Chapter Seven - Late-Night Conversations

Amara grabbed her headset, then closed the door to the room she shared with some of her cousins. She was the only one in there, for now, and it would stay like that for at least an hour. She had her time to Skype Asher, her cousin back in Morocco. Even though they spoke in Arabic, and hardly any of her cousins even had a partial grasp on the language, the closed door made her feel better, more secure in talking.

It rang, and before long she saw her cousin's face briefly freeze on the screen before moving again. "Hello!" he said cheerfully, waving.

She grinned. "Hey! How are you?" Asher honestly felt more like a brother to her than a cousin; they had grown up together after his parents died. In some ways, they were even closer than she was with her actual brothers, but that may have been an age thing. Asher was just a year older than her, while her brothers were both at least four years younger.

"Good, great to see you again. Well, in a way." He chuckled.

"Yeah, sorry about last time," she said. "For some reason Skype just wasn't wanting to deal with my face and voice at the same time."

"It just couldn't handle the awesome." Asher grinned.

Amara did as well. "Right. Got to let it prepare for that. So! How are things with you and Jhonathan?"

"Great. We went and visited Aria and Ember for a day," he said, referring to her parents by their first names.

"Mmm," she mused. "How are things going there?"

"Fine," he said genially. "Crystal's getting college applications together, and her relationship is going well."

"She knows that if she gets in anywhere, it'll have to become a long-distance thing, right?"

"Yes, I'm sure she does," Asher defended smoothly. "She does think ahead, you know. She's even got some professors writing letters for her."

Amara raised her eyebrows. "Oh? Are you sure it's not Mom being proactive for her?"

"You could ask her about it yourself too, you know," Asher said.

Amara pursed her lips and huffed. "… Yeah. Crystal doesn't really respond to me as well as you though."

"You're closer to your sister than you think," he argued. "She does tell you things if you ask."

"Eventually."

Asher rolled his eyes. "You aren't exactly a quick responder either, you know."

She scoffed. "Fine. Family trait." She smiled a little. "What else? Are the boys behaving?"

"What do you think?"

"By that I mean have they destroyed the house yet?"

"Nope; still standing."

She grinned. "Then I guess they're surviving well enough."

Asher grinned. "Yes; Orion got a new little python, too."

"Another? Damn; what's that now, 4? I'm surprised Mom let him get it."

"Ember may have had something to do with it."

Amara shook her head with a smile; her father enjoyed embracing the kids' interests, no matter what they were. He managed to convince his wife to be a little more lenient than she would otherwise allow in many matters, too. "Course."

"What about your end of the world?" Asher asked. "Anything crazy happen, other than your parties?"

She grinned. "Um, actually, my parties are amazing crazy awesome, so that's way better than just crazy."

Asher laughed. "Right, right. So?"

"Umm…" She rolled her eyes and lips simultaneously in thought. "Milo is annoying as ever, Abri is still waiting for her boyfriend to pop the question; I keep telling her that she should just ask him if she wants to be engaged that badly, but she just scoffs and says that I 'don't understand' their relationship. I think he's just waiting for the ring to show up, though. Anyway, Leyla is finally getting into some good dance music, and I'm helping her with some club stuff."

"Nothing too crazy," Asher interrupted. "Right?"

Amara grinned and chuckled in response. Asher raised his eyebrows in a reprimanding manner. Amara rolled her eyes. "Kidding! Sort of; I'm helping her learn about what's safe and sketch, generally, as well as actual club stuff from school. You know, like culture club and stuff."

Asher nodded. "Alright."

"Don't worry, I also run it by her mom, Seraphina. Most of it. Anyway, I'm making Milo help with the dancing instruction portions, because her brother Cassius is too short for her and Lysander isn't around often enough. Sports are in season, so he's off practicing a lot."

"And Milo doesn't have other things to do?"

She chuckled. "Oh, I'm sure he does, but not during the times I snag him to help Leyla. Plus, I've convinced him that knowing how to dance better will make him more attractive. And he needs all the help he can get."

