Never had two weeks gone by slower.

Tae Yang and I spent every possible minute while we weren't working or sleeping, glued to our phones, getting our fix of each other like junkies who just learned the taste of a new drug—with withdrawal symptoms kicking in at the same time.

That was why, just a couple of days before his work trip came to an end, when he asked where I wanted to go for our first official date, I immediately said the beach. This time of year it would be just a tad too cool for it to be swarming with people, giving us plenty of opportunity to get cosy.

He responded with a pained face emoji and I texted him back with, I promise this time you'll like it.

"Qué pasó con no querer salir con más muchachos?" Mom asked me on the Saturday morning leading to said first date.

I turned this way and that in the mirror, finding little flaws in my body here and there. These past few months I hadn't been watching my diet or exercise as much as usual. After the airplane incident my priorities had shifted towards enjoying my time more, including eating more of Mom's homemade food instead of so many damn salads.

It was also why I'd stopped lying to myself about Tae Yang. My heart always wanted what it wanted, and it beat that much harder until I got it. And it wanted him.

I stopped inspecting the new bikini I'd bought for the occasion, a red little number with small flower print, and put on a pair of jean shorts and a white, cotton blouse.

Turning to my mom, I said, "Lo mismo que pasó cuando aprobaste a Tae Yang."

She folded her arms but had no retort against the common denominator. It was he who, somehow, had made both of us change our minds.

Packing up my bag with all the beach essentials, I said, "I haven't quite forgiven you for lying to me."

"Yo no estaba mintiendo hasta que me di cuenta de que ese muchacho era el amiguito tuyo nuevo."

I followed her out of my room, checking my phone to see if he was here yet. The last message was still OMW, so I sat on the couch.

Mom emerged from the kitchen with an additional bag. "Llévate esto, es una meriendita que les hice."

There was absolutely no ita about it, as the bag was bigger than my own. A peep inside revealed a Tupperware of sandwiches, another one with assorted fresh fruit, more baggies of chips than two people could possibly need, fresh juice, soda and an additional container with brownies.

"When did you make all this?"

"Yesterday," she said, sitting across from me on her armchair. "In the big house. Little surprise."

At Tae Yang's.

I smiled. "Wow, you really like him."

Mom cleared her throat and tossed her hair over her shoulder. "Es muy buen muchacho."

I lifted an eyebrow. "No y que no se conocían hasta la noche del casino?"

"Es verdad," Mom said, giving me a side glance. "Se la pasaba todo el tiempo en su cuarto trabajando pero lo dejaba todo limpio y acomodado. Y si veia a los demás haciendo desastre los regañaba."

"Ohh, so it's not because he's rich but because he's orderly."

"Exacto." She lifted her nose in the air.

The effort I made not to laugh should've won me a medal. Mom always found flaws in all my previous boyfriends, and no doubt Tae Yang wouldn't be spared. But for now, I should bask in this rare approval.

Speaking of, there was a knock on the door and my heart leapt to my throat.

"Déjame a mi," Mom said, making her way to the door where sure enough, Tae Yang stood in wait. "Buenos días, mijo."

Mijo? He was already at that stage?

Geez, and here I'd been thinking Tae Yang and I had been moving fast when the true speedster was Mom.

"Buenos días, señora Coromoto," Tae Yang said with a clunky accent and a brilliant smile that left both Mom and I stupefied. "I've been practicing a few Spanish phrases here and there these past couple weeks."

Mom took a deep breath and when she turned back to me, her eyes shone like two little suns.

Someone was in love...

"You go have fun," she said, ushering me out of the house like she was more eager for this date than I was. She didn't even say her usual pórtate bien as I kissed her goodbye.

"Sheesh, you charmed her so much she couldn't wait to get rid of me," I said as we headed for his Grand Cherokee.

Tae Yang took my bags from me. "I tend to have that effect on women."

"I would hit you if it weren't true."

He chuckled and I stood there, watching him put my stuff in the backseat, as though this weren't even real.

He was back. And he was too far from me.

