21st Century Knight

Chapter 5 Across the Ocean

Gabriella got startled and looked up in surprise as Brandon came and sat down beside her.

"Brandon! I hoped you would come here." His eyes brightened upon hearing her warm response. He smiled, showing her his shiny white pearls, thrilled when he heard she had been waiting for him.

"Really? I'd have come earlier if I knew you were waiting for me," he smirked. Gabriella twisted her lips.

"Don’t get the wrong idea. It’s just that I was so surprised when I woke up this morning that I didn’t even know that you had left."

"I see. Did you worry about me?" he asked suavely.

"Nooo…" she dragged, "only… I never got to thank you. I mean you did save me. It may have seemed like nothing much to you, but it wasn’t 'nothing' to me. I really wanted to thank you." He sat silent for a moment. He didn’t expect gratitude like this, not from her.

"I didn’t say it was 'nothing' for me either," he said in a low voice. Gabriella felt awkward.

"O-kay, then. I said what I had to, so…" she got up to leave, hesitating a little.

"Hey wait, don’t leave. I went up to your office to ask for you and here you are. Don’t go already." He sounded wistful. Gabriella sat back down.

"You went up to my office again? Oh no!" Gabriella looked horrified.

"Relax, I didn’t make a scene." Brandon smiled in amusement. "I just asked the counter girl. She said you’d left. I guess your ankle is still sore?"

"A little, but I walked it off." He looked down at her ankle, then noticed the forgotten hotdog in his hand. He lifted it to her.

"You want a bite of this? I know it’s ironic that I’m offering you something you detest for ruining your dress –"

"No thanks, vegetarian, remember?"

"Ah, right."

"Why were you looking for me anyway? She asked, as they started walking up the path after the hotdog.

"Uh, I just wanted to… make sure your ankle was okay."

"Yeah, sure, you expect me to believe that?" she laughed. He liked the sound of that. A cherry of a dimple appeared in her cheek and his eyes fixated on it with fascination.

"Where are you going now?" he asked, lifting his eyes to hers.

"Home. I got the day off."

"Want to… go someplace fun?" His question surprised her.

"Don’t you have work or something?" she asked. "Surely rich people have work too."

"Not today. So, you game?" Gabriella contemplated.

"Maybe," She mumbled.

"Maybe? Is it hard to say, ‘sure I’d love to?’" he teased. She rolled her eyes.

"Don’t get cocky. Let’s go." They strolled rather slowly to Brandon’s car, feeling a little awkward at the silence that fell between them.

"By the way, I’m really sorry for my outburst yesterday," Gabriella said abashedly.

"It wasn’t your fault. I didn’t think I offended you that much. But you really should learn to swim, you know. What if you had fallen in with no one around?"

"I don’t usually go near the sea. In fact, that was the first time I ever fell in water."

"Why? Are you hydrophobic?" he asked with a laugh.

"No, but you never know how many germs there are in water that doesn’t come out from filtered pipes." Gabriella said with a shudder.

"Ah, so you're a germ-o-phobic." Brandon grinned.

"That’s not even a word," Gabriella said, rolling her eyes.

"Sure it is."

"No, it’s spelled G-e-r-m-a-p-h-o-b-i-c."

"Oh. Okay. So you’re admitting you are one?" he asked slyly.

"I – ugh, no!" She choked in irritation. He could be infuriating sometimes. "And I'm not afraid, I just don’t like pools ever since… well, something that happened when I was little."

"Then you’re afraid of the beach?"

"No. I just haven’t been to one." She bit her lip. She hadn’t meant for that to come out.

"What?! Unbelievable. Come on, we’re going right now." They got in the car and Brandon drove off.

"How did you learn to drive like that?"

"Like what?"

"Like a pro, I guess. Where I come from, the rides are pretty bumpy."

"Oh that. After I got my driver’s license, I used to drive my mom around. I couldn’t go on joyrides because she had been sick, but she didn’t want me to go too slow either. So I learned to combine speed and smoothness thanks to her. That and the fact that this is a type S Acura, one of the smoothest sports models."

"A what?"

"Really? You’ve never heard of an Acura?"

"Is that the name of this car?"

"Well, yeah, it’s a pretty big brand. Wow, I guess you don’t know cars, huh?"

"I come from Kansas – there, the only cars you really need to know are tractors. And the subway suffices for the city."

"I suppose that's true," Brandon observed with a nod. "You like speed?" he asked after a moment.

