Reflection (Artemi Panarin)

Date Night

Lesson two: You can't live a positive life with a negative mind.

-Artemi's POV-

We've been driving around the city for a little while now. Taylor had a arm out out the window letting the wind weave between her fingers. Her hair was down and moving with the wind. She was studying everything we passed like she always did. She was constantly in deep thought, trying to find a way to make herself better or to make someone's day. There's so many things I admire about her, but the way she sees the world, with such positivity and faith, that's my favorite. She went through some shit but never missed a chance to help someone. So today, well at least the next few hours, was for her. Starting with a drive through her favorite city in the world.

"I love it here" she states, eyes still scanning the city.

"I know you do" I nod.

After driving around and listening to her beam about the buildings and the people I took her to the zoo. Her face lit up when we pulled up and she hopped out the car as soon as the engine shut off.

"I was going to be a gentlemen and come open the door for you" I say as she stands at the entrance of the zoo.

"I hate when people do stuff for me and you know that. My arms aren't broken" she giggled and starts towards the animals. I shake my head and follow behind her.

We walked for about 30 minutes before I decided to get some ice cream from the shop in the zoo. After the usual fight about who was going to pay I let her win because after all this was all about her. We eventually finish the ice cream and set off to finish seeing the rest of the zoo. The last animals we saw was the lions. She loved all the animals more than she probably loved anything, but the lions were definitely her favorite.

"The same animal we call the king of the jungle sleeps 20 hours a day. But those four hours he's awake he's making the most of it. He's feeding his family and proving himself as the alpha male. All he needs is four hours to make a difference..." she sighs.

I'm always amazed at what she knows. She leans on the gate and watched the male lion lay next to the female one and lay it's head on her shoulder. I walk over to Taylor and rest my chin on her shoulder mirroring the actions of the large cat.

"Every King needs his Queen" I whisper into her ear. She smiles, never taking her eyes off the lions.

"I think they're beautiful" she states with a sigh, watching their every move.

"I think you're beautiful" I say moving so she was facing me. She shakes her head and looks back to the lions.

"They are so majestic, and loyal, and feared. That's beauty" she says as her head falls. I pull her chin up so she looks me in the eyes.

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. And you... You're extremely beautiful" I insist. She puts her hands on my face and pulls me in for a kiss. I quickly deepen it and pull her closer. After we break apart she looks back to the lions then back at me with a smile on her face. After we walk and talk for a little I grab her hand and pull her to the car to go to the last destination.

We were sitting on the beach watching the waves crash into the sand. It's was peaceful. Neither of us wanted to break the silence. After a while I had to ask a question.

"Hey Taylor" I start.

"Yes sir" she jokes.

"After everything that has happened to you, how do you always find the good in everything? I mean you just looked at the most brutal animal in the jungle and found every good thing about it" I shake my head.

"Because this world has so much to offer. If you're blinded by the bad things you'll never see the great things in life. A negative mind does not equal a positive life. If you look at the bad you're going to get the bad and vice versa" she says.

"So you don't think bad of anyone" I try.

"Nope. It's not easy, but I know we all have our flaws. Nobody's perfect. I can't focus on the bad because I wouldn't be able to see all the great things they have done" she defends.

We continued to watch the waves crash for a little and enjoy each other's presence. Without a word Taylor gets up and starts to take off her top and her pants. I wasn't about to complain but wasn't exactly happy about the attention from the guys she was getting. "What in the hell do you think you're doing" I whisper yell and she continues to undress.

"Swimming, duh" she states looking at me weird. The water had to be freezing, it was the middle of October after all. But that didn't stop her. She took of quickly and splashed into the water. I quickly follow suit and undressed then ran into the water. She went out until the water reached her belly button and decided she should stop.

"Holy shit, I think your abs are better than mine" I say tracing the lines on her stomach.

"That's a lie" she states running her hands up and down my arms. I pick her up and she wraps her legs around me as I go a little deeper.

"So as far as first dates go you would say this one is..." I lead her on to finish my sentence.

"I've never been out with someone, remember" she giggles.

"Right. Why is that? I mean you have that group of guys over there drooling" I say nodding my head to a bunch of twenty some guys not trying to hide their swooning.

"It was never a conflict of interest. Rather a conflict of morals" she shrugs. I nod understanding where she's coming from. "But today was great, Artemi. Thank you" she says before pecking me on the lips. We head back to the shore and I set her down. As much as I wanted to do things like this forever we had to get to the game.

Crow ended up getting a shut out and captain clutch got the gwg in ot against the Lightning. This day ended up being amazing, just like any other day I've shared with Taylor.