We meet at our favorite spot.   The days are still long, but are now starting to get shorter.   And the weather is still warm by day – even hot – but the evenings are getting cooler.

 We are both tired from our busy work days.   But as we see each other approaching from afar, the tension and fatigue melt away, and our hearts beat just a little bit faster in anticipation.

  We meet, we touch, we smile.   And then you take my hand and we turn together to head down the path leading to the shore.   There is not much time – sunset comes earlier with the approach of September.

  We get to the seashore and head for our favorite rock.   Good – it is unoccupied.   There are many other places to sit and watch the sunset, but this is a perfect one – almost at the water’s edge, and somewhat separated from the late bathers still soaking in the last rays at the beach.

  There are people walking their dogs, and elderly women strolling arm in arm along the shoreline.   But as we sit down, a cocoon of privacy erects itself around us – we are at one with the universe, but cut off from mankind.   Just as we wish.

  The sun is a bright orange ball – a perfect circle of fire, already almost touching the horizon.   The air is crystal clear – the sun’s outline is sharp as a cutout.   There are just a few wisps of clouds crossing it like a Japanese painting.

At first the motion is barely perceptible.   But as the disk approaches the horizon, it appears to pick up speed, sinking more and more rapidly.

I am suddenly returned to the present, as you shift next to me.   I am acutely aware of your presence.   It is just you, me and the setting sun.   Your elbow touches my arm, and wisps of your hair are wafted by the breeze to tickle my face.

I don’t know whether it is because you are feeling a little bit chilled in the cooling breeze, or whether you just want to be held.   But you lift yourself up – without a word - and slide over onto my lap, spreading your knees on either side of mine and molding your back to my chest.   I wrap my arms around your waist, enfolding you to embrace you from behind.

  I tuck my chin over your right shoulder, inhaling your delicious scent and marveling at the softness of your hair.   Our cheeks are pressed softly together.   It would be easy to whisper in your ear.   But anything I might say would only sully the moment.

The sun has touched the horizon, and the golden orange turns a deeper red as it spreads like fire across the sea.   It looks for all the world like the sun is melting, wherever it touches the waters.

I feel your right hand seeking mine, closing over on top of it.   And then you slowly but deliberately press my hand upward, until it is gently clasping your breast.

We sit like that, watching the last dying moments of the day.   Your bottom molded to my lap, your back pressing into my chest, your shoulder supporting my chin, your hair pressing against my cheek.   And your lovely breast filling the palm of my hand, with your fingers closed over mine.   A tender gesture of contentment, satisfaction, affection, and understanding.   And trust.

 The last flaming tip of the dying sun hits the water.   I can almost imagine hearing the hiss of steam as it slips into the sea.   And then it is gone, leaving the gathering dusk.

 We awake reluctantly from our reverie after a few more minutes.   I slip my nose under your hair, seeking the delicious nape of your neck with my lips.   One nibble and you giggle – turning to brush your lips across my cheek.   I take one last squeeze, your arms closing over mine to pull me even tighter.   And then it is time to go.

 We get up – you first hopping daintily from my lap, and me more slowly as my bottom unsticks from the suddenly uncomfortable rock (funny that I did not notice it before….).   You slip your arm through the crook of my elbow as we walk together back up the beach to the nearby “bet café”.

We sit there for another hour, sipping tea, sharing a sinfully luscious piece of chocolate cake, talking about nothing and everything.   Sometimes not speaking at all.   But the glow of the sunset stays with us, long after all light has disappeared from the sky.