The Last Thing

They arrived just in time for a sunset surf. Manuel unloaded the boards and gave Keira a little explanation about how the waves work. He has been surfing for most of his life, and she is just getting into it, so she was excited to get coaching from a semi-professional.

They paddled out into the ocean, with the sun in front of them making its way down to sink into the horizon. Keira remembered thinking that she already didn’t want this date to end, she felt so lucky! This morning she was still anxious and nervous about what today would bring her, and now here she was watching the sky turn red on a surfboard with a handsome Mexican surfer guy next to her.

A few hours earlier they had landed on the island with a private plane - something Keira had never even seen in her life before. She thought back to why and how she ended up in this improbable paradise with a guy she barely knew.

It was the best 20 pesos he had ever spent in his life, he had told her later. One dollar… that was what it had cost him to give Keira a Superlike on Tinder.

It took a month for them to meet up, because he was spending his Christmas holidays with his family in another state. It was a month of texting back and forth, which turned into the highlight of her day. Every morning she woke up to ‘buenos dias’ texts from him, and every evening he wished her goodnight.

And just last week she had agreed to be flown to an island she had never even heard about, to spend a weekend with her mysterious Tinder match. Never in her life had she ever considered to spend the night in a hotel on a first Tinder date, let alone be taken to an island far out in the Caribbean Sea. What was she thinking?! She hadn’t even met him yet! She still didn’t know why she agreed to it, but something inside of her told her he was going to be important in her life.

Keira searched for him on the water. He paddled further away into the big waves, so she ended up catching the smaller swell closer to shore. She couldn’t stop looking at him, and every time she caught his eyes, the butterflies in her stomach went crazy. He was a good surfer and he knew it — trying to show off his skills.

When the sun finally disappeared into the ocean, she made her way back to the beach, watching Manuel catch his last wave as well.

Keira stood on the beach like a drowned kitten while he walked towards her with his surfboard under his arm, eyes completely fixed on hers. As he moved closer, the world around her started to disappear. She remembered other people on the beach watching them, as he planted his lips straight on hers without saying a word.

She felt ecstatic — the world didn’t exist anymore. How is this even real?! Can a simple kiss really feel this good?

They walked back to the car and drove to the hotel, which was a beautiful boutique place. When they checked into the room, the awkwardness started. Keira and Manuel both realized that that kiss was the start of a very promising night, but now that they were in the room, they didn’t know what to do.

The bathroom didn’t have a door so Keira had no idea how to proceed with her shower. Her head was spinning:

Should she take her clothes off? Keep her bikini on and ask him to join her?

Manuel felt her doubt and offered to go sit in the common guest area of the hotel to wait for her.

Keira quickly took her shower and walked to the restaurant to join him for dinner. The table was already full with delicious food — fresh sushi and healthy appetizers were waiting for her.

She felt like she was in a movie. She is a budget backpacker, always trying to save as much money as possible, eating street food and sleeping in dorm rooms wherever she can. And now she sat here with an unlimited amount of amazing food in front of her, while having an interesting conversation with a very wealthy guy she met just a couple of hours ago.

They talked about his life, his kids, and his companies. How he felt so stuck in his marriage, and that his wife had grown completely away from him. That the only reason why they were still together was because they didn’t want to put their kids through a painful divorce.

Keira listened carefully to each word he said. It was like she was talking to her own dad, and could finally understand (a bit of) the struggle he went through in his own marriage.

She also told stories about her life. How she had been traveling for years already, and all her friends were starting to get married and pregnant. That she always felt like the “odd one”, not living the life that society demanded of her.

Manuel was intrigued. He had never met a woman who was so independent and had seen the whole world alone already. In Mexico, that was unheard of for a woman to do!

The dinner flew by and Keira and Manuel got more and more into each other. She never dated a married man with multiple companies and such a blazing career. And he never met a girl he could take surfing, have deep conversations with, and who showed him a completely different side of life.

Back in the room, the awkwardness was gone. Their clothes didn’t stay on for long, and the blackness of the room activated all of their senses. He told her he has never felt this way about somebody before.

At that moment, Keira looked into his eyes which had a weird shimmer because of the moonlight. Suddenly, an immense fear of death entered her mind. Her Soul came crashing down hard from the wave of ecstasy it had been on. It was such a profound fear that she couldn’t even breathe anymore.

Never in her whole life did she ever have a feeling that somebody would kill her. Keira started to panic.

Who is this person?? Why does she feel this way? Why is he so into her after just a few hours? Is this what he does — get foreign girls to come to paradise islands to kill them?

She realized how crazy her thoughts were getting, so she pushed them away. At the same time, she still felt this immense connection with him as well. It was like her body and her mind were opposing forces — her body wanting to merge with another human being, and her mind trying to put sense into her.

It was the scariest night of her life.

.......

They slept completely entangled in each other’s arms, even though Keira was still expecting he would strangle her at any moment and take out her organs. Actually, it surprised her that she even woke up in the morning at all, still in a strong, loving embrace with him.

She had decided before she fell asleep that if he really wanted to kill her, it had been worth it. Her life has been amazing so far, and if this is the end, then so be it.

The sunrise started to make its way into their room. Now, in the light, her fear subsided. She looked at his muscly body and couldn’t believe it was her he was into. She was so incredibly attracted to him, and it seemed mutual.

He rolled over on top of her, sat up straight and looked at her. She grabbed his hips - he was so beautiful! She looked up at him. There was that weird shimmer in his gaze again. His soft, brown eyes turned into a darkness that gave Keira chills. Manuel's hand reached to the bedside table, grabbing the vape pen that contained marihuana. He had offered it to her the night before but she had refused, saying she doesn't like smoking.

Now he offered it again, telling her she would be able to relax more. So Keira took a deep inhale, in an attempt to eliminate her fear for him.

Manuel watched her head fall back into the pillows, letting the smoke rush through her veins to calm her down.

This was his moment he had been waiting for.

......

The last thing Keira heard, was a bang so loud it seemed to blow out her ear drums. The next second, Manuel's body fell extremely heavy on top of her - not moving.

She looked down at her chest, watching their blood mix together in an odd red color. It was the last thing she would ever see.

Keira's body was illuminating - all she could sense was love. It was the last thing she would ever feel.

Manuel's body felt like her own. She embraced him. It was the last thing she would ever touch.

Then, she closed her eyes. It was the last thing she would ever remember.