Asher laughed. "I'm sure you've told him as such."

"Who, me?" Amara asked innocently.

"Yes!" He laughed again. "And don't give me that look!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said, batting her eyelashes.

Asher laughed harder. "You. Stop!"

"Stop what?"

"That face!" He continued laughing. "Gosh, I can't take you seriously like that!"

"You can't argue, either."

"Neither can you!"

"I don't have to." She smirked.

"Ah-ha! That! That I can work with."

"What?"

"That smirk."

"Lies."

"Nope. It was there. I saw it."

"Lies!" she said again, grinning.

Asher laughed again. "Oooh, I missed that. Your face, not your lies."

She stuck her tongue out at him. "I haven't lied to you yet."

"Today."

She smiled. "Truth. And I tell that; the truth, you know."

"Uh-huh."

"I do!"

"I'm agreeing with you!"

She sighed, then chuckled a bit. "So yeah, I think that's what's up with other people. Oh, and I still can't seem to get a hold of Aurora for some reason." Aurora was a friend she'd met during her first year in France, though originally in a dancing summer camp that flew her from Morocco to France for a few weeks. The girl had been reclusive yet sharp, and Amara had crushed on her a lot. When they met again in France, they were simply fast friends. Over the past month, Aurora had disappeared from all communication; but it wasn't the first time it'd happened. "She'll probably pop up again in a week or so, hopefully."

Aurora's father was a controlling, manipulative terror that Amara had never met, but she helped Aurora to gain the courage to stand up to him. Unfortunately, that also put Aurora out of her house sooner than expected. But Aurora tended to manage things. She had so far, at least.

"But otherwise, yeah, I think that's it." She nodded.

"Alright. So what's up with you?"

"Umm… the sky." She giggled.

He rolled his eyes. "Ha ha, very funny."

"Do you doubt me?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No. But there's obviously more."

"Obviously?" She rolled her lips, trying vainly to suppress a grin.

His eyebrow raised. "Oh? A lot more?"

"Aahm, I don't know about a lot more…"

"Amara, what is it?"

She couldn't stop grinning. "Weelll, it may have a little bit to do with one of my parties. But just a little."

"Go on."

"And… someone I met after the party…"

He raised both eyebrows. "Amara…"

"Nothing bad!" she defended. "He hadn't even been to the party."

"Then how did you meet him?"

She fiddled with her fingers. "Ummm… So it sounds really bad, but I promise that it's not. Outside the police station."

"Amara-!"

"Let me explain!" she interrupted. "The party I'd gone to just got too much and they took a lot of people to question and talk to, it wasn't at an illegal place or anything, there was just a lot happening, and I was let off with a warning because there were people there who were worse and they needed to deal with."

"Amara, you're not helping yourself."

"No, really! I just got a warning, and they hardly even looked at me. Past the paint. And they had plenty of other people to deal with. And it was like three or four in the morning. Maybe five."

"Amara…"

"That's all, I swear, you can even ask Shay about it," she said decisively. "But what I was trying to get to was the fact that I was leaving after all that, walking back, and ran into him. Or, rather, he found me and asked to walk me home."

"… and you let him?" he asked incredulously.

"It wasn't like that! I mean, I had my mace with me, and I was totally ready to just leave him at any point. Really." She huffed. "Actually, that kind-of worried him for a while. It was cute."

"Amara-"

"And I didn't let him come all the way home with me, either," she continued. "I just let him come along for a few blocks."

"So…?" he asked. "You're making him sound like a stray puppy."

She giggled. "He kind-of was. We talked. He speaks Arabic, Asher. His whole family does! Pretty sure, anyway. I've just met him. He looks fairly Arabic, but not quite enough to really say as much, and his skin's not as dark as it could be. I mean, I'm sure he gets flack about it in general anyway because, well, France in general, but it's not something that nice people would point out about him. I don't think. Anyway, he cooks too; he went to school for it. He says he graduated, or almost has, and I'm not entirely sure about that, but he can definitely cook well enough to pass."

