Chapter 48

"The proposal"

They parked the car at some point and went to the beach. Each one of them had a blanket tugged under the arm and Tom carried a basket full of sandwiches, cookies and drinks. The landlady did a wonderful job with the basket.

"I can't believe you thought about a picnic out here." Sasha said after they put the things down on the sand. She turned around and tugged her arms around his neck to press a kiss on his lips.

"Mmmhhmm, I like to please." He answered. But then his arms snugged around her waist and he deepened the kiss.

"So you think the water is warm to bath in?" Sasha asked and pointed out at the ocean behind them.

Tom shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know, love, but how about we find out?" He grinned at her. Sasha nodded her head and began to peel off her clothes. Standing in her bikini she looked around the place.

"You coming?" She asked Tom who still had his clothes on.

"You can go first, I'm right behind you, love" He replied and began to strip. Sasha nodded her head and went to the shore. It was a warm and sunny day and she assumed that the water was still warm. She increased her speed and jumped into the water. With a loud "WHAT THE F…!" she coursed when she got to the surface. She looked at Tom who couldn't hold back his laughter. "What's so funny?" She asked him while running out of the water and grabbing a blanket to dry off the cold water.

"Oh, you should have seen your face, darling." Tom managed to say between his laughter. "You really thought the water is still warm at the time of the year?" He grinned at her, wiping some tears away from his eyes.

Sasha looked at him in disbelief. She was fuming that he set her up and never told her that the ocean would be so cold at that time. And she couldn't believe that she didn't think about it herself. It WAS after all a sunny and warm day. "Oh, you ..." She couldn't finish her sentence because Tom went to her and wrapped his arms around her shaking torso.

"Come here." He said gently. "I'm sorry, Sash, but I hadn't enough courage in me to disappoint you by saying that the water might be a little too cold to swim in. It's the Atlantic and not the Caribbean, love." He rubbed his hands over her figure to get her warm. When he still saw her angry face he continued "I'll make it up to you, promise."

"I do hope so, Tom Chandler." She replied and laid her head against his shoulder and relaxed into his embrace.

After some time he let off of her and looked at her "Still cold, love?" She shook her head no and grabbed her shirt and pulled it over her head. When the fabric covered her torso she loosened the ends of her bikini at her head, took the top off and sneaked it out at the end of her shirt. Tom watched her actions and when he saw her removing her top from under her shirt he let out a little moan. Sasha looked at him with a questioning brow.

"That's teasing, Sasha."

"I don't know what you are talking about." She replied with a mischievous grin on her face. Then her eyes wandered from his eyes down to his legs and she saw his prominent bulge. "Oh I think someone is happy to see me."

"You have no idea." He said and took her into his arms again and kissed her passionately. His hands roamed over her body and went under her shirt. He caressed her back and they both got lost in the moment. A cry from a child nearby brought them out of their bubble and they smiled at one another. "Let's lay down a bit and enjoy the time while we are here."

Sasha laid her head onto his shoulder and wrapped her arm around his belly. Tom's arm sneaked around her body and pressed her against his. They laid for quite some time enjoying their alone time together. Both of them closed their eyes and drifted into a light slumber.

Tom woke up still holding Sasha in his arms. He looked at her relaxed face and pushed a strand of hair behind her ear. Caressing the shell of her ear Sasha woke up. "Hmmm, I love waking up with you as my pillow." she murmured.

"Good to hear, darling." He leaned forward and kissed her lips. Her arms came around his neck and she pulled him towards her. Tom shifted and his body was pressed over hers. Their kiss get heated again and Tom grind his hips against hers and she could feel his member harden. After some needed air they broke their kiss "I think we should stop… after all we are in a public place." Sasha argued.

"You are right, we should stop as long as we can." He replied and gave her a quick peck on her lips, lifting himself up and helped Sasha to stand up.

Sasha looked around the place "Before we head back, I would really like to walk a little at the beach. Perhaps we'll find the place where we found the shells. Is that okay for you?" She asked him.

"Of course. Lead the way." He replied and put his arm around her shoulder while her arm rested at his waist. They walked silently to the left and let the waves catch their feet.

After quite some time Sasha stopped abruptly. Tom looked at her quizzically "What's wrong, Sash?"

She smiled back at him and then looked around once more "I think … I think this is the place where we found the shells." She said.

Tom looked around for himself "You sure?"

"Yes, I am. You know, there was a rock nearby which looked like a little otter and on the other side was a massive rock formation which looked like a volcano." She said and looked around again and pointed out the rocks nearby. She came nearer to him and taking his lips again. "Thank you." she whispered against his lips.

"For what?"

"For being you…" Kiss… "For finding some alone time, although I know you'll miss your kids..." kiss …"for making this trip down memory lane" …. kiss …"for everything" … kiss.

He wrapped his arms around her again and kissed her deeply. "Well, if you put it that way then I have to thank you too" … kiss … "for allowing me to take you here" …kiss ... "for putting up with me so long" … kiss … "for never giving up on me" … kiss "I love you" … kiss.

"I love you too" her response came immediately. "Do you think about the time we went here all those years ago?"

"Yes, I do. It was one of the best time of my life. Being with you, holding you in my arms, kissing you whenever I wanted." He replied wholeheartedly. "Sasha..." he gulped hard emotions running over his face. He took a deep breath and continued "I wanted to make that trip all those years ago to take you to another place where we could only be by ourself and where noone would disturb us. I just wanted to spend time with you. But it turned out to be so much more for me. Taking you into my arms, kissing you whenever I wanted, showing everyone that you belonged to me. It made me realize that not only that I loved you with all of my heart but that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you." He paused and looked her deep into her eyes.

"Nothing has changed for me." he whispered. He took her hands into his and reached with the other hand into his pocket. He took out the little velvet box he found some weeks ago and knelt down in front of her. "Sasha, I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you, so will you marry me?"