Disclaimer: I don't own the Chuck characters. I receive no compensation for this work, other than the pride of a job well done. But then, I don't decide that. You do.

Chuck and Sarah held hands as they left the restaurant and walked slowly to her car, the early afternoon sun shining down on them. The meal had been simple but delicious and the conversation between them was flowing much more naturally now that Chuck was in the know with her. Sarah felt herself engaging more. It felt so amazingly good to not have to lie to him, to not have to keep track of the lies. He wasn't asking her direct, pointed questions but he wasn't holding back either. She actually found herself wanting to talk more about her bizarre childhood but was so unused the feeling, she wasn't sure how to even go about it.

They walked to the passenger side and he opened the door for her. Even though it felt so natural for him to do this with her now, she couldn't help but smile. If anyone had ever told her how much pleasure she'd someday get from the simple act of a man opening her car door for her and holding her hand while she slid into the seat, she might have reported them for an immediate drug test.

"You're ok driving still?" She asked as he slid down into the driver's seat.

"Are you kidding, this car is amazing. I'll probably drive us all the way." He said with a grin.

"But Chuck, you're still driving it like it's a Nerd Herd mobile and you're a grandma on her way to church!" She said laughing. "It's a Porsche, you nerd! It's meant to be driven!"

"Hey, you said you wouldn't care if I drove slow because it's such a nice view!" He said defiantly.

"Yeah, I was hoping the spirit of the car would move you! I mean, at least keep up with the flow of traffic grandma, people have been flying past us all day! The car is embarrassed for you. Step on it, Bartowski!"

"Ok, ok, keep your panties on!" Chuck exclaimed, giving her a deeply amused look. "Oh, wait, you can't!"

Sarah's mouth fell open as she was literally left speechless. She finally closed her mouth and narrowed her eyes at him. "Ok, Chuck, you got me with that one. I don't know how, and I don't know when, but you are so going to pay for that." She said with a glint in her eye.

"Totally worth it." He chuckled, looking pleased with himself.

She couldn't help herself; he was just so freaking cute. She leaned over, grabbed his face and kissed him deeply. "Now, if you don't mind, I'd like to be drinking margarita's on the beach sometime before you have to be back to work on Wednesday."

He shocked her by popping the clutch as he was pulling out of the restaurant parking lot, getting the car ever so slightly sideways but keeping it deftly under control, then running the engine almost to redline for the first three gears, as she squealed with glee and threw her hands up like she was on a roller-coaster.

After a few miles of really pushing the car hard, they came upon a cluster of traffic, so he switched back to grandma mode, but going at least somewhat faster than he had been up to that point.

He looked at her with a devilish grin, blushing a little. "You know how you said that since I danced with you on our first date that now I have to dance with you whenever, because I set a precedent or something?"

She narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously. "Where are you going with this, Chuck?"

"Well, since you set the precedent, whenever you wear that dress in the future – and oh, God I hope it's like, all the time – you're not allowed to wear anything BUT that dress" He danced his eyebrows at her suggestively.

She cackled with laughter and exclaimed, "DEAL!" When he looked suddenly confused, she said. "You silly men. You think it's all about you. Me not wearing underwear was more for me than it was for you, you gargantuan nerd. I mean seriously, how many mind-blowing orgasms have I had on this trip and how many have you had? And I expect at least two more before we get there, so do you really think that was such a difficult deal for me to make?"

Chuck was openly gawping at her. "So, what you're saying, is that when you do wear that dress in the future, you're plainly expecting multiple mind-blowing orgasms at some point." He said slowly.

She looked at him with big eyes and slowly nodded her head. "You made the deal, Chuck. Can't go back on it now." She looked at him and stroked his arm consolingly. "Guess you should have read the fine print, huh?"

He nodded solemnly, then with his knee to hold the steering wheel, he used both hands to bend his fingers backwards and crack his knuckles, flexed his right hand multiple times and blew on his fingers. He looked at her and said, "Shall we get started?" The incredibly sexy look he gave her made shivers of anticipation slide down her skin.

She looked at him for a long moment with her mouth open and the only thing she could think to do was nod her head and say, "Oh, Chuck."

An hour later they were pulling back onto the PCH to continue their journey northward. She had discovered a definite pattern where it concerned Chuck and sex. She learned that him giving her orgasms was truly wonderful, but if it wasn't from actual sex, all the orgasms served to do was amplify her desire to actually have sex until it was almost a fire in her brain. After bringing her to climax three times with his hand, this is what had led them to take a short detour off the PCH to find a secluded spot to have sex in the passenger seat of the car, before the fire in her brain burned the world down around them.

