One Last Time

Chapter 12 | Midnight

🎶
Terrified
Katharine McPhee
&
Zachary Levi

- - • - -

Reed said to dress comfortably for our date since we'll be staying at Wonderland for the majority of it. I chose to wear gray joggers and a black shirt. I kept contemplating whether I should change or not since this is a date. So, I called Ronnie for advice. She drove here as soon as I told her my outfit, making me change into denim jeans and a yellow flounce sleeve v-neck blouse. Not a minute later, Reed's outside my house waiting for me.

"I have a gun license and connections with authoritative figures, Reed Alaster!" Ronnie shouted.

I groaned, covering my face while Reed only laughed, "I'll make sure she comes back home in one piece. Prepare a gold star for me, will ya?" then he drives us off with a wave from Ronnie. Reed and I had small talk through our thirty minutes drive to the lake. He didn't tell me much of what he's planned for us, wanting to keep it a surprise.

By the time we arrived, Reed quickly ran to a large rowboat tied to a dock not far from where we parked. I took this moment to really look at Reed. He's wearing a navy blue short-sleeve dress shirt with khaki shorts and gray canvas shoes. I bet Reed left his hair to dry without combing it since it's messier than usual.

"Hop on in, Maya!"

As Reed rows further into the lake, I dip my hand in the water and giggle at the small fish who come up to my fingers. The sunlight clearly shows the ripple of the water as they breath for air. To our right, there's an adorable sight of baby swans trailing behind their mother. I unconsciously start humming Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake Theme until I heard a snap sound.

I caught Reed trying to hide his camera behind his back. He chuckled, "Sorry, couldn't help myself. You look beautiful." I blushed and asked for his camera. He gives it to me without any hesitance or argument. This time, I'm the one taking a picture of him, "You don't look so bad yourself." We're now in the middle of the lake. Reed took a break from rowing and plays a song on his phone. I leab on the boat and let the warmth of the sun beam down on me with all its glory.

I reach out to the sky, pretending to capture the clouds. I felt the boat dip as Reed lays beside me and follows my action. He suddenly puts his hand over mine and encloses it concurrently with the dragonflies flying by us. I turn to Reed, holding his stare until he cupped my face and leaned in to kiss my cheek. I sit up out of shock and so does Reed.

He squints his eyes and tilts his head saying, "Did that just happen?"

"Yup," I laugh nervously.

He coughed nervously, stands up, and brushes the side of his shorts. The abrupt motion shakes the rowboat, causing Reed to fall in the water. I gasped before uproariously laughing at what happened. The moment didn't last long as Reed pulls me down into the lake. We kept splashing each other while Reed's phone continues playing music in the background.

~ • + • ~

It's almost midnight when we reached our destination. The trees' leaves ruffle as crickets sing with the wind. The whistling of the wind doesn't go unnoticed as it powders my cheeks. We walk into Wonderland hand-in-hand under the moonlight. Because of our eventful afternoon, we decided to relax for the night. Reed secretly installed a telescope so we can admire the stars above us. I couldn't stop smiling at Reed's focused look as he tells me all the constellations he could find.

I tune out all the sounds around us, hearing a terrifyingly familiar sound that only played to a terrifyingly familiar feeling. I squeezed my eyes shut in hopes that it would stop the stream of tears trying to break through. My hands grip onto the grass beneath us while I take deep breaths to calm myself down. I think Reed noticed my behavior because I don't hear him talking anymore.

"Are you okay, Maya?"

I put on a genuine smile so he won't worry, "Just an overwhelming feeling of euphoria." However, this time I'm the one at worry as Reed grins at me mischievously. He gently tackles me and tickles my sides until I pleaded mercy. When it got cold, Reed put a blanket over us, letting me lay on his chest. I start to doze off by the way he plays with my hair. Our laughter is the last thing I heard that night, happiness the last thing I felt, and Reed's adoring eyes being the last thing I saw before falling asleep.