Secrets and Stolen Kisses

10

m a d e l y n

"I swear you're gonna love me even more after today," Nate attested. "You have no idea."

"I'd love you more if you actually tell me where we're going instead of making me sit here like a ball of anticipation," I quipped, making him laugh.

"But it won't be a surprise if I tell you," he argued. "When we get there, you'll understand why I wanted to keep it a secret."

A defeated sigh escaped my lips as I slumped down in my seat.

"Hey, don't be sad, Mimi," he grabbed my hand and kissed the back of it. "We'll be there soon."

"We better be. We've been driving forty minutes in this damn LA traffic, and we're still not there," I huffed.

"Aren't you happy we get to spend time together, and it's not even the weekend yet?" he tried to cheer me up. He knew I hated car rides.

I couldn't help but smile, "Of course, I am. We're so lucky school ended at one today, and Archer went out with Kim Wheeler."

"And that means I get the whole day with my Mimi," Nate grinned at me as he drove.

"Wait, this highway?" I stared out the car window. "This is on the way to Malibu, right? Are we going to the beach? Because if I knew we were going to the beach, I would've worn something else, but you gave me nothing to work with. Also, if you wanted to take me to the water, we could've just gone to Santa Monica."

"Yes, we're going in that direction. No, not Malibu Beach," he clarified. "And what you're wearing is fine. It perfectly fits what I told you to wear."

It better. When Nate told me this morning that he wanted to take me on a date somewhere after school, I panicked because I honestly was not prepared outfit-wise.

Thankfully, he said he'd pick me up at my house so I could change instead of going wherever directly after school. When I asked about what I should wear, he said, "Dress like you're in Arizona."

That completely threw me off. Was he taking me to Arizona? I hoped not. My parents and his dad did grow up there, but that didn't mean I was particularly in love with the place as much as I loved Los Angeles. Going there once every winter break was good enough for me.

"Yeah, well, I was gonna wear this when we go to Arizona in December, but I wore it today instead," I told him. "Guess that's an excuse to buy another outfit?"

"Sounds reasonable to me," Nate shrugged. "Plus, it means I get to see my girlfriend in another great outfit."

I rolled my eyes. "Shut up, you're such a suck-up."

"Make me," he taunted me.

"You wanna get into an accident right now?" I asked innocently.

"Fine, I'll shut up if you close your eyes," he bargained as he took a right.

"That means we're close, right?" I followed his instructions and shut my eyes as both nerves and excitement settled in me. I was going to like it wherever he took me because I was going to be with him, but I still wanted to make sure I looked the way I felt.

He hummed in agreement. "Just let me park, and we can get out of the car."

About two minutes later, Nate was able to find a spot and park, telling me to sit tight as he got out of the car and walked over to my side. He told me I had to keep my eyes shut until we were at the entrance.

Once we stopped walking, he told me to open my eyes, and as my eyes adjusted to the light, I only saw one thing in front of me.

It was a sign that welcomed me to a cactus garden.