Making a Splash, tag: Catalina

[Brynn Griffith]

Brynn had been on edge all day, waiting for the chance to go and see Caty. It hadn't gone unnoticed - Genevieve had been concerned, taking a break from theoretical physics to ask him if he was quite all right; and Cerys, with the damnable intuition of hers, had correctly surmised that there was a girl involved. From that point, there'd been no escape until he'd told them everything they wanted to know about Caty.

Cerys had been very quick to demand that Brynn bring her over some time so that they could - 'get the measure of her' Genevieve had said, as Cerys cheerfully said 'warn her'. It was all but a command to invite her over to dinner at their house - which Brynn actually thought was a good idea anyway.

Eventually he'd managed to get away, even as Cerys cheerfully called 'Be gentle with her!' after him before breaking down into gleeful cackling, and he'd made his way out of the house as soon as possible and headed towards Caty's house. It wasn't too far from his house, although it was a fair bit posher. It wasn't long until he got there, looking up at the massive house.

He was dressed pretty much the same as usual, but had a pair of grey swim shorts beneath his jeans. Part of him told him that he should've put more effort in, but he liked his shirt-waistcoat-jeans style, and it's not as if he hadn't picked out his very best ones.

Now he just needed to not be nervous. Taking a deep breath, he rang the doorbell, preparing to try to be his most charming self if either of her siblings or her parents answered the door. For all that Caty had made it sound like they wouldn't mind too much, Brynn still wanted to make a good impression.

[Catalina Stanhope]

Caty could barely make it through her day. She wanted everything to hurry up so that she could get to her night with Brynn. She had been texting him all through the day saying that she missed him and couldn't wait to see him later tonight. She hoped she wasn't getting on his nerves.

The girls on the squad knew something was up. They kept saying that Caty was extra peppy that day and she told them that she had a date and left it at that. She still didn't totally want to spill everything to her friends. She wanted to keep Brynn and the things he did to herself still. He was like her little secret. Not that she was ashamed of him in any way. She just liked knowing stuff that they didn't know and keeping him to herself for as long as she could.

Her parents were out at some banquet her father had to go to. Mady had locked herself in her room with plenty of gummy bears. She suspected that something was going on with that Tristan guy but she decided she couldn't get into it today. Brynn was heavy on her mind and she didn't want anything to ruin it. Soren had gone to a friend's house after warily watching his sister run around the house like a chicken with her head cut off. She had managed to shoo him out of the door and watch him walk down the street to a good friend of his house.

She added the little touches at last before changing into her swimsuit, shorts and tank top. The doorbell rang and she jumped. Quickly, she finished putting her lip gloss on her lips and checked her hair before going to the door. She opened it with a large smile and gave Brynn a big hug. "Hi, dragule." she said holding on to him for awhile. "How are you?" she asked leaning back a little to look in his eyes. He looked awesome as always and that excited Caty.

Outfit: Here

[Brynn Griffith]

Brynn nearly breathed a sigh of relief when it was Caty who opened the door. Not only did it mean he didn't have to explain who he was to a family member, but it meant he saw her again sooner. As she hugged him, he hugged back, arms moving about her waist, one hand sliding up and down her back. He dropped a kiss onto her cheek as she drew back, then tipped his head back and smiled, giving her a quick once over.

Lip gloss, nice hair, made a considerable effort for this - evidence of nervousness, maybe stress. Immediate affection - house entirely or mostly empty, difference immaterial, unlikely to be interrupted. Parents definitely not in.

...

Really amazing legs. Really amazing everything.

"Hey, cariad," he said softly. "Hope you didn't get too worked up preparing." He gave her a wide smile, sliding his hand up her back to run through her hair slowly.

"I'm all right. A little bit in awe - I mean, my family's wealthy enough, and we have a nice house, but this is practically a mansion," Brynn said, looking around. "I can't wait to see the pool. Or, er, whichever pool you want to take me to." With it being winter, it wouldn't surprise him at all if she wanted to show him the indoor pool - but then, she did say the outside pool was heated.

"Oh, er, although my sisters may have figured out I was seeing someone. And pressed me for details. So they now know a surprising amount about you - they wanted me to invite you around for dinner," Brynn smiled. "So this is me. Inviting you around for dinner."

[Catalina Stanhope]

Caty grinned as they hugged and he gave her a kiss on the cheek. She shivered softly in his arms as he ran his hands up and down her back and into her hair. Apparently, he must have missed her a bit too. She smiled at that thought.

