The Sixth Catch

Chapter 7: The Unofficial Date

"Well.. Don't you look all snazzy!" Melanie chimed in as she heard footsteps coming down the stairs and spotted Beth making her way down. "It's not all that fancy. Wait. Is this too fancy? Luke said to dress casual." Beth rambled. Melanie shook her head. Stepping close towards her daughter and resting a hand on Beth's shoulder. "Bethany.. It looks perfect." She smiled. Melanie was only trying to give her daughter a boost. Since Beth seemed nervous about this hang out earlier. Not knowing if it was really a date or not. Beth smiled a little. "Oh.. Good.. Now I should be going.. It's cutting close for being late. Luke might think I stood him up." She smirked.

Melanie watched as Beth took her exit out of the house. Heading towards the window to get a glimpse of what she could. Watching as Beth approached Luke. She grinned a little noticing the smile on Luke's face as Beth came towards him.

"Hello.." Beth said as she stepped closer to Luke. Now that she was there, for some reason, she didn't seem as nervous. "Hello." Luke responded. "Shall we?" He asked. Extending a hand towards Beth. Luke managed to get the food and drinks packed in a picnic basket and into the backseat already before he met up with Beth. The picnic basket was set on the floor. Hoping she didn't look back and see it. At the moment, Beth thought they were going fishing. For that was what Luke let her believe. But with James mentioning the picnic idea, he decided to change plans at the last minute.

"Thank you.." Beth got into the truck as Luke helped her step up inside. Then buckled herself in as he closed the door and wandered around to the driver's side. She looked over at him once he got in the truck. "Do I finally get to know where else we are going?" Beth asked. She noticed the smirk play across his face as he turned the key and started up the engine. "Nope.. It's a surprise." Beth scrunched up her nose. "In case you've forgotten. I'm not sure if I told you this, but I'm not a fan of surprises." She reminded him.

"Don't worry.. You'll like this one." Luke swept a sideways glance in Beth's direction while backing out of the driveway. Giving a reassuring smile. Beth managed a small smile in return. Looking out the front window as Luke headed towards their destination. "I'm hoping I'm not too overdressed or underdressed for wherever we're going." She muttered after Luke had driven a few blocks. Luke smirked a bit. Stealing another sideways glance. "You look amazing Bethany." Beth blushed a bit. He rarely ever used her full name.

"Thank you." Luke detected a bit of shyness in her thanks. As they got closer to where Luke wanted to take Beth. He noticed a flicker of recognition in her eyes. And the smile appeared on her lips a few seconds later. "Are we going where I think we're going?" She asked glancing at Luke. Recognizing the scenery before her. Luke smiled in return. Keeping his eyes on the road. "Remember when we went there last year? And you mentioned you wouldn't mind going back to check more activities?" Luke questioned.

"I remember.. We went to that one restaurant. Walked along one of the trails.. Then played a round of golf." Luke's smile remained on his face as Beth recalled the trip and could hear a hint of excitement in her voice about getting to go back. "I remember mentioning I wanted to return. And there were a few times between this past year I thought to do so. Take my mom there. I thought she might like that place too. And it would do her good to get out of the house. But then things got busy.. And we didn't get that chance.." Luke noticed Beth's sentence trailed off. Most likely remembering some of the events from the past year. "Are we going to eat at the restaurant we ate last time?" She asked changing subjects.

Luke grinned. "That's actually a surprise. You'll see soon." He responded as he made his way into a location near the park where he could park his truck. Luke could see the curiousness in Beth's eyes. But she unbuckled her seatbelt as he did. The two of them opened their doors about the same time and got out of the car. "Oh.. I was going to come around and open the door for you." Luke said stopping mid action as he opened the door. Noticing Beth opened hers already. Beth bit her lip. "Oh.. Sorry." She muttered. Luke shook his head, giving a smile. "It's okay." He closed the door. Then wandered around to Beth's side. She closed hers as he opened the back door to grab the picnic basket.