Reach (Love Me Now Series #2) | Complete

👑 Chapter 26 👑

Markey's POV

I had the whole day planned. I was finally returning home and I wanted to go on the perfect date with Mariah. I called Leya to help Mariah get ready. I don't care how much anything costs; I only wanted the best for her.

I knew that Mariah was proud of her work, so Leya and I devised a plan to get her to wear one of her own designs.
If Leya told Mariah that the dress was for her, she never would have let me pay for it. She does great work, and I refuse to let that go unnoticed.

Leya gave me a list of activities that Mariah liked to do. At the top of the list was the ballet. I wasn't a ballet type of guy, but this date was about her. I began searching Google for the most popular ballet performances. A list pulled up. I took a screenshot and sent it to Leya. She would find out which one Mariah liked.

Within the hour, she told me to see if I could get tickets to the nutcracker. There is nothing that I can't get tickets to. I called my buddy Liam. He worked at the theater where all of the big ballet performances take place, and voilà.

When I made it back in town, I shot Leya a text to see how the progress was going. She told me they would be ready in about an hour.

I still had a few details to take care of. I knew Mariah had a thing for sausage and egg mcgriddles. I went to the store and brought a picnic basket and a few tea light candles.

I was going to make tonight, a night that she would never forget. Somewhere, along the time we spent texting, I realized that I wanted more than just a one night fling with Mariah. She was quirky, smart, honest, and outgoing.

This was something new to me. All the other females that I have dated were more interested in the things that I could do for them.

It didn't hurt that she was also beautiful. I have never really been in a relationship before, why stick with one flavor when you can taste many, but I was willing to try for her.

I made sure that the jet was ready to go. She was going to get the surprise of her life tonight. I just hope that everything goes just as planned.

Finally, I was on my way to go pick up Mariah. The dress she wore was beautiful. It was amazing how she could take a bit of fabric and turn it into something extravagant.

We began driving to the ballet. I put the radio on and I was about to change the station, but she began to sing along. The song was Sorry Not Sorry by Demi Lovato. She hit every note perfectly. Could she get any more perfect?

"Did you take singing lessons?"

"No, sorry. I didn't mean to assault your ears. I know I my pitch can be a bit off sometimes."

"Are you kidding me? It was perfect."

She looked out the window with a shy smile on her face. I grabbed her hand and brought it to my lips. We rode like that for the rest of tee he ride. She kept stealing glances at me the whole way; I could feel her eyes on me.

"Are you sure you don't want to take a picture, I'd pose nude for you?"

Her cheeks immediately turned red.

"I'm good. Then you would expect me to return the favor."

"But you didn't deny that you wanted to see me sans clothing.

"I don't know what you're talking about..."

"Don't play coy with me, I see through the whole facade."

"The jig is up I guess."

"Yeah, you slipped up on our first date. When you said you weren't as innocent as I thought. Besides, you know you want all of this," I said gesturing to my body.

We arrived at the theater and found our seats. I must say I enjoyed the performance, but mostly I enjoyed what we were doing as the performance was taking place. My fingers were interlaced with Mariah's and sitting in her lap.

The joy on her face was almost tangible. I wanted her to always smile. It just drew you in, there was no escaping it. When she turned that smile that way, I was as proud that I was the reason that it was there.

I lifted our hands to my lips, and I pressed a kiss to the back of her hand. She blushed and quickly returned her focus to the performance. I could get used to this.