CLICK! I awoke to a funny noise. Not real loud but enough to wake me. I was alone in bed. Where was Rina, I wondered? The clock read 7:25 am. I looked at the door and it was propped open by the safety latch. I realized that Rina must have gone across the hall to her room and wanted to return without having to knock and wake me up. I stayed in bed awaiting her return. About ten minutes later she walked in.

“Good morning, handsome,” she said. “Let’s go for a run. Get your ass outta bed!” She had washed her face, tied her hair back in her customary ponytail, and had on her running gear.

I took a big, giant stretch and growled like a dog. I crawled out of bed and stretched again. I quickly washed my face and such and was soon lacing up my Nike Air Pegasus shoes. We agreed to do an hour this morning. As we ran down the beautiful Coronado beach, we were strangely silent.

“You’re awfully quiet this morning. What’s up?” I asked.

“Oh, nothing. Just thinking I’ll need to work out extra hard this week after so much food and booze this weekend,” she said.

“Is that all?” I asked.

Marina came to a dead stop. “To be honest, no. I have a million things swirling in my brain. All about you. All about us. Are we being naïve?” she asked.

“I honestly don’t know. What I do know is that this weekend with you has been amazing. I’ve been trying to stay in the moment and not overthink this thing,” I told her. “Are you having second thoughts about long-distance dating?”

Rina held my hand and started to walk down the beach. “Not at all. But what happens if we date for a year plus? What about our careers? Where might we live? I know, I’m getting way ahead of myself, but these are the things I worry about?”

“Worry, or wonder?” I asked.

Rina stopped again and looked at me, “Both. I’m sorry, I’m way, way, overthinking this.”

“It’s ok. I get it. I’ve thought of those things too. Just promise me we’ll enjoy today. I’ll call you tomorrow night and it will have given us over twenty-four hours to see how we feel once we’re both at home and back to work,” I told her.

“Great idea,” she said. “Bet you can’t catch me!” She took off running down the beach building into a full sprint.

I got off to a slow start in the wet sand but finally smacked her ass after about fifty yards. We slowed back to our jogging speed. “I caught you!” I said. “Don’t get too tired, I have plans for you back at the room.”

Marina laughed, “Oh, you think so huh? Maybe we should turn back now. If you think you can handle this chica.” We headed back to the Del and grabbed two coffees before heading up to our rooms. As we got back into my room, I told her I’m going to brush my teeth. “I don’t want to kiss you with coffee breath,” I joked.

“Good idea, I’ll be right back,” she said as she headed to her room. Five minutes later she reappeared. She also washed up a bit, getting the sweat off her face.

With a wink, I asked her, “Maybe we should start in the shower this morning. What do you think?”

Rina kicked off her shoes instantly and pulled off her tank and sports bra as she moved toward my bathroom. “What are you waiting for, handsome?” she teased.

What I thought would be a quick rinse turned out to be about twenty minutes of more soapy sensual fun. I loved how our skin felt together along with the suds. As we kissed, touched, and turned each other on. We finished rinsing off the soap and exited. We quickly dried each other off and Marina jumped on the bed.

“I hope the people below us don’t call the front desk,” she said with a laugh. “First, I want you to make love to me. Then I want you to fuck me silly.”

“I think I can do that,” I told her as I joined her on the bed.

The next hour plus was a blur. We got each other off orally and had sex in countless positions. I think Marina had four orgasms. As we fucked in missionary, I told her I was going to climax. “Cum on me. Cum on my tits. I want to see your big load all over my body” she said. “I’m your dirty little vixen!”

I didn’t need to be asked again. I pulled out and didn’t even need to jerk off, I almost instantly started shooting cum on her body when my eyes focused on her tits. As I surveyed my pearl streams of spunk, I thought to myself, “not a bad load for a second load.”

Rina began rubbing my man milk all over her torso and tits as if it were a lotion. “Oh fuck! That was so hot. Damn, we’re good together in bed,” she said.

“No, you’re great. I’m average,” I said in all seriousness. I started thinking about how lucky I was to be with this model beautiful woman for the past five days. She was beautiful, a perfect body, a great rack, and so much fun in bed. Not to mention a Stanford grad with a big income career.

“Don’t kid yourself. You eat pussy very well, and that cock does it for me,” Rina said.

I noticed the clock, it was 9:30 am. “We better shower again. We’re meeting my folks at 11:00 am. And we have to pack,” I told her.

“Can we pack after we say goodbye to your parents?” Marina pleaded.

“Oh, great idea,” I told her. “I’ll start the shower.”

An hour plus later I knocked on Rina’s door, she stepped out, and said to me, “I’m going to say it.”

“Say what?” I asked.

“Scott Williams, I love you,” Marina said. “I’ve been holding that in since Saturday night as we danced. I’m sorry I was so weird on our run.”

I stopped her as she tried to say something, “Marina Flores, I love you too.”

We held hands and headed to the lobby. My folks were just checking out and Becky saw us approach. “Are you checking out too?”

“In a bit, maybe thirty minutes,” I told her.

