"Gabby!" I yell from my room as I rummage through the clothes in my closet, making a complete mess of my previously clean room. "I need your help with an outfit for tonight!"

"Is tonight the night?" she asks, carrying in an armful of tops from her closet and dropping them on my bed.

"If you mean tonight being our first 'real' date, then yes." I start going through Gabby's clothes, trying to pair one of her tops with one of my bottoms. We share the same size on top, but she was blessed on the back end where as I am as flat as a board.

"This." She grabs her light blue top with a low v neck and slightly puffy sleeves and pairs them with my black skinny jeans. "The blue top to go with your eyes, the black jeans because they go with anything, and your black chunky heel boots to give you some height and make your legs look longer."

"And this is why I have a fashion grad as my roommate," I joke, Gabby sticking her tongue out in response.

As I apply my makeup and touch up my hair in the bathroom Gabby follows me in. "So what are you guys doing tonight?"

"I'm actually not sure. He said it's a surprise." I can't help it when my cheeks turn red. And it definitely isn't from my blush I just applied. Alex knows how to make me feel special and just thinking about the date he has planned for us tonight makes my stomach flip. I haven't felt nerves like this since our real first date a year ago.

Just as I finish straightening the last section of my hair I hear my phone buzz on the bathroom counter.

Here(:

I take a deep breath, grab my purse, and head for the door.

"You're telling me everything when you get back. I'll stay up all night if I have to," Gabby says from her spot on the couch.

"You know I will," I say, closing the door behind me and then shuffle down the stairs to meet Alex at his black 4-door Jeep Wrangler Rubicon.

Alex is waiting, leaning against the car, dressed in khaki pants and a black t shirt. "You look incredible," he compliments as he walks up to me. He places a hand on the small of my back and plants a soft kiss on my cheek before opening my door for me and helping me into his jeep.

He hops in on the other side, putting his jeep in drive and taking us to our surprise date.

"So, where are we going?" I wonder out loud.

"You'll see in about 20 minutes. Until then we can see if we are compatible."

Compatible? "What do you mean?"

"Music is a good way to see if you'll be my girlfriend by the end of this. I'll play a song and see if our music tastes align."

He plugs in his phone and I immediately hear the sound of country music. Oh no. I hate country music. Do I lie and say that I like it? Or do I tell the truth? A relationship built on lies will never last so I choose the latter.

"Umm, I'm not a huge fan of country, if I'm being honest." This date is already showing our differences. Wonderful.

"Well Leah, that makes me really... happy! Because I hate country music! You passed your first test."

I take a deep breath and brace myself for a stressful night. How many of these tests does he have planned?

I think Alex can tell that my stress level shot straight through the roof because I feel his hand on my thigh trying to comfort me. "You know I'm kidding right? I don't care what kind of music you like. I am happy that you don't like country, but I would never turn a date into a test. I just want to spend time with you."

And just like that my worries go out the window. I'm excited for this date, whatever it ends up being. But more importantly, I'm excited to see where things go with Alex this time around.

Alex pulls into a parking spot at the Dana Point Harbor and helps me out of the car. "I wanted to do something special, so I hope you don't think it's too much. I've never liked anyone as quickly as I have liked you so I wanted to go all out."

The surprise is in sight and I am taken aback, stuck in my tracks. No way. He did not do this for our first date. This has to be the greatest date of all time.

I'm staring at a massive yacht docked in the harbor. Alex grabs my hand and leads me to it, helping me onto the deck.

"What the. How? How did you do this?" I'm in shock, stumbling over my words.

"It's my family's. We have had this ever since I can remember, but this is the first time I have used it for a date. I hope it's not too much." He's leading me up the stairs to the top, where we find a candlelit dinner set up. A wooden table with a pristine white tablecloth, candles, a rose, and overhead lighting strung above.

He pulls out my chair for me to sit as I take in the scene around me. "Oh it's a lot. But I love it. I've never had anyone put this much effort into a date for me. Thank you."

I can't believe that I'm on this date right now. I must be dreaming because I never thought a date like this would be possible, at least not for me. I've seen it in the movies and in books, but for once it's happening to me. I'm on a yacht, in the Dana Point Harbor, with the man of my dreams. I never want this night to end.

