Prologue
Barrett
Seeing her sitting in the middle of this pickup, right next to me, just where she belongs, makes my chest swell with pride. After all this time, I still can’t believe she’s mine. I have several things planned for tonight, and I pray that it all goes as smoothly as I hope. Everything has been in the works for a while now, and I want it to go perfectly – for her and me. We pull up to the first stop, an old drive-in movie theatre that’s been around for ages and is somewhat of a staple in our small town.
She looks at me skeptically. I get it. It’s the end of November in Michigan. Who goes to a drive-in, let alone one that is closed for the season? But I have connections. Connections being my best friend Josh’s aunt and uncle who own the theatre and said they’d help me out, for which I am eternally grateful. I back into a spot in the front row, not that it matters since it’s completely deserted. Tess still hasn’t said anything. I’ve learned this is her way, though. She’s trying to figure out what’s going to happen, but I truly hope she doesn’t. It will take the surprise out of the evening, and I need her to be surprised all night long.
“Stay here.”
“Okay,” she says quietly, quizzically.
I smile over at her as my nerves start to kick in. This is the first time I’ve been nervous about tonight, but I have too much riding on it. She deserves this night to be one she’ll never forget. I retrieve the basket out of the small back seat that I filled before I left to pick her up, as well as the two heavy blankets. Not that we won’t be sharing a blanket, but the bed of the pickup will be cold, so I figured we’d sit on one and cuddle up with the other. And it wouldn’t be the drive-in if we didn’t sit outside to watch the movie.
I arrange the blankets as well as the food. She’s obsessed with charcuterie boards and even though I didn’t create one, I did throw all the components into a cooler. Two kinds of meats and cheese, crackers, olives, pickles, and then I deviated. I stopped at the movie theater and bought a bag of their buttered popcorn, added in a bag of M&M’s, and some drinks. It might not scream romance to some, but to her, it will. And she’s the only one whose opinion matters. I also have a bag of peppermint saltwater taffy hidden for later. It’s her absolute favorite and I love reminding her how well I know her.
After everything is set up the way I want, I walk around to the driver’s side door and open it while extending my hand for her to slide out and into my arms. She giggles and shakes her head, still looking confused but follows me anyway. Curiosity is winning out. But also, she always follows me. Just like I will always follow her. The trust that she has in me is enough to bring me to my knees.
I help her into the bed of the pickup and, right on cue, the movie starts up. When the opening credits to The Princess Bride begin playing, she squeals adorably and claps her hands together lightly before throwing her arms around my neck and kissing me squarely on the lips.
“Thank you,” she murmurs. “You remembered? Our first date?”
“Of course. How could I forget?”
“I love you. A whole lot.”
“I know. I love you, too. More than you can even imagine.”
“I can imagine. Because I love you the same.”
I kiss her but break apart before it gets too heated. “I need to feed my girl, that good with you?” I give her my biggest smile.
She looks down at the spread for the first time, and her smile grows even larger, which I didn’t think was possible. “Barrett, it’s perfect.”
Her praise humbles me, especially considering the simple nature of the food I prepared. I didn’t realize how much I needed her to approve of the plans I had for the evening until that very moment.
“It’s nothing.”
“It’s everything,” she counters, leaning close and kissing my jaw.
We eat our picnic dinner while watching a movie that’s sure to stand the test of time. A classic. One that I know one day we’ll be forcing our grandchildren to watch, years down the road, of course. When she starts eating the popcorn and I remind her to add M&M’s because “chocolate coating makes it go down easier” she laughs so loudly and hard I am afraid she will choke on the popcorn.
“Oh my gosh, Barrett. You’re too much.”
I scoff, “I’d like to think I’m just enough, fair lady.” I smile cheekily at her.
She shakes her head and burrows deeper into my lap while we continue watching the movie. The temperature around us is cool but that works perfectly for me. Having her wrapped in my arms is pretty damn perfect.
The final credits begin to roll, but the soundtrack is changed to one I know she’ll recognize. I stand up and reach down. She smiles widely and places her hand in mine. The simple piano notes of “Can’t Help Falling in Love” begin playing just as I pull her close to me. We sway slowly, her cheek resting just below my shoulder, and mine resting on top of her head. My hand is gripping hers, resting against my chest.
I love her more than I ever thought I could love someone. Having her in my arms feels so right. I’m never as content as when she’s by my side.
The song changes and moves into something more upbeat, faster paced. We separate just slightly and begin dancing, smiling and singing along. I dip her, the tip of her hair nearly touching the bed of the pickup.
“Barrett!” she squeals.
I lift her back up, chuckling. “What? You don’t trust me? I’m offended, Tess. Really,” I begin to fake pout.
“Ha! Nice try. That face doesn’t work on me anymore. Besides, you know I trust you.”
“Yeah? Prove it.”
“How am I supposed to do that?”
“Oh, I have some ideas,” I say waggling my eyebrows.
She rolls her eyes but I can tell she’s not annoyed with me. “Of course you do. But it isn’t happening. Not out here in the open!”
I press against her. “Why isn’t it gonna happen though? It could. No one is out here.” I look around at the empty lot.
“It’s freezing! And yeah, you say no one is out here… who knows who’s lurking around the corner waiting to record us getting it on and uploading it to some porn site.”
She’s so ridiculous. “Fine. I’ll give you the freezing thing, but no one is out here. I promise you that.” Not that I would fight her if she wanted to go through with getting a little freaky, but I would never, not in a million years, pressure her to do so. Nor do I want her plastered for the world to see. I’ll keep her to myself.
She pulls me back to her and snuggles in close. “I do like having you to myself,” she murmurs into my chest and, dammit it all, I start to feel emotional.
“I love having you all to myself.”
“Mmm…” she says as the song shifts once again to a slow song, and we continue to sway under the stars.
After we’ve danced for several songs, I realize we need to keep moving. We still have one more stop to make. The most important stop. So we pack up everything and climb back into the pickup. This time I don’t need to tell her to sit next to me; she slides next to me on her own, sitting close enough that our thighs are pressed against one another’s and she’s nestled tightly into the nook under my arm, and buckles up.