Chapter 9 Surprise

• ~ SIERRA's POV ~
• “Oh my God!” Sierra exclaimed. Her eyes were wide as saucers as she looked at the view before her.
• Colton had taken her to the Met Cloisters, a museum at Fort Tyron Park. It was a famous museum with a gothic-style building located on a steep hill. Sierra had been to this museum before, but she never knew there was a secret passageway that led to the rooftop of the castle. Once she got up there and saw the view, she was absolutely mesmerized. There was nobody else except the two of them there and with the dress she was wearing, she felt like she was transported to a French monastery in the 1900s.
• “This is pretty cool, right?” Colton was standing right behind her.
• “Pretty cool?” she gaped. “I can’t believe I’ve lived here all my life and I’ve never been here before!”
• “Yeah, not a lot of people know about this part of the museum,” he chuckled and grabbed something out of the white bag. “Beer?”
• Colton was holding onto a beer, offering it to her. Sierra paused for a moment before answering. She had never drunk beer before. But since today was all about new adventures…
• “Sure,” she took the can of beer from him. “Thanks…”
• With her hands trembling a little, Sierra opened the can of beer and took a sip. It tasted weird to her at first, but the second sip tasted better. And by the third sip, she was no longer grimacing. Colton let out a chuckle as he watched her. Then he walked to a spot on the edge of the rooftop and sat down with his legs dangling down.
• Talk about living life on the edge.
• Sierra followed his move and took a seat next to him, but she didn’t let her feet dangle down. It was too scary for her. Meanwhile, Colton took out the contents of the bag and laid it all out. There were fried noodles, dumplings, egg rolls, chicken, pork, and more. It was a feast, to say the least. Sierra didn't wait another second before grabbing a pair of chopsticks and she began digging in.
• “Hey, how did you know about this place again?” she asked, completely forgetting that her mouth was full of eggrolls.
• Colton let out a chuckle and used a napkin to wipe some excess oil on her lips.
• “Um, well, my dad… he used to… work here,” he said.
• “Your dad worked at the museum? That must be cool!” she beamed. “Do you come here often?”
• “Yeah, when I was younger,” he shrugged and grabbed a can of beer for himself. “This was my mom’s favorite place when she was still alive. She’d take me here almost every week and made me look at every painting,”
• Sierra paused eating for a moment. Her shoulders slumped down as she put the chopsticks away.
• “I’m sorry about your mom,” she said.
• “Meh,” he shrugged. “It is what it is. Death’s just a natural part of the human experience, right?”
• Colton was acting nonchalant, but Sierra could tell that there was more there.
• “How old were you when she died?”
• “Eleven,” he said. “She had, uh, cancer in her stomach. She didn’t wanna go through chemo, so I guess she didn’t suffer too long,”
• Colton threw her gaze out to the sky, avoiding eye contact with her. This was probably a touchy subject. Normally, he always seemed so confident, but not about this topic. He probably didn't talk about this a lot to many people.
• “I also lost my mom when I was little…” Sierra said cautiously. Colton turned to her and she forced out a smile. “I was six… She and my older brother were in a car accident,”
• “I’m… really sorry to hear that,” he said.
• “It is what it is,” she shrugged, mimicking his words from before. That got him to smile.
• Colton smirked and grinned a lot, but this was one of those rare moments where he actually smiled at somebody. This made Sierra’s heart flip in her chest and it was beating fast. Not wanting to blush again, Sierra quickly changed the topic.
• “So, where does your dad work now?”
• “In heaven, I hope,” he chuckled.
• “Huh?”
• “He passed away a year ago,” he explained. “Heart attack,”
• Sierra’s mouth fell open in shock. She wasn’t expecting that answer. She was about to say I’m sorry again, but Colton cut her off.
• “Don’t worry, I’m sure he’s having a great time up there. He gets to meet mom,” he grinned. “Anyway, that’s enough talking about the dead. Let’s just focus on the living. How’s your noodle?”
• “Amazing,” she said as she took another mouthful of the noodle. “You’re right, by the way. This is the best Chinese food in the city!”
• “See? I wouldn’t lie to ya,” Colton beamed proudly and popped an egg roll into his mouth.
• Sierra found it ridiculous that he could look so cool no matter what he did. Even eating egg rolls. And don’t get her started about the way he drank his beer. His sharp jawline was on full display and Sierra’s eyes were glued at how his Adam’s apple was moving. Colton noticed that she was watching him and he gave her the I-know-you’re-checking-me-out look. Sierra flared in embarrassment and quickly looked away.
• “So, um, what’s it like being an actor?” she muttered. “It must be fun. You get to play new characters and live a bunch of different lives,”
• “Yeah, I guess you can say that,” he laughed. “Acting is just… life, you know? Even Shakespeare said it. All the world's a stage, and all the men and women are the players,”
• Sierra looked up instinctively. That was her favorite Shakespeare quote. It was surreal to hear it being recited by someone else.
• “You read Shakespeare?” she asked.
• “Of course, it’s my line of work,”
• “What’s your favorite Shakespeare play?”
• “It’s probably a cliché, but it’s gotta be Hamlet,”
• “Why Hamlet?”
• “Because I relate to the character a lot,”
• Wow, Sierra thought silently. Compared to all the other guys at the party, Colton was the most interesting guy she knows. Not only that he was insanely beautiful to look at, but also he was… deep.
• “What about you? Are you a Shakespeare fan?” he asked.
• “I love King Lear. For some reason, I relate to Cordelia…” she paused for a beat before adding, “And I also like Romeo and Juliet,”
• “Of course,” Colton scoffed and rolled his eyes.
• “What?”
• “All the girls like Romeo and Juliet,” he then narrowed his eyes and pointed a finger at her. “It’s because of Leonardo DiCaprio, isn’t it?”
• “No,” she said defensively. “But… he sure helps,”
• There were about three seconds of silence as the two of them locked eyes and they broke into laughter. Colton had this contagious laugh and it made her laugh even more. Sierra had to bit her lip to stop herself from laughing too much.
• “You know, my mom’s the one who made me read Shakespeare when I was a kid…” he said suddenly, throwing his gaze out to the sky again and sipping his beer. “I wouldn’t know any of these things if it wasn’t for her,”
• “She sounds like a cool mom,”
• “Sometimes I still wish that she’s here. She would’ve loved meeting you,”
• “From what I hear, I’d probably love her too,”
• Colton paused for a beat and turned to look at her. He was watching her with a look she couldn’t decipher. Then he cocked his head to the side and lifted his can of beer to her.
• “A toast,” he said. “To those we’ve loved and lost. May they never are forgotten,”
• “Hear, hear,” she said as she took her beer and toasted him.
• “And to those that are still around…” Colton’s lips twitched into a smirk. “May we always look for trouble,”
• Sierra couldn’t help but smile as she drank her beer. Once she took a sip, she put down her drink to find Colton staring at her. Colton didn’t drink his beer. He just kept staring at her like she was a sight to marvel at. And before she could say or do anything, he suddenly leaned in and his lips crashed onto hers. A completely unexpected surprise.
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• - - - - To Be Continued. - - - -