Chapter 4: Date?

Sally's POV

Haley definitely wouldn't like the fact that I would still go out with Rob, but she might be a little less pissed at me considering I explained to him what he was getting himself into. At least that's what I hoped for when I told Rob about my obsession, as Haley loved to call my mystery-guy. I tried to push him out of my mind and concentrate on Rob since I would soon be going out with him for a swim once I was ready. Like he had said, he was there waiting in the balcony right on the spot I left him.

"Ready?" he asked pointing towards the sea. I checked my bag and myself once before nodding. "Wanna go anywhere in particular?"

"Not really. Just somewhere quiet." I answered, but when I thought about it, I added: "Not so quiet though."

"Quiet, but not quiet. Got it." He repeated chuckling.

"That didn't make any sense, huh?" I asked once we got in his car.

"Not really, but I think I have just the place." He said and brought the car back to life with just a turn of the key. I didn't ask what that place was 'cause even if he told me, I would have no idea where that'd be. So I just settled back in my seat, listened to whatever was on the radio and laughed with Rob's jokes and funny stories about him and Nick. It was so easy to be around him, so easy I could see myself having a relationship with him, if the mystery-guy didn't exist. That was a big if.

"What are you thinking about?" He asked after a big pause. I turned to him and flashed him a smile.

"Just that you're easy to be around." I answered truthfully withholding the thoughts concerning the mystery-guy of course.

"That's good, right?" He wondered aloud raising one of his eyebrows.

"Yap. That's good." I reassured him and rubbed his shoulder. Maybe I was encouraging him a little bit too much, but since he knew how things were, my guilt was eased a bit. Only a bit though.

"We're here…" He trailed off after a while turning towards a parking lot to a small diner of some sort.

The place was wonderful. The diner was at the right side of a small bay, threes all around it providing a comfortable shade to whoever decided to have a meal there. The scent of fish filled the air, but it was nowhere near uncomfortable. Surprisingly, it just added an aura of authenticity to the place. I couldn't see much of the front from the spot I was, but I was sure I would soon be faced with the rest.

"What do you think?" He asked getting my bag from his trunk.

"Did you bring me here to swim or eat?" I asked instead of answering.

"I thought we could combine those two. I'm sure we'll be hungry after the swim and Ronnie's is the best place after something like that." He seemed to blush a little, but quickly composed himself and cleared his throat. "You didn't answer my question though."

"It's wonderful. Do I get to see the front." I asked as he gave me my bag.

"You bet. Right this way." He said seriously showing me the way to the beach.

It was magnificent. Exactly what I needed. The beach had many different coloured layers of sand. Close to the water it was almost white and as the beach went further and further into the land, it became darker and darker till the point it reached the dark brown dirt from which beautiful flowers came out, standing tall and proud. The rocky edges on either side plus the small hills surrounded by lively green trees gave the bay a different perspective. It was almost as if the water was trapped among pieces of land with no escape forming a lake. The only thing giving away the reality of this wondrous sight was the small gap between the edges of the bay from where the ocean unwrapped endlessly.

"I'm taking that you like it?" He asked after giving me a sufficient amount of time to appreciate the beauty of the place.

"It's perfect. How come it's not so crowded?" I asked confused because I could only see very few people along the beach.

"The sea is calm here and most are in Montauk to surf." He said shrugging. "You could also add that only few know about it." He winked at me playfully.

"It's a really nice place." I said still amazed by the view in front of me.

"It is. How about we go sit on the sand?" He suggested. I nodded and he put his hand on my back to guide me forward. I allowed it, because friends did that. Right?

"Do you have a specific spot?" I asked pointing towards the endless, as it seemed to me, beach.

"Not really. Just lay your towel down wherever you like. Here it's good?" He asked.

"Yeah, it's good." I said and he laid down his towel before he also took his shirt off throwing it on his towel. I followed his example and soon I was just in my swimsuit with my things down on the sand like him. I even caught myself checking him out and admiring his body for a moment. The body of a surfer. Muscles all over, but nothing over the top.

"Aren't we going in?" Rob asked when he saw me sitting down.

"Actually, would you mind if just sat here for a while?" I asked blushing.

"Not at all. I'll go catch up with Ronnie and tell him to prepare something for later. I'm guessing you want to write a little…?" He trailed off adding a questioning tone to his voice.

"Yeah…. A little." Are you sure you don't mind?" I asked, my guilt intensified in that moment.

"It's fine really. I chose this spot 'cause I thought it'd inspire you more…" He said rubbing the back of his neck nervously. I was at a loss of words.

"No problem. Enjoy." He smiled before walking towards the diner.

I didn't waste any time. I took my pen and notepad out, closed my eyes letting myself sink in my own little world before starting to write. A world made and fully controlled by me. The place where Rob brought me seemed to have invaded my mind and the next chapter of my story centered around a place very similar to that one. With a few adjustments and details it became a small heaven. The perfect spot for a romantic date which my next chapter was all about. I didn't realize how much time had passed, as my pen kept "drawing" the pictures I had in my head, when Rob plopped down on his towel next to me.

