Tyler drives us downtown. It's a Friday night and the local restaurants are full of regular patrons enjoying their meals with friends and family to kick off the weekend. The Main Street sidewalks have decorative pumpkins, corn stalks and scarecrows at each lamp post bringing life to the already beautiful Fall season before it turns to Winter in a matter of weeks.

Tyler circles his Jeep down some side streets and finds a small parking lot just behind Main Street with only a couple empty parking spots left.

"This will work."

Tyler puts his car into park.

"Which restaurant are we eating at 'Mr. Top Secret Plans'?" My tone is laced with sarcasm.

"Actually, we aren't eating at a restaurant."

"Oh.....um. Alright. What are we doing?"

I ask, confusion on my face. Probably some disappointment too. I wish I'd known we weren't eating dinner together so I could have eaten something before he picked me up.

"Don't look so distraught Lila, of course I'm getting you dinner.....I just was planning to get it to go is all. I have some places I want to show you."

Tyler gives me a big grin. He loves that I have no idea what he has planned and he gets to be in charge tonight.

"Ok good." I laugh with relief. "Because I'm starving."

"Well let's go then."

We both hop out of his Jeep. Tyler grabs my hand and leads us into the back entrance of a little Italian place. The restaurant is tiny, but looks like it's been run by the same family for generations based on the photos lining the hallway we are walking down.

"Hey TJ, my man!"

A big Italian man with a husky voice and salt and pepper curly hair calls out to us when we make it to the front.

"Hey Mr. Francesco! Our order ready yet?"

"Hmmm, already ordering for me huh? Risky move buddy."

I whisper to Tyler so only he can hear me. I'm not at all serious. I'm not picky when it comes to food and I'm more so excited to see whatever he has planned for us. Nonetheless I like to tease him as much as possible.

"Got it right here for ya."

Mr. Francesco hands over a large pizza box to Tyler. The smell coming from the brown box is delicious and makes my mouth water instantly.

"Thanks! How much do I owe you?"

"This one's on the house." The large Italian man is now eyeing me. "TJ tells me you're something pretty special, young lady. I've known him his entire life and he's never once talked about a girl the way he talks about you."

A blush is creeping onto my cheeks.

"Uh... thank you sir." I smile back at the large man.

Tyler wraps his arm around my back, not at all embarrassed by his feelings for me.

"You sure Mr. F? I don't mind paying."

"Yes I'm sure. Keep your money, treat your girl to something fun with it. There's nothing better than getting to watch young love. You two enjoy your night."

We both echo our thanks to the restaurant owner and turn to leave.

"That pizza smells amazing!" I say to Tyler when we make it outside to a nearby bench.

"Mr. Francesco's is the best. Everything's made from scratch with their secret family recipes. I actually worked for him my freshman and sophomore years. Which is one of the reasons why I brought you here tonight. I want to show you some pieces of me you don't know about."

Tyler flips open the lid. Inside, sits the most perfect looking heart shaped pizza with more toppings then I've ever seen. Gooey steaming cheese leaves long strings of mozzarella cascading off each slice when Tyler breaks it apart to hand me one. My stomach growls in anticipation. I'm so excited to dive in I almost don't notice the white envelope taped to the inside of the box lid.

Tyler chuckles to himself. "He would make our pizza into a heart." Tyler pulls the envelope off of the lid. "Here, this is for you."

I take the envelope from Tyler's hand, having no idea what it's for.

"Are you serious?! That sounds perfect! I'd love to learn more about you." I peck Tyler on the cheek. "How on earth did you have time to make a scavenger hunt since leaving me this afternoon?"

"I have my ways." Tyler smirks a mischievous grin.

"No but honestly, I couldn't have gotten it done in time without Payton and my mom's help. The idea was all mine, I've had it in my head for quite a while." Tyler gives me a sheepish look. "I guess I only have myself to blame for it taking me this long to get you on a real date.....But anyways, Payton and my Mom were grilling me about what I was going to do for our date tonight. When I told them my idea they jumped into action. I think they were both so excited we finally made up that I couldn't have kept them from helping even if I'd wanted to."

"That sounds like them."

