"Now isn’t this much better?", Jimmy said to Leonardo as they stepped out of the car and walked out into the open air of the country side. "Yes, lovely…", Leonardo sighed walking alongside his friend not even bothering to look up and marvel at the beauty of the lake which was filled with swans.
"Aren’t they amazing?", Jimmy pointed towards two white swans that where gracefully crossing the lake coming towards them, side by side. "See those black ones further over there? There Australian, beautiful aren’t they?".
Leo gave a quick look towards the swans, "I know they are Australian, now can you just feed them so we can get out of here?".
"You don’t mean that do you? What’s the matter with you today, you’re not like this usually".
"I said I wasn’t in the mood to go, and besides, I’ve seen these swans a hundred times already, it’s not like they’ve changed", Leo said sitting down on an empty bench alongside the lake. There didn’t seem to be too many people there today, usually the place is swamped with either couples coming to spend a romantic morning near the swans, or mothers with their excited little kids.
"You’re just being moody, and it’s not good to be moody, have I not taught you anything?", Jimmy said sitting down besides Leonardo, and then carefully taking out the pieces of bread he had brought with him, he cut them up into smaller pieces and tossed half of it into the water, waiting for the swans to react and come over to eat it.
"Leo, come on! Don’t just sit there, throw some to them!", Jimmy handed some of his bread to his friend.
They both got up and walked to the brink of the lake. They sat down on the messy grass below them and waited for the swans to approach.
Jimmy put his hand in the lake and lightly splashed the water. Slowly the swans came closer to them and keeping their distance they started to peck on the soggy bread.
As they both threw in the last of their bread and silently watched the swans circling around the water and eating it, Leonardo’s eyes rested upon a girl sitting near them also feeding some swans. He hadn’t noticed her before, she must have only just come while he was busy giving out his bread. She seemed to be around her twenties, she had long bright blond hair that shined as the sun fell upon it. He could only barely see her face because the light wind blew her hair in her face, which didn’t seem to mind her though. Finally she turned and looked at Leonardo, she must have seen him staring because it was pretty obvious. She smiled sweetly at him and then returned to feed the birds that had gathered around her.
"Leo! Hey, what are you staring at?", Jimmy asked him.
"That girl…. There’s something about her…. She’s so beautiful". Leonardo said without taking his eyes of her.
"So are you enjoying yourself now? Told you you were going to have a nice time", Jimmy chuckled. "Well don’t just stare at her! Go talk to her, I know you are just dying to!"
"I don’t know…. Maybe she doesn’t want to speak to me". Leonardo hesitated.
"Are you mad? She’s practically waiting for you to go speak to her, I mean, look at that smile on her face whenever she looks at you".
"What you think I should?"
"C’mon you baby, lets go", Jimmy pulled his friend up and walked him over to the girl.
"Hello…. Do you mind if we join you?", Jimmy kindly asked.
"Yes, I’d like that", she smiled warmly looking Leonardo straight in the eye causing him to blush. She had baby blue eyes and a face innocent like an angel. She was without a doubt one of the most beautiful girls Leonardo had ever met.
They both sat down next to her and introduced themselves.
"I’m Jimmy, and the shy one there is Leo", he pointed out to his friend.
Leonardo gave his friend a dirty look and ignored him, "What’s your name?", he asked the girl.
"Melissa", she stated and threw another piece of bread into the lake.
After that their conversation kept going for the next two hours, till they all felt tired and ready to leave. Leonardo and Melissa exchanged their phone numbers and then they all said goodbye to each other and walked off into their own directions.
That night Leonardo found it hard to fall asleep, all he could keep his mind on was that girl, Melissa, he had met this morning. He was taken in by her, it wasn’t only her looks, but something about her, the way she looked at him, full of confidence, and the way she talked, softly and peacefully, and then the warmth of her smile that brightened up her whole face whenever she smiled. He would definitely call her tomorrow.
Leonardo stood waiting on the corner of ‘Wildrew’ street, he rested his back on a building behind him and crossed his feet in front of him. He was anxious and had been kind of restless from two days ago when he had called Melissa and asked her out. He had wanted to see her the day after he met her, but she had to visit some relatives, so they settled for the day after.
He tried to picture her face in his mind again. Her long blond hair and baby blue eyes. Her radiant smile that lit her whole face up and filled his soul with warmth. It was amazing how he had grown so many feelings for her when he didn’t even know her. First impressions are always important, but some times misleading, he warned himself. Deep down he actually hoped that she wouldn’t seem as nice as she did the first time he met her, maybe then he could convince himself that he wasn’t mad for liking a total stranger this much. He rested his head back and looked up towards the sky. It was just a bit passed seven in the afternoon, and he was beginning to wonder maybe she wouldn’t show, maybe she didn’t want to meet up with a stranger, and maybe she already had a boyfriend.
