Part 3
A few days later, Archie was in his cabin, drinking rum and trying to think up fail-proof ways to increase the ocean. Then a knock at the door interrupted his thoughts.
"Come in", he called out.
The door opened and Matt entered. "Hey Boss", he said. "Can I ask you something?"
"Yeah, go on".
"Can I have tomorrow off?"
Archie frowned. "The whole day? What for?"
"I wanna take Tabitha out on a date".
Archie shrugged. "Sure, go on then". Matt grinned. "So, where you takin' him?"
Matts' eyes went all dreamy looking. "We're gonna go for a drive in the countryside".
Archie snorted. "Ugh, land based stuff. Why don't you take him out on a boat?"
"He gets seasick", said Matt.
"Well, there won't be any bloody countryside once our plans have been a success", Archie pointed out. "So he better get used to it at some point".
Matt gave Archie puppy eyes. Archie scowled and swigged a gulp of rum down.
"Aw, come on, you can hold him in your arms...comfort him, that kinda stuff".
"Uh, yeah", said Matt, cheering up a little. "So, I guess I better get a car".
"Yeah, that'd help", said Archie. "Hmm, go to the place where I hired that car to take Courtney to the drive in. They've got tons of good cars there".
"OK Boss, I'll do that", said Matt. "Say, maybe I can get the same car you guys had?"
"Sure, I don't see why not, if nobody's hired it out".
"I'd like that one", Matt said. "I kinda feel like it has Team Aqua vibes".
Archie smirked. "It definitely has!"
Luckily for Matt, the very same car was still there, sitting amongst the other cars and gleaming enticingly, as it had been washed and polished since Archie had returned it. Matt admired it for a moment before going over to the reception. There was nobody on the desk so Matt pressed the bell for service.
A minute later, the receptionist entered through a door behind the desk. His eyes widened when he saw Matt; noticing that the symbol on his chest was exactly the same as the on Archie's headscarf.
"Hello", said Matt. "I'd like to hire that car out please". He pointed to the classic car.
"Uhh, y-yeah", stammered the receptionist. He darted back through the door and returned moments later with a set of keys. "There you are, Sir, have a good drive".
"Thank you", said Matt, accepting the keys. "Hm, don't I need to fill out paperwork and stuff?"
"N-no, nothing like that", gulped the receptionist.
Matt shook his head, puzzled. "No? Uhh, don't I need to pay?"
"If you...insist", said the receptionist.
"Yeah, of course", said Matt. He reached into his pocket for his wallet and accidentally dislodged a Pokeball. It burst open and a Gyrados flew out. It glared at the receptionist, who immediately fainted.
"Oops, sorry about that", said Matt at once. He recalled his Gyrados, who had been sleeping and was only to happy to return to the ball.
The receptionist lay on the floor, out for the count.
"Nervous bloke", Matt commented, opening the till himself and depositing the money inside.
The following morning, Matt collected Tabitha from Team Magma's Secret Base and they set off for a drive in the classy car. The weather was just right; it was sunny but also there was a refreshing breeze to keep it from becoming unpleasantly hot.
Like Courtney, Tabitha was really impressed with the car and liked it a lot. Matt chose different routers to drive on; highways for fast driving and smaller country roads, to enjoy the scenery. Matt also took a route along a coastal road because he really didn't like to be away from the sea for too long and just seeing the sea didn't make Tabitha seasick.
About 12:00, they parked on a cliff top car park and had a picnic overlooking the sea. Matt had brought a blanket in case the ground was wet. He noticed Tabitha eyeing it up and smiled.
"See, it's a good idea, huh?" Matt said. "It was pouring down last night and I dunno how long it takes the grass to dry after heavy rain".
"I think quite a while", said Tabitha. "Cos even if the grass is dry, the water can soak down through the earth and linger on. But...it is a very nice blanket!"
"Uhuh, yeah", said Matt, wondering quite why Tabitha seemed so very excited over such an ordinary item.
Unfortunately, the rain hadn't finished for the time being. Tabitha and Matt had only been sitting there for about ten minutes, when a heavy cloud formed over the sea and moved inland. As the first drops of rain began to fall, they quickly gathered up everything and put it back inside the car. They went inside themselves just in time, before the heavens opened and the rain gushed down in a way that would have made any Team Aqua member happy. However, Matt was disappointed and glared at the water running down the windscreen.
"Hey, cheer up Matt", said Tabitha. "Maybe it'll stop soon".
"Yeah, maybe". Matt sighed. "But I wanted us to have a nice date and the stupid rain has ruined it. Now we're stuck in the car and that's boring".
"It doesn't have to be boring", Tabitha grinned. "Say, the blanket didn't get wet, did it?"
"No, why?"
Tabitha smiled at Matt in an enticing way.
"Dude, I know what you are looking for. I know you want to make out".
Matt laughed nervously; despite the fact he was such a big guy, he was very shy.
"Hehe, you've got me", Tabitha moved closer to him, his voice playful. "Listen...I know you don't talk much but I know what you would like to do".
Matt flushed red and nodded. Tabitha leaned in and kissed him softly.
"Listen, the blanket is dry, outside it's raining terrible and no one's over here".
"Yes, that's right".
"Well. Nice then".
Tabitha pulled off his shirt, and squirmed onto Matt's lap. Matt wrapped his arms round Tabitha; holding him closely and tenderly.
Outside, the rain poured down, covering the windows with fast flowing water and hiding the two guys inside.