Slipping Past- Part 3

She goes home to shower and get ready for work. She goes through the motions but her mind is miles away. Remembering how she felt in his arms, so warm and safe and how she was able to forget about the rest of the world when she was with him. His smile is genuine and his personality is assertive, whihc attracts her to him even more. Her heart races at the thought of him.
Chiara wonders when she will see him again. Does he like her? Is he going to call her? He said he would when he left. She rushes off to work as questions race through her mind. She arrives at work and loses herself in her work for over ten hours. Throughout the day though, thoughts of the night before creep in and she smiles. Her stomach flutters. She is not sure when she will see him again but she hopes it is sooner than later. She leaves work exhausted that night, yet smiling as she remembers Gabe's charm and smile.
That weekend she heads off to Narragansett to see some of her friends. They go to the beach, have drinks, watch movies late at night and laugh until beer comes out someone's nose. She has a great time at the condo away but during that whole time he is there, constantly, in the back of her mind. Why is he there? Why is he having this affect on her? She drives back home, enjoying the sun beating down on her, as she giggles at memories. The Fourth of July is only days away and she has plans to see some friends and family.
The next day she goes to a picnic with her best friend and enjoys a great day of catching up with old friends, meeting new ones and relaxing. The long day concludes with a hour long firework display over the town's marina. As she sits and watches the fireworks she wishes she was sharing the moment with Gabe.
On the Fourth Chiara gets a surprising yet long-awaited phone call from Gabe. He asks her if she wants to go to the beach or swimming. She happily accepts, throwns on her bikini and she meets at his place. Her heart skips a beat as she sees him standing there, waiting for her. They jump into his vehicle and takes them to a lake. She has never been to this lake, it is nice and peaceful with only a few people around. They lay down a blanket and relax in the now partly cloudy weather. They chit chat here and there in between reading a book. She feels safe next to him and admires his long, athletic body. As they lay there and enjoy each others company they play feetsies. She enoys the light flirting.
While they are there at the lake more people come and ruin the quiet, relaxing atmosphere. He mentions to her that he is going to go for a swim and would she like to join him? She looks at him in bewilderment. Chiara is not one to swim in lakes, actually she is damn near afraid of it and has been for years. She looks around at the people who arrived at the lake; loud, abnoxious and drinking. She decides to go for it and go swim with him. She adjusts her bikini as she gets up and walks to the water with Gabe. He laughs at her reluctance to jump in the water with him as she explains her fear of water to him. As they swim out to a small island about 10 minutes out she warns him that if anything touches her she will die of a heart attack. He laughs. Chiara changes strokes and as she is doing the side stroke Gabe disappears under the water, unknow to her, and grabs her leg. Chiara screams! She gets a mouth full of water and watches Gabe as he comes out of the water laughing. She finally collects herself after having the uncontrollable urge to drown him, continues on swimming laughing and cursing him.
Chiara and Gabe arrive at the small island and rest for a bit. A fish nips her thigh and she yelps out. Another reason why she stays out of lakes. They sit there and talk about his swimming experiences here with his friends and she shares some of her stories. They laugh together as they enjoy the stories. He asks her if she is ready to swim back. She answers him "as ready as I will ever be" he laughs and tells her he said that before the last time he swam here. They head back to shore and to the blanket and dry off. They agree they both would like to leave and head back home. A storm is starting to brew outside and he invites her in to his condo, she joins him.