"What? What do you mean?"

"Well, I gave him my number and we've been talking since, and that was earlier this week. He brought food over yesterday and we ate it. It was a bit spicy," she said with a grin, "but it was great."

Asher was quiet for a moment. A few moments, actually. "Do you at least know his name?"

"Oh! Right, sorry; Declan."

"Mmm." Another pause. "So you met this boy named Declan, outside of a police station at 5 AM, who insisted on following you, got your number, and then brought you food later? Of questionable if impressive quality?"

"Um… Yes."

"Has he given you his last name?"

"No."

"Have you met or seen any of his family around? Or his classmates?"

"No."

"Pictures of them?"

"No."

"F******k?"

"No."

"Friends? Has he even told you about any?"

"Um."

Asher looked at her, eyebrow raised, and lip slightly pursed.

"Look he's not that bad," she defended. "He uses words like 'miss' and 'mademoiselle'; bows and stuff. He's nice. And he kissed my hand after meeting me. That was it."

He looked at her, intensifying his dubiousness.

"What?"

He waited.

"… Oh my gosh it sounds like a bad horror movie," she muttered.

"I was going to say."

"But it's not! He's not. Really. He's super nice and sweet and kind-of forgetful, but really honest about things," she defended again.

"Amara; how long have you known him?"

"…A week?" she said meekly. "Almost?" Not even a full week; the party had been on Thursday night. It was now Sunday. She blinked, surprised. "Wow."

"Mmm-hm," Asher said. "Exactly. Look, Amara, I know it's been a while since you went out with someone, and it's exciting, but be careful, would you?"

"Saideeeelll," she pouted. "It's not like that! It just- I explained it badly, okay?"

"I'm being serious here, Amara."

Amara sighed. "Yes, fine, and so am I! Really. If it makes you feel any better, Shay is going to be meeting him this Friday."

"Mmm. That does help. Just remember," he said, finger pointing, "that if she doesn't approve, that's at least two votes of wariness you should be heeding."

Amara scrunched her lips to once side. "Fine. But Shay is already excited about him, so I think you should be too."

"Did I say I wasn't excited?"

"Well you're not acting like it."

His look softened, and he smiled a bit. "Sorry. Just worried about you, Amara. But you sound really happy about this, and I am happy about that. I'm really glad that you found someone that makes you smile so much. And if you've only known him for a few days and he can already do that, that is a good sign." He let that sit for a moment. "I just don't want to see you get hurt again."

"… Yeah, well I don't either," she said quietly.

"And do you think things are going too fast?"

"Ahm, well…" She thought about how easy their lunch had been, how fun. How they'd been able to tease and chase each other, despite how short of a time they'd known each other. Her face grew warm at the feelings she remembered, still felt. "Not really. I mean, it seems like it when you talk about it like that, but… It doesn't feel like it."

"Well, just remember to listen to logic as well as your feelings sometimes," Asher said. "I know it's hard for you," he tried joking a little.

She wasn't sure if he was really done being upset with her yet, though. "… Do you want me to tell you about his family?" she asked gingerly.

"No, that is fine," he said. "… Unless you want to tell me about them?"

She shook her head after a moment. "No, it's alright. I don't even know a whole lot; I just wanted to make you feel better about things."

Asher chuckled. "I don't think I'll feel better about those kinds of things with you until they're over and you're married."

Amara laughed. "Well then you might be waiting a while, I'm afraid."

He grinned at her. "I know. That's alright."

Amara smiled at him, appreciative and understanding. He could say those kinds of things and not be pushy about it, or make her feel guilty. Her parents were a different story. But she could deal with Asher.

"But if anything changes, let me know," he said, still smiling.

"Of course."

"And don't leave it until I end up hearing about it from Shay through F******k."

"Not fair; she posts things too quickly."

"Not always!"

