#and the sweet sweet buildup and reader meeting part of Marcus's family and the KIDS SO SWEET

[ravensmadreads]

OH MY GOD THIS IS SO GOOD

next year

Marcus Pike x gn!reader | 18.3k | 18+ | masterlist | ao3

summary:

You expected your vacation to go like it always did -- a week of reading, relaxing, and so much alone time you'd be almost happy to see your coworkers when you got back. You'd spend time on the beach and walk around town and generally do whatever you wanted, whenever you wanted, just like you did every year.  But when you locked eyes from across the sand with the handsome man renting the house next door, something told you this year would be different.

a/n: So I started writing this in June when I saw @mermaidgirl30’s Ocean Challenge. I came up with the idea pretty quickly and thought oh that’ll be short, I can probably write that over the weekend. 👀Well, 18k words and 2 months of writing later… lol here it is. Sorry I’m late, Jamie. 😂I hope you’re ready to go on vacation and meet a handsome stranger on the beach! Thank you as always to @katareyoudrilling for being the best beta. 🧡

tags/warnings: fluff, meet cute, vacation AU, flirting, touching, kissing, smut (grinding, kissing), reader has a brother, reader likes to read (lol), reader works at a museum, reader goes on regular short walks, reader lives in Houston, author used to live in Houston (can you tell?), reader can wink (author cannot), reader likes art and music, no physical description of reader (sometimes clothing is vaguely described – reader wears bright colors, a bathing suit (not described), and a shirt with a low cut back once), gn!reader, pet names (sweetheart, baby, beautiful, handsome, gorgeous)

Day 1, Wednesday

You sighed and rested your hands on your hips after you finally finished wrestling with your beach umbrella. The sun was bright overhead, with no clouds in sight. When you’d peeked out of the window of your parents’ small beach house that morning, you’d known you would need to lug the old umbrella out if you wanted to enjoy your time at the beach today.

You brought up your hand to shade your eyes and looked around to see if anyone else had joined you. It was still early, though it was already hot, and you weren’t surprised to see you were still alone on the beach. You set up your chair and towel and grabbed your next book before settling in. You’d finished your first book after arriving the night before, but as always you’d brought a small library with you for your annual personal getaway. 

The waves crashed soothingly against the sand and you took a moment to just breathe in the sea air and appreciate the slight breeze before you started reading. It was one of the best weeks of your year – nothing but books, good food, the beach, and your own company. You watched, amused, as a seagull darted across the sand away from a small crab, and you heard the call of a few others from over the dunes to your right. You shook your head and turned your attention to your book.

Thirty pages later you finally heard the sound of people arriving at the beach. You glanced over to your left and saw some unfamiliar faces emerging from the path that led to the house next to yours. You knew the owners rented it out regularly. A woman carrying a few large bags led the way, followed closely by two small boys and a little girl, each carrying their own colorful towel. The kids were skipping, almost running, clearly excited to finally be at the beach. 

The last person in the group stepped out onto the sand as the kids started to run in circles around the woman. He was tall, with dark hair that curled at the ends, and a little bit of a beard. He had very broad shoulders and you briefly admired the curve of his back in his white t-shirt and the shape of his legs below his colorful swimsuit. He was carrying a few beach chairs hooked over his shoulder and another large bag.

He stopped and scanned the beach in front of him. As he started to turn towards you, you quickly turned away, back to your book. He was probably the kids’ dad, and as hot as he was, you didn’t want anything to do with that.

Just then, though, you heard the little girl shout, “mom!” at the same time as one of the boys yelled, “uncle Mark! Hurry up!”

You looked back over to see Uncle Mark roll his eyes playfully and continue down the beach towards his family. You heard the woman tell the kids it was time to put on sunscreen, and the round of groans of “mom!” seemed to indicate that he wasn’t her husband, after all. Maybe her brother? They did look similar. You allowed yourself to turn your head and look at him again.

He was looking back.

You felt your cheeks get warm and looked away again, thankful for your sunglasses, even though it had probably been obvious you were looking at him anyway. Without moving your head this time you looked back towards him. He was looking down at the sand with a smile on his face and you felt yourself start to smile, too.

Before your eyes could meet again, the kids started tugging on his hands to pull him towards the water. Laughing, he waved them off so he could set up the chairs, but soon enough you were watching out of the corner of your eye as he played with them in the surf. They were old enough to know how to swim, clearly, but you noticed that he kept the littlest boy close by.

The rest of the morning passed that way, with Uncle Mark playing with the kids while their mom got some time to relax in a chair. Eventually she was joined by the youngest and started building a sand castle. You tried not to observe them too closely, but you were distracted by his deep voice every time you caught snippets on the breeze and by his bright smile every time he laughed.

By lunch time, you figured you should head inside for a break, if you actually wanted to get any reading done. As you finished packing your stuff, you glanced back up and found him looking at you again. He smiled and nodded at you. You nodded back and then turned and walked swiftly back towards your house with a smile playing around your mouth.

Day 2, Thursday

On your second day of vacation, you visited your favorite coffee shop and bakery for breakfast before heading back to the beach. It meant you arrived a bit later, and found that your new neighbors had beaten you there.

The kids and Uncle Mark were well into building a pretty impressive sand castle when you reached your usual spot and dropped your bag and umbrella. The movement must have caught his eye because he looked up and met your gaze. He smiled, and you couldn’t help but smile back.

You looked down quickly, feeling your cheeks start to burn, and picked up your large red umbrella. It was old and, like always, you had to strain to undo the latch that kept it folded up. You began to wrestle with it to prop it up in the sand, fighting against its desire to collapse with you inside of it. A few minutes passed like that and you felt sweat start to drip down your spine. You hoped no one was watching you battling against an old beach umbrella (and losing).

Just when you were about to give up and throw the annoying thing down in the sand, a deep, warm voice interrupted you. You startled and almost dropped the umbrella anyway.

“Need some help?”

You turned to find Uncle Mark standing about 5 feet from you, shading his eyes from the sun. You glanced behind him and saw the kids were still working on their sand fortress, now with their mom standing nearby and pointing at something on the oceanside wall.

You looked back at the man in front of you and found him just as attractive as he’d been the day before. Tall, dark hair, sweet smile. You blinked.

“Um, sure,” you said, as your lips started to tilt upwards. “At this point I probably can’t claim I’ve got it and be at all believable.” You grimaced a little, but he chuckled.

“Ours isn’t exactly a breeze to put up, either.” He gestured at their little area of towels and bags behind him. “Here, let me hold it and you tell me what the issue is.” He stepped forward, hands outstretched, and you let him take the umbrella from you. As soon as he did it tried to fold closed on him. You winced.

“Sorry–”

“Hey, no problem.” He laughed again, and you watched the way his eyes crinkled when he smiled. “Ours nearly ate me earlier, I don’t think my nephews have ever laughed harder in their lives.” 

You laughed and nodded. “This one seems bent on eating me alive for sure.”

He looked up at you from where he’d been fiddling with the lock at the base, smile still in place. “Well, we can’t have that.” He propped the umbrella up in the spot you’d had it before. “Here, hold this, I’ll get it to stay open.”

You did and soon enough you had a functioning beach umbrella that didn’t look ready to snap closed on your head at any moment. You both stepped back from it and stared at it for a moment, almost daring it to change its mind.

“Looks like our victory.” He winked at you and you grinned. “I’m Marcus, by the way.” He held his hand out and you slipped yours into his grip to shake it.

“Not Mark?” You nodded towards the kids and he huffed a laugh.

“My sisters call me Mark, so their kids do too. But I prefer Marcus.”

You smiled and introduced yourself. “Nice to meet you, Marcus.” 

He grinned when you said his name. “Have you been here before? It’s our first time.”

You nodded, and gestured back to the house. “That’s my parents’ house. I usually come out here for a week or so every year, at least.” 

Marcus shifted his weight and tilted his head. “Sounds nice. We’re renting that one, I’m sure you guessed. The rest of my family is coming in a week but my sister and I had extra time off, so we took advantage and got here early.”

You opened your mouth to ask about his family – sounded like there were a lot of them, and the house they were renting was pretty big. But just then the kids' voices got louder.

“Uncle Mark!” you heard, and Marcus turned to look. They were all pointing at the ocean-side wall of their sand fortress, which looked like it had just been assailed by a wave and collapsed. “Help!”

He turned back to you with a shy smile. “Well, duty calls. Nice to meet you. Don’t let the umbrella get you.”

You laughed and waved. “Nice to meet you, too.”

For the rest of the morning, until they left around lunch time, you and Marcus kept glancing each other’s way. You caught his eyes so many times he started to grin and wink at you. You bit your lip and glanced away.

After they left for lunch, though, you didn’t see them again for the rest of the day.

Day 3, Friday

On your third day of vacation, you were at your spot on the beach bright and early. You managed to wrestle your umbrella into submission and successfully set up in its shade with your chair and your book.

After about an hour alone on the beach, you heard someone say your name. You turned to find Marcus walking towards you carrying a beach towel and a bag with a beach chair slung over his shoulder. His swimsuit was shorter than the one he’d worn the day before and your eyes were drawn to the way the muscles in his thighs flexed as he walked across the sand. 

Thank god for sunglasses. Your eyes danced down his legs and you noticed he was walking barefoot, sandals hooked over his fingers. Even his feet are attractive. 

You waved. “Morning! Alone today?” You glanced behind him, but no children burst through the dunes in his wake.

He nodded. “Yep. They wanted to go to the aquarium, but their dad got in last night, so I’m off the hook for the day.” You smiled as he came to a stop right next to you.”Mind if I join you?” He gestured to the other side of your umbrella. 

You shook your head. “Please. I’ve got plenty of shade.”

He set up his chair and sat quickly, throwing his head back and letting out a little groan as he did. “I love those kids, but I need a break. They’ve been using me as their own personal jungle gym.” 

You eyed the line of his neck but laughed. “And now it’s dad’s turn?”

He looked at you and grinned. “Yep. My sister actually said I wasn’t allowed to come. ‘Go have some actual vacation time,’ she said. Before the rest of the circus gets here, anyway.”

“That’s nice of her,” you said, smiling. 

Marcus nodded. “Yeah, she knows how much I need it.” Before you could even think to ask what he meant by that, he started digging in his bag. His furrowed brow told you he was having trouble finding whatever he was looking for. “Damn,” he murmured. “Forgot the sunscreen.”

You reached to your side and retrieved your own. You smiled again, holding it out to him. “You can borrow mine.”

