Unleash

11

WE RODE IN SILENCE FOR A GOOD THIRTY MINUTES BEFORE WE ENTERED A SMALL TOWN.

I figured Riaan was going to stop at one of the various restaurants, but instead, he kept driving.

Five minutes later, we came to a small park; Riaan turned onto the parking lot and parked.

"We're here," he announced, unbuckling his seatbelt.

I looked around.

"We came all this way, to go to a park?" I asked, incredulous.

Riaan chuckled. "Oh, how you doubt me, Ira."

"But I'm hungry!" To further drive home my point, my stomach growled, loudly.

"Don't worry, I've got the food part covered," he hopped out of the car and jogged around to open my door. He held his hand out to help me. I glared at his hand. "I'm not going to hurt you, Ira," he whispered.

I took a deep breath and placed my hand in his.

Just like at the club, I didn't feel much of an urge to pull away.

I let him help me out of the monstrous vehicle and promptly removed my hand, before I did something weird, like hang on.

Riaan laughed and shook his head.

He moved to the back of the SUV and opened the trunk. He grabbed a basket and a couple of blankets.

"Are we planning on sleeping in the park?" I asked.

"Only if you want," he winked.

I gave him a horror stricken look.

"I'm just kidding, Ira," he assured me.

"This way," he nodded for me to follow him.

I shook my head to snap myself out of my thoughts. "Want me to carry something?" I asked, when I saw him struggling with the blankets.

"I got it," he said, adjusting his grip.

I snorted. "Riaan, I won't think you're less of a man if you ask me to carry something."

He chuckled and looked down at me with those ocean blue eyes. "You're funny."

"I'm really not," I said, struggling to keep up with his long legged stride. The guy was easily, six foot one, and I was barely five foot.

"And that, my kitten, is precisely why you are," he stopped and looked around. "This is the spot," he said, sitting the basket and blankets on the ground.

I looked around and saw that there were other people sitting around with blankets and snack food.

Riaan had picked a spot a fair distance from everyone else and closer to a line of trees.

He took one of the blankets, shook it, and spread it out, doing the same with the other.

He sat down and opened the basket, rummaging through it.

When I continued to stand there, he looked up at me. "Sit down, Ira," he patted the blanket beside the one he was sitting on. "Look, I even brought you your own blanket, I thought it would make it seem less like a date if we had separate blankets," he grinned.

"I do not understand you," I sat down on my blanket, a good two feet of space between us.

"Ah, on the contrary, I find you to be a far greater mystery than myself," his blue eyes shimmered with suppressed laughter.

I rolled my eyes. "We can just agree to disagree, then." I folded my legs under me and tucked my hair behind my ears. "I know there's more to your story than you let on."