I marched up to him and turned him around, and right there, in the middle of the parking lot, I gave him a proper welcome. I pressed him up against his car and grabbed his face with my hands, leaning it down for our lips to meet. He was a quick learner and wrapped his arms around me, and finally, finally, he felt real.

When we broke apart for air, he said, "I missed you too."

I smiled. "Just checking."

His sunglasses were so dark I couldn't see his eyes, so I slid them down his nose until I was able to see their dark brown depths. They were the same color as his soft hair, which I stroked because I'd missed it too.

"I'm very happy to keep this going and avoid the beach," he said, which was my cue to pull away.

"Stop pouting and let's go." I jumped into the passenger's seat and put on my seatbelt. Tae Yang had no other choice but to follow suit.

The two hour drive to Anna Maria went by in a flash, talking non-stop about the past two weeks as though we hadn't spent entire nights FaceTiming each other. All we'd done was work for two very different dreams we kept encouraging each other about.

"I have a good feeling we're moving in the right direction," he said at some point, probably about our work endeavors but right when the beach was in the horizon.

I pointed at it. "Yes, because we're heading to the beach!"

Tae Yang groaned. "What is so fun about getting sand everywhere?"

"Free and natural exfoliation has been proven a good generator of endorphins," I said. He wrinkled his nose, so I added, "Plus, I'll be in a swimsuit."

He flashed me a look. "Okay, that sounds promising."

I smacked his arm. "You best have brought yours, too."

"Why? Is there something you want to see?" he asked, the corner of his lips up in a cocky little smirk.

"Why yes, of course. I mean to see the merchandise before I buy it."

That left him speechless through the rest of the way.

"Don't be shy now," I said after him as we walked on the white sand.

The day was sunny and a light breeze brought the waves to the shore at an idilic rhythm. I couldn't have asked for a more perfect day to convert him into a beach lover.

"I'm not shy, I'm nervous," Tae Yang said with frankness most people afflicted by butterflies in their stomach didn't show.

"Why? Afraid I'm going to eat you up?"

He stopped and glanced at me over his shoulder. "Oh. Please."

I cackled and kicked sand at him. "You freaking perv, this is a public beach."

Tae Yang shrugged. "You started it."

Sure did, and I had to cool him down before even I lost my mind.

I skipped ahead to a spot close to the shore, removed from the few groups of people across the beach strip. "Let's camp out here."

I helped him with our bags so he could set up the umbrella he'd brought. Meanwhile, I set out a couple of towels and weighed them down with our bags. I closed my eyes and breathed in the salty air, basking in the heat of the sun. After chucking my sandals off, I dug my toes into the sand and it was like coming home.

"Growing up, I used to go to the beach with my parents pretty much every weekend," I told him, eyes closed against the world but open to my memories. "I'm from La Guaira, a short drive away from Caracas but an even shorter one from the beach."

"So this brings good memories to you," he said somewhere near me.

I finally opened my eyes and found him sitting under the shade. I joined him there. "Now they're bittersweet. It's also a reminder of where we came from, who we were. And what we lost."

His brow furrowed as he faced me. "Then why do you like it so much?"

"Because it's the sweet part about it I prefer to focus on." I sighed, glancing at the infinite horizon connecting me to the country I grew up in, where I lost my dad. "When I miss Dad, I think of those times the three of us spent at the beach, making sand castles and listening to music from the radio. Floating in the ocean, pretending to be starfish."

He grabbed my hand, which was how I realized my eyes were tearing up.

But crying wasn't in the plans today, so I said, "Anyway, we're here to have fun so let's go at it."

"How?" he asked, oozing grumpiness.

I gifted him a pretty smile and in one swift move, pulled up my blouse and took it off. Then I wiggled out of my shorts, conscious of his sunglasses pointed in my direction, eyes no doubt inspecting every move.

"Step one, get as close to naked as legally allowed," I declared, turning my back to rummage in my bag. "Step two, slather on sunscreen."

When I faced him again, Tae Yang had lain on his side, head propped up by his arm. "I'm intrigued, keep going."

I snorted. "What, you don't plan to join?"

He waved a hand. "In a second, I'm starting to have fun here."

"Such a guy," I said, following it up with an eye roll. All the response I got was a toothy grin.

