Summer Love at the Beach (Summer Instalove)

“Hi.” Her soft smile was warm and polite, but I caught her gaze darting around the edges of

my snug dark blue t-shirt.

“May I walk with you?” I asked.

Becca nodded, then bit her bottom lip. Her delicate face was so pretty, but her jaw was

tight.

“Hey, I have an idea,” I said gently, stepping closer. “You seem like you’re a little nervous around new people.”

She stared at her feet immediately, a tiny blush touching her cheekbones.

“Don’t be embarrassed, beautiful. It’s just the way some people are. If it makes you

nervous to make boring small talk, how about we just don’t do that?”

She looked up at me and raised a questioning eyebrow. Good God, she smelled like

sunshine, some sort of heavenly sweetness was emanating from her skin.

“My friend went to Japan last year,” I said, “and I thought that one of the more interesting

things they told me about the tea ceremony was that the conversation should be focused.

You only discuss the tea, the flowers, the scroll of poetry. Things in the room. It shows appreciation for the moment.”

She nodded, obviously interested but not understanding where I was going.

“So how about we go for a walk, and only chat about things that we see?”

My heart pounded as she flashed me the biggest, most brilliant smile I’d ever received in

my life. “Good idea,” she nodded. “Thank you for being so understanding.”

I moved around to her other side so that I was walking farther into the lake than she was.

“The waves are perfect at this time of day, aren’t they?” I observed.

Becca nodded. “At sunset the light often turns the stones and sand golden, but I like seeing

their true colors at this hour.”

We strolled slowly for at least half an hour, pointing out interesting shells, strangely colored stones, and some of the neighbors’ gardens. Then she squinted at the sky. “Is it getting

darker?”

“I think so. They were calling for rain. But it was supposed to be later tonight.”

Turning to face her, I stared down into those beautiful bright blue eyes and asked, “Have

you ever been here during a wild thunderstorm?”

She shook her head, grinning. “I think you’re breaking the conversation rules,” she giggled.

“But that’s okay. I’ve been at Brendan’s house a few times during thunderstorms, when I

used to visit more frequently years ago. I don’t know if they were wild, or just average.”