He looked up at you and as you admired the way his smile spread slowly across his face, you couldn’t help notice his eyes crinkling again. “Thank you.” He reached out and took the bottle from you, fingertips just brushing yours. You ignored the shiver it sent up your spine.

You resolved not to stare as he put on the sunscreen, turning back towards the ocean. “So, first time here, right?” you asked.

“Yep,” he answered. You noticed he was rubbing sunscreen into his thighs out of the corner of your eye and swallowed, mouth dry. “It’s been in the works for a while. My sisters have been wanting to do a big family vacation, and my job finally cooperated with time off I could actually take. So here we are.” He shrugged. “Originally I was only going to be here for a week, too, but, um…” he trailed off, and you looked over to find he was staring out over the water with a pensive look on his face.

“Things changed?” you prompted, trying not to push.

Marcus turned back to you and smiled, a little wistfully. “Yeah. Things changed.” He cleared his throat as he started working on his arms and shoulders. “Anyway. But you must come here a lot, right?”

You nodded and rested your elbows on your knees. “Every year, at least once, when we’re not renting it out. It was my grandparents’ house, and now it’s my parents’. We spent a lot of time here as kids.”

He hummed. “That sounds nice. It must be pretty great, to have somewhere like this you can come if you need to get away.” He sounded wistful again, and you wondered what he wanted to get away from. He started to reach around towards his back with the sunscreen, clearly struggling, and you smiled. 

“Need some help?” You grinned at him as you echoed his words from the day before, and he chuckled, clearly recognizing them.

“If you don’t mind, sure. I promise I won’t make it weird.” His smile was too charming.

“Well, Marcus,” you replied, tone teasing, “I didn’t think you were going to make it weird until you said that.” He laughed again as he handed you the sunscreen, and turned in his low chair so you could get to his back. You rose up onto your knees behind him and squirted some sunscreen into your hand.

“Ok, here it comes,” you warned before gently placing your palms on his back. 

Immediately your focus narrowed to the feeling of your hands on his skin. He was naturally tan, but he’d also gotten some sun in the last two days. His skin was warm and smooth and you felt the muscles in his back shift as he turned slightly towards you, looking over his shoulder. 

“Thank you,” he murmured, and you glanced up to find him looking back at you as much as he could from his position. You nodded, and he turned forward again.

You rubbed in the sunscreen, making sure to cover his entire back. You tried not to notice the breadth of his shoulders and the way his back narrowed to his waist.  As you moved your hands downwards towards the waistband of his swimsuit, you bit your lip. You resolved to just be quick about it and finished by covering his lower back as fast as you could. 

You were so caught up in not making it weird that you didn’t notice the shiver that traveled up his spine.

“Ok!” you said, a little more forcefully than you intended. “You’re all set.” He started to turn and you quickly sat back in your own chair before meeting his eyes. You realized he looked a little flushed and wondered if he could tell your cheeks felt warm.

“Thanks,” he said again.

For a moment, neither of you said anything. You looked at him, and he looked back and you felt the pressure to say something, anything, building in your chest.

“So–”

“Well–”

You both started talking at the same time, and then laughed. He waved his hand in front of him and said, “please, you first.”

“So,” you said again, leaning back in your chair. “What do you do for work? If you don’t mind me asking. You made it sound like you barely escaped with time off.”

He chuckled again, and shook his head, looking rueful. “I did. Barely escape, I mean. I, ah,” he cleared his throat again, and you wondered if he was nervous. “I work for the FBI.”

Your eyebrows rose. “Oh! Like, as an… agent?” You weren’t sure how the FBI worked, really, except that there were FBI agents.

Marcus nodded and smiled. “Yes, exactly like that. Agent Marcus Pike, at your service.” 

You studied him for a moment, smiling. “So, what does that mean, exactly? What does an agent do?”

He shifted in his chair, leaning back like you just had. “Well,” he said, “it means a lot of things, but in my case it means I investigate art crimes. I’m in the art crimes division.”

You turned towards him a bit more, leaning in your chair. “Art crimes? Like, what was that TV show called… White Collar? Or Indiana Jones?”

He grinned, and then laughed. “I mean, theoretically maybe, but in practice, no, not much like either one.”

You bit your lip, a bit sheepish. “You probably get that question a lot.”

He shrugged, still smiling. “Well, it’s not the first time.” 

“Ok, Agent Jones, sounds interesting. And busy.” 

He smirked at the nickname, but nodded again. “It is. It has been, lately. But I just moved and then closed a big case and my boss basically kicked me out. Early. Once she knew I was going on vacation anyway.”

You laughed. “Sounds like a good boss.”

“Seems like it. I just transferred, so we haven’t worked together long.”

You tilted your head. “Transferred?”

“To DC. I’ve barely had a chance to unpack, really.”

You perked up. “Oh, I love DC! My brother lives there.”

Marcus smiled. “I like it so far, but I haven’t been many places other than the office and my apartment.” You nodded. You knew what that was like. “What about you?”

“Hmm?” you said, not sure what he meant.

“What do you do? Since now you know all about me.” He gestured at himself, and you smiled.

“Um, well,” you started, interested to see his reaction, now that you knew about his job. “I’m a museum curator, actually.”

His eyebrows rose and he leaned in. “Really?” His tone was full of interest and he looked as excited as you’d hoped.

“Really,” you said, with a laugh. “At the Museum of Natural Science, in Houston.”

“Texas?” he asked, and you wondered if you were imagining that he looked a little disappointed at the news. “Oh, I’ve been there, actually.”

“Houston or the museum?”

He laughed. “Both. That’s, well. I moved to DC from Austin.”

“Really?” you asked, and then laughed at the way you were echoing his question from a moment before.

He smiled. “Really. About six weeks ago, so it hasn’t been that long.”

“Well, damn,” you said. “We might have even been at the museum at the same time.”

“I went about two years ago, I guess?” he asked. “Spent a lot of time watching the pendulum.”

You nodded. “I was probably there, then. I’ve been there about five years. And a lot of people get distracted and stuck there, you’re not alone.” You laughed.

Marcus shook his head, smiling. “What are the odds?”

You looked at each other for a moment, and you tried not to wonder what it would have been like if you’d met this man two years ago, when he lived three hours away instead of twenty.

“So, Marcus,” you started. He tilted his head, giving you his full attention. You realized he’d done nothing but that, since you met, always turning towards you to listen to whatever you had to say. You were going to have to be careful not to let that get to you. “I was planning to go to the little gallery they have in town this afternoon. They usually have something new, whenever I go, from local artists.” He’d perked up as soon as you said the word gallery, and it made you smile. “Would you, um,” you hesitated, but he still looked interested. “Would you want to come?”

He was nodding before you finished your question. “I’d love to.” You looked at each other for another moment, and then he laughed. “Do you want to relax and read for a bit? Before lunch? I brought a book, too.” He reached into his bag and brandished his book, and you smiled.

“Sure.”

…

You spent the next couple of hours reading in mostly easy silence, with some conversation. Marcus turned out to be a good beach companion, happy to relax and read next to you. A couple of times he went to cool off in the ocean and you joined him once. (You spent the whole time trying not to stare at the way his wet swimsuit clung to his thighs and ass.) By the time the sun was high overhead, you were both ready to leave and get some food.

“Do you want to meet out front of the houses, in about half an hour?” he offered, and you nodded. 

“Sounds good.”

A little more than half an hour later you exited your house to find him waiting, leaning against one of your fence posts.

“Ready?” you called, and almost missed a step when he turned and smiled at you, obviously happy to see you. He was wearing a loose blue t-shirt that really emphasized how broad his shoulders were. You tried not to stare.

“Sure am,” he said, opening the little gate for you. 

As you turned towards the town, you said, “it’s not a long walk. About 10 minutes?”

“Perfect,” he said, nodding. “Where do you want to go for lunch?”

You told him about the options in town, and he must have picked up something from your descriptions, because he said, “well, let’s go to the cafe, then. Sounds like it’s your favorite.”

You blinked, surprised. “It is. How could you tell?”

He grinned. “I interview people for a living.” He waggled his eyebrows at you, and you laughed. “No, really you just looked more excited about it.”

“Well, it is my favorite, but we can go to any of them. I’ve been here before and you haven’t.”

He was shaking his head, though. “No, I’d rather get to know you, I mean, the town, through you. Um, as a guide, I mean.”

You smiled – maybe you weren’t the only one feeling a bit nervous. “Ok, sure. To the cafe, then.”

The town had risen up around you, by then, and you pointed out some of the popular places as you walked towards the center. “The gallery is past the cafe, but we’ll be able to see it from there.”

He held the door for you when you arrived, and you bit your lip as you stepped past him into the cafe. You could feel the heat of his body as you passed and caught a whiff of something warm and earthy from his post-beach shower.

They showed you to a table by the window, which was perfect for people watching, as you told Marcus after you sat down.

“It’s one of the things I like most about coming in the summer,” you told him, gesturing towards the street. “All the new people.”

He nodded, and you watched as he scanned his eyes over the street. “I can see that. Lots of tourists?”

“Yes,” you agreed, “people staying nearby and sometimes buses full of kids. Those days are fun.”

He laughed. “I’m busy enough with three and they aren’t even mine.”

Your easy conversation continued over lunch, and you started to feel something warm building in your chest as you spent more time with Marcus. He seemed genuinely interested in you, giving you his full attention and asking questions about your job and your life in Houston. He was familiar with the area you lived in and eager to hear if anything had changed in recent years. He was more reticent about his job, but you figured that was probably normal for an FBI agent. It wasn’t that he didn’t answer your questions – more that he was careful with details. 

You did notice that he seemed to be avoiding talking about his previous job in Austin, though. But since you’d barely known each other a day, you figured it would be weird to ask about it.

As you left, he held the door again, and said, “I can see why this place is your favorite.”

You squinted at him, frowning playfully. “You haven’t even tried the other places yet.”

He grinned and followed as you turned towards the gallery. “Sure, but that place was very you.”

You tilted your head. “What do you mean?” Part of you was skeptical whether he’d know what was you or not after only a few hours in your company.

Marcus looked a little bit shy, suddenly, but answered, “well, it was very warm. And welcoming. And I noticed you seem to like bright colors, and they do, too, in their decor.” You glanced down at your own clothing and bag and couldn’t help but nod. “But really it’s that it felt so comfortable, being in there. I–” he cut himself off, but you elbowed him gently. 

“Come on, you can’t stop there. What do you mean, comfortable?” Your voice was light and teasing, but you really wanted to know how he was going to finish that sentence.

