The One

07

Tomorrow, tonight, the rest of my life
I wanna be the man you want me to be

Good as You, Kane Brown

"So, how much further do we have to walk?" Talullah asked, wiping the back of her hand across her forehead.

"Not much farther, baby." Paul replied, a smile on his face.

"Oh, good. I'm pooped." Talullah let her shoulders sag.

"Baby, look up." Paul said, looking over his shoulder at her.

"At what? It's nothing but trees." Talullah grumbled, looking up and seeing a clearing with a perfect view of the night sky.

"Oh, my god." She whispered, her eyes widening. "It's beautiful! Paul, how did you find this place?"

"It's only two miles into the woods from First Beach, baby." He walked over to her, pulling her into the center where a blanket was laid on the ground, covering the grass. "And it's not as beautiful as you, Talullah Rose."

"Don't be cheesy, Paul Lahote. That's not you."

"How do you know?"

"Because I know you, Paul, you're not the cheesy type."

"I don't know, Baby. I do love cheese."

Talullah laughed and sat down, pulling Paul with her.

"I'll make sure Charlie brings home lots of cheese when he goes shopping then."

"Baby, be careful! I could crush you, you're so god damned tiny."

"Well, yeah. I know Paul." Talullah said, wrapping her legs around his waist.

"What are you doing?" Paul asked as she pulled him closer to her face.

"Trying to kiss you, if that wasn't obvious."

"Talullah Rose. What am I going to do with you?" Paul whispered, dipping his head down and placing a light kiss on her neck before untangling himself from her body, and sitting beside her, a hand caressing her face.

"Well, for starters you could kiss me already." Talullah grumbled, sitting up.

"Oh, I know. I've been restraining myself from devouring you instead of the lovely food Emily made us."

As he said that, Talullah's stomach growled, alerting him to her hunger.

"Have you eaten anything besides breakfast?" Paul asked, pulling the picnic basket to his side.

"Uh, I nibbled. Some." Talullah mumbled quietly, rubbing the back of her neck.

Paul nodded, pulled out a few Tupperware containers and placed one in her lap, pulling the lid off, the smell of fresh made lasagna wafting in the air to her nose.

"Oh my god. She made lasagna?" Talullah asked, as Paul placed a fork in her hand. He chuckled and nodded his head, as she took a giant bite that barely fit into her mouth, leaving red pasta sauce at the corners of her mouth.

They ate the basket full of food that Emily had prepared, and drank some of the lemonade Paul brought from the car.

Once they were done, they laid back, the containers cleaned up and piled nicely in the basket.

"Hey, Paul?"

"Yes, Talullah?"

"Do you choose who to imprint on or does it just happen?"