Fine, if he wanted some fun I'd give him some fun.

I started with my legs, very slowly applying the sunblock on my skin and making plenty of eye contact. The more northward my hands moved, the more his smile dropped. Tae Yang started squirming when I worked on my stomach. His lips parted as I continued onto my arms and shoulders, and when I moved on to my chest he sat up and put his bag on his lap.

I started laughing. "Having fun yet?"

"On the one hand, yes," he said, his voice choked up. "On the other hand, I've never been more miserable."

"Would it help if I ask you to put sunblock on my back?" I batted my eyelashes.

He took the bottle from me right away. "It will absolutely not help but it'll definitely be a pleasure."

Chuckling, I scooted so I sat with my back to him. There was some rustling behind me until I could see his legs around mine. He was a small sun heating me up, and despite the fresh breeze I broke into a sweat.

The sensation of the cool sunblock and his hot hand on my back made me flinch, but in truth it was probably more because my ministrations had affected me too. Every stroke of his hands up and down my back felt more intimate than the task deserved. He slipped his hands under the strap of my bikini, and they were so big that as they swept the product across my skin, his fingers brushed my sides dangerously closed to the goods.

I gasped and had to focus on a couple of little kids tumbling about a few feet away to remind myself I couldn't just turn around and eat him up.

"That's good," I said. This time, my voice was the strained one. "I think it's your turn."

Tae Yang didn't let me turn around, though. When I tried, he planted his hands on my shoulders and kept me in place. Next thing, he kissed right below my ear, letting those incredible hands of his trail down my arms and skip to my waist.

In my ear, he whispered, "I think I'd have more fun next time if you let me slather you everywhere."

I choked. "Let's do that at a private beach, though. Now turn around."

Tae Yang sighed. "Fine."

This time it was my turn to enjoy watching him strip. He took off his t-shirt like it had wronged him, slamming it on the towel before working on the button of his jeans. I wondered if putting sunblock on his washboard abs would be pushing it. But it would probably make the front of his pants even tighter than they already were.

As he took off his jeans, he bunched them up and put them on his lap for as long as it took him to work the sunblock on his body. Occasionally he'd throw a grimace my way.

"Let me make you feel better," I said, taking the bottle from him and crawling up behind him.

He sighed. "I doubt it. If anything, this will increase my pain tenfold."

I leaned against his ear and whispered, "Oh, but it'll hurt good."

Tae Yang groaned.

I had the same mood as I worked on his back, enjoying every caress over the hard muscles that flexed under my hands.

This was a terrible, terrible idea. We should've had our first date at a super crowded place, where it was mandatory for everyone to keep their clothes on.

His shoulders were as tense as steel, so I dug my digits into the knots and the sound that tore from his throat was pornographic.

"Oops, should I stop?"

"Yes. No." He chuckled, scooting away from me. "Definitely yes. More of this and I will embarrass myself."

I got up to my feet and offered my hand to him. "Normally I'd force you to stay in the shade for fifteen minutes until your skin absorbs the sunblock but I think we both need a dip in the water."

Tae Yang grabbed my hand but pulled himself up. "Smart idea."

"And guess what? I get to slather your back again once we get dry!"

His groan turned into a laugh as I pulled him to the water.

The water felt like ice when we waded into it, and of course he delighted in a chance to make me suffer. Tae Yang swept me into his arms and dumped me right onto the ocean. I came up to the surface spluttering water and curses, only to find him laughing.

After I recovered, I brushed my hair away from my face and said, "Sounds like you're finally enjoying yourself."

He glanced down at my wet body and nodded. "Yep, I think I officially like the beach."

"I'm glad, and we're only just getting started," I said, stalking closer to him.

Tae Yang took a step back, hands raised as if bracing for an aquatic attack. What he got instead, was a tackle that took us both into the water. Under the surface, I found his lips with mine and felt his smile against me.

It was the best time I'd had in as long as I could remember, oblivious to the fact our every move was being watched by the lens of a camera.

SONG OF THE DAY: Luis Miguel - Cuando Calienta el Sol

here comes troubleeee