"Not not always either." She glanced at the time. "But I'll try to keep you updated."

"Thanks."

A door sounded through the call, on Asher's end. A few moments later, another face briefly popped up on the screen, followed by a blurry hand. "Hello Amara."

She smiled. "Hey Jhonathan."

Jhonathan and Asher said some things Amara didn't quite catch, and Jhonathan left the screen.

"Do you need to go?" she asked.

"Not really," he said. "Not if you want to keep talking about things."

She scoffed. "I did talk about things, and got scolded for it."

"I was not scolding you!"

She looked at him.

"Okay, but just a little. You needed it."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

She sighed a little. "But really, I don't have a whole lot else to say. You can go if you need to."

"If you're sure."

"Sure. I mean it's not like we won't be talking again." She grinned.

He smiled back. "Yes, this is true. Alright then, I'll talk to you later."

"Bye!" She waved. "Love you!"

"Love you!" He waved back. Then the screen image died as the call ended.

Amara took off her headset and sighed as she looked at the screen. She really hadn't thought about her meeting Declan like that. And it did sound super sketchy. She bit her lip.

But she wasn't officially involved yet. Not really. Sort-of. They had been on two dates. Within one week, but still just two dates. There would be a third at the club, with Shay and possibly others, and there could be more evaluation then. Possibly between now and then, as well. But until then, things were very tenuous; temporary. She knew that. And probably even after that, depending on how the club went.

She thought of the time she'd gotten to spend with Declan so far, and couldn't keep from smiling. But things right now were great. That was all that really mattered.

Amara finally had an afternoon off, and Milo had somehow utterly destroyed her space in her room. Well, not completely, but he had gone in to borrow one thing and left an absolute mess everywhere. Things moved well out of place, left haphazardly, crumbs because of course he'd been eating at the time… She yelled at him to clean it up and left. Now she was clearing her head with window shopping. Shay was busy, but it wasn't like she couldn't do things on her own.

She wandered into a store and idly looked over their discount rack. Glancing around, she noticed an employee being talked up by- What? Was that Declan? Turning to look better, she did indeed see his distinctive floof of dark hair, supported by an easy manner and assuredly charming smile. He was talking to the attendant, pointing at something; possibly bargaining? Amara couldn't suppress her amusement or surprise, and a snerking sort of laugh bubbled up without warning. She tried to turn it into a more polite snicker and looked back at the rack, shaking her head to herself while grinning. It was a Tuesday; she hadn't expected to see him until Friday. Apparently, fate had other plans. Or coincidence. Maybe they worked together.

He turned in a whirl, exaggerating his miffedness, and caught sight of Amara. "Hello, you beautiful creature," he said in Arabic. "How are you?"

Somehow still surprised that he caught her, her laughing increased and Amara had to put a hand over her mouth for a few moments to regain some composure to reply. "Hi to you too," she said, hoping the flush she felt wasn't terribly obvious as she looked at him, smiling.

Declan winked at the employee he was talking to then walked over to her and gave her a flashing smile. "You. Here? Why?"

She wanted to roll her eyes at his obvious move to impress, but instead her heart reacted with a flutter. She continued smiling. "I'm shopping, obviously. What about you?"

"I need new shoes, shoe care products, and a few interchangeable laces. However, this wonderful Leylaesperson is selling everything at too high a price than I can afford."

"Well, you are looking in the full price area," she said, indicating to her own peruLeyla of the discount section.

Declan nodded. "Because the best quality things are in this area."

Which was one reason why she enjoyed even their discount section; the store was nice enough that even discounted items were still really nice. She smirked at him. "Tend to be."

He snorted. "You're obnoxious and adorable. How do you pull both off at the same time?" His lips curled up in a boyish expression, matching the playful light in his eyes.

She scoffed, affronted, mouth open, but couldn't keep the smile from returning. "Talent." She returned to going through the clothes in front of her.

