Author's note:

Warning: Psyhical violence (but not too strong).

-

Daniel was leaning back against the hood of his car, waiting for Nikki to finally get out of the hotel and come to the parking lot. For today, they had arranged a trip to Daniel well-known place. Nikki, on the other hand, had no idea where Daniel was taking her. He was hoping the plan would work out and that by the end of today's day things would turn around. Finally, after a few minutes of waiting, he saw Nikki approaching him.

The woman was wearing short white pants and black top, revealing a good part of her belly. There were a big woven bag over her shoulder and dark sunglasses on her eyes. Her hair was loose in natural curls. Daniel was checking her out for a few moments before he finally snapped back into reality.

„Finally. I thought you'd never come down."

She hit him on the shoulder jokingly.

„You were waiting only for a few minutes."

Daniel smiled, helping her get into the car.

„It's really hot today," she complained.

„It's gonna cool off soon."

Nikki put her bag on the back seat, then tied the seat belt and soon they were on their way.

„Where are we going? Don't you think it's time to tell me?" Nikki tried but Daniel didn't give in.

„You'll see when we get there. It's not so far away."

„Three hours? That's pretty long in my book."

Daniel just laughed loudly but Nikki seemed to forget about her questions and turned the music on. He immediately recognized the sounds of the song Timber.

„Kesha? Really?" he asked almost sarcastically but she only hit him on the shoulder again.

„This is what you get when you don't want to answer my questions," she replied, dancing in her seat. „Besides, I love her. You have Pitbull."

Daniel had to laugh. He had a feeling these three hours with Nikki in the car wouldn't be boring.

And it was exactly like that. The woman was looking out of the window interestedly while they were driving on, to her an unknown flat road. She was trying to guess where Daniel was taking them. When she finally saw a big sign for Miami, she began to jump cheerfully in her seat.

„Miami? You're taking me to Miami?" she asked enthusiastically but he just shook his head.

„Miami is a cliché. I want to get the reaction and I won't get it if I take you to the most popular place in Florida."

Nikki gasped.

Of course you will. Miami is great. When I first arrived there I haven't had time to explore it because I was in such a hurry to get to Naples."

Daniel was paying attention to a light turn on the road.

„You've been to Miami already?" he asked in surprise.

„Yeah...I've landed there."

„Why haven't you landed in Fort Myers?"

Nikki looked at him again, puzzled.

„I didn't even know about it. I checked flights for Miami because it's a well-known place. We've had one stop in Chicago and soon, we were in Florida," she answered to which the tall man hit his own forehead in disbelief.

„And you probably spent a bunch of money on a cab, didn't you? Fort Myers Airport is only 45 minutes away from Naples."

Nikki now felt really stupid. To speak the truth, she was in a hurry to escape from Seattle so she was looking for the simplest solution. She was kind of angry at herself, knowing she could still save some money. Daniel, on the other hand, was just laughing at her and she hit him on the shoulder...again. He made a grimace, rubbing a slightly painful spot with his other hand.

„When did you get so violent?" he asked jokingly. Nikki stuck her tongue in his direction and then focused on the road again. Miami was really huge. She was looking at everything and anything that interested her. Daniel answered all of her questions. Nikki realized Marina wasn't joking when she told her the tall man knew every corner of Florida.

When, after some time, they finally got out of the car overpopulated city and headed toward Homestead, Nikki already had a good idea of their destination.

„You're taking me to the Keys, right?"

Daniel smiled lightly but decided against answering her. She just shook her head, looking back at the road. Driving to Homestead didn't last too long and soon they found themselves on the flat road, surrounded by nature. Nikki had almost fallen asleep but then one traffic sign caught her attention. Key Largo was just over a mile away. The woman was immediately fully awake again. She noticed the sign mentioning two more places but she didn't know about them. She looked at her watch. They were driving over two hours.

She was right. Daniel was indeed heading to the Keys. Nikki heard a lot about the southernmost part of Florida and was looking forward to visiting an exotic place.

„Where are we going? I've heard about Key Largo and Key West," she exclaimed excitedly.

Daniel faced her.

