Sun Kissed

by Anna Samuels

  ‘You say that and yet look at me with Kate! That didn’t exactly go well!’ I said, laughing ruefully. ‘And Seren was in a ten-year relationship with a woman called Laurie-and she had been cheating on her with a man for four years!’ I exclaimed.

  ‘No way! That’s bad,’ Ella muttered, shaking her head.

  ‘It devastated her…’ I told her, sadly. ‘Women can be as bad as men. And let’s face it, honey-you’re the least likely to end up being a lesbian, sweetheart. You’ve been chasing little boys around since you were five years old!’ I laughed.

  ‘Mum!’ she exclaimed, but she grinned. ‘True though. Remember little Sammy?’ she chuckled. ‘All the little girls making friends with other girls and there I was at five years old with my first boyfriend.’

  ‘I know!’ I laughed. ‘You’ve always loved the boys.’

  She smiled. ‘True…I just need to find a nice one. A genuine one. I’m sick of being treated badly. I want to find someone who is a decent human being rather than someone who’ll cheat and mess with me.’

  ‘I know, sweetheart-and you’ll get there. It’s what we’re all looking for, ultimately.’

  She nodded, meeting my eyes. ‘So, packing?’ she suggested.

  ‘Yes! Packing!’

  ‘We could even load the car up, right?’

  ‘Yeah, let’s do it! The sooner the better.’

  Half an hour later, the car was loaded with our bags and essentials and then shortly after that, we made the trip to the doctors for Ella’s appointment. After taking samples of blood and urine, I spoke with the doctor about phoning in for results in the next day or so-explaining that we would be going on holiday. She agreed that it was fine and we left, ready to start the drive.

  In the car, we listened to music for most of the way. Ella was uncharacteristically quiet, but I presumed that it was to be expected given the situation. She would talk when she was ready to and I didn’t want to push her if she didn’t want to.

  The drive back was shorter. There was little traffic on the roads and I drove at a steady but fast pace for the whole journey. As I neared the bay, and became closer to the sea, a strange sense of belonging filled me. I felt like I was driving towards home, rather than driving away from it. It was strange, and slightly unsettling, but deep-down, it felt right.

  Eventually, after three and a quarter hours, we arrived at Sunset Cove. As we rounded the corner and the breath-taking view came into sight, Ella gasped.

  ‘Oh, Mum! This is gorgeous!’ she breathed.

  ‘I know!’ I laughed. ‘Don’t you just love it!’

  ‘Yes! Wow! This is the most stunning place I’ve ever seen! I can’t wait to go on the beach!’

  I smiled over at her, loving her animated face. It was the brightest I had seen her since her break-up and I knew, in that moment, that this had been the right decision. ‘I know. We may just get a few rays in later this afternoon. If not, a walk down on the sand!’

  ‘Yeah,’ she replied, leaning forwards to see everything. ‘Wow. This is so cool.’

  I smiled, unbelievably pleased she liked it as much as I did. I turned down into the hotel car park and wound down the steep path to park on the cliff top where the hotel stood, overlooking the cove.

  ‘This is gorgeous! This hotel is lush!’

  ‘I know…isn’t it lovely?’ I smiled.

  ‘Incredible,’ she said, stepping out of the car as I parked. ‘I can see why you loved it so much down here, Mum.’

  I smiled, getting out of the car. ‘Luggage?’

  ‘Yeah! Let’s get checked in. Do you think Seren is here?’ she asked. ‘I’m looking forward to meeting her!’

  ‘You are?’ I said, as I opened the boot. ‘How come?’

  ‘Because you haven’t stopped smiling, Mum. I want to see the woman who has made you come to life again. I’m curious, you might say!’

  I opened my mouth to speak and then closed it again, as I saw a familiar figure step out of the front door of the hotel, smiling. My heart stopped in my throat and I felt the air whoosh out of my lungs as she walked towards me. I couldn’t help the wide, sweeping smile fill my expression as she turned towards me.

  ‘Seren!’ I breathed, breathlessly.

  Ella turned to watch as she walked towards us, smiling widely. By her side appeared a young man, who was about as gorgeous as Seren. Blonde, tall and with a lean, muscular physique which made the jaw drop on sight.

  ‘Oh my God,’ I heard Ella breathe beside me, her voice a low whisper.