It clicked a pop-culture reference in her head, and as extreme laughter overtook her, she had to silently wave Chuck onward as he was about to pull over again. She was laughing so hard she entered the fully silent state where she could barely breathe, had a stitch in her side and tears streaming down her face.

Every time he gave her an orgasm with anything other than that primary appendage, her body would say, "That was really nice, thanks and all, but, where's the beef?" And the more orgasms she had, her body would become more and more frustrated, until it was like, enough already, quit playing games, where's the damn BEEF?! Give us the BEEF right now!" and she would be in that place where if they weren't engaged in that intimate act immediately, some kind of metaphysical thermonuclear detonation would occur, and bad things would happen.

She went into uncontrollable giggles two additional times after that, just by thinking, "Where's the fucking BEEF?!"

Chuck drove on into the early evening and Sarah found herself dozing lightly while he continued to draw lazy shapes on her thigh and stroke her skin with his fingers. He was right about having access to her skin by wearing a dress. His hand on her leg like this while she wore pants would be nice, but his hand on her skin was spectacular, even without the sexual heat it could generate.

Like all the other touching they did when the sexual fires had been quenched, it felt so wonderfully intimate. She may never wear pants again, she thought idly with a small smile. It felt impossible that it had only been three days' time. Their date hadn't even yet started three days ago and she thought about their first dinner together. She remembered him offering to be her own personal baggage handler and how hot she'd thought that statement had been. It occurred to her how well he had been living up to that statement.

"Chuck, you've officially become my own personal baggage handler." She said smiling at him. The grin that bloomed on his face made her chest swell with warmth. She thought about her next words for a moment, then thought, to hell with it. "Chuck, I've got something crazy I want to throw out there, but I don't want you to freak out."

He looked at her questioningly, "Okayyy…?" He said slowly.

"I want to be your girlfriend and I want you to be my boyfriend, like, officially. I want to tell people that when we get back. Your friends, your sister, Captain Awesome." The grin faded as he looked at her and she felt the car lose momentum. He looked over his shoulder, put the blinker on and moved to the break-down lane on the side of the road. She was starting to get a little nervous and focused on the beautiful expanse of ocean to keep her calm for the next few seconds.

He quickly pulled the car to a stop and sat quietly for a moment. Sarah said, "Uh, Chuck, it's not polite to keep a girl in suspense like this…"

He laughed quietly and looked at her. "I'm sorry, it's just that I sort of thought you were asleep and I was lost in how long and smooth and warm and beautiful your leg is that I've been fondling these last few hours, and how that leg is attached to this amazing, strong, funny, GOOD, beautiful woman and how do I ask her to be my girlfriend, like for real. Then I got in my head about how silly it sounded, and you're not, like a 'girl' but this amazing woman, but the Ellie calls Awesome her boyfriend all the time and it works, but I wasn't sure how to approach it. Then you just kind of broke me there for a second by reaching into my brain and saying the words I didn't know how to. I figured it wasn't a good idea to drive broken, so I had to pull over." He smiled at her, a full body Chuck Bartowski smile that lit the sky like a second sun and she had no choice but to smile back at him. "Sarah Walker, will you be my girlfriend?"

"Yes, I absolutely will. Chuck Bartowski, will you be my boyfriend?"

"It would be my absolute honor to be your boyfriend." They each leaned in for a kiss that was warm and sweet and intimate and then suddenly really fucking sexy. That quickly, the fires of their desire went from quenched to inferno. Sarah pulled back and said, "Drive faster grandma. I want the first time I have sex with my boyfriend to be on the beach tonight in Carmel."

"Wait, the first-" Chuck said confused as he put the car in gear and sped back onto the highway.

"Oh, all those other times you were just Chuck, this crazy hot, sweet nerd I was having mind-blowing sex with. On the beach tonight will be the first time with my boyfriend Chuck, this crazy hot, sweet nerd I'll be having lots of mind-blowing sex with."

"Ok, I'm glad we cleared that up." He said grinning. She noticed he was driving significantly faster.

The sun was still about an hour from setting when they pulled into Carmel and Sarah gave him directions to the B&B. They walked into the lobby and there was a pretty teenaged girl behind the counter who gaped at them openly for a few seconds before realizing she was staring.

