Chapter 22
The First Date
“Have I told you how beautiful you look tonight?”
We’re in Ryder’s car driving down a quiet country road. The fingers of my left hand are intertwined with those of his right hand. Every once in a while, he releases my hand to shift gears, but he always brings his hand back to mine afterwards.
For our first date earlier this evening, Ryder took me to an outdoor concert at the local botanical gardens.
We walked around the grounds while a four-piece ensemble played classical Baroque music.
The gardens had strung lights in all the trees and more lights along the pathways, making the whole experience enchanting.
It was like being in the middle of a forest oasis surrounded by twinkling fairies peeking at us from the foliage as we walked by.
We held hands the entire time, and Ryder would press kisses against my temple, the back of my hand, my hair, and my shoulder.
I don't think he realized he was doing it, and the sweetness of it all had me swooning the entire evening.
After our stroll around the gardens, we walked back to where folding chairs had been arranged for people to sit, and we watched the sunset as the ensemble played Concerto for Two Violins by Bach. Ryder told me he was fulfilling my “would you rather.”
As we continue to drive, I gaze out the window.
The sky is cloudless tonight, the moon casting shadows inside of the car.
I look over at Ryder’s profile. He really is devastatingly handsome.
Strong. Sexy. The butterflies in my stomach take flight once again as they usually do when I look at him.
It’s been a month since that first day of school when he found me in the hallway.
Such a short amount of time, but also a lifetime between us.
My mind may have buried my memories six feet under, but the way my body reacts whenever I’m around him, the way he makes me feel; Ryder is becoming my everything—the person I most look forward to seeing every day. And it scares me.
I lift our twined hands up to my lips and place a kiss to his knuckles. “Where are you taking me now?”
He glances at me and the yellow in his golden eyes reflects the moonlight coming through the windshield. “It’s a surprise. Patience, baby.”
I give a tiny girlie sigh. “I love it when you call me that.”
“What? Baby?” He raises one black-brown brow at me.
“Yes.”
“I’ll make sure to use it more often then.”
He hands me his phone. Without thinking, I open his music app and select a song. As it starts playing from his speakers, a memory flash of me doing the same thing at some other time scuttles across my brain. “The Distance” by Cake starts playing, and I turn up the volume.
“Nice,” Ryder tells me when he hears it.
“I was going to ask if I could come back out to the Fields with you again sometime and get more lessons.”
“Anytime you want. I would love for you to come out again. I'm impressed with how well you handled your car.”
I beam at his praise. “I have a good instructor.”
“I want to take a look at your car and check out your engine sometime, if you don’t mind. I have a few ideas for improvements you might be interested in.”
“Seeing as my car is basically your car…” I laugh because it really is a carbon copy of his, except his is black and mine is red. “Do whatever you want with it. I trust you.” His hand squeezes mine and he leans over to kiss my cheek.
Ryder slows his car down and takes a right onto a dirt road.
We bump over dried mud until we reach the top of a hill where he parks the car and turns off the engine.
Below us, Fallen Brook is illuminated by street and house lights, while vehicles driving along the roads create streaks of red and white light.
Above us is the open night sky filled with hundreds of tiny stars.
It’s like we’re existing in our own separate space, caught between two worlds.
“Alright, I’m intrigued.”
He gets out of the car and walks around to open my door. “I found this place a couple of years ago. Sometimes I come out here when I need some peace and quiet.”
Ryder lifts me bodily out of my seat and carries me to stand at the hood of his car.
Keeping his arms wrapped around my middle, he turns me around as he sits down on the front part of the hood.
My back is now pressed to his chest. I relax into him and we listen to the chirps of crickets, the buzz of cicadas, and the singing of frogs.
“This is nice. Very peaceful. I can see why you like it out here.”
Ryder begins humming a tune; one that seems familiar to me. As he hums, he nuzzles my neck and I close my eyes. My voice joins his and I hum along with him. His deeper, baritone voice, with my higher, soprano one, fit together beautifully. Just as we fit perfectly together.
“Your dad wrote this song,” Ryder tells me. “He taught it to us when we were younger.”
I’m taken aback at his words. “My dad wrote this?” I squeeze my eyes shut, wanting to force the memory forward. It’s there, on the periphery, if only I could grab it and pull it out.
I feel Ryder shift behind me. He removes one of his arms from around my waist and pulls his phone out. The beginning notes of “Helium” by Sia start to play.
“We danced to this at our junior prom. No one else existed in that moment. It was just you and me.” He turns me in his arms once more. “Dance with me, Elizabeth,” his deep voice says next to my ear, causing a thousand goose bumps to form on my arms.
Another memory breaks through. One of Ryder and me dancing. He’s wearing a tuxedo and I'm looking up at him, my hand resting high on his chest where I can feel the beat of his heart.
“As first dates go, you really nailed it,” I tell him, my heart so full of love, it feels like it’s about to burst.
Ryder tips my chin up with a finger and lays a soft kiss on my mouth. “Beautiful Elizabeth.”
I choke up, no longer capable of speaking. Ryder doesn’t say anything either and we just hold each other until the song ends.