  ‘I told you…gorgeous, right?’ I said, as they made their way towards us. The only difference was that she was looking at Danny and I was looking at Seren.

  ‘Abby!’ Seren exclaimed, drawing near and then as she reached me, scooping me up in her arms to whirl me around in a welcoming hug. ‘I’m so glad you’re back!’ she grinned, happily.

  ‘Me too,’ I smiled, laughing up at her as she set me back down on my feet. ‘This is Ella,’ I told Seren.

  ‘Hi,’ Ella said, reaching over to shake Seren’s offered hand.

  ‘Hey, Ella. It’s so great to meet you,’ Seren enthused. ‘I’ve heard so much about you. This is my son, Danny. Danny-meet Abby and Ella.’

  ‘Nice to meet you,’ he said, shaking my hand and then offering his hand to Ella. Ella was looking up at him with an almost awed sense of wonder. The lad was absolutely breath-taking, so I could see why. He was like a God-beautiful in a way which was very rare. ‘It’s nice to have another person my age here,’ he said, smiling.

  His bright, white teeth shone with radiance and the smile lit up his entire face.

  ‘And I hear you’re off to Uni next September as well,’ he said, conversationally. ‘Here, let me take your bags. We can chat on the way,’ he smiled.

  With that, they were off, chatting away merrily as they wondered off into the hotel. Seren and I were left staring at their retreating forms as we stood alone in the car park.

  ‘I guess we don’t have to worry about them hitting it off,’ Seren murmured, as they stepped into the hotel.

  I turned to smile at her and then laughed. ‘No, I guess not! But I can see why Ella’s enthralled. Danny’s gorgeous, Seren.’

  She smiled, clearly thrilled. ‘He is, isn’t he? Such a beautiful man. Your Ella as well! What a beautiful girl! She’s so like you, Abby.’

  ‘Ah, thanks, Seren…what a lovely thing to say,’ I smiled.

  She smiled down at me, meeting my eyes with a longing which I was feeling inside as well. ‘Oh my God, I’ve missed you, Abby…’ she almost groaned. ‘It feels like you’ve been gone for thirty years!’

  ‘It does?’ I questioned, stepping into her arms as she drew me close. ‘I’ve missed you too, Seren.’

  ‘Do you think we can risk a kiss?’ she asked, quietly, her eyes dropping to my mouth with desire.

  ‘Yes,’ I said, simply, aching to taste her once more.

  She dipped her head and I sighed as her mouth found mine. She kissed me gently at first and then deepened the kiss as passion took over. It took a matter of seconds before I was putty in her arms, lost in her touch and aching all over. I moaned as her tongue found mine and they danced together. It was an effort to pull apart, and as she lifted her head, Seren groaned.

  ‘Oh, Abby…’

  ‘Mmm,’ I murmured, resting my forehead against hers.

  ‘I wonder if we could get the kids to go out for a bit?’ she laughed.

  ‘Oh yeah?’ I chuckled. ‘And what are you planning to do if you succeed with that one?’

  She smiled down at me. ‘I’ll give you one guess.’

  Chapter 12

  After releasing me, Seren and I headed into the hotel. Seren took my luggage for me and we headed down to the rooms. As we walked through the building, I had the strange sense once again of being back where I was meant to be. It was an odd sensation, considering the fact that I was on holiday in a place I had only been to in the past few days.

  ‘Looks like Danny’s
already taken Ella down to her hotel room,’ Seren commented, as we passed reception.

  ‘Yeah…maybe they’ll form an immediate friendship-like we did,’ I pondered.

  ‘I wouldn’t quite say we started out with a friendship,’ she laughed.

  ‘Well…we did hit it off!’ I chuckled, glancing behind me.

  ‘Let’s hope they don’t hit it off quite as rapidly as we did,’ she smiled.

  ‘Absolutely!’ I exclaimed, turning around. ‘We were completely inappropriate from the get go!’ I laughed.

  ‘Yeah, I know,’ she chuckled. ‘And I loved every, single second of it,’ she smiled.

  ‘Me too,’ I agreed, stopping in the corridor, ‘but I don’t want our kids doing that!’

  ‘Yeah I know…come on, let’s go and intervene!’

  Seren and I hurried down the corridor and found Danny showing Ella around the room she was staying it. It had a connecting door to the suite I was booked into so was perfect for us.