Slipping Past- Part 2

The salt from her tears stains her face. She gently wipes them away. She tries to think of happy thoughts, the times her and Gabe shared together. Is she just a silly girl in love, chasing a dream? He is very unpredictable, it is frustrating. Sometimes he responds right away to her, other times it is hours or a day. Other times of course she hears from him when she least expects it. She wonders why she can not control her heart and order it to stop loving this man. They have not known each other long which confuses her even further because she never falls quickly for a man. What is it about this one that breaks her down so easily? He is, however, just a man. She thinks to herself that he has brown eyes not blue or green eyes that she is usually drawn to.
Chiara remembers clearly the moment they met. He opened his condo door and there he stood 6'4" tall. Her heart stopped beating, her palms became sweatty as she stood there momentarily dazed. The chemistry and electricity readily apparent. Oh, yes he was all man. His smiling brown eyes held hers as they hugged and she returned the smile. They laughed together as they complimented each other on their appearance and looks, they both agreed the other looked much better in person than in photos. It was a pleasant surprise for them both. They talked for a bit at his place before heading out to dinner at the restaurant she had chosen.
Chiara remembers an explicit dream she had just nights prior to laying eyes on Gabe. She had just pretty much sworn off dating for good when this dream came to her. She was walking outside in her backyard when she heard a lot of frogs croaking which did not make much sense since she was not near a pond. She looked around and saw some frogs sitting around in the grass like they owned the land. She laughed to herself as she remembered the fairy tale growing up of a girl kissing a frog and how it turned into a prince. Such a childhood fantasy. She paused as she stood there and looked down at this one frog in particular. She bent down and picked it up and it sat in her hand not fighting to jump off. She looked around, giggled and kissed the frog. Nothing happened. She placed the frog gently back to the ground and laughed as she turned and walked away back to her place.
As she walked away she failed to see what was going on behind her. The frog had started turning different shapes and sizes and mutating. She walked into her place and tidying it up. She hears a knock on her door minutes later and hesitantly goes to the door knowing she is not expecting anyone. She opens the door to a sight that nearly knocked her off her feet. Standing in front of her is a tall, athletic man, yet he was faceless. She was scared. She did not know what to think nor what to say to a faceless man. He extended out his arms to her and motions her to him as she started to slowly back away into the safety of her place. She hesitates not knowing what to do, stuck in a daze; drawn to him but scared at the same time. He slowly steps forward and embraces her and pulls her to him gently, she leans in and loses herself in his arms shocked at her own actions. Never in her life has she felt so complete, so safe, content and loved as she feels now at this moment in this faceless, strangers arms.
Chiara awoke moments later, her heart was racing and she was not sure where she was. The dream was so life like that when she saw she was in her bedroom she felt lost. Then is a huge emotional rush the dream came crashing down on her, filling her with hope.
As Chiara sits at a table outside with Gabe at the restaurant later the next evening she feels electricity flowing through them. She listens as he speaks, his voice so soothing, his figure having a strong resemblance to the man in her dreams. She slowly and quietly exhales as she tries to keep her composure. They continue to converse intimately and laugh and enjoy each others company.
After dinner on the ride back to his place he invites her in for movies and a drink and she coyly accepts. They go back to his place he pours them each a glass of a nice French Pinot Noir as some action movie starts in the background. They end up back in the living room conversing candidly in between watching the movie. As the movie continues and the warm wine relaxes the two they move closer and closer together on the couch cuddling together. As they continue to watch the movie  Gabe slowly inches his lips close to Chiara's neck and she can feel his hot breath on the back of her neck; his lips make their way to her neck and he slowly starts kissing her. Her breathing stops. His touch burns her to her core. She slowly turns her head, he gently cradles her face in his hands as he brushes his lips to hers. The attraction overwhelming them both. He starts slowly tracing her lips and brushing them against hers. He then slowly parts her lips as he kisses her deeper and then slips his warm tongue into her sweet mouth. She moans quietly as the passion and emotion exchange within. They continue kiss and hold each other tight throughout the movie and do not notice when it ends because they are so enthralled with each other. Both seeming so content.
Gabe, the gentleman that he is, invites her to stay so she does not have to drive because it is now about 3 a.m.and the second movie has ended. She accepts his invite to spend the night. They awake in the morning, kiss each other, and get ready to go to work. He tells her he will call her and that he had a great time. She lets him know she had a great time as well and that it was the longest first date she had ever been on. They kiss and part ways.