Waters of Oblivion

Chapter 2.2: The Date

On Monday night, Reine was right on time as she pulled into the parking lot of the Montgomery Preparatory School, one of the most exclusive all-boy secondary educational institutions in the region. Although most streets no longer showed signs of last weekend's blizzard, large heaps of snow still stood in various corners of the dark - and disappointingly empty - lot.

Reine hated waiting almost as much as she hated the dark; hopefully Gabe wouldn't delay for long.

After ten minutes of alternating her attention between the clock and the surrounding street, she decided to find out what was going on. Unable to locate the cell phone in her bag, she ducked under the dashboard to search the floor.

Her hand felt the rogue gadget just as a car pulled up nearby. She bolted up and smoothed out her disheveled hair.

A black Range Rover was idling in the adjacent parking spot. The cars were facing in opposite directions, and they both lowered their windows.

"Hey," she cheerfully called over to Gabe. It was a relief to see him finally arrive, however, she wasn't about to let him think he was off the hook so easily. "I was starting to think you'd bailed on me."

"Did you have any trouble finding the place?" He ignored her statement, making it clear he wasn't in the same jovial spirit as on Friday or even yesterday when they last spoke.

Reine shrugged. "Not really. But can you now tell me what we're doing here?"

"I'll show you if you turn off your engine and come over."

Slipping the phone into her pocket, Reine did as he instructed; however, it was out of pride rather than obedience. She was long past the days in which she would do something she didn't agree with. She'd already come this far, and she wasn't about to leave now.

She hadn't even completely climbed into the passenger seat when he held up something and thrust it in her direction.

It was her scarf.

"Here you go. Sorry I couldn't get it back to you sooner," he said in a much more formal tone than the words warranted.

Reine took it and placed the soft fabric around her neck. "Thanks."

"How's the hand?" He looked at her gloved appendage.

"It's fine. I told you it was nothing."

"Good to hear," he remarked dryly, his tone once again belying the intent of the words.

She definitely wasn't imagining things. His laid-back, sincere attitude from the other night had been replaced with wound-up anxiety. This wasn't the same person who just recently didn't seem to have a care in the world.

He rolled up his window. "So you asked what we're doing here. Well, first we're going to drive around to the other side of the campus. We'll leave your car here since there's no need to go separately. You'll see the rest when we get there. Okay?"

"Fine."

She couldn't believe how she initially misjudged him. As they drove out of the parking lot, Reine snuck glances at his face to perhaps find the answer to his behavior. She couldn't look directly into his eyes, so - unlike during their first meeting - it was now almost impossible to try to read into his emotions. However, she did notice something else that had initially eluded her attention.

His casually tousled hair was wet, reflecting the light from the streetlamps they passed. And now that they were sitting in close proximity, she also noticed the fresh, masculine scent of body wash filling the air around him. He must have just showered before hurrying to meet her, not even taking time to dry his hair.