Waves (l.r.h)

Part 34

Luke's POV

She looked beautiful, even through the screen door. I opened the flimsy door and stepped out to meet her on the deck and fully took in her features. Her hair was down in her natural beachy waves, and her tan face brought out her bright white smile and soft pink lips. Her mint green dress made her look tanner than usual too, and it just managed to cover the part of scar on her leg. I laughed slightly when I caught sight of her shoes: white converse that had definitely seen some wear and tear. 

"You like'em?" she laughed, twisting her ankle to show off her shoes. "I know you said dressy, but these are the only real shoes I own besides some flip flops."

"No worries, I kind of borrowed this whole outfit from the guys," I said gesturing down sheepishly to my clothes. "I spend my money on bathing suits, not...this."

She giggled softly, and my ears perked up at the beautiful sound. I met her eyes once again, and it was as if I couldn't look away. It wasn't because of how beautiful they were (but, God were they beautiful), it was something more. It was some invisible tether that no matter how hard I fought against I couldn't look away. There was something in this girl that was inescapable, and I could see in her eyes that she couldn't escape me either. 

But she's stubborn. I saw the recognition cross her features, forcing her to break the sacred eye contact between us, and mentally scold herself for letting down her guard for that short moment. She wanted me gone, I knew. She thought she was saving me from her suffering, but I needed to show her that by leaving, she'd be causing more suffering than ever before. I watched as she fought a mental battle with herself, willing herself to shake off the feelings that we both knew were unshakeable. Her heart was in an argument with her head, and I sat silently cheering on her heart. 

"Ready?" she asked plain. Head won this round, I guess. I nodded my head and guided her out of the bungalow and to the jeep, silently beginning the drive to the Opera Kitchen. 

"Where are you taking me anyway?" Greyson asked as she noticed the drive becoming quite long.

"I figured I'd take you on an Australia themed date, so I'm taking you to the Opera Kitchen," I smiled, eyes leaving the road momentarily to give her a soft smile. 

She hummed in response as we pulled up to the restaurant. I heard the quiet gasp leave her lips as she took in the venue. It was outdoors, the tables resting right on the harbour and the backdrop was the famous Sydney Opera House. I walked around to her side of the jeep and helped her out, taking her hand so she didn't fall due to the lack of attention she was paying to where she was going.

 "It's beautiful," she breathed looking at the Opera House itself. She was right. The massive structure was lit up by yellow lights which bounced off the white sail-like roof and lit up the night. I allowed us to stop for a moment to admire it before taking her hand and basically dragging her to the front desk to be seated. "Wait," she mumbled, as I kept dragging her. 

"Grey, you'll have a much better view from our table," I laughed as we reached the desk. "Reservations for Hemmings," I smiled to the hostess. 

"What?" Greyson asked in confusion, still needing me to drag her to our table. The hostess walked us through the indoor portion of the restaurant before guiding us to a table set for two right on the water.  The hostess placed our menus down with a smile and gestured for us to sit. "We are sitting here?" Greyson asked the hostess who just laughed and nodded her head. 

"Americans," I joked to the hostess, who laughed along with me. Greyson hit me jokingly on the arm, pretending to be offended as she sat in her seat which I made sure faced the Opera House. 

We sat down and got situated with our menus, though I had to pry Greyson's eyes away from the view to do so. We both ordered our food, and somehow got lost in a conversation about our childhoods. Our food came and went, and I couldn't even tell you what either of us ate. All I knew was we sat there talking as if time had taken a break just for us to sit there and talk forever, and we had everything to talk about. I didn't expect it, but she told me about Lahaina. She told me about her dad and her mom and Sadie and how they surfed everyday, and I think I finally knew what it was like to know her before the attack. 

I could never really understand what Sadie meant when she said she lost her sister, but now I did. Now, I saw what Greyson used to be. She gave me a glimpse into who she was before the attack- before she was broken. She spoke with such joy and innocence and passion, and it didn't even better what she said. All that mattered was that she was happy, careless, and whole. She was just Greyson, and I loved it. And I like to think she did too.