FERRY-LOVE-BOAT

Chapter 1 - Day 2

The second time I crossed paths with the elegant and mysterious woman on the ferry I was like a real maniac, I followed her steps from afar, saw when she grabbed a coffee and was quick to do the same a little later - without being able to take my eyes off her steps. This morning was not as cold as the day I had first seen her, but it was still quite chilly, and she again chose to sit on one of the benches inside. I decided that I would walk past her and take a seat on the other side of the ferry so that I could look at her beautiful, tanned face - how could she be tan in the middle of winter?

My steps were hard, fast, I wanted to get this over with, have a smooth ride while imagining the kind of life she would have.

And then I stopped.

I stopped because when I passed her, her hand was quick to catch my wrist that was close to my body, and I froze because her touch was warm and soft, very different from what I had previously imagined - not that I had spent much time thinking about what her touch would be like.

-Are you going to stare at me from afar again? - She asked in a strong accent that was impossible to miss before I could fully process her touch on my wrist. - Hello.

-H-Hello. - I stuttered like a child caught with her hand in a cookie jar in the middle of the night, my cheeks feeling warm.

-Well? - She asked again, letting out a giggle that made me look at her face, surrendering to curiosity because I couldn't forgive myself if I had missed the curves her face made when she smiled. - Do you want to sit down?

I'd always been famous for my confidence, and now that I was stepping into the Seattle fire department, I was taking advantage of that enough to get along with a lot of men and women that made my Wednesdays so much more interesting. So, I absolutely hated that this stranger – without even trying – was making me nervous to the point of making me question my self-confidence.

-Yes. - The answer came out in an exhale.

The mysterious woman stepped to the side and gave me room to sit beside her; I slowly did so, not being able to look at her face because she was analyzing me - just as I had done the first time I had seen her, the difference being that she was doing it with a straight face, not caring that I was standing right there beside her - and what could I do but ignore the flush in my cheeks since she'd caught me doing the same thing?

-Is there a reason why you have been watching me from afar since the last time we saw each other? - She asked and drank some of her coffee.

-I've never seen you here before. - I was honest, though not very detailed.

-Do you always take the ferry? - She asked back as I continued to stare at a patch of white paint peeling off the wall in front of me.

-Whenever possible, it's my safe place. - I joked and she laughed, making me look at her face again because after seeing the beautiful outline of her lip when she laughed, it was impossible not to want to see it again.

-So, you don't need the ferry, but you choose to wake up before seven in the morning to be here whenever you can? - The mysterious woman asked beside me before letting out another giggle, at which point I no longer turned away from her face for fear of missing some facial expression I hadn't seen yet. She looked down discreetly as she laughed before throwing her head back slightly and swaying her head from side to side. It was an elegant laugh that suited her.

-I'm a morning person. - I shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal and wished I could look away, but I just couldn't. - And you? What are you doing here so early?

-I'm going on a date. - She answered and sighed.

-Oh. - Of course, a woman like this wouldn't be free and available, and even if I wanted to try something, she was way out of my league. – Nervous about it?

-No, not really. I think I'll do fine. - She shrugged, the accent tickled my ear and I wanted her to be able to speak every single English word ever invented so I could memorize every different intonation she used.

-I'm sure you will. - It was my last sip of my coffee and I'd be without a means of escape from her intense gaze on my face. She looked at me curiously, and the smile faded but didn't leave her face, making me wonder if I was making a fool of myself at that moment.

Before I could process what was happening and could think of anything else to say, the ferry's loud horn along with a brief jolt let us know we'd arrived at Bainbridge.

-Good luck! - I spoke as I stood up to let the mysterious woman out of the bench and she smiled one last time before nodding her head and walking towards the stream of people disembarking.

So, I knew that while very polite, sweet-smelling, and elegant, the mystery woman was also committed to someone - or in the process of committing to someone - and that was a major downside.

So why couldn't I stop thinking that I wanted to take the ferry the next morning to see her again?