Uncharted Waters

"Which dress should I wear? I have nothing to wear!"

Madi laughed as Gigi stared at her clothes in dismay. The bed was piled with Gigi's assorted dresses, corsets, and shoes.

"You have enough clothes to dress the entire town for this little party of Julio's," Madi said. She came over and started rifling through the chaos while Gigi draped herself dramatically across the chair in the corner.

"Gigi, darling, you'll look positively breathtaking in anything you wear. You could show up in a potato sack and still be the most beautiful girl in the room."

"I absolutely will not wear a potato sack," Gigi said, scowling. "Link is going to be there and there will be dancing and I need to look my best!"

"I wasn't suggesting you actually wear a potato sack, you goose." Madi rolled her eyes. "Dear Lord, this boy has quite a hold on you. Here, what about this dress? You look ravishing in pink."

She pulled a lacy rose pink affair out of the pile. Gigi considered it for a moment and then shook her head.

"It's not...grown up enough."

Huffing, Madi set the dress aside and picked up another.

"Too green. Too old-fashioned. Too formal." Gigi was quick to turn down every gown, feeling her panic rising the longer she couldn't make a decision. Link saw her every day; she wanted to wear something vastly different from her usual pastel lace ensembles.

"Here!" Madi exclaimed triumphantly. She stood back and revealed the chosen dress with a flourish. It was deep red silk, with black lace embellishments on the skirt and sleeves; which hung low off shoulder. Gigi's eyes lit up.

"It's perfect!" she said excitedly. "It's an old dress of my mother's."

"Well come on then, let's get you into it." Madi helped Gigi into the dress and Gigi critically studied her reflection in the full length mirror. The bodice clung tightly to her waist and the red looked striking with her dark hair.

"It really is perfect," Madi said.

"Go get dressed and come with us," Gigi said.

"I wouldn't miss watching Julio fail miserably at wooing you for anything." Madi grinned and bustled out of the room. Gigi rushed to her parents' room, sweeping inside in a flurry of red and black.

"Mother, I need your help!"

Scarlett glanced up from where she was sitting at the vanity and smiled. "Why do you need to steal my dresses, Gigi? You have more clothes than you even know what to do with."

"You don't wear it anymore!" Gigi protested. "Besides I'm going to a party tonight and Link is going and I need to look my best-"

"All right, all right," Scarlett laughed. "Sit down, you ridiculous child."

Scarlett vacated the chair in front of the vanity and Gigi sat down. She twisted her hands nervously in her lap while her mother pinned her hair up and stuck a glittering gold comb into it. She draped a delicate diamond teardrop pendant around Gigi's neck and then helped her apply kohl around her eyes, lipstick and a hint of rouge on her cheeks.

"You look beautiful," Scarlett said, giving Gigi a hug. Gigi hugged her back tightly before darting out into the hallway and pausing on the stairs to snicker at the twins. Madi's red hair tied back with a blue silk bow to match the dress she wore. She was fussing over Benji, trying to fix his shirt and straighten his tie. Ben and Link came out of the library.

"What's with the two of you?" Ben asked, eyeing them warily.

"Gigi's dear friend Julio invited her to a get together and we're accompanying her," Madi said. "Benji I just got the tie right stop fussing with it!"

"Julio," Ben said with a scowl.

"We'll be there to keep an eye on her," Madi said with a grin.

"And Link was invited too," Gigi said from where she still stood on the stairs. Her father frowned ever so slightly when he saw her but Link just stared at her, eyes widening behind his glasses.

"Isn't that dress a bit...inappropriate?" Ben muttered.

"Oh Benjamin, leave the girl alone," Scarlett said, rolling her eyes as she came down the stairs. "She looks beautiful."

"Well of course she does, that's exactly what I'm worried about."

"Idiot." Scarlett planted a kiss on her husband's cheek as she tugged him away. "Let the kids have some fun. They'll all be together, so they'll be fine."

"Are we ready then?" Gigi asked, linking one arm with Madi and the other with Link. She gave him a sunny smile as he blushed.

"I feel a little underdressed," he mumbled.

"Don't be ridiculous you look great," Gigi assured him. The ballroom of Julio's mansion was packed with people, and champagne and rum were both flowing freely already. Nearly everyone did a double take as the four of them walked in and it didn't take long for men to fall in around them, asking Gigi and Madi to dance.

"I think I'll go wait near the wall," Benji muttered, backing away from the crowd of admirers. Madi was whisked away by a handsome blond man and Julio appeared in front of Gigi, grabbing her hands and kissing her cheek.

"You came! You look so beautiful, my Gigi, the angels are weeping with envy as we speak."

