Unknown Depths.

Chapter 21

Together they started walking in the direction of the restaurant, Delia leading the way. 

For a moment silence, that if you were to ask Delia, was quite awkward fell over them. Occasionally she would glance at him from the corner of her eye, those strong features and bright eyes captivating her every time. A part of her wanted to say something, to break that silence, but then again she didn't know what...

It was then, however, that Gabriel, much to her relief spoke up, "I haven't asked you how you were doing yet." He said, his brows creasing as he turned his head to face her, "How rude of me, how are you?"

Somewhat surprised Delia's head spun towards him, almost making her dizzy in the process. "I..." She started saying but trailed off in the process, 'my god what is this guy doing to me....' She thought tucking her hair behind her ear. "I'm good." She managed to get out, "And you?"

He smiled a kind smile at her, a genuine one, "I'm not the one who both fell of a boat and out of a window after a robbery. But I'm good."

Delia nodded, "Good," She said as she laid eyes on the restaurant. "Ah, there it is." She said pointing towards it. 

Gabriel however, didn't look at where she had pointed, instead, he was still looking at her, "But really are you alright?" He said suddenly looking concerned. 

Delia paused for a moment, as they reached the restaurant door, "Don't worry about it," She said shaking her head, "Everything is alright." 

Gabriel nodded as he opened the door, holding it open for her. For a moment Delia hesitated, before walking through it mumbling a small thank you. Behind her, she heard Gabriel chuckle as he followed her into the restaurant. 

Briefly, they waited before they were shown to their seat. As they sat down they ordered their drinks and were given a menu.  

After a moment Gabriel decided to let Delia order for the both of them. Initially, Delia was a bit apprehensive, but she quickly decided upon what to order. As the waiter took their order and their menu's yet another silence fell over them. 

"So..." Delia started looking into his eyes, "Why did you decide to move here?"

 "I'm sorry?" Gabriel said, looking a bit confused. 

"I mean you said you were new here, I just curious as to why you decided to move here," Delia said looking down at her glass. 

"Oh," Gabriel said, "Well it's kind of work-related. In a way, I was relocated."

"Ah," Delia said nodding, "So where did they relocate you from?"

Gabriel smiled as he looked at her, "I don't think you know it. It's a pretty small town down south." He said rubbing the back of his neck. 

Delia nodded, unsure how to reply. Taking a sip from her drink she hoped that he would say something.

And he did. "So what's your story?" He said smiling.

"It's not that interesting," Delia said putting her glass back down, "I'm  a psychology major,  working at an Aquarium." 

"And before that?" 

"Before that, I was a high school student from Minnesota," Delia said.

"That's not exactly around the corner," Gabriel said chuckling. 

Delia smiled as the two of them continued talking, first about Delia's childhood, but soon about all kinds of random subjects. The strange thing, however, was that whenever Delia would ask Gabriel about his childhood or background he would be rather vague...

At first, she wrote it off as something that he was just imagining, but when the food arrived, she realised that he was purposefully avoiding the subject. 

As they ate they continued their conversation, as Delia tried to learn more about this stranger...

"So what kind of work do you actually do?" She asked. 

Suddenly the apprehension on his face was clear, he looked away from Delia, trying to come up with an answer.

Delia, on the other hand, looked at him intently, very curious at that point. 

"It's a bit difficult to explain. I guess you could say I work in security." He said after a moment, finally meeting her eyes again. 

"Ah, I see," Delia said smiling ever so slightly, but his answer hadn't convinced her... 

The two continued to eat as the conversation shifted to Delia's job at the Aquarium, apparently, Gabriel knew quite a bit about aquatic animals. They talked and laughed, overall having quite a good time. 

Once they finished their lunch Gabriel insisted on paying, as he'd been the one to ask her in the first place. 'Is this a date?' Delia thought as she got up from her seat and they started walking to the exit. 

Together they walked through the city centre, as Delia guided them, showing him the best places. After a while, they ended up at the ocean, on the docks. 

For a moment they just talked, both enjoying the other's presence, until they heard a voice from behind. 

"Delia?" Damian shouted from his boat. 

Delia turned her to see him standing on his boat and looking at them with slight confusion. 

"Hey, Damian!" She shouted back, waving at him.