"Are you sure this looks okay?"

My sister, Tara, tosses a strand of blonde hair behind her and struts across my bedroom. Her blue sparkling eyes give me a once over.

I haven't been on a date in years and while my heart is ecstatic and doing flips inside my chest, my head is elsewhere. The twenty or more phone calls that I've chosen to ignore the past week sits heavy on my shoulders. I don't owe Miles shit. After that first phone call during the wee hours of Tuesday morning I've been a mess.

Tara's hands grasp my shoulders, and she forces me to look her in the eye.

"I mean, if I were him, I'd want to tear that thing off of you –" she chuckles. "But in all seriousness, you look stunning. Black is your color."

I meet my gaze in the mirror leaning against the wall. The beautiful A-line black chiffon dress with a simple floral pattern at the bottom sits nicely on my hips. Spinning a few times, I watch the bottom rise and fall with each movement.

"What happened to that spark in your eye, Nadine?" she asks.

Coming to a standstill I peek at her through our reflections. I'm trying not to cry. The tears will only ruin the eyeliner and mascara that I spent so much time trying to make perfect. My nose burns with the sensation, and I lift a finger to itch at the bottom to control the feeling.

"Miles has been calling."

"He what? Why haven't you told me? I'll find that bastard and beat him down."

I lower my head, shaking it. "I answered once. The night I was at Lawson's. But the second he spoke I hung up. He's been calling at least twice, maybe three times a day since."

She curls her hands into fists. "I wonder what he wants. He can't just walk out of all of your lives and expect the distance to change things."

"What should I do? Do I give him a chance to talk? I feel like I should for the kids, but there's a selfish part of me that is too heartbroken to hear him."

Narrowing her eyes, she looks ready to lecture me.

"Don't!" I hold up a hand. "I hate him. He makes me angry, but I love – loved him and ..."

I take a deep inhale as Tara pulls me into her arms. I rest my head on her shoulder and stare off at the closed door. Knowing my kids are downstairs waiting to send me off on my date. They have both been really good about it all week, and even Jackson seems happy for me. So why do I have this urge to hear what Miles has to say?

"Okay, so listen."

I pull away from Tara, but her hands stay steady on my shoulder.

"You should go on this date, forget about the phone calls, silence your cell, enjoy your time with Lawson. You deserve a night out with a good man. Afterwards you can sit down and decide to call him. I understand that you think you owe it to the kids, but he wanted to sign his rights away..."

My heart seems to be breaking all over again. I dab at the corner of my eyes trying to hold myself together. Tara does have a point. I deserve this date with Lawson. He's a good man and there's no reason I shouldn't try to find someone who will treat the kids and I the way they should be treated. Anna loved going to Lawson's house. She said she had so much fun, and she enjoyed playing games with Henry.

I close my eyes and count to ten. When I open them and meet Tara's eyes, I know she's right.

The doorbell echoes through the house. He's here.

"Let's do this!"

***

Lawson and I walk down the sidewalk towards his truck. The lingering clean scent of soap and leather rolls off him. He opens the passenger door for me, then presses a hand to the small of my back. He leans in, his breath tickling my ear.

"We have an audience," he whispers.

I check back over my shoulder to find Tara standing behind both kids who are waving from the steps. Their smiles give me the courage I need to push the phone calls from Miles out of my head.

Once we are settled into the cab of the truck, it roars to life, and he pulls away from the curb. I watch in the side mirror at the house as it disappears.

"So, where are we going?" I ask.

I can't help looking at how handsome the man sitting beside me is. I've seen him every day since the start of school and now here I am going on a date with him. It's a cool spring night, and with the windows down the fresh air blows through, tousling his loose hair. His signature leather jacket rests over a crisp white button down.

"I was going to blind fold you so that you wouldn't have a clue, but that felt like something out of one of those bad boy romance books my ex used to read. I didn't want you to think I was some Christian Grey, nor did I want you to believe I had a sex room."

Laughter bubbles up in my lungs and it's the best I've felt all week. Shaking my head, I stare at him. I literally cannot keep my eyes from wandering over there.

"I mean the blind fold would have been okay," I shrug.

"Should I just turn around and take you back to my place?" His grin lights up his face, making his eyes twinkle, and his nose wrinkle.

We have a light conversation all the way to our destination. As we pull up to the docks, I'm in awe by the blue sided building with deck seating overlooking the bay.

