“That’s the sweetest thing anybody has ever said to me,” I said. “Thank you for this. Seriously, this is amazing.”
Jacob’s eyes lit up and he leaned toward me to give me a peck on the lips. He pulled away and looked at me, a contented expression written across his face.
“You have no idea how happy it makes me that you like this,” he said. “I was seriously worried you’d think it was weird or creepy or something.”
I was wearing the widest and goofiest smile I had ever had. I was dizzy with excitement. Or was it the beginning of love? I couldn’t tell, since it was all happening so fast. I didn’t care, though. All that mattered was that it felt amazing.
This is quickly becoming the best summer I’ve ever had, I thought.
Jacob sat back on the blanket and grabbed the bottle of champagne, filling up the glasses. He handed me one of them and then held his in the air. We clinked them together. “To us.”
“To us,” I repeated.
We both took a sip and I couldn’t believe how good it was. “This is amazing. What kind of champagne is this?”
“It’s Dom Perignon,” he said. “My favorite.”
“I don’t know enough about champagne to really know what that means,” I said. The bubbles tickled my nose as I took a sip. “But I can say that I think I may have found my favorite, too.”
“I hope you’re hungry,” he said, reaching over and opening the basket. “And I also hope you don’t mind that I’m not a very good cook.”
I watched as he pulled out a bunch of grapes and then two sandwiches. In addition, he set out sliced cheese and crackers, some vegetables with ranch dressing and some barbecue chips. I noticed the picnic basket still had the price tag on it.
“Wow, you went all out,” I said, with a smile. I pointed to the tag. “Did you buy this just for today?”
“I did.” A slight blush filled his cheeks. “Remember, this is my first picnic.”
How sweet is that? He went and bought a picnic basket just for this, I thought.
Jacob pulled out two paper plates and situated the food on them. He seemed so proud as he did so and it made my heart swell. I still couldn’t believe that he had done all of this for me.
I leaned back and closed my eyes, enjoying all the sounds sensations around me. The summer sun dappled the ground under the trees. I could hear the creek whispering secrets to the shore as we ate. It felt like we were the only people in the entire world.
“It’s so nice out,” I said. “You picked the perfect day for this. It’s not too cold and it’s not too hot.”
“It worked out,” he agreed. “The perfect day with the perfect girl.”
I grinned at him and popped a grape into my mouth. We sat underneath the sun, sipping our wine and eating our meal. The park was mostly empty, with just a few kids hanging out on the opposite side. They were far enough away that I could only make out their laughs as they ran around in the grass.
“I never would have imagined that Monster GO would have led me to meeting you,” Jacob said, drawing my attention back to him.
“I’m as surprised as you are,” I said. “I’m still in shock about it actually. I never thought I'd run into you again after that night in the restaurant. Of course, I’m sure that was clear by how messy my hair was that morning. It looked like I had just crawled out of bed. Which, admittedly, I had.”
Jacob laughed as he took another sip from his champagne. “I think you looked great. I kind of like the bedhead look.”
“Shush,” I said, playfully pushing on his shoulder and causing him to rock back. “It really is crazy, though.”
“What, your hair that morning?” he said, with a sly smile.
“No, the fact that we wouldn’t have ever met again if it wasn't for that game. That’s the only reason we ever came in contact. I wouldn’t be sitting here right now if someone hadn’t developed that app.”
“Where do you think you’d be?” he asked.
I shrugged. “Probably sitting in my room and looking for jobs. Maybe I’d be at the coffee shop with Caroline. I certainly wouldn't be this happy.”
He scooted across the blanket so that he was sitting right next to me, with his arm wrapped around my lower back. I leaned into him, allowing him to support my weight. It made me feel safe and loved.
“Speaking of Monster GO, how far have you gotten? How many monsters have you caught?” Jacob asked.