Lucky Stars

The salt air felt like soothing caresses as Lucy pointed out the stars and constellations. Jeff was surprised at her thorough knowledge of astronomy. But as she gazed reverently above, he couldn’t help looking at her. At one point she caught his eyes on her and gave him an embarrassed smile.

“What?” she breathed, “why are you looking at me like that?” But his answer was to simply push the loose strands of hair back behind her ear. He then leaned in and nuzzled her neck, whispering naughty suggestions into her ear.

Lucy giggled softly. They had arrived just that day to this secluded beach with an adorable cottage behind the dunes. She didn’t know whose it was or how Jeff had gotten access to it, but it was private and lovely. She felt completely relaxed. Even though they would be there for only a few days she was certainly glad they had come.

As Jeff stood up beside her, Lucy gathered the glasses and wine bottle they had brought. He reached out a hand to her, and as she rose, pulled her into an embrace. Wrapping her arms around his neck and breathing in his scent, she couldn’t help thinking how impossible this all seemed. Had they really only known each other for a few months?

They walked hand in hand to the bungalow. The kisses started at the small gate and had grown to full passion by the time they reached the door. Lucy was able to rid herself of the glassware while Jeff closed and locked the door, but neither actually stopped touching the other.

As they pulled at each other’s clothes and made their way to the bed, Jeff’s cell phone started ringing. With a groan of frustration, he stepped out of Lucy’s embrace and searched his shorts pockets for his phone. “Damn it! It’s Keith from work. I’m sorry, I’ll make it quick.”

Lucy gave him what he perceived as a petulant look and climbed in the bed. She was confused when he walked into the other room and shut the door. “It’s just a work call, why does he need to leave the room for a quick call,” she mumbled to herself. She rolled onto her side and pulled up the covers.

“No,” Jeff spoke softly into the receiver, “she has no idea why we’re here.” He paced along the picture window as he listened. “No, I’m not doing it tonight.”

After a brief pause, Jeff insisted, “She’s not going to expect a thing. It’ll be a complete surprise. I’m hanging up now, she’s waiting for me in bed.” But when Jeff returned to the bedroom, he found Lucy sound asleep with the blankets pulled up to her chin.

As the couple dropped to their towels after an early morning dip in the ocean, Jeff took Lucy’s hand, playing with her fingers. “What do you want to do today, Luce?”

She fell back on her towel, one arm over her eyes. “Hmmm, I don’t know.” She then took in a sudden breath and sat up beside him. “Oh, I know. Let’s go to those cute little shops we passed coming in.” Her eyes sparkled with excitement.

Jeff let out a chuckle. “Okay, I like that idea. Then we could stop for lunch at the Fish Camp for lunch.” Lucy smiled and returned to lounging under the sun. “Jeff, you spoil me. You know that?” Jeff could only smile in return.

The day was spent holding hands, flirting, and lots of kissing. During a decadent dessert course, Jeff got another phone call. “Sorry, babe,” he said, “it’s the office again. This will only take a minute.” She stared at him, dubiously. “Why can’t you take the call here?”

Jeff sat back in his chair, gaped at her for a moment, then put his phone to his ear. “Hey, Keith, man. What’s up?” He kept his eyes on Lucy as he spoke. “Yeah, man. Things are going great here. We’re having a great time. Can’t thank you enough for the use of the place.” Lucy glanced away, chagrinned. Now she knew how Jeff had managed to get this place. That was probably why his coworker kept calling, too, just to make sure they were doing okay.

Jeff was ending the call. “Sure thing. I’ll get that taken care of first thing,” he smiled into the phone, “no problem.”

Lucy reached across the table to take his hand as he replaced the phone in his pocket. “I’m so sorry,” she said, squeezing his hand. “I know you have responsibilities. I just wanted you all to myself.”

Jeff gently rubbed her hand with his thumb and smiled. “You are the only reason I am here, and I don’t want you to forget it.” She felt like they were the last two people in the world.

Their afternoon swim got interrupted by a thunderstorm. As they returned to the cottage, Jeff asked if Lucy would like to sit on the screened-in porch and watch the rain. She joined him on the over-sized, cushioned swing. He kissed her deeply, wrapping his hands into her hair. She returned his kisses in equal measure, rubbing her hands across the bare chest before her with growing fervor. As their clothes hit the floor, she called out his name with the roll of the thunder.

As they dozed in the late afternoon, the breeze lazily moving the swing, Jeff heard his phone from inside the cottage. After gently extricating himself from Lucy’s limbs entwined with his, he quickly made his way to where his phone was charging.

“Hello?” His eyes were too blurry from the nap to make out the number on the screen. The voice, though, was immediately recognizable. “No, she still has no idea why I brought her here, she will be caught completely off guard. It’ll be tonight after dinner. We’re scheduled to be here another day and night, so she won’t expect anything.” As he returned the phone to the charger, he heard Lucy coming in through the screen door.

Jeff took her in his arms and gave her a long, sensual kiss. She sighed and smiled, “What are the plans for tonight? A lot of this, I hope.” He groaned into her neck, “Maybe later. Right now, I’m going to the store to grab the necessities for a delicious dinner.”

“Ooh-la-la,” Lucy laughed in a sing-song voice. “I am so spoiled. I can’t believe how lucky I am to have you.”

“Oh, no,” chuckled Jeff, “I’m the lucky one. You have no idea how lucky I am to be with you right now.”

“Yeah, right,” Lucy laughed, “because you’re so handsome and hard-working that you repel women, I’m sure.”

“You relax with one of the books you thought you’d need to get through this trip. I know, you didn’t think I’d know why your luggage was so heavy,” Jeff winked as he stepped out the door, “I’ll be back in no time.”

Lucy decided to freshen up with a bubble-bath while Jeff was gone. She wanted to get gussied up if he was going to all this trouble. She was fastening the clasp on her necklace as she heard Jeff call that dinner was almost ready.

She approached the table in awe. Jeff had pulled out all the stops. There were fancy plates, silverware, linens, flowers, and candles. The aroma of the food was intoxicating. She had known that Jeff could cook, was an excellent cook, in fact. But this was surreal. Jeff pulled out her chair while telling her how amazing she looked.

After dinner, they snuggled on the sofa, finishing off the wine. The crashing of the waves could be heard through the open windows. Lucy kissed him on the chin and asked, “You want to go for a nighttime stroll on the beach?”

Jeff couldn’t believe his luck. He was trying to figure out a way to get her to agree to do that very thing but thought for sure she would be too tired after their busy day. “I guess that nap did you some good, huh?”

They changed out of their dinner clothes and into t-shirts and shorts. Holding hands, they made their way down to the beach, the moon bright enough to light the way. He asked her how she had come to know so much about the stars, and as she spoke of her fascination with the celestial orbs, he reached his hand into his pocket.

They continued to slowly stroll in the surf, until Jeff slowed to a stop. Standing behind Lucy, he wrapped an arm around her waist, nuzzling her neck. She leaned into him, sighing with contentment. While she gazed at the stars, Jeff pulled his hand from his pocket and, reaching up in front of her, slid the blade across her throat.