My parents, Eric and I spent all of Saturday morning lounging by the pool in the screened-in patio outside the back of my house. They kept making jokes about how pale I had gotten. But thankfully, I didn't mind. I was used to it. Though when my dad first came out and pretended to be scared that he thought I was a ghost, Eric gave him a disapproving look.

Even though he had been around my family several times over the years, he was still getting used to their sense of humor. I reassured him that my parent's jokes were never ill-intended. But since Eric's family was more reserved than mine, I could understand how he felt uncomfortable by some of the things my dad would say.

Though my dad was a business owner and knew how to present himself when it came to work, he was still a Floridian country guy. Occasionally his accent would even slip, and you would think he was from the Everglade swamps and not in a middle-upper class part of Naples.

My dad was wading at the edge of the deep end, having just completed swimming a few laps. "So do y'all have something planned for Valentine's tonight? I could call the restaurant for you and reserve you a special table on the beach. It's part of tonight's special 'Lovers' theme."

I smiled. "You're bringing that back this year?"

I had always loved it when my dad would do that on Valentine's Day. During my teen years, I would request to help out as a server just so I could see all the romantic couples showing nothing but love for each other. I was even part of a proposal once. The man handed me a velvet box and requested that I drop the engagement ring inside it, in his dates champagne flute. It was a beautiful proposal, and I was even more excited when his date accepted the ring.

"It was demanded to be brought back," my mother added as she climbed out of the pool and wrapped herself up in one of the beach towels. She sat down on the lounge chair on the other side of Eric. "There was such an uproar from folks when they didn't see it offered last year, that your father knew better than to not bring it back."

Eric looked over his sunglasses at my dad. "Why did you cancel it last year?"

"Someone the year before wrote the worst review on that stupid Yelp website. They called the experience the worst in Naples. It rubbed me the wrong way, so I canceled it. Then last year, I got multiple bad reviews on Yelp because I didn't offer a Valentine's Day dinner experience. We were open for everyone, and I guess several couples complained. I swear you can't make anyone happy." My dad huffed and kicked his feet against the wall, moving himself to the middle of the pool.

"That's why I will never take over the family business, Dad," I confessed. "I hated pretending to be nice to all those snooty customers. I don't know how you do it every day."

"Customer service is definitely a natural ability of your dads," my mom said with admiration. "As much as he complains, he'd pull his hair out, well what's left of it, if he had to sit behind a desk five days a week."

"It's not that bad," Eric defended. Then he laughed lightly. "Okay, it is, but at least the money's good."

"Son." My dad's eyebrows narrowed. "By the time you reach my age, you'll realize that money is as good as shit." Eric and I couldn't help but laugh at my dad's choice of words. "You see my house, right? It's decent, right? I have a nice truck and a well-oiled business. I make good money just fine. But if I spent my days grinding away to get that extra grand or so and miss all this." He raised his hand's palm up, out of the water, and gestured to his surroundings. "Then, I'd miss all this."

Eric nodded thoughtfully. "You've got a valid point, Larry. Even in the short day and some of being here, I feel nothing but free. But freedom comes at a price."

"You're right. It does. But at the cost of happiness? And time with your loved ones? I'll pass." My dad swam back to the deep end by us. "Who and what you devote your time and energy to, tells the universe what's really important to you. For me, that's Betty, Vicky, and even you. I only work to ensure I can provide my family with what they need. Everything else is just an extra bonus."

We all agreed with his sentimental statement. Then I thought about his words further as my parents and Eric moved on with the conversation. I did devote my time to Eric, but I also devoted a lot of my time and energy to Ryan. Even my dreams kept Ryan around me. But it kept Eric around too. Feeling flustered at my thoughts, I excused myself and went inside the house.

I went up to my room, threw a slip-on dress over my bikini, and grabbed my cellphone. I made my way back downstairs and out the front door. I hovered my finger over Ryan's contact name like I had that night outside the bar. But this time, I was nervous about calling him for another reason. But I breathed in a breath of salty sea air, and immediately felt relaxed as I dialed his number.

"Hey!" Ryan's voice came through after barely one ring.

"Hey."

"How's Naples?"

"How do you know where I am?" I looked up at the swaying palm trees outside by the driveway.

"Adam told me."

"Oh." Of course, I should have known.

"So, what's up?" I could hear Ryan's background noises. It sounded like he was opening his fridge and then closing it.

I walked further down my parent's driveway until I was on the sidewalk, by the mailbox. "I just wanted to call and say hi, really." I was losing my nerve.

"That's bullshit." Ryan's voice was very calm and collected. How could he tell that I was holding something back? Did he really know me better than I thought? "As much as I would like to think you called just to hear my charming voice, I know you wouldn't call me being around Eric if something wasn't up."

I opened the mailbox to check inside. It was empty. I closed it, then opened it again, just to double-check. "It was really nothing. I was just calling to say Happy Valentine's Day."

"And?" Ryan knew it there was more. Was I really an open book?

I took a deep breath and just made myself blurt it out. "And I don't think we should see each other. Like that. Anymore."