"Not really. I’ve heard of way too many accidents and deaths from speeding, so I’ve always been averse to it." Gabriella answered truthfully.

"I understand. I like to go fast, but I guess the rules are there for a good reason."

"Yeah."

They drove silently for a minute before Brandon spoke again.

"Want to hear some music? You can pick the channel."

"Sure." She pressed the ‘next’ button for the stations until a light upbeat song set her foot to the beat. It was a very summery song, with rhythmic beats and youthful freshness. It was perfect for a sunny summer drive.

"Nice song. What’s it called?"

"Across the oceans. By 'New Empire'."

"I like it." Brandon smiled. Gabriella closed her eyes and listened in contentment, her foot tapping to the beat, enjoying the feeling of relaxing. Brandon glanced at her, with a look that would have made her blush. He felt his heart skip a beat. Quickly he blinked and turned to the road. She certainly had an effect on him that she didn't know about; he couldn’t afford to let her see his eyes, which would give him away.

"Here we are, Orchard beach," he said when they came to a stop.

"Wow, I’ve never seen it up close." Gabriella gazed past the shoreline, down the sandy shore, and across the waters.

"Then where have you seen it from?"

"On the map. On Google maps," she joked. He laughed.

"Well, this is the real thing." He helped her out of the car.

"Smell that? That’s real salty air. You don’t get that from Google maps." She sniffed daintily.

"Smells… nice. I’ve never smelled it before." They walked down the soft golden powder that gave a little way beneath their shoes.

"This sand should be comfy to your ankle. Not like the hard concrete." Brandon said as they strolled along.

They found a nice empty patch away from anybody else and sat down. Brandon stretched out his legs and supported himself on his arms from behind. The relaxed posture suited him. He looked like he was at ease and carefree, somewhat boyish with a touch of something that a teenage girl would call ‘hotness’. Gabriella sat next to him with her knees up, her arms wrapped around them. She gazed out into the blue horizon, letting the sun warm her cheeks.

"Have you been here often?" she asked Brandon.

"Yeah, my parents and I used to live near the sea. After we moved to the city, my mom missed the oceanic view, so we came here every Sunday after church. It became a tradition."

"That sounds nice."

"What?"

"You go to church together, then a family outing." She sighed and looked wistful. She missed her family back home.

"Hey, are you alright?" he looked concernedly at her from the side.

"I’m fine." She rested her chin on her knees.

"It’s pretty early," Brandon said, looking at his watch. "It gets better around six when the sun sets."

"It’s fine. I like just sitting here, the sunshine feels nice." She lifted her face, letting the light warm it. He raised an eyebrow.

"You are an unusual girl, Gabriella." He didn’t say it teasingly, rather he sounded intrigued.

"How so?"

"I've seen a lot of girls wear so much sunscreen it adds a little volume to their faces and girls who wear hats, glasses and carry umbrellas thinking the sun might burn through the first layer of the umbrella. But you just let the sun hit you full in the face." She nodded after blinking, trying to understand what he was getting at.

"I love sunshine. After I came to the city, I barely got much of it. Back home, it was as common as oxygen. But here, it's a luxury. I can never get enough of it." Brandon gazed intently at her. Her vivid personality and bright outlook attracted him.

"You do look beautiful with the light on your cheeks." he blurted out suddenly. She opened her eyes in surprise. That was completely unexpected. Realizing he had given himself away, he quickly got up, clearing his throat, trying to change the subject.

"There’s an ice cream cart. I’ll go get us some." He stood up, dusted his pants off, and walked up the beach.

Gabriella was still stunned. She stared at a point in the sand, wondering if he said what he meant. She had never in her life been called beautiful by a guy. The best compliment she ever received was that she was clever in school. She had always considered herself ordinary compared to a lot of other girls. Her honey-gold hair, too dark to be called blond and too light to be called brown, was straight with little curves turning in at the ends, brushing past her shoulders. She had ordinary hazel eyes, straight lashes, matching eyebrows, and an insignificant nose. Her lips were slightly full and turned upward. She didn’t have any strong or striking features or any contouring shadows. Her cheekbones didn’t stand out; her chin had a slight point. She was an average five foot four. And yet a guy called her beautiful!

Brandon came back later and sat down next to her, thinking she probably forgot all about his little spur-of-the-moment compliment.

