Sunshine walked the beach alone. She was at the beach at Nickolas� house in Apollo Beach. It was late evening and she wanted to be alone. But she wasn�t alone. Nickolas was sitting on his deck watching her. She didn�t know he was there and he didn�t say anything.
He watched, as she stopped at the spot where they first made love. He watched, as she sat down and moved her hands around in the sand. He smiled, because he knew she was remembering that wonderful night. Maybe this was his chance. His chance to make it up to her. He got up just as she laid down and looked up at the stars. He walked over to the banister and just watched her.
He loved watching her. It put him at peace with everything. She was the best part of his life. And he was going to get her back. Right now. He wasn�t waiting any longer. He walked off the deck and started walking towards her. She stood up and he stopped. She started walking out to the ocean and he watched her. He continued watching her, as she stopped in the wave�s path. She started walking and got closer to the water.
What was she doing, he wondered. She wasn�t a very good swimmer. He started to walk and fast. As she got closer to the water, he picked up his pace. He watched, as she stopped and just stood there. He didn�t stop, just slowered his pace. He kept watching, as the waves came into shore.
�Ahh!� Sunshine yelled, as the waves knocked her off her feet. She just laid there, as Nickolas started running towards her.
�Sunnie!� Nickolas yelled to her, but she didn�t move or say anything, as the waves covered her. Nickolas reached her and bent down to pick her up. He put her over his shoulder and began walking back to the dry sand, saying, �I will not let you die on me.�
�Nicky, what are you doing?� She slapped his butt. �Put me down.� Nickolas knelt down in the sand and gently laid Sunshine down. They looked at each other and Sunshine asked, �What are you doing?�
�Rescuing you.�
�I�m fine.� She smiled. �But thank you.�
�I just thought you were in trouble. I saw the waves knock you down and I panicked. You only made matters worse when you didn�t answer me.�
�Sorry.�
�What in the world were you doing?�
�You always said you feel at peace when you�re in the ocean. I just wanted to see if it�d work with me.�
�Did it ever occur to you that I can swim and you can�t?�
�I can swim.�
�Not like a fishy.�
She threw a handful of sand at him, saying, �Whatever.�
She sat up as he asked, �What are you doing here?�
�I wanted to be alone. Everyone kept bothering me at home.�
�And you ended up here?� He raised an eyebrow.
�I picked a pretty good hiding spot considering no one found me yet. And I�ve been here for like three hours.�
�I found you.�
�Because you had to come home.�
�Well I live here.�
�Don�t get smart.�
�Don�t you want to give me a lesson?� Sunshine looked at him a second then just as quickly looked away. �Sorry.�
�So how�s it going?�
�Alright. And you?�
�Alright.�
�I�ve seen ya with Brad a lot lately. Is there something you�re not telling me that I should know about?�
�Still jealous of Bradley I see.� Nickolas looked at her. �B and I are just friends. I�ve been seeing you with some blonde-haired anorexic bimbo lately; who needs to find a beautician to fix her bad dyed-blonde hair. You sure know how to pick them.�
�Now who�s jealous?�
�I�m not jealous of no skanky short-skirt bra wearing cake face bulimic head case floozy.�
Nickolas only smiled and said, �That bad dyed-blonde hair anorexic bimbo skanky short-skirt bra wearing cake face bulimic head case floozy happens to be my older half-sister, Ginger.� Sunshine just looked at him wide-eyed. �She�s to dad�s first marriage.� Sunshine didn�t know what to say, as she just sat there. �Speechless for the first time. Well I�m not jealous of no muscle bound hothead.�
�That muscle bound hothead happens to be one of your best friends.� Nickolas only smiled. �Why are you calling Brad a muscle bound hothead when you�re a muscle bound hothead yourself?�
�I may be muscle bound, but I�m not no hothead.�
�Alright. You�re a muscle bound jealous hothead.�
�I�m not jealous.�
�Yes you are. You�re jealous of Brad. I can�t believe how pathetic you are. Nothing�s going on between me and Brad. I�m just friends with him. Brad has a girlfriend.�
�Yeah I know.� She looked at him and he shrugged. �I�m not jealous of Brad.�
�Do you want me to believe that?�
�Yeah.�
�Maybe in twenty years.�
�We haven�t seen each other or talked for what seems like forever. Does it have to be like this?�
�Like what?�
�Us practically fighting. Can we please have a peaceful conversation?�
�About what?�
�Anything.� Sunshine stayed silent and rested her arms on her knees. Nickolas looked at her and smiled. He watched her rest her chin on her arms as she looked out at the ocean. He reached over and moved the wet hair from her face. He tucked it behind her ear, as she looked at him. He caressed her back and said, �I�m sorry.�
�For what?�
�Everything. Especially hurting you. I hurt myself too. I never realized how much you loved me until it was too late.�
�Why are you leaving my heart broken then?�
�I don�t want to. I just have a lot of reasons. I need a full twenty-four hours to explain everything to you. You just need to tell me when.�
�Are you afraid of committing to me?�
�To you? Of course not. If I was, I would have never asked you to marry me. You mean everything to me.�
�I still have a hard time dealing with everything that�s happened.�
�You know nothing was going on between me and Jo. We�re in the past.�
�I know. She explained everything to me.�
�Then what�s the problem?�
�Not knowing why you don�t want me anymore.� Nickolas looked at her and took a deep breath. �I know you�re not going to tell me so just forget about it.� She stretched her legs out and leaned back. Nickolas turned his back to the ocean and sat Indian-style facing Sunshine. �But will you answer me this? Do you still love me? Because I�ll still love you no matter what. Even if you do stop loving me.�
�I still love you and always will. I wouldn�t be able to stop even if I tried to.� Sunshine only looked at him, as she sat up straight. �You�re my heart, my soul, and my body. You�re the air I breathe; you�re my eyes, and the reason I live. You�re everything to me.� She took his hand, as a tear rolled down her cheek. Nickolas wiped it away, saying, �I don�t think I can go another day without you in my life.�
�Nick,� was all Sunshine said, as she took her hand and touched his face. He knelt in front of her and leaned in closer. She started leaning back and he placed one hand beside her and the other on her back. She kept her one hand on his face and put the other on Nickolas� side, continuing to lean back. They looked into each other�s eyes and went to kiss, as Nickolas� cell phone began to ring.
�Damn it!� Nickolas lowered his head.
�Don�t answer it.� She made him look at her.
�It might be important.� The phone continued to ring.
�Nicky.�
�I�m sorry.� He got up and took the phone from his pocket. �Hello.� Sunshine laid back in the sand and looked up at the stars. She then looked back at Nickolas, as he said, �Listen, Aaron�you know the way mom is�I understand�.she did the same thing with me at your age�no��
Sunshine got up and said, �I�m going, Nicky. I�ll see ya later.�
�Aaron, hold on,� Nickolas said then calling after Sunshine, �Sweets, wait! This will only take a minute!�
�Do what you have to do. Fate ain�t on my side tonight.� Nickolas watched her walk out of view, shook his head, and got back on the phone.
CHAPTER 18
HOME