Sarah smiled at the girl and said, "I made a reservation earlier today. Under the name of Walker?"

"Um, yeah. Uh, you-you're our only reservation for today." The girl said, a little tongue tied. "You have it booked until Tuesday, uh, right?"

Sarah smiled brightly and looked at the girl's name tag. "That's right, Beth!"

"OK, let me print out your paperwork and I'll just need your credit card and driver's license." She was still looking back and forth at the two of them. "Are you guys here to like, be in a movie or something?"

Chuck looked genuinely confused, but Sarah spoke up laughing. "He does look like he could be a movie star, doesn't he?" She said, looking at the girl, causing Chuck to blush.

The girl nodded, blushing a little herself. "Well, you both sort of look like you just stepped off a private jet. That dress is absolutely beautiful, Ms. Walker."

"Thank you, Beth! That's so sweet!" Sarah gave the girl a thousand-watt smile. After she signed the paperwork and put her cards away, Sarah asked, "So where's the best place to eat around here that isn't super touristy. Where to the locals like to eat out?"

"Oh, we've got lots of great local restaurants, but Brophy's Tavern is what you're talking about. It's on the north side of town at the corner of 4th and San Carlos. I actually work there too a few nights a week."

"You work at a tavern?" Sarah said confused.

The girl rolled her eyes at something she was obviously used to. "Yeah, I'm 22. I know, everyone says I look 16."

"Beth, you may not appreciate it right now, but in 10 years, you will."

"That's what everyone says right after they say I look 16." Beth said, laughing. "Here's your room keys. It's the Devon Cottage down the path to your left."

Chuck laughed. "Did you say the 'Devon Cottage'?"

She looked confused. "Yes. Uh, is that ok?"

"Oh, yeah, no, that's fine. It's just an interesting coincidence, kind of an inside joke I guess."

"Oh. Ok then." She said smiling.

"Thank you, very much!" Sarah said. "Oh, and, this was kind of a spur of the moment thing for us, so we're completely unprepared. Where would you recommend we go to get some inexpensive beach wear, swimsuits, that kind of thing?"

"Um, probably you best bet would be Tanner's. It's a second-hand store downtown. They've got a mix of second-hand clothes and new stuff and lots of beach related stuff as well. I mean, that's what everyone comes here for, so all the stores have some of that stuff. You better hurry though because they close at 8pm on Sundays."

"Thanks, Beth, you've been a great help!" Sarah gushed.

As they turned to leave Chuck waved and said, "Thank you, Beth!" And Sarah saw the girl blush.

As they were walking out, he said to Sarah, "I can't believe we get the Captain Awesome Cottage!"

She laughed and bumped his shoulder. "You are such a nerd."

Sarah drove as they raced to Tanner's to get what they needed for a couple night stay. As they were browsing, Chuck walked up to her with something behind his back. "You have to promise not to freak out."

"I will make no such promise, Chuck," she said evenly.

He held up a vintage 'Where's the beef?' t-shirt. She squealed with delight and felt the giggles coming on. It was red with yellow cursive lettering, but someone had cut the sleeves off and cut the bottom half of the shirt off so that it was effectively a belly shirt. When she looked closer, she noticed that the alterations were rather well done as the edges had been hemmed to prevent fraying.

"Ok, totally getting that," she said giggling with glee. "But now we need to find you one that just says, 'The Beef'." She said smiling at him

"I would never wear such a thing," he said blushing.

"That sounds like a challenge, Chuck," she said, amused. She found a yellow bikini and a red and yellow sarong. They also found some second-hand casual clothes to wear for times they weren't on the beach.

"This place is a gold mine of vintage t-shirts from the seventies and eighties. Morgan would lose his mind."

Sarah stepped up to him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, looking up at him. "You know, your girlfriend would be perfectly happy buying you any t-shirts you want."

"I'm actually good, I was just thinking of picking up one in particular for Morgan."

Sarah's eye's opened wide. "Wait, this is for Morgan?" Chuck realized what she was getting at and smiled. "You get him whatever t-shirts you want, and I am absolutely buying them," she said pointedly.

Chuck laughed. "Yes, ma'am!"

They were also able to pick up various toiletries and other sundries they might need for their two nights away, making it a very efficient shopping spree. When they were finished, Sarah drove them to Brophy's Tavern.

