Page 52 of Escaping Our Reality

Turning onto the driveway, Ry stops halfway down the path. “Alright, you stay here.”

“What?!”

“I have everything laid out, but it will take me a few minutes to get it ready. You have to wait here.” He jumps out of the truck. “And I’m starving, if you take a bite of my cheeseburger, I’m gonna murder you.” Slamming the door, he jogs off into the darkness.

On cue, I look down at the bag filled with our cheeseburgers and cheese fries and my stomach growls. Crossing my arms over my chest, I try not to starve to death.

Ry’s ‘few minutes’ turns into fifteen minutes, and I start to worry. I’m about to slide over behind the wheel and haul ass down to the homestead when I see his muscular body jog back into focus. He jumps back in the truck, with a wide smile on his face.

He holds out a bandana. “Here, put this on.”

“Seriously? If you were gonna blindfold me, you could’ve driven down to the site instead of leaving me up here, worrying about you and any ax-murdering psychopaths in the woods.”

“Psychopaths stay away for Valentine’s Day. Too much pressure. Performance anxiety.”

Ignoring his stupid joke, I fold the navy-blue bandana around my eyes. I don’t have to worry about it messing up my eye makeup. I cried most of it off earlier.

Once we’re parked, he comes around to the passenger’s side to help me. Scooping me into his arms, I wriggle, trying to force myself back to the ground. “Ry, have you lost your mind? I’m too big for you to carry. Put me down. Now.” I guess it feels different when you’re not in the throes of passion… because I sure wasn’t thinking about my size when he picked me up the other night. That was the last thing on my mind.

“You’re tall, Lulu, not heavy. There’s a difference between tall and heavy.”

I hear him reach around and grab the bag with our food. I can decipher enough about his movements to know that he’s taking me down to the pond. My suspicion is confirmed when he sets me down and my boots clank against the wood of the small dock. Ry doesn’t remove his hand from my back. Slowly, his thumb circles against the soft fabric of my shirt. I’m glad it’s mild tonight. If I had a jacket on, I wouldn’t be able to feel his hand.

“Alright, you can take the bandana off.”

I do.

And my heart explodes in my chest.

The pond glows with the soft beautiful light of dozens and dozens of floating water lanterns. It’s one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. The calm waters ripple back and forth, twinkling the soft flames into the night sky. Like a million fireflies. Like a million shooting stars. Like a million kisses from Ry.

“It’s gorgeous. Absolutely breathtaking.”

“You like it?”

“I love it.”

What I want to say is I love you.

He nods, accepting my compliment. Spinning me around, he shows me the rest of the dock. It’s piled high with tons and tons of blankets and pillows. One of the small tables is set up and Ry’s laptop is perched on top of it. Our food bag is over to the side, and he has already set out a beer for him and water for me.

“A picnic?”

“Do you want your Valentine’s Day gift first or your birthday gift first?”

He got me two gifts? “Valentine’s Day.”

“Good choice.” He plops down on the blankets and pats the comfy area beside him. “Sit. I have something for us to watch.”

I lift an eyebrow. “Ry, I have no doubt that some people think watching porn on Valentine’s Day is a romantic thing to do, but I’m not sure I’m one of those people.”

He tugs my arm, pulling me down next to him. “I always knew you were a prude.” He leans over and nibbles the side of my ear. His hot whisper sends an electric current pulsing down my spine. “One day I’ll get you worked up enough, you’ll be begging me to watch porn.” He kisses along the side of my neck,sending waves of desire crashing through my emotion-stricken body.

“You don’t play fair.”

He pulls away, resting on his elbows. His growl drives me crazy. “Game on.”

I’m not sure what kind of face I make, but the bastard thinks it’s hilarious. “It’s not porn. You said you always wanted to watchSingin’ in the Rain. So, here you go,” he waves his arm at his laptop. “I downloaded it. And you better enjoy it. I hope this is the only time in my entire life I have to watch a musical.”

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