“First Date”

Author’s Note: This is a Take Ten to Write story and has not been proofread for errors. If I feel inspired or if there’s interest in the story, I’ll post a revised, edited, and extended version at a later date. Happy reading!

His ridiculous bow tie is the first thing I notice.

“Is that-“

“Yep.” He proudly adjusts his bow with a goofy grin. “They’re little pizza slices.”

My sigh of exasperation is tainted by a chuckle. “You’re ridiculous.”

He winks at me. “You know it.” His smile softens as he looks at me. “Also, can I just say how beautiful you are?”

“I guess you can,” I giggle.

Oh man, what’s happening to me? Did I really just… giggle?

His grin widens as he holds out a hand to me. “Come on.”

“Where exactly are you taking me?” I ask, taking his hand and carefully stepping down onto the dock.

As soon as I’m down on the dock, the view completely takes my breath away. The lake is perfectly still, save for the soft ripples that my landing on the dock created. Soon, even those ripples fade away, allowing me to see all the way to the bottom where the vegetation is swaying slightly from the movements of the multicoloured fish. I swear, the water is so clear that I can see each individual scale on the fish as they pass.

“Wow,” I whisper. “How did you find this place?”

“If I’m being perfectly honest, it was listed as the most romantic location in Italy.”

The fact that he actually did research for this date turns my insides into jelly. He’s always seemed so goofy and laidback; I guess I just never thought that he would actually take this seriously.

“What?” he asks with a nervous chuckle.

“Hmm?”

“You were looking at me funny.”

“Oh.” I can feel the heat rushing to my cheeks as I murmur, “I was just thinking how sweet this is. Thank you for bringing me here. It’s honestly the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”

His eyes shine. “I’m glad you like it.” He holds out his hand to me again and when I take it this time, a warm tingle shoots up my arm and lands in my heart. “Come on, there’s more.”

“There is?”

He leads me to the end of the dock where a beautifully crafted canoe is waiting.

A gasp slips from my lips. “We’re going out onto the lake?”

“Yep!”

I look up to see that he’s staring at me.

This time, I’m the one to ask, “What?”

“W-well, you’re just… I mean, I… umm…”

His fingers tighten around mine as his mumbling trails off.

“I do believe that this is the first time I’ve seen you speechless,” I say softly, finding myself unable to break away from his eyes.

Final Comments: I felt like writing something a bit different today. It felt really refreshing after a long stretch of high fantasy sections! I also ended up getting a bit carried away… Whoops.

Overall Rating: 😘