Rainn and Rose are sleeping together comfortably when the sun rises the next day, neither of them has alarms set and neither has anywhere to be so they stay asleep in a relaxing and comfortable embrace.

It is now about noon and Rainn is starting to wake up. He feels warmth in his arms so he holds it closer only to have the sweet scent of roses filled his nostrils. "Rose." He says sleepily as he inhales the scent and holds the girl closer only to hear soft giggles.

"You're so cute Rainn." Rose giggles and gently kisses his lips. This action makes him open his eyes and look at a very happy Rose that has a smile on her face that she can't help because she's just so happy.

"What makes you say I'm cute?" Rainn asks with a smile forming as he kisses her gently on the tip of her nose causing her to giggle more.

"I woke up a few minutes ago and saw you still asleep. I just wanted to cuddle and when I cuddled you, you just held me closer and said my name. It was so cute." She explains with that smile still on her face.

"I felt warmth and smelled roses and thought of you." He smiles as he hugs her. "I could wake up like this forever." He sighs contently.

"Me too." Rose replies as she hugs him. "We should do something today. Have any ideas?"

"I have one." Rainn smiles and quickly moves on top of her.

"Something besides sex Rainn." Rose laughs and gently pushes him off of her.

"But it's my favorite thing to do." He pouts and folds his arms causing her to bust up laughing. "I knew that would get you to laugh." He laughs along with her for a minute. "But seriously I know something we can do. Get dressed and pack a bag. We will be gone until tomorrow." Rainn says as he gets out of bed.

"Why? Where are we going?" Rose asks curiously and tilts her head.

"It's a surprise Rose but it is a long drive. I've been wanting to go for a while but I don't like long trips by myself, it's so boring."

"So you want me to go with you?" Rose asks with surprise.

"Of course I do. I love you and I want to spend more time with you." Ray says with a smile but sees Rose isn't smiling. "What's wrong?"

"It's just that...I'm still so scared to fall in love Rainn, but if it's with you...I'll try." Rose says with emotion in her voice as she looks at him nervously.

"You're scared because of what you went through. I just never believed in it because of what I went through." Ray sighs and looks at her. "I'm just thankful you're willing to try, I don't know what I'd do if you said no."

"I don't know either. I'm scared but I'm drawn to you so I know I should be with you."

"I think it's safe to say after last night we both feel a lot closer and more relaxed with each other." Ray smiles as he puts his clothes on.

"I think so." Rose giggles a bit as she gets dressed.

"Wear comfortable clothes, Rose, we will be in the middle of nowhere and we will be gone for a while." Ray says with a grin on his face as he watches Rose face that goes from happy to shock.

"The middle of nowhere?" Rose asks nervously.

"Rose remember you can trust me, I'm not going to do anything bad to you." Ray says reassuringly but he feels a bit insulted as to how nervous she is. He understands they haven't known each other that long but she should still be able to trust him after everything that's happened.

"I know Rainn, I trust you it's just nerves and being in the middle of nowhere with a guy I haven't known that long..." Rose trails off as she sees Ray's face looks annoyed and upset. "I'm not trying to insult you at all Rainn, I love you and trust you I just can't help being nervous still." She explains nervously in a shaky voice.

"I know I have to really earn your trust Rose." Ray sighs heavily. "Today will show you just how much you can trust me. Remember my past was only bad because I loved to have sex with different girls and drop them. Nowhere in my reputation is there anything about me being anything you should fear."

"You're right." Rose sighs then walks up to him and hugs him. "I'm sorry Rainn."

"It's ok Rose." Ray says softly as he hugs her and gently rubs her back. "Pack a bag for the night and anything you need. I'm going home to do the same, I'll be back soon." He kisses the top of her head and releases her from his arms.

He moves away and grabs the bag he had before and heads out the front door. As she watches the door close behind him she starts to feel lonely without him around. She sighs and decides to put on shorts and a t-shirt and packs her backpack with another pair of shorts and a t-shirt and some pajamas. She puts on a pair of sneakers and brushes her hair then puts the brush in her backpack. She grabs her travel hygiene supplies and packs those along with her phone charger then sits in the living room and waits.

"I wonder where we will be going." She wonders out loud to herself as she messes around on her phone. After a little while she hears a knock on the door, she gets up to open it and sees Rainn standing there dressed in worn jeans and a t-shirt and sneakers.

"Ready to go?" Rainn asks with a smile as he looks her over.

"Yeah, let me grab my bag." Rose replies happily and grabs her bag. She walks out of her apartment and locks the door behind her then looks at Ray who looks rather amused. "What?"