  ‘Oh hey! Where did you two get to?’ Danny smiled, flashing those bright, white teeth. ‘Catching up, hey?’ he said, and winked.

  I felt my stomach jump as I smiled, glancing at Seren. He was the male version of Seren in every way-completely and utterly gorgeous in every way, with confidence to match.

  ‘Yeah,’ Seren laughed. ‘We got a little side-tracked,’ she grinned.

  ‘Hey Mum, I was saying to Ella that I’d give her a tour…take her down to the beach and show her the cove while it’s still nice out. It that okay?’ he asked. ‘And is it okay with you, Mrs…’ he trailed off.

  ‘Please call me Abby, Danny,’ I smiled.

  ‘Okay-Abby. Would you mind?’ he questioned.

  ‘No, that sounds like a great idea!’ I said, looking at Ella who seemed completely captivated by Danny already. She kept glancing at him as if she couldn’t really believe such a stunning, male specimen existed-and he was mutually interested as well. His face warmed with appreciation, every time he looked at her. It was quite fascinating to witness.

  ‘Can I go then, Mum?’ Ella asked. ‘You two get time for yourselves too if we can go and enjoy the beach?’

  ‘Yes, it’s fine, Ella. No worries. We can meet up back here for dinner-which I think is about seven.’

  ‘Ah great!’ Ella smiled, looking over at Danny happily.

  ‘I’ve got loads I can show you in that time,’ Danny told her, warmly.

  ‘We’ll leave you kids to it then,’ Seren smiled, stepping back and heading out of the door of the room.

  ‘Okay, Mum. You don’t need me for anything before the dinner serving?’ Danny asked.

  ‘No, not at all. You go and enjoy yourselves,’ Seren smiled. ‘We’ll all meet up at seven for dinner…us to work and for Abby and Ella to eat!’

  ‘Okay, well, see you later then,’ he said, as Seren and I went to leave.

  ‘See you at seven, Ella.’

  As we left, I could already hear Danny and Ella discussing plans. He was encouraging her to find a swimsuit and towel as he had a boat down on the beach which he could take her for a ride in. I smiled to myself as I heard Ella’s happy laugh as I left. Her troubles seemed temporarily forgotten. This break away would do her the world of good, I knew.

  ‘So! They’ve hit it off!’ Seren commented, as I let us in to my hotel room.

  ‘I know,’ I smiled. ‘Isn’t it great?’

  ‘Damn right…as it means I can do this,’ she murmured, and shoving the door shut behind her with her foot, she pulled me into her arms.

  I went willingly, and found myself draped against her long, lithe body and she held me close. Her mouth bent and captured my lips were hers. Turning me, she pushed me up against the door as her mouth closed over mine more deeply. Her tongue sought mine and we kissed, with fervour.

  Moaning deeply, I realised in that moment just how much I had missed her. It had been little over a day and yet every inch of me was aching to be with her again.

  ‘Ah, God, I want you, Abby,’ she groaned, her mouth trailing all over my face, my neck and kissing butterfly kisses all over me.

  ‘Mmm,’ was all I could manage.

  ‘I promised I wouldn’t…’ she continued, her mouth tormenting my neck as her hands cupped my soft breasts.

  ‘I want you,’ I murmured, desperately hoping she wouldn’t stop.

  ‘I was going to stick to getting to know you,’ she said, lifting her mouth to press against mine once again. ‘Three dates,’ she said, softly.

  ‘Yeah…’ I sighed, ‘but we were forced apart…and I’ve missed you,’ I told her, earnestly.

  ‘I know…I missed you too,’ she said, lifting her head and looking down at me. ‘You wouldn’t believe how much.’

  ‘I think I do,’ I said, meeting her soft eyes as they gazed down at me with affection. ‘It’s just so…strange,’ I managed.

  She nodded. ‘To feel like this…so quickly?’

  I nodded, a little, scanning her face. ‘Does it scare you?’ I asked, tremulously.

  ‘Yeah!’ she exclaimed, eyes wide. ‘More than you’ll ever know!’

  ‘It scares me too,’ I admitted. ‘I wasn’t going to do this again…’

  ‘Neither of us were,’ she said, softly, ‘but it kind of found us, right? I just think we’d be fools to walk away right now, Abby. What if we have a second chance at happiness? I haven’t felt this happy in…in years!’ she decided.