"Thank you, Julio," Gigi said, amused. Julio's gaze flicked to Link, whose jaw was clenched.

"Ah, your friend came too," Julio remarked, sounding far less enthusiastic.

"I said I would," Link grumbled.

"Yes yes of course, to show off your American dancing skills. I am looking forward to it."

Without warning he wrapped an arm around Gigi's waist and pulled her onto the dance floor. A fast paced Spanish number was being played by the band and Julio whirled her all over the ballroom, sending her into multiple dizzying spins and holding her unnecessarily close.

"Julio," she chided lightly. He eased his grip around her waist slightly.

"My apologies, lovely Gigi. It seems your American has found himself a dance partner."

Gigi glanced around to see that a half-drunk woman a few years older than her was making a clumsy attempt at a waltz with Link, who looked immensely uncomfortable. He looked up and Gigi caught his gaze, shooting him a sympathetic smile. A different song started playing, and everyone began twirling and switching off dance partners. Gigi found herself whisked out of Julio's arms by a stranger and let herself be carried through the tide of dancers, laughing breathlessly.

Most of her partners showered her with compliments and flirtatious winks but Gigi's eyes continuously scanned the crowd for Link, smiling at him any time she caught his eye. She passed near the corner where Benji was lurking and pulled him into the fray to dance with her.

"Gigi!" he groaned, trying to squirm free and retreat.

"It's a party, Benji!" she said. "The night is young! Dance!"

She spun him in a wild circle before handing him off to the incessantly giggling woman Link had been dancing with earlier. Benji looked at her with pleading in his eyes as the woman dragged him away into a sloppy turn. Julio somehow found her again, drawing her into another close embrace before Madi swept by, snatching him as her own partner.

Gigi was starting to feel slightly faint from all the twirling when quite suddenly she found herself as Link's partner. Abruptly the fast music stopped, replaced quickly with a waltz. Gigi cast a look toward the band and found Madi laughing and flirting with the leader. She caught Gigi's eye and winked.

"All right, Link," Gigi teased. "You told me you could dance, now it's time to put your feet where your mouth is."

Link's lips twitched in a smile; flushing faintly as he placed one hand on her waist and the other took her hand. She placed her free hand on his shoulder and they moved seamlessly into a waltz. It was probably the first time Gigi had seen him sure instead of clumsy in his movements. They moved lightly around the floor, and Gigi found herself smiling up at him, pleasantly surprised. Even though his ears were still bright red, he didn't stumble once as they glided through the dance. Gigi almost didn't notice the music stop, her own face flushed pink and her heart hammering. A few people clapped and she jumped; she had forgotten there was anyone else there with them.

"Well," she said. "I must say I'm very impressed."

Link cracked another smile.

"It's gotten quite warm in here. I think I'll just step outside for some fresh air. Would you like to join me?" she added, almost shyly. Link hesitated for a moment before nodding. The cool evening air felt good on her hot face as they stepped outside.

"You're full of surprises yourself it seems, Mr. Atherton," she said, nudging him.

"Oh, I'm not really that surprising," Link said, shrugging. "I'm quite ordinary."

"Don't be so modest."

They stood in silence for several moments before Link asked, "Er, Gemma? I don't wish to sound rude or ungrateful but I must ask, why did you bring me to meet your father and insist he give me a chance when you had only just met me?"

"I told you, I knew the two of you would get along. Besides my father loves teaching people things and you obviously love to learn." She paused, clasping her hands in front of her and peering up at him through her lashes. "I must admit though, my motives weren't purely selfless. I do think you deserve proper recognition for your talents, but I also introduced you to my father because I wanted to be able to see you all the time."

Link's face went scarlet and he blinked several times in surprise. "You wanted to see me?" He looked baffled. Gigi nodded.

"I like you," she said simply.

"But why on earth would you want to spend so much time with me when there's an entire room full of far more handsome and fascinating men who practically throw themselves at your feet?"

"You're plenty handsome and fascinating, Lincoln," she said softly. He adjusted his glasses nervously.

"I'd just hoped that maybe if we spent enough time around one another that you'd like me too," Gigi went on.

"I do like you," Link blurted. She hadn't thought it possible but he turned even redder. "Uh, I mean, you're quite fascinating too, and you're very pretty. No, not pretty. Not that you're not pretty, I just mean that pretty maybe isn't the proper word. This is coming out all wrong."

Gigi laughed, reaching up to catch his face in her hands to quiet his anxious rambling.

"You see, and this is precisely why I like you," she said with a tiny smile. Then she steeled her nerve and bounced onto her tiptoes to press her lips against his.