Gavin woke up slowly, with an unknown warmth and weight against his back. His eyes took a moment to adjust to the low light in the room. He looked around, un-familiar with where he was. A soft snore sounded behind him, and he realized what the weight on him was.
He turned his head to see a beautiful face with gentle soft features asleep, limbs wrapped around him loosely. He tried to disengage from her soft warm body without waking Erza. He grabbed his phone to check the time.
8am it shone, along with a 5% battery life left. He set the phone back down next to the couch and grabbed the blanket to cover Erza, who smiled and curled up under the covers, her breathing slow and deep. He leaned down and poked the tip of her nose for fun before he left the room quietly and headed down the hallway to try to find a coffee pot.
As he neared the kitchen, a pleasant smell hit his nose, and the most wonderful sound teased his hearing. He grinned as he heard the most fabulous sound of bacon sizzling on a skillet. He saw Aria standing there in a loose red tank top and night shorts as she had headphones on and danced away, her hips swayed to the music, lost in her own little world.
He walked to the other side of the kitchen and noticed the coffee maker. He looked around. As he was checking the cupboards for coffee and a filter, he heard a startled gasp from behind as Aria finally noticed his presence and removed her headphones while she cursed softly "holy shit dude. Where did you come from?"
Gavin looked apologetically and says "I'm sorry, I didn't want to startle you. I just wanted some coffee"
Aria laughed and reached into the last cupboard that Gavin hadn't checked as she pulled down coffee and a filter. "Sorry we don't have alot of options. We don't drink it that often. Lila prefers juice, I like strong caffeine and Erza is usually gone with bottled water."
"I'm not picky, I just like some cold coffee in the morning", Gavin responded as he pulled out the ice cubes from the freezer and poured them into a glass he pulled down. Aria went back to plating the bacon and she asked "Hungry?"
"Oh I'm starving, yes please" he responded, his stomach giving a loud growl in protest. "We ate an early dinner right after school ended, then came here, and I just passed out on the couch at some point." Gavin responded as he yawned waiting for the sweet aroma of coffee to fill the room and quit pouring.
"Yeah, same here, I think the last time I ate was around noon yesterday, then got the email about the band wanting an update sent over by this morning and was working until I think, 4?" She said as she placed a plate of eggs and bacon down for Gavin, "I don't ever get much sleep, too much work to do on this crap" she answered his unspoken question when his eyebrows raised.
"I was gonna say, do you guys ever get any sleep during these projects?" He asked her as he took a bite of the delicious food on the plate in front of him.
A decisive snort came from across the table. "Hell to the no. Usually, maybe 2 or 3 hours of sleep a day when it's an urgent request. I usually run days with sleep dep until project gets to a good spot then I pass out for most of a day and repeat as needed." Aria said nonchalantly discussing how little sleep she runs on, as if, she was almost bragging about it.
A frown wrinkled Gavin's face as he thought about that. "You should take care of yourself better Aria, you wouldn't be any good to your friends or the project if you're dead from sleep deprivation", Gavin chastised her softly while he took another bite.
Aria sighed dejectedly, as she hung her head and ate a couple bites of her food. "I know you're right. I always push the envelope when it comes to lack of care about my well-being, thinking that the ends justify shortcuts here and there. I think, oh I can get 10 hours of sleep on this day if I give up a few hours here and there for more work, so I can get a longer rest when it's finished. But I know I know. My Dr tells me the same thing whenever I go to my appointments. That I need to sleep on a more regular schedule and more than 3 hours a day." The barest hint of a smile crossed her face, lifting just the edges of her cheeks up, "You've always had such a kind heart, it's no reason Erza fell in love with you" Aria teased him as he munched on some crunchy bacon.
Gavin choked on his bite of toast, he coughed to clear his throat then said "I don't think she's in love with me. I can't even believe she has a crush on me. I woke up thinking that yesterday was a dream, that I didn't actually confess to her, and damn sure didn't actually hear her confess to me. I woke up, and I'd have bet everything I owned it was a dream, you know?" Gavin took a sip of coffee and set the cup down before continuing. "But then the most amazing sound was heard. A soft little snore behind my back, and I realized that she, at some point, laid on the couch and wrapped her body against mine. I've never known such peace and happiness feeling her soft weight against me. If it wasn't for my stomach growling and demanding food, I'd still be there holding her and savoring that moment." he said softly, grinning with a light blush darkening her cheeks.
