Erwin's surfing class was over, and Jean gave him a sign to get out of the water. They both paddled out fast towards the shore. Erwin hurried out of the ocean, spitting the last of the saltwater and huffing under his nose. Levi hadn't shown at the beach for the entire duration of the class, and Erwin now regretted he'd played the wounded pride card and had arranged the class directly with Jean. He was grumpy for the entire time and felt disappointed with himself mostly and wished he could get off the beach and meet his date as soon as possible.
Jean followed him to the parking lot. To get the board, obviously. As the weather was nice and the swell was working fine, the beach got crowded, and the parking lot was filled with cars. Erwin didn't pay any attention to them, bumping his way to the Navigator through the groups of surfers gathered around.
He almost got to his car when he spotted it at the very end of the lot—an old Ford Explorer.
Levi was sitting in the open hatch wearing a gray t-shirt and black jeans, and a wetsuit rested on his lap. Erwin's heart stopped for a moment, and something flipped at the bottom of his stomach. There were two boards he hadn't seen before propped on the side of the car. Behind Levi, in the back of the car, Erwin spotted two white daisy leis. Flowers?
Jean sped towards Levi. Taking off his wetsuit and putting on his clothes, Erwin could overhear part of their conversation, though most of it got lost in the noise of the busy parking lot.
"—crowded. Let's wait till sundown," said Levi.
"—Marco's boards?" asked Jean.
"Picked them—"
"And the daisies—"
"—something special for you, surprise," Levi said, his voice warm, caring, and Erwin couldn't but smirk.
A group of surfer girls passed by Erwin, talking loud and laughing, and he couldn't hear a larger part of the conversation. He shot a long look towards the Explorer. Levi was still sitting in the hatch, but now Jean was next to him, covered by the hooded towel, drying up and changing.
Erwin finished getting dressed and decided to say 'hi.' He walked over to the Explorer. Levi caught his gaze as he approached, and they eyed each other warily.
"Jean, thanks." Erwin passed his board over to the teen. "Are we good at the same time tomorrow?" He nodded. "Levi."
Jean checked in with Levi, and after earning an approving nod, he said, "sure, with pleasure, Erwin."
"Hey, Erwin," Levi observed him, his lids half-closed and the usual scowl on his face.
"So you are about to surf later?" Erwin pointed his chin at the boards. That was humiliating. Of course, surfers were about to surf. "Nice flowers. Are these the Montauk daisies?"
Levi gave him a filthy look in response.
"Yeah, Montauk daisies. For a private thing."
Oh damn. Of course, he was nosey.
Jean looked at Levi, confused, and turned to Erwin with a conciliating tone.
"We're going to do a memorial for a friend of mine. Hence the flowers."
"Oh, I am sorry to hear. Forgive me for prying. I didn't mean to."
"Right. You didn't," Levi said with a sneer.
Great. That hadn't gone well. He was back to his hostile self. Erwin shook his head with abandon. He had to hurry if he still wanted to shower and change before his date, anyway.
"Sorry, I get to go," he said, facing Jean, and ignoring Levi's glower, "I didn't mean it, Jean. And see you tomorrow. And you, see you around."
Erwin shrugged and turned, heading for his car.
Two hours later, showered, wearing an excessive amount of sandalwood scented cologne, a pair of comfortable jeans, and heeled, short riding boots, Erwin drove his Lincoln Navigator along the road leading to the entrance the Southeastward Rose Vineyard and Country Club. Following signs indicating the directions towards "Riding Stables," he made a sharp right turn and pulled into the parking lot clearly marked as "Guests" in front of a building that looked like a row of nice garden sheds. These had to be the stables that Historia instructed him to meet her in front of.
Erwin got out of the car and looked around. Behind the stables, there was a large paddock where several horses were munching on lush green grass. He leaned over the wooden fencing.
"You must be Erwin." A melodic contralto behind his back surprised him. He turned slowly to meet intense brown eyes, set in between a swarm of freckles belonging to a tall, slender woman, watching him with curiosity. "Krista will be here any minute now. I'm Ymir, her best friend."
"Nice to meet you, Ymir." He felt carefully appraised as Ymir's squinted gaze skimmed over him.
"You certainly are hotter than I imagined you would be," said Ymir with a smirk.