  ‘No?’

  ‘Have you?’ she asked.

  I thought about it for a moment. ‘I don’t think I’ve…well, I don’t ever remember being this happy in any relationship,’ I told her. ‘This is something I’ve never felt before,’ I admitted.

  She stared down at me, and the look in her eyes was incredulous. ‘You take my breath away, Abby,’ she whispered.

  ‘Do I?’ I said back, my voice barely there.

  ‘Every time I look at you…every time I’m near you…it’s like I’m going to explode. I want you all the time. I can’t wait for the next time I’m going to see you. It’s…new to me…’

  I sighed, completely and utterly taken with the incredible woman before me. ‘I don’t think we should wait for anymore dates, Seren,’ I told her. ‘I need you so much right now.’

  Her eyes darkened with desire. ‘You want me, Abby?’

  ‘More than you’ll ever know,’ I told her, as my body ached with intense desire. I needed her to touch me. I ached in every single sensitive part of my body.

  ‘Come here,’ she murmured, pulling me close.

  As her mouth descended, I was where I wanted to be.

  Hours later, Seren and I hastily got dressed and then tidied up the room, which had been wrecked and was currently in a haphazard fashion. It was almost seven, and Danny and Ella were expected back soon. I wanted to ensure we weren’t caught in a compromising position, which would be awkward for both us and them.

  Once tidied, Seren got her socks and shoes on and headed for the door.

  ‘I better go and get sorted for dinner,’ she apologised. ‘Will you tell Danny that’s where I am if he asks?’

  ‘Yes, of course,’ I smiled, heading over to the door to say goodbye.

  ‘We can catch up after dinner, okay?’

  ‘Yeah…that would be nice,’ I replied, happily.

  ‘I don’t know if we’ll be able to spend the night together-what with Danny and Ella around-but at least we had this time together now,’ she smiled.

  I nodded, stepping into her arms. ‘I know. That’s what I was thinking,’ I said, happily, lifting my face to hers for her kiss. ‘I’ve loved every second of our reconciliation,’ I told her, smiling.

  ‘Me too…me too,’ she said, kissing me lightly on the lips. ‘I’ll catch you in a bit, gorgeous.’

  ‘See you later,’ I replied, feeling happy.

  I watched her walk off down the corridor and then shut the door behind me. I felt like dancing across the room, I was so happy. Never before had I felt quite so sure ab
out anything. Never before had any relationship felt so natural and perfect. Dropping down onto the bed, I lay there feeling a sense of contentment wash over me. This holiday had truly been life-changing-the only trouble was, I never wanted it to end.

  Twenty minutes later, at about ten past seven, Ella finally arrived back. A knock at the connecting doors told me she was back and I called ‘come in’ loudly.

  ‘Hey!’ I smiled as she burst through the doors.

  She came through, smiling widely and then flopped down on the bed beside me with a flourish. ‘Oh my God, Mum!’ she exclaimed.

  ‘You have a good time?’ I questioned, already knowing the answer.

  ‘A good time doesn’t quite cover it, Mum! Oh God! He’s so, so gorgeous, Mum! Did you see?’ she asked, gushing. ‘But it’s not just that! He’s like, completely lovely inside and out as well. So mature! Such a gentleman! Oh, Mum! He’s incredible!’

  I smiled, happily. ‘What did you do?’ I asked, recalling just how instant it had been for Seren and I also.

  ‘Well, we went down to the beach and he took me out of his little speed boat. He went around the cove and showed me the best views of Sunset Cove from the water. We then went to this secluded inlet which he knows and it’s really private-away from everyone. We got out and swam and then sat on the beach talking. Mum, we talked for hours! About everything! We just clicked! He wanted to know everything about me and we just chatted and chatted. He didn’t try it on or anything. He’s so much more mature than the guys at home…and he’s asked me out on a proper date tomorrow. I’m so excited!’ she squealed. ‘I can’t believe this is happening! Thanks so much for bringing me down here.’

  I laughed, pleased at how happy she was. ‘So, I don’t need to worry about you anymore?’ I questioned.

  ‘Oh, please! That’s so forgotten now! What a dick compared to Danny! They don’t even compare!’ she told me, with emphasis. ‘I’ve forgotten him already.’