"Just take care of her. Don't break her heart. We meant it last night when we said she hadn't dated anyone in 3 years since the night you swept her off her feet and danced at her prom together. Every time a guy has asked, it's been a polite no. No hesitation or thought. We always bugged her on dates and went out. But she always refused and said she wasn't interested or too busy." Aria smiled as she felt true joy for her best friend to find her guy finally.
Gavin sat there in silence for a moment, digesting that. That's 2 or 3 times he's heard that statement since yesterday. In one way, he felt guilty she hadn't dated anyone, a bit selfish also. But he was also happy she realized she had feelings for him and was willing to give him a shot.
"You talk way too much, Aria" a voice grumbled from the hallway. They both turned to see a disheveled looking Erza shuffle into the kitchen. She pulled out a bottle of water from the fridge and sat at the table, stealing a piece of bacon from Gavin's plate.
"Hey!" He protested and scooted his plate out of her reach.
"I'm hungry" she argued back, bringing it closer to steal another bite as she took a swig of water.
"What time did you guys finish and go to bed?" Gavin asked his girlfriend.
She yawned deep and long as she shook her head and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. "Aria passed out around 4, Lila not long after. I finished and sent it over to them at about 530, then went to find you and take a cat nap" she said in-between yawns.
"Damn, you guys should still be asleep" he said, a little in awe of the fact they were awake and functioning on what amounted to 3 hours of sleep. Erza laughed lightly.
"Oh, this isn't the first time, nor the last time we will do this" she said as she went over and started frying up some more bacon. "Although I doubt Lila will be up before noon. She's the heaviest sleeper of the 3 of us. Once she goes to bed, next to nothing will wake her up early" she explained, the sound of sizzling bacon in the pan filling the quiet morning.
"If you want more sleep, I can take a cab home or just chill watching TV or something," Gavin offered, seeing how exhausted she looked with her clothes wrinkled, hair all over the place, the definition of bed head.
"Nah, I'll be okay once I get some grub in me" she responded with her back to him. "Besides," she said softly and paused before she continued. "I still owe you a date".
Gavin grinned a little bit. "Looking forward to it, since someone," he emphasized, the last word, "canceled the date at the last minute and kidnapped me", he teased her.
Gavin ducked as a salt shaker went flying over his head. "Hey, you agreed to come with me to help the girls, so no lip from you about how long it took Mr." Erza scolded him, hands on her hips in annoyance.
"My bad my bad. I was only teasing, you know" he responded slightly defensively, and watched to make sure she had nothing else in her hands.
"Good. We should probably head over to my place to get a shower and change clothes before we do much else today" she said, when she noticed the time was almost 9.
"Go on, finish your food, Erza. I'll let you know when the client responds and what they say about the submission." Aria offered as she finished her food and put the plate in the sink for later. She leaned back, arms over her head as she stretched fully as possible to ease the cramps in her lower back from sitting in the chair so long the last few days, her top riding up to reveal teasing bits of her skin, which made Gavin blush and quickly look away in shyness.
"Alright thanks Aria, come on Gavin, let's get going" Erza says as she gets up from the table.
"See you guys later". Gavin called his farewells out as they walked out the door. Wincing, he covered his eyes as they adjusted to the light. The sun was shining bright and clear that morning. The temperature had to be above 80 degrees already, but it felt nice to him.
They walked over to the suv and got in. "So where to", Gavin asked her as he buckled up.
"I don't know about you. But I want a shower before we do anything else. And a change of clothes would be nice as well." She said as she navigated the early morning traffic back towards her parents' house.
After they got a couple of quick showers and a fresh change of clothes, they hung out on the couch in the living room. Erza flipped through stations before finding a news release on another human bio-human relationship that was attacked in the streets in a town not far away.
"I can't believe that people really believe that garbage and attack innocent people just because it's something different" Erza snapped angrily.
""People are dumb," Gavin said.
"God ain't that the truth" Erza said, as she said and reached to hold his hand for comfort. "So what do we wanna do?" She asked him.
