Paper Bride ✔️ (Book 4 - DP Series - COMPLETE)

19. Antique Love

Our movie doesn't start until six pm, so we decide to grab a late lunch and head to a nearby park to enjoy the rest of the daylight. It actually doesn't turn out to be as fun as we'd anticipated. It's hot. Freakishly hot. We try to enjoy our spicy hot wings while enduring the sickening feeling of sweat dripping down our spines. In short, spicy food and sunshine is not a happy feeling.

We quickly devour our meals, eager for something cool to revive our fluid-leaking bodies. We're nowhere near town—for some reason we thought it'd be more fun to picnic away from civilization. Now, we're hating ourselves for our stupidity in not buying drinks with our meal. We're paying for it now though... by sweating ourselves into dehydration.

"I'm pretty sure there's a stream nearby," Seth suddenly suggests out of the blue.

I whip my head around to see if he's being serious, and I'm shocked to find that he is. Seth Vans wants to go swimming with me? The same excitement a child experiences on the night before Christmas is exactly how I feel right now. The idea of playing in some water with my husband is more appealing to me than steak, or chili fries, or ice—remember, I'm very hot right now, so ice is definitely a temptation. Yet, I'm willing to give up nourishing my body for a chance to giggle and frolic in a creek with my beautiful man.

"That sounds heavenly," I say. "Lead the way, please, before I start drooling."

He chuckles and my insides instantly turn to mush. There's that sound—the sound I'd become immune to for so long. Now it seems to be my weakness. I crave that sound. And what I crave even more is to be the one who causes that sound.

We walk side-by-side in silence until the field narrows into a small pathway woven between a patch of trees. I'm forced to step back so Seth can guide us. For several minutes, the only sound that can be heard is the crunching of twigs and leaves beneath our feet. It's peaceful in a way that I haven't experienced in a long time. Our silence at this moment hasn't been brought on by my lack of conversation or tense circumstances. We're simply enjoying nature together and talking isn't necessary. It's the most relaxed I've been in Seth's presence in ages.

I'm daydreaming about ice cubes and snow when I'm suddenly slamming into Seth's backside. I stumble slightly—though, he seems entirely unfazed by me. Instead, he just stares ahead.

"Well," he mutters, "that's disappointing."

I step to the side to get a better view of what's ahead and instantly start chuckling. That is indeed disappointing, and yet, the hilarity of it is almost worth the letdown. Sitting before us is most certainly a creek—if you can even call it that. I'd probably aim for a trickle. That suites it better. It's literally a trickle of water. The kind of trickle that instantly gives you the urge to pee. It just dribbles over small stones and flows into somewhat larger puddles in areas where the ground dips slightly.

Not willing to let this small hindrance derail our plans, I shuffle forward and around Seth. Dropping my phone—carefully—on a nearby rock, I take a few steps into the creek and plop down right in the middle of the small flow. I know I'll be mad at myself later for ruining my jeans, but right now, creating a lasting memory with my husband is more important than a pair of pants. Without another thought, I lay back and allow the small amount of water to cascade around my body. As pathetic as this creek is, it sure does feel incredible.

I expect to glance up and find Seth gaping at me in shock, but instead, I'm the one in shock. I watch—almost in slow motion, like those Calvin Klein cologne commercials—as Seth strips his shirt over his head and flings it on a nearby rock. Then he's making his way towards me—and I swear his hair has been ruffled to perfection, the small breeze offering its assistance with Seth's windblown look, and his skin is glistening with what looks to be a layer of sexy oil—though, it could possibly be sweat. Either way, at this moment, he looks gooood!