***
The bar was called The Pirate's Revenge, and it was the biggest bar in town. If I was going to find that man, it would be here. I had dressed in my favorite acid-washed jeans with a form-fitting neon green top. I knew I looked good since my top contrasted nicely with my blonde hair and brought out the green of my eyes.
When we stepped inside, I saw him almost immediately. The three men from the beach were leaning against the bar, talking and laughing. The one I had seen earlier was wearing a bright red shirt and jeans that hugged his perfect ass. I could feel myself heating up just looking at him.
Jenny, ever the bold one, sidled up to the bar, wedging herself between a bar stool and the dark-haired man who had been swimming. "Hey, Soldier."
I cringed a little inwardly. She was too audacious for her own good. The dark-haired man looked her up and down, but my eyes were on Redshirt.
"Hey, yourself," the dark-haired man answered. He set down his drink.
"Can I buy you a drink?" Jenny asked. I wondered how she could be so brazen, but guys always seemed to like her. I was way too shy to ever do what she did.
"Of course." The man smiled. "Whiskeys all around, then."
"I'll take one too," Rachel chimed in. The light in her eyes was focused entirely on the dark-haired man. I hoped she and Jenny weren't going to fight over him.
"What are we toasting to?" the blonde asked, raising his glass.
"To meeting new friends," Jenny shouted and downed her drink. I looked at my shot of whiskey and tried my best not to gag too much as I shot the burning liquid into my stomach.
"I'm Jenny. This is Rachel, and that's Kimberly." Jenny nodded at each of us.
"I'm Dean," the dark-haired man said, smiling at Rachel.
"I'm Matt," the blonde spoke up, "And this here's Anthony."
Anthony. I even loved his name.
"Call me Tony," he said. Our eyes met, and he smiled. His eyes were brown and warm, like hot chocolate and sunshine. There was a charm to his smile that drew me in and made me never want to leave him.
Jenny continued to flirt with Dean and Matt, but I only had eyes for Tony. Tony held out his hand, and I took it, following him to a booth. I didn't care what Jenny, Rachel, or the other two men were doing. I would have run off into the sunset with Tony in an instant.
"Kimberly, right?" he asked as we sat down. I nodded. "I've always liked that name. Was it you I saw earlier on the beach? With the hat?"
I nodded again. "I didn't think you had seen me."
"How could I have missed the prettiest girl on the beach?" He sipped on his drink, pretending that he hadn't just given me a compliment. I felt my cheeks paint themselves with blush.
"Now I'm really glad I found you here tonight," I said honestly. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest. I had never felt this level of attraction to someone so early on. I could barely believe how much I already loved just looking at him. How much I wanted him to touch me. How much I wanted him. It was intoxicating and almost frightening.
"I actually only came because I thought you might be here. I'm not usually big on bars," he admitted.
I laughed. "Me neither. I'm not really a big partier."
"You want to get out of here?" he asked suddenly. He raised his eyebrows, inclining his head toward the door. I would have followed him anywhere, and the idea both excited and scared me a little. Jenny was always accusing me of being too trusting, but I couldn't help it with Tony. It was like I had found a piece of myself I hadn't even known was missing until he spoke to me. Now I couldn't imagine not at least following him out of the bar.
"Yeah. Let's get out of here," I said with a grin. I looked over to see Jenny hanging on Matt while Dean and Rachel flirted at the bar. I didn't even care if the other girls saw me leave with him. Tony's face lit up. It had been less than two minutes, and I already felt like I was head over heels in love.
We stepped out into the humid darkness, our ears still ringing from the music in the bar. Everything sounded muffled. Tony shook his head as if he were trying to rattle his hearing loose, and pointed toward the beach.
"You want to walk on the beach?"
I nodded and we headed in the direction of the water. We walked side by side, our hands almost brushing but not quite. Every time they came close, I could feel electricity prickle my skin. I wanted to touch him so badly it almost hurt. I didn't want to appear too forward and scare him off, so I just let my hand hang to my side, waiting for our fingers to brush one another.
The night was beautiful. I couldn't have imagined a more romantic setting if I had tried. Moonlight glinted off the waves, turning each ripple into a magic mirror of the sky. A warm breeze ruffled my hair and filled the air with the smell of saltwater. Throw in the most handsome man I had ever met walking beside me, and I was fairly sure I was dreaming.
We stepped onto the sand, and I took my shoes off, carrying them in the hand that wasn’t close to Tony. The tide was going out, leaving us a space to walk. The warm, dry sand changed to cool firmness as we moved closer to the waves.
"Where are you staying?" I asked, speaking now that my hearing had finally returned to normal.
"My aunt has a place just up the beach from here," he answered, his gaze flitting toward a spot ahead of us where the house would be.
"That's funny," I said with a nervous giggle. I wasn't sure how he managed to make me feel giddy just walking next to him, but my mind couldn't seem to focus on anything except how close his hand was to mine. "I'm staying at my aunt's place, too!"
"This must be the beach for aunts," Tony replied, the grin on his face evident in his voice. "I wonder if they know one another."
"Wouldn't that be a funny, small-world story?" I tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. I sounded so boring to myself, but my brain wasn't functioning well enough to come up with something more clever. I could feel the heat of his hand just inches from mine.
"So," he said, clearing his throat. I wondered if he was as suddenly nervous as I was. "You're staying at your aunt's place. This just a vacation for you girls?"
"Yeah," I answered, nodding. "We just graduated from college and we needed a way to celebrate. My aunt is renting the place to us for basically nothing, and we all pitched in on gas."
I was rambling, but I couldn't help it. It was just so hard to think of anything besides how close he was to me. How much I would like to kiss those perfectly-shaped lips. How much I would like to trace his tattooed shoulder with my fingers.