Until This Summer
Part I

* * *

I hurriedly took off my sandals, sinking my feet into the fine grain sand as I watched the sun reflected on the tranquil turquoise ocean from the horizon.

Sighing exasperatingly, I lied down, closed my eyes and deeply inhaled the salty breeze and welcomed the vibrant summer sun warming my pale skin. I listened to the rippling waves like an endless sweet lullaby to my ears. It instantly swept my worries away.

"Miss? Miss, wake up. You'll gonna miss the sunset." A deep husky playful male voice jolted me upright.

My heart was pounding wildly as my hand pressed against my chest. "Shit! How long did I sleep?" I realized I was still lying on the sand and my skin was mildly hot.

"Not that long, maybe two hours top based on the flush on your face. Didn't you apply sunscreen before you literally burn yourself?" The man said with a half-laugh.

Squinting my eyes, I swift my head to him. He was already sitting beside me with his sun-bronzed powerful arms atop his knees. "Who are you? This is private property. How the hell did you come here?"

"I know, but this is my first time to see a woman lying on the sand unmoving like a dead. I thought you were castaway," he answered me calmly, not caring my warning.

"Now you know I'm not dead, can you leave me alone now?" I quickly stood up when I realized his brow arched. A dance of amusement in his eyes as he watched me from head to toe. His lips curled up into a smirk.

"I'm Erwyn." He stood up, extending his hand that looked rough with bulged veins probably from working hard manually.

I looked up to his face. He was gigantic to my five foot two inches height. His face was like a movie star that hard to ignore. His midnight dark eyes were fierce surrounded by thick lashes, but never hid the amazement in those eyes. He had high cheekbones, dark brows, strong straight nose, and lips that looked soft yet firm. "Leave me alone."

"Did I pass the inspection?" His feature was rugged masculine and sexy as hell.

I rolled eyes. "You're overconfident, and I was not inspecting you. I just thought-"

"Let's just watch the sunset, okay? The view from here is perfect." The stranger, Erwyn sat down, ignoring my words.

I walked backward giving us distance and sat down quietly. Right now, I'm more concerned about how attracted he was rather than he was a total stranger.

"I'm not gonna harm you, Dania." A small smile curved from his lips and there was an assurance of security in his voice.

My eyes slightly widened as soon as my name rolled out of his tongue. "How do you know me?" I was surprised by how strong my voice was. I've been cowering these past few days after I received threats through text, calls, and e-mail from an alleged stalker with an unknown number and unverified e-mail address. What if this man was responsible for all my nightmares?

He could've killed me already, right?

After exposing the sexploration of an action star slash cheating boyfriend on the magazine where I worked as a freelance showbiz column writer, my life was doomed and I constantly received threats from fans.

My apartment turned upside down with pig blood spread all over my living room. There was a message written on the wall 'You're dead before you can breath'. The police officer suggested lying low while he was investigating the case.

Ignoring an attractive man, I stayed cautious and watched in awe at the breathtakingly beautiful sun as it dipped down the horizon. It was exactly how I imagined, the striking colors of orange filled the sky like a perfect canvas. It took my breath away watching it faded and as night beckoning the sky.

I cautiously glanced over my shoulder only to see Erwyn smiling brightly at me.

"Beautiful isn't it?" he commented.

Without a second thought, I sprinted towards the house and locked the door behind me when I checked his silhouette was still there as I left. I leaned my head against the door and squeezed my eyes shut, imagining my life after a week with no job, no apartment, and with saving that could barely last two months.

***

I sat on the stool of the kitchen island while waiting for the coffee to brew. I mentally thanked Yna, my best friend since college, for accommodating me with her beach house.

"Good morning!" A male voice startled me and I almost fell from my seat. The same voice who woke me up at the beach yesterday.

Turning around with my hand still pressed against my chest, I glared. "Are you trying to kill me?"

"I'm sorry, I thought you heard me coming." He pursed his lips and gave me an apologetic looked.

I stood up from the stool, bracing my hand against the countertop. "Are you following me now? How did you even get in? I clearly remembered locking the door last night."

Erwyn was hard not to notice when he was breathtakingly gorgeous in the morning. His hair was still disheveled and fresh from the bed. The sleeves of his grey shirt were slightly stretched against his taut biceps. I could imagine how hard those muscles beneath his shirt and dark grey sweatpants. Jeez, he was barefooted, his large feet even looked sexy with strays of hair on his toes.

"Stop checking me out already, Dania," he said with a chuckle.

