“It’s great going out this way, isn’t it? I mean, going out on… um, on a date.” He glanced at her then returned his gaze to his beer. He picked up the bottle and took another deep swig.

Yvonne had done her fair share of serial dating, and the comfortable guys never felt they had to confirm the fact that they were out on a date with her. Those guys were aware that she knew, and the D-word never needed to be stated. They confidently left it unmentioned or sometimes even teased her into saying it. Self-conscious guys were another story. They threw in the D-word as often as possible, a plea for authentication. Am I really on a date? She’s here with me? Really?

Yvonne smiled. Somehow, his insecurity made Gabriel even more endearing. “So for a genius scientist like you—”

“I’m still a student.”

“Okay, a future scientist then. Where do those surfing skills come from? How’d you get so good?”

He smiled. “You just have to be observant. I pay attention to the propulsion of the waves. I calculate the strength of the wind. I usually perform balancing exercises before I go out, so that my body is at its maximum level of capability. Really, balance is everything.” He took a bite of his steak.

“I love it.” She laughed. “You’re a remarkably fascinating person, you know that?”

He shook his head and took another nervous gulp of his beer. In the flickering candlelight, his red hair glistened as if it were on fire. His callused fingers tapped the table. “I’m not. Not really. I’m just a person.”

“Well, people are fascinating.”

“Not really. People are very simple and predictable. I’d even say boring, to be honest. We’re just animals with better communication abilities.”

Yvonne bristled at this comment. She squeezed both sides of her seat. “All of us?”

Gabriel’s eyes widened, and he looked away. “Well, except you. You’re very fascinating.”

“Oh yeah?” She laughed. “You think people are simple? Predictable?”

“They are. You can always anticipate a person’s behavior once you know them well enough. They follow specific rules for specific situations. You’re a fascinating person, but now that I’m getting to know you, I can still predict exactly what you will say, when you’ll say it, what it will—”

“How many women have you been with?”

“You… what?” His mouth dropped open, as if she’d loosened the screws in his jawbone.

“Sex. Making love, sleeping together, whichever term you prefer. How many?” Yvonne grinned and reached under the table for his hand. She squeezed it gently then let go.

“What?” he asked. “I don’t understand.”

“So you can predict behavior? You think human beings play by the rules?”

“But—”

“Gabriel, I just broke the rules of this conversation, this setting, this date, whatever. If I can do that so easily, what makes you think anyone’s actions can be predicted?”

He scratched his stubbly chin. “Oh. Well, let’s say that you follow a trend. Let’s say that you’re always spontaneous, always breaking the rules. So then, if I predict your spontaneity…”

“Oh, that’s a cop-out. How can you predict spontaneity?”

His fingers resumed their previous drumming on the table. “Hmm.”

“Okay, so we’ll get back to that.” She sipped her Merlot. “Anyway, Nostradamus, here’s a less invasive question. How many girls have you kissed?”

He shrugged. “Five.”

“Wow! Really?”

“Yeah, but… I mean—”

“It’s okay. Don’t feel like you need to defend yourself. I understand. I don’t care about those sorts of numbers; I’m just trying to demonstrate a point. Now, you know what I do care about, though? You know what I really, really like about you, other than your handsome face?”

He blushed like a little boy. “What about me?”

“I like your mind, Gabriel. Seriously, I’ve been on a lot of dates. And even though I barely know you, I can already tell that you’re the smartest person I’ve ever met.”

“I’m not—”

“Listen. Don’t talk to me about the weather, parties, beer, or any of that stupidity. Any number of lesser men can do that, and I don’t want a lesser man. Talk to me about the stuff you like. Tell me about your passions. You’re intelligent, and I like that.”

Gabriel’s smile was hesitant as he nodded. “Okay.”

They talked for hours, and after they left the restaurant, they went back to the beach where they’d met. As they walked, Gabriel sipped from a beer bottle. Crowds of college kids swarmed over the sand, dancing, playing Frisbee, smoking pot, some even dipping into the water. There were supposed to be fireworks later, and she had no intention of missing out on that.

Yvonne ran ahead, weaving through the crowds and kicking up clouds of sand. “C’mon, slowpoke!”

They found an empty stretch of sand and stopped at the edge of the water. Standing together, they watched the waves, felt their coldness, the hard wind, the occasional strip of seaweed. Their bare toes sank gently into the wet sand.

KA-BOOM.

Ear-shattering fireworks cracked open the night sky like bullets from God. Red, yellow, green, blue.

Yvonne tentatively linked hands with her date, and she looked at the shape of his profile against the bursting luminescence. Gabriel stared up at the fireworks with a relaxed smile. She found it interesting how, despite all his knowledge, he took enormous pleasure in simple, uncomplicated joys like fireworks, the breeze, the water, and the sand.

“Gabriel,” she whispered, “I remember you saying something about people being predictable?”

“Well, I meant that—”

“How about this?” She yanked Gabriel’s beer bottle out of his hand, taking away the substance that he’d relied on all night, and dropped it on the sand. He stared down at the alcohol fizzling away into the ground.

Yvonne grabbed the sides of his head, forcing him to look into her eyes. She barely suppressed an excited giggle.

Gabriel stiffened. “How about… what?”

“This.” She kissed him.

She put everything into that kiss. Her lips. Her tongue. She ran her fingers through his red hair and pressed her hips against him. She felt his heartbeat, the muscles of his back, his breath.

Gabriel melted into her like butter. His strong arms wrapped around her, lifting her into the air. She coiled her legs around his waist and climbed him as if he were a tree. He held her steady. She felt the sky would have to fall around them before he’d ever let her drop.

“Predictable?” she whispered.

He laughed. “No.”