"Ha, of course," he said, then snickered. "One moment. I'll finish bargaining, and give you my full attention." Declan swirled back to the employee and proceeded to wean the price down, finally getting it to a price he was willing to pay for. He bought what he needed, and returned his attention to Amara. She hadn't expected him to come back, but she wasn't going to argue. "Now then, how can I help you?"

She gave him a sideways look, smiling. "You don't work here."

"And?" Clearly, he didn't see the problem there.

Amara rolled her eyes. "I'm just looking around. Nothing in particular." She glanced at him. "Unless you have any suggestions?"

"The polish here is exceptional and worth its full price, but don't tell them I said that."

"Mmm." She continued looking over clothing, paying a bit more attention now. She still wasn't finding anything that demanded she even try it on.

"Oh, and anything red is on discount today," he added, walking beside her.

"Hm;" she said, intrigued and glancing over the rack beside her. Maybe worth more effort to look through. She looked through items for a few more minutes, then glanced up at Declan. "Are you planning on getting anything else? Or do you just like standing there?"

He tilted his head. "I like standing here watching you. You have cute expressions."

She chuckled, embarrassed slightly, though hid it by going back to looking through the rack. "You could look for some clothing, too, you know."

"For me or you?"

She raised her eyebrows to herself briefly, then shrugged as she glanced at him. "Either."

Declan grinned. "Alright. One for you, as in one item. Shirt, skirt, dress, pants, lingerie, hat, or socks?"

Amara stared at him with an open mouth for a moment, before closing it accusingly. "Shirt, thank you. Unless you happen to find a dress you think would work."

"In red, I presume?" he asked with an innocent smile.

"If you find one," she allowed, giving him a cool yet suspicious look. Only slightly. It was probably ruined by her smirk. Oh well.

Declan snickered nodded and jumped over to a rack of shirts, sifting through them in an experienced manner, picking one hanger and tossing it over one arm as he found what he liked. When he had at least ten red shirts drowning his arm and shoulders, he made his way back to her. "Well?"

Amara stared at him, unsure if she should be impressed or… something else. "Ahm… I thought you were going to look for one?"

"Well of course, however, I don't know your size, or what type of shirt flatters your figure best. Therefore, I gave you options. And besides, shopping for one item means trying fifty on and keeping the best option." Declan winked. "Shopping is my life's sport."

Amara blinked, impressed. "I guess it is." Then she looked over the options he'd given her, and chose two styles, and their sizes. She was generally sure of her size, but it never hurt to check with different brands. After holding her choices, she glanced around for the fitting room. "It's at the back, right?"

"Yes. Do you want me to wait here?"

She twisted her mouth in thought for a moment. "You decide." Then she smiled and headed towards the rooms.

"If you really mean that, can I watch you change-sorry. Kidding. I have no filter. You can smack me and hit me with your handbag or palms or whatever," he said as followed her, though not as fast as she walked.

If he had been walking faster, she would have hit him, public store or not. She was tempted to pull a leg sweep backwards, but that was too much effort. She just decided to ignore the comment and continued into a changing room, closing the door behind her.

The first shirt was a cute, short top with layered three-quarter sleeves, almost like… cake layers. It was the only suitable comparison she could think of. They flared at the end. She turned in the fitting room, and decided to try the larger size before going out. When she did go out, she glimpsed Declan sitting on a makeshift bench by the mirrors, despite there being a regular bench on the other side, nearer the entrance. She tilted her head at him, curious.

"Oh, that's pretty. The crop top fits the curve of your waist, it flares out, and those sleeves give just the right bit of personal-sorry," he said, cheeks flaming, eyes on the ground, thumbs twiddling.

"What?" she asked, grinning. He was absolutely adorable when he was embarrassed.

"You look very nice in that shirt," he mumbled, only half-meeting her eyes.

"Thank you," she said, resisting the urge to put her hand on his head. She went over to the larger mirror and looked herself over for a minute, then went back to the room. It was nice, and Declan's reaction had been great. She giggled a little, then switched into the next style. It was longer, and more a deep red color. There was a chiffon-type layer over it, and the short sleeves consisted of layers of the sheer fabric draping down close to her body. A few small metallic-looking studs accented the sheer fabric edges. She looked over how it hung on her, studied, then walked out before she could change her mind.

