Chapter 4

The first thing Aren noticed when he woke up was Gin, half-dressed, beautiful, and cuddled up next to him. Now this is definitely the way to start off a day, he thought as he shifted to look at the clock. Eight in the morning. Well, that's early. Probably because I fell asleep on her as soon as we got here. She's such a doll; she acted like it was perfectly ok. I wish I could have done something else. Maybe I should make her breakfast.

He started to roll out of bed, but Gin, still asleep, whimpered softly when he began to let go of her. Well, so much for that. Breakfast can wait. I'd rather cook with her later anyway.

Maybe I can just drift back into dreamland, Aren thought. Maybe I could recapture that dream from last night. Damn, I wish I could remember all of it. The fragments are so good... Something about Gin. She was dressed sort of Goth. That I remember. Black, fitted, sheer, off the shoulder long-sleeved shirt over a dark red cami, black miniskirt, fishnets, and knee boots. So incredibly hot, not that I don't go for the rocker girl look, because I definitely do... this just fit too... Her hair was normal, and so was her dark, smoky eye-makeup. But she had on blood red lipstick and that choker ribbon necklace. I don't remember the charm. I wonder what she'd say if I suggested she dress like that sometime. It's not like it wouldn't fit her personality. We were just walking through a city. Holding hands. She was wearing a wedding ring... Can that be right? I'm probably just trying to remember it the way I want it to be... Everyone was staring at her but she acted like they weren't there. She only looked at me. We were going somewhere, but even in the dream I didn't care where. Pure euphoria...

His thoughts wandered away as he fell back asleep, but sleep didn't last long. He awoke quickly when Gin stirred, rolled over with an adorably sleepy grin, and nuzzled a kiss into his neck.

"Morning, beauty queen."

"Hey," she said, her voice still syrupy with sleep. "What time is it?"

"Early, still. Around eight."

She murmured something he didn't understand and snuggled herself back into him.

Apparently not time to get up yet, he laughed to himself. He knew he would be perfectly content if they didn't do anything else all day.

Several hours later, Gin had made her way to the shower and Aren, feeling much fresher after his, was making spring rolls and yakisoba for lunch.

Just as Aren was serving the food onto plates, he caught motion out of the corner of his eye.

"Hey, baby," Gin said as she kissed him just below his ear. It always gave him goose bumps, which she seemed to love.

"Perfect timing," he said, smiling. He started to turn around to finish serving lunch, after taking a moment to appreciate the way her jeans fit her bum. Then he saw what she was wearing around her neck. A black ribbon choker. And the charm gave him a nice strong dose of de ja vous. The word 'love, ' in Chinese. He had no idea why or how he knew what it said, but he had no doubt he was right. They sat down to lunch on the back patio, which had an incredible view of the ocean.

"Dude, I know my neck is cute, but personally, I think my eyes are prettier to stare at. Or my chest. What's up?"

"Oh, umm, nothing. It's just your necklace... I've never seen you wear it before."

"Yeah. It's not new, but I haven't worn it... well, ever really."

"Why?"

"Umm... no reason. Not an important one anyway."

"What does it say?"

"Love. In Chinese."

"I like it. If it were up to me, you'd wear it all the time."

She laughed. "I'll consider it."

He couldn't believe it. It has to just be a coincidence. I'm going crazy. I don't see the future. I don't get premonitions. I... well, it's just crazy.

"Your spring rolls are fantastic. And of course, I love yakisoba. I could definitely get used to your cooking."

"Thanks, cutie. Your cooking is nothing to speak poorly of. In fact, I prefer it over my own."

"Funny, funny. I make, like, three things well. Aside from baking, of course. And fancy cake decorations, but what good are those except at weddings and showers and whatnot."

"You could open a bakery. I swear, people would pay a small fortune for one of your cakes."

"Perhaps. But don't count on me opening a bakery in this lifetime. So, what's the deal for today?"

"No plans. Maybe go hang out on the beach. Get some sand between our toes. That kind of thing. If you want later, we can go into town. Apparently it's a quaint little thing. The lady who owns this place loves it."

"Ok. If we get bored that sounds good. I think I'd like to get all sandy first, though." The wicked little smile she gave him made Aren wonder just what was up her sleeve.

Gin was standing in the kitchen finishing up the last of the lunch dishes. She had insisted that Aren go entertain himself while she cleaned up because she liked being domestic now and then, and doing the dishes after he cooked only seemed fair. She could see him sitting out on the patio. He had a sketch pad and seemed to be intensely focused on the beach house. I wonder what he's drawing out there...

She put the last plate in the cabinet and strolled out onto the patio.

"What's up, baby?" He sighed. She was barefoot. Which seemed only natural. She was very vain about her feet, but in his opinion she had every right to be... they were inordinately cute.

"Just seeing why you were drawing the beach house instead of the scenery. It doesn't even seem like it would be the best viewpoint from here. But I trust your artistic intuition. Can I see?"

"Sure. But I wasn't drawing the beach house, exactly. It was more like something inside."

Gin looked at the sketch, only to see herself, standing in the kitchen window drying a plate. The image was so simple, but never before had she seen herself through Aren's eyes. It brought a smile to her lips and nearly tears to her eyes. In the drawing, she looked so warm and happy. The only thing she could do was flop down in his lap and wrap her arms around him. Kissing on the shore sounded like the best thing in the world. The sketchpad fell out of his hand and hit the wooden plank patio as her lips pressed to his.

The sun was nearly completely set by the time Gin and Aren strolled their way back up the shore to the beach house. They had been walking and playing and snuggled up kissing on rocks all afternoon. It had been a beautiful day, but with sunset, the ocean breeze felt chilly. The relative warmth of the beach house felt nice to Gin.