One evening, after spending the afternoon relaxing on the beach, we stopped at a raw bar for dinner, then strolled through the surf back towards my lodgings, holding hands and laughing as the foamy waves tickled our feet. After several minutes, I looked up at him and commented, "I've been here a week now. That means my vacation is half over."

He looked quickly at me, startled. "Really? Has it already been so long? It's amazing how a week without you can go so very slowly, yet a week with you passes in the blink of an eye. Still, if it's half over, that means that there's half remaining, as well. Shall we do something special tomorrow, to mark the beginning of the second half of your vacation?"

I turned to him and put my arms around his neck as I smiled up at him. "Well... I wondered if you'd like to come up to my room for a light supper? I mean, eating out is very nice, but after a while, all I want is a nice, home-cooked meal for a change. So I talked to Mrs. Simmons—my landlady—and she said I could borrow her kitchen to prepare a dinner for you, as long as I did it either before or after her own meal preparations."

"Surely that's not typical of such an establishment?" he asked with a smile, his eyes crinkling.

"No, not at all," I laughed. "But she seems to have taken a liking to me, so she's making an exception, I suppose."

Mikhail laughed and, placing his hands around my waist, he lifted me up and kissed me. "My beautiful, delightful, charming Alice," he murmured as he set me down again gently, then we resumed our walk. "What time shall I be there?"

"How about 9:00, if you don't mind a late supper? Just come on up to my room when you arrive. You remember which one it is, don't you?"

"Assuredly. I'll be there."

Early the next morning, even before breakfast, I hurried down to the waterfront, where I purchased some fresh scallops and hurried back. Stashing my purchases in the refrigerator, I quickly ate breakfast and went shopping for the rest of the ingredients I needed. I intended to make a light, summery meal of cucumber canapés, seared scallops, melon and cucumber salad, and a crusty loaf of bread, followed by strawberries and cream. I had also picked up a bottle of sauvignon blanc, and I planned to make coffee nudges to go with the berries.

I finished most of my preparations by 8:00, so I ran upstairs to shower and dress before completing the final touches. It was an unusually hot day, so I selected a ruffled, peach-colored cropped top, faded denim shorts trimmed with crocheted lace, and sandals for comfort.

I hurried back downstairs, finished putting everything together except for the coffee and dessert, then carried it up to my room. Stepping out onto the balcony outside my sitting area, I wiped down the little table and chairs set and placed a small vase with three red roses and a pair of candles in the middle. I had just brought up the chilled wines when Mikhail knocked on my door.

I let him in with a smile and a kiss, and he handed a bottle of chilled champagne to me. "So that we may toast the rest of your vacation properly," he said cheerfully as we walked back to the sitting area and on through to the balcony. "Very pretty," he remarked, brushing his fingertips over the crimson petals. Then he took a seat and proceeded to open the champagne while I brought out the appetizer.

We savored our meal on the balcony, enjoying each other's company as the sun slowly sank below the horizon in an riot of brilliant hues. By the time it had set, we had finished our meal except for the dessert and coffee. We moved back inside, leaving the French doors open to let the light breeze in, and headed down to the kitchen, taking our dishes with us. I started the coffee brewing, then I washed the dishes and whipped the cream. I poured the coffee and stirred in the Kahlua, crème de cacao, and brandy. Then I placed the coffee cups, the bowl of berries, and the whipped cream on a tray, and we returned upstairs to my sitting room. We sat down on the little sofa, and I topped the coffees with whipped cream and handed a mug to Mikhail. "Go ahead and help yourself to the berries," I said, leaning forward to select one myself. "They're perfectly ripe—juicy and sweet."

He glanced at them, then smiled at me, saying, "Thanks, but I'll pass. I'm not really that fond of strawberries."

I looked at him for a moment, then set my coffee down and looked at him. "If you don't like strawberries," I said in a soft voice, "perhaps it's because you aren't eating them the right way."

"Oh? And what is the right way?" he said, looking curiously at me.

"Try eating them like this...." I carefully placed the berry between my teeth, then I turned and slid over, so that I was straddling his lap. Leaning forward and placing my hands on his shoulders, I gave him a kiss, dropping the berry into his mouth in the process. As we kissed, the berry rolled around our tongues, and when I pulled back, he swallowed it.

"You might be onto something," he said, a little breathlessly, as he put his hands around my waist. "You know, I've never really cared much for whipped cream, either," he added with a mischievous sparkle in his eyes.

I stifled a giggle and reached back behind me, scooping up a generous dollop of the fresh cream on my fingertip and dropping it onto my tongue. I leaned forward and kissed him again, this time swirling the cream around his tongue with mine until it finally melted away.

He looked at me then, smiling, and said, "Alice, I think perhaps you've had a little too much to drink."

I grinned at him, saying, "I think you might be right. How about you?"

He choked a little on a laugh, then said, "Well, I may have joined you by the time I'm through with this coffee." He picked up his mug and took a sip of it.

