DAY 4: Read erotica together before sex. Find good erotica online and each pick a short story.

Chapter dedication: Tanith-Low

Song recommendation: When somebody loves you back - Teddy Pendergrass. 🎧🎶

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When Lee finally got her emotions under control, Chris set up the pillows and blanket, but he made sure some section of the red blanket was bare so he could place two plates and two wine glasses—which he retrieved from the picnic basket—on it. She sat back and watched him with shiny eyes.

There was no man like Chris. It was as simple as that.

The smell of fresh food wafted in the air as he began to set up the food he brought out of the basket. There were small sandwiches, fresh salad in white tupperware, and four baguettes with specialty meat that looked to be a steaming lamb sirloin.

"This is the main course," Chris said after he had dished their food. He settled beside her. "I didn't know what you would prefer, so I had them prepare a little bit of everything."

Lee pecked his nose and drew back with a smile. "It's fine, thank you." She picked her fork and knife and began to eat.

Chris did the same too. The sun had sunk low in the sky, but not enough to be alarmed about being engulfed in darkness. It made the setting look romantic and companionable without even trying too hard. Lee savoured each bite with satisfied sighs and moans. It made Chris chuckle.

"What's so funny?" She asked around a mouthful of the sirloin and baguette.

"It's really entertaining to watch you eat. You make this sounds and sighs that shows how much you're enjoying the food."

She ducked her head. "I'm sorry. But I can't help it."

Chris hooked two fingers under her her chin and raised her head up with their eyes met. "Don't be. I did not say that because I am mocking you, it was merely an observation. In fact, I find it satisfying because it means I did right by ordering us these meal."

She nodded.

He retrieved his fingers and reached for the bottle of champagne. He got a corkscrew from the basket and opened the bottle with a loud pop. Then he poured the wine into their cups, handed her a glass, then plopped the bottle in the ice cooler to keep it cold.

Chris waited until she drank from it before asking, "How is it?"

"It's delicious." She took another sip. "Firm yet gentle at the same."

He laughed. "That was what he sommelier said after I asked for the champagne."

"What's the name?"

"Krug Grande Cuvée NV."

"Wow." She took another sip. "I love it. "

Chris tore off a part of the lamb, speared it with his fork and raised it to her lips. Lee accepted the offering with a smile. She tore off a chunk of the baguette, stuffed it with meat and fed it to him. Chris nibbled on her fingers after he accepted the food which made her laugh as she drew her finger back.

"What's the worst pickup line you've ever heard?" Chris asked her.

"Ah, don't even get me started because you'll never win. And I've heard worse in my life."

"Really?" He raised a brow. "I am a guy, remember? We give out pickup lines like nobody's business."

"And that's why guys get slapped more often than not." She huffed. "Some lines are downright stupid and crass."

"Yeah. But we still have to know who has the more lines between us."

She narrowed her eyes and pointed her fork at him. "Bring it on, Ross."

"I will, Arden. First, we need snacks if we're getting this on." Chris cleared their empty plates and set up the snacks he asked them to include in the picnic set.

Fresh blue berries, sugar coated nuts, hummus and pita bread (without the garlic, of course) and olives were in several plastic tupperwares along with spoons and forks. Another plastic container held smore brownies topped with marshmallows for dessert, but he planned to unveil that as the last surprise.

"Why do I feel like that basket is bottomless and will keep coughing up things I didn't know people could pack in a picnic basket?"

Chris grinned. "That's because it's larger than the normal picnic basket. Here." He fed her an olive. "Now, we can snack and talk."

"Do you have a name? Or can I call you mine?" Lee grinned as she sucked on a berry.

"Baby, I'm not a photographer, but I can picture us together."

Lee shook her head. "Boo!" She gave him a thumbs down sign.

"Mine was better than yours."

"Ah!" She drank from the sparkling bottled water Chris handed her. "One a scale of one to ten, you're a nine and—"

"I'm the one you need," Chris finished for her. "That's so old school. Do you like science? Because I've got my eye on you."

"Chris, we're not supposed to finish each other's sentences. That's a minus on your part."

"What? Are we counting scores now?"

"Yeah. We are now."

He puffed out his cheeks, then exhaled while cracking his fingers. "You're on, baby."

"This is going to sound cheesy, but you're the gratest."

"Is that even a word?"

She stuck out her tongue at him. "It is now."

"Are you from Tennessee? Because you're the only ten I see."

She made a face. "That was horrible. Don't say anything, just admit. . .shit!"
Lee jumped when a drop of rain hit her cheek. "Hurry, Chris. It's about to rain."

"What the hell?" Chris murmured as he leaped to his feet and rushed to pack up their basket, but it was too late. Within seconds the heavens opened up and poured torrents of water down on them.