Rina told my parents how nice it was to spend the weekend with them, to meet Jenny and Jeff, and “your perfect son,” she said. “Christie and Bob, I know I’ll see you again soon.”

My mother smiled, “I know we will too. After all, a mother knows.”

“Christie, stop it,” my dad implored her.

“It’s ok, Bob. I have a feeling my mother is going to say the same thing at lunch,” Rina said.

As my dad hugged me, he said, “Follow your heart, son. Mine lead me to your mother.”

Marina and I returned to our rooms to pack and soon we were checking out with Becky. We thanked her for pulling off an outstanding weekend for the wedding. “And tell your father thanks as well.”

“Oh, it was his pleasure. He’d do anything for Bud and Laura. You know, they’re really good friends. They golf three to five times a month together.”

“I had no clue,” I said.

“My Dad keeps most of his cards to himself. Just like Bud. You two have safe flights home,” Becky said as we left the front desk.

The next thing I knew we were sitting in Jorge and Molly’s home. “Scott, you should take a peek into Marina’s old bedroom,” Molly told me. “You might learn something about her.”

Rina, obviously annoyed, said, “Mother, please.”

“Is it just like the day she moved to Stanford?” I inquired.

“Almost,” said Molly.

Rina led me down the hall. It looked like the bedroom of a typical 18-year-old high school graduate from 1982. Double bed, dresser, stereo, and a bunch of volleyball and softball trophies. “I took down a bunch of posters a few years ago when I was home for Christmas. It was a bit dated.”

“Posters? Of what?” I asked.

“Bands mostly. The Police, Aerosmith, Journey, Styx. A couple of Chargers posters too,” she told me.

I noticed something framed, a letter. Not wanting to be nosey I asked, “What’s the letter?”

“My Stanford acceptance letter. I cried so much that day. I had worked so hard to go to my dream school. I tried to take it down too, but my father insisted I keep it there as a reminder that dreams come true with hard work,” Marina said.

As if on cue I could feel someone behind us in the doorway. “Yes, I did Mejia. You should be proud of all that you have accomplished,” Jorge said.

Without thinking I went and sat on the edge of the bed. Rina gave me a funny look. “You are the first boy to sit on my bed. Actually, you’re the first boy to be in my bedroom,” she said.

Jorge laughed, “Yes, no boys in her bedroom, ever. And no boys at the house unless Molly or I were home. I was very protective of my daughter, as any father should be.”

“Was?” Rina laughed. “I’m shocked you’re not tossing Scott out in the street for sitting on my bed.”

“Mejia, I like this young man. And I like his parents. Good people,” Jorge said.

I quickly replied, “Thank you, sir.”

“And so respectful too,” Jorge said. “Your father did a good job raising a boy into a man.”

“He’ll be happy to hear that. I’ll tell him,” I said.

“No need, Scott. I told him last night at dinner,” Jorge replied.

“OK, can we move out of my bedroom,” Rina said.

Molly had the dining table set up for lunch. Beautiful Mexican-style plates, clear drinking glasses, and two small pitchers of water and iced sun tea. Lunch was essentially a chicken taco salad. Shredded chicken, pico de gallo, cheese, crushed tortilla chips, a dollop of sour cream and half an avocado with a mix of romaine and iceberg lettuce. Simple, yet so tasty.

As we ate the subjects bounced from my childhood to Marina’s, my days at “State” (what locals call SDSU, versus the University of California SD or the University of SD) with Allen, and I tried to learn more about Jorge & Molly’s careers. While he tried to tell me much of his work was classified as a government contractor for the Navy, I did get a glimpse into the man himself.

And then Jorge asks, “Scott, where do you see yourself in two, four, six years?”

“Papi,” Rina says, “this is not an interview.”

I chuckled and told her it was ok. I told Jorge that while I’ve been with my company for five years, three in Orange County and two in Seattle, I am itching to get back to California, and ideally San Diego. I explained that I’ve just started to look into company transfer opportunities, but I might look for a new job after the first of the year. “I love my job, the company, everything, but I do not want to spend the rest of my life in Seattle. It rains a lot, and it is a bit depressing,” I told them.

“Why return to San Diego?” Jorge asked.

“Great town. Great weather. The beach. Lots of college friends, and Jenny is a ninety-minute drive,” I explained.

Molly jumped in, “Did you hear that Mejia? Scott wants to return to San Diego.”

Again, annoyed, “Mother, you sent me to Stanford and told me to spread my wings and fly. I love Palo Alto. Maybe someday I’ll return.”

“Marina, it has been ten years. Your mother and I would love for you to come home sometime soon,” said Jorge.

Sensing the tone, I decided to throw a curve ball, “Hey, how about the Padres!”

Thankfully everyone laughed. “Big baseball fan Scott?” Jorge asked.

“San Francisco Giants fan sir. Not a huge fan like I was as a kid, but I still check the scores every morning,” I told him.

Jorge told me, “My brother and I played baseball in high school. We were pretty good too. I was so happy when Rina took up softball as a girl.”

