Just a Number (Downtown #1) by Fifi Flowers

hotel’s complimentary jeeps, and headed for one of my favorite beaches down the coast. I needed a little quiet time away from the resort. With all the pending changes about to take place in my life, I had a lot to think through. Not to mention the added yoga poses I needed to review.
    Out on the beach, I dropped a towel on the sand, and sat cross-legged. Situated, I pulled out a green veggie shake courtesy of the juice bar, and opened my journal. My hand scripted all of the thoughts that had been playing out in my head. A creative ramble, along with some business ideas. I hoped that, at least, one of them made sense in the end.
    Taking a break from the volumes I had written, I stretched my arms. I looked out to the ocean; it appeared to be moving violently off in the distance, getting ever closer to the shore. Into my line of vision, a dark-haired woman with gorgeous curves wandered. Of course, I thought of her. Shaking my head, I closed my eyes and when I opened them, she was gone just like the woman earlier. Was I seeing things? More specifically, was I imagining her in every brunette I saw? A woman had been standing there, right?
    I wasn’t hallucinating. The woman was being tossed in the surf. On my feet, I rushed to the water.
    And just like that, in the snap of a finger, she disappeared with a gust of wind that had me shutting my eyes. Fighting to open them, I saw a flash of her limbs. Then, she was gone again. Reappearing with just her head up, she had drifted down the shore.
    As I moved toward her, she went under again. I was about to go in, but I wasn’t sure where she was going to resurface. Wild winds were whipping up the sand and swirling the ocean. I had never seen anything like it. I felt hopeless, waiting.
    Crawling out from the water on hands and knees, yet farther down, she collapsed on her belly. Face-planted into the sand with her hair cascading around her head like a shield, I quickly reached down and pulled her up to a standing position. Steadying her on her feet, a gust of wind threw sand up and nearly knocked us down. Tucked into my side, I guided her away from the water before we were both captured by the raging sea. “Are you okay?”
    With her head down and her hair stuck to her face, she nodded. Even though she had not spoken, it appeared she had not taken in water during her oceanic tumble— Thank . God.
    “Where is your stuff? We need to get off the beach before the sand rips our flesh open.” We were being sandblasted unmercifully.
    With her petite hand, she brushed her hair up, looked around, and pointed to a crumpled up towel. Still holding on to her. I tried to shield her from the sand storm as we retrieved her bag that was weighing down the towel. “Let me get you to your car and I’ll come back for my stuff.”
    “I don’t have a car.” Hearing her voice my whole body shuddered.
    Ignoring the reaction, I headed toward my belongings. “Let me grab my…” It appeared my towel had sailed away. Only my sackpack remained with my journal and drink shaker sitting on top. Quickly packing my stuff in the bag, I swung it onto my back and re-engaged my arm around the beauty, and we pushed against the swirling wind that was embedding sand into our skin painfully.
    Reaching the parking lot, I hurried us to the jeep. Inside, away from the abusive sand, I began to question her as she removed a cover-up out of her bag and pulled it over her head. “How did you get here? Live nearby?”
    Turned in my direction, it was then that her hair was completely off of her face and I saw the icy-blue eyes that had been haunting my every thought. It was also at that moment that all air escaped my lungs. I gasped, noticeably.
    “Are you alright?” A worried voice matched her expression.
    “I’m fine… better than fine. You’re staying at the resort?”
    “I’m Willow. You’re the yoga god—I mean yogi,” she quickly corrected herself. I smiled at the blush heating her cheeks.
    “Yes. Dash. How