She arrived in the morning the next day, ready to attack the beach come hell or high water. And we did just that. She changed into her beach clothes – short shorts and a crop top, and I into gym shorts and a sleeveless t-shirt. It was only 10am, and the day was promising to be perfect.

We walked down the road, downhill, to the beach talking about this and that. There was a gentle breeze blowing her long golden brown hair around her shoulders. The bright sunlight was bouncing off here smiling face, her eyes bright and big as we rounded the corner and could see the Caribbean Sea in front of us.That’s a sight I will never get tired of, the sight of the sea stretching out to the horizon.

Stepping in to the sand we both remove our flip-flops, the warm sand now between our toes, massaging them with a fine grit and freeing them from the days and weeks of shoes and work. I took her hand and led her directly to the edge of the water so it would immediately cool her feet from the hot sand. She smiled, it was such a beautiful smile.

“Wow, that feels so good!” And she walked out into the water a little further.

I caught up to her and a bigger wave came in and we were both splashed up to our waists. She giggled, knelt down a bit and let the next wave wash over her. I joined her and we laughed and got soaked. But that was the plan. Another big wave came in and knocked her down, she went completely into the water. As she came back up with she grabbed and pulled me in with her.

I stood up and pulled up to me, another wave came in and pushed her crop-top t-shirt up just about to her neck. She wasn’t wearing a bikini top under it, just herself in all her natural beauty. She giggled and pressed herself against me as another wave came to us. Being a gentleman, I gently lowered her t-shirt back down to it’s proper position and she smiled, “Thanks, sweetie, but that wasn’t really necessary, you know”.

Of course I knew that it was really necessary, but it seemed to be the correct thing to do at that moment. We are new friends, not lovers. But maybe she wants more.

We met because she wanted to improve her English, and that’s what I do, I teach English as a foreign language. We met just once, in fact. But in that one meeting we became good friends. And there were even a few gentle, friendly touches. So, that led me to ask her if she was interested in visiting the beach with me. Even if we were new friends and the new relationship would hopefully be a business relationship. Obviously she has more than a business relationship on her mind.

We walked a few steps towards the beach and sat down in the water, letting the waves wash over our legs and often higher. Each time that happened her top also floated upwards. That didn’t bother me, I liked the view. And it didn’t bother her either. A couple times the waves were big enough to knock us over, sometimes she ended up on me and sometimes I ended up on her, either way, we were both enjoying the morning.

After some small talk we got up and walked over to one of the empty chozas. A choza is a beach cabana, usually made of banboo and palm leaves. And usually, during the non-pandemic days, there is a small charge for using a choza. But not now. Nobody else was anywhere to be seen, other than a couple fisherman way over there on the breakwater trying their luck for the catch of the day.

We stepped under the shade of the palm leaves where it was much cooler and she plopped herself down on the soft warm sand and then pulled me down next to her. She then decided to toss some sand onto my wet legs, so I returned the favor. After some fun and both of us getting pretty much covered in sand we went back to the water to wash it all off.

Now clean again, it was back to the shade to relax and talk. We laid back and chatted and relaxed and soon she had rested her head on my chest. I liked the feeling of her golden-brown hair flowing against my chest. And I liked the feeling of her soft cheek against my skin, it was so pleasant, so calming in some way. She had one hand rubbing across my stomach as she was telling me about her home town, which made it a little more difficult for me to concentrate. I also starting caressing her, petting her hair. Eventually I leaned my head forward just a bit and gave her a kiss on her head. I could feel her smile against my chest. She moved her head, ever so slightly, closer to my face. I could now press my check against the top of her head. I liked that, and it was obvious she did, too.

The small talk continued for a while longer until I couldn’t put off the inevitable any longer. I gently sat up, holding her as I did. She pressed herself to me all the more.

“You’re probably going to think this is a very strange question, and my guess is nobody has ever asked you this before,” I started.

Giggling, she asked, “What kind of strange question could it be?”

