SANDS OF TIME...

By......Aly



Looking across the rolling surf brought her more enjoyment that she had dreamed possible. How she loved the beach!! The smell of the ocean and the sting of salt in the air... she drew in a deep breath and held it for a moment before expelling it slowly.

Looking down the almost deserted stretch of beach Aly sighed to herself with deep contentment. This was just what she had been needing. The busy summer season was long over but it was not yet too cold for a visit to the beach.

The hectic work week had become a blur and she could feel the tension rising higher and higher. She had also been having extreme headaches and had paid a visit to her physician two weeks ago. As per his orders, here she was, on vacation and resting.

How she wished Trace would hurry up and get here!! Aly knew that her friend Trace had to work weekends and didn't trust many people with running her shop in her absence. Therefore, she was meeting Aly here in the next day or two... as soon as she could get things nailed down at home. As much as she loved Trace, Aly knew she needed this time to herself... some *quiet time*. But she had best rest quickly... Trace was not going to stand for any *quiet time* once she got here!!

Aly chuckled to herself just thinking about the fun they would have.She placed the book she was reading down on her lap and took great pleasure in watching the tide come in. She cast her eyes out to the skyline and watched as the sun made its way slowly down into the ocean on the distant horizon. *Wow!! What awesome beauty in a sunset!* she thought. She had been sitting in a beach chair and had one foot stuck down into the still-warm sand. Leaning forward slightly she re-adjusted her chair to lean back further so she could enjoy the sunset to the fullest extent.

The seagulls were flying overhead chirping and chatting with each other in their never-ending drone of bird-speak. Aly let her mind wander as the sights and sounds of the beach helped to ease the remaining tension from her body... she tried to keep her eyes upon the lingering rays of the sunset, but they grew heavy and closed of their own accord. Peacefully, she slept on the padded beach chair as time stood still around her.

The extreme quiet woke her. And then... a sound. Muffled... faint. Opening her eyes slowly and cautiously she tried to get her bearings. She must have drifted off...Oh my gawd!! How on earth could she have let that happen!! Sitting up abruptly, she realized that darkness had descended quite thoroughly and she was sitting on a completely de- serted stretch of beach!! The wind had died down and the surf was lapping at the shoreline gently.

Trying to appear cool, calm and collected lest anyone be observing her from the shadows, Aly stood purposefully and scooped up her towel and book. Brushing the sand from her denim cut-offs she draped her towel over her arm and turned towards the condo. Before she even stepped one foot in that direction... she heard it!! That sound again!! She slowly pivoted back towards the beach and tried to pry into the darkness with her sleep-blurred eyes. Scanning the edge of the water she saw nothing.... until... There!! She saw... something. As her heart began to pound in her chest, she took a hesitant step forward. And another... and another. She could make out the darkened outline of a form lying on the sand. *A baby whale...? Or maybe a shark washed up...?* she thought. Happens all the time.

Slowing to a more cautious gait, Aly took a deep breath and tried to slow her pounding heart. Coming up on the figure lying on the sand she heard the sound that had awakend her to begin with....

"Please....help....me...."

