Page 41 of Vexing the Viper

"We can do both." I snatch him around the nape, kissing him again. His hands wrap around my waist and he kisses me back.

"Niko," he whines as he pulls back again. "Please, I want to do this."

"Fine." I concede, seeing how important this is to him. "Let me shower and get ready."

"I'll go get dressed so you can't distract me anymore."

King leaves the bathroom, and I hastily wash up and get ready. In no time at all, I'm dressed and waiting in the common area for him. "So, what are these plans?"

"A surprise Niko. You'll see when we get there."

"Fine." I huff. I hate surprises, but I can't lie and say I’m not intrigued at the fact he's planning something for us.

I watch as he walks over to the table in the corner, picking up a brown wicker basket. "Alright, let's go."

We make our way out of the building, my eyes drifting down to the basket multiple times. I wonder what he has in there. The fact he not only planned something, but took the time to prepare it has my heart beating a million miles a minute. King has been the only person who's been able to kick my pulse up and cause butterflies to flutter in my stomach.

We pass by the quad, my head on a swivel, trying to figure out where he's taking us. We end up at the bridge on the outside of the university. We keep walking until we see the "Lin River" sign. When King takes the path toward the river, I get antsy, hoping that we're going where I think we are.

We keep walking down the path for about twenty minutes until the splashing of water catches my attention. Letting go of King's hand, I race ahead, stopping short when I reach the edge of the waterfall.

"You brought me to the waterfall?"

"Is this okay? I wasn't sure if you've ever been here before, but I heard about it. Some students were saying it’s romantic."

Walking up to King, I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him. "It's so romantic. I love it. I've actually never been here before."

"Really? I'm glad I could break your waterfall virginity then. And it seems like you're breaking mine, because it's my first time here, too. I've been trying all day to figure out where I wanted to take you for our first date. This finally hit me, and I knew I had to bring you."

"A date?" I whisper, a lump forming in my throat. "The surprise is a date?"

"Uh, yeah. Did I get it wrong?" King bites his lip, his eyes darting to the side.

"No, you got it so so right." I peck his lips again before grabbing his hand and dragging him over to the edge of the waterfall. "Okay, where should we sit?"

King sets the wicker basket down on the ground and opens up the flaps. He takes out a thick green blanket, then flicks it open and spreads it out. I settle into a spot on the ground, taking in the scene around me. The waterfall is gorgeous; It's surrounded by rock walls and dense forests. The soundtrack of birds chirping and animals moving around in the distance surrounds us. It's fucking magical here.

Turning back to King, I notice the assortment of items he's laid out on the blanket. Oh, my Medusa–he's planned a picnic for us. "Holy shit, you are, like, really romantic."

King guffaws, then sits down next to me on the blanket. "Not really. At least, I didn't think I was. But when it comes to you, all I want to do is spoil you."

"Well, I, for one, love being spoiled. But you have to let me spoil you as well."

"Of course. Spoil me whenever your heart desires."

We start picking at the different foods that he brought. There is cheese, crackers, strawberries, and grapes. He even gota thermos full of my Mummified Iced Mocha from Mummy Mocha. Fuck, he thought of everything.

"I love this," I remark, popping another grape in my mouth.

"I'm so glad." He takes a drink of his water before grabbing my hand. "I might have told Mateo about us today. Well, not so much as he informed me that he knew, but I wasn't sure how you’d feel about it."

"Why? Did you think I would be mad?"

"No, not mad. But you did say we should probably keep it a secret."

"Ah." Chewing on another grape, I debate whether or not I should tell him the truth about why I want us to be discreet. My dad has so much riding on this season, and I don't want him to have to worry about King and I dating. Or worse, if something was to go wrong and we end up breaking up.

"Hey, you can talk to me,” he says softly.

---