The spring air was cool. It was like a giant hand caressing the bay, trying to set the waves to peace. It was doing the same to his heart. He cast a glance at the neighboring house. It was more of a castle really; therefore it had an attractive allure. However he knew the amazing architecture wasn't what captivated his attention, but rather a concealer of the real reason. The balcony facing East stood majestic, and unfortunately empty.
He sighed seeing this as a sign that what he was doing, what he was feeling was not right. Therefore not even God or whoever was up there wanted him to have the chance to pursue his dark desires. They would probably lead him down a path that ended with a precipice.
So he decided to take a walk on the seashore. It wasn't that cold after all.
He toddled for a few moments enjoying the sound of the seagulls and missing his daughter Amanda. She was at his aunt's for the weekend.
His eyes settled on someone on the distance and even before his eyes could fully make her out, his heart started thumping dangerously. It was her.
Some joke about the girl next door came to his mind abruptly, but he dismissed it trying to focus on the image that was getting clearer by the minute. She was wearing white pants and a plain blue sweatshirt and was probably holding a white hat in her hand. She seemed to enjoy the sun and just like him, was walking barefoot by the seaside. He didn't need reverie for long, for she became quite clear to him in a few moments. Gosh, she was gorgeous; as the wind played with her hair, she seemed just a little girl and not a married woman. The thought stopped him cold.
Damn it! He so wished he had seen her first, had met her first, before she would have had the chance to be his boss's wife.
'Mr. Clarke? What a chance meeting you here?' She said gracefully waving at him as delicate dimples formed around her cheeks.
He realized he must have stopped his pace and had been staring at her for quite a while. He had to remind himself to breathe.
'Mrs. Grayson! Hi!' He said knowing he was probably blushing and therefore taking his eyes off of her and focusing it on the waves that were washing their feet.
'Oh, please call me Victoria.' She said and seemed to be waiting impatiently for him to push the conversation forward.
'Ok then,' he smiled as her inquisitive eyes followed his every move. 'Mind if I join you?' He blurted out almost unconsciously.
Although her eyes looked triumphant, her words were dry and distant like you would expect from someone whose nickname was 'Queen of the Hamptons'.
'Please do.' She murmured slowly and chewed the words carefully.
You would except her voice to be docile and tender judging by her looks, but it wasn't. It was sharp and yet melodious, like the brush of a painter who is truly very inspired and he can't wait to see his work of art finished.
He had to remind himself to stop looking at her again. They walked side by side for a while, in silence.
'So how are you enjoying the Hamptons, Mr. Clarke?' Victoria asked casting a long glance.
He smiled and replied using her same words.
'Please, call me David. The Hamptons is an amazing place.' He turned his gaze around. 'I've always liked the ocean.'
She followed his eyes and said she had as well.
'It's like a safe harbor, you know, from the tempests of life.' He continued poetically as he felt her mesmerized look.
Only an artist could detect the artist in another person. And she seemed like the only one that had ever brought out that side of him.
'I know exactly what you mean.' She replied. He had to look back to confirm what his ears had immediately percepted. Her voice had grown different, sadder.
He remembered that one of the first things that had hit him about this woman wasn't her unquestionable beauty. It was something about the sadness he had noticed in her eyes, the emptiness that resided in there. It had broken his heart, for she seemed to him as mesmerizing as to be God's muse for the creation of all the beautiful things in the universe. What could make her be so sad?
'If you don't mind me asking, what demons had you been fighting with before you found this place...Victoria?'
He loved the sound of her name on his lips. It was as if he was speaking a saint language as he whispered it. Her eyes came to his and he could read in there that she must have waited a long time for somebody to ask just that precise questions.
'I do not mind you asking, but those are memories tangled to a me I left behind.' She said with a low voice. 'Fortunately all is clear now, just like this day.' She said and raised her eyes to the sky. David, suddenly noticed a sandcastle right under her next step and without thinking about it he grabbed her hand and pulled her away.
'Careful!'
Her eyes pierced his as a crimson color invaded her cheeks.
'I bet some kid spend a long time building it.' He murmured trying to make her notice the reason of this deviation.
She smiled genuinely.
'Yeah, thank you.' And as her hands slipped away from his, his heart started hammering against his ribcage, as he was hit by the sudden realization that he never wanted her hands away from his.
'My son, Daniel, loves sand castles as well.' She said and he saw her eyes lighten up, her love blossoming magically. He so wanted to have that effect on her. 'I can't imagine what he'd do if I destroyed one of his.' She laughed pointing to the sand with her chin.
However that distraction cost her because as her foot touched the ground again, she felt something was wrong. There were broken pieces of a beer bottle hidden by the sand. A crying pain escaped her lips. David stared at her worriedly and noticed the glass as well.
'I must have stepped right on it.' She whispered trying not to voice her pain. It really hurt.
'May I see?' He asked and lowered himself on the ground. He grabbed her ankle as if it was porcelain and noticed glass mixed with sand and blood.
