The morning sun was bright and warm. The waves hit the shore lightly and in the distance, two sea gulls flew around each other in the air. Like they were dancing. Arabella had fallen asleep next to Hunter in the sand, wearing only his shirt. Her dress lay forgotten near the water, soaking wet. When the sun hit her face, Arabella buried her face into Hunter's side, moaning softly. It was way too early to wake up. She felt Hunter's body shake slightly as he chuckled and she realized that he must have been awake for a while. His gentle fingers danced along her spine and she snuggled closer to him. The previous night had been perfect and Arabella didn't want it to end. Waking up would mean that they would have to go back to the real world and they would actually have to live their lives. All she wanted to do was stay in that moment for the rest of her life. But she had to go home. She had to talk to Daniel. Arabella didn't want to think about it, but Hunter would probably want to go back to his house.
"Good morning" Hunter said softly and Arabella lifted her head to look at him. She smiled softly and placed a kiss on his chest for the simple reason that she was much too tired to push herself up to kiss his lips. Arabella yawned and laid her head back down.
"Good morning" Arabella whispered. She was aware of the fact that her hair was full of sand, but she really didn't care. She would get a shower later. Finally, she stretched and pushed herself into a sitting position, looking around them. It was a perfect day and Arabella smiled softly. She felt Hunter's hand on her wrist and she looked down at him. He was smiling at her and she couldn't help but smile back.
"My shirt looks much better on you than it does on me" Hunter said to her and Arabella giggled. She rolled so that she was straddling him and she leaned down, pressing her lips against his. She felt his hands graze down her back and start to go lower. She didn't mind. His hands on her body made her feel like she was perfect. It was the best feeling in the world. Arabella placed little butterfly kisses along his neck and his hands rested on her butt. She smiled against his skin and started kissing along his collar bone.
"You have such a great ass" Hunter sighed and Arabella stopped. She had heard it before but never from Hunter. It was odd hearing it come out of his mouth. It was hilarious to hear it coming out of his mouth. Arabella started laughing against his skin, not being able to stop herself. "Oh..I..uh..sorry" He quickly said and Arabella looked up at him. His cheeks were red and he looked really embarrassed. Arabella giggled and kissed his lips.
"Yours isn't so bad either, Stud" Arabella teased and gave him a wink. Hunter let out a laugh and Arabella leaned down, kissing him tightly. She felt bad for the people in the world that missed out of this feeling. Arabella knew that she was safe in his arms, no matter what happened, he was going to protect her and love her. Arabella put her hands on his arms and slid them down, grazing his skin with her nails lightly. His hand slid up her back and rested on her waist. she smiled against his lips and kissed him once more before rolling over to lay down next to him. His arm wrapped around her, pulling her close to his side. She picked the pendant off of her chest and rubbed it a few times. After lying in Hunter's arms for a few moments, Arabella pushed herself up to look out at the ocean. It was beautiful and peaceful and wonderful. She pulled her knees up to her chest and Hunter sat up beside her. Arabella smiled and leaned against him, closing her eyes for a moment.
They sat together in silence for a little while, watching the sea gulls dance over the ocean and the waves crashing on the shore. Arabella stood up then and grabbed Hunter's hands "Come on" she said softly and she started running towards the water. She didn't care that the only thing she had on was Hunter's shirt and a small pair of lace underwear. Arabella ran into the water, laughing as the waves hit her. She pulled Hunter right along with her and she jumped into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck. Hunter laughed and he held her up easily, his warm arms tight around her. Arabella pressed her lips against his in a passionate kiss and she felt him lean into her. He kissed her with the same passion, the same love. She smiled against his lips and kissed him. When his lips started to move away from hers, moving along her jaw and down her neck, she closed her eyes. Arabella didn't care if anyone saw them, she didn't care if they spent the whole day like that. She was just happy to be with him and to feel his skin on hers. Hunter's lips found hers again and she pressed herself into the kiss, resting her hands on the back of his neck and running her fingers through his hair.
It was at that moment when Arabella's stomach growled. Loudly. She put her face in his neck and giggled "I'm sorry" she mumbled. Hunter laughed and she could feel him walking with her still in his arms,
"I'll make you some breakfast" He said softly and he kissed her hair. As Hunter started to walk towards the house, Arabella leaned down and kissed behind his ear for a moment, letting her kisses trail down his jaw then back up to his ear. She felt goosebumps pop up on his skin and she smiled lightly against his skin. Hunter gently set her down when they were back in the house and she ran her fingers through her hair. She was about to lean up to give Hunter another kiss when she pulled back. The sand in her hair was too much for her. She looked up at Hunter with a slightly disgusted look on her face.
"I'm going to go for a shower..I'll be right back" Arabella said with a nod. Hunter smiled and kissed her forehead.
"I'll have something to eat when you get back" He told her and Arabella looked up at him with happy eyes. She didn't know how she had gotten so lucky. What she had done to deserve someone like Hunter? Arabella looked at him one last time before turning and walking up the stairs to the bathroom.