Declan clapped. "Very elegant. You would be able to dance in that, no doubt. However, it's not as flattering, not in shape, though the red does bring the peach out in your cheeks…" he trailed off, watching her shift her weight, turn around, move in front of the triple-mirror at the end of the hall connecting all of the changing rooms. "You need to dance in something like that. It would look, you would look, the shirt would look like fire."

Amara smiled; she liked that idea. "I'm always up for dancing."

"Another thing in common for us."

She chuckled a little, smiling, and looked over the reflection again. After a moment contemplating just jamming out for a moment right there, she shook her head to herself and went back into the changing room. Grabbing the other shirts after changing to her own, she exited the room, pile in arm.

"Have you made up your mind on what you want to buy?"

She shrugged. "They're both really nice. Fit well enough."

Declan tilted his head, hair flopping to one side in a silky mess. "Does that make the choice harder or easier?"

She giggled, watching him. "I don't know. Both were fun to try on, too."

"A fitting sound for such a cute young woman-ew, that sounded like I turned fifty." Declan coughed and she laughed. "Let me rephrase. That giggle is as cute as your smile. There we go."

Amara grinned at him, flushing a bit. "Thank you." She glanced over the pile in her arms again, then sighed. "Which one do you like better?"

"I like the layered sleeves crop top best."

"Mmm." She looked over the tops again. She'd just been intending to look at things, not really buy any. She looked for a bit longer, then walked to the racks again. "I'll think about it."

Declan yawned. "Sometimes, much to the irritation of the shops, I go in, try everything on, help them put it back, and walk out without buying a thing."

She scoffed. "And they keep letting you back in?"

"Yes because I buy just enough for them to like me on other days." He grinned without an ounce of shame in his expression.

She grinned and looked through the racks again. Of course he did. And his charming smile did nothing to help with that. She twitched her head to move on, then said, "Alright, then why don't you try something on, too, then?"

"Dress, shirt, pants, skirt, or lingerie?"

Amara coughed, flushing. "Shirt will be fine!"

He gave her a knowing wink. "Then I'll just wear the shirt then, so you aren't distracted by pants or other such things."

Amara opened her mouth, making a shocked sound, then threw a shirt she'd already been looking at at him. "No! You will be fully clothed, just in a different shirt."

Declan looked away, shoulders hunched and shaking. Just because she couldn't hear his laughter didn't make it any less obvious. Still flushing, but trying to get it under control, and also trying to restrain her own laughter, she said, "How's that one?" It came out more forcibly than intended. She attempted to muffle a laugh while maintaining her terribly ineffective glare.

"Hahahaha!" Declan wasn't even buying the glare, merely laughing harder.

Amara rolled her eyes with a sigh, and went back to looking through the clothes. Soon she threw another shirt at him. "How about that one?"

He looked at it. "No, that's too big."

"Well look at the first one then."

"Also too big," he said after a glance.

She actually spent a few moments looking over more options before throwing another shirt at him.

Declan held it up, nodded, and walked into a changing room. "Nope!" The shirt came flying out overhead.

Amara rolled her eyes, then gathered a few more shirts. There weren't as many options as there were for women, but that was usually the case. She put the small armful over the door without so much as a warning, and picked up the shirt he'd thrown out, putting it on a nearby hanger.

Declan stepped out in a warm, brown suede shirt that was oddly loose and yet fit. Amara's eyes widened briefly; she didn't remember throwing that over. She tried to do a mental run through of what else she might have picked out without noticing, then shook her head and looked at him with a smile. "Wow... That looks nice."

"Thank you," he said with a graceful smile, and held a hand out to her. "It's breathable, supple, soft… reminds me of you."