"So we have the perfect set up, but probably not the best dinner. I made it myself and I'm not the greatest cook, so we might have to skip right to dessert." He takes the silver cloche off of the dishes in front of us to reveal steak and potatoes.

"This looks incredible. I love this." I look up to meet his smiling face as we both begin to cut into our food. I notice that the steak is pretty well done. Okay it's actually completely burnt, but I take a bite anyways.

"Wow this-" I begin.

"Tastes like gravel," he laughs, trying to chew his food, making a disgusted face as he swallows. "Next time you make dinner and I'll stick to dessert," he says as he begins to cut the chocolate cream pie.

Next time. He wants there to be a next time. I can feel the joy flutter through my body.

"This is delicious," I say, taking bite after bite of the pie. "It reminds me of my childhood." It triggers both happy and sad memories.

"How so? I want to know everything there is to know about you." He looks me in the eye, genuinely curious about my past.

I take another bite and brace myself for the conversation that is about to come. "Well, my mom used to make pies for every holiday. It's been so long since I let myself eat it again."

His face shows a look of confusion. "Can I ask what happened? You don't have to answer if you don't want to."

I take a deep breath. The only people I've ever talked to about her are my dad and Gabby. "She died when I was four. Drunk driver." I don't want to turn the night into a pity party, so I take care to not divulge any more information on the topic.

"Leah," he grabs my hand across the table. "I'm so sorry."

I respond quickly to put an end to the conversation. "It's okay. I've dealt with it and I'm learning to live with it. My dad and I are best friends so we are doing just fine with just the two of us." I shove another bite down. "But enough about my family. I wanna know about yours."

"There's not really much to it. I have an older sister, but she's a lot older and married with kids so we aren't very close. As for my parents, my dad is a workaholic and my mom just spends his money. None of us are very close, but my mom likes to pretend that we are."

As he explains his family dynamic I can see his his demeanor change from happy to sad in an instant. We both have different backgrounds. Mine involves tragedy, but that tragedy somehow brought my dad and I closer whereas his background had all of the ingredients to create the perfect family, but didn't live up to expectations.

It's my turn to comfort him. I grab his hand from across the table. "Hey, it's okay. There's no such thing as a perfect family. We just have to make do with the cards we are dealt, right?"

His smile reappears. "Right. Let's see what we can do with our cards right now."

He grabs my hand and walks me to the bow of the yacht. The lights hanging above us and the light from the full moon create the perfect romantic setting.

"I know I said no more tests, but this one is for me. How long can I dance, holding you in my arms, and fight the urge to kiss you?" He pulls me into him and puts one hand on my back and softly holds my hand with the other, leaving me to rest my free hand on his shoulder.

"As you might have noticed, there's no music. That's because I forgot to bring the speaker. But I figure I can try to make up for it with my stellar voice."

"Baby, I'm dancing in the dark with you between my arms." I let out a chuckle as his voice cracks.

"I'm not a very great singer if you haven't noticed." He looks away, his cheeks turning bright red.

"Keep going. I love it." He stares back at me, his smile piercing straight through me and begins again.

"Barefoot on the... boat," he laughs. "I'm improvising for our current situation. Ed Sheeran was on the grass but we are on a yacht! Take that, Ed!" I can't help the snort followed by the laughter that escapes.

"We're listenin' to our favorite song." I can't help but join in and sing along with him.

"When you said you looked a mess, I whispered underneath my breath
But you heard it, darling, you look perfect tonight"

I rest my head on his shoulder and wrap both of my arms around his neck as he rests his on my waist. After a few moments, he pulls away and we look into each other's eyes.

"So I didn't do so well on my test. I only made it through the chorus and I can't fight the urge to kiss you any longer. Is it o-"

I can't wait any longer. If he thought he was failing his test, I was doing worse, a huge "F" plastered on my forehead. I grab his face and pull it towards mine, pushing my lips against his.

I can feel the instant chemistry between us and I know he does too. Because the second I pull away he pulls me back in, feeding both of our hunger for one another.

After we pull away, his eyes are wide in shock. "Wow, That was.."

"I know," I smile back.

There aren't any words to describe what just took place. So he puts an arm around me, pulling me in close, and I hold onto him as we stare out into the moonlit water ahead of us.