“Um,” he started, and you noticed he had started to blush. It was very cute. “Well, it felt like… Ok. I’m sorry if this is too much. But it felt like we were eating at someone’s home. And you’ve seemed so at home, here. Not like me, I feel like I don’t even know how to relax anymore. Even with the kids, I felt like I was forcing it. Or just going through the motions. And I know we just met yesterday, but I’ve been more relaxed since we did.”

You blinked, a little stunned. It was a bit more than you expected from someone you’d just met, but it also somehow didn’t surprise you that Marcus was the type to just say what he was thinking and feeling like this.

“I–”

“I know, I can be a little bit much,” he interrupted you with a self-deprecating smile. “I really just didn’t expect to actually be able to relax and have fun, after what’s been going on for me lately. So I’m… pleasantly surprised.”

You were almost at the gallery, so you stopped and turned to look at him. He looked back, a little apprehensive. “Well, we did just meet,” you agreed, “but you don’t seem like too much to me.” You watched as his shoulders lost some of their tension and his smile turned a little more genuine. “Just very honest,” you said with a laugh, and he laughed, too.

“That’s definitely true,” he agreed, “maybe too honest, sometimes.”

You shrugged. You found it refreshing, and you told him so.

As you stepped up to the gallery you noticed he had lost his apprehension and turned back into the easy-going man you’d met on the beach. Now that you knew that easiness was somewhat hard won, you wondered what it meant that he’d never been anything but that, with you. And you wondered what had happened to him lately that made it so hard for him to relax.

…

Marcus liked the gallery.

You could tell, almost from the moment you entered. He immediately walked over to look closer at some of the art, and you recognized the work of an artist whose work you’d been seeing around town for years. You had one of their watercolors of the ocean during a thunderstorm in your apartment back in Houston.

You started scanning the room, looking to see what might be new in the familiar displays. It wasn’t a huge space but they did a good job of showcasing the work of each artist they hosted. After a few minutes of browsing separately, Marcus called your name and you turned to find him beckoning you over to a display of pottery made with cement and sea glass. 

“Look at this,” he said, and you could hear the excitement in his voice again. “It’s cement! That’s so cool, I’ve never seen anything like it.”

You grinned. “I’ve met the artist, actually. She was here last summer. She hand mixes all the different colors and materials. They’re not painted, the color is actually in the cement mix. I have one of her planters at home.”

Marcus picked up one of the smaller multi-colored pots and ran his fingers lightly over the uneven edges along the top. “Do you know how she makes these?” He glanced up at you and you felt a little swept away by the clear enthusiasm on his face.

You nodded. “She makes those from broken pieces from other projects. And I think she said from overpours, though I’m not really clear on what that means.”

He looked very impressed. “I think I have to buy one of these.” His hands curled possessively around the little pot he’d picked up, and he turned to look over the rest of the display. “Maybe more than one.”

You laughed, and elbowed him gently. “Consider me an enabler, then, because I think you should, too. I love her work.”

The two of you continued around the gallery, sometimes chatting and sometimes exploring separately. It felt, as Marcus had pointed out, easy and relaxed. Spending time with him was just so comfortable. You marveled a bit at how quickly you’d fallen into such ease with this man you barely knew.

He did end up buying two of the cement pieces, as well as a watercolor painting of the beach. You picked up a new screen print of one of your favorite spots in town.

As he was paying he laughed, and you looked at him curiously. He met your gaze, and then gestured at his purchases. “My sisters are going to tease me. They know I can’t resist buying art.”

You smiled, charmed. “I don’t think that’s a bad thing.”

“No?” he asked, stepping out of the way so you could pay. “I am running out of wall space. Or I was… in my old place.” He grimaced, and you felt regret at reminding him of whatever had been making his life more difficult lately. “Haven’t really unpacked much or decorated the new one.”

You hummed, wanting to comfort him, but you weren’t sure how to go about it when you didn’t know what was wrong, and you barely knew each other. “Well, maybe you can start with those,” you pointed at his bag, “something totally new, for your new place.”

He looked at you thoughtfully and nodded. “You’re right. That’s a good idea. Something new, with only good memories attached.” He said the last part to himself quietly.

“Only good?” you teased. “What about those man-eating beach umbrellas?”

He laughed, and you again watched as he seemed to relax and shake off his tension. “Yes, only good memories. Even the umbrellas.”

As you walked back to your houses, you wondered if you could ask him about whatever it was that kept making the smile drop off his face, whenever he thought of it. But you figured it was probably too soon. Maybe he’d tell you, if you kept getting to know each other.

At your front gate, he turned and reached out to squeeze your arm gently. “Thank you for letting me crash your plans for the day,” he said with a smile. “I had fun.”

You shook your head at him and laughed. “I did too, Marcus.” 

He bit his lip and let his hand drop from your arm, and you felt a tingle run down your arm with the tips of his fingers. “The kids’ll be back tomorrow. We’ll probably see you on the beach?”

You nodded. “I’ll be there.”

With a smile and a wave, you headed inside.

Day 4, Saturday

They beat you to the beach the next morning.

You could hear the kids laughing as you made your way through the dunes on the wooden path that led from the house’s back porch to the beach. As you passed the last dune, you looked to your left and saw that they were armed with foam squirt guns, chasing each other and Uncle Mark across the sand. You couldn’t help but smile at the sight.

They had set up their chairs and umbrellas over in front of their house, and you noticed that Marcus’ sister was sitting with a man you assumed was her husband. You drifted slightly to the right, out of the path of the water battle, as you found a spot to set up for the morning. 

After you dropped your bag you looked up again and found Marcus looking at you. He smiled and waved and you couldn’t help but do the same. You couldn’t quite wipe the smile off your face as you set up your umbrella and chair and settled in.

You kept track of the water war out of the corner of your eye and noticed Marcus was absolutely letting the kids win, while also backing up the littlest one (the younger boy) whenever he could.

It was pretty adorable. You bit your lip and turned your attention to your book. You managed to read almost a full chapter and didn’t look up again until you heard someone clear their throat to your left. 

You’d been so engrossed you didn’t notice Marcus approaching with a chair hooked over his elbow. “Mind if I join you?”

You shook your head and tried not to stare at the amount of his thighs you could see in his little swim shorts. Your gaze traveled upwards and you noticed his t-shirt was wet and clinging to his torso in a way that made you shift in your seat and glance away. You waved vaguely at the spot next to you in the sand and said, “please.”

As he sat you glanced behind him and noticed the kids were sitting on towels and having a snack. “Snack time?” you asked, gesturing behind him once he’d sat down. 

He smiled and nodded. “Yep. Too much running around, we have to feed them if we’re going to make it lunch time.”

You nodded. “So who won?” 

“Hm?” Marcus looked up at you.

“The great water war. Did you have to surrender?”

He laughed, and you grinned as you admired the way his nose scrunched when he smiled. “It was a draw. According to my sister, anyway. After their snack they’re going for a walk.”

“Ah,” you replied, “so no walk for you?”

He turned his smile towards you and shifted in his chair so he could face you. “Nah,” he said, tilting his head. “Had to come catch up with my gallery buddy.”

You laughed, and looked down at your lap. You realized you were still holding your book and set it aside in your bag. “Not much to catch up on since yesterday. I spent my afternoon reading in the hammock on my back porch.”

He shrugged. “Sounds pretty nice.” You nodded. “After they got back from the aquarium I went another round as the human jungle gym.” He was smiling as he said it, so you knew he enjoyed it, despite his words. 

“When does the rest of your family get here?” You realized he’d never said and were suddenly wondering if soon he’d be too busy to “catch up”.

Marcus sighed, and you watched as a bit of tension entered his shoulders that you hadn’t seen before. “Wednesday, at different times.” He looked out over the ocean and you wondered why the thought of his family arriving would make him tense. 

You clasped your hands together in your lap. “I’m leaving Tuesday,” you said, tone even. He whipped his head to look at you and you couldn’t read the expression on his face.

“So soon?” his tone was careful and you weren’t sure what to read into it.

You nodded. “I’m only here for a week. In between rentals.”

He furrowed his brow and you tilted your head, watching as he seemed to decide what he wanted to say. He opened his mouth and you learned forward slightly, eager to hear it. “Do you–”

“Hey!” A woman’s voice interrupted you, and you looked around Marcus to find his sister walking towards you across the sand. “So you must be our neighbor? And Mark’s new friend.”

Marcus shoulders’ were tense again, you noticed, but you turned to his sister with a smile. “Yep, that’s me.” You introduced herself as she came to a stop right next to his chair.

“Nice to meet you,” she replied. “I don’t know how much Mark has told you, but I’m Stef. So he said you come here a lot?” She seemed friendly, so you weren’t sure why Marcus was looking so tense. You wanted to reassure him but you weren’t sure how. You hadn’t known each other that long.

“Yes, the house is my parents’,” you gestured behind you towards the small house, and she nodded. “We all try to get out here together, sometimes, but I usually come by myself once a year.”

“Well, I know it’s probably not your idea of a relaxing evening on vacation, but you’re welcome to join us for dinner later,” Stef said, smiling. “We’re just going to grill and hangout on the deck.”

You hesitated for a moment, glancing at Marcus and wondering if this was why he’d become so tense. But you found that he was looking back at you with a smile. He nodded, so you smiled and nodded too. “I’d love to.”

Stef grinned and gave you the rest of the details. You agreed to head over there around five and promised to bring something to share.

As she walked back towards their spot, you turned to look at Marcus with one eyebrow raised. He was still smiling at you. “Are you sure you want me to come?” You couldn’t help but ask, wanting to be certain.

He blinked and looked confused. He shook his head, “of course. I was going to ask if you wanted to, right before Stef came over.”

You considered him. He wasn’t tense anymore, and you wondered why he had been, if this had been his plan all along. It still felt too early to ask.

“Ok, well, good. I’m excited, then.”

He smiled and you smiled back. Just then you heard the kids returning from their walk and calls for Uncle Mark to come back and help them with their next mission.

He sighed. “Guess that’s my cue.” He stood with a theatrical groan and picked up his chair. “I’ll see you?”

You laughed and waved him off. “I’ll see you later,” you confirmed.

…

Later that afternoon you were hesitating in front of your suitcase, wondering what to wear. You knew what you’d planned to wear for an afternoon of reading, and you’d only brought so many “nice” outfits for leaving the house for non-beach destinations.

You had three outfits left, and two more days after this one. 

You had one fairly nice option that you’d brought in case you felt like going out to dinner. You decided against that one – too fancy for a backyard cookout.

You had two options left after that, and both were probably fine. But one was a loose top with a low v-shaped back that you could wear with a swimsuit or dress up to go out, and you decided that was probably too much for this gathering.

