Darla walked over to the bonfire with a cold beer in her hand as she enjoyed the aroma of the fire surrounded by the soft, night waves of the ocean. She brought the beer over to Peter while he played bluegrass music on his guitar. The sun had set; the beach was vacant at this hour, and it was only the two of them, just how she preferred it.

Darla looked at Peter’s handsome face and how content he was with playing guitar by the bonfire as he smiled at her with his eyes. She smiled right back as she roasted a marshmallow, one of her favorite summer pastimes, reminding her of her childhood. Whereas the smell of a bonfire made her think of Peter, the distant smell of saltwater made her think of someone else: Lucio.

The sun was setting on the beach in Formentera when Lucio first set eyes on Darla. He was lost and just looking for someone who could help him find his way back to the hotel where his friends were. He had been walking for a long time on an apparently deserted beach until he saw Darla swimming. He was happy to see someone to help him finally, and as he got closer, even happier to see that she was a beautiful woman.

He walked closer to talk to her, and she turned around, very startled and somewhat bashful. He had immediately realized why when he saw that she was nude in the ocean. He then quickly turned away awkwardly and apologized. Although Darla wanted to get angry since Lucio was trespassing on private property, she couldn’t help but laugh because his awkward reaction was hilarious. There was something very comedic about him that made him appealing to her, so she just asked him for her towel and smiled. He smiled back, handed her the towel, and turned away for a moment.

Once Darla was covered and out of the ocean, Lucio was able to introduce himself properly, and she let him know that he was on private property, her family’s summer home, which was inherited from her grandmother, who was from Formentera. Lucio quickly learned that she was American but spoke Italian, which made communicating easier. Darla’s father was from Rome, and so was Lucio, so they had something in common, along with musical taste, which made Lucio think that this would be the perfect opportunity to go to one of his favorite places, Ibiza, which was just a boat ride away!

Lucio was enchanted with Darla and had forgotten completely about finding his friends. He was enjoying the moment and had invited her to go with him to Ibiza that night. She, on a whim, accepted his invitation and went back to her home to get ready and change. She invited him in to wait for her, hoping that there would be no further implications.

Darla thought Lucio was cute and funny, but had her own relationship drama that she was dealing with back home in Florida, so she did not want to start anything with anyone else, especially abroad and especially not with someone much younger than her, like Lucio. She did love to dance, though and wanted to go to Ibiza, but she didn’t want him to know much about her, so she told him her name was Dina. Dina was actually her grandmother’s name.

Darla and Lucio danced and drank the whole night in Ibiza until they both fell asleep on the beach. Darla woke up the next morning to the sound and smell of the ocean with her head on Lucio’s chest. She couldn’t recollect anything intimate happening between them, but asked Lucio as he was waking up. He said to her, “Unfortunately, nothing happened. I tried to kiss you last night, but you turned away. It’s alright; we had a fun night otherwise.”

Darla felt that she owed him an explanation, so she explained that she was in a relationship that she was trying to end and didn’t want to start anything romantic with anyone before resolving her situation.

Lucio thought quickly as he didn’t want Darla to walk away from the beach (and him) and never see her again. He then smiled and said, “Wait, but what’s wrong with just making a new friend?” He wrote his number on a piece of paper, gave it to her, and said that if she ever wanted to talk to him about anything, she could call him. She took the piece of paper, said goodbye, and walked away.

At that point in her recollection, Darla directed her thoughts back to Peter on the beach. Still, she couldn’t help but think about how she should have just thrown that piece of paper away as she remembered all the suffering she endured in her relationship with Lucio.

Darla had no remorse or regret about how she left Lucio. She felt it was a well-deserved ending to a tormented love affair. Her only sadness was leaving Rome so abruptly. She left a place she truly loved. It upset her not to know when she would or if she could ever return there.

As she rested her head on Peter’s shoulder and listened to him play music, she felt so connected to him and at peace, a euphoric feeling that she had never felt before. There wasn’t any nostalgia that could override this feeling; it was above all of that. She no longer needed to run because she found the perfect place to stop.