Chapter 2: Sunrise After the Sunset

The chilled breeze really seemed to knock the alcohol from her system. At least for a moment. She could still feel the lightheadedness of the one beer she had, but she hadn't even come close to being buzzed, let alone tipsy. She was safe to drive home. At any rate, taking a walk to enjoy the view would wake her more.

She walked to the railing that met the shore. From outside, the bar she'd just been in didn't look half bad. Sure, now that she took a good look, she could see the many bikers and what were probably pimps and their little worker bees. She may have laughed at how stereotypical the whole scene looked had the reality of it not been so sad.

No. No. No. She hadn't driven… what had that guy said? An hour and a half away from home just to feel sad. That was pathetic. No. She was here for the views and that's what she was going to do. Enjoy the damned views.

Before her, across the lake's horizon, were hues of red and blue mixed in the sky as the sun prepared to sink for the night; it truly was a beautiful sight.

She closed her eyes, breathing in the air as if that could give her a taste of the sunset. What she tasted instead was smog and who knew what other chemicals that sat in the air. It clouded her nose worse than the air inside the bar.

"So it's true then?"

Her eyes snapped opened and she turned toward the source of the question, behind her.

It was the Asian guy from inside. He didn't particularly seem like anyone she should be afraid of… But that he had come outside to talk to her some more didn't settle right with her either.

Didn't anyone in this forsaken city understand that she didn't want to talk to them?

Though, thinking it over. He had been rather nice inside. It wasn't kind of her to be so rude to someone that had just helped her. Besides, what could possibly go wrong?

"What's true?" she asked him, taking a good look at him. His jacket, although unbuttoned, still showed his broad shoulders and overall large and fit frame. He was much bigger and taller than most Asian guys she'd met before—though she'd hate to come off as narrow-minded. Other than his outdated, Jersey Shore-esque hair, he looked… nice. Very nice, in fact.

"People actually like watching sunsets and that kinda thing. Thought it was just in movies."

"Don't you like them?"

"Never paid attention to that shit," he said crassly.

"You should give it a go," she tried, giving him her friendliest smile.

He walked past, next to her and rested his forearms on the railing, looking out into the lake. Oh he was definitely, definitely tall and handsome.

She mirrored the man's position and enjoyed the changing evening sky. It was even better with someone beside her.

"I guess it's… it's… What's the word I'm looking for? Calm," he said at last.

"It is," she agreed. "It's good."

"Is it?"

"Why wouldn't it be?"

"There's no chaos," he stated, like it was somehow offensive to him.

"Life is full of chaos. There has to be balance. A silence to every noise. A harmony to a conflict. An answer to a question. A light to the darkness. Whether we choose to see both sides is up to us."

"What? You a poet or somethin'?" he scoffed. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding," he granted. He moved so that his back was to the sunset and his forearms once again rested on the railing, like he could focus on their conversation now that he didn't have to look at the sun setting. "You're right, I guess. But I don't get high enough to be able to get any more philosophical with you than that."

She laughed, unable to hold it against him. Sometimes she could go in these little tangents. It was embarrassing when they didn't go on in her head only. He had put sunglasses on, and she could see her reflection in them. It unnerved her that she was unable to see his eyes, instead. She looked away. And as soon as she did, she regretted it. She didn't want him to think she could easily back away like that guy inside… But she had. She could hope that maybe he just happened to be good at staring people down.

She wanted to ask why he was out here, making her feel anxious with the way she couldn't tell whether his gaze was on her or not. She opted for a less incriminating question. "Did you come out for the sunset, too?" she asked, her hard gaze settling on the horizon with dedication.

"Among other things. Wanted to see what the fuss was about."

Guys back home wouldn't be so blunt and cryptic all at once… And they were so much easier to decipher than this guy. She was definitely out of her element. "What's the verdict?" she asked, turning to him.

"I'm impressed," he said with a coy smile, and pushing himself off the railing so his entire body was facing her. "What's your name?"

The thought of giving him a fake name made her feel more at ease, but her suddenly empty list of possible names forced her to tell the truth. "It's Lucia."

"Like Luz or Lucy?"

She frowned, surprised that an Asian guy would so easily come up with another Latin name similar to hers. "No, it's Lucia, as in Lu-cee-ah."

"Lu-cee-ah."

"Yes." She smiled, happy to hear it said so perfectly. Oh, she should ask for his. That was the proper thing to do, right?

"You can call me Johnny," he said before she even begun her question. "As in Johnny."

"Very funny," she said with a pout, knowing full-well he was poking fun at her.

"Where's your phone, Lucia?"

"Oh, umm," she took it out automatically, like taking her phone out had been her idea to begin with. The second she produced the phone in her hand, he took it and was soon enough pushing the touchscreen. "Hey!" Lucia reached for her phone, but he expertly kept it out of her grasp.

When he had finished doing whatever he had done, he handed the phone to her just as his began to ring. He took his phone and brought to his ear. She could see his pointed eyebrows rise expectantly, so she brought her phone to her own ear.

"Now you have my number and I have yours," he said into the phone and then hung up, putting the phone back into his jacket. She had never been… Nothing like that had ever… Such as small, insignificant, even laughable gesture had her in slight awe— and still holding the phone to her ear until she came to her senses. "Give me a call sometime."

Lucia nodded, still a bit mystified. "Yeah, maybe I will."

"And do yourself a favor: If anyone around here asks to use your phone, tell them you don't have one or you'll have to buy a new one."

"That's a bit harsh, isn't? Can't be that bad."

His brows rose again and his lips pursed for a moment. "Let me see your phone."

"No!" she protested.

"See?" he asked with a boyish grin, "Learning already."