Jasmine
Jasmine had barricaded herself into her bedroom for the rest of the night, not wanting to deal with her parents. But she woke early the following day, dressed quickly, and headed for the beach. Although she wanted to go surfing, Jasmine didn’t want to go alone, so she watched the sunrise instead.
Streaks of pink and soft orange spread across the morning sky as she sat on the sand close to the shoreline, wrapping her arms around her legs. This truly was beautiful. If she could, she would move here and stay forever. Although she liked Maine, the winters were frigid, and Jasmine was more of a summer girl.
Jasmine watched the sun rise behind the ocean. She liked this time of day, early morning before the beach became crowded. The seagulls were flying about, swooping down to catch a fish, and then flew back up again, cawing to their friends in an occasional disagreement, adding to the ambiance.
As she watched the birds and the ebb and flow of the sea, she thought of her parents. She didn’t want to start the summer off like this, arguing with them, especially not over a guy she may not ever see again. But it was the principle behind it. Jasmine shook her head, unable to believe her parents were so prejudiced about money. She wanted to be free to date whom she wanted and live the life she chose without her parents dictating her future for her.
But she was now an adult and couldn’t act childish any longer. Jasmine sighed, making a mental note to make things right with her parents when she went back to the condo.
Although her father could be overbearing at times, he loved her and tried to protect her in his own way, and Jasmine was their only child. So, unfortunately, she caught the brunt of it all. If she did well, it was a major accomplishment. If she didn’t, it was an extreme disappointment. There were no gray areas. No between.
“Excuse me, but didn’t I see you here yesterday?” a rich, baritone voice asked.
Jasmine’s breath caught as she looked up, not realizing that anyone was nearby. When she looked up, the bright sunshine surrounded him, casting him into shadow.
“I’m so sorry,” he continued. “I didn’t mean to startle you.”
When Jasmine got to her feet, the Greek god Adonis that had been surfing the day before stood beside her in the flesh. “Oh! No, it’s all right. I was lost in thought and didn’t see you come up just now.” She gulped, hoping she sounded coherent.
A sexy grin spread across his face, showing perfect, white teeth, complementing his tanned skin. “So, did you just get into town?”
Jasmine laughed. “Is it that obvious?”
“Eh....” He moved from side to side, smiling. “Just a little.” He laughed. “So, where’re you from?”
“Cape Elizabeth, Maine,” she replied. “Are you from here?”
He shrugged. “I was born in Cuba, and my family and I moved here when I was nine. Now, I’m home from college for the summer.”
Jasmine tilted her head to the side, intrigued. “Where do you go to college?”
“USC,” he replied.
Jasmine nodded. “I’m going to the University of Tennessee Knoxville in the fall.”
“What year are you in?”
Jasmine’s heart fell. There was no way this guy was a freshman, and there was no way that he would date a freshman, let alone a pre-freshman. “I’m going to be a freshman,” she said, waiting for the bomb to drop.
“Oh! So, you’re getting ready to go to college?” His eyebrows raised.
“Yes.” Jasmine nodded. “What year are you in?”
He sighed, as if hating to tell her. “I’m going to be a senior.”
Her eyes nearly bugged out of her head. “Really?”
He nodded. “‘Fraid so.”
“Well, it was nice to meet you." Jasmine started to walk away, knowing he wouldn’t have anything to do with her now.
“Wait,” he said, bringing her to a stop. She turned, and he closed the short distance between them and extended his hand. “My name is Zain Perez. It’s nice to meet you.”
She gave him a warm smile, shaking his hand. “Jasmine Hunt. It’s a pleasure.”
“Will you be here tomorrow?” he asked, his eyes hopeful.
Jasmine nodded, her heart fluttering. “My parents and I are staying here on the beach.”
“Do you surf?”
She shrugged. “I love to but don’t get to do it that often.”
“I’ll be out here tomorrow.” Zain arched an eyebrow. “If you like, you can meet me, and maybe I can give you some tips.”
Jasmine laughed mischievously. “How do you know that I’m the one who’s going to need the tips?”
Zain laughed, raising his shoulders. “Well, either that or you could give me some tips.”
“No, you’ll probably be the one teaching me,” she said, cringing. “Wait. That didn’t sound right.”
“No, that’s fine,” he replied, the perfect gentleman. “So, I’ll see you tomorrow?”
She nodded. “See you tomorrow.” She started to walk away but then turned back and yelled, “You looked great out there yesterday!”
Zain smiled and waved, watching as she walked away.
Maybe all hope wasn’t lost after all.