I smile to myself, making a mental note to thank them both later. It's totally like them to be so giving. Payton constantly does things to make me feel special and loved. Her mom is the exact same way.

"So anyways, whenever you're ready to get started, you can flip your card over for the first clue."

"Oooh ok, fun! Let's see..."

I turn the cardstock over in my hands.

"Hmmmmm. Not a hundred percent sure..... The tallest steeple has to be the Methodist church on Main Street I'm guessing.....maybe we should head there?"

I look to Tyler for confirmation.

"I think that sounds like a good idea."

Tyler's dimples pop out when he smiles at me.

We walk hand in hand towards the giant old church at the center of town. I keep the card in my other hand, re-reading it as we go.

"Fun, slide and swing......what do those have in common?" I think out loud. "....a playground?"

"I knew you would figure it out. Come on, this way."

Tyler pulls us down the street from the church until we get to one of Romeo's elementary schools.

"Lila, welcome to my old elementary school. You may not have known me then, but believe me when I tell you I was super gangly and awkward."

"Doubtful, but please continue."

"I swear!" Tyler laughs then points to a jungle gym. "Right over there is where I got pushed off the top of the monkey bars playing King of the Mountain with Mason in third grade and chipped my front tooth. My mom had to come pick me up early and everything. It was very traumatic."

"Oh you poor thing." I say sarcastically and pat his arm. "To think you two managed to stay friends after such a horrific incident."

I begin hunting for my next clue near the jungle gym Tyler pointed out.

"Actually, he felt so bad for pushing me and sending me home early that later that day he brought me ice cream to my house. That was kind of the start of us becoming best friends."

"Aww, that's actually sweet. Oh! I found it!"

I yell with excitement, raising the white envelope in the air. It was taped to the backside of the slide.

I read it out loud:

"I got this one, 'Sweet treats that make you say moo' has to be the Dairy Barn. I think I'm getting the hang of this game!"

"I knew I should have made these clues harder. Come on, let's go, clever girl."

Tyler takes us a scenic way towards the Dairy Barn instead of directly there. Each street we take brings another memory from his past he shares with me. Perks of small town living I guess, each place in town has a deeper meaning and memory tied to it. I'm enjoying getting some alone time with him while he tells me all about his life. It's the parts of him that maybe most people around here already know from growing up with him, but that I missed out on since I'm new. It's perfect.

Payton was right, this first date is a lot more fun than sitting quietly inside some dark movie theater.

We finally near the Dairy Barn and I have my eyes peeled for the next clue.

"372..... must be an address or something?"

"I'm not telling, this has already been too easy for you." Tyler teases.

I go with my hunch and start looking for building numbers on the stores down the street from our favorite ice cream shop. Sure enough, half a block down we reach '372'.

It's a cute floral shop with pink painted siding and a lighted marquee out front that reads:

"How did you get them to...?" I point dumbfounded at the lit up sign.

"I wish I could take all the credit, but this one really goes out to my mom. Her good friend is the owner so she made the call this afternoon and it was done."

"Your mom is the best."

I look around for the mailbox, spotting it on the store's porch near the door. Inside is my white envelope with a pink rose taped to it. I pull them out and give Tyler a big hug.

"I still can't believe you set all this up for me. Thank you! I'm having so much fun."

"I told you Lila, if you were willing to give me another shot I wanted to prove how much you mean to me. I wasn't just saying that."

"Well this is definitely working."

I open the envelope.

I put my forefinger and thumb to my chin, pretending to think long and hard about the clue.

"Texas, Aced, Game and Queen...... sounds an awful lot like a poker reference. Which has to mean, we go back to your house?" I grin up at my favorite boy. "Am I right?"

Tyler lets out a big exasperated sigh, pretending to be irritated.

"Yes smarty pants, you're right. I don't know why I thought this was going to be harder for you....maybe it was just wishful thinking that I would finally watch you struggle a little for once and you'd need my help. I should have known you would guess each place correctly on your first tries."

"Don't feel bad, not everyone can be as perfect as I am." I give Tyler my most devious smirk. Getting under each other's skin is one of our favorite things to do to each other.

"Oh you're gonna play it like that? Keep it up and I won't show you the next surprise."

