Chapter 5: Poseidon

Previously

"Excuse me, sir…" He turned around and every muscle in my body went numb.

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

Sally's POV

I stood there staring at him. With Haley doubting me whenever I brought it up since the day before, I wasn't sure myself if I had seen him the previous night. But there he stood, smiling at me like he had when he passed me the money for his sweets eight months before. His black hair messed up and wet as if he had just come out of the sea, his beard had a few droplets of water I assumed, his breathtaking green eyes boring into me like they had so much time ago. Nothing seemed different about him as I had remembered the previous night. Nothing except his clothing of course. Unlike the business suit he had been wearing when I first met him, he then wore an unbuttoned Hawaiian shirt that made shook me off my feet if I wanted to be honest, a pair of khaki Bermuda shorts and some sandals. It was a perfect summer outfit of a man that was on vacation. But I still had doubts about what I saw in front of me.

"You're real, right?" I had to ask. I needed to. He started laughing. A booming laugh filled the air.

"Can't get any more real than this." He answered when he had stopped laughing.

"Sally, do you know this guy?" Someone said from behind me.

"Huh?" I cleverly breathed and looked back. I had totally forgotten about Rob! But before I had time to try and explain to him that I did know the mystery-guy, even if I didn't know his name, someone got me.

"Yes, she does. My name's Poseidon. Sally and I met a few months back." The mystery-guy answered. So… Poseidon. Interesting name.

"Oh okay…" Rob trailed off obviously unsure of how to proceed. I took it upon myself to guide him since I got out of my trance.

"Yap, weren't you going inside now Rob? I'm sure Nick would love to talk to you." I said trying to get him to leave me and Poseidon alone.

"Um… okay, I will." He said and I heard him walk away, but I didn't avert my eyes from the guy in front of me. I had spent months just trying to imagine him, then all of a sudden I had him standing just a few inches away from me, so I wouldn't look away in fear he might disappear again as suddenly as he came.

"Your boyfriend seems to be looking at me weird." Poseidon said when the sound of Rob's footsteps faded in the summer air.

"What boyfriend?" I wondered aloud confused and he motioned behind me. "Oh, you mean Rob? He's not my boyfriend, just a friend." I said quickly. I wasn't sure Rob was my friend, let alone boyfriend.

"Just a friend…" He repeated pursing his eyebrows. "Sure."

"So…" I trailed off not knowing how to proceed.

"So..?" He asked still smiling. That smile was pretty distracting.

"I don't know?" I said with a questioning tone. He just laughed before turning to kind of serious.

"Okay, how about…. How have you been these months?" He suggested and motioned towards the beach in front of Nick's house with his hand. I nodded and we started walking towards it.

"Writing and working at Mrs. Ruby's I guess." I answered honestly.

"Mrs. Ruby's, huh? Those sweets you chose that day were delicious by the way." He said and looked away blushing. I couldn't help but find it cute…

"Understandable. Everything Mrs. Ruby makes is delicious. But now how have you been?" I asked to keep up the conversation.

"Working. The sea needs a lot of work." He answered as we plopped down on the sand and he looked over at the sea and how calm it was. The sound of the low waves at the shore and how gently they touched the sand was a soothing one.

"The sea? Are you some kind of sailor or something?" I asked.

"Or something. But it takes a lot of my time and that's why I hadn't been able to come buy some more of those sweets and…" He trailed off and looked away again.

"And…?" I pushed a little suggestively.

"And see you." He admitted and my smile couldn't get any wider at that point. I decided to change the subject then since we were at the spot I had him seen him the previous night. "So was it you that I saw last night here?" I asked. I wanted to be sure I did see him and not imagined him. His being right next to me wasn't a reassurance enough. Just an indication.

"Yeah, I was… having a run. I stopped here to… catch my breath for a moment before I continued. Why? Did you see me?" He asked wary. I waited a moment before I answered him, because all of a sudden a few waves appeared at the surface of the sea a few feet away from us.

