****
Early Summer, 2001
He looked over at her as she slept beside him. His Starlet with the voice of an angel... Her golden sand colored ringlets splayed all over the pillow and her shoulder, one lock fluttering slightly with each breath she took and let go as she slumbered. He had to go...
He slid out of the sheets and stood in the window, watching the tide splash against the beach. Two weeks in St. Croix was his vacation for a well done job. He'd come down here to get away, to just do the 'Margaritaville' thing with the beer and flip-flops and be a beach bum. His goal was to forget who he was for a short while before the real world reminded him. And then he met her.
He'd first seen her at sunrise on the beach a day or two after he'd arrived. In a modest one piece bathing suit of black and her golden sand colored Shirley Temple ringlets blowing in the breeze, she was wading into the early morning tide for a swim. For a few minutes he watched her inch deeper, then sink below the water's surface. She stayed under long enough to cause him to worry for her safety. Just as he was about to run out into the water, she popped up and flipped her hair over her head.
After he introduced himself, they wound up having breakfast together. He found himself quickly forgetting about work, real life, and everything in between. She was so easy to talk to and she laughed - even at his pitiful excuses for jokes. Naturally she said they were funny. He thought it was just to humor him and be pleasant. Over the last week and a half they'd become romantically involved to the point of her mentioning continuing the relationship once they went home.
Not that he didn't mind, but as he laid there after loving her, he thought of all the horrible things that can go wrong in his life. The very least of which was the fateful knock on the door to deliver the thanks of a 'Greatful Nation'. As much as he needed her, he couldn't do that to her. Not in a million years could he put her through the pain that would come with loving and living with him.
"I can't believe I'm doing this to you. Here I am, I've found you and now I have to leave. It's for the best Starlet. What I do... can get you in trouble or worse, hurt or killed."
Silently he dressed and turned to leave. One last look goodbye as she slept. With the moon coming in through the window of her cottage bedroom, she did indeed look like an angel as she slept. His eyes strayed to the short note on his pillow. Over and over as he walked out, he had to remind himself this was for the best, in her best interest. "Forget about her, she'll forget about you eventually too." he muttered as he walked along the beach.
If that was true, then why did he feel so empty all of a sudden?
--
She awoke with the sun's first rays through her window. She'd booked the cottage every time she came down simply due to that perk. But this time she was alone and had been for some time. The sheets were cold on his side of the bed and the last few times they'd spent the night together she had woken up cuddled against his chest. Her whiskey colored eyes caught sight of the note and she picked it up. Short sweet and to the point. "Forget about me" was all it said.
She stared at the note, her knees drawing up under her chin slowly. Her arms wrapped around her knees, hugging herself tightly as she began to cry. He didn't realize how hard it would be...
****
Early Summer, 2001
He looked over at her as she slept beside him. His Starlet with the voice of an angel... Her golden sand colored ringlets splayed all over the pillow and her shoulder, one lock fluttering slightly with each breath she took and let go as she slumbered. He had to go...
He slid out of the sheets and stood in the window, watching the tide splash against the beach. Two weeks in St. Croix was his vacation for a well done job. He'd come down here to get away, to just do the 'Margaritaville' thing with the beer and flip-flops and be a beach bum. His goal was to forget who he was for a short while before the real world reminded him. And then he met her.
He'd first seen her at sunrise on the beach a day or two after he'd arrived. In a modest one piece bathing suit of black and her golden sand colored Shirley Temple ringlets blowing in the breeze, she was wading into the early morning tide for a swim. For a few minutes he watched her inch deeper, then sink below the water's surface. She stayed under long enough to cause him to worry for her safety. Just as he was about to run out into the water, she popped up and flipped her hair over her head.
After he introduced himself, they wound up having breakfast together. He found himself quickly forgetting about work, real life, and everything in between. She was so easy to talk to and she laughed - even at his pitiful excuses for jokes. Naturally she said they were funny. He thought it was just to humor him and be pleasant. Over the last week and a half they'd become romantically involved to the point of her mentioning continuing the relationship once they went home.
Not that he didn't mind, but as he laid there after loving her, he thought of all the horrible things that can go wrong in his life. The very least of which was the fateful knock on the door to deliver the thanks of a 'Greatful Nation'. As much as he needed her, he couldn't do that to her. Not in a million years could he put her through the pain that would come with loving and living with him.
"I can't believe I'm doing this to you. Here I am, I've found you and now I have to leave. It's for the best Starlet. What I do... can get you in trouble or worse, hurt or killed."
Silently he dressed and turned to leave. One last look goodbye as she slept. With the moon coming in through the window of her cottage bedroom, she did indeed look like an angel as she slept. His eyes strayed to the short note on his pillow. Over and over as he walked out, he had to remind himself this was for the best, in her best interest. "Forget about her, she'll forget about you eventually too." he muttered as he walked along the beach.
If that was true, then why did he feel so empty all of a sudden?
--
She awoke with the sun's first rays through her window. She'd booked the cottage every time she came down simply due to that perk. But this time she was alone and had been for some time. The sheets were cold on his side of the bed and the last few times they'd spent the night together she had woken up cuddled against his chest. Her whiskey colored eyes caught sight of the note and she picked it up. Short sweet and to the point. "Forget about me" was all it said.
She stared at the note, her knees drawing up under her chin slowly. Her arms wrapped around her knees, hugging herself tightly as she began to cry. He didn't realize how hard it would be...
****