She heard her pet name and shook her head to say that she didn't get too worked up. "No. Everything was in good time." she smiled as she moved him inside the house so she could close the door. She grinned as he looked around the house and commented on the ornate decoration. "My mom likes to have nice things." she said with a nod. "I thought we could start with the outdoor pool and then move towards the indoor pool if it got too cold." she shrugged and grinned up at him.

Caty took his hand and started leading him through the house as he told her that his sisters had figured out that they were dating and she was invited to dinner. "I feel like I should be a bit scared. But I'd love to come to your house for dinner as long as you promise to not leave me alone with your sisters." she laughed softly as she walked down a long hallway and out the back door. You could see the heat coming off the of the pool and Caty had put the lights on as well so there were streaks of neon pink, green, and blue. The lights around the outside were on as well and Caty had moved one of the big bed lounge chairs out to the side of the pool. There sat a basket of towels, a platter of cupcakes, and some drinks for them.

"I made you Kung Fu cupcakes." she laughed as she brought him to the table where she had everything placed. The cupcakes had little men doing different martial arts stances and moves. "I tried to make them all look as much like you as possible." she grinned and looked up at him. "I hope you like them." she said hopefully. She really hoped that he did like them.

[Brynn Griffith]

Brynn had to chuckle a little at her comments about his sisters. He gave her hand a squeeze. "Honestly? Probably a little bit scared, yeah. But I promise not to leave you alone with them - and besides, worst case scenario, my room has a lock on it." He had no qualms about taking her up there to get away from his sisters. After all, nobody should be forced to deal with them when they get enthusiastic and curious.

The swimming pool was impressive - the kind of thing Brynn had only seen in luxurious mansions on TV shows before. He was a little awed as he took it all in, calculating the dimensions of it all, and all the equipment present, and the towels, and the snacks in his head until he had a perfect mental model of the place. He didn't have much more time to think about it, because then Caty was showing him her cupcakes.

"Wo-o-ow. These are amazing. Hey, you should consider going into baking," he grinned. He plucked one up, turning it over in his hands with a wide, awed grin before setting it back down again.

"So, er," he drifted away from Caty a bit, pulling off his waistcoat and setting it on a table. "I'm, er, a little overdressed for the setting." Throwing her a shy smile, he started stripping down - shoes and socks first, then, going a little pink, his shirt. He paused to roll his shoulders, before unbuttoning his jeans and sliding them down to the ground, stepping out of them. By the end, he was naked bar his swim shorts, slung low on his hips. The cold didn't seem to bother him at all.

For all that he was shy about undressing, it was pretty clear there was nothing to be shy about. Strong, well-muscled legs; a sharply defined chest and just as sharply defined abs; broad shoulders and strong arms corded with muscle, ending with big, deft hands.

[Catalina Stanhope]

"So you're planning to take me up to your room?" Caty teased playfully giving him a soft poke in the side. "No, I would love to see your room. I want to see the stuff that's in there." she grinned. "And didn't you say that one of your sisters is good with knowing how things work? Wouldn't she know how to pick the lock and open the door?" she asked raising an eyebrow. Either way, being alone with Brynn was something that stayed on her mind very heavily.

She giggled at his reaction of the cupcakes. "I do like to bake a lot. I don't want to be a cook though. These hands are made for sketching and sewing." she said wiggling her fingers in his face. She laughed and brushed some hair out of her face watching him carefully.

He backed away from her and let go of her hand. Her face scrunched for a moment until he started stripping his clothes off. Caty looked down briefly as a blush came to her cheeks. Her eyes grazed his body as she could see every muscle bending and every perfect chiseled line. She bit her lip softly as she held on to the table a little to steady herself. The man was incredible. He was flawless and Caty felt as though she could stare at him all night without any issues.

She poured herself a glass of ice water and drank half the glass before turning back to him and giving him a grin. The freezing water was pulsing through her veins and it made her skin cool off. "I guess I should get more comfortable too." she grinned as she reached for the hem of her tank top and pulled it up and over her head tossing it on the lounge bed. She then unbuckled her shorts and pulled them off of her hips with a little wiggle and down to the ground. Bending upright, she folded her jeans carefully before putting them on the lounge next to her tank.

She checked to make sure that the bows on her hips were tied tightly. She didn't want any accidents to happen. Lastly, she took the hair tie out of her hair and shook her hair so it cascaded in soft curls around her face and on her shoulders. "I think that's better." she grinned as she bent down and stuck her legs in the pool while sitting on the edge. "Ooooh..it's really warm." she grinned over to him letting her legs move back and forth a little.