"Oh, is that so?" Erwin snorted. It had supposedly meant he'd approved the best friend's test, but he still held his ground. "I'm glad you think that."
"Enjoy your trail ride," Ymir said and turned, heading back into the stables.
"Thank you, nice meeting you," Erwin said towards vanishing Ymir's back, not entirely sure if his voice had reached her. His attention immediately shifted to the distant silhouette that appeared on the paddock. Historia horseback riding a bay quarter horse had another one, a grulla colored horse in tow, closing the distance between them rapidly.
"Erwin, hey," she greeted him with a shout once she got closer. "Get over to the other side."
He climbed through the wooden bars of the fence to meet her. Her smile beamed at him, and his heart warmed up seeing her fully dressed in fancy riding gear. She looked sexy.
"This girl," she said, pointing to the grulla mare she had in tow, "It's Frieda. She is my favorite." Historia's cheeks turned slightly pink, and Erwin thought it was the cutest thing ever, blushing over a favorite horse. "I will leave her in your hands today while I will take this more naughty lady." Her chin showed the bay horse. "Charlotte, she needs some exercise."
Erwin reached out to pat the soft skin on Frieda's muzzle, and the mare bumped her head over his cheek, nuzzling him with her velvety, hairy snout. He let her breathe him in, and the sweet scent of fresh hay tickled his nose. He winced, and Historia giggled.
"It's all right. She is very gentle. She likes you," she said, with a hint of enjoyment in her voice.
"I like her, too." Erwin stroked the mare's muzzle for the last time.
Historia handed him a spare helmet she was holding, and before he put it on, she said, "I took tack for Western riding, as this is what we usually use. But if you are more comfortable with English, we can change it. We have both."
"Western is fine."
"Great. I assume you will be familiar with neck reining then? Or should I explain anything?"
"I should be fine," Erwin murmured; however, it had been a while since he had been horseback riding. He just hoped it'd be like riding a bike and his once learned horseback riding skills would come back reflexively to him. He put on his helmet, and Historia leaned in, checking on the straps under his chin.
"Do you need help with that?" she asked, and her palm grazed his jaw. Erwin enjoyed the delicate touch, and their eyes met; he felt drawn to the warmth flickering in her gaze.
"Ok, we should be going." She broke their eye contact reluctantly. Erwin grabbed Frida's mane and mounted her back with a swift movement. Historia continued explaining the details.
"We will go through the forest bridle path jogging as this is a tick area, and we want to get through it faster. Follow me. When we get to the beach, we can slow down and ride in a more relaxed way. Ready?"
Erwin nodded. Historia dug her heels in Charlotte's sides and single-handedly steered her horse in front of him. They both set up towards a wooden single-winged gate leading to the narrow, winding bridlepath under the canopy of scrub oak and holly forest. He eased into the sure-footed gait of his horse, glad that his riding skills turned out to be less rusty than he'd expected them to be. It took him a moment to adjust to the mild rocking movement and duck under the tree branches, but he relaxed soon enough and enjoyed the jog. He rested his palm on the saddle horn, letting Frieda choose the path and follow Historia and Charlotte. He couldn't avert his gaze from the view of Historia's cute butt, nicely outlined by her tight, cream breeches, bouncing up and down in front of him, and his body responded immediately. Erwin shook his head, cleared his throat, and tried to focus on the surrounding scenery instead.
They got closer to the ocean, and the holly forest and oaks soon gave in space to the shadbush and the dune grasses. The Atlantic shimmering in the distance was clearly visible, a saffron-gold reflection of the afternoon sun warming up the sky. The ride slowed down, and the horses' gait turned into a walk now.
The last stretch of the trail descended over the steep bluff into the beautiful, half-stony, half-sandy beach. The cool breeze tousled his hair, and he narrowed his eyes, avoiding the insistent sunlight but enjoying the warmth of the lovely afternoon. Golden hour. Their horses strolled quietly along the tide-line. The waves were small, gently washing over the sand and horse's hooves.
"Hey," Historia said, swiftly bringing her horse up alongside Erwin's. "Are you enjoying the trail?"
"I am. It's fun. That was an excellent idea." He let out a laugh. "Perfect date."