"Well... I might have used more of the liqueurs than I was supposed to. I didn't really measure it," I replied, then I took another swallow of the potent beverage and kissed him again in the waning twilight.

Inebriation and libido are a dangerous combination, but with most of my inhibitions rapidly evaporating, I didn't care at that moment. I kissed him, for once meeting or even exceeding his fervor with my own as I remained straddled on his lap, pressing myself against him as I eagerly explored his mouth. My fingers wound through his short, soft hair and trailed down the back of his neck, exploring and caressing his shoulders and chest.

Before long, we noticed that the room was dark, as was the night, since we'd not lit any lamps when we came back up. I pulled back from Mikhail and looked at him, kissing his cheek and chin as I asked, "Want to go for a walk on the beach?"

He held me tightly for a minute, then with a sigh, he smiled at me and replied, "All right. Though I'm not exactly eager to let you go." I laughed and slid off his lap, and we rose and headed downstairs and outside. The house was set back a little ways from the sand, with a little paved walkway leading through the back gardens towards the edge of the beach. We kicked off our shoes and Mikhail rolled up his linen trousers, then we strolled through the surf, the foamy waves lapping at our ankles. The water felt so refreshing, and the evening was still so warm, that I suddenly decided that more than anything, I wanted to go for a swim in the cool night sea. I eagerly suggested it to Mikhail, but he just laughed and reminded me that neither of us had swimsuits.

I thought for a minute, crushed by my disappointment. Then with a wicked grin, I grabbed Mikhail's hand and dragged him back over to where we'd left our shoes. As we hurried back along the beach, I said, "If we don't have swimsuits, we'll just swim without them!"

"What, in our clothes?" he asked, dubiously.

"No, silly," I giggled, "let's go skinny-dipping! It's dark enough that even if anyone is looking, they won't be able to see anything, and the sound of the waves crashing will drown out any noise we might make. Doesn't that sound just marvelous? Slipping into the waves, the cool water swirling around our bare skin in the moonlight?"

"Well... I don't know..." he said hesitantly, looking torn.

"Come on, it'll be fun! I promise you'll enjoy it!"

"How do you know? What if I don't like swimming in the ocean?"

"Well, first of all, I know you do enjoy it, and second, even if you didn't... well, I was right about the strawberries, wasn't I?"

He squeezed my hand, saying, "Yes, that's true. I'll never look at another strawberry without thinking of your kisses, so how can I help but enjoy them?"

We clambered up the small bluff at the end of the garden path where we'd left our shoes, then with a furtive glance around in the pitch blackness, we stripped all our clothing off, setting it aside. Then we quickly ran to the water, diving in as soon as it was deep enough to swim.

As I predicted, the water felt amazing—so refreshing after the heat of the day. We swam for a short while, until we nearly collided in the pale light of slender crescent moon just rising above the eastern horizon. He started to move away to keep from getting entangled, but I grabbed his arm to stop him, then threw my arms around his neck and kissed him, tangling my fingers in his hair and wrapping my legs around his waist while he stood on the sandy bottom, the water chest high on him as the waves ebbed and flowed over and around us. He held my thighs as I pressed myself against him—hot desire rushing through me at the sensation of his bare skin against mine.

The craving for his touch grew almost unbearable as I kissed him greedily, sliding away from his lips and along his jaw line to caress his earlobe between my lips, then nibbling down his neck to his throat. He buried his face in my neck with a groan, kissing and sucking just at the base of my neck and leaving me breathless. I pulled his head to me and whispered throatily into his ear, "I want you, Mikhail. I want you so much. Right now."

He froze at my words, then, to my dismay, he carried me back up out of the water and to the beach, where he gently set me down.

"No, Alice. I can't," he said with a more than a hint of regret in his voice.

I stared at him, swaying slightly, dazed and in a fog from my desire and his rejection and the alcohol. After a moment, I stammered, "W-what? Why? I-I thought that you...."

"I do, Alice. I want you more than anything. But not like this. You're three sheets to the wind, my love. I could never take advantage of you—that's not love. You've said yourself more than once that you want to wait until you're married, and I respect that. Even when it's sheer agony to turn you down." He kissed the top of my head and began to lead me back to our clothing.

I threw my arms around his neck again, dragging him down on top of me as I fell backwards onto the sand. "No, Mikhail, I'm serious. I really do want you. Please, make love to me," I begged, kissing his neck. He gently disentangled himself and opened his mouth to speak... but I passed out before I heard another word.

Bright sunlight filtered through the sheer curtains draped around my bed, dazzling my eyes and taunting my throbbing, painful head. I groaned, burying my face in my pillow as I tried not to provoke the pounding in my skull with sound or motion. After a moment, unable to bear the brilliant light any longer, I turned towards the middle of the bed to burrow down into the darkness under my covers. However, as I moved, two things happened in such rapid succession that I forgot my agony for the moment. First, I realized I was stark naked in bed—which was very odd, as I never slept in the buff.

Second, as I was trying to figure out what had become of my pajamas, I glanced around... and saw Mikhail lying sound asleep next to me, his lips curving into a peaceful smile.