When the Waves Crash (SEQUEL) *ON HOLD*

CH. 4 - Wine Drunk & Swimming Pools

2 ½ Weeks Later

I left work particularly happy that it was Friday and the weekend was finally here. I gazed at the sky as I walked through the parking lot to my car and my phone began to ring in my back pocket.

I pulled my phone out, slowing the pace of my walk as I neared my car. I looked down at my phone screen, involuntarily smiling as I saw Christian's name. I fiddled with my car keys, unlocking the door as I quickly accepted Christian's call.

"Hey Christian." I cheerfully answered as I got inside my car, placing my purse onto the passenger seat.

"Hey, guess who's finally situated in Austin!" I laughed at how animated his voice was. "Finally, I've been waiting for you to get here!" I playfully teased. "When did you arrive?" I asked, adjusting my phone against my ear as I started my car.

"Three days ago. I had to give myself some time to organize myself and settle down. Moving in is always so exhausting." He sighed.

"I can imagine." I nodded, placing my phone in my cup holder as it finally connected to my car's Bluetooth.

I glanced at the clock seeing it was 6:12pm. "Hey, so, if it's not too late, do you mind if I come over?" I nervously bit my lip, waiting for his response.

Christian softly chuckled and I relaxed as I knew he was gonna say yes. "That's fine Nadia, I don't mind at all."

Christian's voice was so soothing.

"Guess what?" I bashfully smiled.

He chuckled again. "What?"

"I got you some housewarming gifts."

...

I arrived at Christian's house around 7:30pm. I didn't want to show up in my work clothes so I went home to quickly change. Plus, I left his gifts in my closet so either way I had to go back home.

I closed my car door, locking it as I gazed at myself through the car window. I briefly fluffed my hair out and tugged at my simple, yet cute burgundy top. I smiled at myself, content with my appearance.

I followed the pathway to the front door, silently admiring the lavish exterior of his house. I stepped up onto the brick doorstep, gently pushing the doorbell. I wondered if he could see me through the decorative glass design on the front door. I glanced down at my beige heels, waiting for the door to open.

The door clicked and I quickly looked up, seeing Christian's faint figure through the frosted glass. He pulled the door open and I brightly smiled at him like a giddy teenager.

"Hey Nadia, come on in." He kindly smiled back at me. I stepped inside and Christian pulled me into a quick side hug as he closed the front door with his other arm. I could smell his cologne that I loved so much.

I excitedly lifted the gift bag in my hands. "Do you wanna see what I got you?" Christian grinned. "Sure." Christian began to walk away from the foyer towards the living room and I followed him like a lost puppy.

I pulled out a three-wick candle from the gift bag. "Candles always make homes cozier and who doesn't love candles?" Christian's mouth curved up into a smile as he leaned against the wall in front of me. "It's beach sage and mint to remind you of California." I held the candle up to his nose as he took a whiff.

His face lit up and he glanced at me. "That actually smells really good." I smiled, mentally applauding myself for picking a good scent. He took the candle from my hand as I took out another gift. Christian softly laughed, placing the candle down on the kitchen island. "You got me something else?" He playfully raised an eyebrow at me.

I lightly scoffed. "Yeah, of course. Look," I unwrapped two drinking glasses that were designed with intricate map layouts of a city. "One glass is a layout of San Jose and the other one is of Austin." I beamed.

Christian gently took the glasses from my hands, closely gazing at the map designs on each glass. His eyes landed on me; his smile still plastered on his face. "Nadia this is sick, oh my god, thank you." He put the glasses down, walking over to me and wrapped me into a hug. "I'm glad you like them." I giggled in his embrace.

We pulled away at the same time and I took out the last gift in the bag. "I thought wine would be something nice," I held the neck of the bottle in my hand. "It's a cabernet sauvignon, I thought that was a safe choice, also you look like a guy who likes dry wine." I continued to ramble as Christian amusingly looked at me.

"Thank you Nadia, really." He chuckled placing a hand on my shoulder. "I appreciate the gifts." He smiled. We strolled over to the kitchen and I took a seat at the kitchen island, placing the wine bottle down. I looked around at the couple of moving boxes still sprawled out in the living room. The open kitchen concept was nice. The granite countertops and dark cabinets were sleek.

"Your house is so pretty." I whispered in awe.

I heard a loud pop and quickly turned my head towards Christian, seeing he had opened the wine bottle I gifted him. "Thank you." He grinned at me replying to my compliment as he approached me with two wine glasses in his hand. "It's still a work in progress, as you can see some boxes still laying around but it'll all come together eventually."

He poured the wine into the glasses and I picked mine up, cheerfully smiling at him. He raised his glass up. "To new beginnings. I hope this city treats me well." "Cheers." We smiled at each other, clinking our glasses before taking a sip.

"Oh!" Christian exclaimed, walking over to the oven. "I made salmon, would you like some?"

...

I held my wine glass loosely in my hand as I sat on the couch in the dimly lit living room with Christian. I forgot cabernet sauvignon's alcohol content was a bit on the high side compared to other wines. And I was sitting way too close to Christian.

"The salmon was really nice, thank you Christian." I tilted my head, lazily smiling at him.

"Of course, no problem." He flashed a toothy grin at me.

Was he just as tipsy as me?

Christian took a deep breath. "Nadia, my parents are coming over next weekend. I thought we could talk about finding Maia then."

I quickly nodded. "Yeah, yeah, that's fine. I think that's a good idea." I gazed at the windows behind him, seeing the faint reflection of water outside. "No way," I playfully hit his chest, standing up as I placed my glass down on the coffee table. "You didn't say you had a pool?"

Christian softly chuckled at my behavior and I rushed over to the back door, swinging it open as I stepped out onto the patio.

Oh, his pool was nice.

I excitedly ran over to the edge, dipping my foot in the cool water.

"Nadia, what are you doing?" Christian jogged over to me. "C'mon, let's go back inside."

I playfully tugged on his arm. "Let's go swimming." I giggled. Christian shook his head at me, lightly smiling. "I think you had a little too much to drink." "So did you." I shot back. "C'mon Christian." I playfully extended my leg back over the water.

Stupidly enough, my balance shifted and I gasped, losing my footing.

Christian reflexively grabbed me by the waist pulling me towards his body. My breath hitched from being pressed against him and he looked down at me.

My eyes met with his and he took a quick moment to glance down at my lips, making my heart beat faster.

I knew he wouldn't kiss me now knowing I was still with Leo, but god I really wanted to feel his lips on my own.

"See why I said let's go back inside?" He faintly smirked. "Don't get into trouble Nadia."

...
Don't get into trouble indeed...
Thanks for reading! Feel free to leave a vote if you enjoyed this chapter! :)