Where is 'here'? I looked around at all the trees. That's all I saw. Trees. Were we going hiking or something? Tyler opened my door and held out his hand. I gave him a funny look.

"It's easy to fall here," he nodded to the rocks on the uneven ground. "Take my hand."

We walked around the car and across the road. Did he just wanna stare at the trees?

"What are we doing?" I asked as we made our way, hand in hand, down the side of a tree covered hill.

"We're walking."

"Well I can see that," I laughed. "But where are we walking to?"

"One of my favorite places," he said, looking back at me with a smile.

Eventually the trees came to an end and there was a gravelly clearing and then I saw the lake. He let my hand go and we walked closer to the water.

"The lake?" I questioned.

"I know it's no Disneyland but it's quiet, fun and I love coming here. I thought you would too," he said, tossing a rock across the water.

"It's beautiful," I smiled. It really was. I loved places like this.

"Great place to come at night too," he added. "If you're not scared of the critters."

I laughed. "No. I don't mind the critters. My backyard at home backs up to the woods. I'm used to critters."

He smiled and sat down at the edge of the water gesturing for me to sit next to him. We sat there for awhile enjoying the peace before he finally spoke up.

"What's it like?" he asked.

I had no idea what he was referring to."What?"

"What's the south like?" He turned to look at me.

"A lot like this," I said, gesturing to the lake and beautiful countryside. "It's really beautiful, like this. Nothing like New York City."

"I bet. I've only been to Florida and Texas down there."

"Touring?"

"Yeah. Didn't get to see much."

"If you ever find your way down there, I could show you around," I offered.

"Yeah," he smiled. "I'd love that."

'Me too,' I thought to myself.We talked awhile longer and he taught me how to skip rocks on the water. He also told me about his family and childhood, as well as the small town he grew up in, not far from here.

"Do you wanna see it?" he asked, referring to his hometown.

"Sure," I smiled.

We trekked back to the car in silence. I was enjoying listening to the birds and the rustling of the leaves. I never really thought New York could be so beautiful. We drove a few miles until we came upon a small town. There were kids chasing each other around the playground of an elementary school. We passed through a neighborhood and Tyler waved out the window at a boy playing fetch with his dog in his front yard. I guess they're friends. He pulled up in the driveway of a big white house that looked to be about ten years old and cut the engine.

"You don't have to come in if you don't want to," he said, opening his car door. "I'll just be a minute."

"Okay," I said, staying put.

I watched him run up to the porch and unlock the door. He was in the house for a couple minutes and then came jogging back to the car. He leaned in the open window.

"We're switching vehicles," he said, pointing to the red truck parked next to us.

I got out and we climbed in the truck. He rolled all the windows down and backed out.

"Why'd we change vehicles?" I asked.

"This one is better for what I have in mind," he answered, turning onto the next street.

I watched the way his hair blew in the wind and the way he slouched in his seat, relaxed. While we waited at a red light, he took the opportunity to take his jacket off and toss it to the back seat. I stole glances at him, hoping he wouldn't notice I was staring, as I studied his features. He was just so... wow.

"Take a picture," he chuckled. Okay so he noticed...

"Sorry," I laughed.

"Don't be," he smiled, turning the radio off.

We pulled onto the grass at a park. There were only a couple other people around. A couple joggers and a woman walking her dog. Tyler got out and walked around the truck to meet me. He gestured for me to follow him and we made our way over to a small playground. I recognized monkey bars, swings and a slide and it reminded me of my childhood. It made me think back to those kids we saw playing at the elementary.

I watched Tyler as he made his way across the monkey bars like a little kid. It looked a little odd for someone his age but he seemed to be really enjoying himself. I was enjoying the view of his shirt riding up as he held himself up on the metal bars. I wandered over to the swings and sat there for a few minutes watching him and slowly rocking back and forth. His jeans started to sag and I could see the top of his boxers. He let go and dropped to the ground, landing perfectly on his feet. He walked over to me, pulling his jeans up slightly and sat down in the swing next to me.

"I haven't been on a swing in years," I said, smiling at the fun memories of my dad swinging me in the backyard of the house I grew up in.