"Hmm. We could go for a hike or go swimming. Maybe the movie theater has a cool double feature planned for today", he thought out-loud.
Erza pulled out her phone and checked the movie times. She shook her head and said "Sorry babe. It also seems like last night was the last showing of that sci-fi movie too." She informed Gavin, a little bit of guilt entered her heart over the fact she made him miss his movie last night.
"Oh okay. Hmm. It's supposed to be a really nice day. There's a spot by the trails on the north side of town that's really quiet. It's like a 15-minute hike through the woods off the main path and there's a small pond, beautiful scenery. We could do both a hike and some swimming. I know if you took your camera equipment, you could get some amazing shots!" Gavin said with excitement at the end. He knew how much she loved photography. The shots she could get in that area would be incredible with her skills.
Erza's ears perked up at the mention of a stunning photography area. She grinned, her smile wide as she said "You had me on camera equipment. But we will have to go to your place to get you a pair of swim trunks if you wanna go"
"For sure! I think it'd be alot of fun!" Gavin responded excitedly.
After they left the house, they drove the few miles to Gavin's. He ran in, both his parents were out, so he quickly grabbed a change of clothes, including his swim trunks and locked the house back up.
They headed north from there, a few miles outside the city, when Gavin instructed Erza to pull off to a scenic parking lot before a trail head. Tall trees, beautiful flowers and green shrubbery filled the area outside the gravel parking lot. It was still early and the sounds of nature could be heard all around them with birds singing and other critters moving about.
"This looks promising" Erza purred with relish as she made sure her camera battery was charged and grabbed her hiking pack she always kept in her suv.
"You're going to love it. We have to hike about 15ish minutes down the trail then turn right and go into the woods for about another 15 to 20 minutes before we get to the small pond with some of the clearest water you've seen", Gavin informed her as he threw his own bag over his shoulders, grinning.
"Lead the way" she urged him on, as she looked around the foliage, already taking a few photos as they walked.
Gavin walked on ahead in happy silence. He always loved running this trail when he was in cross-country. The peace and quiet always felt like a mental restart to him. His stress and worries always faded away while he was down this trail. Now he got to share his secret place with the girl of his dreams. Today couldn't be more perfect, he thought to himself.
They walked slowly in quiet peace, only the sound of their footsteps and the occasional shutter of her camera breaking the nature sounds around them.
Before long they arrived at the area where they had to leave the gravel trail and hike through the woods themselves. They pushed their way through following an old game trail east of the path. They arrived at the pond some time later, neither rushing through and enjoying each other's company.
As Gavin pushed the last brush aside, he revealed the small pond. Nestled in a small meadow like a clearing in the forest. Long grass and different colored flowers circled the pond, the sun shone bright over head, breaking through the nearby tree canopy.
Erza grinned in wide eyed excitement as she started taking all kinds of different photos of the area, and different angles. "I can't wait to get these back and upload them. These are going to be so cool" she said softly as she set her pack on the grind and walked around the clearing.
Gavin smiled as he saw her response. He felt this was the right thing to do today. His heart quickened as he watched her lost in her passion. The way the sun hit her hair and skin just right, her eyes glowing with warmth and excitement. The beautiful smile on her face, it made his breath catch in his throat.
He was no one special. Nothing special. An ordinarily boring looking guy. Yet, this symbol of beauty and perfection cared for him. She cared enough to risk being attacked for dating a human, by the scum that saw biohumans as lesser brings. She didn't care for whatever reason, he wormed inside her heart and she wasn't letting him go. Oh well. As long as they stood together, there was nothing they could not face and beat down.
Erza felt a tingle down her spine as she lowered her camera and looked around. The intense look in Gavins eyes took her off guard. He stared at her so intently it made her shiver slightly. Trying to break the tension she said "what you staring at, did i grow horns suddenly or is there a spider in my hair?"
Gavin blinked in surprise, not expecting the sarcastic remarks. "What?" He asked her confused.
She walked over, hips swayed with each step. "The way you're staring at me. It's like you want to devour me" she replied as she stopped in front of him, her hands on hips.
Gavin blinked out of his confusion as he realized he was staring that intently at her. "Sorry, I was just lost in my thoughts for a moment," He apologized with a sheepish smile on his face.