"Narcissistic."

"Thank you. How do you like your coffee?" He sauntered towards the coffee maker, opening the cupboard as if he did it a thousand times.

"You didn't answer my questions, Erwyn."

He placed down the two white mugs in front of us and beamed, showing me his perfectly aligned pearly white. "Wow, I'm touched that you remember my name."

Scowling, I stared at him intently. "It's just the two of us. I'll definitely remember you, just in case you will try to harm me."

His thick brow cocked, leaning his elbows against the counter and locked his dark eyes against mine. "Is that so? How will you tell everyone when I could snap your neck in a heartbeat?"

A sudden coldness hit my core making my heartbeat escalated. I'm already walking backward in weakened knees before my brain can register.

Erwyn's face suddenly alarmed, eyes slightly widened. "Dania, I'm sorry and I don't mean to scare you. I'm Erwyn James, Yna's cousin. She told me last night about why you're here. You're stuck with me for a week, so, please, you can relax now. And you look like you're about to faint in a moment." His hands rose to surrender.

"Breath, Dania. The last thing I want is to scare a fine lady."

I leaned my back at the doorjamb, releasing the breath that I hold since I walked far from him. "Why didn't you tell me you're her cousin James? And why Yna didn't mention someone is staying here with me. She told me this is the safest place I could ever stay."

He shrugged. "That's right, you're safe with me and I thought you knew me already. Did you check your phone?"

I shook my head. "I don't have a phone."

"Who doesn't have a phone these days? Even a three-year-old kid already owned a phone," he said in a mockery tone.

I sighed helplessly. "Thanks for the coffee. Can you make sandwiches for us?"

He chuckled. "I should have frightened you a bit because you've started to be a little demanding."

"That's for scaring the hell out of me. Twice," I snorted.

"Fine, but you'll help next time."

"Sure."

* * *

The sky was clear, only a few clouds above us like cotton candy as we strolled down following the remnant of seaweeds scattered along the shoreline.

"So, someone vandalized your apartment with pig's blood after your article was published?"

"Yeah."

"But you used a pen name."

"I did."

"Then how can they threatened you?"

"There is a possibility that could be one of his fans. I was the only one who's snooping around and found out his women. I actually feel guilty for ruining his relationship."

"You shouldn't. You helped that woman staying away from that douché."

"You think so?" I looked up at him as we climbed up the rocks. He easily climbed in fluid motions while I was struggling behind him.

"We can stay here if it's too hard for you." He looked back at me.

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea before I fall and hit my head."

He barked into laughter. "How are you so tiny?"

"You are giant and I'm just normal." I shot him a glare.

"Normal?"

"Ouch. I'm five-two, silly."

"Fine, but you're still cute."

Heat crept on my cheeks making me felt self-conscious. "I'm not cute, Erwyn. You don't have to praise me to make me feel better."

He sat on the biggest rock that towered over me, then strolled his eyes on me from head to toe. "I agree with you, you're not cute and neither pretty. You have a mesmerizing pair of brown eyes, beautiful shiny black hair, luscious lips, hourglass figure that every woman would die for. You're smart, fierce, and snarky. In short, you're gorgeous and hot as hell."

My eyes widened in surprise. My mouth ajar as my brain tried to sink in what he just said.

Did I really look attracted to him? Or this was one of his thousand ways to lure women into his bed because there was no way he didn't think himself as who always got what he wanted.

Erwyn was confident, smart, handsome with a huge ego, and exuded playboy aura.

"Stop overthinking, Dania."

"What makes you think I'm overthinking?" I asked almost immediately, sounding defensive as ever.

"You're like an open book to me." He looked away to the far end of the ocean, releasing a deep breath.

"Nobody told me the way you did other than men who I dated and wanted to get under my skirt," I admitted truthfully and shrugged.

I dated guys during college and even these past years but the moment we sat for our dinner, they started complimenting me right away and I knew that wasn't sincere, so I didn't get a chance for a second date.

"They're assholes."

"And you're not?" I asked quietly. I knew he heard it making me regret right away for being judgmental when all he did was treated me nicely.

"I am, Dania. I am if I wanted it to be."

We stayed for a while without uttering a word jut listening to the waves and the birds flew above us. It was peaceful but nerve-racking as hell to me. I badly wanted to apologize for my behavior but my tongue was tied-up of embarrassment and guiltiness. Was he mad at me?

"Maybe we can go back and swim near the house," he suggested, breaking the silence.

"Sure, I had been tempted since yesterday."

* * *