[Brynn Griffith]

"Maybe I am," Brynn said, grinning at her, "take you up to my room, lock the door, see what happens. But, er, you're right - I'd have to design a new lock or something, otherwise Cerys could break in in about five minutes flat." Not that she would, Brynn knew. She knew better than to interrupt him when he was doing something private.

As Caty stripped, Brynn's breath caught in his throat. He ran his eyes over here, tracing every movement as she took off and folded her clothes. God, it'd take all his self control not to just press her up against the nearest flat surface and take her here and now. As she checked the bows on her hips, Brynn found himself imagining undoing them.

Almost without thinking, he picked up the ice water she had left and downed it. It didn't help much. By the time she turned to grin at him, there was no way of hiding what he thought: The gigantic tent in his swim shorts was evidence enough.

Brynn wasn't even going to try to hide it. There was no way he could, no matter how self-conscious it made him.

He blushed heavily, wandering over to the pool and sitting down next to her, his hip against hers, legs dangling into the water. She was right, it was warm - a deep, soothing warmth against the cold November air. He settled a hand on her back, sliding it up to her shoulders, then down to her lower back. Up close, she was even more perfect, he couldn't keep his eyes from roving over her.

"That is better," he murmured, "now that we're both, er, both dressed for the occasion." God, that sounded stupid. It sounded stupid in his head, let alone out loud. He blushed a little more.

[Catalina Stanhope]

Caty grinned and blushed softly as he told her what he would do if he took her up to her room. She rubbed her neck softly and laughed softly. "You would design a new lock? Just for me?" she grinned. He did have a way of making her feel extra special all the time. Her mind briefly wandered to what exactly would happen in that room with the locked door but she shook her head. She better not add to the heat that was already there between them.

She had caught Brynn checking her out a bit as she took off her clothes to reveal her bikini. He seemed to like what he saw from the look on his face to the bulge in his pants. She bit her lip softly and blushed lightly looking down and away from him for a few minutes. Did she really have that much of an effect on him or was that just part of the rumor? She wasn't sure which to believe but was grateful for both.

He sat next to her...very close to her and she could smell him all over again. It intoxicated her senses and she wanted to reach out and kiss him passionately but she resisted. The chills returned as he ran his hand up and down her back grazing over the knot that kept her bikini top in place. She grinned at his words tucking some hair behind her ear. "Yeah, we could swim or we could talk or we could stare at each other half naked." she grinned teasing a little about the last phrase but she knew that she could stare at him all night. "Whatever you want to do is fine with me." she grinned glancing at his chest before staring in his eyes.

[Ronan Moriarty]

"I'd try. Not sure how successful I'd be," he said ruefully. He gave her a small, shy smile. "I mean, er, I can't do everything. Locksmithing might be beyond me."

Staring at each other half naked. Brynn was pretty sure he'd go insane if they tried that, and they wouldn't be just staring for very long. "Whatever I want to do?" He went pink, because that was a statement that threw the field wide open for all sorts of less-than-innocent things. "Well, I'm happy doing whatever you want to do." Which was true enough. Brynn wasn't sure he trusted himself to come up with the plans for this evening - Caty was a lot more clear-headed.

He thought for a moment, before bumping his shoulder against hers. "You know, er, we never finished our game. Not that it has an end," he admitted, "but it was my turn. To ask you a question. So, er. Let me think." He laughed a little, tipping his head back to mull it over.

After a few moments of thought. "Okay, okay, I have one. If you could visit any three places in the world, where would they be?" Pause, and then. "And why?"

[Catalina Stanhope]

"I'm sure you could do whatever you put your mind to." Caty grinned. He was extremely smart and she knew that he could probably do anything he wanted with those smarts.

She grinned as he blushed after she said that they could do whatever he wanted to do. "I made you blush again." she laughed softly. She knew that there were probably some not so polite thoughts going through his head but she also knew that her own head was filled with some pretty hot thoughts involving the both of them. She bit her lip and grinned up at him as he said that he would be happy doing whatever she wanted to do. Well...that was to go without saying. She was giving everything to keep her composure during this time. Throwing him down on the side of the pool was a very real option for her and she was getting more and more tempted to actually do it.