Aly stood rooted to the spot in frightened wonder as the figure rolled over to reveal itself to be a man.

~~~~~~~<<>>~~~~~~~

Aly still had no idea how she managed to get the stranger back to her room. Or better yet... Why she had brought the stranger back to her room. *Get a grip Aly-girl* she told herself forcefully.

Looking over her shoulder into the bedroom she could see him in there still lying across the bed... feet dangling... right where she had dropped him, for lack of a better word! She had managed to get him to his feet on the beach and stumble along with her, though he was barely conscious at all. She had fumbled nervously with the key but had finally gotten the door open nonetheless and the two of them practically fell through the doorway and almost landed in a heap on the floor in the entryway.

Smiling to herself... in hysteria she supposed... she remembered how she poked and prodded him towards the bedroom where he finally fell across the bed before passing out once again. She had tried her best to turn him over, to no avail. She did, however, pull his dampened locks away from his face to find a rather large gash right on his temple at his hairline. Blood was seeping from the wound slowly and it looked like it had been there awhile.

Aly got a washcloth from the linen closet and went over to the sink to dampen it. *What in the name of heavens have you gone and gotten yourself into!!*.. she asked herself. She warmed the water and moved the cloth beneath the flow. As she soaked the small square of cloth the phone began to ring shrilly from its spot on the bar.

Almost jumping out of her skin in fright, Aly leapt at the noisy creature and snatched it from its cradle....

"Yes?? Oh!! Hey-ya Trace!! No... I wasn't... busy..." turning her eyes guiltily towards the figure in the bedroom Aly couldn't fathom the thought of sharing her stupidity in bringing a strange man into her room with her friend Trace. *She would never let me live this one down!!*.. she thought with a smile.

Snapping back to reality she realized that Trace was waiting for an answer to a question... a question that Aly hadn't heard her ask... "Run that by me again Cat? I didn't hear ya... I had a nubbin in my ear..."

As the two laughed at the ridiculous word they created, the man groaned from the bedroom. Aly turned slowly towards the bedroom, phone still pressed closely to her ear to prevent Trace from hearing anything... unusual.

Listening to her friend once again, she finally answered the question at hand, "Sure thing. No prob. I will be fine. We have the place for the whole week! Don't worry! Come on down when you can." After exchanging her goodbyes with Trace she replaced the phone on its cradle and walked quietly into the bedroom. Approaching the bed slowly she watched as the man rolled over onto his back and attempted to sit up. She could see his muscles straining with the effort to pull himself upright and he trembled with exhaustion. Moving closer to the bed she reached out a hand to him and touched him gently on the shoulder. He turned in shock and surprise.

She was dumbfounded. There... sitting on her bed... soaked to the skin... sandy and bleeding... was the most breath-takingly handsome man she had ever encountered in her 32 years. He looked up at her through his tangled and salt-water dampened locks with a pair of deep emerald green eyes... still foggy and uncertain from his recent 'swim'. Rooted to the spot she completely forgot about the cloth in her hand she had dampened to wash the blood from his wound.

Letting her eyes move over him slowly... she took in his long unruly hair... a few strands of seaweed still clinging to it desperately... his high forehead and dark, straight brows... she avoided those eyes for a moment... following the line of his classic nose down to the beautifully sculpted lips... further still along his well-tanned neck... and where the skin disappeared into a black tight-fitting mock-turtleneck pull over... which molded to every ripple and muscle along his torso.

Swallowing nervously as her mouth had suddenly gone dry, Aly licked her lips quickly and tried to act normal... *yeah RIGHT!!*...she thought to herself. Remembering her original intention, she moved closer still and spoke in quiet, soothing tones, "Hi there. Are you alright mister? Just let me..." she reached the wash cloth out to his face and found herself sinking into the pools that were his eyes.

Freezing midway to her goal, she realized that he was about to speak to her...

"Que voulez-vous?" He spoke the question softly, while searching her eyes with his own. Realizing that she was not responding, the stranger reached out and grabbed her arm and pulled her towards him.

"Que voulez-vous?"... sharper this time.

Aly's eyes widened in frightened panic....

~~~~~~~<<>>~~~~~~~

Still holding fast to her arm the stranger slid carefully, purposefully, towards the edge of the bed and rose to his feet slowly. Pulling Aly up with him she was soon overshadowed by his height. Still holding her gaze steadily with his own piercing eyes he repeated his question, "Que voulez-vous?"

Aly stared at him and shook her head indicating that she didn't under- stand. "I'm sorry...I don't speak French." she stammered nervously. Finally the stanger seemed to understand. Closing his eyes for a moment he spoke again, and his voice sounded like the rasp of raw silk... "I said... What do you want?" He reopened his eyes and they bore into hers, as if they were searching the depths of her soul.

Standing to her full height, all of 5 feet, Aly straightened her spine and pulled herself free from his grasp. " I only want to help you. You have been injured... there." She pointed towards the gash on his temple and he lifted his hand to the wound and touched it gingerly.

Pulling his fingers back he noticed the blood on them, and he looked back up at her with the question in his eyes.

Aly lifted the cloth to show him her intentions, and moved closer, answering his unasked question, "I don't know how it got there. I found you... passed out... down on the beach." She laid her hand against his cheek which was faintly covered with the beginning growth of a beard. Turning his head slightly away from her, she touched the cloth to the wound and he drew his breath in sharply. With surprising gentleness, she washed the blood and sand from the wound and lowered her hand. It was still warm from the heat of his skin. She looked up at him and found him watching her, his eyes squinting slightly, as if trying to solve some mystery. He lowered himself back onto the bed and took the cloth from her, folding it and placing it on the gash to stem the small trickle of blood that was starting again.

Aly, not exactly knowing what to do at this point, turned to go back into the kitchen. Before she could even take a step he reached for her and clasped her hand in his own. Looking down at his hand on hers, she slowly lifted her eyes to his face.

