Zen…

Lexi strolled by the beach. She removed her slides and walked to her favorite spot. The shore sand brushed against her feet. The sound, crispy to the ears. The river wavered under the sunset. A movie with a time travel scenery. Here she could see the world. Her world.

Cool breeze raked her long dark wavy hair. It hugged her so well it blew against her big white T-shirt and black short. She sat on her butt dipping her feet into the sand. Embracing her knees, she shut her eyes and smiled.

**

“Hey baby?” Michael walked into big kitchen and boosted her on the island. He kissed her biting soft on her lips. He kissed her neck and returned his gaze to her curious eyes.

He wrapped his hands around her waist and closed his eyes smiling.

“You seem excited, and you’re dressed up, are we celebrating anything?”

She rubbed hands on his black shirt and rubbed his dark brows.

He slowly opened his eyes. “I’m just a man in love Lexi.”

He watched her grin. “Come on, get dressed I have a surprise for you”

“So we are celebrating something?”

He carried her down.

“Yeah.. it’s a surprise, I’ll wait downstairs. By the pool. Don’t waste time”

**

The Night was young and pretty with the bright yellow lights and silence. He’d arranged dinner by the poolside. He knew she loved water sceneries.

He pulled her a chair, his eyes didn’t leave her body. “You’re beautiful baby”

She smiled.

He sat across her.

The spicy chicken chopped in bits, red grapes and apples served on the side. And of course red wine Screaming Eagle Cabernet 1992. He popped it and poured into their large, rounded bowl glasses.

He raised his glass to a toast.

“To us?”

She smiled and clinked her glass to his “to us baby”

She swirled the wine and stuck her nose close to her glass to sniff the smell then she sipped it and mused.

“You love it right?”

She nodded “hmm. Absolutely”

“I’d love to make you dinner every night except I’m a terrible cook”

They laughed.

“Oh yes you are Michael. You almost had our kitchen burnt last week but the burnt pancakes weren’t so bad”

He smiled “I know right?” He took her hands across the table and kissed them.

“I love you baby”

He rubbed them hands holding her gaze.

“Aww, I love you more love”

“Let’s eat.”

They fed each other chicken. Laughed at each other’s jokes. Wiped each other’s mouths.

“Remember where we first met?”

Lexi leaned back on her chair and smiled “yeah. Lady May’s Kitchen. My friend got her dream job and we wanted to celebrate. Turns out her boyfriend came with a friend.”

She drew her breath.

“We started going out. I didn’t want you to meet my parents cause I wasn’t sure I wanted a relationship with anyone yet. I wanted to make money through writing before I graduate from school … You had business with my brother which benefited him and the family. We went out to celebrate his success and you happened to be the friend he invited. Inevitably my family came to know and love you. I got pissed you knew he was my brother and you didn’t tell me. It also got to my heart when you went out of your way to talk to a publisher about my book. When Robert contacted me my joy knew no bounds and I wanted to share the good news first with you. Then I learnt you knew him. You had met him for my book….”

Her eyes got teary. She caught her breath and sipped her wine.

“Later on Robert told me he only chose my manuscript because he found my idea a winning one. Knowing you was a bonus. I published Natasha Jakes earlier than I dreamed of. The world loves it and Robert only takes 30% of the profits even when I didn’t contribute much. I fell in love with you Michael, not because you helped me publish the book I had spent my entire life writing, but because you saw my future with me, you believed in my dreams. You supported me even when I misunderstood you.”

She sniffed and looked away holding her tears.

Michael smiled and licked his lips.

“Hey … It’s okay. I didn’t know you’d get this emotional. You’re usually mean”

She chuckled “for real?”

He nodded “yes babe. You know, the night I met you wasn’t the first time I saw you.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. I saw you in front of a bookshop, you had books in your transparent tote bag most of it were journals. Your skin was shining in the yellow sundress you wore and your face so bare I had actually thought about licking it”

She laughed.

“Yeah. You’re simple yet so gorgeous. I wanted to ask you to have lunch with me but I got an urgent call from home so I left. But I thought about you every day. My friend told me his girl got some dinner party going on and I should come… you know the rest”

“No way” Lexi laughed.

“Yes way baby”

He left his seat and moved next to her.

“I’ve never been with anyone I so enjoyed her company. Someone who makes me feel at home anywhere, anytime. Someone who knows when to listen and when to talk..”

He stopped and kissed her.

He stared into her eyes.

Her face flustered when he knelt down.

“Lexi …”

Her eyes got teary. She bit her lips and tried to breathe.

Michael chuckled and sniffed. “baby, I don’t need another year to know you’re the one I want to be with for the rest of my life. We’ve been through enough together and truth is, I want to you by my side forever”

She cried and sniffed.

Michael slid his hand into his inner breast pocket and took out a tiny shiny black box. He opened it and looked at her.

“I will piss you off sometimes, I will take you to those weird adventures where we get off the plane in each other’s arms and have you screaming plenty of time you’ll break up with me. But you are going to love it. I’ll never hurt or let hurt come to you”

He took the rose gold diamond ring and returned his gaze to hers, his eyes begging.

“Be my wife Lexi”

She nodded with tears rolling on her cheeks. He slid the ring into her finger and embraced her.

“I love you Michael”

“I love you more”

He faced her “we can do it on your birthday baby, whenever and wherever”

She nodded with a broad smile and kissed him.

***

“Hello Mrs Kings, I am sorry to interrupt your honeymoon, but we have to meet first thing tomorrow morning at my office to discuss your book Natasha Jakes. A Netflix representative made me an interesting offer regarding your novel and I thought we should discuss it before I give him a response…I’ll see you tomorrow”

Michael walked in a white short and bare chest. His torso layered in smooth muscles.

“Who was it?”

Natasha smiled.

“My publisher, Robert. He said a Netflix representative contacted him babe, he will tell me more about his offer tomorrow”

He joined her in bed.

“You know what this means for you right?”

He untied her robes and licked his lips.

“Yeah” she smiled

He kissed her “why don’t we celebrate?”

She put arms round his next and kissed him back.

“When do we tell our parents we are having a baby”

He grinned and pushed her legs apart “after our little celebration love”

***

Lexi!!! She jolted and swallowed hard. The stupid grin her face wore vanished.

The voice behind her got closer.

“There’s plenty of clothes to wash at home and mum is looking for you. I’m going to the market to get some food stuffs. Hurry back now.”

“…always day dreaming like any of it will get real”

The voice muttered moving further away.

Lexi wore her slides back on. She dusted her shorts and walked.

She’d rather at the moment live wildly inside her own head than sulk and accept the limitations in her reality.

Prompt: A 500-1000 snippet – If you could do/ live anyway you can imagine, what would that look like? What adventures would you go on? What things would you do? How would you live? Who would you be? (Tell us a story about that life)