Caty grinned in relief as he brought up their question game from before. "Go easy on me. At least the first question." she smiled up and giggled at him softly. Their other question and answer time had gone in a whole different direction than Caty had planned, but she had still found out a lot about Brynn and was happy to have the information. She smiled at his question and thought a minute before answering it. "Three places...hmmm...let's see. I would like to visit Paris because it's the fashion capital of the world. Greece because it looks so beautiful in pictures and I'm very inspired by the gods and goddesses of Greek Mythology. Tokyo, Japan because they're so technologically advanced and I would love to play with all of their little gadgets and things. See what they have going on before America even hears about it." she smiled.

"So...my turn..." she grinned looking up at the sky. "What's your favorite sport or sports?" she shook her head. That was probably a really stupid question. He probably thought that she was so lame.

[Brynn Griffith]

Brynn listened intently to her three places. They were good choices, he had to admit. Still, he added jokingly: "What, no Cardiff? Or is that number four?" He paused, sticking his tongue out at her. "In seriousness, though, I've not been to Tokyo or Greece, but I visited Paris once. It was, er, kinda amazing, I'm not gonna lie." Most European cities were amazing in their way, but Paris was - very special.

"You know it has a whole underground town? In the old sewer system. Theatres, markets, bars - a fully functioning section of the city that isn't meant to be there," Brynn grinned. "I, er, may have visited briefly. I was curious."

Her question made him consider for a moment. "Well, I'm Welsh, so I'm obliged to love rugby. Which you don't really have here, do you? It's a bit like American football, but without any armour and a lot rougher. Wales is the best country at it, ever, except for maybe New Zealand," Brynn said. "Used to play it at school. It's a lot of fun, but I wouldn't want to do it all of the time. Apart from that - Mixed Martial Arts? I took part in some amateur competitions. But, er, you may have already guessed that one." After all, he'd been teaching her martial arts just a few days ago.

He paused, then gave her a wink. "I'll have to bring you along for my next match. Good luck charm."

"My turn. Favourite book?"

[Catalina Stanhope]

"Awwww, yeah I totally want to visit Cardiff too. I figured I'd just save that as a trip that we would take. You didn't ask me that question." she teased and laughed softly. Her eyes widened. "You've been to Paris? Oh wow...all of that seems amazing. I really want to go to the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower and the Arc D'Triumphe. My grandmother is from French descent and she always tells us stories that her older family use to tell her about France. It seems very magical." she grinned.

Caty giggled as he mentioned going to the underground city. "I'm afraid to ask about the trouble you got yourself into while you were there." she grinned looking over at him. She had to admit. She would be really curious to see this underground city as well. "That city does sound extremely interesting. I don't know if I could resist it either." she said with a shrug.

She listened intently as he told her his favorite sports. Martial arts she figured but she wondered if he had liked any other sports. Rugby. She would have to figure out more about rugby. "I think I passed it on one of the many sports channels we have on our televisions. My dad likes to watch sports when he's home so we have like all of the special packages and stuff. I'll have to watch it more carefully next time. Maybe we could watch together and you can tell me all the rules and stuff." she offered with a smile as she nudged him softly.

"I'd love to go to one of your matches." she said excitedly. "You probably get pretty bloody and bruised, huh? Well, I would totally take care of you." she grinned patting his leg softly. She thought about his question and sighed. "Wow, there are so many." she giggled softly. "I really like to read. I do a lot more of it during the summer because I'm not as busy." she smiled and pressed her lips together as she continued to think.

"Well, I love the book The Buccanneers. It's by Edith Wharton. It's about four young women in the eighteen hundreds that have no luck finding wealthy husbands in America so they go to Europe and manage to get into the English aristocracy. They find husbands but only two of them end up really happy in the end. It's a little sad but still a romantic story." she nodded. "Sorry, I'm a hopeless romantic. It's my downfall." she giggled looking down at the pool before thinking of a question for him.

"So...what type of music do you like?" she asked. "I guess you could already tell that I like to dance." she smiled wiggling a little in her spot in tune to the music in her head.

[Brynn Griffith]

"Ahhh, okay. Got a bit protective over my city there," Brynn laughed. "But, eh, the actual getting to Paris wasn't a big deal - I mean, Wales is a lot closer to France. You can take a train there - er, well, two or three trains," he shrugged, "and it was a school trip. Schools in the UK are pretty fond of trips to France, since it's so easy and cheap to get to."

He chuckled, shaking his head. "I didn't get into much trouble. I was just curious, you know?"

