Holiday romance

She downed what was left of her drink on one go and set the glass back on the scratched table feeling the vodka burn in her chest. Her cheeks were turning rosy with the alcohol taking it´s affect but also from the sun she had exposed them to earlier in the day. A holiday on a paradise island sun bathing wasn´t really her thing but it had been a toss between this and a coach holiday around German breweries - tough one... So sun bathing it was then for the next two weeks although she always joked that she never tanned but just turned red like a lobster.
This was the first time ever she had just walked into a travel agency and bought the first thing on offer. Usually she spent months planning her trips and reading books about the destination but not this time. She had bought the holiday package and left the next morning. And here she was 24 hours later, enjoying few drinks in a small shabby bar by the waters edge. The sun had just set and the bar was still quiet with just few locals and few tourists in it. Looking around she liked what she saw and decided she´d have one more drink, at least...
The breeze from the sea felt lovely on her skin and she wondered if the locals ever got used to having an open air bar like this with just a reed roof and no walls. The sea was so close she could hear it and smell it and the floor of the bar was just some decking with so much sand on it she was pretty sure she would be able to make a sand castle right there in her feet. She tried to imagine coming to this place after a workday to relax few times a week. She imagined she´d just turn into an alcoholic living on the beach next to the bar in no time... Although shabby the bar felt very cosy and she knew it would be her local hang out should she ever decide to leave everything behind and live on this island.
She got up and walked to the bar. She felt like an idiot with her burning cheeks and her white tunic and brand new sandals she had bought earlier in the day from a local shop. She giggled inside, sure that she couldnt look more like a tourist if she had a camera hanging from her neck and she was holding a map!
“Another vodka, please. With a slice of lemon”, she gave the young bartender her order and watched him pour the drink for her. After the two drinks she had already had she was still amazed of the quantity of vodka that was considered to be just one drink here. The poor lemon slice hardly fit into the glass at all after the ice and vodka!

She thanked the bartender and turned to return to her table. To her surprise she saw a guy sitting at her table pulling a cigarette out of her pack of smokes! The bar was full of empty tables but this guy had sat down on the one she had been occupying for the past hour or so.
“Excuse me...”, setting her drink on the table, she snatched the pack of cigarettes from the guy and gave him a half serious “Tsk!”. The guy lit the cigarette and blew the smoke towards the reed roof grinning at her: “Please, sit down”.
Surprised by his seeming arrogance she sat down opposite of him and sipped on her drink. “Would you like a cigarette too?”, the strange, arrogant man asked her and pulled another one from her pack she had only just set back on the table. Leaning back on her chair she nodded laughing a little and watched him light the cigarette and then hand it to her. He had huge hands but he didnt seem clumsy with them like most men with big hands do. Her mind started to wander as she followed the arms up to the wide shoulders and beautiful neck. He looked to be taking time off from shaving and a dark stubble spread from under his jawbone to his cheeks and around his mouth. His lips were near perfect and she found herself instinctively licking her own. When she finally lifted her stare to his blue eyes she was startled to find him looking back at her. For a fleeting moment there he had been just a piece of juice meat to her and not a live person at all! He tilted his head and smiled to her: “Hey... Where did you go?”.
Blushing she realised she had been openly staring at him for a while not realising it at all. Bloody drinks, she pushed her drink further down the table from her. Feeling the light buzz of intoxication tingle in her limbs she smiled: “I´m here... just a little...ummm...relaxed, i suppose. My first night on the island and i´m celebrating. And may i just point out that it´s very rude to take someones table like this and not only smoke someones cigarettes but to offer them out too, like your own?”.
The stranger laughed and nodded to her: “You are right of course. This has been very rude of me. And i havent even introduced myself yet... Please forgive me. My name is Dom”. He extended his hand to her and she took it, again marvelling at the size of it. “You have some making up to do but i´m sure that forgiveness isnt completely out of the question Dom”, she answered. “And by the way, my name is Kat”.
Dom nodded and repeated her name silently before sipping on his beer. He asked her about her holiday and her plans for it and they eneded up spending some time talking about the possibilities on the island. Dom was on holiday too with his friends but had wandered off tonight to get some alone time. Apparently spending two weeks with a group of rowdy guys isnt all that it´s cracked out to be...!