"I did. Unusual attire for a run though." I said laughing a little as I remembered what he was wearing the night before.

"What did you see me in?" He asked uneasy. A lot more uneasy that he should've been. Or that's what I thought. But why was he asking me that. What else could I have seen him in other than what he was wearing?

"A costume I'm guessing. Some kind of warrior thing?" I asked unsure. "Don't you think it's a little early for Halloween though?" I asked giggling.

"Um… Yeah, I guess." He replied and seemed to calm down a little. "So what are you writing about?" He asked seeming genuinely interested in my writing. But…

"A book, but it's not finished yet, so I can't say much about it. I've always wanted to be an author, but…" I stopped. It was way too soon to reveal so much about my life. I changed the subject before he could press for information. "Anyway… What are you going here? Holiday with the wife or girlfriend?" I asked, but my heart sank at my own question.

"Not really. I'm not married nor do I have a girlfriend." He said looking at me, probably to see my reaction. I wondered what he saw in my smile and blush that made him smile in return.

"I'm just taking some time off from work. What about you though?" He asked smiling.

"The house behind us is owned by Haley's boyfriend, Nick. Haley's my best friend and since they would be coming here for a month with some other people, they asked if I wanted to join them. I needed some time off, so now I'm here." I answered looking at the sea laying out in front of us. "I wasn't so sure in the beginning but now I'm glad I came."

"Me too." He breathed. That's when I realized how close we really were. I could feel his breath against my ear tickling me. I turned my head slightly and found him looking down at me. Only a few short inches between our lips. Inches he left up to me to either cover or pull back from him. Something about this guy magnetized me and before I knew it, my hand was on his cheek and I was closing the gap between us. My lips touched his and I could feel the smile that played on his. Our kiss didn't last more than ten seconds though because my phone rang in my bag and he pulled back. But not much. "You should get that."

"I should." I said back and kissed him again not making a single move for it in my bag.

"You should do it while it's still ringing." He added chuckling. I made a face before pulling back completely and reached for my phone. I looked at the caller ID and saw it was Haley. I hesitated in the beginning and tensed up. But I answered after a moment.

"What do you want Haley?" I asked rather coldly.

"I was wondering if you'd come for dinner. We're ordering pizza, so…" Her tone was a lot warmer than in the morning and it softened me up a little.

"Hold on." I said and put my hand over the speaker turning to Poseidon. "Would you like to join me for some pizza in the house?" I asked him.

"Sure." He simply replied moving his hands and lips to my left shoulder. I shivered. I took my hand off the speaker and spoke into the phone.

"Yeah, I will. Get one for me and two cokes." I told Haley.

"One whole pizza and two cokes for you? You barely eat two pieces and drink one coke." She said surprised and I could imagine her pushing her hair back like she always did when she was confused about anything.

"I'm not alone…" I bit my lip trying not to make any sounds when Poseidon moved his mouth to my neck. "I gotta go." I said and snapped the phone shut. "What do you think you're doing there mister?" I asked him and he breathed against my neck.

"I'm not resisting the temptation." He said. When he pulled back, he ran his eyes along my body before resting them on mine. I looked at myself then and realized I was still in just a pair of shorts from when I returned with Rob from our outing.

"Aren't you rushing a bit? I mean it's basically the first time we're out alone. My selling you some sweets doesn't count 'cause…" He cut me off with a quick kiss.

"Relax. I was just enjoying the view." He said stroking my cheek.

"Kissing my neck isn't enjoying the view." I pointed out.

"No, that was me relaxing you." He said and leaned in to kiss my cheek.

"Um… how about we go to the house, so I can have a shower and change?" I suggested quite self-conscious in that moment.

"Sure." He got up and offered me his hand. "Let's go." He got me up and we walked to Nick's house. About halfway he slipped his hand in mine and we kept on with our stroll. We got to the balcony and slipped inside only to find Haley, Nick, Rob and the rest laying around in the living room. Everyone's eyes snapped to us, but Rob's stayed for only a second before he turned back to the TV to watch whatever was on.

