"Looking great or not... It is all the same for me."
Bradley smiled. "You are adorable," he kissed the top of her head. "Your sense of humor makes you even more beautiful."
Stefani sighed, feeling glad that she heard it from him. On the other hand, Bradley felt weird after saying that. Why was Bradley acting like that? Like he was falling for her... It was like he couldn't help but say all going through his mind. Telling his feelings wasn't something Bradley enjoyed doing.
They remained quiet for a while, and Bradley still had his arm around her. Stefani sighed once again. It felt great to be so close to him. She wondered if any other man would make her feel that way one day. Maybe not. She smiled, trying to imagine how it would feel to date, someone. Would it be like the moments she was experiencing with Bradley? If dating was like that, she would not regret those past hours.
"Beautiful," Stefani thought. Bradley found her beautiful and made her feel alive. No one ever made Stefani feel that way.
The elevator door opened when they arrived on the ground. Both left it, and Bradley took her outside, not even realizing his friends were sitting in the sand. Mark and Leo stared at each other, surprised by the scene they saw.
"Where is he going? Is that the girl he took out of the sea?"
"Yes," Leo said, making a funny face.
"What is he doing with her?" Mark asked, trying to stare at them, but the sun made it difficult. They noticed Bradley was smiling at the girl.
"No idea!"
"Man... I think Bradley will regret marrying Lauren as soon as he does it."
"Only if he's crazy. Lauren is the hottest woman alive," Leo smiled.
"She might be, but Bradley clearly doesn't love her. Look at the way he is smiling at that girl. He never smiled that way to anyone."
"But Lauren is prettier, classy, successful, and rich," Leo said, and Mark shook his head.
"You are a fucking ass, bro. That's fucked up."
"Bradley is just taking advantage of the poor girl."
"Nah! Bradley is not like that. You are only saying it because she is blind. We are going home tomorrow. I don't think Bradley would do anything to hurt her."
Leo shrugged, not so sure about Mark's thoughts. Both observed Bradley helping Stefani to put the life jacket on before they went inside a boat.
Bradley took them to a beach not far from there, and when they arrived, he helped Stefani to get out of the boat.
"Well... We arrived. That's the beach I found a few days ago."
Bradley said while Stefani took a deep breath as she closed her eyes, feeling the peace around them. She heard the sound of the birds and smiled.
"This is a quiet place."
"It is... And also very beautiful," Bradley said, looking around. Stefani was still smiling.
"Would you mind describing it for me?" she said as she started walking, feeling the waves touching her ankles.
"Mmm... It is not far from the hotel. There's no one here. There are palm trees all over ahead of us. The water looks crystalline."
Stefani sighed, wishing she could see something as she could barely imagine it. All she could see was blurry. Stefani saw the ocean once but could not remember what it looked like. It was still hard for Stefani to accept that she couldn't see.
"Have you ever imagined how it is to be blind?" she asked him while taking off the dress.
"Never."
"I was a child... It was hard for me." Bradley sighed, not sure about what to say or do. "I had to relearn everything."
"I know it is hard, but you can't just give up on living because you can do anything you want. Going out to dance, or meet someone to get married and have babies."
"Getting married?" Stefani laughed. "Who the hell would marry a blind person?"
"Why are you always putting yourself down?" Bradley sounded annoyed. "I think I have never had so much fun as I had with you... And you are... Beautiful. The fact you can't see will never change anything. When we love someone, we only accept them. Well... At least, that's what I think," Bradley shook his head, feeling shy talking about love with Stefani. "You are beautiful, and any man would feel attracted to you. Just like I did before even getting to know you."
Stefani felt her eyes burning. She couldn't imagine someone loving her. She didn't want to have kids and never be able to see what they looked like. That's why Stefani didn't want to fall in love. It was the best for everyone, especially for her.
"I will never fall in love."
"Me neither... I won't fall in love with you."
Bradley mumbled, not realizing what he said out loud. It was supposed to be one thought as he was leaving soon. Stefani was surprised by that line, but she laughed. "Yeah, don't. Just don't."
Still shy about what he said, Bradley hugged Stefani and kissed her, who laughed while kissing him back.
She put her arms around his neck while Bradley took her in his arms, walking far from the boat. He laid Stefani on the sand, observing her face as his heart beat fast. She was still laughing while Bradley admitted that have never felt that way with a woman. But Bradley didn't even know what he felt, exactly.
"I don't think we should get to know each other," Stefani said after she stopped laughing, sliding her fingers on his face.
"Why?"
"Because you are leaving tomorrow, right? Then, it's the end. You have your life, and I have mine. Let's live this moment while we can."
"I don't like this idea. Couldn't you jump into the sea a week earlier?"
Stefani could not help but laugh. Bradley rolled themselves, making her sit on top of him.