Her smile was contageous, more than the virus taking over the world. I looked at her eye to eye and asked, “Can I kiss you?”

She giggled again, such a girly little giggle, “Yes, you may, I would like that.” She was trying to be very serious but it was just a little over-dramatic and she started to laugh, looked straight at me, and leaned in for a kiss.

I turned a little and kissed her on her cheek, just a little peck. “Hey, what’s that? Kiss me here!” And she put one slender finger on her full lips and gave a little kiss to her finger, and to me.

I laughed a little, and whispered into her ear, “Oh, I will, sweetie”.

I leaned in to her, kissed her on the cheek again, and she sighed and dropped her shoulders a little. I smiled and moved a little closer to her ear. Another soft kiss and a soft breath across her ear and she suddenly became more interested. I kissed the top of her ear, the around to the bottom, giving a light breath across it as I moved down. She shifted a little, or was it a little shiver? A little shiver of excitement?

I moved down below her ear and kissed the side of her neck. She tilted her head to the side, giving me a better shot at the soft skin below her hair. I kissed her and moved down a little more, and around to the front, and kissed her on the collar bone. That got her. She came to immediate attention with a moan and a deep breath caught and released on the second kiss, and a third in the same place. Then I backed away a bit and paused.

“What’s the matter? Don’t stop! I want more of that, please!” she was definitely getting excited now.

“Hmm, you want to rush things? Let’s take it slow and enjoy the moment,” I whispered into her ear, giving her another blow across it and getting her to respond with a deep breath. I could see her breasts under her web t-shirt and they were getting excited as well. The sight was pleasing, so I continued my journey around her little world.

My kisses took me across the front of her neck, across to her other ear. There I took some of her hair in my hand, held it to my mouth and kissed it. She gasped and caught her breath again, her chest heaved. I looked at her, eye to eye, held her hair to my face, feeling its softness against my skin, smiled and gave her a very soft touch of my lips to hers. Not a kiss, not yet.

Kissing her cheek and her neck to her other collar bone, her breathing was definitely becoming more excited. Her hand were running all over me. After some time of teasing her with these little kisses and whispers I moved in front of her, looked at her eye to eye, smiled and pressed my lips against hers. She melted.

Our lips came together followed my our tongues, first gently touching each other, the with more excitement. Her hands were caressing my chest, my stomach, and more. My hands had found their way under her little t-shirt to those excited breasts below. Her breathing was heavy, mine was heavy, we were in sync. Two people, surrounded by nature, the sound of the waves rolling onto the beach, alone yet not alone, what could be better?

The world changed us.
Life changed us.
Human pride has knelt before a microscopic enemy.
Kisses, hugs, and the simple gesture of holding hands have now been forgotten.
Lessons that make us wake up to how important it was to feel close and demonstrate love.
Yes, we are isolated, but at the same time we are united.
We stop thinking about ourselves, to think about the common good.
Now we look at our grandparents differently, when before maybe we didn't even see them.
Everything that happened has made us understand the essentials of a doctor, a nurse, a self-sacrificing health worker;
the importance of science over economic interests.
We have left behind our sports, concerts, restaurants, cafes, but now we look each other in the eyes at our tables, our rooms, our balconies.
We have reflected not only on basic notions of personal hygiene, but also on the contamination we cause to what surrounds us.
Animals are free, happy, without anything affecting them.
Now we are locked-up human beings who have stolen their space.
All this is possibly not apocalyptic, but it is sobering.
Perhaps humanity needed a shock that would awaken us from the automatic lethargy in which we live.
Where we give prominence to the immediacy of technology over patience for the real.
From this we will go out together, and we will give courage, to that kiss, to that hug, and to that outstretched hand of whoever loves you.
This virus will make us better, because it will make us start everything from scratch.
But for now, and just for now, we will not hold hands, but I am convinced that very soon, together we can get to where we have never gone.
Amen.