A Little Big Crush

The Beach

Dinah was true to her word. On Saturday at seven, she was walking down the beach. She loved the feel of the cool sand on her bare feet. She lifted her head up so she could bask in the wonderful breeze that being near the water brought. She briefly stopped to watch the last rays of sunlight disappear beneath the horizon, marveling how magical the mix of yellow, orange, and red appeared in the sky. She swung her sandals back and forth, smiling.

Though any of her friends would think she was stupid for going on a second date to the beach at night, she felt she made a good choice. For if he was to stand her up, at least she'd have seen a sunset that she didn't see that often at home and also, there was nothing that compared to the sense of belonging and peace she felt being at a beach, whether it be during the day or night.

"Hope I'm not interrupting your thoughts," a somewhat familiar voice said from right behind her.

Dinah turned around quickly, dropping her shoes as she stood face to face with Dario. She thought she would forget his voice after so many months, but the lower timbre of his tone and the way it made her spine tingle and her heart race made her feel like their first date had been only yesterday.

"Hey," she said, awarding him with a brilliant smile. Though in her mind she didn't like what he did before, once he stood right in front of her, any misgivings she had about him melted away.

Dario was just as she remembered him,almost a foot taller than her, with the same piercing eyes and shiny black hair. It was a little longer than when she met him, reaching a little past his ear. She desperately wanted to run her fingers through it. God, she was pathetic. The magnetism that he exuded was something Dinah never experienced before except on their first date.

He closed the space between them to give her a slight peck on the cheek, just like he did many months ago. "It's nice to finally see you."

"I was prepared for you not showing up, so I was just basking in the sunset. The beach is one of my favorite places to go," Dinah rambled. It was her attempt to show a bubbly personality- a peeling of an onion layer that showed that she was more than a pretty face to Dario. It was to show that she had interests and was a deep thinker. Dinah hated and couldn't admit it to herself, but deep down, she wanted him to fall in love with her. This time, she wanted him to choose her, to actually follow through with letting their interactions progress into something deeper.

"Yeah, I like the beach too. One of my favorite kinds of first dates is to go in the water on the beach," he said, leading the way down the length of the shoreline.

"For real? You've gone on first dates to the beach, as in, meeting for the first time in bathing suits?" she asked, furrowing her brows as she dug her feet deep into the wet sand.

Dario shrugged. "Yeah, why not?"

"I don't know. It just seems like an odd choice." Dinah couldn't imagine how nerve wracking that kind of date would be- because not only would she be stressing about what kind of clothing she would wear to a regular date that could hide any extra flab she had, but worrying how her only bathing suit will look to a guy she just met.

"Well, they turned out okay," he said, following Dinah's lead and digging his feet into the sand.

It was on the tip of her tongue to ask him about his past relationships. This was never a topic they touched upon on their last date, but she wasn't sure if it was too soon. Screw it. She decided to take the plunge. If they were going to continue talking and getting to know each other, this was going to have to come up sometime.

"So, what happened between you and your ex, if you don't mind me asking?" she asked, looking away from him and focusing on the feel of the wet sand beneath her toes.