I was taken aback when I heard Ryan chuckle. "I figured Eric would be pulling out all the romantic shit he knows how to do this weekend. Don't worry, I saw this coming from a mile away. How do you think he charmed Faith into cheating on me?"

I got angry and stormed down the sidewalk to the corner of my parent's block. "Fuck you, Ryan." I stopped at the stop sign, then turned back around and stormed down the sidewalk towards the other end of the block, passing my house. "Not that you need an explanation, but it wasn't Eric that did anything to change my mind about us. It was something my dad said."

Ryan's voice went up a slight octave. "You told your dad about us?"

"No way in Hell! But he was just talking to us about who we devote our time and energy to shows the world, or universe, or whatever the fuck he said, what's really important to us. And I need Eric to be what I devote my time and energy to. He's the man I'm marrying. I don't even really know you outside the office or bedroom. So I think it's best if we just stop now and not drag it out when we know it will inevitably end. I mean, you proved that when I found you with Peggy."

"I told you why that happened."

"I don't care, Ryan. I really don't. I promise I'm not mad about it. In fact, I'm grateful it happened and that I was the one who found you. It's making this decision that much easier to make."

Before I could allow Ryan to say anything or try to convince me to change my mind, I hung up. Without even saying goodbye. I was feeling satisfied with my decision and wanted it to stay that way.

*************

Eric took my dad's offer and thought it was a great idea to spend Valentine's enjoying dinner on the beach.

Eric wouldn't let me drive this time to the restaurant. He wanted to make sure he was a gentleman through and through, which began by opening the passenger side door for me. He held out his hand to me as I stepped out of the car.

I fixed my dress and pulled it down slightly as it had ridden up a little during the drive. I was wearing a solid red dress that stopped just above my knees and hugged me in all the right places. I also left my hair down and added some big curls. Eric was having a difficult time keeping his eyes off of me. Which was my intention in selecting my outfit for the night.

He placed his hand on the small of my back and guided us into the restaurant. The hostesses and servers had changed into more formal serving attire. Ordinarily, during the day, they would be wearing khaki shorts with a company t-shirt. But tonight they were dressed in all black, with long pants and button-down shirts. It was the same attire I wore every year I helped.

We approached the hostess who stood behind a temporary podium, waiting with specially printed Valentine's Day menus. Even though I didn't know the hostess, she knew who I was when she saw me. She greeted us warmly and led the way past other couples who were seated on the patio. We made our way down the steps to the sand, passing a few more couples. She presented us with a small square, white-clothed table with two covered chairs sitting adjacent to each other so both of us could look out onto the beach and watch the sunset.

On the table were two already filled flutes of champagne, and the bottle rested on a bed of ice within a small silver bucket. I had to say, I didn't remember it looking this fancy. But the last time I was here for Valentine's Day, I was working it. Being a customer made it feel much more magical.

"I have to say your dad is a true romantic." Eric glanced around at the surrounding tables, then back to me.

"He really is. Though, I'm sure my mom was the inspiration for this when he started it all those years ago. He always loved showing he loved her in fun ways."

"I'll have to have a talk with your dad to get some tips on that." Eric rubbed the back of his neck, sheepishly. "I'm not the most creative when it comes to romance."

I rested my hand on his leg. "I know that's not true."

We kissed lightly before turning our attention to our menus.

Even the menu was different. Instead of having an array of options, they had three 'Lover' themed appetizers to pick from, an entree to share, and a special secret dessert. It just said 'Chef's Love Potion' and underneath where the description would generally be, read, "Lovers, old and young, will melt at the taste of our Chef's Love Potion."

We started with oysters for our appetizer, which were not only delicious but fun too. Eric would pick one up and feed it to me. Of course, I returned the favor, accidentally getting the freshly squeezed lemon juice on his pressed, light red button-down shirt. "Oh, my God! I'm so sorry, babe."

He smiled, shook his head, and wiped his shirt with the cloth napkin. "Are you just trying to get me to take off my shirt?"

"How did you know?" I giggled.

He winked at me and leaned in for another kiss before I was allowed to try again. This time succeeding at not being as clumsy.

After our appetizer, we shared a classic plate of spaghetti. We wanted to reenact the scene from Lady and the Tramp by sharing a noodle until our lips met and ended with a kiss. We repeated that several times and would giggle while we kissed every time.

Finally, our dessert arrived. It was a small fondue pot with strawberries, marshmallows, and bananas around it. I instantly grabbed a strawberry first. I dipped it slowly into the melted chocolate. With my eyes locked on Eric, I seductively brought the chocolate covered strawberry to my mouth, and slowly devoured it.

"What do you say we get a room at the lodge tonight?" Eric suggested, trying to contain his excitement at what he just witnessed.

"I thought you'd never ask." I dipped another strawberry and brought it to Eric's mouth this time. He ate it willingly. "Oops, it looks like you got something on you lip." I gave him the look of a vixen as I leaned into him again, planting my lips on his.

The kiss grew stronger and more powerful. If it wasn't for our high moral standards, I'm pretty sure we would have fucked right then and there on the table in front of everyone. When we finally separated, we both agreed that we needed to leave right then.

We waived over the server to request our check, but she informed us that the meal was on the house.

We both thanked my dad and left the restaurant as fast as we could.