"Um, hi." I said a little embarrassed having brought a guy to a house I was a guest myself without asking. Nick just smiled, pretending or really I had no idea, and got up to greet us.

"Hey Sally." He greeted me and extended his hand to Poseidon next to me. "Hi, I'm Nick."

"Nice to meet you. My name's Poseidon." He replied and shook Nick's hand.

"Poseidon? Isn't that the name of a Greek God?" Haley asked slipping next to her boyfriend.

"You must be Haley." He said and she nodded. "Yes, it is."

"You parents must have had a thing for Greek mythology like the girl next to you." She said.

"Something like that." Poseidon said chuckling.

"Um, yeah…" I turned to him. "I'll go for that shower. Mind waiting here?"

"Not at all. Take your time." He said smiling.

"Okay." I said and went upstairs, but Haley soon followed me and stopped when I was out of the rest's sight.

"What are you doing?" She asked holding my hand in a tight grip.

"Going for a shower." I answered, even though I knew she didn't mean that.

"You know what I mean. Who is this guy? What happened with Rob?" She asked.

"That guy is the one you've been hearing about for the past eight months and it's not his fault Rob and I wouldn't work out even for a week. He blew his chance himself." I answered.

"What? That's the mystery-guy?" She asked surprised forgetting all about Rob in an instant. Poseidon sure was a much more interesting subject.

"He is. Now can I go for that shower?" I asked coldly.

"Sal… I'm sorry." She said looking down.

"What about? You just told the truth, right?" I said and took my arm away from hers.

"No, it's not the truth. You're nowhere near what I called you in the morning. You just thought of yourself for the first time in your life and it's strange considering I'm the one that thinks of herself most of the time." She apologized.

"Try all the time." I corrected.

"Yeah, all the time. I'm sorry." She said keeping her head down. I didn't say anything, just went to my room, got my things and went to the bathroom. When I got out of the shower, Haley wasn't there. She must've gone downstairs, so I just went to my room and changed before going downstairs. As if on cue with my arrival, Haley decided to ask Poseidon something. "So Poseidon, where have you been the past few months?"

"I've been working." He said as I went to sit next to him. "The sea is difficult to tame so I had my hands full."

"The sea? You're what? A sailor or something?" Rob asked and seemed to be a little agitated.

"Or something." Poseidon and I said at the same time. We looked at each other and smiled. Before anyone could say anything though, the doorbell rang. The pizzas were there, so we all got up and went to help. Poseidon and I took our pizza and cokes, before we went upstairs to my room.

"Your friends seem nice." He said closing the door with his foot.

"I guess they are." I said halfheartedly remembering the argument I had with Haley.

"Should I ask what happened between you and your best friend?" He asked sitting on my bed.

"Nope." I said poking my tongue out at him. "How about a movie while we're eating?"

"Sounds good to me… Under one condition." He added after a little pause.

"Which is..?" I trailed off expectantly.

"You sit right here." He said pointing on his lap. I thought about it before I answered. Sitting on his lap while watching a movie was something I had many times imagined, but now that could be true, I hesitated a little. But I wanted it more than the doubts stopped me.

"Hmm… I can live with that." I said before pushing the play button on the remote and sat on his lap with the box of pizza in front of us. The movie played on, we ate and joked around, but I didn't watch a single second of the movie. Especially when he put his arms around me. I felt like I lost the ground beneath me. As time went by, my eyes became heavier and heavier, till I leaned back against his shoulder which was the last thing I remembered.

Sorry for the lack of updates, but our first exams in university are coming up, so studying has taken up a hell of lot of time, so we weren't able to update. Since we're starting next week, we felt like updating before the exams, so that the ones reading this, wouldn't have to wait another month. You've waited oneish so, it shouldn't be twoish, right? Anyway, we hope you enjoyed this.

Catherine & Tony P.