So you went with the remaining more casual but nice outfit and nodded to yourself. You’d save the other two, just in case.

Just in case of what? You didn’t let yourself continue that thought. You grabbed your chosen outfit and walked quickly into the bathroom to get ready.

…

At just before five, you walked up to the front door of the house next door. You were curious to see inside for the first time, as you remembered the small house that had stood on the lot before the owners had sold it, almost 15 years ago. 

The new one was much larger. It had three stories, and you knew even the back deck had two. 

The door opened in front of you, interrupting your musings. You were surprised to find one of the kids standing behind it – the oldest, one of the boys.

“Hi!” he greeted you, and you smiled. “I’m Luke.”

As he said his name, you heard his mother call for him from down the hall. “Lucas, did you open the front door?” Her voice got louder as she came down the hall and rounded the corner. “Oh! Hi neighbor. Come on in.” She waved you in, but turned to Luke and sighed. “You can’t just open the door, bud.”

Luke looked a bit put out. “But I looked through the window! I saw her.”

His mom smiled and ruffled his hair. “Alright, but next time get one of us anyway. Go help your uncle.”

Luke ran off, and Stef turned her smile on you. “Ok, now come on in.” You held up the box of cookies that you’d brought as you followed her to the kitchen. She took it and nodded. “Good idea. The kids will love them.” She looked at you and winked. “Mark, too.”

You smiled and ignored the heat you felt in your cheeks. As you stepped into the kitchen you realized Marcus and the kids were out on the deck. “You can go join them if you’d like, we’re just finishing up in here. This is Andy, my husband.” 

You looked and saw that he was plating some sides and arranging bowls to go outside. He waved and you waved back as you introduced yourself. You stepped towards Stef instead of the door. “Can I help?”

Stef smiled, pleased, and nodded. “Sure. We just have to carry everything out.”

You grabbed a few of the dishes and followed her out the door and onto the deck, where there was a table set up as a buffet. You set down your dishes before turning to look for the rest of their family.

Stef’s husband had followed you out and was helping the littlest one into a seat at the table, and the older boy appeared to be wrestling with Marcus in the open space on the other side of the deck. You couldn’t help but smile as you watched. 

The girl, whose name you didn’t know yet, appeared next to you. “Hi! I’m Mandy,” she greeted, and you smiled at her as you introduced yourself. “Uncle Mark said you work in a museum. Do you have any dinosaurs?” 

You noticed as she asked that she was wearing a shirt with multi-colored, cartoon dinosaurs on it, and realized you were probably talking to a connoisseur. You grinned. “We sure do. We have a whole huge room full of them, the biggest one in the US. It’s called the Morian Hall of Paleontology.”

Her eyes lit up. “You do? What kinds? My favorite is triceratops.”

You knelt down and pulled out your phone, excited. “Well, I have great news, because we do have a triceratops. It’s the most complete skeleton ever found! Want to see a picture?”

Mandy looked like she was ready to burst out of her skin. She nodded so hard her whole body moved. You smiled. “Ok, here you go,” you said as you handed her your phone. “That’s Lane. She was found in Wyoming and was in such good shape we learned a lot of new things about triceratops from her. She even had skin, still! Here, look,” you said, tapping through to the next picture. “See the tail? We learned the tail had a different shape than we thought.”

“Wow,” Mandy said, squinting at the screen. “That’s so cool. I wish I could go see her,” she sighed, looking wistfully at the screen. 

“Well, I bet you can one day. She has a sister in Indianapolis, too – Kelsey. They come from the same ranch in Wyoming. But I can show you more pictures, if you want. Or send your parents a link to a website with a bunch of good ones of all of our dinosaurs and fossils. I think I have a video, too, and we have a lot more – a t-rex, an allosaurus, a stegosaurus–”

“Yes, please!” Mandy almost shouted, vibrating with excitement. “Uncle Mark got me a dinosaur book with lots of pictures ‘n stuff, I could look at them together! That would be so cool!”

You smiled at her and nodded. “I think that sounds extremely cool.” Someone stepped up next to you and you looked up for the first time since you’d started talking to Mandy, and realized the rest of the family was sitting around the table. Stef was looking at you and Mandy and smiling, but Andy was talking to the two boys. Marcus was standing next to you, and when your eyes traveled slowly up his body to meet his you realized he was smiling at you, softly. It made your cheeks start to warm. “Oh! Sorry. Guess we got carried away.”

Mandy ran over to climb into the seat next to her mom, already talking about dinosaurs again. Marcus offered you his hand to pull you up, and you took it.

“Don’t apologize – that was cute.” He grinned at you and squeezed your hand.

You laughed and shrugged. You noticed he was wearing a short-sleeve button-up shirt and decided it was a very good look on him.

“No, really,” he said, leaning a little closer to speak more quietly. “Mandy’s been asking me if you have dinosaurs all day. I told her she’d have to ask you about them, so, my fault I guess. But that was adorable. And you made her day.”

You tilted your head and smiled at him. “Taking kids through the Morian is one of the highlights of my job, I won’t lie.”

He laughed, and you found yourself caught by the warm look in his brown eyes. You blinked. Before either of you could say anything else, Stef called you over. 

“Come on, you two,” she said, and you whipped around to find her grinning at you. “Mandy has more questions about dinosaurs.”

You laughed as you joined them at the table, and soon you were pulled into a wide-ranging, somewhat chaotic set of conversations about dinosaurs (with Mandy), space (with Luke, you had to tell him you’d only been to the Space Center in Houston a few times, but he was right, it was cool), Stef (about your job and your family’s house next door), Andy (about things to do in the area, especially kid-friendly stuff), and with the younger boy, whose name you learned was Benny. It turned out Benny loved butterflies, and he was very excited to learn you had a butterfly zoo at the museum, too.

As you were telling Benny about the butterflies, you realized it had been a while since you’d heard Marcus say anything. You looked up to find him looking at you, eyes intent. You felt your cheeks heat again and smiled at him.

He smiled back, and it took all of your willpower to tear your eyes away when Benny asked you another question.

After everyone finished eating, Stef disappeared and reappeared with the cookies you’d brought, and the kids cheered. They apparently got to eat their cookies wherever, because all three sprang up and started running around the deck.

Andy and Stef started clearing the table but waved you off when you moved to help. You turned back to Marcus and found he was moving to the seat next to you, previously occupied by Mandy.

“So I think it’s safe to say you were a hit,” he said, grinning. “I think all three of the kids think you’re the coolest person they’ve ever met, since you knew so much about all of their favorite things.”

You smiled and leaned your elbow on the table with your chin resting in your hand. “What are the odds they’d like three things I know so much about?”

He smiled and shrugged. “I think dinosaurs and space are a safe bet with lots of kids. You got lucky with the butterflies.”

You laughed and nodded. “I really did.”

You were both quiet for a moment. Marcus opened his mouth to say something, but Stef appeared next to you again before he could.

“We’re going to put the kids to bed, let you two chill. Do you want to hang out longer? We might stay up a bit, but I will admit we are pretty tired from their antics all day.” She was smiling as she said it, so you smiled back.

“That’s ok. Thank you for dinner, it was great. And a lot of fun.”

“No,” she shook her head, “thank you for entertaining my kids. They’ve banded together and are begging for a family vacation to Houston, now.”

You grinned. “Well, if that does happen, you have to let me know. We can do a special museum tour and everything.”

“No promises,” she said. “Getting out to Texas will probably be less likely, now that this one has fled the state.” She nudged Marcus with her elbow and he grimaced. You noticed that tension from the beach in his shoulders again and eyed him, worried. “But I’ll keep that in mind. It does sound nice.”

You chatted with Stef for a few more minutes before the kids came parading by to say goodnight, and suddenly you were alone with Marcus on the back porch. You looked at each other for a moment before he took a deep breath and smiled. “Want to go walk on the beach for a bit? I can walk you home.”

“Love to,” you replied, turning towards the stairs off the deck. 

He was quiet as you walked through the dunes towards the beach, and you wondered if you should ask him about whatever was bothering him. But you didn’t know him that well, and couldn’t decide. 

You were still arguing with yourself when you stepped out onto the beach and Marcus stopped, looking out over the ocean. You slipped your shoes off and stepped up beside him.

The sun had set while you were eating dinner, but the night was clear, and for a moment you simply took in the expanse of stars that were visible above you. The waves crashed lightly against the shore and you sighed.

This was why you loved coming out here every year.

You weren’t sure how long you’d been standing there in comfortable silence when Marcus cleared his throat. “Um, sorry about that,” he said, sounding a bit sheepish. “Didn’t mean to go all quiet on you.”

You turned to look at him and smiled, reaching out to squeeze his forearm. “It’s ok. I was enjoying the moment.”

He tilted his head again and seemed to study you. “I was, too,” he murmured. “I’ve enjoyed all of our moments since we met.”

You blinked and felt your cheeks heat. He was so straightforward, so earnest. Just like the day before, you couldn’t help but feel drawn to it. It was so refreshing. “Me too,” you said, biting back a grin.

Marcus smiled back, looking much more relaxed than he had at the house. “Let’s walk.” You nodded and the two of you fell into step as you walked down the beach.

As you walked you asked him about the kids and his sister and brother-in-law, and he told you more about them and their plans for the week. You found yourself drifting closer to him as you got closer to your house.

“Thanks for coming over,” he said, turning towards you again at the entrance to the path that led to your house through the dunes. “The kids loved you, obviously, but we all had a good time.”

You nudged him with your elbow. “I did, too. But I didn’t get to talk to my buddy, much.”

He looked surprised, eyebrows raised, and you watched as a slow, pleased smile spread across his face. “Well, I’d hate to let my buddy down. Maybe we can talk more tomorrow? I think they’re taking the kids somewhere, again, but I don’t know yet if I’m going to be encouraged to go along.”

You nodded. “I’ll be here in the morning,” you said, gesturing towards the beach. “Just come find me if you’re free.”

His smile turned into a little bit of a smirk and he reached out to squeeze your arm, mirroring your action from before. “I’ll come find you,” he promised, and you shivered. For a moment you were frozen, his hand on your arm, just looking at each other. But he cleared his throat and the moment was broken.

You turned to head towards your house, but looked back when he said goodnight. “See you tomorrow, Marcus.”

He smiled at you. “I hope so.”

Day 5, Sunday

On Sunday you woke suddenly at the cry of a seagull, grasping at the tatters of the dream that was already slipping away. You were pretty sure you’d been walking down a beautiful, sunny beach with Marcus at your side, and he’d reached out to take your hand just before the bird woke you up.