'I think we need to take it off.' He said looking up at her. She just nodded biting her lips.
He got up and sighed in relief noticing they hadn't walked too far away from his house.
'I have a First-Aid kit in my home, if you don't want to call some royal doctor.' He suggested with a sly smile.
She smiled back and tried to walk with her good foot but her body gave out and nearly fell if it weren't for his powerful arm that went around her waist. However his touch was so gentle she could barely feel it. Maybe it was his tenderness and sweetness that had her heart beating like crazy.
'May I?' He asked offering his hands to pick her up. She could feel her face turn red and her ears burn. This wasn't like her. However she just nodded and he picked her up realizing what he was doing only when she embraced her slim arm fearfully around his neck.
The scent of her perfume fondled his nostrils and he had his eyes fixed at the door fearing to look at her.
The fragrance was more than enough to awaken inside him a fire long forgotten; because feelings like that if left unnurtured only die out and produce something they both shared: those expressionless and sad eyes.
He reached the threshold and put her down gently inviting her in.
'We should get that cleaned first.' He murmured. He thought he could let her in but she couldn't walk anyway so he sat her on the swing on the porch.
'I'll be right back.'
She nodded obviously embarrassed and tried to wipe the sand away from her feet.
He made his way back with his First Aid box and brought her some warm water. And then he asked her to put her foot on the swing and took out something looking like tweezers to take the little pieces off. His hand trembled a little and he could feel her muscles tense.
'It's quite lucky you happen to have everything you need in this haven you have built.' Victoria said looking around trying not to mind the pain.
'My daughter Amanda gets into trouble all the time, I have to be prepared.' He said smiling. She bit her lower lip as he removed a big piece of glass and blood oozed out.
He looked at her for a second and she seemed to him like a broken-winged bird. So he grabbed her hand.
'If it hurts just squeeze my hand.' His smile was so reassuring and she intertwined her fingers with his.
He finished removing the pieces and put some alcohol on a piece of bandage to wipe the wound off.
'This is gonna hurt a little.' He said as gently as he would to his little Amanda.
Her eyes followed his every move with the precision of a hawk. When he felt her squeeze his fingers, he couldn't help a smile. After he finished he pulled a clean bandage and had to slip his hand away. He wrapped the bandage around her ankle gently as if it was a sharp.
His fingers sent her skin ablaze. His hands moved with unusual dexterity as if he had been doing that all his life. Sometimes she felt his breath on her skin and wanted nothing more than to have that feeling closer to her lips.
'All done!' He smiled before she had fully breathed down. She had to get out of there.
'Thank you, Mr. Clarke...
'No, no, you get to call me David, remember?'
The look she gave him this time showed a kind of longing that he knew far too well. He felt the same twin feeling.
'Then thank you, David.' She tried to get up, but again her right foot could not sustain her weight and before she collapsed, his arms wrapped around her waist keeping her straight.
She smiled and said knowing her face had turned scarlet. 'You have magical hands, David. I totally forgot it was supposed to hurt.'
He just laughed, but abruptly stopped as her eyes came to his and they both noticed the security distance of non-lovers was long passed. Their lips were inches apart and even though she was holding her breath, she was sharing his. It tickled her neck tantalizingly.
'I have to go.' She whispered and she hadn't meant to sound seductive, but it was as if her voice had gotten a life of its own.
It took him a few seconds, but then he whispered. 'Of course. Sorry.'
She used her hand to steady herself and then tried to put some pressure on her foot. It hurt, but she knew that one more minute together and she would surpass a border that she had never realized was there.
'Are you sure you don't want my help?' He asked from behind. She stared ahead, before turning her head.
'You did more than enough, thank you.'
She walked on her toes and made it past the turn where she wouldn't feel his eyes anymore, sad as it was.
As he saw her leave, it was as if the sky suddenly turned grey and the reason of his day dissipated. His eyes and heart followed her careful moves each hoping she would turn her head back, just once more. What was it about this woman that made him want to step on the border of something he knew was wrong? What was it about this woman that made him feel full of life, as if born anew? What was it about her that made him wanna run to her to grab her and kiss her all night long?
Anyone who had ever laid eyes on her would say that her blinding beauty was behind it all. And probably he would have given it all the credits too, if she had not turned her head back whispering another 'thank you'.
It was the feeling he got when he looked into her eyes and he felt not just safe and also loved, but he felt like he had found a half of himself, a piece he had been looking for since forever. When he looked at her, he felt like his heart now had his half and he knew the moment he realized this that he would stop at nothing, and at no one, until their hearts became one.
A/N. Hey guys! I had always wondered what Victoria and David would have said to each-other in their beginnings and the idea came when I was nearly fighting with my inspirational best friend(let's just say her views on Victoria are pretty different from mine :P) about Victoria and David's love and I was pretty happy with the it. It came out being pretty cheesy though, I mean frankly I cannot imagine Victoria barefoot, without her 10 cm heels, but let's just say I had to get it outta my head. Hope you like it and remember to review and tell me what you think.