...
On their way out of the the dining area, pleasantries were exchanged between Michel, Zay, and Samara as the couple graciously thanked their host for their pleasant dining experience. Michel was delighted and urged them to come back soon.
As they were exiting the restaurant, Samara noticed that they were leaving out a different way. "Um. Why are we leaving out this way? Are we not taking the heli?"
Zay laughed. "No. We're taking another ride to our next destination."
"Oh. Is that a secret too?" Samara grinned.
"Maybe," Zay smiled back.
Samara bit her lip and smiled up at Zay. "Fine. I won't ask. I'll let myself be surprised."
Zay pulled her in by her waist as they approached the car and whispered in her ear. "You sure you don't wanna know?"
Samara laughed and shooed him away. "Zay, please. Tell me or don't, but don't tease me, okay? I can't take it."
Zay chuckled and stepped out of the way so Samara could get into the car first. "All I'm saying is, it's your call," he said sliding in next to her. Samara playfully rolled her eyes at him and then laughed. "You're lucky I like you."
"Love," Zay corrected. Samara shook her head and blushed.
"Love you," she stated matter-of-factly.
"I love you too," Zay teased.
Samara laughed. "Very clever," she smiled.
..
An hour and a half had gone by when they arrived at what appeared to be a vineyard. As they rode through the hilly paradise, Samara was trying to make sense of it. Clearly Zay was no stranger to putting in effort, but this? This had to be next level. When they stepped out of the car, with Ace not far behind, Samara looked over at Zay and said, "I hope I'm not speaking too soon, but I think you might've outdone yourself." Zay looked at her lovingly and placed his hand in hers. "Well, all that's left to do is wait and see, right?" he winked. Samara blushed and suddenly felt the butterflies return. "Yeah, I guess so," she said in a hushed tone.
They walked up a pathway that was lit up with decorative, white lights in time for the holiday and entered the gorgeous winery resort. As soon as they were behind the double doors and only a few steps in, a beautiful and petite brown skin woman approached them beaming. She appeared to already know Zay, as she called him by name. She greeted him warmly. "Isaiah Adams! Welcome. It's so good to see you. We have everything set up for you and your date as discussed."
"Thank you Charisse. I appreciate it."
"Of course!" she beamed. "And you, honey," Charisse said turning to Samara, "You are wearing that dress. You look gorgeous."
"Aw! Thank you girl. That is so sweet of you."
"Girl, I don't ever miss an opportunity to compliment one of my own," she smiled.
"I hear you gassing up Sam, but whatchu think about my fit Reese?" Ace chimed in. Samara and Zay looked back at Ace thoroughly amused.
"Ace stop it," Charisse said, fighting back a smile. "I am at work and so are you. Have some tact. Please," she said laughing him off. "I apologize for Ace's outburst," she smiled, "You know how he is," she said to Zay.
Zay shook his head and chuckled. "Yeah. I don't know why my dad keep hiring him," he teased.
Charisse tried her best to contain her laughter, so she just shook her head and smiled before continuing. "Y'all can just follow me right this way and I'll get you settled."
"Sounds good," Zay replied.
Samara feeling absolutely stunned by all of this celebrity treatment, tried to take everything in as quickly as her eyes would allow. They followed behind Charisse, through several hallways, and then through a door that led to the winery wing of the resort. There was a set up of several wines for them to taste, each one paired with the food and desert that complimented them best. Charisse gave them a quick tour of the place as she was not going to be there for the actual wine tasting.
"And to your right, just through those doors is the lovely terrace that will lead you to where you'll be staying for the night. If you don't need anything else from me Mr. Adams, I will be on my way." She handed Zay a key card that he slipped into his pocket. "You two have a good night."
Zay shook her hand. "Thank you, Charisse. You too."
"Good night Charisse. Thank you," Samara added.
"A'right," Ace said clapping his hands together, "Y'all should be good for the night, but holla if you need me. I'll see y'all in the a.m. Goodnight Zay. Goodnight Sam."
"Goodnight," they said one after the other.
With everyone finally gone, Zay turned to look at Samara. "Welcome to the more intimate portion of our date."
Samara cocked her head to the side and looked up at Zay. "The more intimate portion," she teased. "What does that mean?"
"It means that we finally got some real alone time and that we get to connect with each other away from all the watchful eyes back in Savannah."
"So we don't get a sommelier?" she asked for clarity.
"Well, usually you would, but tonight you get me."
Samara looked at Zay and then threw her head back with a smile. "What? Are you serious?" Zay nodded his head. "So, it's just us?"
"It's just us," he repeated. "So, Ms. Hayes. What would you like to try first?"
"Mm. I don't know Zay. I'm torn between the wine and you."
Zay smiled and playfully tugged on the waist of her dress. "You can have both," he replied as he walked over to the first bottle of wine and opened it. He poured a small amount into the first glass. "Come here," he said to Samara. "I want you to try this one first."
Samara bit her bottom lip trying to calm all the thoughts that were beginning to swarm around in her head. She walked over to Zay with his eyes never leaving her. He couldn't help but relish in the way she moved and how her dress managed to hug her in all the right places. When she reached his side, she took the glass from him and swirled the wine around before inhaling its aroma. She took a sip.
"Do you like it?" he asked.
"I do. Yeah," she said smiling.
"Well, try it with this." Zay reached around her and grabbed a piece of fruit from the tray. "Close your eyes," he instructed.