You sighed and pulled the covers over your head to hide from the morning. You couldn’t believe you’d only known this man for three days and you were already dreaming about him. But he was so sweet, so handsome, and so interesting. He listened so carefully when you spoke and seemed so interested in learning about you, too. And his smile… you smiled to yourself under the covers, just thinking of it.

And there was something going on in his life that was making it hard for him to relax, something that made him look tense and unhappy whenever he thought of it. You couldn’t help but wonder what it was. You wondered if you were going to be able to get to know him better and ask.

You wondered if he’d be waiting for you on the beach, or if he’d get pulled into more family activities. 

You knew which one you were hoping for, and there was only one way to find out.

…

You stepped out onto the beach with your bag, chair and umbrella and a grin took over your face at the sight of Marcus already set up with his chair and umbrella. You noticed he was set up in front of your house instead of his and your smile grew wider. As you started walking down the beach you called out his name, and he whipped around in his chair to look at you, already smiling.

“Morning!” he called, standing and brushing some sand off his legs. The action brought your attention to them, and then the short red swim trunks he was wearing. How many of those did he have? You realized you’d been staring a beat too long and shifted your gaze to his face. 

He was smirking, just a bit. You smiled back. He gestured towards the sand next to his chair as he took the chair and umbrella from you. “Thought I’d go ahead and set up over here. Didn’t want to miss my buddy.” You smiled.

Once everything was set up, you noticed he had placed your chair much closer to his than it had ever been before.

“So,” you said, turning towards him slightly in your chair. “What’s the rest of the family up to today?”

“They’re headed to that mini-golf place you told them about,” he replied, and you noticed he was watching the movements of your hands as you started to put on sunscreen. You bit your lip and ducked your head to hide your smile. “And then maybe back here, maybe something else. They were going to decide later.”

“But you’re off the hook?” You pulled off your shirt to apply more sunscreen, very carefully not acknowledging to yourself that you had already put some on inside. You’d caught his eyes on you and his smirk when he caught your eyes on him and decided to push, just a little. You could tell he was trying not to stare.

“Yep. Stef told me to ‘go relax’ again.” You laughed and he shook his head, smiling. “She liked you, by the way. They all did. It’s all I heard about this morning at breakfast. The kids are still campaigning for a vacation to Texas.”

“Oh yeah? Well, I meant it, I’m happy to show them around.”

He nodded, but frowned playfully. “They were never this excited to visit when I lived there.”

You laughed, and when he joined in you admired the way his smile took over his face. The little crinkles by his eyes told you he probably smiled a lot. The air seemed different between you that morning, like the two of you had silently acknowledged something the night before. Something new. 

“So,” he said, shaking his head with a grin. “What are your plans for the day? Can I crash them?” His tone was teasing and you couldn't help but smile back at him, sunscreen held loosely in your fingers. You felt like you’d done nothing but smile from the moment you spotted him on the beach.

“Well, I was hoping to run into my buddy,” you winked at him, “and spend some time on the beach. Then there’s a market in town on Sundays, I was going to check it out.”

Marcus perked up at your words. “Sounds fun. When does it start?”

“In a couple hours. We could relax, then wander into town this afternoon?”

He nodded. “And maybe grab dinner?” He looked hopeful as he said it and you couldn’t help but smile.

“I’d love to.” You’d reached the end of what you could reasonably do with sunscreen without help and Marcus noticed when you twisted to apply some to your lower back.

“Um,” he cleared his throat. “Need some help?” His voice sounded a little bit strangled and you bit down on a grin.

“Sure,” you said. “I promise I won’t make it weird.” You teased him with his own words and he laughed. His shoulders dropped, more relaxed and you smiled to yourself.

He took the sunscreen from you and you turned in your chair to give him access to your back. “So,” you said, gathering yourself, “is there anything you’ve been wanting to do on vacation and haven’t, yet?”

Before he replied, you felt his hand first brush, then come to rest lightly on your upper back, and you realized how badly you’d miscalculated. 

Goosebumps erupted down your back and arms and you suppressed a shiver as the warmth of his hand transferred to your skin. His hands were large and warm and you realized he’d been speaking and you had no idea what he’d said. You forced your attention back to his words and away from the path of his fingers down your back.

“--so I didn’t really have any plans, I guess. Just needed to get away, whatever that meant.” His hand smoothed sunscreen over your shoulder and you bit your lip, thankful he couldn’t see your face. “I think it’s gone a lot better than it might have, since I met you.”

“O- oh?” you said, and then cleared your throat. “Well, I don’t know what I did but I’m glad it helped.” You laced your fingers together in your lap and tried not to tense every muscle in your body when you felt his left hand join his right on your shoulders. 

“I think…” he trailed off, seemingly focused on making sure you had sunscreen everywhere you needed it. You took a deep breath and he continued, “I think I would have just spent the whole vacation stuck in my head. Thinking about everything I wanted to get away from.”

You wanted to ask, but it still didn’t seem like the right time.

“But since we met, well.” He finished by rubbing the last of the sunscreen into your upper arms and then smoothed both his hands down your arms until he was cupping your elbows. He paused, just for a moment, and swiped both thumbs over the back of your arms. You couldn’t suppress the shiver this time. “It’s been easy to think about other things. I feel…”

You felt him lean back and you turned to finally meet his eyes again, hoping your thoughts weren’t obvious on your face.

He had a small, wistful smile on his face. “I feel lighter, I think.”

You tilted your head at him and returned the smile. “I know you’ve mentioned something that might be weighing on you a few times, but I have to say, you have seemed pretty relaxed since we met.”

Marcus’ little smile turned into a bashful grin, and he ducked his head. “Like I said. You make it easy to think about better things.” He looked up at you through his eyelashes and you couldn’t help but notice, again, how attractive he was. 

You cleared your throat. “Thanks for the help.”

Rather than lighten the serious tone, your comment seemed to deepen it. The air between you became tense but in a way that made you want to lean in instead of away. 

Marcus nodded. “Anytime.” 

You could tell he meant it.

You both turned to look out over the water and for the next little while, you turned to lighter topics.

…

As you were packing up and getting ready to head to the market a couple of hours later, Marcus asked what you liked to do for fun.

“Oh, well,” you said, struggling to close the umbrella. He reached a hand out to help and the two of you wrestled it into submission. “I like to try to go to different events around town, like food festivals and concerts.”

He perked up. “Me too,” he smiled, “I was, um. In a band. In college.” 

You grinned, delighted. “No way. Do you sing?”

He shook his head, still smiling. “Nah, I played bass. I haven’t picked it up in years.”

You bit your lip. “I’m imagining young Marcus Pike in a band and I have to say, I don’t hate it.”

He laughed, and you both turned to walk towards your house. “Faint praise, I see how it is.”

You elbowed him. “What, am I supposed to just tell you that I’ve always loved live music and maybe dated a few musicians?”

“Ohh, so you have a type, then?” He sounded half teasing and half serious and it sent a little shiver through you. 

“Maybe,” you said, shaking your head. “I think maybe I just like people who like art. Of all kinds.”

That felt like maybe you were being a bit too honest, so you changed the subject.

“There’s a place in town that does live music, but I think only on Fridays and Saturdays, so we missed it.”

“Too bad,” he agreed. “But I’m enjoying getting to know you. That’s harder to do, when there’s live music.” Marcus met your honesty with more of his own and you felt a little warmth take root inside your chest. 

“True,” you agreed. “Well, let’s meet out front in an hour? We can walk to town and explore some more.” 

You were both standing by the end of the walkway back to your house through the dunes, and Marcus leaned closer as he nodded. “Sounds perfect.” For a moment the two of you just smiled at each other. 

You cleared your throat. “Ok, great.” You bit your lip as you turned away, forcing yourself to start walking towards your house. About halfway you looked back and found Marcus watching you go. You felt your face heat as you waved and he waved back.

…

An hour later, you were feeling surprisingly nervous as you paced behind your front door. You’d gone through your clothes again and decided against the “nicer” outfit, which left only the top with the low back. You couldn’t help but imagine him putting his hands on your shoulders again, like he had on the beach, and it made you shiver with anticipation.

You took a deep breath and rested your hand on the doorknob, and when you opened your front door, you found Marcus waiting for you again. He was wearing a navy short-sleeved button up that did nothing but draw your eyes to his shoulders and arms. When he saw you he smiled and you could see the tension leave his shoulders. It quieted your own nerves, too.

“Hey, buddy,” he called as you walked forward, and you couldn’t help but grin. “Ready to explore?”

You nodded. “Sure am.” As you turned to lead the way, giving him a nice view of the low back of your top, you heard him make a low, strangled noise, and smiled to yourself. 

As you walked you gave him a run down of the various booths you could expect, and some you hoped to see but that weren’t always there. You felt the back of his hand brush against yours more than once and bit down on a grin each time.

The town came into view, and with it, the lively market that had taken over the main square.

“Oh, wow,” Marcus said, looking around in every direction. “Where do all these people come from?”

You laughed. “From the neighboring towns. We have the best square with the most space, so they do this market here. There are others, but they’re smaller.” You looked around, too, and immediately noticed a booth you knew Marcus would love. “Ooh! Marcus, look.”

You pointed towards the booth but watched him, and the look of excitement that took over his face was extremely cute. “Is that what I think it is?”

He immediately started moving towards the booth, and you laughed again. “Sure is.”

It was the concrete pottery shop, the one you’d both been fawning over in the gallery the day before. You waved at the owner, who was deep in conversation with some customers, and she smiled at you and waved back. 

“Look at this!” Marcus was holding a small pot in the shape of a cactus and grinning. “This stuff is so fucking cool, I know I’m about to buy even more of it.” 

You nudged him. “Look at this one.” You pointed it out and smiled when he gasped dramatically. 

“Is that a brain?” he laughed. “I love it.”

The two of you spent some time looking over all of the booth’s offerings, and Marcus did, in fact, buy three more things. (“How can I resist?” he said, grinning at you, arms full of pottery.)

From there you wandered the market together, chatting and smiling and laughing. His genuine delight at the different art booths made it feel like you were experiencing it for the first time again. You started to wonder sometime during the afternoon if it was less that Marcus was an amazing shopping buddy and vacation buddy, and more that you were just enjoying Marcus. 

You started to wonder if maybe you were getting in a little over your head.

By the time the booths started to close up for the afternoon, it was close enough to dinner that you suggested finding a table before everywhere got busy. “There are a few options. Oh, wait, do you want to have dinner right off the beach? I bet if we go now we can get a table at the Inn.” 

