Page 60 of Forever Fickle

Karen grabbed a Flyboys t-shirt off the shelf and took the shorts Jace offered, heading for the bathroom to go change. She had no idea what he was up to and heard him moving around the building.

Perking up, she heard the front office door open, the little bell tinkling softly in the distance… and realized he’d left.

“What are you up to, Jace…” she chuckled – and glanced up to see him running into the field behind Flyboys, carrying a blanket and pillows, like a madman.

Laughing in disbelief, she saw him spreading out the blanket, realizing that he was setting up a picnic, of sorts.

He was running back up towards the office – and she saw him start laughing as he wagged a finger at her, spotting her in the window. His wide smile was enchanting as he waved again.

Karen hurriedly finished changing, hanging her dress on the hook in the bathroom, before emerging as Jace walked in.

“Were you peeking?” he laughed, “How am I ever going to surprise you if you are going to peek?”

“I didn’t intend to,” she sputtered. “I was changing, remember?”

“I figured you’d go into my room to change… and I forgot about the bathroom window,” he admitted, pulling her into his arms. “Come play with me.”

He clasped her hand, pulling her down the hallway behind him, and ducked into the kitchenette, yanking open the fridge to pull out a bag.

“What’s that?”

“Me, planning ahead,” he said secretly, smiling.

“Look at you, being all clever and such…” she teased.

“You have no idea…”

There was something in his voice that caught her attention, surprising her. He was up to something, and she was fascinated.

She had no idea how he’d done any of this because they’d been together almost non-stop, which meant he had arranged to have someone ‘help’ him… which meant there could be anything in that bag he held.

Falling silently behind him, she realized that he was planning a magical afternoon together to make memories – and who was she to try to figure it out? Instead, she was releasing all her hesitations to the universe, putting herself in Jace’s hands completely.

“I thought you wanted coffee?” she hesitated, seeing him head towards the front door.

“That’s for later…” he replied evasively, casting a quick glance at her. “Where’s your shoes?”

“In the bathroom,” she replied, tugging her hand away. “I’ll grab them.”

“Not needed…” he countered, scooping her up into his arms, his hand still clenching the paper bag in his hand.

Completely enchanted, she realized that she could get really used to being swept off her feet by this guy who’d bombarded her world – and her heart.

Her bare feet dangled playfully over his arm as they emerged into the sunlight. Jace was smiling as he toted her forward and she fought back the urge to tease him about being some Neanderthal or cave man by acting like this… but a bigger part of her was melting that he was literally sweeping her off her feet.

Instead, she remained silent and overwhelmingly curious at what he had planned, as he walked through the tall grasses towards the blanket.

“Now, hear me out,” Jace said softly, smiling tenderly at her. “It’s just you and me, in our own private Eden – alone.”

“Should I be worried about apples… or snakes,” she asked breathlessly, playing along. “This is Texas, you know…”

He hesitated and looked around for a moment, before rolling his eyes at her.

“Don’t do that…” he chided.

“It’s true. We have snakes, spiders, and all sorts of treacherous things that hide in the grass. If you’ve ever stepped in a fire-ant pile or a patch of stickers, you’d understand how dangerous it could be here.”

“You are not helping me romance you,” he replied flatly, frowning.

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