He held her with his hypnotic eyes and slowly pulled her towards him and down to sit beside him. *Okay...should I panic now or what?!?!*.. Aly thought to herself. Cutting her eyes slightly away from him she tried to see where the phone was and if she could possibly reach it.

Suddenly he turned towards her as if he was reading her mind. Aly tried to remain calm and show him that she was not afraid. She sat, and waited. He simply released her hand and levered himself backwards slowly until he came to rest against the pillows at the headboard of the bed. Aly remained where she was, sitting at the edge of the bed near his booted feet.

She lifted her eyes to his and found him smiling at her. "And just what is so funny I would like to know? " she asked, finding herself smiling back at him curiously.

"I am trying to figure you out. And exactly what I am doing here... and how I got here." As if realizing something suddenly he sat up and began patting down the pockets of his tight-fitting leather pants... searching for something. Aly watched with mild amusement.

"Don't tell me. Let me guess. No ID?" He looked back up at her sheepishly, and almost embarrassed.

"Strange isn't it? I should have some sort of identification." He said. Not finding what he was seeking, he reclined back against the pillows.

Aly rose and moved closer towards the head of the bed, and leaned in to ask him, "Tell me this... what is your name? And why were you on that beach?" He blinked a few times and looked away from her, searching for the answers to her questions.

After staring out into the blackened night a few moments, he turned back towards her, capturing her gaze with the intensity of his own, he spoke softly, "I don't know."

~~~~~~~<<>>~~~~~~~

Sitting and watching the sleeping man was very gratifying. She was able to let her eyes roam the length and breadth of him...entirely at her leisure. Helping him undress had also been an interesting endeavor. Aly smiled to herself as she remembered it...

He could not remember his name or what had happened before she found him on the beach. He was easy to be with and very open with his questions. He was even playful and almost flirty in his responses to her. She was able to get him to drink some juice and that seemed to fortify him for the moment. Using every ounce of willpower she could muster, she managed to help him out of most of his clothing. He was a sight to behold in his semi-dressed state. From the looks of his body he was used to rigorous physical activities and his muscles were toned and hardened from his experiences. Her heart began to flutter once again just at the memory of that well-toned physique.

Looking back over towards the bed she pulled the quilt up higher on herself and snuggled deeper into the overstuffed chair. She had given him a towel and pointed him towards the shower and she smiled at the memory of him singing a French tune while showering. When he emerged she took one look at his golden, water-speckled skin and made a hasty exit, allowing him to slip into the sweatpants she had dug up for him, thanks to her kind neighbor here at the resort who lent them to her... for her *brother*. She smiled at the hilarity of that!!

If she had feelings like this towards her brother... she should be ashamed!! She leaned her head back on the chair and tried to rest a bit... to no avail. Blinking her eyes against the darkness, she allowed them to re-focus and she turned them once again towards the sleeping man.

Just as she was about to satisfy herself that he was truly resting comfortably and head for the couch in the living room, he rolled towards her and called out in his sleep...

"Allons!! Allons!! Let's go!!" He began to thrash about wildly in the bedclothes and Aly ran to him and grabbed his arm as he rolled about like a madman. The flaming heat of his skin made her pull her hand back as if she had been burned.

He had a raging fever... she could see the pallor of his skin under his tan and the small beads of perspiration that dotted his face. Putting her hand to her mouth she looked around absently for something to help break the fever, but came up empty. *I didn't even pack any Tylenol...* she thought to herself. Thinking of the only other alternative, her own body heat, she began to slip out of her shorts and pullover and slipped into bed with him.

He turned towards her instantly and his strong arms encircled her, crushing her to him. He buried his face in the chestnut curls at her neck and slowly... slowly... he began to calm down and his thrashing soon ceased. Aly lay there helplessly, feeling the heat from his skin as it seared her own. Her breathing started to become irregular and she became acutely aware of the closeness and intimacy of the situation.

She tried to move herself slightly away from him but he pulled her back to him tightly. She pulled her hand up from where it was trapped between them and placed it against his chest and tried in vain to push him away. He pulled back from her and looked at her with those large green orbs and she stopped pushing. She was drowning in the depths of his eyes and all her resistance crumbled before his onslaught.

He reached a hand up to trace the outline of her cheek and trail along her jawbone and across the tip of her chin. Lingering there but a moment, it continued on its path down the slim column of her throat and around to the nape of her neck. With a slight amount of pressure, he pulled her towards him and caught her lips with his own in a mind shattering kiss that touched her in the very depth of her being.

Giving in to him without hesitation, she molded herself along the hardened length of his body and turned as he deepend the kiss, running his hands along her back, pressing her closer still. She ran her fingers up through the thickness of his hair and laced them behind his neck as he groaned in pleasure. Within moments... the sweatpants and her flimsy undergarments were lying in a forgotten puddle beside the bed.

