A Happy Marriage?

Chapter 8: A Dance

He couldn't stop smiling the whole afternoon as they strolled around the city with his new vest on him and a pair of black Ray Bands. He feels so swanky- if that is a word he should use (he heard Beth use it when talking to a store clerk about the pair of boots she found). As they sit on a bench over looking the ocean, Daryl realizes that he's missed out on a lot of things. He wishes as a kid he would have been able to come here and go swimming or learn how to surf. The ocean is so blue and he just wants to dive right in.

"You wanna go swimming?" Daryl asks out of the blue. Beth stops sipping her mango smoothie and looks at Daryl, a little surprised and a little happy he said something. She's been hot all day and was just hoping he'd want to partake in the cool ocean waves.

"Yes!" She says with excitement and then dials it back. "I mean...if you really want too. I wouldn't mind a dip."

Shaking his head, he loves that she tries to be so Adult. He guesses she probably has to give up fun things to run a business. She's 21 and probably never got totally plastered and did dumb things like a college kid. Has she ever had the chance to be a kid? Or did she always have to be so refined and hard as stone?

"I think there's a swim shop over there. We can go buy suits and towels." She graciously says and both stand up and go to the beach shop. Once inside, they look around their respective sections and take a few different sizes and suits they'd like.

As Daryl waits in his newly bought swim trunks, from the corner of his eyes, he finds Beth coming out of the dressing room with a towel around her torso. She shows the tags to the cashier and hands her cash before snickering at Daryl's swim trunks.

"What? I like how they feel."

"Haha, they're pink." He bought them cause he was hoping she'd do that cute little jumpy dance thing again, but the smile on her face is just as rewarding. Walking out and along the board walk, they step on into the hot sand and Beth seems to just run down the beach to get to the cool water. Throwing her towel at Daryl, he watches her run in a skimpy little American flag bikini down to the water. His mouth waters as he notices how toned her body really is in that suit. Tossing the blankets to the ground along with their bags of clothes, Daryl races down after her and stops just knee high of the water and then recedes back to shore. "What? Come on! Daryl!"

"It's too cold. Can't do it! Nope nope!" He stands in the half way point between sand and water and Beth just shakes her head.

"Not today Dixon. Get yer butt in this water or I'll..."

"Or you'll what, Pipsqueak?" He's just trying to aggravate her. It seems to work because she comes up out of the water and tries to pull him back in by his wrist... but she's not strong enough to budge him. She gets him a little bit closer and as she's jerking him closer and closer, a red frisbee comes out of no where and smacks her abruptly in the side of the face. She lets go of Daryl's arms and falls into the water. Rushing in after her, he scoops her up and hustles back onto the beach, sitting down in the hot sand with her in his lap. "Beth? Beth? You okay?"

There's a cut on her cheek from where the rough cut frisbee- from years of being chewed on by a dog- hit her face. A man with a mullet comes lumbering over as fast as the sand will allow him. His golden retriever is shortly behind.

"I sincerely do apologize the wind had taken the frisbee from the area in which my dog was." The man breathlessly spouts as Daryl gently shakes Beth awake.

"I think you knocked her out. Damn do you have an arm!" Daryl says as he looks the nerd up and down and then focus's back on Beth. "I better get her to a hospital or something. She's bleeding pretty badly."

"Let me give you a ride. It is the least I could do."

"How about you just give me the name of the closest hospital and we'll call it square." Daryl says as he stands up with the man's help and carries Beth princess style up the beach, grabbing their things as they go.