Scarlett

Chapter 4: Sweet dream

I watched him sit by the river, next to me. I did not know his name or where he was from. He did not look at me, his eyes remained fixed on the water in front of us. He had the most beautiful pair of blue eyes that had so much to tell. They were bright ocean blue eyes. His blonde curls looked soft and I noticed that he often licked his pink lips, perhaps a habit he occupied when in deep thought. What was he thinking? I wondered. I then noticed that he hummed a tune, so soft that it was hardly audible. There was a sense of gentleness in his voice. I realized that he was humming to 'Hero' by Enrique Iglesias. It was one of my favorites.

Finally, he averted his gaze and turned to me.  He watched me with intense longing. My thoughts could not decipher his feelings or the story that his bright eyes wanted to tell. He touched my right hand and held it as our fingers entwined. His grip on my hand was gentle yet firm and it felt right. His smooth pale skin felt strong to hold. He inched slightly closer and offered his hand around my shoulder. He was comfortable, and he felt right.

I could smell his cologne, the familiar musk and woods. He smelt heavenly, like fresh grass in Paradise. I looked up and our eyes met. I inched closer and gave a soft peck on his smooth pink cheek on the left. His honey like sweat buds dripped and the kiss left a sweet after taste on my delicate lips.

I jolted awake on my bed as sweat beads dripped from my neck. I realized that it was a dream. It was a sweet dream. My thoughts wandered off to when I first saw him a week ago and have since thought about him, a lot. A smile found its way on my lips and I walked up to the window to feel the morning breeze.

It was a pleasant Sunday morning. I saw the sunlight emerge through the skyline as it fell onto my shoulders, sparkling all the way. I never got tired when I looked at the city because every time I did, it greeted me back with open arms and it touched my soul. It truly did, in the deepest way possible.

In a few hours I found myself seated across Rose at the dining table. We were invited by the Raymonds for lunch. Mum, Chris and I went for lunch while Derek attended school. It was our first get together after I was back home. I was extremely enthusiastic when Mum informed me about the lunch plan a day before. I was excited to finally meet the mysterious man in my dreams.

The Raymonds had a lovely place and it looked very different from our home even though it was right across the hallway. It was light and airy with white undertones that made it look spacious. I realized that they were fond of paintings. The living room as well as the dining room had famous paintings that covered up the walls.

Rose looked just as beautiful as when I had last seen her. Her neatly set blonde hair covered her shoulders and reached up to the middle of her back. Her eyes were as bright and blue as ever and reflected sincere compassion and hospitality. Her proud man sat right next to her. He was tall and olive with emerald eyes, lustrous brown curls and a gleaming personality. He had a fatherly aura that surrounded him.

"It's so good to finally see you." Smith said with a smile.

"It's very nice to meet you all." I replied and took a bite of the lasagna. It was rich, creamy and delicious. The blend of the cheese and spices were perfectly done. The spread of lunch on the table in front of me was mouth watering. We were served chicken lasagna, vegetable risotto, baked fish with cheese, chicken pasta in white sauce and an apple pie. Rose was a great chef, I had to admit. Her hands were magical. While we helped ourselves with food, we got to know that the young Raymonds, Mark and Jack were to be home soon. Mark had gone to pick up Jack after his school's practice session for basketball. They were expected to join us for lunch a little late that the set time.

I felt slightly dejected. I had expected to meet Mark, after our extremely awkward encounter at the hallway. I was awkward that day while he, on the other hand, appeared confident. I felt embarrassed when he caught me staring at him. I suddenly felt my cheeks turn red as I remembered my dream early in the morning. The truth was that I thought about our awkward encounter a lot.