Lee managed to get most of their things in the basket, while Chris packed up the blankets and pillow. They ran for cover and stood under a cypress tree while the rain became more heavy.

"You didn't check the weather forecast for today?" She asked him, her whole form dripping with water. Thank God she wasn't on her period. That would have been embarrassing.

Chris shook his head. "I did. They said to expect a sunny day, but I take it now that you don't always have to believe whatever they say about the weather. Sometimes it's right, other times it's not. I'm sorry."

"You know, when we were young, my sister and I always loved the rainy seasons."

"Why?"

"Because we get to dance and play in the rain." She placed the basket by her feet on the wet grass. "I did it twice last year and I haven't done so this year. It feels good not to act like an adult all the time, don't you think?"

He nodded. "Are you suggesting what I think you are?"

Lee didn't answer, instead she ran into the rain with her arms spread and head titled back to allow the rain to wash over her face. She spun in slow circles, all the while laughing and smiling. Something skipped in his heart as he watched her, but he couldn't identify what it was and he didn't want to analyze it just yet.

Chris dropped the load he carried on the basket, pulled off his shoes, rolled up his trousers and joined her in the rain. He jumped into a puddle that was forming on the grass with a hearty laugh.

"Chris!" Lee leaped into the puddle with him. They splashed around like little children and laughed after each leap in the air. "It feels so refreshing, doesn't it?"

"Yeah. Come here." Chris wrapped his arms around her so that they stood still under the shower with matching smiles on their faces. "Let's dance."

"There's no music."

"We'll create our own rhythm." He began to hum I want you by Marvin Gaye, while swaying them in different directions. Lee joined in since she knew the song and they created a beautiful harmony as they waltzed.

Chris spun her out in a smooth move and spun her back into his arms. His arms settled around her waist as hers wants around his neck. They matched each others steps perfectly with their eyes locked. Then he dipped her down, which made her squeal, before pulling her upright.

"Chris!" She laughed. "Warn a girl next time."

"If I did, I wouldn't see this delight in your eyes." He glided into Ed Sheeran's Thinking out loud without breaking rhythm. After the song end, he grounded them to a halt in the middle of the lawn. "Ledia, you're the only one I want." He whispered while holding her eyes.

"I want you too, Christopher," She whispered back, although she knew no one was around to hear them. But it felt right to do so in the little bubble they created. "Only you."

"What about the other guy you kissed?"

His eyes held a hint of vulnerability she'd never seen before. Lee knew what she would say in this moment mattered. Yet, she wasn't saying this because she wanted to pacify him. Lee truly wanted Chris more than any man she'd ever met.

More than Kingston Martin.

"Ledia?"

She wrapped her arms around his waist and stood on her toes. "It's you that I want, Christopher. Only you. The kiss with King should have never happened, but it did. I promise you that I want only you."

"You matter to me." He traced his thumb over her bottom lip. "Since the day we met, I knew that we're meant to be. It felt so right holding you in my arms. You're the piece I never knew I was missing in my life."

Lee was glad for the rain because it hid the tears running down her cheeks. No one had ever said something so beautiful to her in her life. It was too soon for Chris to be saying this to her, but she knew he was sincere about how he felt. Christopher Ross wasn't a man who hid his feelings or lied about them.  So if he said he wanted her, she believed him. Many may say it was too soon for him to feel this way, yet Lee knew of a couple who got married the week they met; six years now and they're still married and so much in love with each other.

It was not how long a couple had been seeing each other for, it was how strong they would be and how much friendship, trust and honesty they shared. It was how much they are willing to do for each other. It was about how far they'd go to make each other happy.

It was how they showed or expressed it.

"I am not saying that I love you, Ledia, because that would be too soon," Chris said. "But I like you so much and I see us together in many years to come. If we both try, we can build a solid relationship filled with happiness, friendship, trust, and most importantly, love."

Lee grinned. "I like you a lot too, Chris. And I promise to try my best to make this relationship work out."

"I promise to do my best to keep us together too."

And when he sealed the promises with a kiss, while they stood under the rain in the park she explored for the first time since she stepped her foot in New York City with beautiful flowers all around them and the castle few feet away from where they stood, if felt so good. . .no.

It felt right.

A/N:

Yeah, I got the feels too. This chapter came to me this morning when I was in the shower and I knew I had to write it.

Relationships are built gradually and it takes dedication from both parties to keep it going.

Fun Fact: I am sooooooooo single. I've got no boyfriend, so I try to picture myself in a situation where I get one and how I want my relationship to be, and is the result. (Lee and Chris' story)

I try to live through them😂😂😂💪.

QTOC: Who do you think would break their promise? Lee or Chris?

Please don't forget to vote 🌟,  comment 💬, and share 📱.