"Dinner on the water?" I ask.

A wicked smile grazes his lips. "I told you doll. I'm going all out."

I chuckle. "Doll? Are you sure you didn't read those books your ex-wife was reading?"

"I may have perused through some."

He gets out, and before I can open the door, he's around the front, opening it for me.

"Thank you, sir."

He shuts the door then locks his hand with mine. Light tingles float around my belly. Inside the dimly lit restaurant he rattles off our reservation to the server and we are brought to the upper deck.

The sun is starting to set. There is more of a breeze down here by the bay, but it's not bad. I'm glad I've brought a sweater.

The service at the restaurant is flawless and within twenty-minutes our dinner is placed in front of us. He's got some interesting looking pasta and shrimp dinner, while I settle for some chicken breast and potatoes.

"How's the band doing? My sister wants to see a show."

"We actually just booked another show at the Moonlit Cloud. It just happened today, it's for next Friday."

"Oh, that could work. Our mom is coming up this week, she can watch the kids. Tara and I could use a night out together. She'll be so excited!"

He smiles as he forks a mouthful of pasta and shrimp.

"Are you going to the art show on Wednesday?"

The school is displaying all the kids' art around the hallway and in the gym. They have invited the parents to come and look. Judges will be walking around, and kids will win prizes and participation awards.

"Yes. Is Henry excited?" I ask.

"He is. The kid can't sing to save his life but give him a pencil and paper and my god, he's a genius."

I laugh. "I can't sing very well either, but Anna I think she's got a knack for it. Jackson too. Miles and..."

The sound of his name on my lips leaves a sour taste in my mouth. I swallow hard, unable to look at Lawson.

"Jackson seems to like the guitar too. When he was at my house, he was eyeing my collection. I showed him a few chords and he picked it up right away."

I smile, thankful that Lawson didn't even blink when I mentioned Miles, and then turned the conversation back on the kids. All those feelings I pushed to the back of my mind peeked out, but thankfully it's retreating to the far corners.

By the time the sun sets in the sky we are back in the truck and headed towards our second location.

"I love this song!" I lean over and turn up the volume on the stereo as Maroon 5 blasts through the speakers. My off-tune voice echoes around us and for the first time ever I'm not embarrassed. Miles used to give me the stink eye any time I sang, but Lawson just sits there shaking his head with a wide grin.

"So, are you going to tell me where we are going or..."

We pull into a parking lot. The old brick building has a sign with the word axe lit up in bright red.

"Axe throwing?" I ask.

He chuckles. "Not fancy enough?"

"Do you want me to take off your head on our first date?"

His laughter fills the cab of the truck. He parks in the center row, cuts the engine, then looks over at me. "I trust you."

"You sure about that? Tara would tell you differently."

I don't have the best aim with things.

"Oh yeah, what did you do?"

"Okay, so back in high school I played softball. I know, crazy right? Look at me now, not a single athletic bone in my body."

His lips curl up, showing his teeth as he laughs. My hands are flying all over the place while I try to tell him that he's in danger with me throwing an axe.

"So, we were practicing in the backyard and dad showed me this trick to help me pitch a little faster and I'd been practicing. Tara was up at bat. I threw, and she swung and missed. Let's just say she saw her life flashing before her eyes."

Holding his stomach, Lawson belts out a full laugh. My cheeks burn.

I shake my head at him. "I mean if you're willing to possibly be decapitated then I'm all for it."

"I'll take my chances."

***

Thirty minutes later I still haven't taken anyone's head off, and that includes the couple in the spot next to us.

"I think you're getting tired," he says, as the axe I've thrown clanks to the floor.

My shoulders fall forward, and I turn back to him. "I think I'm not throwing it right. I thought I had it with those first few that stuck."

He comes up behind me, an axe in hand. We both stare at the wooden targets a few feet away.

"Let me see you grip it." His hot breath against the side of my face makes me shiver.

I do as he says, putting both hands tight around the wooden handle, thumbs up.

"You're holding it too tight," he says. "It doesn't require much force to stick, so you don't need to grip it like a bat."

"Loosen grip. Check." My attention is half on the axe and half on the closeness of his body.

"Okay, lean back and release it right in front. Not too high, not too low."

He moves so that he's behind me, his front lined up with my back. I gasp at the way his body fits against mine. My mind goes into the gutter and all I can think about is what I feel as he presses closer.

