The strong pull beweteen us

I really couldn't sleep last night. The children slept at my parent's house, so I was home all alone. Julian and I had agreed to meet in Dahlia's Park. I had been there before with the kids, because that was where the circus was always held.

I think I had changed clothes four times; I just had no idea what to wear. Would he be dressed casually? Even in jeans, he didn't look casual.

Eventually I decided to put on a light pink dress and the necklace I got from my grandmother. I put up my hair half-loose. It was hot outside. There had been a heat wave announced this week. So, when I walked outside, I felt a slap of warmth against my face.

Dahlia's park was not far from my house, and it was about a fifteen minutes' drive by bike. The park was surrounded by mansions. It was where the rich people of this city lived.

On arrival I heared music, they were sound checking. In the distance I saw that a stage had been built.

I didn't really know which side of the park he was on, and I decided to call him. "Hey," I said when Julian answered the phone right away. "You are not calling to cancel on me, huh..." he teased me.

"Well... " I began to say, teasing him. He chuckled.

"Where exactly did we agree to meet," I asked him. "Mhh, I'm east of the park. Beyond the festival, so to speak." Phew, I was happy he didn't plan for us to be in a crowded area.

I didn't feel like having to go into the crowd later. Too much noise and people. Not really my thing. "I'm on the water side," he added. "I'll be there in a bit," I let him know.

Julian was sitting on a very large red and white checkered picnic blanket. Like all the times I had seen him, he was wearing a white shirt, and this time he wore grey pants.

The first thing I noticed was that he was holding a beautiful bouquet of wild colorful flowers. The stems were held together by a pink satin ribbon.

"Good morning," he said with a broad smile as he got up. "Hello," I greeted him a little shyly. I had forgotten that he was so tall, and especially compared to me.

I put my bike on its stand, and Julian came closer. He put his arm around my waist and bend deeply, until his lips touched my ear. "You are beautiful," he whispered, gently kissing my cheek.

He looked at me, and I knew what he was going to say. So, I start breathing again. Julian smirked.

"For you," he said as he gave me the beautiful bouquet. "Wow," I exclaimed. "It looks like a wedding bouquet," I noticed when I saw the pearls between the flowers.

Julian winked at me, and asked me if I was going to sit down. I felt a little nervous when I planted myself on the blanket.

There was a large picnic basket, and Julian opened it. "I know it's still early, but shall we toast on our first date?" He smiled gently.

"It's only 10:00 in the morning," I reminded him. "Mhhh.. " he murmured. "A glass of champagne to break the ice can't hurt," he said as he pulled out two crystal glasses from the picnic basket.

"I secretly am a little nervous though," he confessed with a crooked grin.

"You, nervous... don't make me laugh" I snorted. He tilted his head to the right. Julian looked at me endearingly.

"Yes, I think this is very exciting. So yes. Yes I am nervous, cherry. Who knows if I'll still have you in front of me at dinner tonight," he smiled. "Yes... who knows," I said playfully.

"It depends," I suddenly began to say in a lot more serious manner. "On what," he raised an eyebrow, uncorking the bottle of champagne.

"On a number of factors," I challenged him as I leaned back with my arms, so that the sun could shine on my face. For a moment I closed my eyes.

"Oh yes, and what exact factors might that depend on," he went along with my game.

I liked this little game of ours, and sat up a bit straighter.

Julian poured the glasses and handed me one. "Well, Julian. If I were to tell you that, it would affect the purity of this experiment," I laughed a little.

I saw that he was trying not to laugh out loud. "Of course, we shouldn't want that," he said as he got closer. He smelled like pineapple, with a hint of vanilla and cinnamon. Gods, he smelled good. He smelled like coming home on Christmas.

He was so close that I could almost touch him. "Cheers," he said. "Cheers," I said in return, and we clicked our glasses. "On us," he added.

I took a sip and then another and another. I noticed that Julian also drank quite quickly. Out of the corner of my eye I looked at him. "You weren't kidding," I observed, noting that he was also trying to drink away his nerves. He licked his lips and ran his hand through his hair.

I kind of liked the obvious affect I had on him. It made me feel... powerfull.

No idea where it came from, but I stroked his face with the back of my hand, while looking holding his gaze. His beard felt great on my fingers. A little rough.

"What's the worst thing that can happen," I whispered reassuringly.

While I was still holding his face, Julian lifted my chin with his finger. His breathe touched my face and I drank him in.

"I'm aware that we are just getting to know each other, but I really have the strong urge to kiss you Emilie," he said in a seductive voice, daring me to stop him.

I rubbed my thumb over his beard and thought about my response. I wanted that too, but I knew it would really be too quick. It was just that there was such a strong pull between us. I did not no how long I could resist.