„I'd love to take you to Key West but it's a bit too far for a one-day trip. We should go there for more days," he said calmly, turning to the left.

„So...Key Largo?"

He nodded as Nikki smiled broadly.

„I've heard about that place. They say it's really beautiful."

„You'll see it for yourself now and you'll be able to give your own grade," Daniel replied.

They were still driving and passing a small sign for Key Largo. The woman was already very nervous, unable to stay calm for a minute. They had just passed Marvin D. Adams Waterway when she was fed up with driving again.

„How much more?" she asked impatiently. The tall man rolled his eyes, turning to the parking lot.

„We're here!"

Nikki sighed in relief, immediately getting out of the car and stretching her arms and legs. She felt a tremendous relief from the change of position. Daniel followed her. He pulled the bag from the trunk while she took her belongings from the back seat.

„We're continuing with bikes."

„One more time?"

„I'm kidding," he replied, laughing. Nikki sighed in relief. „A friend will loan me his SUV. My car is too low and I don't want to drive it through park streets."

She was just looking at him. Daniel was very mysterious, not wanting to reveal much. She, on the other hand, knew absolutely nothing about the place he took her to, except the name of the island. It didn't take too long for Daniel's friend to appear with the SUV the tall man had previously mentioned. Daniel welcomed him warmly, introduced him to Nikki and then the two of them were on their way to somewhere...about which Nikki knew nothing and she could only wait for them to get to that secret destination.

-

Brian and Diego were arranging some shelves in the store and counting the goods.

„Why do we have to do this on Saturday? If you didn't know, Saturday is a non-working day in the United States," Diego complained, holding diving fins.

Brian laughed loudly.

„Don't be such a whiner. You'll get a bonus," he replied.

Diego once more dropped a squeaking sound but continued to work. At that moment they heard the sound of the door opening.

„We're closed!" Brian yelled.

Silence. There was no answer, just light steps.

„Brian, Brian...is this the way to treat your customers? How are you ever going to earn something?"

At the sound of that voice, both men straightened up, facing the entrance. Ronnie stood there, along with another, unknown dark-skinned man.

„What the hell are you doing here, Ronnie?" Brian hissed, staring at Daniel's enemy angrily. Diego was right behind him. However, Ronnie only smiled...cynically.

„I need your help," he replied, approaching the two men who were standing right up to the shelf. „This man here is looking for his fiancée. Nikki Hamilton. I think you know her, Brian."

Brian and Diego's eyes widened in total shock. Darnell stood in front of Ronnie.

„You are Darnell?" the blond man hissed, angrily clenching his fists.

„Yes. Where's Nikki? I want to talk to her."

Brian couldn't hold back anymore. He headed forward, hitting Darnell hard who, with a painful, surprised exclamation, fled back to the door. This made Ronnie fight back so he returned the punch to Brian. The man had fallen on the floor, almost hitting the shelf. He missed it only for a few inches.

„Enough!" Diego shouted, holding Ronnie under his arms.

Darnell somehow managed to get up and wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth. Then he went forward, getting in Brian's face. The two men started pushing each other. Brian snatched his collar hard, starting to shake him.

„Why the fuck did you come to Naples? You have nothing to do here!"

Darnell fought back in the same manner.

„Who's gonna tell me that? You?" he hissed. „I don't even know you. I just want to talk to Nikki."

„Nikki doesn't want to see you. She doesn't want to deal with you anymore," Brian shouted.

Diego let go of Ronnie who, in the meantime calmed down a little. Now, he came in between the two men who were still fighting. Brian had this red, angry bruise around his eye.

„Enough! Brian, we're in the store. Someone could come at any moment. This can be solved in a civilized way. Calm down!" he reasoned.

Two angry men were still staring at one another but Brian let go of him. Darnell moved away, touching a painful place on his jaw.

„Look..." he started, breathing heavily. „If you know where Nikki is, tell me. I have a right to know what's going on with my fiancée."

Brian didn't intend to give up.

„She's no longer your fiancée. She warned us about you and she doesn't want to see you at all. You better go home."

Darnell, visibly annoyed with the man's response, fled forward again but Diego managed to stop him.

