“You both are just too cute. The weather is perfect for going to the lake. I’m so glad it warmed up after last week.”
“Me too. We had nothing but rain and cold around here all of Spring Break.”
Nancy leaned over and looked out the window, “Your knight in shining armor is here.” Nancy quickly walked outside and began chatting it up with Sean.
Nicole ran outside to save Sean from Nancy’s probing questions.
“Sean, can I ask, have you ever been engaged?”
Sean shoved his hands into his pockets. “Well, I ah, can’t…”
Nicole’s face burned red hot, and she loudly interrupted, “Nancy, I think I heard Mr. Steve was looking for you. Something about ordering more Super-Sorb?”
Nancy turned away from Sean. “Alright, alright, I’ll be there in a second,” she grumbled.
As soon as Nancy was back inside, Nicole took Sean’s hand and started pulling him toward his Jeep. “We better get out of here before she comes back.”
“I take it Mr. Steve wasn’t looking for her?”
“Nope."
Sean laughed and Nicole joined him, and they drove out of the parking lot heading toward Marley Lake.
“I was tempted to take the top off but, I thought the wind might be a little too cold for you.”
“Aww, thank you, baby.” Nicole placed her hand on Sean’s knee.
Given the unseasonably warm day, the park was full of kids, some of whom Nicole recognized, sliding down the slides and climbing on the jungle gym. The benches surrounding the playground were filled with parents, grandparents and babysitters. Nicole held Sean’s hand as they walked past the kids and their parents. There had been a time when seeing carefree kids with their moms had made her sad, but today she felt a warmth in her chest, knowing she had Sean. She put her hand in her jeans pocket to make sure the little box she carried was still there.
Once they were away from the shouts of the kids, Sean found a level spot and put down their picnic basket. He pulled out the buffalo plaid blanket stored inside and began spreading it out.Nicole took an end and helped. “If you had told me last fall that I was going to be the kind of person who not only owned a picnic basket but used it for picnics, I would have thought you were crazy.”
Sean patted the ground, and Nicole sat down beside him. She leaned in and kissed him. She slowly let it deepen, gently pushing his mouth open with her tongue. As they kissed, he wrapped an arm around her, bringing her closer to him. She pulled back from his kiss and lightly kissed his neck. As she kissed him, he pulled her onto his lap. She wrapped her legs around him and felt the hard length of him rubbing against the seam of her jeans. She stopped kissing and looked around.
“Maybe we should have picnicked in my backyard?”
Sean chuckled against her neck. “I picked this spot because of the bushes. No one can see us.”
“Thank goodness.” Nicole said and began kissing Sean again. The raspy hair of his stubble made her lips extra sensitive, and she relished the feeling as she brought her lips back to his mouth.
They kissed a while longer. A gentle breeze feathered the hair on Sean’s head and the twittering of birds nearby combined to make Nicole's heart ready to burst. Sean rested his forehead against Nicole’s.
“We should eat. I’m working on a couple of new recipes, and I thought I’d try them on you.”
Nicole was suddenly famished. “Now that you mention it, I only had a bag of baked potato chips at lunch.”
Sean shook his head, “I’ve failed as a chef boyfriend.” He frowned dramatically.
“You're the best chef boyfriend, and I am sure I’ll be reminded of that when I eat whatever deliciousness you’ve made for us!”
Nicole got off Sean’s lap. Sean opened the basket and handed plates, plastic ware, and glasses to Nicole.
“You brought champagne flutes? How fancy!”
“To be fair, they are plastic.”
“True, well then, semi-fancy.”
Sean pulled out three plastic containers, took the tops off, and began making plates for Nicole and himself. "I’m working on ideas for May. We’ll have Mother’s Day, graduations, first communions, and of course, our regular weekend brunches. So, I’ve been working on this new tarragon chicken salad. I’m thinking of using my buttermilk brined chicken and then adding finely chopped fennel and purple onion, a little mayo and a little tarragon. I also have pimento cheese potato salad, and then for a side, dilly beans. It’s a play on traditional southern dishes. I’m thinking of trying out chess pie tartlets too, but we will see.”