"You're distracting me," I mumble.

He leans in on my right side, lips grazing my ear. "Is that so, Nadine?" He drops his voice low and sexy, and I almost drop the axe. Even his chuckle is deep.

"Mmm..." I take a long inhale. "I think — I think I got it."

He steps away and my heart screams for him to come back. In his arms there was a strange overwhelming feeling of being safe. Like this man would do anything to protect the ones he loved. I don't know how I gathered all of that from just a touch.

We play for a bit longer before calling it quits. I think he's going to take me home, but instead I find him taking a different turn towards the water instead. He drives up to the local docks, a little closer to our house than where the restaurant was.

It's late, nearly nine. There's not a soul here, and that's to be expected. You only come to the dock this late if you're doing something you shouldn't be.

The dark waves are choppy under the night sky. A full moon reflects off the bay. It's a breathtaking sight, for sure.

He cuts the engine and turns to me.

"Uh — is this what you used to do when you were a teenager? Drive your dates down to the docks to make out."

"Well, you might have the make out part right, but I'm not gonna kiss you crammed in my truck. You deserve a bit more class than that. Come on, let's take a walk."

He swings around the front of the truck again, pulling open the passenger door. His hand reaches out to take mine, and we walk along the old wooden dock. Overhead lamps light our way as we go.

"Hope you're having a good time. It's been a while since I've had to be creative with a date. I'm sure you know how it is once you're married it's like – what do you wanna eat – I dunno... what do you wanna do? I dunno."

I find myself laughing again because it's so true. After being together for so long you kind of just forget about making things romantic because you don't have to try hard to reel the other person in.

"You are so right. I hate that it turns into that though. Like, I feel as if every once in a while, especially those struggling, should try, get out more, who knows, maybe it will put a spark back in the relationship."

He nods. "I tried. I truly did."

"But now here we are, and you're wooing me with your romantic date. I mean who knew axe throwing could be so romantic."

"Mmm." He grins. "Did I uh- did I notice you checking out my muscles when I took my turn."

I shove him and he stumbles, a bit too close to the water. Our laughter echoes through the darkness.

"You noticed nothing, I was simply just – just trying to observe and learn."

"Pshhh." He bumps into me as we continue to walk. "So that's what they are calling it now."

Lawson and I do one lap around the dock before heading back to his car. I stand with my back to the passenger door, his arm stretched behind me reaching for the handle. Warmth invades my body, covered in him I'd be warm forever.

His eyes fall on me. In the sliver of light, it feels as if its only us in the world. Before his lips even catch mine butterflies race through my stomach, making zig zags and circles, before reaching my heart and making it pound with frantic beats.

He deepens the kiss within seconds of contact. One of his arms snakes around my side and presses against the small of my back, the other gently grazes my cheek. I exhale so deep that an audible gasp escapes my parted, swollen lips. I chuckle lightly at the way my foot actually rises a few inches off the ground as I lean into him to get closer. I'll have to let Anna know she was right. A real kiss feels magical. It's never felt like this before, not with Miles, or anyone, not even that first kiss with Lawson. There's something different about this one. I can't quite put my finger on it. But the realness of it covers me like a blanket. I'm safe and warm.

With our bodies pressed together tingles form in my lower half. He leaves me no choice but to squeeze my thighs together to fight the sensation brewing. He must be experiencing the same pleasure. I can feel it between us.

He pulls away, panting and rests his head against mine. "If we don't stop, I will have to take you back to my truck."

I giggle, unable to stop myself. He grins, and the light above makes his eyes twinkle.

"Save that for our next date?" I ask.

"Oh," he says, his tone deep and sexy. "So, there's gonna be another date?"

I lift my chin and kiss him again. This time slowly with not as much lust, but more passion than anything. "Mmm... definitely."

"Good, I'll have to make more countdown signs." He grins. "We should probably get back now, but one more kiss for the road."

He leans down, and I open my mouth for him, allowing his tongue to connect with mine. He pulls me as close as he can, before letting go and taking my hand and leading me to his truck.

***

What a night. The whole ride home I couldn't stop smiling, even now, several hours later. Tara interrogated me before she left and told me I should have just gone home with him. I didn't think it was appropriate for a first date, but for number two... I'm ready for anything.

Prompt #6 Best Kiss Ever