Bit by bit people started to fill the little bar and it got louder and louder in there. Bit by bit Dom and Kat moved their chair closer together to be able to carry on with their conversation. They talked about the bar and exotic fruits they had both seen on the island market. Dom told Kat about his diving trip on close by reef and Kat told Dom about her lost luggage. It wasnt deep and meaningful conversation at all, but a nice relaxed one. They laughed a lot and both felt at ease with a complete stranger. They smoked Kat´s cigarettes and drank more than they should have and after couple of hours they both felt a little drunk and somewhat giddy.
“Wanna get out of here?”, Dom asked Kat deliberately knocking an empty beer bottle over on the table. Kat finished her drink and nodded: “Yeah, it´s loud in here”. Dom got up and took hold of Kat´s hand to lead her out of the crowded bar. Looking around Kat was surprised to see all the tables full now and people spilling out to the beach too.
“Wow, i didnt realise this place had filled up... No wonder its loud in here!”, Kat laughed following Dom out onto the beach. The fine sand poured into her sandals and tickled her toes. It was hard to walk in the soft sand and Kat had to almost run to keep up with Dom pulling her down the beach. “Hey, wait up...!”, staggering behind Dom Kat almost fell and had to grasp at Dom´s hand with both hands to keep her balance. Dom turned around and wrapped his arm around her shoulders laughing: “Are you drunk?”. Kat tsk´ed at Dom giggling and shook her head: “Of course not! What you think that i just go around bars on my holidays getting blind drunk with strange men? What sort of girl do you take me for...?”. Dom let out a low laugh and they started down the beach again, his hand around her shoulders, slowly this time.
The moon was out, not full but still there looking much bigger than it ever did back home to her. The sky was full of stars and when Kat looked up to them she felt the vertigo she always did when looking up at the night sky. Dom stopped and held her a bit tigher to stop the sway she felt. “Wow... You alright Kat?”, he sounded a bit worried and he frowned peering into her face. Kat smiled and closed her eyes. “Yeahyeahyeah” she mumbled and patted Dom´s belly absent-mindedly: “I just get vertigo when i look at the night sky”. Dom accepted the explanation with a puzzled smile and they moved forward again.
“Where are we going?”, Kat asked after they had walked away from the bar´s lights and still headed down the long, lonely beach with nothing on it infront of them. Dom shrugged but kept going: “Does it matter...”. Kat smiled at his answer and shook her head: ”No, no it doesnt. This is nice...”.

Waves crashed to the shore and there was the gentle breeze again, from the sea, Kat had felt in the bar. The night was still warm after the hot day and felt like it would never cool down. Even the sand filling her sandals on every step was warm to her toes.
“Dom, can we stop? I want to take my sandals off”, Kat slowed down. They stopped and Kat sat down on the sand to open her sandal straps. Dom stood looking down on her for a while but knelt down in front of her soon: “ Let me...”. He pushed her hands away from the straps and started to open them slowly. His fingers worked fast brushing against her skin once in a while. His touch was light and send shivers up her spine. Kat looked at Dom working on her sandals and enjoyed the view. He was wearing a dark gray button down shirt and faded jeans. He had left the few top buttons undone on his shirt and when he bent down to help her with her sandals she could look down his shirt at his beautiful chest. Kat sighed silently at the sight of his muscular chest and wondered if she could blame the alcohol for her naughty thoughts. She usually didnt go for the more muscular types...

Dom had Kat´s sandals open and pulled them off her feet slowly. Deliberately he let his hands stroke her bare feet gently. He found himself getting very aroused by this funny woman he had spotted in the bar. She was beautiful with her blond hair and blue-green eyes that peered into his boldly, without a hint of uncomfortableness after just few moments together. Her laugh was amazing and he couldnt help but laugh everytime she did and she was funny, boy was she funny. Her wit and interesting observations made her an interesting person to talk to. Dom couldnt quite believe she had noticed the same exotic fruit on the market he had. His friends had made fun of him when he had gotten excited about the damned things and that´s why he had taken off tonight to find more interesting company to talk to. Bunch of wankers...
Kat was still sat on the beach with her feet in his hands. She had her eyes closed and she seemd to like him stroking her feet. “Feels nice, huh?”, Dom whispered and sat down on the sand too. He let his fingers draw circles onto the skin of her ankles and then he drew his fingers up the soles of her feet making her gasp a bit and curl her toes. Laughing Dom lifted Kat´s right foot up to his lips and blew on her toes. Kat giggled and tried to keep her balance in vain. She fell to her back onto the beach and laid there with her arms stretched to her sides. Dom set her foot down onto the sand and crawled up next to her. He lay down on his side and set his head on Kat´s arm. Kat turned to face him and they just laid there looking at each other. “I love your eyebrows!”, Kat said finally after a long time. Dom burst out laughing surprised by her comment: “Yeah? Well, thank you, i guess. I like your eyebrows too”.
Kat giggled and reached to touch his left eyebrow. Dom closed his eyes and enjoyed the feel of her fingers tracing his eyebrow. Kat let her fingers stroke his jaw and and cheeks and then finally his forehead. Dom grunted pleased and shifted his large frame closer to her. Kat´s hand stopped and Dom opened his eyes fearing he had spoiled the moment by being too forward. Their eyes met and Dom saw that Kat was still at ease and that he hadnt scared her. Gently he reached his hand around her small waist and pulled her closer to him. Kat smiled a little and continued to stroke his face. The sound of the waves nearly drowned it, so that Dom had to strain but then he heard it again, she was humming. Dom pulled closer to her to hear her quiet humming. He wasnt sure what the song was. Kat paid no attention to his curious look and obvious attempts to try and catch the song title from her humming.
“What is that... I know it, dont tell me...”, Dom closed his eyes and pressed his ear close to Kat´s lips. Kat giggled. Quickly she pecked a kiss on Dom´s ear and whispered: “It´s the Snow Patrol´s “Chasing cars”... You know: “...if i lay here, if i just lay here, would you lie with me and just forget the world...”?”, Kat´s voice was lovely and the song choice made Dom smile. He turned to face her and answered her last line with a soft kiss.