Erza reached out to pinch his cheek. "No, you don't get off the hook that easily when you look at me like that" she pressed him.
Gavin freed his face from her soft hand and said softly "I was lost for a moment, thinking how beautiful you are. Here I am, plain and boring as can be. Yet you decide to pick me. You chose to date me. Even knowing there are crazy people out there attacking relationships like ours, you still choose me. I just don't understand it" he paused before he took a breath and continued "but I also know, so long as we are together side by side, there is nothing we can't overcome" he finished that last part with a strong conviction in his voice. His determination to keep them both safe, strong and evident in his tone and words.
Erza smiled and laughed sweetly. "Boy, there is nothing boring about you. Less than 24 hours together and you already took me to one hell of a beautiful spot for photos. There is so much more to you than just appearance's babe", she said gently, as she pulled him into her warm embrace and hugged him tightly.
"Now, how about we go swimming to cool off for a bit?" She offered as she sat her camera gear down and began to strip her clothes off, revealing her two piece bikini swimsuit. Black top and red bottom it fit her curves well and made Gavin's mouth dry, and his pants suddenly very tight and uncomfortable. "I just bought this one last week, you like"? She asked playfully as she twirled around giving him a good show.
"Um yeah. That looks really good on you" he managed to stumble out, as he found his voice. I'll change behind this tree real quick" he said as he pointed at the big oak behind them towards the forest tree line.
Erza laughed at his response. Both physical and mental one. She loved to tease him. He was so innocent in the ways of dating. It made him so endearing to her. She waved her hand to him to go ahead as she turned around and started to walk to the water, letting it go up her thighs. "So warm" she mumbled out loud. Letting the warm water ease the ache in her legs and back from the hike.
A few moments later Gavin slowly walked into the water after he changed into his black trunks, as he tossed his clothes by their pile on his way back. "The water here always feels so relaxing and soothing" he said to her as he walked up beside his girlfriend.
"Oh this feels the best!" She squealed out in delight "the water is so clear, I can see my toes in the sand" she laughed joyfully, the sound ringing in his ears.
"I told you this was amazing here" he responded, "you didn't believe me". He teased her back in mock pain.
She turned around and saw his grin and said " of course I believed you. But believing and seeing for myself are 2 different matters entirely. " She finished as she laid on her back and floated out to the center of the pond in peaceful bliss.
Gavin followed her, letting the water relax his aching muscles and quiet his apprehension. "I'm so glad we came out here today" he whispered softly.
Erza opened her eyes to look at him, "Me too" she said softly, as she used her tail to push her through the water to lay next to him on her back. Grinning without warning she stood up and reached under him to flip him in the water. As Gavin sputtered and coughed he glared at her laughter.
Wanting retribution, he dove at her, determined to return the favor. Erza was all laughter as Gavin tried to unbalance her and dunk her. Her foot slipped in the sand and he took the chance to get her back, flipping her and dunking the cocky woman.
"Ha!" He said joyfully, "I'm the winner" he proclaimed in victory as she resurfaced in front of him.
"Then the winner, gets a kiss" she said and quickly leaned in to capture his lips in a tender kiss, her hand tickling his cheeks as she cupped his face. Gavin stood there stunned as her warm lips connected to him, his breathing was quick, and his heart rate even quicker as he tasted her sweet lips. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close in his embrace.
Erza gasped in surprise as she something poke her sensitive place down below the water. "My my, someone's getting a little excited" she grinned mischievously as she reached down to stroke him softly through his pants.
Gavin blushed and froze at the contact. Even though it was through clothes, it still felt different than when he did it himself. He kissed her back and rested his forehead against hers smiling as he tried to catch his breath and slow his rapid heart rate down. "Sorry, I got a little carried away" he whispered in between breathes.
Erza smiled, a knowing glint in her amber eyes. "It's okay, maybe soon I might taste that forbidden fruit" she said teasingly as she stepped back and stretched her arms over her head. Gavin noticed this and the fact that her chest was pushed out didn't go unnoticed.
He readjusted himself and grinned "I can't wait" he told her.
After that moment, the two of them spent the rest of the afternoon in the clearing. They chatted away, Erza took many more photos, this time including the two of them, and spent more time swimming in the pond.
A perfect way to have a first date.