Chapter 7: Why are you going naked?

He looked at me and said nothing. I got up from chair and went to sit besides him.

"Forgive me? And stop being a jerk?"

"You're asking for my apology and also can't let go of the insults. Great," he nodded as he interlocked his fingers together.

I rolled my eyes and gave a little smile.

"Okay, how do I make it up to you?"

"We go to the beach? Or zoo? Or somewhere really fun?"

I said after some time, " Okay fine. When?"

"Now?"

"Now?" I echoed. I was done with my work for the day and didn't have a wedding to plan until the following week. There was really nothing to lose.

"Uh hunh. What's wrong with now?" He glanced at his watch. It read 12:15 pm.

"Alright. But we need to get home before Joey does."

He nodded and told me to go get ready.

We agreed on going to the beach and I decided to settle for a purple button up dress with matching shorts as well as white sneakers.

I didn't forget to grab some sunscreen as well as some sunglasses.

I could not find my hat so I had my hair in a high ponytail and grabbed my purse, tucking it under my arm.

I bumped into Julian on my way out. He had dark shades over his eyes and he was dressed in a short sleeved white linen shirt over cream shorts and had a cross bag. A baseball cap was worn over his hair and moccasins were on his feet.

The first two buttons of his shirt was undone and you could get a glimpse of his tattoo. Show off.

We ended up going for a whale watching cruise and were lucky to get there just as they were almost done boarding.

I had never gone to watch a whale before. It was Julian's crazy idea and I hoped I didn't get sea sick. I've had my share of sea sickness in the past and last thing I wanted was to start throwing my lungs out while everyone else were having a swell time.

We boarded the yacht and got prepared for our thrilling experience.

It had a spacious open air sun deck and free Wi-Fi! There was also a snack bar.

Julian gave me a look and I rolled my eyes. I knew exactly what he was gonna say. I had been insisting that we brought along water or drinks as well as snacks. He kept on saying there was no need and we'd get some there.

But I kept arguing.

I hated that he was right after all.

"Just shut up," I told him.

He twisted his lips to a side and said, "But I didn't say anything. Next time when I say something, you better believe it."

"Oh Lord. This was the reason I said you should shut up. You ended up saying it anyway."

I watched as he took his credit card from his bag and paid for what we had purchased. For someone who was jobless, he sure had a lot of money. He had insisted I didn't pay for the trip as well.

I caught sight of a camera inside his bag.

"You brought a camera!" I half squealed.

"Yeah what's the point of not bringing a camera? You wanna take the whales with you home after you finish watching them?"

I pushed him slightly. "Oh whatever."

I started nibbling on my sandwich.

We got seated and the real cruise started in a few minutes. The crew were very accommodating.

There were knowledgeable and educated guides that made it very fun and exciting.

About one hour into the trip, I saw about two passengers getting seasick and throwing up. They were being attended to by some members of the crew.

I prayed and hoped that wouldn't turn out to be me. I forced my eyes forward and decided to focus on Julian instead.

I saw him bring out binoculars when we actually started seeing the sea creatures.

"What? You had that in there too?"

"You need to come prepared for things like these." He shrugged.

"I wanna see too." I tugged at his shirt a little.

"We'll take turns. But it isn't for free."

"You wish,"

Wow. We saw the first gray whale and Julian was quick enough to click photos with his camera. I quickly grabbed his binoculars from him to get a clearer view of the gentle giant.

"You're such a terrible photographer," he told me when I decided to help him take some photos at a point.

We saw some short as well as long beaked common dolphins. They were so playful and even greeted us, making a show of some amazing acrobatic abilities.

"Ouu. I wanna hug one," I told Julian.

"You can do more than that," he replied me. "You can choose to stay with them as long as you wish. I'd be happy to drop you in the water."

I wrinkled my nose at him, feeling the urge to give his cute stupid face a slap.

Some girls were totally checking him out and he engaged in a conversation with them.

Was he just being nice and friendly? Or was he flirting?

What? He held one by the waist and took a picture with her and she was laughing like she was being tickled or was with some movie star.

When he was finally done with all the girls he came back to me and I said under my breath, "Que Coqueta"

"What was that?" He arched a brow.

"Que Coqueta" I said more loudly this time.

"That's an insult right?"

"We'll never know" I shrugged knowing fully well I had told him in Spanish that he was a flirt.

He smirked and fell silent.

At some point I thought I was actually gonna start being sea sick. I gripped his wrist.

"I think I wanna vomit,"

"Hey, don't ruin this trip for me. It has been great so far,"

I glared at him and he gave a cheeky grin in return. And then he walked away.

What an absolute big jerk. I wanted to...

Wait. He returned with one of the crew members who gave me some ginger ale.

Oh. He had actually gone to get some help. I took back my words inwardly.

"You're as pretty as a mermaid anyway. I think I should just throw you off into the sea," Julian was holding my shoulders threatening to throw me in at one point.

I laughed and slapped his hand away, a little bit nervous. What if I fell in! He was much taller and bigger than me anyway so he could easily push me in.

"I would murder you, I swear!" I told him. "I heard mermaids are ugly by the way" I added adjusting my shirt.

"Nope. I heard there are very beautiful ones, just like you."

Did he just call me beautiful?

I felt him lean closer as he whispered to my ears, "You'd look so pretty sitting in the mouth of that whale. Let's do an experiment?"

I smacked his arm and he laughed rubbing the spot I had hit.

Thankfully, I didn't get sea sick as I had presumed. The dolphins we saw totaled over a hundred and we saw a few California sea lions as well as sea birds.

We didn't miss a whale baby with its Mom. They were so cute.

We saw some humpback whales surface several times before it was time to head back to shore.

It was a 3.5 hour tour and we were given discount coupons for a future trip after disembarking. Over all it was an exhilarating experience!

Julian's crazy idea wasn't so crazy after all.

We stopped at a brewery tour afterwards and were lucky that it was the time they offered free brewed drinks to try out.

We were strolling on the road looking out for a means of transport home. And then it started raining.

Crap. We were already drenched before we took shelter under a closed stall.

"If only you had a car, we would not have to waste time here," he remarked.

I folded my arms and looked at him. "How about you? Why don't you got one?"

"I just arrived here. Allow me breathe first."

I scowled at him and then turned my eyes back to my phone. It didn't have much signal and I could not even reach Joey. His line wasn't reachable and it was already dark. The time was past 7pm already. He ought to have been back from work or maybe on his way because of the rain.

"Why don't you try to reach out to your brother?" I asked in an impatient tone.

"My phone is dead," he said nonchalantly as he looked through his camera.

He was so annoying.

Good heavens. I started shivering as my dress was light. Besides that, my thighs and legs were exposed.

If I had known, I would have brought a jacket or something.

He must have noticed me shaking a few minutes after and I could feel his eyes on me.

"What?" I snapped and he didn't say anything but started taking off his shirt.

"Why are you going naked?" I asked further with astonished eyes.

"I'm not going naked silly," he said and I saw him finally take off this shirt with his arms out stretched. "Come,"

"Me come? Come where?"

"Closer. Body heat?" He paused. "A once in a lifetime offer. Take it or leave it and freeze to death."