“What?” What was he talking about?
“I saw you by the windows when you arrived. You don‘t like thunderstorms, do you?”
He must be very observant. Even her aunt hadn‘t noticed. She sneaked a peek at him through her lashes and saw he was not mocking her. She relaxed.
“No I don‘t. I‘m glad the storm has passed.”
She could shelter in his arms anytime. He bit his tongue and smiled down at her. “We met before but I didn‘t introduce myself. I‘m Edward Bestman.”
She couldn‘t resist smiling back. “My name is Gladys Eborah.”
“Gladys,” he repeated, rolling the word around in his mouth like sweet wine. “It‘s a very beautiful name, just like the bearer. You‘re a very beautiful woman, Gladys.”
“Thank you.” She looked down and Edward smiled inside.
As they continued to move to the music, he moved even closer so that it was hard not to feel the hard angles of his body. But Gladys didn‘t move away, she liked how she was feeling. She‘d dreamed about meeting him but this went beyond her fantasies. Her thoughts were all jumbled up and nothing smart came to mind. All the muscles in her body felt tight except the ones in her tummy which felt liquid. The music came to an end too quickly.
Edward walked her to a secluded corner. The party was winding down.
“Here‘s my business card. How may I see you again?”
“If you want, I‘ll give you my phone number.”
“That will be great. And I do want. I want you.”
Warmth washed over her from his direct look. She collected the small slip of embossed paper, her fingers trembling as they brushed against his.
“Give me a brief call or send a text message and I‘ll call you right back.”
Edward was elated at how they had hit it off right away. He didn‘t care whether his heart was involved or not. His body had trumped and he would take each day as it came. Gladys was a beautiful lady and he was just the gentleman for her. He looked down at her again and smiled.
**********
Gladys glanced around in awe. She had been to Bar Beach a few times before and Alpha beach with her aunt once, but this was very different. The youth group at the church she attended had planned a boat ride to an isolated beach called Wreck Island. The beach had remnants of a ship on the shoreline. It was organized as a day at the beach for the youth with time for games and interaction. Gladys had joined the church a couple of months ago and needed to widen her social circle. Also, she‘d decided to go since the first two friends she‘d made were going too. Jennifer and Ayo had been there before and convinced her it was a great experience.