You pointed down the road and Marcus turned to follow your arm. It wasn’t really an inn, and you could see his confusion. “It’s not a real inn, that’s just the name of the place. Come on, I’ll show you.”

It was just down the street, but you had to turn the corner at the edge of the beach to show him why you’d suggested it.

They had a long, raised deck that ran the length of the building, with a beautiful view of the beach and the ocean from every table. The deck was strung with lights that were beginning to twinkle in the growing twilight. You looked from the deck, which wasn’t too busy, you noted, back to Marcus, and were gratified by the delight you could see in his expression.

“Yes, definitely,” he said, looking around. “I mean, this is amazing. I bet the view is amazing, too.”

You grinned and grabbed his hand to lead him inside. Your breath hitched when he immediately laced your fingers together. “It is amazing, but it’s usually really busy. We’re just early enough to get lucky.”

Your luck held and soon enough the two of you were seated at a table along the railing with an amazing view out over the open water. You’d felt the loss of his hand when he’d finally let go of yours at the table and hoped whatever you were feeling wasn’t showing on your face.

Marcus rested his chin in his hand and looked out over the water. “Beautiful,” he murmured, before looking back at you. “Thank you for bringing me here.”

You leaned on your elbows and smiled at him. “Thanks for joining me. I’ve had more fun than I would have alone.”

“Yeah?” he asked, looking suddenly shy. “I’ll admit, I was a little worried I was crashing your vacation and keeping you from doing your thing.”

You shook your head and laughed. “No, this is definitely better.” Marcus ducked his head and you smiled at him, fondly. Something about this man and his earnest, direct way of talking to you just made you want to open up to him. It felt thrilling and a little bit scary at the same time. “I would never have guessed I’d find such a great buddy.” You teased him, and he looked back up at you with a wide grin.

“Me neither,” he said, and reached across the table to brush his hand over yours lightly. You shivered. “Couldn’t ask for a better one, that’s for sure.”

Before either of you could say anything more revealing that maybe you weren’t quite ready for, your server appeared. You took a deep breath, both relieved and disappointed, as they told you about the specials for the night.

Dinner was easy, like every other conversation you’d had with Marcus so far. He put you at ease and you felt yourself opening up to him in a way you never had, not with someone you’d just met. It was heady.

“So, what’s the plan for tomorrow?” He looked apprehensive as he asked, and you knew he remembered it was your last full day.

You shrugged. “More beach. But I don’t have any plans.” 

He hummed, and for a moment you thought he might ask to join you, but he didn’t. He sighed. “I’ve got to hang with the kids for at least part of the day. But I’ll come find you on the beach?” 

You felt your stomach swoop a bit, disappointed. It sounded like you wouldn’t get another full day with Marcus before you had to leave on Tuesday afternoon. But you nodded. “I’ll be there.”

When it was time to go he offered his hand to help you out of your chair, and you took it with a smile. You tried not to read into the fact that he didn’t let go until you left the restaurant.

“Do you want to walk back along the beach? It’s a nice walk, especially when it’s not so hot.”

He agreed, and the two of you set off down the path through the dunes. The beach was quiet at that time of night, and the moon was almost full. It left you more than enough light to see by and you tried not to notice how romantic it felt to be walking down the beach with him.

After a few moments of walking in companionable silence, Marcus asked if you had to go back to work as soon as you got back. You traded stories about work for a few minutes, and he groaned with you when you talked about the early morning you had waiting for you on your first day back.

You rounded a curve in the beach that you knew meant you were close to the house, and sure enough it came into view. 

“Mm,” Marcus said when he saw it, “we should have been going this way the whole time. It’s so nice.”

You smiled. “Yeah, but during the day it’s so crowded. And hot.”

He nodded. “True. This is beautiful though.” He gestured to the water and turned in a slow circle as the two of you came to a stop in front of your house. He turned around to face you again and suddenly you realized the two of you were standing incredibly close to each other, much closer than before. “Thanks for spending the day with me. I had an amazing time.” His gaze was direct, and you could see the sincerity in his eyes. It made your breath catch in your throat.

“So did I,” you said, and it came out almost breathy. You cleared your throat and you weren’t certain, but it seemed like Marcus leaned in a bit more. He was very close.

“I–” he started, but then he looked down. He took a deep breath and when he looked back up, he looked wistful. “It’s too bad you’re leaving so soon.”

You nodded. It was. 

“I–” he cut himself off again, and you couldn’t help but wonder what it was he wouldn’t let himself say. You bit your lip and watched as his eyes darted down to stare. You both stood frozen, unmoving, his eyes locked on your lips, yours watching him. 

It felt like the world around you slowed, everything focused on this moment and the sudden tension between you and Marcus. You ran your tongue along your bottom lip and watched him shiver. 

Suddenly, he shook himself and almost jumped a step away from you. His expression went from open and wanting to closed and blank and you blinked, startled. “I have to go,” he said, voice low and hurried. “Good night.”

You opened your mouth, but before you could say anything, he was gone, already moving down the sand.

Was that– You didn’t know. You were pretty sure Marcus had been thinking about kissing you. But something was holding him back. You turned and started down the path towards your house, trying not to worry that maybe he just didn’t want to. 

Well, did you want to kiss him? You thought of everything you knew about the handsome not-such-a-stranger you’d met just a few days before, and felt the answer settle deep in your chest.

Yes.

Day 6, Monday

You woke on Monday feeling a bit out of sorts. You’d dreamed of Marcus, of a different ending to the night before – one where he’d stepped towards you instead of away, and what might have happened after.

But when you woke up alone in your bed, you remembered the look on his face when he’d moved away, and you felt uneasy. Like you’d taken a wrong turn somehow and weren’t sure how to get back to where you were before. Was this all moving too fast? Maybe that was what he was so worried about. Or maybe he wasn’t feeling anything at all.

You shook your head and heaved yourself out of bed, ready to let the sun and the waves wash away your nerves.

By the time you made it out to the beach, your neighbors were already there. Andy and Marcus were in the water with the kids while Stef watched from the shore, standing with one hand on her hip and the other shading her eyes. Andy noticed you first and waved, and then suddenly you had the whole family waving at you enthusiastically. You grinned and waved back.

Even from a distance, you could see the way Marcus straightened up and started to smile when he saw you. You tried to let that reassure you, but you were still feeling like you’d stepped off whatever path the two of you had been walking together. You looked away and turned your attention to setting up your chair and umbrella, and didn’t let yourself look back at your neighbors. 

Before you could sit down or settle in, you heard someone clear their throat behind you. You spun around, startled, to find Marcus standing a few feet away, looking nervous.

“Morning, buddy,” he said, one corner of his mouth lifting into a hesitant smile.

You turned fully towards him and tried for a smile. “Morning,” you said. Every moment with Marcus had been easy since you’d met, but suddenly the two of you were nothing but awkward. You were more aware than ever before how short a time you’d known each other.

He cleared his throat, lifting his hand to rub the back of his neck. “Well,” he said, peering up at you through his eyelashes. Even when you weren’t sure what to think, he was still devastatingly cute. “I’ve got to spend some time with the kids today, but I was wondering, um,” he trailed off, looking uncertain. He took a step closer and you bit your lip. “Would you want to get dinner with me tonight?”

You blinked. That sounded like a date. You’d talked yourself out of him being interested, and now he was asking you on a date?

“I–” you said, not sure how to respond, so you asked, “do you mean like a date?”

Marcus stepped closer again and your breath hitched when he moved close enough for you to feel the heat of his body. “Yes,” he said, voice low, gaze intent. “Like a date.”

You wanted to say yes, but the memory of his face the night before rose up in front of your eyes, so at odds with the way he was looking at you now. You weren’t sure what to make of it. “I didn’t think you would– that you were interested,” you said, hesitant. 

His brow furrowed, and he reached out and ran his fingertips lightly down your arm. When he reached your hand and met no resistance, he laced his fingers through yours and squeezed. He glanced behind him, and must have been satisfied with whatever he saw, because he lifted your hands and pressed a soft kiss to your knuckles. Your mouth dropped open.

“I’m interested, believe me,” he said, voice deep and sure. The tension from the night before, that heady feeling from before he’d walked away, rose up around you again. You wished you were anywhere but out in the open on this beach. His eyes were locked on yours as he continued, “I just don’t want to rush anything.”

You could hear something more, something weighty behind his words, and you nodded. “Ok. Well, I’d love to get dinner with you.”

The smile that slowly stretched across his face took your breath away.

“Great,” he breathed, squeezing your hand again. “Can I pick you up out front at 6? I have uncle duties until then.”

You nodded, already feeling a bit swept away. “Where do you want to go?”

He winked at you and you felt your cheeks heat. “Don’t worry, I’ve got something in mind.”

…

At 5 minutes to 6, you were standing just inside your front door, taking deep, steadying breaths.

You spent the morning catching Marcus’ eye as he played with the kids and grinning every time he lit up at the sight of you and smiled. You were sure Stef and Andy were teasing him, but he looked happy.

It was a good look.

In the afternoon you decided to spend some time in the hammock before getting ready. You tried to read and relax, but your mind was spinning with thoughts of Marcus and your date. It seemed unbelievable that you’d met him only days ago, when it felt like you knew him already. And every time he looked at you, well. You were looking forward to more of that over dinner. 

You had one fancy outfit left, and you were glad you’d packed it on a whim, just in case you decided to go out. It made you feel sexy, and you couldn’t wait for him to see you in it.

So you stood behind your door and closed your eyes. You took a deep breath, steadying yourself, thinking of the pull you’d felt ever since you’d first spoken to Marcus on the beach. Thinking of his smile, and the feel of his hand in yours.

A knock on the door startled you out of your reverie, and you smiled. You opened it to find Marcus Pike on the other side. He was wearing dark slacks and a button up shirt that made his shoulders look delicious. 

“Hey there, handsome,” you said. This was a date, right? That meant you were allowed to flirt, now. You watched as his cheeks turned a little bit pink. He smiled. 

“Hey there yourself, gorgeous.” He stepped forward and leaned down to press a kiss to your cheek. “This is beautiful on you,” he murmured, lips close to your ear. You shivered. “Ready for dinner?” he asked as he stepped back. He caught your hand and tugged you forward. 

You nodded. “Where to?”

He grinned, and gestured towards the town. “You’ll see.”

You laughed and let him lead you down the road. “Alright, I see how it is. A surprise then, hmm?”

Marcus nodded. “I may have snuck away to town on my own.”

You gasped. “What? Without me? I thought we were buddies!”

