The amulet had brought her so much possibility, and the freedom to avoid second guessing herself. Hanna hummed. "Let's go to the beach," she decided, even though she had previously been pining for the boardwalk. If this conversation on the beach went well, then they would surely head to the boardwalk afterwards — if she played her cards right, she could surely talk to him all night.

Hanna started towards the beach, glancing back over her shoulder at Mr. Hudson with a playful smile.

  

It was going to be like that then? Dean grinned and followed off after Miss Applegate, trotting along and catching up quickly. That look over her shoulder was encouraging. Maybe some shenanigans were in his future. This section of the beach, especially the further they walked, was a little more deserted and therefor a little more fun.

Dean fell into step beside her, perhaps a bit closer than he would have normally, just testing the boundaries a little to see if she minded him being in her personal space. "I wonder what's out this way?" He'd only heard of some of the amenities that the resort had to offer, but hadn't yet investigated himself. At the very least, he could satiate that curiosity today.

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He was walking closer to her than he had at the ball in February; there was a thrill in Hanna’s heart. Mr. Lochrin’s amulet was working! It occurred to her that she had never really been alone with a man before, at least not like this — but that was also thrilling, because she was sure to marry Mr. Hudson with the amulet on her side. Her movements mirrored his; a subtle, small change in the gap between them, like they were confidantes.

”I’ve heard there’s bathing machines for swimming,” she said, ”But they must put those away at night. Lounge chairs, perhaps?”

  

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set by Bee

Lots of possibilities then. Dean noticed Miss Applegate did not move away, instead stayed quite close. With a grin, he casually let his fingers brush against hers, but brought no further attention to it. "Hmm, I feel like this will be a good investigation to another future visit." If he didn't get himself into too much trouble today. He cast a quick glance over his shoulder, but didn't see anyone else for a good while.

"Alright Miss Applegate, this is your adventure, what next?"  He said as he looked over at her, a mischievous grin tugging at the corners of his lips. Dean was a scamp, but not a complete degenerate, he would let her set the tone.

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Mr. Hudson asked her what she wanted to do next, and Hanna was conflicted — it felt as if there were several directions the night could go, and she was not entirely aware of what they were. She blinked at him, wide eyed, and then made a decision — she sat down on the sand, skirts spread around her haphazardly. Hanna reached up to offer Mr. Hudson a hand and said, ”Now we sit and take a beat.”

  

Well, that was unexpected. As Miss Applegate took her seat on the sand, Dean looked around again with a laugh before joining her. He swung off his jacket, not wanting to get that too dirty and set it aside. Then he lounged back, legs stretched out before him, leaning on one elbow to look at her, the epitome of relaxed. "It is a spectacular view." He said as he glanced out at the ocean, but was mostly looking at her. Dean knew very well how to lay it on thick and something told him that Miss Applegate was new to this sort of adventure.

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He looked so relaxed. Hanna could not remember the last time she had been as relaxed as he was; she did not think that anyone in the Applegate family had been this relaxed in a decade. And he was looking at her, and she was looking back at him, and her heart felt fast and excited and hopeful. She had gotten so used to being so nervous for so long, with a certain sense of failure for her marriage prospects, and the amulet had given her hope. But what did she say?

"I'm — I've never been kissed," Hanna blurted, cheeks flushing with embarrassment. 

  

Dean managed to contain the laugh that threatened to bubble up. He'd gathered that Miss Applegate, though he didn't mind, was a little socially awkward and her forthright admission merely confirmed his theory. "Is that an invitation?" He grinned slyly at her. As unscrupulous as he could be, Dean only broke the rules with those willing to do so. Usually he went on body language, but it appeared Miss Applegate needed a little bit more of a direct approach.

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It was a good thing that it was dark out, because if Mr. Hudson could see how embarrassed she was Hanna thought that she might just die. It was lucky that she was going to marry him — especially because Hanna had thought at times that she would die having never been kissed by another person.

Scared her words would get away from her, Hanna nodded, and leaned a few inches forward in invitation.

  

The glow of the party behind her was forgiving in keeping anything too exaggerated from focus. He could see her well enough to see her lean in and that was all Dean needed to take the plunge.

He shifted so he was sitting up better, making it easier to meet her in the middle. Going in with the knowledge that this was her first kiss should have given him pause, but Dean didn't usually exhibit impulse control and he wasn't afraid of doing a little teaching either. He gently slid one hand behind her neck before increasing the intensity of the kiss.

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He was kissing her! His lips were warm, and his beard scraped against her face in a pleasing way. The hand at the back of her neck told Hanna that more touch was allowed — nervous, but inspired, she reached out to grasp onto the lapels of his coat.

  

Dean grinned to himself as he felt her hands on his lapel. She was getting the hang of it pretty quickly and Dean was just as content with a good makeout session as he was with anything else. Any way to get out some pent up energy was really fine with him. He had no expectations here, so he would let her decide what she was comfortable with. Even so, he pushed back a little, trying to get them in a position more conducive to their activities.

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Hanna had always thought about kissing in a clinical way; she was surprised that she was actually enjoying this. Warmth spread through her where Hudson touched; through her hands from his lapels, through her face from his lips, through her neck from his hand holding her close. She was no longer nearly as self-conscious as she usually was, and accepted his direction, pulling on his lapels, until he was essentially on top of her on the sand.

  

Amused by her enthusiasm, Dean allowed himself to be pulled down as she eased back into the sand. He kept most of his weight on his own arm so as not to squish her, but he let his other hand wander a little, down over her shoulder to her waist, pulling her against him a little bit more fully. He was interested to test a shallow boundary and leaned back just enough to let his lips travel over her jaw and down her neck as far as the neckline of her dress would allow.

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Lochrin's amulet said that they were going to marry; she was thrilled for the intimacy with Mr. Hudson. The lips to her neck startled Hanna out of her reverie about her future, though — they caused tingles to go down her neck and goosebumps to appear on her arms. On instinct, she gasped, and arched her hips up towards him.

  

He couldn't help but to chuckle against her skin at her reactions. Her inexperience was evident, but not in a bad way. People who weren't as comfortable in situations like this tended to either overthink it, or let their body do the reacting for them, which was where she was at. Despite his amusement, his was also doing the same and so he let that hand at her waist wander down, pulling her leg up over his, fingertips sliding beneath her skirts to brush along her leg, still testing the waters.

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