Scottie led Misty through the garden, making sure not to get too far ahead again. The path was long and windy, but eventually, they reached their destination, a private table for two underneath a gazebo covered in twinkling lights. 60s love songs played from an antique record player, filling the air with a sweet and cozy melody.

Misty had to stop for a second to take it all in. Scottie noticed her slight pause and looked for her reaction. Maybe it was just his imagination, but he swore he saw a faint sparkle in her eyes and a tiny upturn of her lips.

Whatever it was, it was quickly dashed as Misty shook herself out of her daze and marched over to the dinner table. She reached for the chair, but Scottie jumped to step in.

"Allow me," he said, rushing to the chair to pull it out for her.

"Oh," Misty said, somewhat taken aback by the unexpected gesture. "Thank you."

"Of course," Scottie said as he smiled. A simple thank you didn't seem like much, but it was a start, an opening to turn the night around. "Would you like something to drink?"

"Do you have Pinot Grigio?" Misty said without skipping a beat.

She certainly wasn't going to turn down a drink.

"I got something you'll like even better," Scottie said as he hopped over to the drink cart.

He pulled out a bottle of Dom Perignon for Misty and a bottle of scotch for himself. He poured up their drinks and then handed Misty her glass. She accepted with a polite smile as Scottie grinned from ear to ear.

"Oh, I love this song," Scottie said excitedly as the first verse of My Cherie Amour played. He turned it up and danced along as he grabbed his glass. He danced his way over to the table, doing a little spin move before taking a seat.

"Cheers," he said and clinked his glass against hers.

Scottie took a sip of his scotch and waited for Misty to try the champagne. Underneath his watchful eye, she gave in and took a small sip. It had barely hit the back of her throat before Scottie jumped in to get her approval.

"It's good, right?" he asked eagerly.

The champagne left behind a gentle tingling sensation as it slid down her throat. It was her first-ever glass of champagne, so she didn't have much to compare it to, but to her displeasure, she actually enjoyed it.

"Mmhmm," Misty hummed softly with a slight nod of her head.

It wasn't quite the validation he was looking for, but it was something he supposed. It wasn't like she spit it out in his face or anything, so she couldn't have totally hated it. Still, he wanted more.

"You know, Princess Diana drank that exact champagne on her wedding day," he added, hoping that would score him some extra points.

But Misty didn't bite. Instead, she set the glass down on the table and looked him dead in the eyes.

"Must you be praised for everything you do?" She asked as she sat back in her chair and stared him down.

"Why yes, yes I must," Scottie admitted without hesitation.

He gave her a smile to let her know that he was (mostly) joking, but her face remained just as unamused as ever. He continued smiling as she squinted at him with narrow eyes. She refused to crack even the tiniest smile.

"Oh come on," Scottie said, trying to provoke a response. "You're honestly going to tell me you don't like praise?"

"I've learned to get along without it," Misty said with a shrug.

Now it was time for Scottie to squint his eyes at her. He had a feeling she wasn't telling the truth.

"I don't think that's true," Scottie said. "I think you want it more than anyone. I think you've convinced yourself that you don't need it, but secretly you're dying for someone to tell you how great you are. I can be that person, Misty. I'd spend the rest of my life showering you with the compliments you deserve. In fact, I'll start right now. You are an incredibly intelligent, talented, hard-working and stunningly beautiful young woman."

"Is that so?" Misty challenged.

"Absolutely," he said with a confident smile. "Every word I said was true."

"Well..." Misty said slowly, unsure how to respond to the onslaught of compliments she just received. "That's...very kind."

"I can be nice when I want to be," he shrugged.

Scottie swirled the ice around his glass and then threw back the rest of his scotch in one quick gulp.

"All right, Tarby," he said as he slammed his glass on the table. "Your turn. Bring on the compliments."

"Excuse me?" Misty questioned with an are-you-serious tone.

"You heard me," Scottie said. "There must be something nice you can say about me. Anything."

"I-" Misty started then stopped.

She weighed the pros and cons of giving in to his request. On the one hand, she didn't want to inflate his already over-sized ego. On the other hand, she had a feeling he wasn't going to let it go, so maybe it was better to get it over with. Ultimately, she decided to bite the bullet.

"You're..." Misty said as she wracked her brain. She tried to think of something that would satisfy him without being too complimentary. Something kind, while remaining as neutral as possible.

"I mean, some would say you're...handsome, I suppose."

"Well, I already knew that," Scottie said immediately with a laugh and a smug smile. His quip was met with a roll of Misty's eyes.

"How about something that I can control. Something I've worked for."

"I don't know," Misty sighed in agitation.

She was annoyed not only by the initial request but also by his assertion that her compliment wasn't good enough.

"You really can't think of one thing?" Scottie said, with the tiniest bit of hurt in his voice.

Misty detected the slight hurt and to her surprise, she actually felt pity. She knew how it felt to be told straight to your face that there was nothing good about you. It didn't feel good, to say the least.

"All right," she said, giving in.

Scottie smiled and shifted in his seat as he prepared for her answer. He was excited to hear what she had to say.

"You are extremely well-spoken and you know how to command an audience. There. Happy?"

"Very," he said with an overly satisfied smile.

He basked in the glow of her compliment and beamed with pride. Misty began to think she might have gone a little overboard. If there was any doubt, his next statement confirmed it.

"So basically, what you're saying is, you think I'm hot and charming."

"Those were not the words I used," Misty protested sternly.

"I mean, maybe not, but that's pretty much the gist."

Misty sighed and shook her head. She didn't know what she was thinking, giving him a compliment like that. He set a trap and she walked right into it.

