Closer

199.

"There you are!" May smiled and got up from the bench she had been sitting on while waiting for them. Ray met her with a half hug as Elise had refused to sit in the stroller. Instead, Sharkie had gotten her seat and she took her seat on Ray's arm.

"Hey, I'm so sorry we are late. We had a last minute diaper change," Ray said with an excusing smile, but May was already busy saying hi to Elise who shyly hid her face in Ray's hair.

"It's okay, I won't bite," May smiled at her, tickling her sides a bit but when Elise still seemed uncomfortable she let it go.

"I guess she'll open up if she gets to know you a bit," Ray assured May, pressing a kiss to Elise's cheek. "I brought some snacks and drinks, by the way. I hope you like bubble tea."

"Never tried it, actually, but I've heard so much good about it," May said with an excusing smile. "Let's go find somewhere to sit first, maybe?"

The conversation flowed easily by the time they had found a spot to spread out the blanket and sat down, only pausing when Elise felt the need to join in on the conversation with her own sounds. Ray thought it was nice that May took time to include her in the conversation even though she mostly sat in his lap mostly playing with her shark.

"So you're a violinist? You any good, then?" May asked, and Ray gave a shrug and a smirk.

"Some seem to think so, yeah," he said, trying to be humble about the fact that he was... Well, probably among the fifty best violinists in the world right now. At least. It was funny to think about, and strange to imagine.

"Yeah?" May asked as she sipped the bubble tea Ray had bought for her. It was nice to see she liked it. "That's your main job, then?"

"You could say that, yeah. I travel a lot and play concerts," Ray said, brushing Elise's bangs away from her face. "Got a few concerts in Europe next week."

"Wow, really? That's so far. You're so lucky you get to travel," May said, almost dreamy. Ray kind of wanted to say that traveling the amount he did was more tiring. "I would love to be able to dance on stages in Europe."

"You any good, then?" Ray asked her question back at her with a chuckle. "I mean, you gotta be if you study it, right?"

"I'm... I guess pretty average for my class," May shrugged, picking up Sharkie for Elise after she had tossed it a bit away.

"Maybe we should do a performance together sometime? Here in Brisbane?" Ray suggested a bit off hand. It would be some work, and they didn't really know each other that well. Hell, he didn't even know if she was any good. It just felt like a good idea.

"Really? I think that could be fun," May smiled at him. "If you're serious about it."

"For sure. What kind of dance do you do?"