"Whew, you wouldn’t believe the line! Even though it’s a weekday, people still come here to relax and enjoy a pistachio butterscotch cone." She took her cone silently, pressing her lips to the cold creamy scoop.

"What's the matter? Don’t you like it?"

"Sure, I do." She looked at him from the corner of her eye, still pondering on his words from earlier. He seemed to concentrate on finishing his ice quickly.

"Don’t do that, you’ll get –" but she stopped because he let out a yell.

"Oooh, ah! Brain freeze!" He rubbed his temple with one hand. She took the cone out of his other hand.

"Rub with both of them," she commanded. He followed her advice.

"Any particular reason for giving yourself a brain freeze?" she asked.

"Er, it was really tasty so I… had to eat it quickly?" he said feebly. She laughed.

"You are one terrible liar," she teased. He grinned back. They ate slowly after that.

"Hey, you’ve got a little smear on your… right there." He came close, his thumb wiping the edge of her lip. His aquamarine eyes, as blue as the ocean in front of her, were again too close for her. She felt heat rise to her cheeks at his touch. He continued to look at her, wondering why she was blushing. She couldn't be reacting to him, could she? He wondered.

"Come on, I didn’t bring you here just to look at the ocean." He stood up in front of her after they finished, offering his hands to help her up.

"No, no, I’m fine right here, I'm not really a water person as you noticed, by now." She excused herself hurriedly. He took hold of her hands, unwrapped them from her knees, and pulled her up easily. Not expecting him to have enough strength to pull her weight, (after all, looking at him, he was very light and slender) she was surprised when she felt herself lift up too quickly and stumbled into him, her hands supporting herself on his chest.

She was shocked at finding herself pressed against a wall of firm muscle. She could feel the light pumping of his heart through his shirt. She sucked in a breath, and pushed away in embarrassment, trying to steady her breath. He blinked in confusion.

"You sure are light, you know that?"

"And you’re not as light as you look," she said giddily. She felt uncomfortable after being so close to him like that.

"Come on, let’s at least go to the edge of the waves," Brandon said, brushing off the moment. Gabriella nodded, glad he was distracted. They took off their shoes and left them near the fence. She walked a little behind him until he entered the water. He rolled up his pants and hopped madly in the curling froth.

"Gabriella, aren’t you coming?"

"No way! I’m wearing stockings!"

"You can dry them off in the car later, come on!" he came up to her and pulled her gently onto the shoreline.

"Oh my gosh! Oh wow, that cold!" she gasped and laughed as she stepped into the water, the waves playfully tickling her ankle, the sand slipping under her stockings. Brandon looked playfully at her and took her hand. They ran through the waves, Gabriella moving slowly because of her ankle. It was getting near sunset.

"All that running made me thirsty! I’m going back now." Gabriella turned back to leave. Brandon followed right behind her. Brandon bought them lemonade from a stall and sat down on a nearby bench.

"That was actually… amazing. Especially since it was the first time I ever did that." Gabriella admitted happily.

"Good. I hope I changed your mind about hating water."

"Mmm-mmm." Brandon closed the bottle and crushed it before tossing it neatly into the trash can nearby. He let out a content sigh before turning to her.

"Gabriella?"

"Yes?"

"I was wondering… would you like to go out on a date?" That was unexpected. She swallowed quickly and choked. He immediately patted her on the back until she stopped coughing.

"Okay, remind me to never ask you that again when you have something in your mouth," he said warily. She giggled weakly and bit her lip.

"I don’t understand how you can ask me that. One minute you splatter me with fast food, another minute you call me drama queen, the next you save me from drowning, and now you want to go on a date with me? I mean, can you imagine what the rest of a relationship that started like that would be?" Gabriella observed skeptically. Brandon smiled, as though all that didn’t bother him.

"So, putting the distant future aside, will you go out with me?" he asked again.

"Um… I don’t know… I don’t even get why you would want to go out with me. And we barely know each other."

"Won’t you give me a chance? To get to know you more?" his blue eyes looked earnestly into her face.

"Well, we kind of just went on one date. I mean, isn’t this the sort of place people go to get to know each other?"

"Yes but…" he debated that for a moment. "Given the option, would you go out with me a second time?" she turned away from his gaze, debating what answer.

"Yes." She mumbled shyly, making him smile in satisfaction. Maybe their relationship wasn't off to a bad start after all. And across the ocean, in the vast gold and blue horizon, Brandon saw hope.