The Life of Sally Jackson

Chapter Four

Sally Jackson was positively freaking out. It was Friday evening, approximately fifteen minutes before the allotted time she was to meet Triton at the beach. She kept looking out the window of her cabin. She hadn't seen him yet.

She paced back to the mirror to check herself, just as she'd done about a million times that night already. She made sure her hair was at least somewhat presentable, her curls accentuated by the humidity in the beach air. She wore her ripped jean shorts and a loose whit t-shirt that hung off of one shoulder. A chain bearing a sea shell charm was wrapped around her right wrist.

She glanced again at the clock and say to her horror that it read 7:01. She was a minute late. She peeked out the window again to see him standing there, right where he said he'd be, in black dress pants with a white button up, sleeves rolled up to his forearm. He looked up then and caught her staring. She jerked away from the window, letting out a breath she'd been holding. She let out a laugh, steeled herself, and left the safety of the cabin.

She walked to meet him. "You look very nice, my queen," he said with a lopsided grin, taking her hand in his and giving it a kiss. "You don't look so bad yourself," she said, already starting to blush.

Triton hesitated, then gestured to something over his shoulder. "I prepared a picnic if you would join me," he sounded almost nervous of her answer, which wasn't something Sally expected from someone like him. "I would love to."

She followed him down the beach, past some shrubbery, dragging her bare feet through the sand. They stopped after a little while, settling at a space that Triton cleared. A picnic basket sat elegantly atop a blanket, a bottle of champagne resting in an ice box.

They sat down together and started dining. Triton opened the champagne and made sure her glass was full. As the night got darker and the stars got brighter, they abandoned the picnic blanket and sat closer to the surf, side by side, watching the sky and the sea.

Sally happened to glance to the side and her eyes drank up the sight of the extremely handsome man sitting next to her. Why her of all the other girls he could've chosen from, she wondered. She glimpsed his hand inching over to hers and a smile flickered across her lips. She turned her attention back to the waves.

She felt his hand brush against hers. It sent tingles up her spine. She felt electric. She lifted her hand and allowed him to take it. With his free hand, he turned her head to look at him. His eyes were full of life and mirth. He was young, maybe a few years her senior, but his eyes looked thousands of years old, like they'd seen everything. She longed to cure her curiosity, to find out what he was hiding behind those sea-green irises.

She was distantly aware of his face getting closer to hers, of his lips, of his body. Then he was kissing her. She didn't know what to think at first. Her eyes were wide open, his were not. She pulled away, trying to get a hold of herself. She wasn't sure how she felt about what happened. Was that really what she wanted?

Triton looked at her, concerned, and she saw a longing there too. She decided she did want this, so she nodded slightly and kissed him back. They went on like this for awhile, sharing the same air, lips locked together, not really caring about anything else. Before she knew it, her hands were in his hair, his on her waist, just under her shirt, giving her chills.

He pushed her onto her back, leaning down to kiss her. It was when she felt him kissing her neck that she hesitated. "Stop," she whispered, so quiet he didn't hear her. "Triton," she tried again, "enough." 

He stopped then, pulling away. "What's wrong? What is it?" She shook her head and sat up, scooting away from him. "I'm not ready for this. Not yet." She thought she saw his face fall, but when she looked at him, his expression was one of understanding. "Take it slow?" He asked her.

She nodded, biting her lip. "Anything for my queen," he said with a smile.