Lina sat back and rubbed her full belly. She'd just finished breakfast and was feeling a little lethargic. So, she sat down and looked around the room, her eyes settling on Fillia. She seemed to glow with contentment. Fillia had walked in from her date last night in a starry eyed daze. She had rambled on and on about how romantic it had been, giving large amount of detail. However, she would not say who this romantic gentleman was.
"Who could it be?" she asked herself.
"Huh," was her not so smart traveling companion's remark.
"Who was Fillia dating last night?" she repeated as she smacked him for his density.
"Really? I was wondering where Zel had gone last night."
"What! Zel was gone last night?" Lina jumped up.
"Well, Zel came back to his room really late last night," the swordsman responded, ducking any possible blows, "I was just wondering why he was out so late."
Lina sat there for a moment puzzling over the details. Fillia had a date the night before and now Zel had been out the same night. She glanced over at the two. They were sitting a good distance apart and they seemed to be ignoring each other, but....
"Nah!" she said, shaking her head and deciding to have more breakfast.
Fillia was excited. This time, she had decided the place to go on a date. She ran down to the beach and quickly removed her outer clothing to reveal her bathing suit underneath. She smiled as she stared at the suit. A few months ago she wouldn't have dreamed about putting on something so skimpy. However, she also wouldn't have thought the thoughts she was having at the moment. She sighed. It was like certain foods. If you never tried it, you never got a craving for it. But, once you tried it, you'd keep getting cravings for it. And right now she was getting a major craving.
Zel had been a perfect gentleman on the last few dates they'd been on. They'd gone no farther than kissing, albeit great kissing, but still only kissing. She wanted more, and was hoping she could get some with a little seductive swimwear. She watched Zel shyly remove his outerwear to reveal the snug swim trunks she'd help pick out. She'd wanted him to get speedos, but knew he would protest, so had instantly compromised on the butt hugging swim trunks. Damn, he looked good.
She jogged up to him, throwing her arms around him in a very close, tight hug. She smiled at the blush that ran up Zel's cheeks. Then, Fillia sat down calmly beside Zel, noticing the picnic basket that he'd brought
"Well, what's the food for? You think you can win me over with food like Lina?"
"No, but I thought it would be a nice touch," he answered, trying not to stare at her and shifting uncomfortably in his swimwear.
"Damn," Zel fumed. He felt uncomfortable. He was wearing less than he was used to and he was afraid that someone would see him. No matter how much Fillia reassured him, he couldn't believe she actually found him attractive. Some part, deep down inside, kept telling him that she was just humoring him, that she really wanted something else, that it was foolish to believe he had a serious chance with someone so beautiful. He sighed, remembering that night together and remembering the tears.
He sighed. Even when making love he had managed to hurt her. That's why he'd made the excuse that he wanted to keep things proper and clean. He didn't want to hurt her again. A freak had no right to.
"Zel," a soft voice interrupting his thoughts, "are you O.K."
"Yes," he answered, then lied," I was just wondering what we could do at the beach. I can't swim you know."
"Well, we could just stay right here, enjoy the meal, the warm day, and each other," she smiled, blushing shyly and moving closer to him. She didn't know what to do. She could tell he was getting depressed again, which was a mood contrary to what she wanted from him.
He smiled faintly, arching his stone eyebrows, "Yes, we could do that."
Fillia smiled, snuggling closer to Zel. What could she do? She never thought of herself as the aggressive type and she didn't really want to make the first move. She wanted him to. But, how was she going to do that without seeming obvious? She sighed again, and looked up at his face. She admired how the sun reflected off his fine facial features and silver-violet hair.
Zel shifted uncomfortably. She was staring at him. He snorted; even when dating she couldn't help but stare at his freakish appearance.
"What are you staring at?"
"I'm looking at you," Fillia whispered, flushed and starry eyed, "You are so handsome."
"Yeah, right," he snorted, "I'm a freak, not even human," he mumbled pulling away.
Fillia grabbed him, and using her dragon strength pulled him back to her. "So, I'm not human either, so it doesn't matter to me that you aren't human. All that matters to me is that I really do believe you are the most handsome being in existence, and I want you to stay with me, enjoy being with me, and be happy with me. Oh, Zel," she whispered, tears rolling down her face, "I just want you to know how much...I....I...I love you." Then, she leaned forward and kissed him.
Zel felt his face flush as she kissed him. Had she just said what he thought she said? Did she just say she loved him? He found himself wanting to believe it, to believe she could love him as much as he loved her. He felt ashamed as she continued to kiss him, her lips becoming more insistive. He had always been the silent type, not wanting to share how he felt, to bare his soul to someone, to put his feelings at risk. But, she had just bared her feelings to him and he knew that he might not be able to do the same. All he could do was kiss her. All he could do was show her how he felt, making love to her in the sand.