21st Century Knight

Chapter 5 Across the Ocean

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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 up on 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 this morning 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." 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 to 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 detested for ruining you 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?"