Chapter 4
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Nick�s POV Having had a wonderful breakfast at the buffet Allison and I headed for the beach. I was full of energy, having slept superbly. I couldn�t help but wonder if Ally had slept as peacefully or if she�d been dreaming again. I had discovered that the tropical climate did fantastic things to my partner�s wardrobe. For example, this morning she was wearing a tank top which left a strip of skin visible over the hem of her pareo. Of course, in order to swim, she�d have to wear a bathing suit. Now that was a happy thought. My partner glanced at me and, upon seeing my grin, arched an eyebrow, �You look like the cat that swallowed the canary.� She observed, flipping a lock of hair that had fallen form her loose ponytail off of her forehead. �Just excited about getting in the water�� I fibbed. �Well, you enjoy your swim flyboy,� She replied as we reached the sand. �I have some serious tanning to do.� �You�re not coming in with me?� I asked, somewhat surprised. Ally shook her head. I was absolutely crushed that I wouldn�t be granted the opportunity to ogle my partner in her swimwear. Of course I couldn�t admit the reason for my disappointment without risking bodily harm. I scanned quickly through my mind for something, ANYTHING, to say other than �pretty please strip down to an itsy bitsy teeny weenie (yellow polka-dot) bikini.� Finally tearing my mind away from the mental images bombarding it (all of which were set to the tune of that a certain song), I decided that the best defense was a good offense. �What�s the point of paying for a hotel on the beach if you�re not going to swim?� Ha! Explain that! And considering what was going through my head *miles of smooth pale Ally-leg exposed* all to the tune of I was rather proud that I�d managed to put together a coherent sentence. Allison hadn�t noticed my distraction (or if she had, she was doing an excellent job of hiding the knowledge while indubitably planning a painful revenge on me for my impure thoughts) and her reply was as calm and sensible as usual. �I like the sound of the waves. Besides,� she continued with a shrug, �You love to swim and this is your birthday.� I couldn�t deny it. Swimming in the ocean is always wonderful and it brings back fond memories of long ago summers on Vancouver Island. Hopefully the water here would be warmer though� Unable to think of another argument I watched (alright, I stared, but there was no drool involved no matter what anyone says!) as Ally flopped over on her towel. She was in her happy tanning place now, and I knew from experience that she would pay me no more attention. After a final perusal of the familiar delicate features, relaxed, happy, and bathed in golden sunlight, I stripped down to my bathing suit and headed off to do some body surfing. No sense wasting such marvelously high waves. Ally�s POV I cracked my eyes open as I heard Dominic�s footsteps receding down the beach. The view was greatly improved by the loss of his t-shirt. Not that it wasn�t a nice t-shirt, but the body revealed when it was removed was much better. Dominic has a perfectly toned torso (I like to think that I�m partially responsible). He�s muscled, but not in an �I�ll be back� macho-man type way. I know first hand how strong he is and I love the fact that it isn�t immediately obvious that he is. He�s long and lean, tanned to a perfect golden brown, and he�s all mine. To ensure that the other bikini clad beauties on the beach were aware of that, I shot a possessive glance at Nick, and a withering stare at the other women who were looking interested. I had told Nick that I had to do some tanning, but that didn�t limit me to lying in the sun. Women are built multi-taskers. I think it comes from years of evolution where it was necessary to cook, and clean without ever losing sight of the children. I come from a family of very talented women. My mother had 5 rug-rats and looking after us never prevented her from accomplishing everything she set out to do. So, while I�m getting slightly off-topic, the point of this whole spiel is that tanning is not going to prevent me from staring as the my lover (nope, that�s not right yet) as my partner darted about the swimming area at the mercy of the waves. Nick�s POV It was the most exhilarating feeling to surrender complete control of my body to the power of the waves. I was thrown forward, yanked back, flipped and twisted. The speed was incredible. It was like being on a natural rollercoaster. A little over an hour later, the novelty was starting to wear off. My eyes, nose, and throat stung from the abuse caused by the salt water. My body was battered and bruised from being bashed against the ocean floor. Wearily, I dragged myself out of the water. I looked at Ally, who, in the hour I�d been gone had moved only to turn over, ensuring that her back was the same honey brown shade as her front. Hmmm� Maybe the water would seem more welcoming if I had company. The company didn�t even have to be willing� After all, I pick her up every day at work. How hard could it be to carry Ally from her towel to the water and drop her in? Alternatively, I could just go over and give her a big wet hug. Then she could share in my misery. I trudged up the beach towards my dozing partner, still trying to make a decision. It would be undeniably entertaining to see her expression when she met with the cold water. On the other hand, Mexico would be pretty lonely if my roommate stopped speaking to me. I sighed, as the more logical part of my brain won out. I stretched my own beach towel out next to her and lay down. �Good choice� Allison muttered without opening her eyes. I reflected for awhile on whether or not it was possible she really had known what I was considering. It was infinitely more likely that she�d been referring to something entirely different. She didn�t know me well enough to predict the train of my thoughts with that much accuracy, did she? I was saved from overanalyzing that simple statement when I noticed a faint pink tinge on my partner�s creamy shoulders. �Oh Allison,� I sing-songed, �Your tan is morphing into a burn.� That got her attention. There are few things Ally hates more than her skin peeling. �Let�s go inside.� Ally suggested, unable to hide the desperation in her voice. I for one was glad to comply. The salt drying on my skin was beginning to itch and the thought of a shower and dry clothes was unbelievable tempting.