She giggled a little as she felt the fabric, was impressed by the quality. "How so?" she asked, keeping her eyes on his sleeve.

He raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you listen to my description? Breathing, supple, soft."

"Mmm." She slid a hand on the fabric over his arm, taking in his description and feeling it under her fingers. How did breathing fit in there? With the fabric, sure, but… she felt too flattered to outrightly ask. Which was strange. Since when did flattery make her speechless? She smiled to herself as she tilted her hand, going around his elbow.

Declan's eyes closed and he shivered under her touch, just as affected as she was.

She paused, then pulled her hand down the sleeve and away. "Ahm, that's… very nice fabric," she said, chuckling with a flush. "And it looks really good on you."

His eyes flicked open, going from her to around the store and back to her. "Well. I've chosen what I want. At least, I'll put it on hold and confer with my money confidant."

She smiled, putting some hair behind her ear. "Sounds like a plan." Money confidant? What kind of budget did he have? Not that it really mattered. She glanced back at the discount racks. "I'm… going to look over things again." She turned and returned to the rack, feeling a flush come over her face again. What? What for? Nothing had even happened. She took a breath and shook it off, though she kept the smile it brought.

She looked over the red shirts again while Declan changed, deciding whether or not she really wanted to get either of them. Or if she had the budget to. They were on discount, even more so with the Leylae. But it was still a really nice shop. She pursed her lips to one side, figuring if it was worth the trouble.

Declan emerged. "I'm not getting the shirt, after all. The inside lining is a bit itchy."

Amara glanced up, then walked over. "Not worth it?"

"Not for 150 euros, no." He sighed.

She pursed her lips for a moment. "Yeah." She glanced at the door to the shop. "So.. what else are you up to today?"

"Nothing, actually. I got my things and now I'm free." He cocked his head. "You?"

She blinked in surprise. "I'm... actually free as well. I'm not working today."

His eyes widened. "Do you want to go swimming with me?"

She opened her mouth for a moment before giving a slightly confused smile. "Where?"

"Lake. It's outside of the city, but not by much."

Swimming, suits, sun, wonderfully cool water in the humid heat; people, Declan, questions... She swore to herself; she wasn't ready for that. Wait, what wasn't she ready for? "Ahm..." Damn it why was she taking so long to answer? "Are there buses to it?"

"There are buses! And lots of secluded places. I know many where no one will see us. I hate swimming around people I don't know, or trust." He gave her a small smile.

"I- Ahm..." she dithered, trying to keep her voice calm. "Ah, maybe... another time." She gave him an apologetic smile. "Just- not today."

Declan gave her an unexpectedly empathetic hand squeeze. "No bathing suits. Got it. What about a movie? I can whip up some hot chocolate."

She blinked in surprise, though didn't pull her hand away from his. "Ahm, sure. A movie sounds good. Where?"

His eyes lit up. "There are a few dance ones going around, an odd horror movie about Vampire Hunters, aaand animated movies."

She grinned and squeezed his hand as they walked out of the store. "A dance movie sounds fun."

He beamed. "Um. There are a few controversial bits in it. I may be stepping in and out of the theater as the film goes."

She tilted her head, but didn't argue. "Alright."

"Are there any things that upset you?"

She shrugged. "Some things, like anyone. Stereotyping too much, language barriers; people who think they can dance but can't."

He laughed at the last one. "I don't watch cooking things for the same reason. No one can cook."

She chuckled. "Thankfully, more movies actually care about getting dancing correct. Or at least enough to watch."

He nodded. "So, I'll pay; shall we be off?"

Amara nodded with a smile, surprisingly comfortable with his warm hand over hers.

A few hours later, the movie was nearly done when Declan left for a phone call. He popped back in and told her with both irritation and regret that he had to go to work. Apparently he was an on-call cook or something. She sighed, but thanked him and said she'd see him Friday. He grinned, nodded, and disappeared out of the theater.

She noticed his absence during the last bit. But she was still happy with the day. And she was certainly looking forward to Friday.