The Sea God's One-Night-Stand *Tides of Fate*

10)

"7 years" by Lukas Graham

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Even after raiding my closet and finding a very pretty forest-green summer dress with a sweetheart neckline, I didn't exactly know what the proper attire was when you were going out on an unofficial date with the man you slept with one night out of depression. Still, I grabbed a light black shawl to slip onto my shoulders, and I made sure to borrow Isla's strappy pair of black high-heeled sandals to wear. The unfortunate hobbit song returned just thinking of how very short I was compared to Ajax who towered over my small and slender frame.
I applied minimal makeup simply because I did not want to come across that I tried too hard to impress him. Gloss coated my lips as I applied light eyeliner and mascara. There was no need for cover up, I never needed any.

I should not have stressed herself worrying about my appearance; Ajax seemed to wholeheartedly appreciate the dress I was wearing as his eyes raked over my body when he had led me outside to the limo waiting for him across the street of the apartment.
He seemed to have trouble not quite knowing how to touch me after his hand gently brushed my lower back to help me inside the waiting limo. Just from the brief contact, I felt a strange charging spark flutter through her; my body's way of telling me I deeply enjoyed being around him.

"Are you hungry?"
I was about to lie to his question before my stomach grumbled as if it were personally answering out of fear I would deny my body food. I neglected to eat lunch or dinner that day due to how long the meeting with Aimee took. After that, my not eating was due to all my free time calling up marine life observation stations so I could try and track down all the coral and algae wanted for the reception. I had plans to microwave a TV dinner before Ajax unexpectedly arrived on Isla's doorstep. "Good." He smiled a toothy grin before leaning forward to speak with his driver. I really had no idea where we were going as he provided his driver with directions to a specific area. Now that we were headed to a second location did I sadly remember stranger danger.
"You actually sent all those gifts to my office...?" I finally asked, finding myself puzzled. I figured it had to have been Tate; the giver of all those lovely gifts had to have spent at least two-thousand dollars on all the flowers and baskets. Now knowing Ajax was the one behind it all made me blush and yet feel incredibly embarrassed.

He winced slightly. "I am not talented at the art of wooing."
"Wooing?" I giggled, finding that I was feeling lighthearted and carefree. "Strong words, Casanova."

Ajax looked about to object to the nickname before he caught my smile and realized it was not given out as criticism. "Yes. I wish to woo you."
"And you are completely unbothered that you don't even know my last name...?"
"You have one?" he said, looking surprised. My brows furrowed at this bizarre question. He quickly recovered, looking somewhat awkward. "Some people don't," he said sheepishly.
The weird banter that went back and forth and easily showed me that the man I met only two nights ago was coming across as somewhat odd, but in a charming way. Ajax did not believe in social media, branding it all rubbish for the mind. He didn't use the internet as he claimed he did not understand it. When I asked for elaboration, he said he had tech people who could better understand it.
His last name was Pallas. Even though he was only twenty-seven, I felt he was coming across as more of an old man in disguise given how little he seemed to care about the same things that other young adults did. Ajax seemed a bit guarded over his personal life by not wanting to reveal too much of it. I didn't get to ask him too much about his own life anyhow given how many questions he was constantly firing my way. All Ajax seemed perfectly content with was getting to know me better on our makeshift date.

Upon arrival in downtown Charleston at the marina, Ajax said we needed to walk to our next destination. Before I could stage even the tiniest hint of movement against hand holding, the young man cupped my hand with his large one and proceeded to walk. There was a large walkway for hikers or bikers looking to walk along the Atlantic without going into the sand. Ajax no longer seemed nervous as he did before; he was more relaxed the longer he realized I was comfortable around him. As a cool sea-breeze rippled through the air to caress my skin, Ajax's eyes widened. "Are you cold?"

"No, I'm fine," I said, finding I enjoyed when he gently brought the back of my hand to his lips to press a chaste kiss against my knuckles.
"That's a relief. We'll be right on the water, I did not think of chilliness regarding this dinner," he admitted, gently squeezing my hand. I blushed as he smiled down at me. I couldn't find it in me to be weary of Ajax the longer we talked; I found we had quite a few things in common. Both of us were very fond of swimming while both enjoyed kayaking and as well as water skiing. Ajax found great interest in hearing all about my family's camping trips by the lake up north. He found enjoyment in the fact that families could pitch tents on campgrounds in the woods and spend the night inside of them. I simply registered this as his parents had obviously never taken him camping as a child for him to find such strong amusement at the idea