~~~~~~~<<>>~~~~~~~

They passed the next two days as newfound lovers would. They strolled along the beach, hand in hand. They took their meals inside and watched each other across the glow of the candles Aly set out each and every evening. They talked and laughed and enjoyed each other to the fullest extent possible.

He had not regained his memory yet, so Aly called him *David* in honor of the grand sculpture by Michelangelo. He had brushed his long hair back behind his ears yet it still curled and blew forward into his eyes as they walked along the beach this day. She laughed and turned to him, tucking the wayward lock behind his ear. He caught her hand and brought it to his lips, kissing each fingertip as he gazed steadily into her eyes. He pulled her closer and buried his face in her wind-blown curls and breathed words in French into her ears...." Belle amie... ma amant...". She closed her eyes and willed these moments to last... to be never ending. But she knew they had to end...

They kissed and then turned to continue their walk along the shoreline. They met up with a photographer who begged them to let him take their picture. He offered to do it for free since it was the offseason... claiming that they looked so taken with each other that he wanted to offer this to them. Aly turned towards her strange lover, David, and met his answering smile. They posed together on the beach and laughed as the photographer snapped picture after picture, telling them to turn this way or that way. He finally took his fill and left them with his card for picking up their photos. They would be ready in 4 hours, due to the lack of business, he told them with a laugh.

Aly slipped the card into her pocket and they turned to walk back towards their condo. Trace would be arriving soon... how in the world she would explain this to her... heaven only knew!! She turned towards the man who had made these two days pass in a whirlwind of passion and pleasure... and caught him watching her from beneath his long lashes. He smiled at her tenderly and pulled her along behind him towards the beach chair they had left out earlier. Tugging her down into his lap, he leaned back and pulled her close to him.

"Aly... you are truly wonderful. Thank you for pulling me... ame perdue... a lost soul... from the ocean." He tilted her head and drew her closer for a deep, passionate kiss.

She laid her head on his chest and closed her eyes. "I think I am falling... "...and her words trailed away with the wind, "... in love with you...". As her breathing evened out, he looked out towards the horizon, dreading what was to come.

Michael held her and felt her relax against him as she fell into a deep and peaceful slumber. *Heaven only knew... she deserved it!*... he thought to himself, smiling. He reached up and ran his fingers through her hair for one final time before pulling her gently from him and moving out from under her. He didn't really know just when his memory came back to him... but it had returned and knocked the wind from his sails.

He looked at her and traced one finely arched eyebrow with his fingertip before rising to his feet and placing a beach towel over her legs. He removed her book from the bag and placed it on her lap and turned to walk up the pathway... and out of her life.

~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~

The extreme quiet woke her. And then a sound... muffled... faint. Sitting up abruptly, Aly noticed the book slide from her lap and tumble into the sand. Pulling the towel from her legs she looked around in mild confusion. *What was going on..? Where is...where did he go?* She rose to her feet and looked up and down the deserted stetch of beach. Then... she heard that sound again!! Turning towards the condo she saw a figure running across the sand towards her... calling her...

"Aly!! ALY!!!! Hey!! Monkey GIRL!!!!". Trace was running towards her friend with a huge smile and her shoes dangling from her hands, all but forgotten. "I finally made it!! Did you think I wasn't coming after all?"

Trace studied her friend and noticed that she wasn't answering or even really seeing her. Coming to an instant halt at Aly's side, she reached out a hand and waved it in front of Aly's face, "Hey!! Earth to Aly!! Earth to Aly!! Breaker... Breaker...Come back??"

Aly snapped out of her stupor and laughed as she slapped Trace's hand away from her face, "Woah there Cat!! Was I that far gone? I mean... PUH-leeze!!" Watching her friend laugh at her defense tactics, Aly turned once more towards the beach and scanned the darkening sands. *Hummm...must have been a dream. A true Illusion...but Man!! What a great one!!...*.

Picking her book and towel up off the chair, she grabbed Trace by the arm and the two of them made their way back to the condo, Trace babbling the whole way about her shop and her cousin and all her online pals. Aly just shook her head and smiled at her ramblings... *That Trace... she is a Hoot!*

When they came to the door of their condo, Trace stopped short and Aly turned to her in mild surprise. "What's the matter... Cat got your tongue or something?" laughing. Trace just cut her eyes over to Aly then back again to the envelope propped on the doorknob. Aly turned her eyes towards the door and noticed what had drew Trace's sudden unwavering attention.

