As it neared closing time for the zoo, they hurried to get to the last few exhibits they really wanted to see. The last thing they did was walk the Tiger Trail, which simulated a tropical Asian rain forest. The crowd had started to thin as people left the park, giving the pair more opportunities to be affectionate during brief moments of solitude. Amanda felt like it wasn’t enough time as they were finally forced to leave. Viktor assured her that they could go again next year and she tried not to think of how far away that sounded.
They grabbed dinner at a local restaurant and then went to the beach to watch the sunset. They sat in the sand and relaxed to the sound of the crashing waves.
“It’s so beautiful here,” Amanda said. “Why would you ever want to move to Boston?”
“Because there’s something even more beautiful there.”
She looked at him as a broad smile grew across her lips. “Come on. I’m serious.”
He gazed softly back at her as the breeze coming off the water tousled her hair. “So am I.”
“You would move just for me?”
“No,” he disagreed. “I would move for me.”
“To be near me?”
“Yes.”
“What if we don’t work out?”
“That is a risk,” he agreed. “But one that is extremely low, in my opinion.”
“Why do you think that?”
“Because I can honestly say that none of my prior relationships have been anywhere near this easy.”
“You think I’m easy?!” she repeated in disbelief.
He laughed. “Not like that … You’re easy to be with. I feel comfortable with you … I’m not worried that you have some ulterior motive.”
“I find it very easy to be with you too. From the first day we met, I felt like I had known you for years.”
“Being with you is easy … Even when we argue.”
“You might want to reserve judgement on that until we have a real argument,” she laughed.
He just grinned. “I love you.”
“I love you too, Viktor.”
Chapter 20
They woke up early the following morning. Viktor suggested they get an early start to beat the crowd. He again had room service deliver coffee and breakfast to the room, ordering omelettes this time. While Amanda viewed room service as fiscally irresponsible, she couldn’t overlook the convenience of having breakfast in their rooms while still wearing her pajamas.
She felt a little nervous as she prepared to go to the beach with Viktor. While not normally self-conscious in a bathing suit, it felt different with Viktor. She worried she wouldn’t live up to his expectations though, admittedly, she had no idea what those were.
She joined him in the hall wearing a pair of loose fitting, light blue linen capris and a colorfully striped, blue, purple and pink, cotton button-up shirt with white sandals. Viktor had on a pair of blue swim trunks and a white cotton button-up shirt that he left undone. It was the first glimpse Amanda had gotten of how fit he was, which only made her more nervous.
The sun was just starting to rise when they arrived at Coronado Beach. They found an open spot on Ocean Boulevard and parked the car. Viktor rented an umbrella and two chairs and they settled into a spot just out of reach of the waves.
Viktor removed his shirt and began applying sunscreen while Amanda took a seat to enjoy the view, which included Viktor and his muscular form.
He turned and held the bottle out to her. “Could you do my back?”
“Sure.” She stood and took it from him.
When she finished, he thanked her and offered to do hers. She felt a spike of panic but tried to hide it.
“Yeah, thanks,” she said as she turned away from him to unbutton her shirt. She removed it, revealing the top half of her lavender two-piece. She pulled her hair out of the way and he began applying the sunscreen. She tensed a bit as he lifted the straps to get underneath. She was a little surprised that he knew to do that. Clearly it wasn’t his first time applying sunscreen for a woman.
He finished and handed her the bottle so she could continue. He sat down and surveyed the coastline appearing not to pay any attention to her as she applied the sunscreen to her arms, chest and stomach. He was leaning back and resting his eyes when she removed her capris and finished applying it to her legs. She finally sat down, feeling relieved that Viktor hadn’t stared at her the whole time. Instead he hardly seemed to look at her.
He then turned to her and smiled. “You okay?”
“I’m fine. Why?”
He chuckled and answered, “I thought you were going to slap me when I was putting the lotion on your back.”
She felt embarrassed that he had picked up on her tension. She huffed and shook her head, trying to come up with a response.
“It’s fine,” he brushed it off. “I just don’t understand why you’re still so nervous around me.”
“Aren’t you nervous around me?”
He shook his head and gave her a smile. “No.”
“What’s your secret?” she mumbled, not expecting an answer.
He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it. “Perhaps I am not as afraid of intimacy as you are,” he teased.
“Oh, so I’m a commitment-phobe who’s now afraid of intimacy,” she laughed, making reference to his prior comment about her being afraid of commitment.
“I call it like it is,” he jokingly prodded with an enormous grin.
She just shook her head and rolled her eyes. “You’re ridiculous.”
They spent the entire morning and a good chunk of the afternoon at the beach. They left when Amanda started to turn pink. Viktor, maddeningly, only tanned.
“We should go dancing tonight,” Viktor suggested as they drove back to the hotel.
“What kind of dancing?”
“Whatever kind you like. I’m sure we could find just about anything.”
“Oh,