"Why did you want to know about a local place to eat?" Chuck asked

Sarah smiled and said, "When you want to get to good information about a place, you need to get it from a local. And the best place to meet locals is where they tend to go out for dinner and drinks. And locals usually want to avoid the touristy places."

"What kind of local information are you looking to get." Chuck asked.

"I want a secluded place on the beach to make love to my boyfriend, of course!" She looked at him like he was silly.

He blushed deep red and she just smiled at him. "You're completely serious aren't you?" He asked.

"We're on a timeline here, Chuck. This is happening tonight, and we don't have time to go wandering around looking for the perfect spot. We need to gather intelligence." She said winking at him.

Chuck's mouth dropped open. "Oh my God, you're in Secret Agent mode and your level of hotness, which was already off the charts, just jumped up a level."

Sarah scoffed at him. "Pff. Did you see how Beth was looking at you, Chuck? If you had come in there alone, you might have found her knocking on your door later tonight."

Chuck looked incredulous. "That's absurd." He said. "Even if she is 22, I'd have felt like a total perv even thinking about that! She looks impossibly young!"

Sarah laughed. "I know, right! She said she looked 16 and I thought that was a stretch!"

Chuck shivered. "Ok, changing the subject, how do we get this information you're looking for?" He asked.

"Well, we just maintain a friendly demeanor first off, and if the opportunity arises to speak to someone unobtrusively we do so, but for information like this, it's generally better for a woman to try and get it from another woman."

"Well that's good, because I can't even imagine how to think about asking something like that. I'd probably come off sounding like I'm propositioning whoever it is I'm asking." Sarah laughed heartily at that mental image.

"Well obviously you have to provide some context beforehand, you goof." She said, still laughing. "You just sit back and let me handle this."

He gaped at her. "Seriously, Sarah. Hotness. Off. The. Charts." Sarah blew him a kiss and ran her finger down the v-line of her dress.

They walked into Brophy's Tavern which was doing a brisk business considering it was probably about an hour past the dinner rush. They were seated at a long tall table not far from the main bar.

The bartender was an attractive woman in her middle thirties, and it seemed she was acting as a waitress for tables close to the bar. As she stepped up to them and said, "You guys have to be the couple staying at the Edgemere, right?"

Sarah smiled. "Yeah, that's right. Have you spoken to Beth?"

She laughed. "Yeah, she called a little while ago and said to keep an eye out for this crazy gorgeous couple that looked like they stepped out of a Cosmo photo shoot."

Sarah's laughter tinkled with genuine amusement. "Oh, wow, she's so sweet!"

Chuck laughed as well. "She claims she's 22 but I have to admit to being skeptical."

The waitress smiled. "No, it's true. She's actually my cousin. I've known her since she was born, and she is in fact 22." She looked at them for a quick moment. "So, what brings you guys to town this late on a Sunday?" She asked.

"It was a spur of the moment decision to get away from LA for a couple of days." Sarah said. "My boyfriend-" she motioned to Chuck, who beamed. "-doesn't have to be back to work until Wednesday and we were taking a drive up the coast and thought, why not?"

Her eyes got wide. "So, like a totally spontaneous two-day get-a-way? That's so cool and I'm so freaking jealous!" She said genuinely.

"Yeah, we brought nothing but the clothes on our backs." Chuck coughed as he was taking a drink of water. Sarah smiled at him and continued. "We had to stop at Tanner's and buy all the stuff we'd need for a couple of days away."

"That sounds like so much fun. I'd love to take a trip like that to LA. Carmel's a pretty small town, not a lot for the locals to do. But I'm rambling. So, my name is Mandy and I'll be taking care of you. Can we start you out with any drinks?"

"Just iced tea for me, please," Sarah said.

"Make that two." Chuck said politely.

"Ok, here are your menu's. I recommend the sliders."

"The sliders sound great, that's what I'll have." Sarah said

"Make that two." Chuck repeated with a laugh.

"Ok, two orders of sliders and two iced tea's coming right up."

As she walked away, Sarah leaned into Chuck and said, "She's perfect. She's lived here forever. I bet she's knows of at least three different secluded spots."

"Ok, that makes sense I guess. So how do you ask her to give 'em up?" Chuck asked.

"I appeal to her womanly sense of adventure, of course." Sarah said smiling. "Just wait here a minute." Sarah got up and walked to a point at the bar where there weren't any patrons nearby and got the bartender's attention. Mandy walked over curiously and said, "Did you need anything else?"