"Kay," she smiled, as she tossed her hair over her shoulder and closed her eyes. Zay took the same glass of wine she had just drunken from and held it up to her lips. "Take another sip," he said leaning the glass forward. Samara parted her lips and used all of her senses to taste the wine. When Zay sat the glass down he held the fruit up to her mouth and traced the outline of her lips with it. Samara could feel her face getting warm again. "Bite it," he said in her ear. When she did, she couldn't stop grinning. She opened her eyes and looked at Zay. "Mm. That was really good."
"I could tell," he chuckled. "Wanna try something else?"
"Yeah. What you got for me?"
"Um. I'll let you pick the next one," he said from behind her. Samara looked at each bottle of wine and the food it was paired with and chose the fifth option. This time she poured the wine and tasted it with its pairing herself. Zay still behind her wrapped an arm around her waist and surprised her with kisses down her neck as she enjoyed the taste of another new wine.
"Do you like that one?" he asked gruffly in her ear.
"I think it might be my favorite," she smiled as she turned around to face him.
"You think so?" he crooned, his hands begging her to come closer.
"Mmhm," she nodded, "Definitely." Samara and Zay were clearly trying not to move too fast, but their desire for each other was growing increasingly hard to ignore.
"So, do you still think I outdid myself?" he mumbled. His hands were at her waist and slowly creeping down her back. He was making it hard for her to answer the question. This was intentional, of course.
"Yeah," Samara said breathily. "You thought of everything to make this night special. Thank you."
"I'll do whatever for you. It's nothing." Zay's hands continued to slide down the length of her dress until he was able to grab enough of the material to hike it up inch by inch. "Just let me know what you need and I gotchu," he said trying to meet her gaze. Samara was trying her hardest not to look Zay in the eye, but the further up his hands went the harder it became. Zay could tell that she was aroused, but he also sensed that this might be a bit much for her too soon, so he gave her a way out.
"Mar," he said in a hushed tone, "I think I wanna go inside and get out of these clothes? Maybe we can have a little cuddle time after I get out the shower. You cool with that?" Zay smiled.
"Yeah," she replied sweetly. "Sounds good. Can I bring the wine?"
"Of course," he said swiping her chin, "It's paid for."
..
When they unlocked the door to their suite, they were met with beautiful bouquets of flowers. Samara looked back at Zay. "Zay did you—?"
He shook his head. "I wish I could take the credit for this, but no." Samara walked over to one of the mixed flower bouquets and looked for the card that would have came with it, but couldn't find one. Zay called her name and held up a red envelope with her name on it. "I think this is what you're looking for," he smiled. Samara rushed up to him and grabbed it eagerly. She opened the envelope, noticing that her name appeared to be written in Zen's handwriting, and pulled out the card. She sat on the sofa and read it aloud: Sammy, we're so happy that you've found love and a best friend in Zay and low key we kinda saw this for y'all. Samara laughed. Enjoy your week with your lil boo thang, but don't bring back any babies cuz we ain't ready to be aunties yet. Love you! Hope you like the flowers. They're your fav. "It's signed, Nat, Mena, and Zen. Awww."
"Wow," Zay smiled. "That was real thoughtful of them."
"Right! I love my friends," she beamed. "I really lucked out!" She got up from the sofa and placed the card on the TV stand.
"Yeah you did," Zay agreed, as he began to unbutton his shirt. He caught Samara's eye with each swift movement, and though Samara wanted to, she couldn't look away. Zay noticed and told her that he was just about to take a quick shower.
"Okay. I'll just be in the room," she said excusing herself.
"Mar, wait," Zay said catching her hand as she walked by. "I wanna talk to you real quick.
"Um. Okay. About what?" Samara asked bemused.
"You been running from me all night, Mar. Come here," he said gently tugging on her arm. Samara let Zay grab her and pull her into his lap. "What's up? You wanna tell me what's on your mind?" Samara was a little hesitant to speak, but told herself that it was just Zay and spoke up.
"Um, I think this sort of goes without saying," she smiled, "but I am extremely attracted to you. Probably as much as you are to me, but you're not just my best friend anymore, you're my boyfriend, and I didn't realize what kind of adjustment this would be for me. So, when you look at me the way that you do, I just don't know how I'm supposed to respond. You've been my best friend for so long and now you've become so much more than that in a matter of a few weeks and I don't want the friendship to end because my love for you has increased and shifted from platonic to romantic. I want to be all in with you, but I also want the guarantee that we'll still be best friends even if this doesn't work out, because you're too important for me to lose," she uttered, her voice breaking.
"I feel that," he said softly rubbing her leg. "And look. Don't ever be afraid to tell me what's on your mind. How you feel matters to me. You my girl and I love you. And I love how much you care about us and this relationship and I promise you that no matter what happens between us you will always be my best friend, first and foremost. I'm not going anywhere, you hear me?" He smiled down at her. "You stuck with me for life, ar'ight?" Samara nodded her head yes as Zay wiped away the fallen tears from her eyes.
"That's the only way I want it," she sniveled.
"Looks like I can start dreaming again, huh?" he grinned. Samara just blushed in response."Gimme a kiss." Zay tilted Samara's chin upwards and sent kisses down her neck.
Samara giggled and squirmed in his lap. "Zaaay," she squealed.
"Let me get a little one. Just a little kiss," he mumbled into her neck, his hand slowly creeping up her thigh.
"Okay, okay" she said, calming her girlish laughter and smiling up at him. She placed an arm around his neck and planted a few soft kisses on his lips. What started off as just a few pecks was beginning to turn into something more, so much so that Samara didn't want to leave Zay's lap. She stayed there kissing him slowly while enjoying being in his arms.
"Take me to the room," she mumbled against his lips.
"Are you sure?" he kissed back.
She looked him in his eyes and gave him a softly whispered "yes". Without another word Zay picked her up and took her into the room eager to give her what she wanted.
...
