals a jewelry box and gets down on one knee. The box opened ever so slowly. Rachel felt like a little girl presented with candy. The diamond sparkled brightly in mid-day sun casting light rays and rainbows on the white sand beach.
Sam speaks, “I remember hearing the most beautiful laughter the morning of my exam. I searched all over for the owner of that voice. When I finally found her, I was taken by her beauty and poise.
Rachel, you are perfection in my eyes. Wisdom, compassion, beauty, confidence with humility. You brighten my day with your presence. You make me a wiser, more tender man.
I am in love with the sparkle in your soul
and forever want to be by your side. Rachel, will you marry me?”
“Yes, yes, yes!” she exclaimed as tears streamed down her face. He slipped the ring onto her finger and she threw herself into his arms. The heat from the sun warmed their hearts.
He handed her the painting, the one he did this afternoon. “This is for you,” he said, as he waltzed back to his room.
A night time scene at the beach. A little boy and a little girl cuddled together, watching the moonlight dance across the ocean and the stars twinkle in the dark blue sky.
Multiple flashlights illuminated colored glass bottles of different shapes and sizes against a big ocean rock. Red, blue, purple, green, yellow danced in the shadow like the Aurora Borealis.
It was a magical scene, so gentle, so touching, like music to the eyes. She smiled and held the painting against her chest, to her heart, as she remembered him and her at the beach that night.
Images from Google – composite done by Jenuine Inspiration (me)
Follow their love story here. Poems will be posted weekly.
She didn’t know why she agreed to the kiss, spontaneity, maybe. She didn’t know what she should expect as he leaned in close. She smelled the scent of the sand, the ocean and the beach.
Her heart skipped a beat as she felt his breath against her cheek. His lips met hers, soft and gentle, like the ocean breeze.
Closing her eyes, she breathed in… He leaned in… closer. His body inches from hers, her body against the wall. She melted into his arms.
For a moment, it was as if they had disappeared into another world where no one was watching, not a tree, not a bird, not a soul.
He pulled back gently, both of them in a daze. He blinked, setting down her suitcase and cracking a smile, as if nothing had happened. “Here’s your room,” he said.
~ image from Google
Follow their love story here. Poems will be posted weekly.