Sarah bit her lip shyly and said. "Mandy, my name is Sarah, and that's my boyfriend, Chuck." She said motioning to their table. "I do need something else, but it's not exactly on the menu. This is a little embarrassing, but since you've lived here so long, I was wondering if you knew of any secluded places on the beach where…" She glanced at Chuck, and then back at Mandy. "Where I might be able to have some.. private time… with my boyfriend."

Mandy grinned widely. "You know I hate you just a little bit at this moment, right?" She said with a chuckle.

Sarah smiled deeply. "I'm not going to lie, Mandy. It's kind of great to be me right now. And I have a sneaking suspicion that you know things that can make my night that much better."

"You know, we locals guard the locations of our sexy-time spots like nuclear launch codes, right?" Mandy said, affecting a serious expression.

"I would expect nothing less." Sarah said seriously. "But, we'll be gone in a couple days. Who am I going to tell?" Sarah said conspiratorially. She bit her lip, smiling and looking shyly back at Chuck who was of course, blushing furiously.

Mandy glanced at Chuck, then looked back at Sarah. "Ugh, Beth wasn't kidding. You guys are so ridiculously beautiful, how can I resist?" She said with a laugh. "Ok, I have a few spots but only one where the danger level for being caught is basically zero. It is a little more difficult to get to, but you guys should be fine. It's an easy climb up like a steep embankment. And while you are technically on the beach, you can't get to the water without climbing back down. There's this natural little cut out in the hill that you can't get to any other way. It has this great little thirty foot or so area that's just like the beach down below. There's a natural berm that sort of hides you from people walking on the beach. I used to go there with my husband when we were dating." Mandy blushed a little herself at the end.

Sarah beamed at her. "Mandy, thank you so much for this! I can't tell you how much I appreciate it!"

Mandy smiled back at her. "You're welcome. I'll draw you a little map on a napkin, it will be hard to find in the dark." She said with a wink.

Sarah walked back to the table where Chuck had a nervous, expectant look on his face. "Well?" He asked excitedly. "Mission accomplished?"

Sarah laughed at his phrasing. "Mission accomplished. She's even going to draw us a map." Sarah said with a self-satisfied smirk.

Not too much later, Mandy brought them their food, and as she was setting the plates down, she said, "Hey, if you're interested, some of us around here get together on Monday nights and have a fish-fry down on the beach. It's a very casual thing but there will be music, a little dancing, more than a little drinking and the food is really great. It's mostly locals but if you'd like to stop by, you can consider yourself invited." She smiled as she also set down a folded napkin next to Sarah.

Sarah looked genuinely surprised. "Mandy, that's so nice of you to offer!" She looked at Chuck, who nodded emphatically. "Yes, we would like that very much, thank you!"

"Ah, don't mention it. We need some new faces in there for once." She said a little shyly. "My husband kind of unofficially runs it. If you can't make it, don't worry at all. Like I said, it's a very casual thing."

Chuck spoke up. "No, that really sounds like a lot of fun. I've never been to a fish-fry on the beach before!"

Mandy smiled. "Well, ok then. Enjoy your sliders."

As they ate, Chuck asked thoughtfully. "Is it just me, or does it feel like them inviting tourists to their fish-fry get together is probably a pretty rare event?"

Sarah, nodded. "Yeah, I get the same impression. But it does sound like a lot of fun, right? I've never been to a fish-fry at all, much less one on the beach."

"Yeah, I actually feel pretty special to have been asked. We've done a couple of fish-fry's at the apartment complex where all the neighbors get together. They really are a lot of fun." He looked at her meaningfully. "Sarah, this was truly an epic idea, coming up here. I texted Ellie earlier to tell her about this and she's beside herself with glee."

Sarah smiled. "That's really sweet. You know, now that we're officially, like going steady," She grinned at him. "The obvious next step is for me to meet them; Ellie and Captain Awesome I mean."

"Seriously, you need to stop reading my mind. It's going to start getting creepy." He said laughing. "I think they are working a day shift on Thursday and have the day off on Friday, so this Thursday night would probably work if you wanted to come have dinner with us. Ellie loves to cook for company."

Sarah shook her head and smiled ruefully. "What is it?" Chuck asked.

"Thursday. This Thursday. Chuck, that will be the one-week anniversary of our first date. Like there's more time between now and then than there is between our first date and now!" Sarah exclaimed. "Are we completely nuts?"

