A little time out. That was just what Damar and Dakota needed.
Together, the two friends had rented a small house on the beach in Miami. This meant they had the sound of the waves right on their doorstep and only had to walk down three steps from the veranda to feel the sand under their feet and hear the sound of the waves.
"It's going to be a great three days," Dakota enthused as she carelessly left her suitcase and walked over to the small living room, where she opened the porch door and closed her eyes.
A light breeze surrounded her as the sound of the waves rang in her ears. The journey had been rather chaotic.
Not only had the flight been delayed, but the rental car that Damar had hired had been double-booked, so they had ended up having to take a cab to get here.
And now it was already after midnight, even though they were supposed to be there by 8 pm.
"Oh, yes," Damar replied with a smile as he stood next to Dakota and looked out to the sea, which shimmered slightly darkly in the light of the full moon.
Now in the dark, the sea looked almost frightening.
A soft yawn escaped Dakota's lips as she opened her eyes and slipped inside behind Damar.
Although it was really hot in Miami during the day, it was quite chilly right now, so Dakota began to shiver slightly and wrapped her arms around herself.
But maybe she was also shivering because she was tired and had been on her feet for an incredibly long time.
"I guess it's time for bed, huh? We should move into our rooms and look at everything in peace tomorrow when it gets light," Damar suggested, to which Dakota nodded in agreement.
She quickly grabbed her suitcase and followed Damar to the second floor, where there were three wooden doors.
She knew for a fact that two of the doors were bedrooms and the third was a large bathroom - she had already seen this when booking online.
"Which room would you like?" Damar asked her as he carelessly placed his suitcase on the floor and then opened it to take out his toothbrush and toothpaste.
"I really don't care. I just want to sleep," Dakota replied and let out another yawn.
"Ladies first," Damar said with a wave of his hand to make it clear to Dakota that she should choose a room.
If Dakota wasn't as tired as she was right now, she would probably still be arguing with Damar about who should move into which room.
But she simply opened one of the doors and slipped into the room, which had a double bed, a closet and a small cupboard with a television on top.
The large window front was covered by a dark curtain. However, Dakota was sure that there was a wonderful view of the sea behind the thick curtains.
But she would take her time to look at it tomorrow when she had slept enough and was fully rested. Now she could hardly keep her eyes open and so she fell tiredly into bed without putting on any clothes or brushing her teeth.
--
The sound of the waves woke Dakota from her sleep and she slowly sat up.
A soft yawn escaped her lips as she rubbed her eyes and looked around the darkened room.
The curtains still made it seem quite dark, so she dug out her cell phone and took a look.
3:57 am.
It was quite early and, above all, a time when Dakota never woke up.
But the young woman felt so well rested that she swung her legs out of bed and stretched once before getting up and pushing the curtains aside.
And indeed, the sea stretched out beyond the large window. The sky was already turning a pale shade of pink, so it couldn't be too much longer before the sun would rise.
Dakota's anticipation for today grew. She could hardly wait for the sun to rise so she could swim in the sea with Damar.
And suddenly the idea came to her. She crept quietly to the door of her room, which she opened and slipped out into the hallway.
It only took her a few steps before she was standing in front of Damar's closed door, which she opened quietly and slipped inside.
Her best friend was lying on his back in bed, snoring quietly to himself.
His curtains were open so that even from here you had a wonderful view of the sea. And the pink sky lit up Damar's room slightly.
"Damar," Dakota whispered as she walked over to his bed to sit on the edge of it.
Her best friend seemed to be fast asleep, however, so she repeated his name again and the football player sat up straight in bed a moment later, looking at his best friend.
"Dakota?" he mumbled sleepily as he looked at her.
"Yeah."
"What... what are you doing here? What time is it? And did something happen?" he stammered as a smile crept onto Dakota's lips and she slipped under the covers with her best friend.
"Dakota?" he asked again. "Did you have a bad dream?"
The young woman shook her head. "No."
"Then what is it?"
"I woke up and thought I'd pay you a visit," she grinned as she cuddled up carefully to her best friend. Every now and then, the two of them spent time cuddling together, which they both enjoyed to the full.
"What time is it?"
"4pm."
"You come to my room and wake me up at 4pm to cuddle?"
With a furrowed brow, Damar looked down at his best friend, who was already snuggled up in his arms and looking up at him with a grin.
"Sure, why not?" she grinned innocently, whereupon Damar rolled his eyes with a grin.
"You're really crazy, you know that?" The older man carefully wrapped his arms around his best friend to pull her a little closer to him.
He enjoyed cuddling with her just as much as she enjoyed cuddling with him.
"You often say that to me. But I love cuddling with you," she mumbled with a grin as she rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes.
"And I love you," he confessed quietly to his best friend, after a few minutes of silence in which his heart had beaten faster and he had plucked up the courage to finally confess his feelings to her.
But Dakota? Dakota had already fallen asleep. And Damar planned to confess his feelings to his best friend again in the next few days - and then he would make sure that Dakota really heard him.