"I love how your mood changed from nervous to excited about all this." He replies as he looks at her with amusement. "Guess leaving you alone for a while was a good thing."

"I feel better but I honestly felt lonely without you around." Rose admits shyly as she grabs his hand and holds it while they exit the apartment building.

"I thought it was just me." Ray replies as he breathes a sigh of relief. "It felt so out of place not having you around. But I know we do need to separate at times. There is such a thing as being too close."

"Yeah. Just because we love each other doesn't mean we have to be together 24/7."

"It's still a bit weird admitting you love someone huh? It's a very good thing but it also just feels weird because you never thought you'd say those words." Ray says as they walk to his car

"It is now that you mention it." Rose says as she looks at his car. "What kind of car is this?"

"It's a Mercedes Benz A-Class Sedan." Ray says with a big smile on his face. "I got it painted ocean blue for obvious reasons." He chuckles as he unlocks the car.

"I never paid attention to your car before." Rose breathes out as she admires it.

"You're a first Rose. Girls normally flock to a guy with a Benz." He laughs as he gets in the car.

"I'm not like other girls obviously." Rose rolls her eyes as she gets in the car.

"Which is why I love you." He smiles.

"Hearing those words coming from someone you love as well gives them a whole new meaning." Rose smiles blissfully as Ray starts the car. "It's such a new and interesting feeling. I never thought I'd ever love someone."

"Well, now you love someone that loves you in return." He says in a soft tone as he starts the long drive to his destination.

———————————————————————————

"How far out are we going?!" Rose groans loudly in frustration.

"Almost 200 miles." Ray groans as well. "Which I didn't think would take 6 hours but Los Angeles traffic is absolutely fucking ridiculous!"

"No kidding. Are we almost there?" Rose asks with annoyance.

"Yes. Then we can stretch and move around freely. I was hoping to get there long before sundown."

"Lucky for you it's summer so we have time before sundown still." Rose grumbles as she looks out the window at the mountains they are driving past. "It is rather beautiful out here. I love the mountains and wide-open spaces, it's so peaceful." She sighs as she watches the ever-changing scenery.

"I had a feeling you'd like it once we got out of the city. This is why I've always wanted to come out here with someone." Ray smiles for the first time in hours. "We can go through a drive-through for some food before we reach our destination. We can layout the blankets I brought and eat in the open, like a picnic."

"Really? Oh, I bet that will be amazing!" Rose squeals excitedly making Ray laugh.

After another hour of driving and stopping at a gas station and drive through they make it to their destination. To Rose's surprise, Ray pulls off of the main road and onto the dirt and follows the dirt road to seemingly the middle of nowhere. "Rainn..."

"Relax Rose. I promise you will be happy come nightfall." He reassures her with a smile. "I know where we are going because I was here once before with my parents. It's a dry lakebed in the middle of the desert. It doesn't look like much but trust me when I say there's more to it than meets the eye."

"I trust you Rainn." Rose takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly as he continues to drive through the dirt and rocks of the desert.

"Here we are. Grab the food and I'll grab the blankets." Ray says happily as he turns off the car and gets out.

Rose grabs the food while Ray goes to the trunk and grabs blankets. She follows him only a few feet away and watches him lay down the blankets and smile at her. "Come on Rose. Relax. I can see how tense you are."

"Sorry. I just never been out this far before." Rose says nervously as she sits down on the blanket.

"And you've never been so far out alone with a guy before." Ray corrects her. "I know you'll learn to relax and trust me more over time. Tonight is just the start. Let's eat while we still have sunlight."

Rose looks at him and smiles a bit. She trusts him but she's still nervous.

Rainn looks at Rose sadly as they get their food and start eating. He knows why she's so nervous but he wishes she would relax a bit more.

They both make small talk as they eat and once they are done Ray gathers the trash into a bag and heads back to the car. The sun is starting to set so he grabs his photography equipment and heads back over to Rose who is looking at him curiously.

"I have to work sometime you know." He teases as he shows her the camera and tripod he has. The sunset over these mountains is beautiful and with a beautiful subject to photograph makes it even better. He smiles and takes a candid photo of her. "Be my muse for the evening Rose? The lighting is amazing and your hair is contrasting beautifully with the colors."

Rose stares at him for a moment then smiles and decides to pose for him which made him very happy as he snapped picture after picture until the sun was completely set. "Now what?" She asks a bit sadly.

"Now we lay back and wait for the real reason I came here." He smiles as he lays back on the blankets.