Just then, from around the corner she appeared, wearing a white dress that came down to a bit under her knee. Her long blond hair was tied up in a loose bun and her eyes had this intense blue color that cut through him like a knife.
Leonardo stood up straight and looked at her as she approached. He was taken in by her once again, the way she walked, innocently but full of confidence, just like when he had met her.
She walked up to Leonardo and kissed him softly on the cheek, pausing for a moment, letting her perfume fill the air near him. Leonardo didn’t know how to react to her welcoming, and just stood there looking at her for a moment taking in the sweet smell of her perfume that lingered in the air around him.
"I’m glad you could make it", Leonardo finally said breaking the ice between them.
"I’m glad you called me", Melissa said and took him by the hand as they started to walk on.
"Where do you want to go?", Leonardo asked, feeling himself getting nervous as she came in closer to him, he could feel the outline of her body against his.
"I want to go where we met", she simply said letting some space between them as she felt that he was a bit uneasy.
They both got into Leonardo’s car and they drove off to the Swan Lake where they pulled up under the shade of an oak tree which must have been a couple of centuries old by the size of it’s trunk and it’s roots that where practically growing out of the ground, and without saying anything they walked over to the edge of the lake and sat down on the grass.
"You like it here, don’t you? Do you come often?", he asked her.
"I’ve come here since a child, I love the swans, they remind me of my mother, she was beautiful…", Melissa said, looking out to where all the swans were gathered quietly. The sun was slowly starting to go down giving an orange and dark yellow color to the water on the lake.
"You must look like your mother then", Leonardo found himself saying.
"No, I don’t look like my mother", she said still looking out at the swans, "people say I do but I don’t".
"Do you live with your parents?", he asked feeling silly that he hadn’t asked her on the phone when they had talked two days ago.
"No, my mother is dead, and my father moved away to England soon after her death, he couldn’t stay here anymore, it reminded him of my mother".
"I’m sorry…", Leo said feeling terrible that he had asked her, but he couldn’t have know. "And why didn’t you go with your dad?"
"I didn’t want to, I love America, and I would feel too far away from my mother then, besides, my relationship with my dad isn’t that good. Ever since mum died, he changed and I guess it was a good thing that he decided to move away, it was hurting him too much to stay here". She paused and then turned to face Leonardo. "Do you mind if we talk about something else?", she innocently asked.
"Yes, of course, what do you want to talk about?", he said braking away from her stare, it was as if it was too much for him to take. It was weird, usually he was the one who pulled all the strings in a relationship, but with her he couldn’t seem to focus well, she was the one in control. He didn’t know if he liked that or not, but he knew he felt real nice being with her, peaceful at the most.
"Do you know who I am?", Leonardo spoke again seeing that all she did was look at him.
"Yes, I’ve seen most of your movies, you are a good actor", she stated.
"Oh…", he said not knowing what to say.
"Sorry, was I supposed to say something?"
"Oh no, it’s just that well… you didn’t mention anything before and I thought maybe you didn’t know…", he looked at her feeling kind of embarrassed, and when she didn’t answer back he tried to explain himself.
"What I mean is, that most girls that know who I am act differently around me… you know, ask me stuff about movies, get really shy, like I’m some kind of real important person…", he trailed off.
"Would you have preferred if I had asked you about your movies?", she asked him.
"No, I think it’s nice that you talk to me like a normal person and not like a famous Hollywood star. I’m fed up with all the media, you can’t imagine how hard it can all be".
"I think I can", she said and then leaned in and kissed his cheek again.
Leonardo stared at her for a moment, not knowing what to do. She then leaned in and brushed her lips against his. He felt the warmth of her lips close on his and then gently part. Then without saying anything more she stood up.
"I must go now, will you take me home?"
Leonardo once again didn’t quite know what to think, she had just kissed him and now she wanted to leave. Had he done something wrong?
"Is there something wrong?", he asked her, also getting up.
She looked at him for a moment and then answered, "no, I just have to go, I’ve got work to finish up".
"Okay…", he simply said and led her to his car.
They both hopped in and Leonardo started the car still feeling kind of upset.
"Will I see you again?", he asked her.
She saw his disappointment on his face and leaned in and kissed him once more on the mouth. This time she let her tongue slip through his mouth and join with his, but she quickly pulled away.
"On Wednesday, if you can", she answered back to his question.
"I’ll make it", he said and then he drove her off to her house, where she got off, leaving Leonardo feeling lost and confused. There was something like a mystery about her, but whatever it was he liked it, it excited him, but scared him too a bit. He wanted to learn everything about her, and he was determined to do so.