Chapter 4

It's A Date

The next day, Amber was on her way to the mess hall for some breakfast, but she didn't have the usual spring in her step, as she hadn't slept too well this night either. It wasn't because of any nightmare, however, but more so that she was still conflicted about Jake.

She had spent most of her free time the previous day thinking about it, about him, and she still couldn't come to grips with what she actually felt.

Was she in love? Was she sexually attracted to him? Was it both of the above? Or was she just confused about the mishap during their training? And what did he think of her after that? Or in general?

She had barely seen him all day after they sparred, aside from when they went on patrol with the other Knights, and during that he had avoided meeting her gazes, even asked to be paired up with someone else. He had claimed that he wanted to switch things up when asked about it, but she wasn't so sure that was the full truth.

This left Amber with a growing lump of worry in her stomach. Had what had happened ruined their friendship all together? Surely that could not be it, but she couldn't fully shake the feeling that it was the case.

She needed to do something to break this ice that was forming between them before it turned into a glacier. But what?

As she thought, she walked by the rec-room, where Cam and Barry, the lead scavengers of the settlement, were checking in on the weather forecast for the night. Seeing as she and the others would be heading out on patrol later, Amber figured she might as learn what the night had in store for them.

"...so to summarise, we can expect clear, warm nights for the next couple of days, with tonight being particular fine for those wishing to have a nice stroll in the light of the full moon. Maybe even a swim, as the waters remain a pleasant temperature from the hot days."

"Sounds nice, doesn't it?" Cam asked his warthog friend.

"Sure does. Much better than when it's pouring down. Keeps ruining my mohawk."

"Keeps Tania busy." the rhinoceros chuckled.

"Yeah, I suppose it does." Barry joined in.

'A swim…?' Amber mused mentally, the word having stuck in her mind. 'Maybe that's what I should do, take Jake to the beach. Neither of us get out a lot unless we go on patrol, especially not me. Might be worth a shot. At least it will be something to break the ice with.'

Arriving in the mess hall and gathering a tray of food, Amber scanned the area and soon found Jake sitting at the end of one table. Swallowing, Amber steeled herself and started walking towards him, aiming to join him, but she felt a resistance on a mental level.

'Come on, girl. You can do this.' she thought to herself. 'You've fought ninja, mutants, even an evil version of your own brother! Surely you can talk to someone you've known for years, even after what happened.'

"Hey, Jake." she greeted, going past one of the many points of no return she felt she had to overcome.

"Hi." he answered half-heartedly without even looking up.

"Can I sit here?" she asked.

"Sure."

Again, his response was distant, uninterested. Amber was starting to have second thoughts, but she had to try.

"You know, I was thinking…" she began, finally getting Jake to look up from his plate and focus on her.

"Thinking about what?" he asked.

"Well… Things have been… I guess, a little hectic for a while. We've all been busy with our everyday things. Training, patrols, those sort of things, and at times it can feel a bit cramped with all the people around here."

"I suppose so?" Jake said, agreeing with what she said, but he was still not sure where she was going with it.

"So I was thinking, seeing as the weather is going to be really nice the coming nights, how about we head out to the beaches and go for a late night swim? Just you and me."

"A beach trip?" he was a bit taken aback by the suggestion, but he couldn't say it didn't sound appealing. "Sure. Sounds like fun." he said with a small smile.

"Great!" Amber almost cheered. Then she blushed, took a quick breath, and tried to continue without acting like a high school girl. "I know a spot we can get to easily enough. If we take some food with us, we could have lunch while we're there."

"A little picnic on the beach, huh? That's sounds good to me."

Amber's heart almost skipped a beat. It seemed like she was well on her way to restore what she and Jake had had prior to the incident during training.

"Then shall we meet up by the exit, say twenty minutes after the first patrol?" Amber suggested. "Should be enough time to gather what we need."

"Yeah, let's go with that."

The hours passed, and the patrol was fairly uneventful, with only a few minor criminals that needed to be deal with.

Nearly all the time, Amber was looking forward to their upcoming beach trip, it was almost all she could think of at times. She really hoped that she would be able to patch things up with Jake again.

But she wasn't the only one with a lot on her mind.

Jake had also been thinking about it. Constantly going over it in his mind, trying to pick it apart.
He was glad that Amber had started talking to him again, as he hadn't been able to face her long enough to take that step himself, and he was relieved that it didn't seem to be any bad blood between them after he accidentally had grabbed her breast. But at the same time, he was a bit worried that this trip might lead to something that he would rather avoid.

Whatever the case, he couldn't in good conscience cancel their outing, especially not when they were just about to leave for it. He just wanted to be able to be friends with Amber, like he had been for years now.

Grabbing a beach towel in his room, and changing into his swimming trunks, he was ready to meet Amber.

The marine iguana, in turn, had changed into her swimsuit, and then into her normal clothes on top of it. She then grabbed a towel and left her room to go to the mess hall and ask the resident cook, Louie the cockroach, about a bag of lunch for them to bring with them.

On her way there, she ran into her brother.

"Going somewhere, sis?" he asked, being a bit curious about her beach towel.

"Actually, yeah. Me and Jake are going to go swimming at the beach for a while."

"Ah, some midnight swimming. That's sounds like a lot of fun, I hope the two of you have a good time there."

"Me too."

"Remember that week long vacation our family went on when we were kids? On Öland, with that beautiful beach, and the enchanted forest north of it?"

"Surprisingly enough, I do. Vividly too, despite only being four years old at the time. It was such a different area compared to where we lived."

"I know what you mean." he sighed dreamingly. "One day, I'd like to go back there, together with you, mom, dad, Sephie, and the kids."

"Let's hope we can do that, Ray-ray." Amber placed her hand on her brother's shoulder. "Oh, but I'm afraid I don't have time to stand around daydreaming any longer. Jake's waiting for me, and I still need to grab some lunch at the mess."

"I understand, and I won't keep you. Just promise me you'll be careful. Not just with avoiding any late night humans, but also in the water."

"I promise." Amber said with a wink.

Seems you lot are getting a beach episode next time. :)

The place mentioned by Tyroth, Öland, is the second largest island in Sweden, and it has some beautiful beaches, among many other things.
And Amber thinking about the evil version of her brother is a reference to my story Nemesis. Go check it out if you haven't already.