How we met

50. Just the beginning

As soon as Ella stopped the car, Piper jumped out. She let out a few loud gasps as she got a good view of the cabin and its surroundings. To her, everything looked almost magical. "It's amazing, El. I love it here." Then she threw herself in Ella's arms to give her a hug.

Ella chuckled. "You're welcome?" When Piper finally let go, she opened the door. Once they were inside, Piper let out another gasp, her mouth wide open. "Yes, yes, I know. It's great on the inside too," Ella said before Piper could say anything. She tried to sound annoyed, but she just couldn't be annoyed with Piper, not when she was looking like a child on Christmas morning.

While they had got out of school early, it was now already time for dinner, as the drive had taken up the rest of their afternoon. Piper grinned as she dragged her two suitcases inside, knowing what was to come now. "It's time for my surprise," she said, as she opened the smaller suitcase. She had been pretty proud of this idea and couldn't wait for Ella's reaction. Inside where all the ingredients for an Italian pasta and she had even managed to put a bottle of cheap wine in there, though she had to admit that she had just stolen that one from her mother's supply.

This time it was Ella's turn to gasp. "You didn't have to do that," she said, even though she really liked that Piper did. She was finding a whole new part of Piper, but she definitely liked it. Seeing Piper cook for her made her melt on the inside and as she tasted the delicious pasta, she let out a groan. It tasted heavenly.

"You and your food," Piper teased, at which Ella kicked her under the table. Both of them were smiling though and Piper knew Ella didn't mind her teasing at all.

After dinner Ella rummaged through the closets until she found some blankets. She had planned out this part of the day, as she remembered their conversation from a while ago. She took the blankets in one hand and Piper's hand in the other, leading her outside. They walked a few minutes before they reached the shore of the lake. There they sat down on the blanket, wrapping themselves in another while sharing the remainder of the wine.

"I know it's no ocean, but it's still a beach. The sun will be setting soon. I guess you can tick that one off your bucket list," Ella said, a smile on her face.

Piper's face lit up. "You actually remembered that?" she asked. She was surprised, but also felt like she should have seen something like this coming, knowing Ella.

Ella nodded. "Of course I did." She shuffled closer to Piper until she was lying next to her and wrapped her arms around her. The sky turned from orange to pink to purple and finally reached its dark blue. The whole time they just lay there, cuddling. Ella had always thought Piper's bucket list was pretty basic, but now she definitely understood why someone would want to do this.

Long after the sun had set, Piper suddenly sat up, a smug grin on her face. "If you remember my bucket list so clearly, you must know what else was on there."

Ella knew, of course she knew. Just like the first time Piper had mentioned it, she felt her cheeks heating up. This was insane. "You're kidding," she said. "It's freezing."

Piper leaned closer to her and Ella soon felt her breath on her ear. "Then you'll just have to warm me up," Piper whispered and Ella felt shivers running down her spine.

"Okay," she eventually gave in, even though she knew it was a dumb idea. "For the bucket list."

Soon after, their clothes were scattered on the little beach and Ella and Piper were running into the water, screaming as they felt the cold water splashing over them. Piper made a move to push Ella underwater, but Ella was quick to pull her down too. As they came up again, Piper pulled Ella close and attached her own lips to hers.