The beach was quiet under the silver gaze of the moon, waves kissing the shore in a slow, steady rhythm like a heartbeat echoing in the sand.
Cleo and Riz walked barefoot, fingers laced, their formal dinner clothes now replaced with loose linen and soft cotton. Their skin was still warm from the day's sun, their hearts still full from the ceremony that had made them husbands.
The resort lights glowed softly in the distance, but here, in this private cove they'd stumbled on by accident, it was just them and the sea.
Riz stopped walking and turned toward Cleo. "You remember that night at the retreat?" he asked, voice low, close.
"The first kiss?" Cleo asked, stepping closer.
Riz nodded, the corners of his lips tugging up. "Yeah. I thought my heart was going to explode. It's doing the same thing now."
Cleo leaned in, hands resting on Riz's hips. "Want me to fix that?"
Riz laughed—but it faded when Cleo kissed him. Deeply. Slowly. Like they had all the time in the world.
The kiss tasted of sea salt and champagne, of years of longing finally given a name. Cleo's fingers tangled in Riz's shirt, tugging him closer until their bodies pressed flush together.
The night was warm, but Riz shivered when Cleo's lips traveled to his neck, soft and teasing. "Cleo..." he whispered, eyes fluttering closed.
They sank into the sand, wrapped in each other. Cleo's hands explored with reverence, tracing the lines of Riz's back, his ribs, the sharp edge of his jaw. Riz tugged Cleo's shirt up and off, marveling at the softness he found underneath the guarded exterior.
"You're so beautiful," Riz murmured, hands stroking along Cleo's chest.
Cleo breathed out, voice husky, "Only for you."
The moonlight bathed them in silver as they kissed again—slower this time, with the kind of intimacy that said *I know you. I love you. I'm yours.*
Their movements became a dance in the sand—exploring, discovering, claiming. Cleo whispered Riz's name like a prayer, while Riz held Cleo like he was holding something sacred.
The sea roared quietly behind them as their bodies moved in sync, pressed close, breath mingling. Every sigh was a love letter. Every touch, a memory.
When they finally stilled, wrapped in one another, the stars burned a little brighter.
Cleo lay back, pulling Riz into his arms. "This feels like a dream," he murmured against Riz's hair.
"It's not," Riz whispered back. "It's us. Finally."
They stayed like that, tangled in warmth and love, until the tide crept close to their toes and the moon dipped lower, as if the sky itself wanted to tuck them in.