***
Jasmine had been thinking of Zain for the rest of the morning, even though she tried not to. After all, she had just met the guy. Unable to resist, she put on a bikini, grabbed a beach blanket and towel, and headed back out to the beach.
“Don’t forget your sunscreen!” her mother called after her.
“Got it!” Jasmine waved and then hurried out. She knew she probably wouldn’t see Zain again that day, but she just wanted to relax and enjoy the sun. In Maine, there wasn’t much warm weather. Not like there was here in Miami, anyway.
She spread the blanket out and tucked the corners into the sand to keep it from blowing away. Then she sat down, spread sunscreen over herself, and tried to relax. But try as she might, she just couldn’t.
“Mind if I join you?”
“What? Are you stalking me?” Jasmine teased, thinking it was Zain. But when she opened her eyes, it wasn’t him, but another guy. But this guy was blond with blue eyes, built but not like Zain.
“I don’t think so.” He smirked. “I just saw you here.”
“Sorry. I thought you were someone else.” Jasmine sat up and propped her arms on her knees, looking out over the ocean, wishing he were Zain.
“No problem.” The guy sat beside her without her permission.
“If you don’t mind, I really wanted to get some sun alone.” She started to lay back again but didn’t want to with this guy here.
The guy nodded. “Okay. Have a nice life.” Then he stood and ran across the beach, joining a group of guys standing in a circle a short distance away.
They razzed him when he approached. The guy said something to them, and they all looked over at her. Hard telling what he had told them. He looked at her over his shoulder one more time and smirked. Then he walked away with his friends, still looking at her over their shoulders.
Jasmine made a mental note to kill him if she ever saw him again.
For a moment, Jasmine wondered if her father was right. If this guy had approached her to impress his friends, then hard telling what he told them when he went back. Maybe all guys were like that, just after one thing or trying to impress their friends.
But even though she had never had a boyfriend before, she had plenty of guys that were friends back home, and they didn’t act like that.
Even though she didn’t want to think that way, she wondered if Zain was like that, too. But then again, it wasn’t fair to think all men were like that, just because one was. As she lay back down on the blanket, she wondered what tomorrow would bring… and if Zain would even show.
Zain Zain hadn’t slept well all night, thinking of her. When he finally got to sleep, it had been fitful. As soon as the faint rays of sunshine peeked in through the window, he showered and hurried out, in a hurry to get to the beach to see Jasmine. Jasmine. What a beautiful name. It suited her well. Zain quickly grabbed his board, wanting to get to the beach early to meet her. Even though they had just met, he couldn’t deny his attraction to her. But even if they ended up just becoming friends and nothing more, that would be fine with him. It would be nice to have another surfing buddy for the summer. Zain slipped out the front door and locked it behind him, feeling like a kid sneaking out. He started the engine and soon was on his way to South Pointe. He didn’t want to seem like a stalker, but he couldn’t help himself. Turning the truck down another corner, he wondered what he was doing. Jasmine was clearly only eighteen, and he was twenty-one and would be twenty-two by the tim
At the end of the run, Jasmine jumped off the board, feeling more exhilarated than she ever had before.“Great run!” Zain shouted. Then a wave came up, and he laid on the board and started paddling. She waited on the shore, watching as he stood and dropped into the wave at just the right time, catching it just before it crest, jumping off when he got close to shore. When he stood, his hair was slicked back as water glistened on his skin. He was completely and utterly gorgeous.“Great job!” Jasmine stood on the shore, clapping. “But you could have made a little twist at the end. You know, added some flair,” she teased. She couldn’t just say he was magnificent. After all, the Greek god was probably used to people telling him how great he was.But to her surprise, he picked up his board and ran toward shore. “Oh, I could, could I?” Then he dropped his board on the shoreline and ran toward her.“Uh, oh!” Her eyes grew wide, laughing as she ran away.Then, suddenly, he grabbed her from beh
ZainZain waited outside for Jasmine while she took her surfboard into her apartment. He guessed he should have introduced himself to her parents. But they had just met, and they were only going to his Uncle Miguel’s food truck. His uncle made the best Tostones, Cuban bowls, and Cuban Sandwiches in Miami. He just hoped Jasmine liked Cuban food.A moment later, she came out the door, still wearing her bikini and sarong, but she had also put on dainty leather sandals and had pulled her hair back into a ponytail. She looked gorgeous. “Ready?”Zain nodded, smiling. “You know, if you don’t like Cuban food, I can always take you somewhere else.”Jasmine smiled, shaking her head. “No, I love it.”“Great!” He started walking in the direction where his uncle always parked. “It’s right around the corner.”“How far?” she asked, trying to keep up with his long strides.At that moment, Zain realized how much smaller she was than him. He had to have been at least a foot taller than her. Perfect.He
