She Is The Sea (A Brucandy Story)

Making It Work (Pt 2)

I thought I'd split this into two parts. This half is more montage-y, so it helps if you listen to fun, romantic music while reading it. It can be whatever song comes to mind (though while writing, I mostly listened to Lauv). Enjoy!

The next couple of weeks went by much smoother. Brandy and Spruce made sure to see each other more often (without conflicting their work schedules, that is. The mission was still the mission).

Their second date was more simple and less chaotic than their first. A quiet picnic on a no-so-quiet beach. Well, it felt quiet to Spruce because being around someone as special as Brandy easily drowned out everything else. Afterwards, they went into a photo booth and made goofy faces, including “rotting zombie" and “sexy baby." Spruce attempted to briefly flash his abs in one picture, but felt disappointed that the camera flash failed to highlight them. Brandy, however, thought the photos were still cute.

On their third date, Brandy noticed a group of kids attempting to roast marshmallows over a bonfire, only for them to get burnt. With Spruce right beside her, she decided to show them how it was done.

“See, guys? Not too close to the flames," she explained. “Keep turning until it's a nice even brown all over."

“Thank you, Miss Brandy!" the kids said politely. Spruce smiled dreamily at his newfound love as she offered him a bite of marshmallow. Brandy giggled at the sight of some of it ending up sticking around his mouth like a goatee. After she wiped it clean with her giant finger, Spruce gently took it and gave her a sweet kiss on the back of her hand. Brandy shyly looked away as she felt her cheeks heat up.

On the days they didn't go out, Brandy still visited Spruce's room at the hotel every morning before he left for the coffee shop, often dropping him off one of her homemade lunches. And when his shift ended, Spruce would stop by the bar to see Brandy and ask about her day.

During another date, Spruce took Brandy to a carnival and tried his hand at a ball toss game. After four perfect throws with his hair, he managed to win a stuffed dolphin with butterfly wings and gave it to Brandy, who held it tight. Afterwards, they decided to dance together to some upbeat music. Brandy scooped Spruce up with her hands and spun him around. Once they finished dancing, Brandy looked up at the ferris wheel, then back at Spruce with a pleading look in her eyes.

“I gotta admit," Spruce said as they got on, “It's been a while since I was last on a ferris wheel."

“Why? Are you afraid of heights?"

“No," he assured her. “It's just, the last time I was on one, it was with a girl... to be specific, she was infamous for lip syncing. We shared one kiss at the top... Just one! ... and the next day, rumors of romance were all over the tabloids! I tried to explain it, but no one would listen! It wasn't even a good... kiss."

“You hesitated," Brandy pointed out as Spruce placed a hand on his abdomen and then rapidly rubbed on it. “Spruce, is everything okay?"

Spruce didn't answer. He just turned away from her and pulled his shirt up ever so slightly. Immediately, he noticed his abs were gone! In their place, instead, was a small layer of pudge.

How long has that been there? he silently asked himself, immediately feeling self-conscious.

“Spruce?" Brandy said, tapping him by the hair to grab his attention. Shaking his head, Spruce lowered his shirt and attempted to give her a reassuring smile.

“Uh, yeah! It's all good!" he lied, nervously keeping his teeth clenched. “It's all good."

“You sure?" Brandy asked. She could tell something was up with him.

“Absolutely. I'm all tip-top. Inside and out. Don't even have to look at me."

“Um... Okay," Brandy replied, and looked away to check out the view of the sea. “Beautiful, isn't it?"

Spruce blushed as Brandy placed a hand against his back. “Yeah... it is... and so are you."

Brandy's eyes lit up as she heard him say that, and the young couple stared out at the setting sun, both secretly wishing it could stay this way forever.

Maybe it can. We'll have to wait and see... 🤭