He laughed. "Oh, without question, we're bonkers. Coo-coo for Cocoa Puffs. But let me tell you, if this is crazy, sign me up. I don't want to be sane." Chuck said earnestly. Sarah smiled her agreement with him.

By the time they finished their meal, the sun had set. Darkness was settling in and the moon was nearly full in the sky casting a warm glow on the night around them. "Wow, it's such a beautiful night." Chuck said, grasping Sarah's hand.

"So, here's my plan. We go back to the room, take quick showers to wash the day off, throw some things in a bag and go for that stroll on the beach to find our secret spot." Sarah said with a mischievous grin.

"As plans go, I've heard worse."

After their separate showers, Sarah came out of the bathroom wearing her bikini bottoms with the sarong and the cut-off 'Where's the Beef?' t-shirt, which turned out to be very tight on her lithe frame. She was not wearing her bikini top however, and the t-shirt barely reached down to cover the bottom swell of her breasts. To make matters worse for Chuck, the material had a sheer quality to it. He moaned with desire when he saw her. "Oh, wow, Sarah." He said breathily.

She did a delicate little pirouette. "You like what you see, Chuck?" She raised her arms above her head and the shirt slid up her body dangerously.

His throat clicked as he nodded. "So, so much."

She stepped up and kissed him full on the lips. "Keep it together, Chuck. We're now on 'Mission to Find the Secret Spot'."

He chuckled darkly. "Oh, Sarah. I never seem to have trouble finding your secret spot." He said, as his hands roamed up her back under the shirt and he bit her neck lightly. Chuck wasn't exactly sure what happened, but he was suddenly clutching air and Sarah was somehow standing several feet away, looking at him with narrowed eyes.

"Oh, you aren't going to pull your sexy-adorable Chuck Bartowski moves on me, mister. I've got a plan and we're sticking to it! You want this?" She asked as she ran her hands down her body, waiting for him to answer.

"Oh, yes, please!"

"You can have it. On the beach. Under the light of the moon!"

"Sarah, you go out in public in that shirt and you're liable to get arrested." Chuck said with a grin. "And we need to talk about how you just teleported over there, because that's a skill I could use."

Sarah settled the shirt into place and said, "It's dark, we'll be fine. And I can teach you how to do that. Now if I come over there to hold your hand, are you going to play nice?"

Chuck held up two fingers. "Scout's Honor." He said smiling.

The held hands as they walked along the beach, Chuck carrying the bag with their necessary items while Sarah periodically checked the map-napkin with a penlight. It was a warm night with a hint of a breeze blowing in off the ocean.

"I think it's back in here" She said following a trail into a back section of the beach were there were hills and dunes. "Aha!" She exclaimed as Chuck followed her into the moonlit darkness. "This has got to be it." She started scrambling up the steep embankment, needing both hands and feet to climb. At one point they had to climb a small cliff face, but once they crested that section, a wide circular area of beach opened up around them, seeming completely cut off from everything else. Chuck had to stand on his tip toes to even see the beach down below over the berm and the back portion of the area they were in was a craggy rock face that went another 30 feet up, creating a little bowl section of sandy beach. But they could easily see the ocean, even laying down.

Sarah looked radiant in the moonlight and her face was shining with joy. "Oh, it's so perfect!" She said quietly.

Without taking his eyes off Sarah, Chuck quietly agreed. "It certainly is."

They had a massive picnic blanket Sarah had purchased that day specifically for this. Chuck used the sand to create a mound for them to lean up against. While Sarah spread out the blanket, Chuck surprised her with a bottle of wine and some plastic cups that he'd cajoled Beth into getting from the bar.

They lay there together under the moonlight for hour, just talking, idly holding hands. To her own surprise, Sarah found her voice enough to tell him about her life growing up, about her dad. About how he was a conman who had trained her to follow in his footsteps from as young as she could remember. How that probably would have been her life if he hadn't been working a con against a man who turned out to be an international arms dealer. The CIA had an operation going against the arms dealer and her dad got caught up in the subsequent arrests for espionage. Her choice was to go the road alone with her dad fending for himself in prison or join the CIA as a young recruit and buy her dad protection in prison along with an altered charge and reduced sentence. It hadn't been a choice at all, but it was one that she'd been excited by once the full spectrum of the opportunity was made clear to her. She could really work toward something better, not just work to part rich fools from their money.

