Unadulterated Pleasure

22: Beach Activities & a Boat Ride

Dorian held Amara's hand as they walked on the beach. They'd slept in that morning, having a late breakfast before getting ready for the day. He would take her sightseeing starting tomorrow. However, today, he planned for them to relax after the night they had. Amara was sore. She'd told him as much that morning, and Dorian had apologized to her. He tried to help quell some of it before it started by running her a bath before they'd fallen asleep last night.

While she'd been in the bathtub and after he'd gotten out of the shower, Dorian had gotten fresh linens for the bed and changed them. Amara had stated in passing when he'd led her into the bathroom that it wasn't as much blood as she thought it would be when she saw the sheets. It made Dorian wonder if the academy had exaggerated to scare them or if the people teaching them were just that daft.

As they walked, the water moving in to cover their bare feet now and then, Dorian couldn't help but watch Amara as she seemed to buzz with excitement. Going to the beach had been one of the things she told him she wanted to do on the trip.

When she'd first stepped foot on it, she'd gasped a bit from the feel of the sand before digging her toes in and wiggling them around. The smile that spread across her face was contagious, and he'd also found himself smiling. They'd been walking for the past ten minutes. Dorian knew their destination but knew they had another hour before things would be ready.

They came across a starfish, and Amara paused, tucking the back of her dress under her, and she squatted in front of it. Dorian watched her poke it gently, likely checking if it were alive. When it moved, she squeaked slightly, standing quickly as she wrapped her arms around his left, her right hand sliding into his. Dorian couldn't help the chuckle that escaped him.

"Don't laugh," she told him as she looked up, pouting at him.

Dorian leaned down, placing a gentle kiss on her lips. "I apologize, bébé."

"I hope it makes it back to the water," Amara stated, looking down at the sea creature. "I read in a book that we shouldn't put them back because they may get some sort of bacteria from our hands, which could kill them."

Dorian could tell that she wanted to put it back into the water but didn't want to risk doing more harm than good. He looked around them for a few seconds before spotting a stand a short way down the beach.

"Come on," he stated, heading in that direction.

Once at the stand, Dorian looked over the different beach items they sold before getting a few. He got two different-sized sand pails and a beach shovel. Dorian paid for the items, and they went back to where the starfish was. It hadn't moved since she'd poked it. He handed the shovel to Amara.

"It's already on the sand," he told her. "So, scoop it and the sand under it up, and you can put it back in the water."

Amara smiled at him before tucking the back of her dress under her again. He watched her gently scoop the starfish up before walking it to the water. Once it was up to her knees, her dress held above it in her hand, she placed it carefully in.

Dorian watched her almost skip back toward him, shaking the sand that hadn't washed away in the water from the shovel. She used it to point to the buckets in his hand when she stopped in front of him.

"What are those for?"

"While we wait for the next thing on our agenda to be ready, I thought you might have fun making a sandcastle."

Dorian realized after he said it that his words could be construed as treating her as if she were younger than she was, but that was far from the case. He simply wanted her to have the beach experience, and building a sandcastle was part of that.