Marina had stood up and picked up her plate. I took her cue and jumped up and helped to clean up the table. Molly tried to stop me, “Scott, you are our guest. I’ll help Rina.”

“No, please, let me do this. Jenny and I cleared the table every night,” I told them.

Molly looked at me and softly grabbed my hand, “You two leave soon. Spend some time at the beach or something before you go to the airport.”

“It’s up to her,” I told Molly. “Her flight is first.”

I took the plates into the kitchen and Rina looked at me, whispering, she asked, “What did Mom tell you?”

“She said we should leave soon and spend some time alone,” I told her.

“When do you want to get to Hertz?” Marina asked.

“I was thinking 3:00 pm at the latest to be safe. It’s going to be crowded at the airport,” I said.

We finished the kitchen tasks and returned to the table. I thanked the Flores for lunch and told them how great it has been getting to know them this weekend. “As for your daughter, we are going to try the long-distance thing. I’m going to give it my best,” I told them. “We have only known each other for five days, but within a few hours I knew she was a special woman.”

“Will you stop it? I’m right here!” Rina exclaimed. “You’re talking as if I’m not in the room.”

“Babe, I just want your parents to know that I am serious about you,” I said.

I shook Jorge’s hand and gave Molly a hug. She whispered in my ear, “My daughter is in love with you. A mother knows.”

I stepped back to see Molly smile and wink. They walked us out to the car, and we slowly pulled away from the curb. Soon Rina said, “That white SUV, can you stop there, please.” I looked at her thinking she forgot something at her parent’s house. “This is Paul and Jo’s house. Can we run it to say goodbye?”

“Of course. Ten minutes?” I asked.

“Yes, ten minutes max,” she told me.

Jovita opened the door and semi-yelled, “Marina!” and gave her a big hug. “Scott, please come in.”

Paul greeted us in the foyer. We explained we just left Rina’s parents and we were off to the airport. “You know I can’t drive by and not stop. Especially this weekend,” Marina said.

We chatted briefly and soon they were walking us out to the car. It felt like déjà vu from a few minutes ago. Finally, we made our way to the freeway and headed towards the beach and airport. Traffic was heavy going west to the beach. Marina said, “You know, the beach is going to be packed. We’ll never find a good parking spot. Why don’t we just go to the airport? Then we can take our time, check in, and grab a drink before our flights.”

“Great idea,” I told her.

Hertz was packed and the airport check-in lines were long. Our gates were across the main aisle from each other, so we headed towards the gates and found the bar. Just as we were approaching two guys got up from their barstools and we quickly grab the seats and sat down. I looked at my watch, 3:05 pm.

“We have two hours until our flights,” I told Marina.

“More like eighty minutes until boarding,” she said.

“True,” I replied.

We started off talking about the weekend. The wedding. And all the stuff we did. “We spent almost every minute together,” she said.

“I know, except those two hours before the wedding started,” I said. I squeezed her hand, “But I’m really pissed at Allen and Jeanette.”

Rina got a weird look on her face, “Why?

“If they knew we’d hit it off, why didn’t they introduce us earlier? Like five years ago! A blind date, a couple’s dinner, something,” I said laughing.

“Jeanette told me I’d like you. She said you’ve changed a lot since college. More mature. Focused. She said you and Allen were party guys in college,” she said.

I confessed, “Yes, we were. It was college, we were in a fraternity, it happens. But, yes, I don’t drink to get drunk like we did in college.”

“It looked like Rich and Tony still do,” she said.

“Not really. Not with their jobs. It was a wedding weekend back in San Diego. Honestly, I’ve drank more these five days than I probably have the past five weeks,” I told her.

“Me too. I usually have one glass of wine with dinner. Friday and Saturday are probably two. As I said, I’m going to hit the gym hard this week,” Rina said. “But we need to talk about alcohol. My paternal grandfather was an alcoholic. A big drunk according to my dad and uncle. He died when they were in high school.”

“Oh my gosh. So was my dad’s father,” I said. I told her how my dad was ten when his father died. He was the oldest of six kids, four boys & two girls. “My dad was kind of like the kid from the other side of the tracks who married the prominent grape grower’s daughter,” I shared. “Can you imagine being a thirty-year-old woman with six kids and your husband dies?”

“What did your grandmother do?” Marina asked.

“Worked. Sometimes three part-time jobs I was told. She was a cook at various places in town. She died when I was about 10. My Dad doesn’t like to talk about his dad or his childhood. And he and his siblings have very different memories of their youth. None of them really like to talk about it,” I told her.

“Let’s talk about something happy,” Rina said.

We talked and talked, kissed and kissed, and talked some more. Soon we heard the boarding call for Marina’s flight. I walked her the short distance as we held hands. I gave her a tight loving hug and then kissed her. I looked into her eyes and told her, “I love you. I’ll call you tomorrow, 8:00 pm.”

She told me, “I’m so happy. I love you too. I’ll see you in eleven days in Seattle.”

Little did she know we’d see each other much sooner.

End Chapter 5.