Treya waited anxiously at the door. She had been studying her brother's journal endlessly over the last day, but she'd only been able to figure out one or two things from it. However, nothing that made sense for its location; at least not yet. But it had been very hard for her to concentrate after getting Jack's note. Even the night before, she'd found it hard to sleep. The prospect of seeing Jack again was exciting her, more than anything had excited her before. And when she had finally slept, she'd had yet another dream about him... Taking her into his arms... Their brown eyes gazing at least other... His gentle caress on her body and his hungry kisses... She blushed as she thought about the dream. After all, he might like her, but certainly he wasn't having those kinds of fantasies about her. Or could he, she wondered.
As time had gotten closer to when Jack had said he'd be by to pick her up, she had increasingly lost complete concentration on the journal, reading lines over and over again, without retaining anything. Finally, she'd just given up and changed clothes - a brown velvet pair of pants and a dark green shirt of the same material. It fit her nicely and accented her curves. She'll pulled back her brown hair, so it was out of her face, but long in the back and had also put on some make-up. She wasn't trying to impress him, she told herself.
When the sensor chirped she jumped, in the process knocking over several of the bottles on her vanity.
"Oh no!" she said quickly picking up the little bottles and putting them back up on the counter. She then smoothed out her hair, took one more look at herself in the mirror and headed to the door.
As it slid open, Jack stood there in jeans, a white t-shirt and a bomber jacket. In his hand was a single pink and purple flower.
"Hi!" she greeted with a bright smile.
"Hi," he replied with a sly grin. "Here, past a florist on the way over and thought you might like this."
Her eyes sparkled as she took the flower. "Thanks!" she replied. "This is a Moon Lily, right?"
He was surprised. "How did you know? The florist said they were pretty rare."
She grinned as she motioned for him to come in so she could grab a bud vase with some water. "They have a species of it on Timuck III," she said. "We have some red and violet ones near the dig site, though I have to say these colors are much prettier."
He looked at her and for a moment scratched the back of his neck, still smiling. "Well, it seemed to suit you."
As she found a place to put the vase, she went to him and before she realized what she was doing, she had kissed his cheek. "Thanks..." she replied, blushing a bit.
He smirked. "You already said that."
"Well, then you know how much I like it!" she laughed softly. "So would you like a drink or something?"
"Actually, I made reservations for us at..." he hesitated for a moment. "Mirabella's."
Treya's eyes opened wide. "Really? Mirabella's? That Italian restaurant near the park?"
"That would be the one," he replied. "And if we're going to make our reservation time, we'd better get a move on."
With that, she grabbed her coat that matched her outfit and headed out the door with Jack beside her.
Dinner was a wonderful affair. Jack ordered drinks. He, himself, got a beer while Treya ordered wine. They each indulged in dishes they wouldn't normally eat. He had Chicken Marsala while she had Shrimp Scampi. It was all wonderful and for desert they shared a Cannoli.
After dinner, they headed to the park for a walk.
"So have you discovered anything else about your brother's journal and that temple of... brightness?" he asked.
She laughed softly. "The temple of light," she said correcting him gently. "Actually, not much. I found a reference to mountains. A sacred path and several tasks."
"Tasks?" he asked.
She nodded. "Apparently, they want whoever finds the temple to be worthy."
Jack raised an eyebrow. "So what are these tasks?" he asked.
She shrugged. "I haven't gotten that far into it yet. But from what I've been able to make out, they are tests of the mind, body and spirit," she replied. "Past that, I have no clue... yet. In fact, it would be nice to figure out a location first."
"Do you think you're close?"
She smirked. "About as close as Earth is to here."
He smirked back. "Well, you're a smart girl, I'm sure you'll figure it out."
"Thanks," she replied, walking closer to him as a chilly breeze blew by them.
They stopped to look at the fountain as it was bright with lights. The tinkling and splashing of the water made a pleasant music. Though he'd asked her about the journal, what was really on his mind was her. It had been since the moment they'd met. As Jack turned to look at her, he could see just how beautiful she was in this light as it seemed to caress her face in just the right places. Her eyes were warm and inviting, just like her lips. Before he could stop himself, he pulled her into his embrace and kissed her.
Immediately, Treya responded. It was her dream and it was happening, she thought overjoyed. It was a replay of that kiss they had shared before he'd left and she didn't want it to end as she twined her arms around his neck, running her fingers through his hair.
So lost in each other, they didn't hear the sound of other couples walking the park, smiling and murmuring as they saw the two who were obviously in love.
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