Work Text:
The sun was just beginning to set over the water, waves crashing against the sand in a soothing rhythm. But try as he might, Dave could not stay focused on the gorgeous and relaxing scene before him. The lounge chair was perfectly comfortable, the flavors of his drink were perfectly balanced, and yet his mind was anything but calm.
As the sky's oranges mixed with the deep blues of the ocean, he sipped the frozen beverage through a straw he'd already chewed up. His camera sat, still in its bag, on the sand beside him.
Dave's focus was singular, the kids. He knew they were probably too busy to be thinking about him, but he still worried about not being with them. He had never gone on holiday without them, not even a working holiday like this one. If they'd gone anywhere, it had always been as a family.
He was beating himself up over leaving them with their aunt and uncle. Sure, they had a great weekend planned out, but just because the kids were distracted didn't mean it was okay for him to have left.
The one thing that gave him solace was that he was there for work. In fact, it was a two birds with one stone scenario. He was doing a wedding shoot, and had also worked out a contract with the resort for new promotional photos.
The wedding was the next evening, and he'd spent all day wondering around the resort snapping away. He'd been told by everyone to make sure he made time to relax too, but that part was proving difficult. He pulled out his iPod and scrolled through his library for a minute before giving up and putting the device back into his camera bag.
Forcing himself to stare at the setting sun and the gorgeous colors playing before him, he stared out over the water once more. The scene was disrupted by the silhouette of a person walking along the shore line. His eyes automatically followed the figure, taking in the curves of her chest and backside. Mid-length hair blew out behind her as the wind came in off the water.
Dave was thankful for his sunglasses, not knowing whether she could clearly see him or not in the current lighting. He had to force himself not to turn his head and follow the figure as it continued down the beach past him. He smiled around his straw, his eyes closing and filling in the blanks of her face and clothing. Maybe he could relax after all.
The next day he wandered around the resort again taking photos for brochures, their website, and whatever other advertising they had planned. As the evening drew closer he headed back to his room to change for the wedding. With all his gear he made his way to the beach where a tent had been erected and a few guests were already lingering. He moved through the early arrivals taking some photographs of the decor and a few candids of people talking excitedly.
The ceremony was sweet and Dave found himself comforted by the ages of the bride and groom. Not that he was really actively looking for a new partner, but the reminder that age didn't matter put a smile on his face.
Before the reception dinner he pulled the newlyweds aside for some photos by the water as the sun was setting. They included their wedding party and he made sure to get some fun pictures mixed in with the proper ones.
As he lined up the group for one last pose he paused, his eyes lingering on the shape of the maid of honor. As the wind picked her hair up he instinctively took the photo managing to perfectly capture the moment, no doubt in his mind that this was the same woman he'd seen the night before.
As everyone ate, Dave wandered around, trying and failing to keep his eyes off the beautiful golden haired woman. He took photos of the dances and the cake cutting and speeches before asking the bride, Jacqueline, if there were any other specific shots she wanted. The answer was no, and so his obligation had been fulfilled.
He freed all his equipment, and prepared to head back to his room. He would be heading home the next day, and though he wasn't traveling early he wanted to have his stuff ready.
"Would it be inappropriate to ask the photographer for a dance?" Dave turned to see the beautiful woman he'd been actively not staring at.
"Would it be inappropriate for him to accept?" She smiled at him, a teasing grin with her tongue poking out, and grabbed his hand.
She lead him around the corner of the resort, out of sight but not out of earshot of the music. He didn't waste time, immediately wrapping her up in his arms and setting a rhythm. Her head lowered to his chest and he marveled at the naturalness of the situation.
They swayed until after the music had stopped and he offered to walk her to her room. They collected his cameras where the employees were cleaning up and as they headed toward the room she asked if he'd walk her to his instead.
Once they were inside his room, he had barely sat the bags down before she was back in his arms, this time with her mouth pressed against his. He startled and she backed away, her face cast down, looking up at him through her lashes before he closed the distance between them.
The next morning she woke him with a kiss to his temple and he rolled them over, kissing her proper. In a few hours he had to head home. But for the first time on the trip he wished he could stay longer.
After they ordered breakfast to the room she chewed on her lip before asking him how long he was staying. His answer made her lip quiver, but she just dug her teeth into it harder.
She helped him load his bags onto a trolley and then kissed him again before he walked out the door. He'd left his business card stuffed into one of her shoes. And it wasn't until he was back home that he found hers in the pocket of his suit jacket.