"Thank you for bringing me here." I said finishing up m chapter. A full-stop and it was all done.

"Like I said before, it's no problem. Do you want to go for that swim now?" He asked as his hand reached and grabbed mine. The thought of pulling my hand out of his crossed my mind for a second, but I decided against it.

"Yeah, I do. How long was I writing?" I asked him.

"About an hour. Maybe more." He replied shrugging.

"An hour?" I asked surprised and he nodded. "You should've come sooner. Let me put these away and we'll go." I said lifting my notepad and pen up.

"Sure." He quickly withdrew his hand and got up looking around, but kept stealing glances down at me probably to see if I was done. When I was, he offered me his hand and lifted me up before we went towards the sea.

He got in first since he was used to the sea water unlike me who wasn't so accustomed to cold water. Cold in comparison to the hot water of the showers I often took of course. When I finally dove in we started splashing around, he lifted me up and threw me in many times and we generally fooled around. When we got a little tired though, we just swam. Even though I didn't even glance at him, I knew he wouldn't stop looking at me because I could feel his eyes on me.

After a while, he took a long dive in, so I let myself float on my back until I felt a pair of hands rubbing my sides 'causing me to straighten up only to find no one there. I pushed my face into the water opening my eyes and I would swear I saw the face of the mystery-guy. I pulled back almost immediately and looked down, but I didn't find him there. Someone tickled my sides and I spun around laughing to find Rob's mischievous eyes bearing into mine. He got so close to me that our legs were touching as they moved to keep us above the water. I was sure he would lean in to kiss me in that moment and he did as my eyes closed, but right before his lips touched mine, he suddenly swam away from me. I was hurt to say the least, but quickly composed myself and opened my eyes to find him a few meters away from me with a confused look on his face.

"How about we go to Ronnie's now?" I suggested ignoring what played around in my mind then.

"Um… sure." He said shaking his head once before he started swimming after me outside. We reached out towels and went to dry ourselves off so we could wear our clothes. When we were ready, we walked towards Ronnie's diner in complete silence. For the first time since the few hours I spent with him, it was an uncomfortable one.

The awkwardness of the almost kiss and his pulling away so abruptly was still lingering. We sat at the first table we encountered and when Ronnie came to take our order and meet me, Rob introduced us awkwardly. Ronnie joked much in an attempt to put the tension at ease without much success due to the fact that I barely paid attention to them. My mind kept going back to when I dipped my head in and came face to face with the person I thought I had seen the previous night and longed to see. There was also the feeling of someone's hands, that gentle rub against my sides, which I felt a little before Rob almost kissed me…

"… Sally?" The sound of my name made me turn my attention to the boys again. It seemed Ronnie was the one to say it.

"Excuse me, what did you say? I was a bit distracted." I sort of explained.

"I asked if you're sure you want to trust Rob with your order. He has the weirdest of tastes." Ronnie answered as Rob cowered back. In embarrassment, I guessed?

"Yeah, I eat everything anyway." I replied smiling.

"Sure. I'll get everything started then." He said before walking back inside. Another silence… Till Rob broke it.

"I'm sorry about what happened in the water." He said looking down.

"Don't worry about it." I said back without even thinking.

"Let me explain…" He tried to blame his pulling away on some current of water, saying that he never wanted or intended to pull away, but of course I couldn't believe that. If that was the case, he would just do it then or when we got out of the water. He could have stopped me from walking and show me that he did indeed want to kiss me. But he never did, so I couldn't believe these excuses. I just kept nodding and looking at him till Ronnie came with our food. The moment Ronnie came close, another silence washed over us. Even after he walked away, we ate our food without even looking at one another. We split the bill, got in his car and drove to Nick's place. He tried to be a gentleman and open the door for me but I got out before he came to my side. He just managed to hold and close it for me.

"Thanks for showing me that spot." I said smiling despite everything.

"My pleasure." He replied and as I was looking at him, my eyes darted behind him and my eyes went wide. "Do you think we'd be able to do it again?" I didn't answer. I closed out distance and spun him around.

"Do you see that guy? The one in the blue trunks and white shirt?" I asked pointing to the guy in order to help Rob.

"Yes, I do." He replied and looked at me. "Did I blow it today…?" He asked and it was obvious he meant the almost kiss.

"You did." I said not looking at him. Just the guy behind him. "You're sure see that guy, right?"

"I'm sure. Should I leave?" He asked looking down disappointed.

"Stay if you want. I mean you're Nick's friend after all." I said and walked towards the guy. I tapped him on the shoulder and he turned around. "Excuse me, sir…" He turned around and every muscle in my body went numb.

"Hello, Sally." My mystery-guy greeted smiling…

Guys, I hope you enjoyed this and weren't bothered by the lengthy descriptions too much. I just had a very nice picture in my mind of my summer holidays and felt like sharing it with you. Tony said they made the rest of chapter perfect, but he's biased so mind giving me your opinion as well? :)

Catherine & Tony P.