„Who the hell are you?!" he shouted.

„I'm her best friend," Brian replied.

„Daniel?!" Darnell asked. He seemed to forget Ronnie had previously called him Brian. The other man laughed bitterly, exchanging glances with Diego.

„I see Ronnie had already filled you in but...no. I'm Brian. Brian Murphy. And now I'm asking you to get out. Leave my store and leave Naples. There's nothing here for you."

Darnell clenched his fists and eyes furiously, trying to hold back. Then, he pushed away from Diego, pointing his finger at Brian.

„Just to be clear, this isn't over. We'll see each other again," he hissed angrily. He and Ronnie then left the store, disappearing from their sight.

For a few moments, Brian was looking at the door just to be sure he's not going to come back. Diego was right next to him.

„Look at you. This is gonna be such a beautiful decoration on your face," he snapped.

The man went to the back room and took the ice out of the fridge, pressing it into his painful eye.

„Morom. I could kill him!" he hissed and Diego found himself in front of him.

„Calm down," he said but Brian was out of his mind angry.

„Don't you understand? He came here to find Nikki and to bother her again. I won't allow it. I..."

„Stop!" the dark-skinned man almost yelled, trying to get his attention. „You crossed the line. We are in the store. What if one of the customers saw it? He would never again return to buy here. Brian...you don't have to fight her battles. Nikki is a big girl and she knows how to take care of herself. Besides, she informed us about him and she knows Darnell could appear in any time. She was the one who warned us about him, isn't she?" he tried to reason him and seemed like he was getting somewhere. „Why don't you call her and let her know?"

Brian just shook his head.

„She went to the Keys with Dan. I don't want to ruin their trip and destroy the opportunity for them to solve their problems."

Diego accepted his explanation.

„You see? Everything is going to be fine. Nikki is currently far away from Naples and Darnell has no idea about it. Things will settle down. Not everything has to be solved with punches," he said reasonably but Brian wasn't so convinced.

„But tomorrow he'll come back and what's going to happen then? She'll have to face him."

„And she will. She'll face him and solve this. Darnell is her problem...not ours, okay?"

The man just nodded, accepting Diego's explanation. He lightly pressed the ice to his eye, hoping the swelling to go down and the pain to stop. He had to go back to work. There was too much stuff still waiting for them.

-

Daniel and Nikki were settled on the blanket, sitting at one of the smaller lake beaches at Largo Sound Park. The woman was observing the environment with a certain degree of amazement. Daniel was pleased. That was the reaction he was waiting for.

„It's really beautiful here."

He nodded.

„I love to come to Cannon Beach. Honestly...I'm a little surprised by lack of people around here. Otherwise, the beach is always so full," he replied, looking around.

„Is swimming allowed?" she asked curiously.

„Absolutely!"

After hearing his answer, Nikki didn't hesitate to remove her clothes. Daniel was checking her out. She had a really nice and attractive figure which made him salivate until he felt something hitting his head. It was Nikki's top.

„If you're done staring at me, I'd really like to go into the water," she replied, laughing and having fun.

Daniel blushed. She caught him. He removed her top from his head and then took off his t-shirt. Nikki was already in the water and he followed her. She immediately smelled the salt and swam slightly toward deeper water. No matter what, she respected the borders, placed there for swimmers to know where the swimming was allowed. Daniel was still in shallow water, watching her. He took a few deep breaths. Today was his chance to fix things and he couldn't miss it.

After nearly half an hour spent in the lake, the duo returned back on the beach. Nikki immediately took her towel, wiping her face and rubbing her hair while Daniel just sat down on the blanket. She soon joined him, looking at him while he was looking at the lake.

„Do you know we're on the east coast now? Here, the sun is rising over the sea. It's not like in the Gulf of Mexico. Have you ever seen the Atlantic ocean and its endlessness?" he asked, not looking away from the lake. Nikki followed his gaze.

„Once...in New York. But I can't say I've swum in it. Of course, if we don't count the Gulf of Mexico," she replied. Daniel looked at her, his hand going through her wet hair. That made her intertwine their fingers.