"I shouldn't have said anything," Misty said.

"No, no, no, keep going," he said. "I'm liking what I'm hearing."

"Don't you get enough validation as it is?"

Scottie's smile faltered and his jaw clenched. Why did it always come back to this? Couldn't they have a single conversation without Misty reminding him how 'perfect' his life was?

"Not really, no," Scottie said truthfully, his voice lowering. He grabbed the bottle of scotch, poured himself a double shot, and tossed it back. "At least not from the people that are important to me."

Scottie's mood and tone had changed, but it went right over Misty's head. He wasn't kidding around anymore. This was serious for him.

"Seriously? Your grandfather is always going on and on about how much better you are than everyone else. It's like no one else even exists."

Scottie's fist clenched and he averted his eyes. He could feel the uncomfortable anger and resentment building in his stomach at the mention of his grandfather. Misty had it all wrong.

"You don't know what you're talking about," Scottie grumbled.

Misty couldn't help but scoff.

"Well then, please enlighten me. What are all these terrible, awful things you've had to endure?"

Scottie let out a bitter laugh and drummed his fingers on the table.

"All right," he said. "If you want to do this, then let's do this. You remember that little black fish with the mangled fin? The one you were about to touch before I stopped you? That was the worst day of my life. And do you want to guess what happened on that day?"

"I don't know," Misty laughed. "You ran out of pomade?"

"Not quite," Scottie shook his head. "That was the first time my grandfather hit me. I was thirteen. I had just gotten home from school. I opened the door to my room, and my grandfather was standing on the other side with a pissed off look on his face and a piece of paper. It was a test. A test you beat me on. And boy did that set him off. I'd never seen him so angry. He started screaming at me, telling me what a failure I was, how I was an embarrassment, that I should be ashamed for letting a Tarby beat me. I tried to defend myself, but...but he was too strong. He knocked me to the ground, kicked me in the stomach then walked right out the door. And the worst part? You only beat me by one point. One point was all it took. That's how much I meant to him."

"Scottie I -" Misty said, but she had no follow up.

She had no idea what to say. She was completely speechless. It seemed impossible that something like that could have happened. It almost didn't seem true. She thought back to the pond and the hoards of black fish circling like vultures. There were so many of them. Too many to count. If every one of them was a similar memory well...well, she didn't want to think about that.

"You don't need to say you're sorry," Scottie spoke up for her. "It's not your fault."

"I.." Misty stumbled over her words, still not sure what to say. "You should tell someone. Your parents, do they know?"

"Yeah they know," Scottie said. "They've seen him do it. They couldn't give two-shits about it. It saves them the trouble of having to do it themselves."

"But," Misty said. She was having trouble wrapping her head around it all. How could anyone be so cruel? "Why?"

"I don't know," Scottie said. "I'm a disappointment, I guess. You know as well as I do the only reason I'm at the top of the leaderboard is because they inflate my grades and stonewall the professor's into giving me special treatment. I'm not smart or talented enough to do it on my own and my grandfather hates me for it."

Scottie swallowed hard and looked up at Misty. His eyes locked on hers and her stomach lurched forward. Her heart hurt hearing Scottie talk about his grandfather. She knew how merciless his grandfather could be, but she never once thought Scottie could be on the receiving end of it. She almost felt stupid for not seeing it.

Acting on pure impulse and instinct, Misty reached out and took Scottie's hand. The uncharacteristic show of affection made Scottie's heart skip a beat. It shocked him into the realization of how vulnerable he had been with her. No one knew about the abuse he suffered. He had never told anyone. He had been carrying that secret for 6 lonely years, and now she knew. She knew everything.

Overcome with emotion, Scottie jerked his hand away.

"Anyway," Scottie said, clearing his throat and trying desperately to change the subject. "Enough of my sob story. Let's talk about something else. Man, this tie is killing me."

Misty could see the physical manifestation of his anxiety as he tugged at his tie, pulling it loose aggressively and haphazardly.

"Why don't we get outta here? I bet you're sick of that dress."

"Scottie," Misty said, taking his hand once more in an attempt to calm him down.

At the feel of her touch, he stopped talking and tugging at his tie. When he looked in her eyes, his heart rate slowed and the panic began to fade away. Something about her soft, brown eyes made him feel safe and secure.

"We don't have to go anywhere," she said gently as she ran her thumb against the back of his hand.

Her delicate touch soothed him and brought him back down to Earth. The anxiety he'd been feeling drifted away. The only thing he could feel was the warmth of her touch. He wanted more. He shifted his hand and intertwined his fingers with hers, bringing them closer together. Misty looked down at their interlocked fingers and her breath caught in her throat. He squeezed her hand and she felt a strange fluttery feeling in her stomach.

"So..." he said. Scottie recognized the moment for what it was, but he wanted her to make the first move. "What would you like to do?"

Misty looked back up and looked him in the eyes once more. There was a thickness and tension in the air that pumped her body full of adrenaline. Misty's eyes flickered down to his lips and lingered there for longer than she cared to admit. Scottie's question rang through her head. What would you like to do? The feeling in the pit of her stomach was too strong to deny. She knew exactly what she wanted to do. So, she did it. She kissed him. 

***

Raise of hands who saw this coming? 🙋‍♀️

Me! I did! (Because I wrote it, duh 😂) But, this was NOT in the original outline I had in my head, so I guess I even surprise myself sometimes. It got me thinking though. Maybe I'll add some deleted scenes once this is all over...

P.S. Last update we got to see my cat Cucumber. So, this update I wanted to share his brother, Dill. Here he is really working up a sweat.