I'm Not a Princess

"Hola, cariña."

Avery's grip on her handbag tightens as she slowly turns around in the foyer of her hotel. She eyes him warily as he himself eyes her with an appraising smile. She's wearing a dark blue dress with a black cardigan, peace sign jewelry, and sequined flats. He's wearing dark wash jeans with a purple buttoned shirt open at the top of his toned tan chest, and a black suit jacket, frayed deliberately at the edges.

"You look nice," he smirks, walking over.

"You don't look too bad either," she offers and takes a sharp breath inwards as he steps closer, barely inches between them. Swallowing, she steps back, her heart hammering as blood rushes to her face. "So..." she begins awkwardly, trying to get her mind off this. "Um, where... where are we going?"

"A little place. Simple. You'll like it." He, as a gentleman, offers her his arm.

"No thank you," she says stiffly and begins walking towards the doors, pushing herself through before, even jogging, Gabe can open it for her.

I can't let him get to me. It's only one evening, Avery. Just a few hours, and it will be over. He's just another fool, another guy. Don't let him in. Keep the walls strong.

"You like it."

"What? Oh... oh, it's okay," she shrugs, shyly putting her fork down for a moment. "I mean, it's just um, tortellini, you know..."

He leans forward, chin in hands, grinning. "You love it. It's written all over your face."

"Oh really?" She raises her eyebrow skeptically.

"And you know where else?" He wiggles his eyebrows.

Her face turns sourly and she glances away, leaning back. "I'd rather not," she drawls, and shifts in her seat. "I'm not that kind of girl, you know."

"What kind of girl?" He asks innocently.

Avery stares at him hard, trying to get a clue on who he really is, who this Gabe guy is. "I'm not- you know," she manages. "I'm not a partying girl who likes her alcohol and attention, especially from the men."

Gabe leans back, still grinning. "Did I say you were?"

Her eyes narrow slowly, feeling like she's been tricked and she needs to get back on top, gather her surroundings and stay strong. "No. But it's obvious you're into that kind of girl."

"Am I?" He jokes. He pauses and runs a hand through his hair as her stare. "Okay, so maybe I like my alcohol, and I like giving girls a lot of attention." He leans forward with a smirk. "Anything wrong with that?"

She swallows, leaning back. "Well, yeah. And no, maybe..."

Their waiter passes by. "I see that you two have finished. Would you like dessert?"

"No thank you," Gabe pulls out some cash. "We'll be leaving. The food was wonderful. You can keep the rest," he adds, putting it down. "It should cover the bill and more." He turns to Avery, offering a hand. "Let's continue this on a lovely stroll, shall we, carina?"

Hesitantly, this time, she accepts his hand, picking up her handbag. "I suppose." She nods to their waiter shyly and lets him lead the way gently, his large warm hand surrounding hers. Chewing nervously on her lip, she watches as he leads her towards a large pier, and they begin walking down the long walkway in silence for a while.

"You don't think people can change, do you?" He asks after a while.

"I..." she pauses, glancing at him. She turns away, looking to the calm water, thinking. Can they? Hadn't she? She'd given up on hope, love, all of that, for a more clear reality, hadn't she? But she hadn't considered that others could change, too.... "I suppose," she allows finally. "I hadn't quite... thought of it, before."

He grins a little, and pauses, leaning casually against the wooden rails but somehow he manages the look of easy perfection, a slight wind waving through his hair. "Well, maybe you came up with the wrong idea of me, si? We men aren't all that bad, after all." He turns away, stepping up close- closer than ever before.

She tries swallowing her dry throat, trying to think of something to say, but her mind isn't functioning. Only her heart that's thumping loudly and a shiver running down her spine. She can't, in the midst of the quiet, quite figure out if it's good or not, and her lips part barely, gingerly, waiting breathlessly.

"¿Puedo besarte, querida?" His words breathe out so softly, they're almost caught in the wind before she can hear them. Her mind does not know the words, but somewhere, in her heart, she thinks she knows.

Everything seems to disappear as her eyes, her whole being, focuses on the man right in front of her, just a few inches away. But slowly, he takes a delicate step, their bodies touching and she feels already, like she's on fire, it's the most intense feeling she's ever experienced- even more, than heartbreak.

And slowly, their eyes begin to close as they lean closer, caught up in the moment- in each other, in the silence. It seems like eternity until at last, at last, their lips meet. It's a whole other fire ignited in each of them.

If Avery was thinking, she might push him away and run off, but she can't. She doesn't want to, either. Gabriel Saporta's hand slowly wrap themselves around her neck and she feels herself going weak at his touch, loving it, reveling in it. It's like an eternity waiting to happen.

Until it ends.