“Good, I’m glad. I just can’t imagine—Not that I can’t imagine anyone stalking you. You’re clearly an incredible handsome man with a very charming smile and now I’m sounding very weird. Jeez, I need to learn to filter myself sometimes.” Mason’s papery thin skin took on a flush of rose red, his cheeks turning into bloody spotlights.

“That’s fine, I’m never one to turn down a couple of compliments.” Noah chuckled. “Or baked goods. Wink wink.”

“I’ll be around later today with exactly that. The baked goods. Not compliments, unless you still want them. Ok, I’m done. You two go off on your romantic date. I was just heading home.”

“Oh we aren’t—“ Noah didn’t finish his sentence and I didn’t bother to complete it for him, either. We waved goodbye to Mason and turned, the air between us crackling with a different kind of energy.

“Ooook. Where do you want to go first?” Noah asked, looking at the map, which gave me a chance to look at him, devouring him from head to toe, noticing that his bubble butt wasn’t the only thing bulging in those khaki shorts.

I brought my thoughts back down to earth. “Want to check out the Cascade Gardens? Then we can make our way over to the orchid center?”

He nodded, smiling at me as he tucked the map into his back pocket. I was surprised there was still room there.

We took a right and started down a path flanked by bushy ferns and perfectly trimmed hedges. Even though it was a random spring Sunday, the gardens were pretty packed, with families pushing strollers and dates walking hand in hand, admiring all the colorful flowers and foliage. The path curved and rose over a tiny hill, opening up onto the Cascade Gardens, which the Earth Goddess called home. She was a living sculpture, massive in scale and covered with hundreds—if not thousands—of flowers that flowed down her long tendrils of hair. Her moss-covered hand was outstretched over a large pool, water falling down from between her fingers like a magical waterfall. It was serene and tranquil, a peacefulness that settled into your chest and made most conversations drift off as everyone stood around in silence to appreciate the beautiful living art.

“This is one of my favorite spots in the garden,” I said to Noah, my voice low. He snapped a couple of pictures before lifting his phone in the air and flipping the camera. He leaned into me and smiled. I rested my head against his, matching the grin, both of our eyes gleaming as he took the picture.

“Send that to me,” I said, already deciding that would be one of my favorite photos of all time.