Matthew looked at Mary sleeping. She looked so peaceful. Her chestnut hair had uncurled a bit leaving her with gorgeous wavy hair. She was resting her head on his chest and she had her arms wrapped around him. He pulled her in closer and kissed the top of her head. The sun was slowly starting to rise making the ocean appear orange. A warm summer breeze blew through Matthews's hair; if only the warm weather could stay forever. Doing his best not to wake up Mary he carefully pulled off his jeans, t-shirt and shoes so that he was only in his navy blue boxers. He walked over to where the sand met the water and stood there for a moment admiring the view. He then walked far out into the ocean so that the majority of his torso was engulfed. Being in the water made Matthew feel refreshed and relaxed. He held his breath, disappeared into the water, and quickly came back up. He took his hand and pushed back the hair that had become plastered to his face. After a brief swim Matthew walked back up to the blanket where Mary was sleeping. Mary heard him approach, and looked up. She couldn't help but stare; Matthew was in nothing but his boxers. His hair was soaked and his body glistened as drops of water fell off of him.
"Good morning Matthew." Mary said
"Good morning my love." He said leaning down to meet her lips.
"How was your swim?"
"It was lovely, but it'd be even better if you joined me." He said with a wink.
"You want me to go in with my dress?"
Matthew shrugged, "either that or in your undergarments."
Mary debated for a moment before she carefully unzipped her dress and it fell to the sand. She was standing in front of Matthew in a red bra and matching underwear. Matthew was exposing her to a new world. Back at home what she had just done would have been greatly frowned upon. When she was with Matthew, she felt as free as a bird. He gently took her hand into his own, and they walked down to the water together. Matthew instantly dived in while Mary took baby steps in.
"Matthew, the water in freezing!"
"If you come out here, I'll keep you warm." He said while wiggling his eyebrows. Matthew grabbed Mary by the waist and pulled her out deeper into the ocean.
"Matthew!" Mary squealed. The water was freezing causing Mary to shiver. The instant Matthew wrapped his muscular arms around her she felt much warmer.
"Is that better?" Matthew whispered to Mary.
"Maybe if you kissed me I'd feel even warmer." Mary said.
Matthew wasted no time. He instantly pressed his lips to hers. As they started to kiss more passionately he slipped his tongue into her mouth causing Mary to let out a small moan. Mary took her hands and began to run them through his hair. After they broke apart Mary stared into Matthews eyes, they were bluer than the water they were standing in. She then noticed how pink and swollen his lips had become from all the kissing. She was sure that hers looked the same.
The two Crawley's splashed around in the water for a while enjoying each other's company. At one point they decided to head back up to their blanket to dry off.
"You'll get to meet my sister Sybil soon."
"I'm looking forward to it! I hope she likes me."
"I'm sure she will. Sybil's very sweet; her heart is in the right place and she always sees the good in people."
"I'm sure I'll be fine meeting your sister, but what I'm worried about is meeting your father later in time."
Mary giggled, "My father is the Earl of Grantham. I'm sure he'll probably say something like "you better take care of my little girl... Or else."
"I'll always take care of you, I promise."
"I know you will." Mary said.
"Do you want to head back?" Matthew asked.
"Do I want to? No. Should we? Yes."
They left the beach before anyone had arrived. The drive back to Boston College was just as enjoyable as the ride there. Mary wrapped her arms tightly around Matthew, and Matthew never wanted her to let go.
