Her side began to ache from laughing so hard. "Truce," she declared.
He stopped tickling her and held up his hands in acquiescence. Watching her writhe beneath him as he tickled her had stirred up Tyler's desire, not that it was ever far from the surface. He craved her like he needed air.
"You eat," he said.
"Where are you going?" she asked.
"I want to see how cold the water is." He slipped off his shoes and walked to the water's edge. The truth was that he needed to cool off. He didn't want a painful erection to ruin the romantic evening he had planned.
He waded through the water for a minute, pretending to scout for birds, letting the winter chill of the water work its magic on his manhood. By the time he walked back to the blanket, Alexis had polished off a sandwich and a banana.
"You were really hungry," he remarked with a chuckle.
"I worked up an appetite," she said.
For a split second, he thought he caught a look of longing flash across her face and his spirits soared. He ate his sandwiches and chugged down the water, eagerly awaiting the big reveal.
"There's another sandwich, if you're still hungry. I made them small." "I'll wait."
They sat together and admired the sunset until Tyler jumped up without warning.
"What's the emergency?" she asked.
"It's time," he announced, rolling the dinghy to the water.
"We're going in now?" she questioned him. "It's getting dark."
"That's the point."
She followed him down to the water and removed her shoes.
"You might want to roll up your pant legs," he suggested.
She complied and waded through the water to climb into the boat as Tyler held it steady. He climbed in after her and began to row them over the ripple of waves.
"Are we going far?" she asked, looking around nervously.
"No, just far enough." He rowed them out a reasonable distance and stopped.
She gave him a curious look. "Tyler, what are you up to?"
"I've always wanted to share this with someone, but I didn't want to take just anyone." He reached down and dipped his hand into the water. As he moved his hand back and forth, the water lit up beneath it.
"Tyler, that's amazing," Alexis exclaimed. She glanced back toward the beach and noticed that the waves now glowed as they rolled into shore. It was incredible. "Can I try?"
"I hoped you would."
She dragged her hand through the water and watched as it glowed. "I've never seen anything like this."
"Bioluminescence," he told her.
"It's like magic," she said in awe.