A Day at the Park

David was true to his word. On Saturday,  he and went out on their second date to Central Park. David had this elaborate picnic laid out- plaid blanket, basket of fruits, wine, and cheeses, etc. Lizzie's mouth dropped open in shock when he laid out, though with a bit of trouble, everything on a nice, grassy part of the park near " The Lake", where they could feed ducks if they wanted to. David brought bread and everything.

"Do you come here a lot?" Lizzie asked, grabbing another slice of cheese from the basket as she sat indian-style on the surprisingly comfortable blanket. They had already spent a wonderful hour going over what they both did for the rest of the week, with David going briefly over various criminal cases he had to prepare for and Lizzie speaking of the recent novel she was working on.

"I used to," David said as he also reached into the basket for a slice of cheese, though it was rather a larger size than Lizzie's and not that well cut. " I would come with my parents a lot. But when you grow up here, life gets in the way and you just stop coming."

"So I'm the first one you have gone to the park with in a long time?" A smile played on Lizzie's lips. It excited her just to think that she gave such a good impression to David that he would plan this well-thought out date for her.

"Yeah," he said, " I have a very good feeling about you, so I want to make this really special." He grinned, "You know, give as great of an impression of myself as much as possible. "

Lizzie reached her hand and placed it on top of David's on the blanket. As their skin touched, Lizzie looked deeply into David's eyes. The last time they looked at each other this way was just a couple of days ago but the intensity and attraction was still there. On Lizzie's part, the minute their hands physically connected, it was like a jolt of electricity coursed through her body. This told her that the attraction and chemistry she felt on their first date wasn't a fluke. This was real.

She also knew he felt the same way. With her touch, he jumped back a little and it was hard to not focus on his mouth, which told a clear story on how she affected him. His breathing became labored, just like hers was on that fated first date.

" Truth... you made a very good impression on me, David Gutierrez," she whispered.

He gulped. " I'm glad to hear it."

He moved closer, his eyes focusing on her lips. "Can I kiss you?"

Lizzie smiled, loving how he gently asked her for permission. At this point, there were so many sparks oozing between the two of them that Lizzie didn't know how she could control herself from not smashing his lips with hers. It was inevitable.

"Yeah," she whispered. "You can."

David closed the space between them. His lips on hers was simply...magical. It was the lightest, most innocent of kisses, as if he savored each second of the simple feel of her mouth against his. A fluttering and heat rose in Lizzie's cheeks as David gently took her face in his hands. For a couple of seconds... or minutes... Lizzie didn't know what, They kissed like that- their lips brushing against each other, until Lizzie initiated a deeper kiss, opening David's mouth with her tongue, until they both connected.

It was just like in the movies where fireworks would go off or intense music would play as the romantic interests engaged in their first real kiss. It always was the turning point in the couple's relationship on screen.

And looking back, it definitely was the turning point in Lizzie and David's relationship.

"Girl, tell me everything!" Lizzie's best friend Andrea said, as she plopped down on Lizzie's queen size bed in her loft near Park Avenue. With Lizzie's recent book deal, which landed her for the fifth time on the New York Times Bestseller's list, she quickly bought her dream apartment on the coveted apartment complex.

Andrea was the first friend she told about her purchase and quickly planned a welcome home party extravaganza and invited all of their friends and families to celebrate. When anything good or bad happened in Lizzie's life, she told Andrea.

And that definitely included Lizzie's two dates with her potential future boyfriend.

"It...It was incredible," Lizzie said, joining her best friend on the grand bed, laying down among the Egyptian cotton comforter, her hair fanning out on the various pillows. "He took me to Central Park and prepared a picnic and everything... He brought a blanket, cheese, wine, everything."

Andrea laid her hand on Lizzie's quickly, her eyes wide. "Is he gay?"

Lizzie threw a pillow at her best friend, while Andrea erupted into laughter. "No! Definitely not! We had total chemistry. The way he looked at me told me otherwise. Trust me, I know."

Andrea held her hands up in defense. "Okay, okay. I just had to ask. You know men normally aren't good with the romantic stuff."

"Yeah, I know. But it really seemed as if he made the extra effort. He fumbled with laying out the blanket and had trouble cutting up the slices of cheese.. I wanted to ask him if he had someone help him, but I thought that would be too rude. I'll save it for another time."

"Girl, for your sake I hope so. But, come on, spill it. Did you kiss? I assume that's why you called me last night  all giddy," Andrea said.

"Yes, we did kiss." Lizzie laid back down on the bed again, closing her eyes briefly for a moment, recalling how it felt like to have his lips on hers. Pure magic.

"It was... all I can say is that it was like a fairy tale. The perfect kiss. I kind of wish that was my first kiss ever, to be honest."

Andrea pressed her lips together. "Aww! How cute! I have to meet him."

"Maybe," Lizzie said. " I don't want to jump the gun here. I'm going to let him move our relationship along."

Andrea nodded in agreement. "Good choice. Don't scare him off right away. But if he's as great as you've described, it seems like meeting the friends and the parents won't be a problem."

Lizzie sighed. "Yeah, I hope so." She didn't meet Andrea's eye, but instead looked out the window, which held an excellent view of fifth avenue. When she'd stare out at the bustling city, Lizzie felt like she could do and accomplish anything. But sometimes, no matter how many times she felt like she was ready to face the world, thinking about situations that were beyond her control couldn't be helped by just staring out the window and repeating a mantra to herself of how she'd conquer anything.

She really did not want to think that far ahead with the parent situation. Meeting the parents was always nerve-wracking, even in her previous relationships. Some liked her, some didn't. But what she figured out was that some of the parents come into meeting her with pre-conceived notions on who she is and if anyone is good enough for their son. And at this point, Lizzie definitely didn't know enough about David's parents to say how they would treat her.

After catching herself scrunching up a part of the comforter, Lizzie got up off the bed and made her way around to the door of her bedroom. "I'm going to make some afternoon coffee. Want any?"

Andrea immediately jumped off the bed and followed her friend to the kitchen. "Great way to change the subject, Liz. Steer away from tricky conversations and things that you can't control like a puppet master," she said, plopping herself down on one of the stools facing the kitchen island.

"That's not it," Lizzie lied, taking out her Nespresso machine from the cabinet and plugging it in. God, Andrea knew her too well. "I just want to savor our first few dates for a little while longer. That is, if he even stays interested."

"Ha, I have a good feeling that you don't need to worry about that," Andrea said as she picked off an apple from a nearby bowl of fruits and bit into it hard.

Little did Lizzie know that Andrea was completely right.