He squeezed your hand and laughed. “We are buddies!” he protested, smiling widely. “But I have to keep some secrets up my sleeve. You know, make sure I keep you interested. Wouldn’t want to lose my buddy.” You could hear something in his voice, something that made you furrow your brow.

You tugged on his hand, pulling him to a stop under the awning of a closed shop. He turned towards you and you studied him. He looked like he was fighting to keep whatever emotion was behind his words off his face. “Hey,” you said, grabbing his other hand. “You don’t need to worry about that.” You squeezed both of his hands. “I’m so interested, Marcus.”

He smiled a little half smile that made you melt. “Yeah?”

You nodded. “Yeah. Never had a better buddy.”

He ducked his head and chuckled. “Me neither,” he agreed.

You let go of his hands and tucked your arm into his. “Ok, now where to?”

He stood up a bit taller and started walking again. “Just around the corner.”

Marcus led you down a small side street and onto the next road, turning sharply and walking until you stood in front of a small restaurant. The front was brick, overgrown with ivy and strung with twinkling lights. You peered inside and saw no more than 10 or 15 small tables lit with soft, romantic lighting. The decor was warm and inviting and you grinned at the sight.

“I’ve always wanted to eat here!” you exclaimed, turning to him. He was watching you and you could see he was pleased at your reaction. “I’ve never been, they have that special menu for two and it’s always seemed too romantic and kind of sad to do it alone.”

He smiled at you. “Well, I’m glad you think it’s romantic, because it’s exactly what we’ll be doing.” You jumped up and down in place in excitement and he laughed. “I hope it’s as good as advertised.”

“Either way, I’m excited to try it with you,” you said, and he blushed. 

He gestured to the door and opened it for you. As you stepped through you felt him run his fingertips down your back, and you shivered.

Inside you were led to a cozy table in the corner where you could sit almost next to each other instead of across from each other. There weren’t any menus, and you knew the menu for the night would be set with only a few choices to be made about drinks and dessert. Marcus looked as excited as you felt at the prospect.

Like every other moment you’d spent with him so far, dinner was easy. He was easy to talk to, easy to tease, easy to make laugh. Something about the two of you together just clicked, and for the first time since you met Marcus, you let yourself sink into it without hesitation.

The food was amazing, but experiencing it with him made it better. He was so curious and excited about new things, it was hard not to get swept up in that excitement, too. 

During the second course, the two of you fell into an easy silence. You were trying not to think about going home the next day when he said, “you know,” and then trailed off. 

You elbowed him. “What do I know?” 

He smiled at you. “I’m glad you said yes.”

You smiled back. “Me too, Marcus.”

…

After dinner, he took your hand and you wordlessly agreed to take the long way back, through town to the beach. 

As you stepped out onto the sand, you sighed. You were going to miss this view when you went home. “It’s so beautiful here,” you said, wistfully.

“It is,” Marcus agreed, but when you turned to look at him, he was looking at you.

“I–” you started to reply, but he kept talking.

“You are so beautiful,” he murmured, and you breathed in sharply. “I couldn’t take my eyes off of you yesterday, you know.” He stepped closer. “In that shirt? And on the beach? And then tonight?” He squeezed your hand and you stepped towards him. 

The two of you were standing so close, you would only need to lean forward to be fully in his space. You ran your eyes slowly over his shoulders and then back up to meet his gaze. “You aren’t the only one who’s been looking, you know.”

He grinned. “No?”

You shook your head. “Your swimsuits, Marcus. And then the sunscreen?” You raised your eyebrows at him and watched as his eyes darkened.

“The sunscreen,” he agreed. “You know how badly I wanted to make it weird? Both times?” You laughed. “Shit, sweetheart. It took everything in me not to touch you last night, in that little shirt.”

“Marcus,” you said, and he leaned towards you. You were so close to him. “I want you to touch me.”

He groaned and surged forward, and suddenly you weren’t aware of anything but how he was touching you.

You felt one hand snake around your waist and the other grip the back of your neck as he turned your face into a kiss. He pressed his lips to yours, gentle at first, and then firmly. His lips were soft and his kiss drove every thought of anything but him far from your mind.

He hummed into the kiss and you shivered when you felt his tongue brush lightly against your bottom lip. You opened to him and let out a low moan of your own. You felt him clutch you tighter in response. 

After a few moments he broke away, breathing hard, and you felt your own chest heaving in response. He let his forehead rest against yours and you both sighed.

“I’ve wanted to do that ever since I rescued you from your man-eating umbrella,” he said, and you giggled. 

“I’ve wanted you to, ever since you let me put sunscreen on you.” You grinned as he started to giggle, too.

“You have no idea how hard it was not to make it weird,” he said, tugging you closer and hiding his face in your neck. “You put your hands on me and I have no idea how I held up my end of the conversation. I wanted to turn around and kiss you, right there on the sand.”

You shivered, and he must have felt it, because he pressed a soothing kiss to your neck. “I felt the same way, when you put it on me, you know,” you said. You felt him kiss you again. “I actually didn’t hear part of what you said, I was so distracted.”

Marcus laughed and leaned back to catch your eye. “Really?” He looked delighted. 

You nodded. “Really. I truly have no idea what you said.”

He laughed again, letting his head fall back. You leaned forward and pressed a line of soft kisses up the side of his neck. He hummed. “Well, it wasn’t important. I’m glad it wasn’t just me.”

You leaned in and sank into his embrace. For a moment neither of you said anything, just enjoying the feeling of being held in each other’s arms.

He turned his head and murmured in your ear, “I’m sorry about last night. I’m just…” he trailed off again, and you squeezed him encouragingly. “I just want to take it slow. I don’t want to mess anything up.”

You nodded against his shoulder. “Slow is probably good. It doesn’t feel like we just met, but we did.”

“I know,” he agreed. “I feel like I’ve known you forever.”

You both stepped back, and you caught his eye as he caught your hand with his own, turning to walk down the beach towards your house.

“I don’t, um,” he said, looking suddenly nervous. “I know we probably can’t promise each other anything. But I’m really happy I met you. And I’d like to keep talking, after you leave.”

You nodded. You wanted that, too. “And I’ll still be here tomorrow.”

At the end of the path to your house he stopped and turned to face you. He tugged you closer by both hands and you leaned into his space again. “I’ll find you tomorrow.”

You nodded. “You’d better.”

He grinned. “I’m going to want to come back here as soon as I walk away, don’t worry. I’ll find you.”

For a moment you just looked at each other, and you marveled at how much better this evening felt than the one before. 

Marcus untangled his right hand and lifted it to cup your cheek. “Good night, beautiful,” he said, and leaned forward to press a soft kiss to your lips. You leaned into it, but he pulled away. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

You nodded and fell into his embrace one more time before turning away and going inside.

Day 7, Tuesday

You woke to the knowledge that it was your last day, and it felt more bittersweet than usual. You realized as soon as you thought of it that you didn’t know what time Marcus would find you. Only that he would.

It was nice out, but you decided to pack so you’d have most of the day open. You looked around, wondering where to start, and when your eyes fell on your nightstand, you smiled. There was a large pile of books you hadn’t quite managed to finish after meeting Marcus. You’d suddenly had a lot less time for reading. 

By late morning you didn’t have anything left to do except to close up the house. You had just put your last bag in your car when you heard someone say your name. You turned just in time for Marcus to step into your space and pull you into a tight hug.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t come earlier,” he said, pressing a soft kiss just behind your ear in apology. “The kids demanded Uncle Mark time.”

“It’s ok, I’ve just been packing.” You pulled back and took his hand to lead him inside your house. As you stepped over the threshold you realized he’d never been inside. He looked around eagerly, taking in the varying decor.

“This is nice,” he said, gesturing to some of the art on the walls. “I like the variation.”

You laughed. “None of us like the same style, so we agreed everyone could add a little bit of their own. It’s a little bit silly.”

He smiled and shook his head. “No, it feels lived in. Like a home. Comfortable.” His words reminded you of your first lunch together, and you smiled back.

He stepped over to the couch and tugged you down next to him. You threw caution to the wind and threw your legs over his lap. He immediately slid his hands over your calves and you shivered. “I wish we had more time,” you murmured, and he nodded. Marcus straightened his shoulders and furrowed his brow, and you could tell whatever he was about to say was important. 

“I’ve been wanting to tell you something,” he started, and then stopped. You reached out and took one of his hands between your own. The corner of his mouth lifted in a small, wistful smile. “I’m so happy I met you. But I have to tell you, I just got out of an intense and, well, bad relationship. It ended badly, at least. I didn’t see it coming, but I realized after that I should have.” He cleared his throat, and you realized this was probably the reason for all of that stress and tension he kept talking about.

“Part of the reason for this whole vacation was to get away from it all. She was in Texas, and she was supposed to come with me to DC and then she didn’t. And I…” he trailed off and you squeezed his hand between your own. “It just hasn’t been that long… since it happened. I never–” he shook his head. “I never thought I’d meet you.”

He looked up, and when your eyes met you felt the intensity of his gaze. “You were so unexpected. And I like you so much.”

“I like you too, Marcus.” you couldn’t help but interject, and you thought he needed to hear it. You knew you were right when you saw some of the tension leave his shoulders.

He smiled. “I think we maybe found something good. Something too good to let it pass us by.” You nodded. You knew exactly what he meant. His smile twisted into something more rueful, more worried, and he looked down at your tangled hands. “But I’m not ready. Part of the reason everything fell apart was me rushing into things. And I don’t want to do that again.” He looked up at you. “I don’t want to do that to you.”

You looked at him, and even though you could feel the disappointment welling within you, you wanted to reassure him. You leaned forward. “I understand, it’s ok.”

But he shook his head. “No, listen. You said you come here every year, right?” You nodded. “Well, I have a proposition for you.”

You tilted your head. “Oh?”

“Meet me here next year,” he said, rushed, breath coming quickly. “We can talk, get to know each other. Learn more about each other this year. And next year, one year from today. If we’re both still interested… meet me here. Out on the beach.”

Your breath caught in your throat, suddenly swept away by the romantic notion – talking, learning each other, and meeting here again. But you paused to give it the thought you knew he deserved.

You nodded. “I do want to get to know you, Marcus.”

He smiled. “Me, too.”

You leaned in and pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth. “One year.”

He nodded. “One year from today. And we’ll see.”

You smiled, and when you leaned in to kiss him, you knew it wouldn’t be the last time.

One year later

You were nervous as you closed the door behind you and stepped out onto the back porch. You couldn’t see the beach from there, not past the dunes, and so you couldn’t see if he’d come.

If Marcus would be there, waiting for you.