„Why have you brought me here?" she asked.

He just sighed.

„Can I tell you my twisted family story first?"

Although she wanted answers and was already impatient, she nodded. Daniel settled in a comfortable position, facing her with his whole body. She did the same, continuing to play with his fingers.

„Back in 1645, just before the end of the Second World War, my grandfather's family emigrated from a small coastal town in Spain to Mexico," he started as Nikki was listening to him with interest. „Unfortunately, I don't know the whole story about their trip but I know they eventually settled down in Puerto Morelos. It's a small place near Cancun and Cozumel, at the very entrance of the Gulf of Mexico. I know they were fishing there and living in a small fisherman's house. This is what my grandfather told my dad. Fifteen years later, he also met my grandmother there. Immediately after they got married, he once again decided to emigrate. He wanted to get to America. So in 1965 they came to Key Largo, then popularly known as Caya Largo. My grandfather continued with a family tradition. He was doing a fishing for a living. My father was born in 1967. The industry was more and more growing in Keys, making it more difficult to live from fishing, no matter how attractive this place was. Dad is often telling me his childhood stories, spent here at Key Largo. He was spending his evenings sitting with my grandfather on the beach and listening to his stories about the sea. Or...they would go fishing together," the tall man said with a smile. Nikki really enjoyed his story. „But...as you can guess, the circumstances forced them to move again. Grandfather wanted a chance for a better life for my dad. So, in 1978 they came to Naples. Although he loves a life in a bigger city, my dad says there's no place in a whole world like the Key Largo. He said he never saw such a clear sea and had such a peaceful life like here."

Nikki was smiling softly, looking at Daniel's face.

„I brought you here because this is the place where my dad was born...where my family started their life in America," Daniel concluded.

„Wow...I haven't expected such a story. It's very good...and beautiful. So, your family is originally coming from Spain?"

He nodded.

„From my grandfather's side. Linareses are coming from Spain. I think my dad said the place was named San Fernando or something like that," he replied. „I carry Spanish, Mexican and American blood. My mum is American. That's why my second surname is Gray."

Nikki was so surprised. Daniel was very interesting and she loved to discover new things about him.

„You're tied to three continents," she stated, smiling at him.

„But mostly to the sea. I couldn't live without the sea."

Nikki felt her love for the tall man growing at every single moment. She just couldn't help it.

„Dan, this story is really great but it didn't give me an answer why you brought me here."

Daniel looked down at her brown eyes. He caressed her cheek, gently stroking the patch, covering the scar from her falling from the surfboard.

„Because I wanted to show you the place which was, until now, just mine. Nikki...I've never brought anyone here. Just you," he explained honestly as she looked at him, surprised. Daniel never brought anyone to Key Largo? Not even Sofia? Instinctively, this was the first question she had asked him. The man expected it.

„Not even Sofia. She and I were more tied to Sanibel. I don't know what's with me and Florida islands but I want this place to be something that's only ours. Mine and yours," Daniel explained, pausing for a little bit. „I know you said you need time to think but I want a new chance. I know we can make it work and I'll never be completely happy if I don't have you. You're the only person who managed to broke through all my walls...absolutely all of them."

The woman let out a breath she was holding. She couldn't believe it. Daniel was asking for a new chance. He wanted to try again. She remained silent, just opening and closing her mouth, without any sounds. Daniel was observing her, full of hope. He hoped her answer would be positive.

„I...umm..." she muttered.

„Please, Nikki, I know you love me!" he said in a burst of confidence but his exclamation forced her to panic even more than before. The panic was so big that she wanted to get up but Daniel kept her on the ground. „Nikki...Nikki, calm down. It's okay. I may still not be at this level but it doesn't mean I won't be later. You have no idea how much I actually like you and I know I feel something very strong for you. Maybe I haven't yet defined what exactly I'm feeling but I really want another chance. Just one other."

Nikki finally calmed down and looked into his eyes.

„Dan...I...I don't know what to say," she replied, her hand going through her wet hair. „Maybe this is true but I'm not sure...are you sure...look, I can't even form a normal sentence. I do love you, yes. I...if you once again bring the same crap you brought a few weeks ago, I won't survive it."

