Scribbles at Sunset

The Cruise

     NO. One word. Monosyllabic. Two letters. A thousand meanings.

     As I sat inside the the rumbling taxi with the churning feeling of my gut overriding the breathtaking vision of the waves overlapping against the shore and the distinct outline of skifts and cruises against the pink and orange palette of the sunset skies, I thought, maybe I should've said no.

     I never did like blind dates. They were way out of my comfort zone. But I couldn't just refuse the offer of a friend. The only reassurance I could think of was Heck, at least I get to eat a fancy meal and drink fancy wine in some fancy-ass restaurant because if the cruise I was currently gawking at right now wasn't anything short of fancy, then I don't know what is.

     I stepped out of the taxi and hesitated for a moment, before slamming the door shut. I watched it drive away, undeniably dreading what was to come. I heaved a sigh and scanned the pier, before proceeding to climb the ramp that lead to the cruise I was supposed to enter— its port inked with a grand word written in cursive: Magnificum.

     Before I could even step onto the wooden planks of the ramp, I was suddenly shoved forward by a person in a hurry, causing me to titter unsteadily on my feet. I was gripping the handrails to regain my balance when I noticed that my wallet was missing from my pocket.

     My eyes widened, realisation dawning on me. I quickly turned and scanned the area, spotting the running figure with an item in his hold. My wallet.

     "Hey!" I shouted, hurriedly sprinting down the elevated planks and into the walkway. "That's my wallet, you psycho!"

     I dodged boarding passengers and slithered in between seemingly unending queue lines, all the while crying out,"Stop him!" The adrenaline pumping through my vains drowned out the sound of the rhythmic waves flapping against the dock.

     The figure, startled by my shouting, quickly manoeuvred into the crowds. Before I could reach him, I saw him smoothly slip my wallet into the pocket of an innocent man and vanished into the throngs of people.

     My steps faltered in confusion. I frowned, deducing that the thief probably thought that I wouldn't cause a commotion. I slowly approached the oblivious man wearing a crisp and expensive suit who was presumably making an important call.

     "Erm—excuse me, sir," I cleared my throat awkwardly. He turned, phone clenched in his hand and an eyebrow raised.

     I sucked in a deep breath, intimidated by the extremely good looks of the man. "Yes?" He pulled the phone away from his ear momentarily.

     "You may have my wallet in your pocket..."

     His eyebrows knitted together in confusion,"I'm sorry?"

     "My wallet... it's in your pocket."

     He muttered something to the person on the other end of the line before he dropped the call. He pursed his lips and shook his head,"You must be mistaken." He swivelled and briskly walked towards the docked ships.

     I quickly ran after him,"With all due respect, sir. I think you should just check them." I glanced at the right pocket of his slacks which was undoubtedly holding my wallet, its square edge peeking out of the slit.

     He abruptly stopped and turned to me,"This is ridiculous. Do you take me for some kind of thief? I don't have time for this, my cruise will be leaving anytime soon."

     "Look, I don't want to be in this situation as much as you do. My wallet was snitched, I tried to run after the mugger and—" My eyes caught sight of the Magnificant hauling the ramp away from its deck. "Shit," I cursed.

     The man followed my gaze then... "Shit."

     We locked eyes for a moment before we both broke out running towards the cruise. "Wait!"

     "This is your fault! If only you hadn't  insisted on this nonsense, we wouldn't have been left behind!" He growled.

     "We could have avoided this if you had only given me my wallet in the first place!"

     We finally reached the ramps and watched as the cruise slowly drifted away into the sea.

     "Whatever, it's not like I wanted to go to this stupid blind date anyway," I muttered to myself, sighing.

     He stared at me and echoed,"Blind date?"

     "Yeah, but who cares right? I only agreed for the free food so," I shrugged defeatedly before eyeing him,"How about you? You probably missed an important meeting."

     He shook his head, his blond hair glittering underneath the rays of the setting sun. "Just some set up with a stranger."

     I raised an eyebrow in surprise,"Oh?"

     He raked his hand through his hair and frowned distastefully,"I don't want her to think I stood her up."

     "You should just call it off," I suggested.

     He sighed,"I probably should."

     Remembering my wallet, I asked him,"Would it hurt to just check your pants?"

     He sighed once more and patted his slacks. His green eyes lit up in surprise as he pulled out the battered square piece of leather. "Huh."

     He squinted at my wallet, my driver's license peeking out, and handed it over to me. I hurriedly kept it, insecure of how he was probably judging the old leather.

     He looked at me with a piercing gaze,"You're Charlotte Williams?"

     I looked at him warily,"Do I know you?"

     He was quiet for a moment before he chuckled. Softly at first. Then it became a full blown laugh.

     "What's so funny?"

     He shook his head, still chuckling."It's nothing really. It's just-"

     "Oh my God," I whispered. "No," I shook my head. "No, you can't be Luca Knight."

     He grinned at me, dimples prominent and eyes shining,"At your service."

     This was absolutely absurd. "You're kidding me."

     He offered me his hand and gave me a charming and hopeful smile,"I hope you're still up for that free dining session with me?"

Word Count: 1000