Chuck didn't interrupt her once or ask any questions. He just let her talk and tell the story in her own way. He'd didn't tell her he was sorry or offer any pity. He just listened. When she finally fell silent, he just looked at her with reverence renewed and she let it flow over her, accepting how he saw her and while not feeling deserving of it, seeing a spark of hope that maybe someday she could.

Chuck talked to her about remembering when his mom left. One morning she was there, then never again and never having any explanation. Their dad would just say, "Mom had to go away for a while." But how long of a while was never answered. He talked about how he'd hear Ellie crying in her room at night and not know how to help her or make her feel better. He figured the only thing he could do was try not to be a bratty little brother so much. To do the little things for her when she asked, help with household stuff, try to remember to clean up after himself. To do the things he knew needed to be done before she asked, so she wouldn't have to worry about it.

Sarah talked about how amazing her initial training was, glossing over some things she couldn't talk about, but going into real details where she could. She told him about discovering her physical side, how she loved every grueling minute of it, excelled at it. That within a few short months, she was one of the strongest and fastest there, even among the men, which represented eighty percent of the class. She became the bar against which other trainees were judged. She learned that the instructors used her to badger and berate the other trainees and although it bred resentment and she found herself isolated within the group, she didn't care in the least. This wasn't high school. She wasn't there to make friends.

She knew that of the hundred and fifty odd trainee candidates in her class, fewer than twenty percent of them would be accepted as actual field trainees. And of that twenty percent, another half would wash out for various reasons. She started living to kick all their asses, be the reason they dropped out and pushed herself even harder. When it was time for sparring or hand-to-hand combat the other students were terrified of her and she thrived on it. She figured she was saving their lives; if they couldn't handle her, an 18-year old, 125 pound girl, in a controlled environment, how could they handle the real bad guys in the world?

She told him quietly about her experience of losing her virginity to a young man in her training class not long after she'd turned 18 but hadn't told him that it was her first time. How he was one of the few that had actually made it through to field training, but she'd found out later he had died in a skydiving accident while on vacation of all things.

Chuck talked about how his dad was an amazing genius with computers, both hardware and software, and he was always in his workshop when he was home, tinkering with some new invention. How he was a socially awkward introvert and had trouble connecting with people. He mentioned how he'd always had a stronger connection with his father than his mother as a child, so it had been harder for him than it had been for Ellie when their dad started disappearing for weeks on end. By the time Chuck had been accepted to Stanford, his dad's Alma Mater, he'd stopped coming home altogether. He'd kept paying for the house and as far as Chuck knew, it was paid off and still in his dad's name, but after he and Ellie had moved out, it just didn't seem to matter.

At that point, Ellie was finishing college, getting ready for med-school. Chuck was going off to Stanford and living on campus. It had actually been a pretty difficult time for the two of them, saying their good-byes when she dropped him off at school, performing the duty that was typically assigned to the parents. They had gone through so much together and seemed to come through the other side ok.

And then his life at Stanford had been amazing, better than he'd hoped or dared dream. Until it wasn't anymore.

They traded off talking while the other just listened. And they did listen, letting the others word and stories sink into them, not just wait until it was their turn to talk.

At some point in the night, a comfortable silence settled over them and they just lay their together, holding hands, arms intertwined, listening to the ocean and the soft breeze blowing through the dunes. Sarah thought to herself about how easy it would be to just fall asleep out here and rise with the sun. But while they'd had amazing conversations, and although she'd connected with him in away she'd never connected with another person; continued to connect with him in new and unexpected ways, they still hadn't done what she'd set out to do.

She stood up, intentionally stepped up in front of him, looked him in the eyes and very slowly removed the sarong from around her waist, dropping it at his feet. She untied her bikini bottoms, taking her time pulling the string taut before finally tugging the knot loose, then repeated the process on the other side before letting them fall away and stepping out of them. She peeled off her t-shirt in one smooth motion and let it drop on the pile as well. She stood there for an eternity, bare in the moonlight, the ocean waves crashing against the beach behind her. She let her desire for him wash over her, let herself soak in it while he looked at her with an expression of absolute wonderment. She held out her hands to him and for a long moment he seemed unable to respond, but then he took her hands, stood up and was immediately spellbound by her gaze. She stepped up to him, put her hand on his face and said in a whisper so soft she wasn't sure if he could hear it, "Make love to me, Chuck."

He must have heard her, because that was exactly what he did.