With a trembling hand she plucked the envelope from its precarious perch and opened the door to their room. The two of them surged through the portal and Aly went straight into the living room and sank on suddenly jelly-like legs onto the couch. Trace closed the door and quickly joined her friend, concern clearly etched in her features as she studied the suddenly pale Aly. "Go ahead... open it" she prompted.

Aly turned to look at Trace and then with numbed fingers, she ripped the envelope open. A small keychain tumbled out along with a note:

'I have had the best time of my life with you these past days. I wish for them to remain in your heart for ever... as they will in mine. I must go back... and find my way out. I do remember now. Know this... I will find you again... one day. A demain... until tomorrow. Your *David* M'

As the tears splashed down her face she turned her pain-filled eyes up to Trace. Reaching over to her, Trace lifted the odd keychain from her lap and handed it to her. Turning it in her hands bemusedly, Aly saw the small hole at one end and lifted it to her eye. Peering into the small chamber, she gasped at the image enclosed within. It was a photo of her and her *David* as they laughed on the beach.

The remainder of the week passed in a blur. Trace tried everything in her powers to snap Aly out of her *funk*, and managed to get a laugh out of her on one or two occasions. At the end of the week they declared the holiday officially over and hugging each other tightly, went their separate ways.

~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~<>~~

3 months later.....

Aly sat at work, listlessly working on the never-ending pile of paperwork that crossed her desk. It was a Friday, and her co-workers had already *escaped* for the day, leaving her to tend to the remaining files and the phones. As she looked up at the clock she thought the hands would never reach the 5:00 mark. They seemed to be forever halted on 4:30. Drawing herself up out of her daze, she dove into the paperwork and tried to make the time fly by. She had lost a bit of weight over the past months since her beach trip and she looked a shadow of her self.

So engrossed had she become in her work, that she did not hear the footsteps coming down the hallway towards her office. She became aware of someone in her *space* suddenly as the hairs on the back of her neck began to tingle. Trying to appear cool, calm and collected, she lifted her head slowly and noticed someone standing right in front of her desk.

She tried to still the rising panic, knowing that the office building was practically deserted as it was. Theirs was the only office suite even occupied at this end of the hall, and she was here alone. She let her eyes travel up the length of the man standing before her, noticing involuntarily the crisp white jeans, the deep green thermal henley tucked into the waist of them, the broad expanse of chest and shoulders of the man before her.

She tilted her head upwards a bit more as he was standing so close she couldn't see him without leaning back. When her eyes met his she almost fell out of her chair with the shocked surprise she felt. Seeing those deep emerald eyes, with the crinkles at the corners showing when he smiled, like he was doing now, and the newly cropped hair, curling against his forehead in wind-blown disarray, she knew without a moment's hesitation who stood before her.

As she continued to stare in shocked silence, he decided to make the first move, "Hi there. I think I have a car to be inspected....." He let his voice trial away as she rose and came around the desk to stand beside him. Turning towards her he had his breath knocked out of him as she flung herself against him, laughing and crying at the same time. He held her a few moments until she calmed down. Tilting her face up towards his he leaned in for a soft kiss and brushed the tears from her cheeks with his lips.

Finding her voice finally, she asked " How... When... Who...?" tripping over herself in her haste. He laughed and led her back to her chair and gently pushed her back into it. Taking her hands in his own he looked down at them and began to swirl his thumbs across the backs of them.

He continued this soothing motion and hunched down beside her to answer her questions... both asked and unasked... " I regained my memory my first night there... in bed with you. I wanted to stay with you so badly, but knew I had to be sure. I went back... to check out my job. It took me awhile, but I eventually discovered that they thought I had been killed in an explosion at sea, with the rest of my... co-workers." He looked up at her and then back down at her hands. "Once I was completely certain of their acceptance of my *death* I knew that my freedom had been purchased, and I came back for you. As I promised."

Leaning closer he reached up and ran his hand around the nape of her neck, drawing her close for his kiss. After a few moments of getting re-acquainted, Aly pulled back and ran her fingertip across his lower lip.

Lifting her eyes to his, she asked, "And your name my fine sir?" Smiling, he lifted her hand to his lips, kissing each fingertip in turn.

"David"

THE END



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This story © Copyright 1998, Aly
Used by permission