Scene: The Beach Sunset
The sea breathed in slow, salty waves, each one folding over the next with rhythmic calm. The sky was melting into shades of amber and lavender, the sun hanging low like a secret being whispered into the horizon.
Damian walked beside her quiet at first, hands in his pockets, his black shirt rolled up at the sleeves, shoes in one hand. Tyler (Ana) walked barefoot in the shallows, the cold water lapping at her ankles, one hand clutching her sandals by the straps.
They hadn't spoken in a while. It wasn't awkward. Just, tentative. Like neither of them wanted to break whatever invisible thread was tying this silence together.
Finally, she said softly, "Do you always look like you're carrying a storm?"
He glanced at her, surprised. "And do you always look like you're hiding one?"
She smiled faintly. "Touché."
Another wave rolled in. She kicked at it gently.
"I don't usually do this," Damian said.
"What? Long walks on the beach with strange women?"
"Exactly. That's more my brother's thing. Or it would be, if I had one."
She let out a small laugh her first real one. It came out brighter than she meant it to.
He watched her for a moment. "You should laugh more."
"I try. But laughter doesn't always cooperate."
"Why not?"
She paused, watching the tide pull foam back into the sea. "Because people get suspicious when quiet girls laugh too loud. Makes them think you're unhinged."
Damian smiled, but it was touched with something like sadness. "I'm starting to think you care a lot about what people think."
"I do." She glanced at him. "But I hate that I do."
He looked ahead. "You don't have to pretend around me, you know."
Her heart stuttered. Was that a test? Did he suspect?
She masked it with a shrug. "What makes you think I'm pretending?"
"You walk like someone who's always waiting for the floor to vanish."
That hit too close.
She turned her head, staring out at the horizon. "What if it already did? And you're just walking on what's left of it."
He was quiet for a long time. Then he said, "Then I'd walk beside you. Even if we both fall."
Ana almost stopped walking.
Those weren't the words of a man who suspected her. Those were the words of a man unknowingly offering his heart to the wrong person.
She looked at him again and in that orange-gold light, he didn't look like the cold billionaire tech heir. He looked like someone human. Someone lonely.
He reached out and gently brushed a strand of hair out of her face. It wasn't bold. It was... hesitant. Almost reverent.
"I'm not good at this," he murmured. "But something about you makes me want to try."
She should have pulled away.
She didn't.
"I'm not good at this either," she whispered.
But the air between them shifted warmer now, and dangerously close to something real.
"I think you're beautiful," Damian said, studying her face with quiet intensity. "And I think you'd be stunning without those glasses and in something more... you."
Tyler clutched her glasses instinctively, like they were armor.
He chuckled. "That's what makes this so strange. You have no idea how many women would kill to share a night or a name with me. Models. Heiresses. Perfect smiles, expensive perfume all forgettable."
His eyes drifted back to her face. "And then there's you. A mystery wrapped in nervousness. Why you, of all people? I don't know. But I can't stop looking."
Her heart thudded once then again, louder.
"If I asked you to take them of" he reached gently toward her glasses, "would you?"
She backed a step and gripped the frame like it might vanish from her face.
"I..I think they're fine where they are. For now," she said, forcing a weak smile. "Maybe later."
He tilted his head slightly, amused but not unkind.
"Well," he said, casually slipping his hands back into his pockets, "it just so happens I'm in the market for a girlfriend."
Tyler blinked. "You're… what?"
"Yep. My parents have been driving me insane about it. And since you called me your 'dream man' in public," he smirked, "I figured… why not give you a shot? But fair warning: if we're going to do this, I expect total honesty, full commitment and a little polish on the presentation."
Her face fell.
"Oh," she said quietly. Her voice cracked. "So, you don't like me the way I am?"
"What? No I didn't mean it like that"
"You want to change me."
"No, listen," he said quickly. "I like you. Really. You're refreshing. I was just thinking of enhancing, not replacing."
Her big eyes filled with tears. "You mean like upgrading a phone?"
Damian winced. "God, that sounds bad when you say it like that."
"You did say it," she sniffled, turning her back to him slightly.
He took a breath and stepped closer.
"Look I like your weirdness. The way you blurt things. The glasses. The oversized coat. You don't act like you're pretending, and everyone I know is always pretending. I just never expected to like someone like you."
She turned back to face him, slowly. Then without warning she grabbed his tie and yanked him an inch closer.
"Then it's official?" she said brightly, eyes suddenly lit with excitement. "We're a couple now?!"
He blinked. "Wait, that's… uh yeah. Technically. I guess?"
She let go and squealed, throwing her arms into the air like a child who'd just won a teddy bear at a fair.
"I have a boyfriend! And not just any boyfriend the most handsome man in the world!"
Then, with zero shame, she turned to the river and yelled, "TO EVERYONE WHO SAID NO ONE WOULD EVER WANT ME EAT YOUR HEARTS OUT!"
Damian burst into laughter. A real one. The kind he hadn't let out in months.
She turned back, beaming. "Hi. I'm Tyler Ross."
He reached out and shook her hand with mock formality. "Damian Lopez. Pleased to be your accidental boyfriend."
"You're very welcome," she grinned.
They walked along the river for a while, her hand occasionally brushing against his. He didn't pull away.
"So, are you from here?" he asked.
"Yeah. Born and raised."
He nodded. "I'm from California. Just here on business."
Her smile faded slightly. "Oh…"
He noticed her mood shift instantly. "What?"
"When you leave, I'll have no boyfriend anymore."
He stopped walking. "Hey. Distance doesn't change feelings. I'll call. I'll visit. I'll make it work. You have my word."
"You promise?"
"I do."
They kept walking. She looked up at him again, eyes curious now. "So… what business are you in, exactly?"
He smirked, casually brushing sand from his arm. "Ever heard of the Lopez Group?"
She paused, schooling her features into perfect innocence. "Hmm… nope. Should I?"
"No. Not really." He chuckled. "Let's just say I'm in the business of making things most people only dream of."
And for one fleeting second, she let herself imagine what it would've been like if it were all real.
If she weren't here to ruin him.
Then a guard walked up to him as he whispered something into his ear, then he turned to Tyler, grabbed her phone and punched his number on her phone, then he dialed the number, after he did his phone rang in his pocket.
"Save it. I'll call you. I have to run now ok.