The tall man put both of his palms on her cheeks. He wanted her to see how serious he was about this.

„I won't screw up again, I swear to you. I'm sure of it," he was trying to explain. „I'm done with grief and self-destructive behavior. I promise! I know how badly I messed up and that I can be over the moon because you haven't erased me out of your life after everything I've done to you but Nikki, I swear I won't do it again. I know what I want. I'll be the one who won't survive if you reject me now. Please. If you want me to fall down on my knees, I'll do it. Just tell me what I have to do so you could trust me again?"

She was just looking at him, not even blinking. Daniel was almost desperately begging for a new chance. He seemed very honest and was prepared to do whatever she would ask him. At that point, Nikki already knew she had fallen. Whatever she did, as much as she tried to keep away from him, she couldn't do it anymore. That's why she did the first thing that came to her mind. She put her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. Daniel immediately hugged her back.

„If you screw up again, I'll kill you, do you hear me?!" she said, making him hug her more tightly.

„I won't, I promise...I swear to you!" he replied.

The woman then moved away from him, caressing his cheek softly. She smiled.

„You always get what you want. What am I going to do with you, Dan?"

Instead of verbally answering her question, Daniel did what he was doing the best. He kissed her lips softly. Nikki instantly kissed him back. While their lips were moving in the same rhythm, she was thinking about never feeling such a chemistry with anyone else. Nobody ever caused so many emotions inside her. Not even Darnell. He wasn't even close. Her hands pulled his face closer and she opened her mouth to give his tongue a passage. Daniel didn't hesitate.

After a few minutes of simply adjusting to one another, they finally moved away and Nikki looked at him.

„I love you!", she confessed out loud, finally saying the words she wanted to say for so long. His face lit up.

„I know. And I can't wait when I'll be able to say it back," he replied.

Nikki and Daniel decided to spend the rest of the day at the beach. They almost weren't leaving each other's arms. She was so incredibly happy. It seemed things had finally settled down. Daniel managed to compose himself and give them a new chance to find happiness. That is, to convince her that they really deserved a new chance.

However, after a while, her stomach started to complain loudly. It seemed the food Daniel had brought wasn't enough. He took it as a sign to go back to their car. He helped Nikki to get ready for going back home, putting her stuff in the trunk.

„As soon as we leave the park, we'll stop at the first restaurant to eat something, okay?"

Nikki tied her seat belt and nodded.

„Dan...is this between us now official?" she asked, looking at him.

„Do you want us to be official?"

The woman nodded her head again. Daniel leaned over, pressing a soft kiss on her lips.

„Then it is!"

Nikki had to laugh. She smiled so much today she was sure her cheeks would hurt tomorrow. She couldn't suppress happiness.

Soon, they left the park behind them and Daniel returned the SUV to his friend. They moved in his car. By the way, they stopped at The Juice House restaurant to eat something. Daniel knew the restaurant well. They ordered Cuban sandwiches with fried potatoes and something to drink. Nikki was simply delighted with the food. After an hour, they finally headed back to Naples.

When they were on the way out of the island back to the mainland, Daniel faced her and noticed she was sleeping. He wasn't surprised because their day was really filled with activities. Nikki was surely exhausted. He turned the music down for a little but he could still hear the sounds of some Ed Sheeran's song. Then, he removed a strand of hair that fell on her face. She didn't even flinch.

The tall man looked through the windshield toward the slightly orange sky, smiling broadly. He remembered Sofia but was no longer sad or anxious. He no longer needed a ring or was panicking because he knew Sofia, wherever she might be, was happy for him.

„Thank you!" he whispered softly, trying not to wake Nikki up. „I'll never forget you, Sofia. Thank you for everything."    

-

Author's note:

Hey...chapter 23. :) So...Daniel finally made peace with himself and Sofia. He finally managed to leave all the bad things behind and, along with Nikki take a step forward, toward a better future. Their relationship is finally official.

How you liked the chapter. Let me know by voting or leaving a comment.

Next update: Tuesday!

Stay true to yourself and have a nice day!