As she stepped into the shower, she thought about her company. She didn't really want to think about it, but she knew that she had to. Arabella wasn't happy there anymore and she was looking forward to giving it up, to being away from it. Money wasn't an issue. Not only did she have a huge amount of money in a trust fund from her father but she also had more money than one person could ever need in her bank from the company. Arabella didn't need to work there anymore. But now, she was going to have to figure out what to do with it. Who would she give her company too? Who did she trust enough with something that she had worked so hard on? The answer came to her almost immediately. The person who had been with her through everything. The person who knew how to deal with it all. The person she trusted most. Daniel. Arabella knew it as soon as she thought of it. It made the most sense.
She climbed out of the shower and wrapped a towel around herself before she walked back to her bedroom. Luckily, she was able to find an old pair of shorts and a tee shirt which she quickly changed into. Arabella flopped down onto her bed with a sigh and took out her phone, calling the number she knew off by heart.
"Hello? Hello?! Is this Arabella, the disappearing fashion designer?" A familiar voice said with sarcasm. Arabella blushed and she looked out the window. Just sort of realizing then that what she had done would have been a huge impact on everyone that works for her. Especially Daniel.
"I'm really sorry, Danny" Arabella said softly "I was about to lose Hunter and I had to go and get him back. Europe didn't seem that important"
"Oh! Hunter! And how is that handsome man doing?" Daniel asked and Arabella could practically hear him smirking.
"He's as handsome as ever" Arabella said and smiled "Now, before we get to the serious stuff, I have some gossip for you" she teased. Through the phone, she could hear Daniel shuffling around, like he was sitting up or something.
"Oh my gods, what?" Daniel asked excitedly. He had always been interested in a good gossip story. Arabella giggled and pulled her knees up to her chest.
"Well..last night Hunter took me back to the beach house. And we kind of..." Arabella said but she never got to finish because Daniel screamed into her ear at that point.
"HOLY HADES! Tell me EVERYTHING!" Daniel squealed and Arabella pulled the phone away from her ear, laughing at his reaction. She figured that she owed to to him at least to tell him that it had happened. Daniel seemed to be more excited about it then Arabella.
"It was...perfect" Arabella said with a little smile. She started to blush as she thought about it again "He was so kind and gentle and warm and loving. Before him, I used to think that sex was just sex, you know? That it was just something that you did when you were in a relationship with someone but it was never something that made you feel more connected to them. Sex never had any emotion for me. But Hunter totally changed that for me" she told him, hoping that that would be good enough. Arabella wasn't about to give him a play by play or anything.
"Oh...Hunnie, that is so amazing" Daniel sighed and Arabella could hear his smile in his voice. She grinned and let out a happy sigh. After a few moments of silence, Daniel cleared his throat "Okay, what serious stuff did you want to talk about?"
"It's about the company, Danny" Arabella said, her smile fading. She hoped that he would go for it and he would be okay with it "I don't want it anymore. I don't want anything to do with it. I'm not happy there. You're the only person I trust with it and I know that you're not going to mess it up and I know that you're going to make it into something more than I ever could" she said quickly. There was a shocked pause on the other end of the phone then Daniel took a deep breath.
"Are you sure, Hun? I remember when you first started this company and you said that you wanted to be the next Coco or the next Karl. You said that you still wanted to be a huge force in the fashion industry until you die. I thought that you wanted people to say that you were a legend and that you never quit?" Daniel said to her, his voice still kind of shocked.
"Now people are going to say that I started an amazing company and that I was the smart one who didn't let work get in the way of the fact that I am truly, madly, head over heels, crazy in love with an incredible man" Arabella said softly "Please Danny..I know that you want this. Besides, the company needs one of Aphrodite's kids to run it right" she teased. Daniel let out a little sigh but Arabella could tell that he was happy.
"Yeah, I would love it" Daniel said and he took a breath "I'm really happy for you, Arabella. You deserve to be with someone as amazing as Hunter"
"Oh, I don't know about that..I think I just got lucky" Arabella said and she unfolded herself from the bed. She started to walk downstairs towards the kitchen.
"So, are you going to tell me more? Like how amazing Hunter looks naked?" Daniel asked and Arabella rolled her eyes
"You know..some things do have to be private. And amazing" Arabella said and she looked over at Hunter with a smile as she walked into the kitchen.
"Breakfast is almost done" Hunter said, turning to look at her. Arabella was about to say something, but Daniel was squealing in her ear again and she had to take the phone away from her ear. Daniel's voice echoed through the whole kitchen.
"Good job last night, Hunter!" Daniel said "I'm a little...no...totally jealous that my sister got you and I didn't"
"Okay, hanging up now" Arabella said, pressing the end button on her phone. She looked up at Hunter who had red cheeks and was turning back to the food awkwardly. Leave it to Daniel to make a wonderful morning awkward.