Talia climbed the porch steps with a slight limp. Chrissy had kicked her shin one too many times. She felt a bruise developing. It probably had Nike imprinted on it. Talia noticed the ranch seemed very quiet. As she limped into the door, Zeke was waiting for her holding a bouquet of wild flowers.

"What is this all about?" She asked.

"It's just the beginning of our date. The car is packed and ready to go. Are you?"

"Let me get changed and freshen up. Give me ten minutes."

"Ok." He handed her the flowers then placed a soft kiss on her cheek.

Butterflies were doing the macarena in her stomach. She rushed through refreshing her make-up, slipping on comfortable jeans and a low-cut top. She slid her feet into a pair of cute sandals thankful she took the time that morning to give herself a pedicure.

Zeke took her in as she rushed down the stairs. He appeared to catch his breath when he saw her. His hand was extended waiting for hers to intertwine with his. She reached out locking their fingers together. He brought their joined hands up to his lips kissing the back of her hand.

"Let's get out of here."

Talia nodded and let him lead her to the truck. In a very gallant manner, Zeke opened the door for her then helped her into the cab of the truck. Shutting the door, he rushed around to his side of the truck jumping in.

"Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise." He reached into the backseat grabbing a scarf. "That's why I need to cover your eyes."

"What kind of kinky shit are you into, Zeke Rogers?"

His eyebrow cocked up. "You'll find out. Now, please turn around."

Reluctantly, Talia turned her back to him. He took a lot of care tying the scarf over her eyes. Her vision went dark. He tightened the scarf just enough that it stayed on her but not enough for it to hurt.

"Is that ok?"

"Yes."

"How many fingers am I holding up?" He asked.

Talia lifted her middle finger to him. "That many?"

Zeke kissed her hard on the mouth. "Smartass."

The truck's engine roared to life. Talia felt disoriented. She tried to figure out where they were as they drove along, but she didn't trust that he was taking her straight to their destination. Her leg kept bouncing up and down with nervous anticipation.

Zeke placed his hand on her leg. "Relax. I promise this is going to be great."

"Ok." Talia placed her hand on his as they drove on in silence.

The darkness and rumble of the truck lulled Talia to sleep. Her long week had finally caught up with her. When the truck finally halted, she jolted awake. She heard Zeke jump out of the truck and walk around to her door.

"You awake sleeping beauty?"

"I wasn't asleep."

"Yes you were. You were doing that cute snore you do when you're sleeping." Zeke reached into the truck and pulled her toward him.

"I don't snore."

"Yes, you do. It's cute. It's like a tiny frog."

Talia crossed her arms.

"Come on, Kermit. Let me show you your surprise."

Zeke helped her out of the truck making sure her blindfold stayed in place. Taking her hand he led her away from the truck. Talia could hear water. Wind whipped around her. She was feeling disoriented again.

"Ready?"

"Dying." She said flatly.

Zeke untied the scarf and removed it with a flourish. Talia's breath caught in her throat. Zeke had taken them to The Edge. It was a small ridge that looked over a set of small waterfalls feeding into a river. The Edge was the old high school make-out spot. Not that Talia ever went in high school but she'd heard tales about it.

"You brought me to The Edge?"

"Look around, Lia."

A few feet from the ledge was a horse blanket. On the four sides of the blanket were posts stabbed into the ground. Twinkle lights went from post to post creating a soft glow over the blanket. The illumination was enough for her to see a basket placed in the middle.

"A picnic?"

Zeke smiled shyly. He seemed vulnerable in that instant. Unsure of Talia's reaction to his surprise. She grabbed his hand dragging him over to the blanket.

"Did you put this together?" Talia sat on the blanket pulling him down with her.

"I may have had a bit of help." He took covered bowl after covered bowl out of the basket.

"Let me guess, Addie made the basket and Ben helped you with this set up."

"You're half right. Addie did make the basket. We would not want to eat the food I prepared. Ben couldn't help me with this though, I actually had Max and Terence help with the stakes before they left. I came up earlier with the blanket, basket and lights." He got quiet. "Do you like it?"

Talia smiled. "It's wonderful."

"This is only a tip of the iceberg of what I want to do for you."

"Do you mean to me?" Talia giggled.

"OH! Well, isn't your mind in the gutter." A sexy glint sparked in his eyes.

"Let's eat before we forget why we are here."

"Why do you think we are here?" He asked.

Talia took a strawberry from a container. "For you to romance me, of course."

"Oh. Of course. Though I do have more than just romance planned."

"I'm sure you do." Talia smirked.

Talia and Zeke ate their dinner with light conversation. Zeke had thought of everything. He even remembered speakers to play soft music. If anyone looked up romance in the dictionary there would be a picture of that date. In the few quiet moments, Talia felt Zeke staring at her. When she looked back her heart jumped in her throat. The love and desire she saw there had her body heating all over.

"What?" He asked.

"Huh?" She focused on the waterfalls.

"You started to blush then looked away. What were you thinking about?" He scooted closer to her moving the now empty food containers.

"I can't tell you."

He moved even closer. "Want to know what I was thinking about?"

Talia's stomach flipped as if she was on a roller coaster. "Sure."

Zeke moved so close she expected him to kiss her. But instead, he said, "Dancing. Dance with me, Lia."

He suddenly jumped up then walked over to the radio turning it up louder. Walking back to Talia he stopped to shut off the twinkle lights. The moon and stars shone down on them. He reached for her pulling her up from the ground. His strong arms wrapped around her. Talia's hands slid up his toned biceps to meet at the nape of his neck. She played with the hair there as they swayed to the sweet pop song playing.

Leaning down he kissed just below her ear then said, "I want this forever."

"What do you mean?"

"You in my arms is my idea of forever. I can't imagine my life without you, Lia."

There went the roller coaster flip of her stomach again. "You can't?"

"No."

They continued to sway to the music. Talia soaked in the warmth from Zeke's body. It surprised her how well her curvy body fit to his toned hard one. Even with their laundry list of differences, Talia could see how well they fit together. In her mind, she could see a future with this man.

Zeke pulled back interrupting her thoughts. "Have you ever wondered why I call you Lia?"

"I figured you said it because you knew it annoyed me. You do like to be an annoying ass." Zeke let out a deep laugh.

"That is true, but there is more to it." His hands framed her face. "When we were about five, Rex called you Lia. You got so mad and chased him around the yard swinging one of your dolls around by the hair. I knew I wanted that, so I started calling you Lia."

"Wait a minute. You wanted me to chase you around with a doll? Weird."

"No. I wanted your attention. Whether it was you chasing me around or youignoring me or you yelling at me it didn't matter. You were focused on me and that's all I'veever wanted." Zeke leaned in claiming her lips in a soft kiss.