Serendipity - A Chance Encounter

Daniel grinned at the sight of it whilst he leaned on the wall to his left, crossing his arms. At that moment, he wished he could have this every morning. Waking up and seeing her with him.

Samantha turned around to place the plate on the counter when she spotted Daniel.

"Holy Sh-", she jumped as she got startled almost tipping the food on the plate.

She breathed in and out trying to compose herself. "You scared me. How could you not make a sound?", she complained.

Daniel chuckled, he sauntered towards her, drawing her close to him. He captured her lips and felt her up; her sides, back and behind.

"Mr. Cho, you are such perv.", she purred in between kisses but he let him feel her anyway.

"Good morning to you, too."

"I made you breakfast, let"s eat at the porch.", she beamed.

"Sure, but only after I do this.", he leaned in and kissed her. His hands skimmed and searched under her s.h.i.+rt, touching her skin, she moaned.

Setting the table outside, the couple ate their food as they chatted. The sky has cleared up and the sun was s.h.i.+ning, it was such a perfect morning. Suddenly, it hit her... this was the dream that she had months ago... She and Daniel having breakfast at the porch by the beach.

Her heart warmed by the thought of it.

After breakfast, the couple went to a walk on the sh.o.r.e barefooted.

"I haven"t given you a gift for your birthday yet. It"s kinda hard to gift someone who already has everything.", she said.

Daniel stopped in his tracks holding Samantha"s hands. "Silly, you already did."

"Huh?"

"You came back to me. That"s the best gift you have ever given and I couldn"t ask for more.", he lowered his head and kissed her.

He whispered into her ear, "Also, last night was amazing. I wouldn"t mind another gift from you this morning.", Daniel squeezed her firm b.u.m and it made her gasp.

She touched her burning cheeks, trying to cover her blush as she escaped his hug and walked towards the house.

Daniel laughed at her adorable reaction, he loved teasing her.

"Where are you going? Why are you getting shy? You were clearly not shy last night!", he said loudly.

The beach wasn"t crowded as it was a private compound but there were a few people here and there.

Samantha wished the sand would swallow her.

"OMG. I"m still a little sore! Daniel Cho, you"re so shameless."

...

Looking at Daniel wearing a leather jacket and dark jeans, he looked like a bad boy, she looked at him.

"Are you sure about this?", Samantha asked as she stood beside the motorcycle.

Daniel raised a brow, "Are you actually doubting me, Ms. Kim?"

She chuckled, "You"re right. You"re Daniel Cho.", She put on her helmet and propped herself onto the motorcycle.

"You can"t just sit there like that."

Daniel held her hands and wrapped it around his body. "Like this.", he smirked before wearing his helmet.

The bike revved up and lunged forward, he drove it towards the main road.

The sky was beautiful, it was sunny but it wasn"t hot. Samantha told him where to go and Daniel followed her directions. They left the city and reached a cliff.

He parked the motorcycle by the big rocks and they got off the bike.

"Why did you want to come here?", Daniel wasn"t sure why... "Does she want to jump again?"

"I jumped off this cliff before.", she admitted.

Samantha didn"t hear him respond so she turned to look at him, "You don"t seem surprised?"

"That"s because, I saw you.", he said.

"What?"

"I saw you jump."

She was bewildered, "When?"

"The day I arrived... I followed you here. It was the day before I showed up in front of you."

She tried to recall and it was the day that she just came from the skydiving center... when she decided to jump alone which was stupid. And that she broke down after that jump.

Samantha looked away, "So... you saw me. In my miserable state."

"That was stupid of you, did you know that?"

"I know... but I didn"t care. All I wanted was to feel better."

"What were you doing?... I saw you talking on your phone then."

She smiled as she took out her phone, "I was talking to Mia."

She talked while walking towards the edge of the cliff. "I was broken and depressed when I arrived. I ran away from everything... I was alone. I had no one. And after some time, I started to talk to Mia... like she was still here."

Daniel didn"t interrupt her, she needed to do this, and he was very willing to help her.

"What happened was an accident, I know that now... but survivor"s guilt, you know? And she was so d.a.m.n young. She still had a life ahead of her, dreams... so many unfulfilled dreams. For her and her family. She didn"t just die... I lost a friend and I actually felt that I died with her then. Her family lost a sister and a daughter."

Samantha started to tear up.

"I started to make videos and audio recordings. It was as if I was really talking to her. I wanted to show her what she couldn"t see, and tell her what she couldn"t feel."

She paused, "Do you know why I tried skydiving?"

Daniel shook his head. "Why?"

"It was Mia"s dream. She said she wanted to grow up fast so that she could do extreme activities. She wanted to skydive or bungee jump. I thought I could do that for her.."

"The first time I skydived, I was very nervous. But when it happened..", she looked at Daniel who was patiently listening to her and chuckled, "You remember the feeling, right?"

He smiled as he caressed her cheeks, "Hmmm. It was exhilarating."

"Exactly. The moment I felt the rush, all the pain that I had, vanished... well at least just for a while."

"So I learned to skydive until I got my license. I started to jump several times a day. I learned to race but I still couldn"t get enough of the rush because, at the end of the day, I feel miserable again. I missed my family... I missed you..."

Daniel drew her close, wrapped his arms around her and tucked her head under his chin. If he could, he wanted to absorb every negative feeling she has so she doesn"t have to feel sad anymore. How he wishes it was that easy; all that he could do is hold her

"You don"t have to carry your worries by yourself anymore, you"re not alone. You have your family and You have me. Do you understand?"

Samantha nodded as she returned his embrace.

"Do you want to do it with me?", she asked.

Daniel pulled back, a little surprised, "Really? Here? Now? Out in the open?"

"What?!"

They stared at each other for a few seconds before Samantha backed away from him,

"Oh G.o.d, honey what are you thinking?! I meant cliff diving!", her cheeks red.

"OH.", He blinked. And then laughed as he ran his hand on his face.

Samantha scoffed, "I can"t believe you. How could you be thinking about that at this time?"

He raised his hands in the air, "Okay... okay.."

"..."

"So are you gonna do it? Or not?", she asked again.

With a grin on his face, he probed, "Cliff jumping?"

"Yes!!"

Daniel laughed as he pulled her back to him, "You"re easily fl.u.s.tered. It"s so fun to tease."

She playful punched his chest, "Tsk!"

"This will probably be the last time that I will do it. And if you"re willing, I want to do it with you."

Samantha has been very open to Daniel since that night, and he"s very satisfied with it. He knows that it isn"t easy for her to do all these things; this is important for her.

Caressing her hair, he responded, "Anything for you."

...

Samantha and Daniel were at the edge of the cliff with only their undergarments on.

"It looks scary, but you"ll be fine, it"s not that high. You"ve jumped out of an airplane thousands of feet from the ground. Remember, pencil dive, got it? ", Samantha reminded Daniel, he nodded.

She let herself drop to the water and a splash was heard from below.

Daniel took a peek, he breathed, "The things I do for you."

And he leaped.

As soon as Daniel resurfaced, Samantha clung onto him. "Thank you.", she smiled before she pressed her lips to his.