A Romantic Stroll

Chapter 13

Sunsets are beautiful everywhere, but a sunset on a beach in Malibu will leave an indelible imprint on a person's soul.

With the sun's descent into the curve of the earth's horizon, the colors in the sky started shifting gradually from yellows to various hues of orange.

But Mike and Connie had not noticed as they were only aware of one another. A light breeze fanned across their faces as they stood facing one another, their gazes intricately locked.

Although they were no longer touching, Mike could still feel the warmth from Connie's hand on his cheek. That tiny gesture from her confirmed that the attraction was not as one sided as he had always assumed. He let out a slow breath at that thought.

When he spoke, his words seemed to caress her.

"Connie," he began, "I wanted to tell you that these last few days...seeing you again, here in LA, made all the emptiness of the past year suddenly go away…"

Connie eyes became larger as she realized this was the moment.

She could now confess the yearnings she had also felt for him.

And... then what? she asked herself. Did she expect that Mike would then take her in his arms and sweep her away from here, that they would live happily ever after?

No, things like that only happened at the end of romantic movies. Real life was messy, unpredictable and complicated.

And the reality was, once this case was completed, Michael Cutter would be gone.

Connie lowered her gaze from him to stare off into the distance. The air was humid and scented with sea salt mistiness as they heard the rushing ocean waters in the distance.

This brief moment at the beach had been wondrous, but no matter how hard they tried, some good things were not meant to be. She had made her decision.

A wan smile touched her lips.

"Mike," Connie looked at him again, "Perhaps this place is making us see things in...a more...rose-colored romantic light...so it's been nice, it's been lovely, but right now, we need to concentrate on the case."

The hope in his heart sank, but deep inside, Mike also knew it had to be this way. He was resigned to the idea that when he departed, it would be without her.

But it was difficult to think like this when she was looking so alluring, standing in front of him like this.

"You're right, " Mike agreed, as he regretfully took a small step away from her.

Connie also tried to dismiss the deep pang of disappointment, and as always, she tried to make the best of the situation.

"In retrospect, however, I do think it was good we came, " she stated, "it gave us a little breathing time, an excuse to relax a little."

She could not look directly at him when, as an afterthought, she softly uttered, "and I'm sorry, Mike."

"I understand," he said quietly, as he took a deep breath.

A breeze had suddenly picked up slightly, gently blowing Connie's hair in her face, holding Mike spellbound . He heard Connie gasped when his hand reached up to brush her wind-blown hair away from her face. His hand stilled in her tresses a moment longer than required before it was back down to his side.

With a lingering gaze, they regarded one another one last time before the intimate moment spun out with a dizzying flourish and dissipated.

"Come on, Connie," his voice somewhat shakily, "it's still quite a walk to your car."

As the sun set even lower, shades of deep gold, bright oranges and red streaked through the sky like extended colored ribbons. The change in the skies' appearance caused highlights of lavender to glisten across the top of the shimmery Pacific waters.

But they tried to overlook its appeal as they once more ambled along the uneven sand. The air was turning slightly cooler.

"Seems as though you are acclimating to LA lifestyle," he elected to change the subject completely, to something more noncommittal.

She slighly smiled, relieved to be on a safe subject.

"It was hard to adjust to living here at first. I really missed New York for a time."

Although the surroundings turned a bit cooler, Mike and Connie welcomed the spray of the water splashing up on their skins. The salty air blowing gently on their faces felt damp, but fresh.

The blue waves entering the shore were calmer now, as it lapped slowly up to the land before returning back into the comforting watery depths.

"What did you miss the most?" Mike asked lightly, turning to look at her profile.

Connie had wrapped her arms around herself and looked down, watching her shoes hit the sand as she thought of an answer.

She then looked up with a beguiling smile, "What do I miss most about New York? Their pizza, of course! Mmm...a thick, gooey slice of New York pizza!"

The corners of Mike's mouth curved up at her uncomplicated answer.

"Ahhh, yes...New York pizza, a classic answer!" agreed Mike, "Although, I have to admit, I had secretly hoped it would have been the Chinese food we used to order from around the corner."

'It would have been," reasoned Connie, "except sometimes, by the time we were ready to eat it, it had congealed and it was cold! Pizza at lunch definitely was more memorable!"

"Ouch!" said Mike as he stopped walking.

She thought he was responding to the fact that she picked daytime pizza over late night Chinese food with him.

Connie, paused and responded playfully, "Oh? Our ego a little fragile, Mike?"

He stooped over and reached for his shoe.

"No, not about that...wait, hold on."

Now bent over, he removed one of his shoes as Connie lifted one eyebrow in a questioning expression.

"Mike, what are you doing?"

"All this sand keeps filtering into my shoes..." he explained, as he poured out the sand. He then reached in the inside of his shoe and picked up a singular pebble, which was probably the cause of his discomfort.

"Well, will you look at that!" he jested, holding the tiny rock for her to see, "I believe that's the original pebble I tossed into the ocean...that nickname of 'Boomerang Mike' was well deserved after all!"

Despite the emotional day, Connie couldn't help but laugh.

Once he cleared his shoe, he then removed his sock and snapped it in order to remove any remaining sand. He then repeated the same procedure on the other side with his other shoe.