I really missed that. My dad built me that swing and then put together a jungle gym for me under the big birch tree we had. I was only five or six at the time but I remember like it was yesterday how much fun I had playing in that backyard and chasing our retriever around. I missed those times so much. Everything was simple then. Now it's complicated.

"What are you thinking about?" Tyler asked quietly.

"The swings remind me of my childhood," I smiled.

"I used to come here almost every day when I was a kid. This was my favorite place. I had this belief that when I was on these swings, I was free as a bird and nothing could touch me," he looked to me with a half smile. "I just wish it was still that simple."

"I think we all do," I said, rocking the swing back and forth slightly.

Tyler stood up and stepped behind me. I felt the swing being moved as he pulled it back a little ways and let it go. He continued pushing me on the swing for about ten minutes. Neither of us spoke. It was calm. Peace. I felt genuinely happy for a change. Usually I was too stressed about whatever was going on with my life to enjoy the fun things. Something about Tyler made me feel at home. Being around him felt good and I really didn't want it to end anytime soon. I felt him steady the movement of the swing and he leaned against the metal pole next to me, looking up at the sky. It was still cloudy but the sun was peaking through. I looked up at him and his eyes met mine. He didn't say anything or make any facial expression. He just stood there looking relaxed. I broke our gaze, starting to feel a bit awkward.

"Do you wanna get something to eat?" he asked, offering his hand for me to stand up.

"Might as well," I smiled.

We headed back to the truck and a dog came running across the grass to Tyler, wagging it's tail and jumping around his legs. A huge grin appeared on Tyler's face and he knelt down to hug the dog. I made my way over to pet the dog also and Tyler gestured for me to sit down with him.

"This is Riley," he smiled, as the dog licked his cheek. "He's my neighbor's dog. He's always getting out and coming over here."

"He's so cute," I grinned, petting Riley's back.

"Riley, you gotta stop sneaking around you big goof," Tyler laughed.

It was adorable how much fun he was having with Riley.

"That's ironic. I had a retriever named Riley also when I was younger," I said. "But mine was girl."

Tyler gave me a big smile and stood up. He held out his hand for me as I got up and then he opened the back door of the truck cab and Riley jumped in.

"I'm gonna take him back home," Tyler said as we got in the truck.

We drove back the way we'd come from Tyler's house and he parked in front of the house next door to his. He opened the back door and Riley darted out, running across the front yard and leaping over the short fence into his owner's backyard.

"That was so cute," I smiled as Tyler got back in the truck.

"Yeah. I spend a lot of time with Riley cause my family doesn't have any pets. I want a dog really bad but my mom's allergic."

"I have four dogs back home," I said.

"Lucky," he chuckled.

We pulled up at a diner and went in for a late lunch. It was late afternoon now and I was pretty hungry since I didn't have any breakfast. We ended up ordering burgers, fries and milkshakes. The diner was like something out of the 1950's. There was an old jukebox in the corner playing the classics. I heard an Elvis song about every ten minutes. I started singing along softly to Buddy Holly's "That'll Be The Day," my favorite song of his. I loved 50's and 60's music. Tyler was watching me and smiling. We finished our burgers and I dipped a fry in my milkshake. I hadn't done this in years. Tyler did also.

"This is awesome. I love places like this," I said, looking around the diner.

Tyler smiled. "Yeah, I thought you would."

We sat there for another hour or so talking about everything from our favorite color to the last sleepover we had with whoever. It was fun getting to know him. We discussed our likes and dislikes and what we loved about being musicians. I was having more fun today than I'd had in probably years. Hanging out with Tyler was a brilliant idea. I made a mental note to thank David for suggesting it later.

"It's almost sunset," Tyler said, looking out the window. "We've been talking forever."

"Honestly," I laughed. "I think I could talk to you all day and not get tired of it."

"Yeah?" he smiled. "Me too."

"I guess we better get going," I said, remembering we had a long drive back to the city.

"What's the rush?" Tyler asked, tossing a twenty on the table.

"It's a long drive back and it's gonna be dark soon," I answered as we left the diner.

"Babe," he chuckled. "We've got all the time in the world."