You took a deep breath and shook out your arms, trying to ground yourself. You knew Marcus, you reminded yourself. He wasn’t a stranger anymore. You’d spoken on the phone and on video chat, taking it slow and getting to know each other, letting it happen naturally.

He’d become one of your closest friends. And you knew you wanted him to be more.

You hadn’t spoken for the last week, keeping to your silent agreement not to talk about whether you were going to see each other today. Somehow you had both known that the other would need to take time and decide. And you knew Marcus was wary, these days, after Teresa. He was so afraid of rushing things, of getting ahead of himself. 

But it had been a year, and you couldn’t be more sure.

You twisted your hands together nervously as you walked down the porch steps and onto the sand. As you walked through the dunes, you didn’t let yourself search ahead. You focused on the sand in front of your feet as you thought about nothing but the man you hoped to find waiting for you on the beach.

One more dune stood between you and a clear view of the beach. You paused and took another deep breath before stepping forward.

As the beach came into view, your eyes were immediately drawn to a familiar pair of shoulders. He was standing with his back to you, looking out over the ocean, hands in the pockets of his shorts. His hair moved slightly in the light breeze. You barely registered the blanket and basket next to his feet. 

A grin took over your face. Before you could stop yourself or think about it, you called out, “Marcus!”

He was already moving towards you as he turned, a smile breaking across his face. You started walking faster as he did the same, and then you were both running. With only a few feet left between you, you flung your arms out.

Between one breath and the next you were tangled together, secure in his arms for the first time in a year. He wrapped himself around you tightly and you sank into his embrace, tangling your hands in his hair. 

He murmured your name in your ear and you shivered. “I was so afraid you weren’t coming,” he said, voice deep and warm and so familiar. “I was starting to worry I wouldn’t have anywhere to sleep tonight.”

You laughed into his neck and blinked back the sudden tears you felt threatening at the back of your eyes. You wanted to tease him back, but you knew this man and all of his worries, and more than anything you wanted to tell him the truth.

“I’ve known I would be here for months, Marcus,” you reassured him, leaning back to catch his eye. He looked as teary and emotional as you felt, but he was smiling widely. You moved your hands from his hair to cup his face gently. It was surreal, seeing him in person after so many months of nothing but videos and photos. “I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.”

He turned his smile into your palm and pressed a kiss there. You sucked in a sharp breath. “Me neither,” he murmured, kissing your hand again. “I’m–” he sighed. “Thank you for waiting for me.”

You ran your right hand through his hair and smiled when he shut his eyes at the sensation. “You’re worth the wait.”

Marcus tugged you closer and nudged his nose against your own. “So are you, sweetheart.” Before you could say anything back, he kissed you.

It was just as good as you remembered it. His lips were soft, but the way he kissed you was firm and full of intent. You sighed into his mouth and felt him smile. 

“Come on,” he said, tugging you forward as he took a step back. “I brought dinner.”

You grinned. “Are we having a picnic?”

He smiled as he let your hands tangle together. “I owe you so many dates, sweetheart. Just the first of many.”

You tilted your head and considered him, and he cocked an eyebrow at whatever expression he read on your face. “You know, this is technically our third date,” you said. You couldn’t bite down on a smile and found yourself grinning at him as he smirked at you.

“Third date, huh?”

You nodded. “Yep. Good thing you’re staying with me, isn’t it?”

Marcus laughed and you couldn’t help but admire the way it made him look lighter. His shoulders dropped and his face opened and he looked gorgeous, smiling and relaxed with you on the beach where you’d first met. 

“Are you propositioning me, sweetheart?”

You reached the blanket and he tugged you down next to him. 

“You bet your extremely cute ass I am, Pike.”

With another laugh, Marcus leaned forward to press a quick kiss to your lips before reaching for the basket. “Good. Consider me propositioned.”

You smiled and let yourself sink into the feeling, into Marcus, into the warmth you’d been missing for the last year.

…

The cry of a seagull woke you and you blinked against the sunlight that was streaming through the window of your bedroom at your parents’ beach house. It felt early, and you’d really hoped for more rest. But you were awake and you knew you wouldn’t be able to get back to sleep.

Despite your frustration, you felt a smile stretch across your face when a warm hand snaked over your waist and around you, pulling you snugly into the warmth of the man you’d thought was still asleep.

“Mm,” Marcus murmured, pressing his face into your neck. “Don’t the seagulls ever take a day off?”

You snorted into your pillow and reached back to tangle your fingers in his hair, still wild from where you’d clutched at it the night before. “Never have before,” you said, and he grunted. You laughed. “Should I write them an angry letter? About letting us sleep in?”

You felt him smile into your neck. “Nah,” he said, starting to press soft kisses along the line of your throat. “Maybe I’ll thank them instead, for waking us up early and giving me more time to do this.” His hand started to slide down towards your underwear and you grinned. 

“What, are we on a schedule?” You curved your back as you asked, pressing up against him. You could feel his cock start to harden against you and smiled.

He pressed down with his hand over your underwear and your breath hitched. “Maybe not,” he said, starting to move his hand. You felt a warmth start to pool at the base of your spine and moved to grasp his arm. He kissed your neck again and murmured, “but I want so many things with you… so we better get started.”

You laughed and marveled a little at how fun this was with Marcus. It was perfect. “Yes, please,” you agreed. Marcus pressed on your hip to turn you until you were lying beneath him. He hovered over you and you took a moment to admire his smile. And the wicked look in his eye.

“Gorgeous,” he said, a little breathless. He pushed his hips down into yours and you moaned at the sensation. You ground your own hips upwards to meet him on his next thrust. “You feel so good under me, sweetheart.”

You reached down to tug your underwear down and kicked it off. He did the same and when you came together again, you both moaned at the feeling, all hot skin with nothing in between you. “So soft,” he murmured, and you pulled him down into a searing kiss.

You let the sensations wash over you – your hands in his hair, his right hand firmly gripping your hip. The way his cock rubbed against you as he ground his hips downward. The slide of his tongue against yours.

The warmth inside of you was building. You felt a shiver run up your spine like lightning and gasped.

“Yeah,” he said, pulling back to study your face. “Just like that, sweetheart. You look so gorgeous when you come. Let me see it again.” His words reminded you of the night before, when he’d put his mouth on you and taken his sweet time learning every inch of your skin. 

You felt it building again and teetered on the edge. You met his eyes and felt yourself start to fall. “Yes–” you choked out, but he claimed your mouth again and you moaned into his as you came. As it swept through you, stealing your breath away, you wondered, distantly, if it would be this amazing every time.

You blinked your eyes open and found Marcus had buried his face in your neck. His hips were still moving slowly against yours. You wrapped your legs around him and said, “yes, baby, just like that.” When he shivered, you smiled. “C’mon, Marcus, I want you to come on me.”

His hips faltered in their movement at your words, and you heard him make a low, keening noise in his throat as he threw his head back. You pressed kisses along his neck and then sucked lightly at a spot just above his collar bone.

It pushed him over the edge. You pulled back to watch him tip over and couldn’t take your eyes off of his face. You felt him come and twitched your hips upwards again. He moaned.

He fell forward and tucked his face into your neck. “Shit,” he breathed, and you grinned. “That was so fucking good.”

“Mm,” you agreed. You started to run your hands up and down his back. “Seems like we were right, last year. We’re pretty good together.”

Marcus lifted his head and caught your eye. He was smiling, but the look in his eye said even more. “And we’re just getting started.” 

You pulled him into another kiss and let him sweep you away.

Epilogue: eighteen months later 

The ocean crashed against the shore and you let the sound soothe you as you sipped your coffee. You sat curled in a loveseat on the back porch of the beach house, blanket wrapped around you to ward off the chill. This wasn’t your usual summer beach vacation and you weren’t used to it being so chilly out.

You smiled to yourself when you heard movement in the house behind you, and turned to smile up at Marcus as he came stumbling through the back door, rubbing at his eyes. “Sweetheart? You’re up early.” He yawned and you admired the lines of his body as he stretched.

“Couldn’t sleep,” you agreed, smiling. “Too excited.”

He grinned. “Me too.” He looked out over the sand and squinted, trying to see around the dunes. You imagined the rows of chairs and flowers that might already be in place on the beach and sighed. “You think they started setting up?”

You shrugged. “I’ve been told not to worry about it. Just to show up on time.” You moved over on the seat so he could sit next to you. He tucked you in his arms, blanket and all, and you leaned into it with a smile.

“Well, we’ve got at least a few hours until showtime. How should we spend them?” He nuzzled his face into your neck as he asked, and you were pretty sure you knew what he was thinking.

“Are you trying to lure me back to bed, Mr. Pike?” You knew he could probably hear the smile in your voice as you teased him.

“Maybe I am,” he agreed, pressing soft kisses along your neck. “Maybe I want you all to myself for a little while longer, before the chaos starts.”

You laughed and shook your head. “You’ll have me all to yourself forever after today, you know.”

He nibbled at your neck, and you sighed. “Just the way I want it,” he agreed. 

You could feel yourself starting to give in – you hadn’t seen him in two weeks before last night, as you’d been packing up the last of your apartment in Houston and he’d been doing the same with his place in DC. You smiled again, thinking about the new place and new jobs awaiting the two of you in New York, ready for you to return from your honeymoon. “You know, my brother reminded me last night that it’s bad luck to see each other the day of the wedding,” you teased, and you felt him laugh. “I told him I hadn’t seen you in two weeks and luck would just have to deal with it.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” Marcus said. “Now come on, we’ve got at least an hour before anyone comes looking for us or makes us get ready.” He brushed his nose against your ear and murmured, “let’s get this marriage off to a good start.”

You laughed and let him pull you up. “I love you, you know,” you said, leaning in to kiss him. When you pulled back the look in his eye made your breath hitch, even after all this time. 

“I love you too, sweetheart.”

...

a/n: Thank you for reading. 🧡 I thought about posting this in small bits but I'm just giving it to you all at once. 😂

Some links! The Houston Museum of Natural Science:

Pics and more from the Morian Hall of Paleontology: https://www.geologyvirtualtrips.com/hmns-hall-of-paleontology 

The Herzstein Foucault Pendulum: https://www.hmns.org/exhibits/herzstein-foucault-pendulum/ 

More about the museum: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston_Museum_of_Natural_Science 

https://samblyblog.wordpress.com/2016/04/28/assignmentquestion/ 

https://www.tiktok.com/@houstonmuseumns/video/7202415390708780331

And the pottery described in the fic is based on the amazing work of Maker Missya.

tag list coming in a reblog 🧡 (this post is already way too long)