I’m starting to get the hang of this whole boat thing, so I help him tie up at the dock. As soon as we’re done, Tanner lifts me into his arms by sweeping my feet out from under me and carrying me against his chest back onto the boat. “I promised you dancing and stars,” he says, stopping and looking up.

It really is a beautiful night. He sets me down and I wrap my arms around his neck. There’s no music and I’m definitely not looking at the stars, but as our bodies come together and sway in the dark, it’s perfect. A moment in time that I know I’ll never forget.

“It was a good date.” I rest my head on his shoulder. His cologne has all but worn off, just the faintest hint of it lingers.

Despite all my efforts to throw myself at him to somehow make up for holding back years ago and show him how ready I am, he’s managed to give me something I didn’t even know I wanted. He’s made me feel special. Extremely frustrated? Yes. But also extremely special.

“Thank you for this. Seriously, tonight has been so much more than I expected.”

“What, like you expected it to suck?” he asks with a laugh.

“No, I knew that we would have fun, we always do, but I feel closer to you in a different way. It feels real. I’m probably not explaining it very well.”

“Nah, I get it. I wish I could say that was all part of my master plan, but I just wanted to give you a real first date. I feel it too, though.”

“So, two dates down. What’s next?”

“One date down. Nice try.”

“How about a friendly wager?”

He smirks. “No, way, babe. You’re dating me. Get used to disappointment.” He stops. “Wait, that came out wrong.”

“Hear me out. If I can guess date number two then we make the official date count two. Last night was amazing, cheese puffs and all. It should count as a date.”

He smiles, showing his perfectly straight teeth and full lips. He rarely smiles with teeth and I love it when he does. “You’ll never guess date number two. Date one was traditional first date material, but date two…” He shakes his head and makes a face like the idea of me guessing what goes on in his brain is absolutely ludicrous.

“Then you have nothing to worry about.”

“All right, fine. You know what? I’m planning on taking you on a lot more than five dates in the future so any which way you count it, we’ve only scratched the surface. Guess away.”

“Really?” I shouldn’t be this excited, but the idea of winning something combined with getting naked one day sooner has me all sorts of giddy.

“Three guesses. No hints.”