I didn't know what that was supposed to mean but I didn't question it. We got back in the truck and he took us in the opposite direction than I expected. I looked in the rearview thinking 'the highway is back that way.'

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"The best place in the world to relax," he said, breathing out and slouching back.

We drove for about twenty minutes before he turned off the road and onto the grass, cutting through some trees.

"Is this your idea of four wheeling?" I joked.

"Not quite," he laughed, running a hand through his hair.

We came to a grassy clearing that appeared to be a really tall hill. I couldn't tell until he pulled the truck up closer. Then he turned around and backed up a few feet from the edge and cut the engine. I gave him a weird look. We were facing a buttload of trees. Why? He got out and walked to the back of the truck. I followed, not sure what else to do. He pulled the tailgate down and jumped up to sit on it.

"Hop up," he said, patting the spot next to him.

I climbed up onto the tailgate and he scooted slightly closer to me. We were backed up on an overlook with an incredible view of the landscape and the sunset. The sky was getting darker and the sun cast a beautiful color scheme of red, orange, pink, yellow and purple on the clouds. I could hear frogs off in the distance and an owl beginning to speak. There was a comfortable breeze rustling through the trees and some of the stars were already visible. Tyler slowly moved his arm to wrap around me and I leaned my head on his shoulder as we watched the sun go down.

"What do you think?" he said in an almost whisper, looking out over the trees.

"It's incredible," I smiled. I felt him look down at me.

"Yeah..."

He let out a heavy breath and I scooted closer to him. He didn't seem to mind. We watched as the sun disappeared and more stars came into view. I heard the crickets begin their nightly chorus. Tyler moved his arm away from me and climbed further back into the truck bed. I watched him unfold a blanket and he motioned for me to join him. I laid down next to him and we looked up at the stars.

"They're so beautiful," I whispered.He turned his head to look at me.

I felt his gaze on me but I continued looking up at the sky until I felt his hand touch mine as he laced our fingers. I finally met his gaze. The moonlight reflected off his brown eyes and we held our gaze, his thumb rubbing circles on my hand. I watched the rise and fall of his chest as he breathed in and out.

"Yeah..." he breathed, not breaking our gaze. "They are beautiful..."

"This is the most fun I've had in probably years," I smiled.

"I'm glad," he smiled back.

"This is comfortable," I said, cuddling a bit closer to him.

I rested a hand on his chest and my head on his shoulder. He sighed and closed his eyes with a smile on his face. We stayed like this for several minutes. I was about to fall asleep until he cleared his throat. I looked at him.

"I guess we oughta head back," he mumbled, sitting up.

"Do we have to?" I groaned. I wouldn't mind spending the night here.

He smiled. "Well... I guess we don't have to leave just yet."

He laid back on his side next to me. I was laying on my back looking up at him. I couldn't read the expression on his face.

"I wish there were more guys like you..." I whispered, not thinking before I said it.

I could feel my face heat up and hoped it was dark enough that he wouldn't notice.

"I'm nothing special," he half smiled.

"You're different..."

"How so?" he gave me a confused look.

"Being around you today reminded me what it's like to really enjoy life," I said, meeting his gaze. "Something about you makes me happy."

"I was hoping you'd say that..." he whispered.

He sat up and looked around before releasing a heavy breath and scooting toward the tailgate. I sat up to see what he was doing.

"What are you doing?" I asked as he jumped off the tailgate.

"I've gotta get you back before the guys think we're dead or something," he chuckled.

I got up and hopped out of the truck bed while he rolled up the blanket and tossed it in the back of the truck cab. Tyler leaned up against my door and I just stood there wondering what he was thinking. I leaned my back against the back door and waited for him to say something. Instead, he moved a strand of my hair behind my ear. His hand stayed there and his thumb moved slowly across my cheek as we stared into each other's eyes. He moved closer to me and I felt a bit uncomfortable but I didn't have anywhere to back away to since I was already against the truck. He put his other hand on the other side of me against the door and stood in front of me.

"You never answered my question yesterday..." he whispered.

"What question?"

"Before David interrupted us." I gave him a confused look.

"When we were on the roof of the hotel," he breathed out. "Did you wanna... kiss me?"