With an anticipatory expression, he glanced over at Connie.

"Well?" he asked invitingly, "I'm sure I'm not the only one with this 'sand-in-the-shoes' problem. Unless you've been able to hover above the sand, don't let pride get in the way!"

Connie actually could feel the grains rubbing inside her shoes. She, too, relished the idea of feeling the still-warm sand beneath her toes.

She smiled "Sure, why not?"

She proceeded to remove her business pumps as well.

As she poured the sand from her shoes, she peered at a content Mike, "Note the lack of any pebbles and only a light amount of sand in my shoes, Mike. I know sometimes you act as if you can walk on water, but, obviously I can almost walk on sand!"

He laughed at that.

By the time she had cleared her shoes of sand, Mike had already rolled up his pants leg and had taken his jacket off. He slung it over his shoulder, anchoring it with one finger as they now strolled barefooted across the sandy beach.

Inevitably, they ended up walking closer to the edge of the water, to allow the sensation of the waves to crash over their feet. With each step they took, they could feel the grainy sand beneath their feet as they strolled along the shoreline.

The sand swirled as their feet made soft wet footprints. Then the tide would move in once more and the waters would wash away their newly- made indentations.

Despite the tough day in court, they felt relaxed as their silhouettes were shadowed amid the picture perfect beach setting.

"So, tell me about this California lifestyle you are so readily adjusting to," Mike stated, continuing their previous conversation.

"Well, it's not that I've completely adapted, "Connie said, relishing the feel of the sandy beach on her toes, "there are some good points to be said about both cities."

"Would you ever consider going back to New York?" he asked her, unexpectedly.

At that precise moment, she had turned to watch him. He returned her gaze and Connie felt she was being held prisoner by the vividness of his blue gaze. By the way he was steadily staring at her, it seemed as if he had read her thoughts regarding him.

Connie blushed, for her thoughts were what it might feel like to be in his arms, to feel his mouth on her lips, his hands moving gently over her. Her face flamed with a mixture of embarrassment and awareness at her imagery.

Mike mistook her silence for a reluctance to answer.

"Sorry," he apologized looking down, embarrassed, "that was unfair to ask you that when you have obviously made a life here."

"No, Mike, that's fine," she managed to quickly insert, "the problem is…I don't have an answer for that."

"I understand," nodded Mike pleasantly, "although I had hoped otherwise."

They now stood rigid in their spots, as his gaze held hers and a hot flicker in his eyes made it difficult for her to breathe.

Mike was having second thoughts about walking the beach.…the romantic setting…the casual way they were with each other. He had said he would keep it professional, but he was finding it impossible to ignore the attraction he always held for her.

Connie watched as a soft breeze ruffled Mike's hair and the wind whipped through his clothes. Meanwhile the crashing waves collided against the shore in relaxing, rhythmic splashes.

The multitude of orange-tinged shades in the sky finally converged and darkened as the sun began to disappear in the horizon. The waves continued to push relentlessly forward before rushing back. Seagulls soon began to gather on the now almost deserted beach as they celebrated the end of another enchanting beach day.

Connie's heart felt like breaking at the thought of leaving this paradise, but the sun had almost melted into the ocean and the evening would soon turn into night.

"It's getting late," Mike announced quietly, "we can cut across this bike path to get to the car."

She nodded, as she felt her insides tighten in reluctant response.

They began walking diagonally towards the cycle lane.

As with most California beaches, a bike path had been laid parallel to the shoreline. Two bikers were riding this trail as Mike and Connie were just about to reach the crossing of the bike path.

As bad luck would have it, one of the front wheels from one of the bikers had dipped down in a ditch in the pathway and his bike uncontrollably was headed for Connie.

Out of the corner of his eye, Mike noted the biker veering Connie's way.

"Connie!" he yelled a warning to her, "Look out!"

She was frozen in her spot as he instinctively reacted.

Quickly dropping his jacket, Mike pulled her into his arms, making a protective cage of his own body as he removed her from the path of the oncoming bike and rider. She gasped as the unchecked two-wheel vehicle flew by her.

It had been such a close call, she actually felt the biker's arm brushing her shoulder as the rider shot past them.

Even after the rider had recovered and passed them, Connie remained attached to Mike with a sigh of relief, blindly accepting his protection.

The biker barely missed them and didn't even look back as he hurried on his way.

Connie remained safely huddled against Mike's chest, neither one wanting to move.

Connie could hear the deep thundering of his heart next to hers.

No, that was her heart, she concluded, as he continued to hold her against him.

Long after the clumsy biker had gone, Connie remained safely clasped in the circle of Mike's arms. His arms around her felt so warm and safe, just like she knew it would.

She closed her eyes for a second, savoring their contact, Pressing her cheek to his chest, she could now hear the rapid rhythm of his heart.

Swallowing hard, she felt his hand rest on the center of her back, soothing her. Her body was filled with a strange, warm ache and she could only breathe in shallow gasps at his comforting touch.

"I think," Mike's voice and chest vibrated against her cheek when he spoke, "the bikers are gone."

But they did not move apart.

.

.

(Don't worry I won't let you down this time AND the case continues next chapter!)

Please review