"So," he murmured, a little mischieviously. "If I said I had a match in about a week and a half's time, what would you say? I mean. Just an amateur match, I'd never do it professionally - but, er, first one since coming to America." He nudged with his head lightly. "But, er, yeah. I'm usually pretty beaten up at the end, if the guy I'm competing against is any good. But I'm sure you'll be very good at taking care of me."

He listened closely as she talked about the books she liked. An avid reader himself, it was just intensely fascinating to hear what caught her interest. "The Buccaneers, huh. Never read it, but it sounds like a really interesting book. I'll have to look it up and give it a read."

"What type of music? Er. Well. I play the violin. And the piano - that's a lot less impressive next to Genevieve, who plays something like six instruments," Brynn said. "But to listen to? I don't know, I'm a bit of an eighties rock fan, personally." This may well not have been the answer she was expecting, he imagined.

"My turn. Favourite film?"

[Catalina Stanhope]

Caty smiled as he spoke of going to Paris on school trips. "That sounds just...really cool. I think we only went to D.C. before on my school trips." she laughed a little. "But I suppose it was for the same reasons. It's cheap and sort of easy from New York. I lived in New York before I lived here." she nodded.

"Curious, huh?" Caty smiled. "Curious about what exactly? I think you wanted to find yourself a little fun in that underground city." she grinned and giggled softly.

She looked over at him hearing the difference in the tone of his voice. She smiled as he asked her to come along. "Well...you know...I do have a really busy schedule..." she started with a frown and then laughed. She couldn't lie to the boy. "I'm kidding. Of course I'll be there. Front row, center. Ready to catch a tooth or two and be sprayed with blood." she laughed shaking her head. "You know I'll take care of you. I'll make you Kung Fu cupcakes and get you all the ice you need." she smiled and leaned in to him a bit. "And I may have an old nurse's Halloween costume in my closet that I can pull out to wear just for you so I can look the part." she laughed softly letting her cheek brush his shoulder softly.

"It's kind of a chick book but if you read it, it would be nice to have someone to talk about it with. Not many people know about that book. They just know about the Age of Innocence which I really didn't like all that much." she said giving him a shrug.

"You play the violin and the piano?" she asked with a smile. "My sister plays both as well. Along with the viola and the cello. She wants to learn the guitar and the harp." she nodded. "Your Genevieve is my Madalina." she grinned. "Mady got all the musical genes in our family. I started playing the cello so that we could bond but she out plays me every time." she said with a shake of her head.

Her eyebrows shot up as he said he liked eighties rock. "Really? My dad has tons of those CDs in his study. He listens to them from time to time. You're talking Twisted Sister, Billy Idol, Bon Jovi? I absolutely love the song 'In Your Eyes' by Peter Gabriel." she nodded. She had tried to bond with her dad over music. He was a music lover so she would sit with him and listen to his type of music and then they would listen to hers and talk about it back and forth.

"My favorite film...hmmm...I have so many of those too. I love watching movies. We have a theater in my house." she said gesturing to the large mansion behind them. "Well, I'm such a girl..." she laughed. "I have always loved Cinderella. I warped the tape when I was little because I would just keep watching it over and over again. Recently, I like The Notebook. It was very powerful you know? I like Nicholas Sparks movies and books even though they make me cry my eyes out every time I watch them. Damn tear jerkers. The Hangover was really funny too." she giggled.

"Back to me...Ummm...Are you very religious or just spiritual?" she asked.

[Brynn Griffith]

"About everything. I mean, it's an underground city, wouldn't you be curious just to see what it was like?" Brynn beamed. Who could pass up an opportunity like that, after all? It was like travelling squared. "But, I mean, I stayed out of trouble. School trip and all, I was - well, not, er, not good, because I went down there, but okay."

He laughed at her pretending she might not be able to come, ducking his head. "I promise not to lose any teeth. Blood - well, I'll probably lose a bit," no sense not being honest about it, after all, "but hey, at least I have you to look after me. Er, the nurse's costumes might attract a few looks, though. Not that I don't really appreciate the idea." Damn, now he was imagining it.

"Yeah, I play them. It gives me something else to do, after all," he smiled, "although your sister's musical ability sounds - really, really impressive. And yeah, those sorts of bands. Hey, if I meet your father, at least we have something to talk about now."

He listened to her talking about her favourite films. This time, at least, he had seen most of them. Somehow, it surprised him that they had a theatre in the house. Was there anything they didn't have? This was a level of luxury he was entirely unused to.

"Me? I'm neither. Atheist," he shrugged. It didn't need much more explaining than that. "My turn. Getting difficult to think of questions. Favourite time of year, let's say."