Page 31 of Hooked
“I always have music on. Or a podcast. Or… something.”
“Noise.” Jeremy shrugged. “I love music, but sometimes I like quiet. It’s good for the soul.”
“You have mentioned the soul unironically, and this is officially the weirdest first date I’ve ever been on.”
Jeremy smiled. “I think I’m going to take that as a compliment.”
“It’s not an insult.”
“Good.”
“Are we almost there? Wherever there is?”
“Yep. In fact…” He made one last turn through the gates of the recreation area. “We’re here.”
“The lake?”
“Have you been?”
She squinted. “Once. Late last summer. It was very hot.”
“Then you haven’t seen it in springtime. Which is the only time to see it.” He stopped at the pay station to grab a permit for the rest of the day. Then he jumped back in the truck and continued the winding drive to the lakeside. They passed families starting barbecues and fishermen heading out for the dusk catch.
“Are we swimming?” She was smiling. “I didn’t bring a suit.”
“The water’s still a little cold for that.” He left the main recreation area and headed to the group site he’d called and reserved the day after she said yes. It was a little bit away from the other picnic tables and usually only available for groups, but the ranger was an old friend of his dad’s and he let Jeremy reserve it.
They drove around the last bend, and he watched her face as she spied what Daisy and Ethan had set up.
Tayla’s mouth dropped open. “What is… Are wecamping?”
“You call this camping?” Jeremy stopped the car and hopped out, waving at Ethan and Daisy as they drove away. “This is, at the very least,glamping.”
“How did you even…?” She spotted Ethan’s truck. “Ethan and Daisy helped with all this?”
The group barbecue site sat directly on the edge of the lake, secluded by a stand of sycamore trees. A series of logs had been laid in a circle to create a firepit. There was a pavilion and a large group of picnic tables, but that wasn’t where Jeremy and Tayla would eat.
He’d driven to the lake this morning and set up a canvas safari tent facing the shore and laid out colorful blankets and a low table with cushions around it. Daisy and Ethan had come later to put up the finishing touches.
There were mosquito coils wafting around the site and citronella candles burning in mason jars to keep the bugs at bay. Fresh flowers and dishes—real dishes, not paper—were already laid out on the small table. A string of solar lights hung from the trees to the tent.
Jeremy unloaded the ice chests from the back of the pickup and set them in the shade beside the tent. “What do you think?”
Tayla was turning in circles, taking it all in. “This isstunning. You had all this stuff?”
“The tent is Daisy and Spider’s. They use it for a guest house since their place is so tiny. The blankets are mine and my mom’s. Uh… the little table is mine actually. Long story.” He rubbed the back of his neck. Was it too over the top? “I just wanted to do something fun and surprise you.”
“I’ll admit I suspected we’d be going on a picnic. But this is like…” She turned to face him. “This is like a luxury picnic from a period movie or something. Only cooler because”—she pointed to the bathrooms in the corner of the group site—“there’s plumbing!”
Jeremy grinned. “I thought you didn’t like the outdoors.”
“I like this.” Tayla stepped closer and tugged on the edges of his vest. “I like you.”
Well, shit.
There went his heart.
Jeremy bent down, took her chin between his fingers, and kissed her.
