Olga went through the double doors leading to the park and saw Louis leaning back against the wall, staring up at the sky with a smile on his face. Olga smiled and walked up to him.
"Hi." She greeted nervously.
Louis didn't answer. He just continued looking up.
"What are you staring at?" She asked curiously.
Louis slowly pointed up and Olga stared widely at the full moon. It looked close and shined brightly with a luminous yellow glow. She sighed in admiration.
"Most people don't even care to look at the moon." Louis said as Olga joined his staring. "There's so much beauty in the natural world, but people are too oblivious to notice. They're so worried about the next thing, and then the next, and the next, that they can't get out of their heads and enjoy being alive every once in a while, wouldn't you agree?" He smirked at Olga.
"Yeah, it is very nice." Olga sighed.
Louis smirked and moved closer to her, putting an arm around her shoulders. Olga looked at him and then they both looked up at the moon again.
"I'll tell you a bit of a secret." Louis leaned over to whisper close to her ear. Olga smiled and leaned in too. "I've always wanted to go to the moon and see the earth rise from there. I don't think there could be a more magnificent sight in the entire universe. I'd be free as a bird, a mighty eagle soaring the skies with no cares or concerns. Just me and the magnificence of the universe. Does anything ever make you feel this way?"
"Yes." Olga answered almost without thinking. "When I'm really in tune with playing the piano, I sort of feel that way." She said with a modest blush.
"Even with an entire audience watching your every move?"
"Well, yeah." Olga smiled. "I don't really get nervous. I just like losing myself in the notes. I feel more liberated when I can just play. When I'm alone and practice, I can feel really free. Nobody expects anything of me for once."
"And what do you mean by that?" Louis asked curiously.
Olga gasped, but regained control of herself. "Oh, nothing really." She smiled.
"Alright well..." Louis said as he looked around, spotting a bench. He put his hand down on the small of Olga's back and gently motioned for her to follow him. She complied, and they walked to the bench. Louis grinned as he took Olga's hand and helped her down. She giggled.
"So Louis..." Olga trailed as he took a seat beside her. "What kind of business are you in?"
"Already asking me about that are you?" Louis teased, which elicited a nervous laugh from Olga. "I have a public relations consulting firm. I basically help businesses and other entities increase their exposure."
"Oh..." Olga trailed nervously, trying to think of something to say. "Do you like it?"
"I thought we were past small talk." Louis grinned, causing her to laugh nervously. "Yeah, I like it. It's interesting. I get to work with some cool people. But anyway, enough about that. You said you were most in tune with yourself when playing the piano. Do you see yourself doing that for the rest of your life? Is that what you want to devote yourself to?"
Olga smiled and then looked at the ground, kicking her feet a bit. "Maybe." She responded. "But I don't know if it'll work out. I looked toward teaching last semester as an alternative."
Louis laughed lightly.
"What's so funny?" Olga asked, somewhat taken aback.
"A famous ancestor of mine once said: 'there are often troublesome occasions which may cause you to hesitate in making a decision, but once you do, and think you have seen the best course, you must take it.' It's good advice. It's worked for me as it worked for him. Trust me Olga, you don't belong on the frozen end of nowhere locked away in some igloo. You have too much talent for that, and you would only be denying your own nature."
Olga began to fidget nervously and unconsciously attempted to smooth out her dress.
"And besides." Louis grinned, getting a bit closer to her. "You're too beautiful to spend all your days in front of kids who won't be able to admire you."
Now Olga really began to blush and smile bashfully.
"What I'm saying is, you should take my ancestor's advice. If this is what you want to do you need to go for it. You know your true character. Let it come out."
"I...who was your ancestor?" Olga asked, unable to think of something to say on the fly.
Louis laughed loudly, and Olga began to mirror it.
"I'm not telling you that yet." He teased. "You'll have to pry that out of me at a later time."
Olga sighed and looked up at him, her eyes twinkling. Louis grinned slyly. Both looked up at the moon and then back down at each other. Louis slowly slid an arm around the small of Olga's back. Both briefly looked at the other's lips, and then Louis slowly pulled her inward. Their mouths met in a soft and slow kiss. Louis began to run a hand through Olga's hair when she began to smile in the kiss. They parted.
"You're good kisser." She breathed wistfully.
"So are you." He complimented back.
"I'll look into what you said." She sighed. "I'd really love it more than anything. And what about you though? You said you already have your own business. That's really cool for someone so young, but where do you want to take it, ultimately?"
"Ah, a good question." Louis grinned and again pulled her close. "Well, right now I'm doing a lot of consulting work here in the New England area. I particularly like to help people get their message across with online marketing. The internet is booming fast and trust me it will be the gold rush of the twenty-first century. So I want to continue on that track, maybe do some business on the west coast too, and ultimately become a presence in the really big markets some day - New York, California, you know. I suppose in the not-too-distant future I can start to make a presence on the west coast in Hillwood in Washington State. My mother's sister lives there."
"No way!" Olga cut him off.
"Uh...way." Louis teased.
"No I mean, that's where I'm from!"
"Is it now? That is just the most fascinating thing I've ever heard." He continued to tease.
"You're terrible." Olga punched his arm slightly.
"Well, there's something I'm not terrible at, and by your own admission." He grinned slyly again.
Olga laughed lowly and closed her eyes as Louis pulled her in again. Their kiss was more intimate than the last one as Louis began to suck on Olga's top lip. She laughed inwardly and played along. They parted with flirtatious smiles and then began to look up at the moon again. Louis began to rub her back slowly and gently.
"What do you say we get out of here? I know a cool lounge not terribly far from here."
Olga smiled warmly and began to nod, but then blurted out a question. "What time is it?" She asked.
Louis looked at his watch. "It's around 10:15, why?"
"Oh no!" Olga erupted in concern.
"What's the problem?" Louis asked, taken aback.
"I need to get back to my room and study for my exam on Monday!"
"On a Saturday night?" Louis asked in a surprise that even he found difficult to contain.
"Yeah. I'm sorry. I really need to go."
"Alright well." Louis began. "Give me your number so I can call you. I want to take you out next weekend."
"Yes. OK." Olga complied. "I'll give you the number to my cell phone."
"You have one of those? I thought only lawyers, stock brokers or business owners like me had them."
She laughed. "My daddy owns a store out in Hillwood that sells beepers and cell phones, so I have one."
Louis made a display of pulling out his own cell phone and she laughed. The numbers were exchanged. Olga kissed him goodnight and abruptly left. Louis put his cell phone away and wondered why she was so frantic about needing to study. He slowly looked up at the moon again.
"That was weird." He muttered to himself.