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A few more steps later, however, and there's a big pop. Noelle comes to a stop, her huge eyes meeting mine before she glances at her feet…and at the heel currently stuck between two rocks—detached from her shoe.
She blinks twice before giggling.
"I don't think this is my day," she mentions, making me feel even worse for doing such a poor job. One date. Just one date and I get everything wrong.
Not one to despair, though, I lower myself in front of her, urging her to jump on my back.
"No, come on, Raf," she protests lightly. "I'm not a child for you to give me a piggyback ride," she jokes, though I can tell she's not totally put off by the idea.
"Get on," I command her. "You're not going to put a damn mark on those beautiful feet of yours."
"So demanding," she grumbles playfully as she jumps on my back, wounding her arms around my neck while I secure her legs around my lower back, pulling on the material of her dress so everything is completely covered.
Her breath is in my ear as I move, her body heat transferring to mine, and this is exactly how I always want her—so close I could practically become one with her.
"You know," she whispers, threading one hand through my hair. "I used to imagine what my first date would be like for so long," I can feel her smile against my neck.
"What was the perfect date? In your mind?"
"Talking," she simply says.
"Talking?" I ask, thoroughly surprised.
"Yup. Talking, talking and more talking. Maybe holding hands, andmaybea kiss at the end of the night."
"I hope I didn't disappoint too much," I grimace just thinking about the day so far. Especially as I think of our very first date when I'd caused her to have a panic attack because of my brutish behavior. Yeah, I don't think I've earned any stars in that department.
"No," she chuckles. "Not at all. This was exactly how I wanted it to be. Just…us," she sighs melancholically, laying her head on my shoulder. "Just us, Raf," she whispers, almost as if there's more to the story.
We walk a while longer, enjoying the night breeze and the way the city flashes in the distance. Even as silence descends, there's a certain comfort, something that tugs at my heartstrings with happiness, pure joy, and so much more—always more.
"Here," I tell her when we reach the designated spot, placing her down on a bench. "Now let me get thelastsurprise," I point to the black box hidden by a tree.
She glances at me in curiosity but simply nods, telling me to go ahead.
Turning my attention to the fireworks, I do as I'd been told, following the instructions to a T to make sure Noelle will get the full experience. And when they're ready to roll, I hurry back to her side, tugging her up and placing her bare feet on my shoes so she wouldn't get dirty.
"So? What has you so secretive?" she raises a brow.
I tug her into me, my mouth caressing her ear as I whisper.
"Fireworks. Just watch."
"Fireworks?" she raises her head to look at me in awe. "I'll be damned, Raf, but you went all out for this, didn't you?"
Heat creeps up my cheeks at her praise.
"Only the best for you," I murmur.
A loud noise alerts me that the fireworks are about to start shooting into the sky. Palming the ring box, I wait, biding my time to make sure I nail the last surprise of the evening.
We both turn our gazes towards the sky, waiting for the magic to happen.
But another bang later, and instead of shooting for the sky, the fireworks shoot…at us.
My reflexes are quick at work, and before I know it, both Noelle and I are on the ground as I blanket her with my body.
"Raf…" she trails off as she turns her head, watching how all my hard work ends up in the Hudson, one firework at a time.