He fixed his eyes on her. The sunlight reflected in her blond hair, long strands sticking from under her helmet flying in the wind, her face illuminated by the golden light they were basking in, her cheeks slowly pink-flushing now under his gaze. Erwin was falling hopelessly in love.
She averted her eyes, shy suddenly, and pointed out her palm towards old cottages hidden in the greenery above them.
"See there? Those small white little buildings scattered all over the cliff? That's an old Andy Warhol's estate."
"Oh. I didn't know he used to live here."
"A long time ago. It belongs now to a billionaire art collector… And if you are interested, it's for sale." She let out a small laugh, and he sighed. She was even more beautiful when she laughed.
"For sale, you say?"
"Yes. If you have a spare 65 million dollars, that is?" She winked. "I would totally buy it if I could. Imagine all the art that he must have stored inside."
"You like art?"
"I love art." It was a nice little detail he had just learned about her. Perfect, considering what he was about to propose to her. "Sometimes I wished I had studied it," she said after a while, her voice grazed with a sudden sadness.
"Oh, I am sorry, I didn't mean to make you sad," he said and shot her a worried side look. Their horses were walking side by side, and the silence that fell between them was interrupted only by the sound of rolling waves and the soft clicking sound of hooves splashing the water.
"No, it's fine. You couldn't know… and you can't protect me from all the sad subjects in the world." She reached for his palm, rested on the saddle horn, and squeezed it.
"But I want to protect you from all the bad things." Words that came out of his mouth surprised him, but he genuinely meant them.
"Erwin, that's sweet." She flashed him a grin, which faded quickly. "But I don't want you to talk to me about joyful things only. I want to be able to talk to you about sad, and scary, and dark things, too."
Her voice dropped, and Erwin tried to catch her eyes.
"You can talk to me about anything you want, you know, right? I just don't want to make you sad but talk to me about anything you need. You can trust me."
Historia nodded. Erwin gave her space to talk if she'd wanted to, and they rode in silence for a while. He looked at the thin line of the horizon, where the ocean met the sky, in-coming waves glittering in the sunshine with fervent, almost blinding white under the gloss of the sky.
When she spoke again, her voice was barely audible, coy. Their horses stopped moving, and Charlotte found something to munch on.
"The man you have seen in the restaurant, our families… When I was little, Montauk used to be different from how it is now. Our families were working together, you know, being in charge of it…" She suspended her voice and looked directly into his eyes like she'd expected him to guess what she meant without having to say it out loud. He lowered his head in response. "A lot of bad things happened. A lot of blood was spilled, many people died… My mother among them."
"Oh, I am sorry, your childhood… it must have been awful."
"It was, but it's better now."
"I am sorry I brought you there on our date," said Erwin.
"Don't worry. You couldn't have known, right?" He winced, and she reached for his palm again. "I am going there often enough; we are still related."
"I know," Erwin answered. "I just…"
Historia giggled.
"If you are going to say that you just want to protect me, Erwin Smith, I swear…" she paused, and her mouth puckered like she actually had been thinking about some serious punishment. She was so cute, and Erwin sighed, his gaze wandering to her lips. All he could think about was kissing her.
"What would you do?" He said with a snort, amused.
"I would totally kiss you." She laughed, and he laughed too. Her laugh had to be contagious. Then she leaned towards him. "You know what… I am going to do that, anyway."
She kissed his mouth softly, tenderly at first. Her palm sneaked around Erwin's neck, and she pulled him towards her, parting her lips a little, letting Erwin slide his tongue to tease hers. They deepened the kiss, and their lips melted against each other. Erwin's tongue curled inside of her mouth, and she let out a soft moan.
Frieda got impatient and moved a step forward, forcing them to separate their locked lips. Charlotte used this moment to catch Erwin's boot with her teeth. Erwin growled, disappointed; Historia giggled and steered the mare away from Erwin's leg.
"Perks of horseback riding dates," she said.
"I am choosing what we do on our next date," he said with a snort.
"You do?"
"I do. Would you like to go to the art exhibit opening in the Hamptons with me?"
"That's a lovely idea. I'd be delighted."
Charlotte and Frieda were now walking side by side, and Historia grabbed Erwin's shirt with one hand and pulled him in close for another kiss, longer and more passionate this time. That kind of kiss had left them both breathless when they finally came up for air.
