2 Chapter 2: A Chanced Encounter
"What the - what the hell, put me down!" She screamed, flailing her arms around and kicking her legs in the air as she was carried out of the water. She soon learned that it was completely useless as the stranger ignored her pleas.
Just seconds ago, she was waist-deep in the ocean, in the water that was slightly too cold, but she was now back on shore, in the arms of a complete stranger.
Or so she thought…
She was certain that confusion was written all over her face and she was about to yell at the boy but the words that were once at the tip of her tongue quickly disappeared when she found herself looking into a pair of familiar dark brown eyes.
"You alright?" The boy asked, his voice deeper than she remembered. A genuine look of concern was etched on his face but she still couldn't figure out exactly why he would just drag her out of the water.
She was looking at him intently, seeing that his dark hair was now damp and his shirt, obviously wet, soaking wet actually. Even under the night sky, she could see the beads of water droplets slowly sliding down the side of his face and his chest rising up and down in a rhythmic manner as he panted.
There were so many other things she should be worried about, yet there was only one thing on her mind, one thing only. "My ball…" She mumbled under her breath, not exactly the two words he expected to hear. He was expecting an "I'm okay" or "Thank you for saving my life" to be exact.
But all he knew was that she was clearly dejected and at a loss. After all, it was not his first time seeing that look on her face as she stared ahead into the vast ocean, looking at god knows what.
"What?" He asked with a raised eyebrow. It finally clicked in his head when a soft bark reached his ears and he whipped his head around to see that very ball floating in the ocean, floating further and further away into the darkness. He then turned to his side only to be greeted by a Golden Retriever who was barely a few months old, wagging her tail ever so enthusiastically.
"Shit," he cussed under his breath before he quickly placed her back down on the ground. Before she could even say anything, the boy was already running back into the ocean. It was not long before he came back with the ball in his hand, a nonchalant look on his face.
"Here." He handed her the ball, without even looking her in the eyes.
"Oh… umm, thanks," she muttered, looking at the soaking wet ball in her hand, as the water dripped down her fingers.
This was not the way she expected to meet her ex-lover, her high school sweetheart, in the middle of the night, at the beach right after she just found out her husband of less than a year had cheated on her with another woman who looked just like her.
It was definitely not how she thought her Thursday night would go.
"It's been a while, Al."
"Yeah… how has life been for you, Caleb?"
"It's alright, I guess. You?"
She debated between telling the truth and lying but quickly chose the former. "To be honest, not that great."
His eyebrow shot upward, as he waited for her response, curious as to why. "And… Why is that?"
"For starters, I just found out my husband has been cheating on me."
"Oh…" He mumbled under his breath. Of course, he didn't know what to say or what she wanted to hear, as usual. Comforting someone was never really his forte, but he always tries anyway. And she appreciates that.
"That's rough," he continued, casually giving her a slight pat on her shoulder in an attempt to comfort her.
"Yeah…" She let out an audible sigh.
Silence stretched between the two of them for a while as they sat and stared at the night sky above them, listening to the waves crashing against the shore and the sounds of crickets filling the air.
"Alexandra?" There was a short pause as she turned around to look at him. She could almost see the way the gears in his head were turning before he finally said something.
"Do you wanna get married?"
His dark brown hair was still dripping wet and his shirt soaked through. The boy in front of her was looking at her expectantly as he waited for her reply. He only noticed how her eyes were widened ever so slightly and the way her pale lips were parted, confusion written all over her face.
"Yes… Wait, no, what? Did you just ask me if I want to get married? To you?"
To say Alexandra was shocked and confused was an understatement. But he only nodded without saying another word.
"No? Why would I?
"Because I'm good-looking and rich," he replied nonchalantly.
"Ok and?" She asked with a raised eyebrow, still looking at the boy before her.
"So you agree?" He asked as a smirk morphed itself onto his face.
A laugh escaped her lips. "I mean…"
"If you change your mind, you can always give me a call," he said with a smug smile, cutting her off mid-sentence.
"I won't! Bye!" She replied as she grabbed her dog and bag, slowly walking further and further away from the boy. She raised her arm to wave at him without turning back around to look at him.
"Are you sure about that?"
She turned around with a slight grin on her face. "A 100%."
He could only chuckle as he shook his head. "I will talk to you tomorrow," he replied confidently, the same smirk on his face while he waved her goodbye.
It was now almost 3am as Alexandra stood at the front porch of her parents' house. A small lamp above her lit up the place just enough for her to see. She reached for her keys and slowly unlocked the door, making sure not to make a single sound for fear of waking her parents up.
Yet, she pushed open the door to reveal her parents already sitting on the couch as if they already somehow knew she was coming home that night. They had their arms crossed over their chest and a serious look was etched onto their faces.
Their eyes met and they were only looking at one another for a while before her eyes landed on someone else.
The same woman who was once all up on her husband was now standing in the living room in the same dress as earlier but with a mug in her hand this time. She had a smug look plastered across her face.
"Hey Al," she greeted with a knowing smile.