JJasmineJasmine was taken aback by Zain’s forwardness at kissing the top of her head. But she didn’t mind. She liked that people in his culture were so friendly and affectionate. But it would take her a bit to get used to. Although her parents were affectionate, it wasn’t like this. But she wasn’t complaining.“Sorry about that,” he replied, seeing her reaction.“I’m not.” She shrugged. “With you, it feels natural.” If any other guy had done that, she would have probably decked him without thinking. But not Zain. He was different. With him, everything was different in ways she couldn’t explain.“Here you go!” Miguel announced, setting two rectangle paper containers lined with thin paper on the counter. “Let me know if you’d like anything else.” Then he smiled at Jasmine. “It’s nice to meet you, miss. Make sure to keep this one out of trouble.” He laughed, pointing his thumb toward Zain.“Okay, okay! Don’t scare her off,” Zain said, taking both containers.Miguel shrugged. “She doesn
ZainAlthough he hated to say goodbye, Zain walked Jasmine back to her parents’ apartment, knowing she couldn’t spend much more time in the sun. As fair as she was, she would fry.“I had a nice time with you today,” he said as they walked toward her door.Jasmine nodded, obviously having had enough outdoor fun. “So did I.” But as they walked toward her door—literally right on the beach—she paused. “Would you like to come in for a while? We can pop some popcorn and watch a movie.”Zain shook his head. “Maybe some other day. But I would like to meet your parents, if that’s okay.” He laughed. “I don’t know what’s customary in your culture, but in my culture, the boy has to meet the girl’s parents before they go on their first date. Then, usually they have to bring along a little sister as a chaperone.”Jasmine’s eyebrows rose in disbelief. “Seriously? In today’s day and age?”He nodded. “‘Fraid so.”“Well, lucky for you, I don’t have a little sister. I’m an only child. But don’t give my
JasmineOver the next few days, Jasmine and Zain went surfing every day. It was an unspoken, simple vow between them. And Jasmine found that she looked forward to each day, knowing she would spend it with Zain. Then, when it was time to go, she hated to leave his side in the afternoon.“Where are you going?” her mother asked one morning just before she was going out to meet him.“Surfing.” Jasmine was already getting a nice tan from being out in the sun every day. On this day, she wore a floral summer shorts set over her bikini, thankful that her mother had insisted on getting them.Her mother’s lips were set in a straight line. “I don’t want you seeing that boy anymore.”“Mom, he’s a great person.” Jasmine hurried to gather her things, not in the mood to hear her mother’s complaints again. If Zain had been a boy of society from what her parents deemed as a “good family,” her mother wouldn’t be complaining at all. But that was one of the things that Jasmine liked about Zain. He was hi
ZainZain traced a finger over her cheekbone, along her jawline, and then gently cupped her neck with his hand, looking into her eyes. “Tell me.”Her breath quickened, and he knew her resolve was waning. “That’s not fair.”“What?” he asked, his voice low.“You’re using coercion,” Jasmine breathed.Then a broad smile spread across his lips. “Is it working?”Jasmine sighed, and her face suddenly fell. She pushed abruptly away and started backing off. “I’m going home. See you later.” Hot, angry tears began filling her eyes, threatening to spill over as she turned around and hurried away.Zain stood there watching her, stunned beyond all words. Then it hit him. She thought he was playing her. “Jasmine!” He ran after her and caught her arm, quickly turning her around, his eyes filled with shock. “Jasmine, I was only kidding around. I’m so sorry. I’m not a player. I swear.” He reached up to catch a stray tear from under her eye, but she turned away. “Hey, hey!” He looked directly into her e
ZainThen he gently parted her lips with his tongue and taught her how to French kiss, letting his fingers trail over her back. Suddenly, she kissed him with vigor, giving him the best make out session he’d ever had. He pulled back a moment later, breathless.“What’s wrong?” Jasmine asked, running her fingers through the side of his hair, her eyes searching his, filled with concern.Zain took a moment to catch his breath and to calm himself down before things got out of hand. Then he leaned in and gave her another sweet kiss, and said against her lips, “I just don’t want things to get too far out of control.”Jasmine nodded, understanding. She looked into his eyes, her eyelids half closed, looking sexy as hell, which did nothing for his resolve.He smiled. “Just do me a favor. If you ever kiss another guy, don’t kiss him like that unless you want more than you bargained for.”Then her face suddenly became serious as she wrapped her arms around his neck and looked deeply into his eyes.