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He took the fish out of my hand and handed his cell out to me. I stared down at the screen as he put the fish back into the lake, seeing a picture of me staring at him and him looking back at me. It was perfect.
“You didn’t get the fish in it,” I told him, trying to keep all of my emotions at bay. We’d never had a picture together, not like this one, not with us staring into each other’s eyes with smiles on our faces and love in our eyes. It was almost too much to see.
“Swipe right.” I did as I was told and saw a picture of me holding the squirming fish, my face all screwed up, but I didn’t care. It was my first ever catch, and I had every intention of framing this image.
“I love it,” I told him, handing him back his cell.
He pocketed it, and I sat down just as he turned the engine on, causing it to roar to life. “I have reservations for tonight.”
I held on to the side of the boat, my stomach not used to being out on the water as he drove us across the lake and toward the house. “Reservations?” I asked, my eyes wide as he sped up more. I wanted to tell him to slow down, scared I’d puke all over the place, but it was only minutes before he was pulling to a stop at the edge of the dock.
“Yep.” He turned the engine off and tied the boat up then got out. “We’re going on a proper date.” He held his hand out to me, and I took it without a second thought. “In public.”
“We are?” I asked, my eyes wide. “But I didn’t bring any clothes for a date.”
Cade threw his arm over my shoulder, and we walked side by side toward the back of the house. It was so peaceful here, and part of me never wanted to leave. We’d watched the sunset from the dock last night, only the sounds of nature surrounding us, and it was one of the best nights I’d ever had.
“I’m sure Lola has something here you can borrow.” He halted at the back door. “Head inside and get ready. I’m gonna clean up the boat and then grab a shower.” He leaned down, his lips landing on mine briefly, leaving me wanting—needing—more. But he was gone all too soon, and all I could do was stare as he walked down the dock and back toward the boat.
My stomach fluttered, my breaths coming a little faster. He was taking me out on a real date. One where we could be in public with nobody to watch out for. Here, we could be who we wanted to be. We could be open in the way we felt about each other. We didn’t have to hide.
I bit down on my bottom lip and stared at him cleaning out the boat. His T-shirt pulled taut against his defined chest, and his shorts rode up on his thighs. I hadn’t been brave enough to wear shorts. Instead, I’d stuck to my jeans, making sure everything was covered.
I didn’t want him to see the scars and concentrate on them, not while we were out here. He knew they were there; he knew why I was wearing jeans when it was too hot for them, but he didn’t say anything about it. He let me be who I was and never tried to change me.
He was the one person in my life who knew me completely, and now he was taking me out on a date. I shook my head, then spun around to go inside. If Cade was taking me out, then there was no way I wanted to smell like lake and fish. I needed a shower and to find some clothes stat.
Instead of using the shower attached to Cade’s room, I used the one in the master bathroom, knowing I’d need to come in here anyway to look through Lola’s clothes.
It didn’t take long for me to shower, and I dried my hair so it was as straight as I could get it, then applied minimal makeup. I didn’t feel the need to load it on my face, not for Cade. I tried to keep myself distracted because, every time I thought about what would happen tonight, I felt like I was going to collapse from nerves. I’d seen him in ways most people hadn’t. He’d been there through everything bad and good, and yet, I was losing my shit over him taking me on a date.
I pushed my shoulders back and stared at myself in the mirror. It was just Cade. Cade who I was in love with. Cade who made me feel everything.
His footsteps banged on the stairs as I entered the walk-in closet to the master bedroom. “I’m getting in the shower!” he shouted to me.
“Okay! I’ll meet you downstairs,” I told him, my eyes wide at all the clothes in this closet. Why did Lola keep all of them here instead of at her house? I didn’t think she had this many clothes at home, but I remembered Cade telling me this was Uncle Brody and Lola’s favorite place to come.
I flicked past several short dresses and then finally came to a floor-length one. Its light-blue material was thin, and I was guessing this was something she wore in the height of summer. The plunging neckline was a little daring, but it called to me in a way nothing else ever had. It was definitely first-date material.
Plucking it out, I remembered I’d packed the wedges Mom had given me for my birthday—just in case—and then darted out of the room. I could hear the shower running from outside our bedroom, so I shot inside and grabbed the wedges.
The dress fit perfectly, dipping in at my waist and then flowing down to my ankles. The strap that held it around my neck was a gunmetal gray, and there was a broach just underneath my chest to cinch in the waist. I’d already debated whether Lola would let me keep it, but then I remembered she didn’t even know I was here in the first place. We were still a secret…for now.
I heard the shower turn off just as I exited the bathroom, but I was too nervous to go into the bedroom, so I headed back down the stairs and outside. The sun wasn’t quite setting, but the sky was full of colors bleeding into each other. It was a work of art, one that captivated my attention. I couldn’t stop staring at it as my feet carried me back out onto the dock.
Wrapping my arms around my waist, I kept my gaze focused on the sky. I wasn’t sure how long I stood there, but I didn’t hear Cade’s footsteps until he was directly behind me, his hand flattening against the bottom of my back. “Beautiful,” he whispered. “You’re absolutely beautiful, Aria.”
I turned slowly, my stomach dipping so much I wasn’t sure I’d be able to stand upright much longer. Inhaling a breath, I was captivated by his cologne, and enthralled with the way his dark-blue eyes stared down at me.
“Cade,” I whispered, not really sure what I was going to say.
His throat bobbed as he swallowed and pulled me closer to him. “You ready?” he asked, his voice breaking in the middle of his words, and I tilted my head, realizing he was as nervous as I was. This was our first date, one we would remember for the rest of our lives.
“I’m ready,” I told him and placed my hand on the side of his face. His scruff scraped against my fingers, and I traced the outline of his lips. “I’m always ready when it comes to you.”
He smiled down at me, and I wished we weren’t going out. I wanted to stay in this little bubble we’d created and never leave.
