“Ashley King!”
She leaps up and takes off running. I chase after her and get even more excited when I see her stripping off her clothes as she runs. Once she’s nude, she leaps into the water. I follow suit and then swim after her.
“Is that a yes?”
“To what? You getting to dip your brush into my, what, paint? Ew. No. My… I can’t think of anything.”
“Not that. I know that’s a yes.”
“Oh, you do, huh?”
“Yes. But I need a yes to a future of dipping my brush.”
“Ashley King, are you proposing while skinny-dipping and using an analogy of your dick being a paintbrush?”
“It’s the best I can do. I promise to always bring color and to try and create a life you’ll find beautiful.”
She’s thoughtful for a moment, but then a small smile tugs at the corners of her mouth. “Why keep staring at a painting every day of my life when I can have the real thing?”
“That a yes?”
“Yes!” Serenity swims into my arms and whispers, “To pushing the limits and living for the minutes.”
I kiss her, and then I pull away and whisper against her wet lips, “For every day from here on out.”