"No! Don't do that. I'll play nice. Please take me to the next surprise." I plead.

I'm smiling as sweetly as I can at Tyler. He breaks his playful act, bends his neck down to me and plants a kiss on my lips. My hands climb up his muscular chest and grab the lepel of his jacket to pull him closer to me. We stand outside kissing in the dark, only the light from the flower shop marquee barely illuminating us. We finally break away and I look into his eyes, catching my breath.

"What was that for?"

"Because I couldn't go another minute without getting to kiss you again."

"Good answer."

"Now come on, your hands are freezing. Let's get back to my car so I can show you the last part of our date."

***

We pull into the long driveway up to the Johnson's house. As we get closer to the top of the hill I can see the glow of Christmas twinkle lights leading a path to behind the house.

"Tyler....what did you do?"

"Come on pretty girl, let me show you the best part."

Tyler puts his Jeep in park. I'm still sitting in the passenger seat stunned, unable to believe what I'm seeing. Tyler hops out and walks around to my door, takes my hand and leads me out.

I vaguely register Payton and Mrs. Johnson peeking out from behind some curtains watching as Tyler starts guiding me around the back of the house. When we turn the corner the backyard is a fairytale. Hundreds of twinkle lights carve a path to the back part of their large yard where they have some willow trees and a fire table under a wooden pergola. The white lights are wrapped around the trunks of the trees and strung between the beams of the pergola illuminating everything in soft warm lighting. The fire table is on burning steady warm flames and next to it is a big picnic blanket laid out with a bunch of pillows and chunky blankets to wrap up in. A tray with fresh fruit and s'more supplies sits on the blanket next to a thermos and two mugs.

"Tyler, this is so beautiful." Words finally re-enter my brain.

"I'm glad you like it. I hope it makes you feel special, because you are."

Tyler begins to pour hot chocolate from the thermos and hands me a steaming mug.

"Here, this should help warm your hands up. If you're too cold, we don't have to stay out here long."

"Stop it. I'm fine. Quit worrying about me and come get under these blankets with me."

I start placing a thick knitted blanket across our laps. Once we are settled in I look at Tyler, my heart overflowing in happiness.

"This is the most beautiful date Tyler, I mean that. Thank you for making my first date with ....well anyone, feel this special."

Tyler gives me a quick peck on the lips and then pulls away.

"I really want to keep kissing you, but we both know Payton and my mom are probably using binoculars from the window to spy on our date so I probably should try to restrain myself." Tyler gives a low laugh.

" .....So uh, how do you like your marshmallows? Golden brown or totally burnt to a crisp?"

Tyler asks me to distract himself from my lips. Placing two marshmallows on each of our roasting sticks and handing me one.

"Do you even have to ask? Golden brown obviously. Just lightly crisped on the outside and gooey on the inside, never burnt. But let me guess, you're too impatient and just stick yours straight into the fire?"

I watch as Tyler starts doing exactly like I guessed and his marshmallow burns up into a ball of flames on the end of his stick. He pulls it out, blowing on it to extinguish it.

"What?!"

Tyler shrugs his shoulders. He grabs the black marshmallow and plays hot potato between his hands with it before shoving the whole thing in his mouth in one bite.

I shake my head to myself and start cooking my marshmallow slowly on the edge of the fire ring. Looking up I see what seems like thousands of stars sparkling against the night sky.

"What are you thinking about right now?" Tyler asks me a moment later.

"Just how perfect tonight has been. I don't think you could have planned a better date. We could have just sat around eating Ramen noodles and I wouldn't have cared, but this was so much better."

"I'll keep the Ramen noodles in mind for next time." Tyler grins. "I do have one final surprise before the night is over though."

"What else could you possibly have planned?!"

Tyler reaches under the s'mores tray and grabs one final white envelope and hands it to me.

I open it and read it out loud.

I look up from the card at Tyler who is waiting nervously for my response.

"Seriously?" The word barely is a whisper off my lips.

"So serious. I hope that doesn't freak you out. I've wanted this for so long—"

"Yes."

"Yes?! Really!"

"Really, I would love to be your girlfriend."

Tyler jumps up from the blanket and drags me with him. He picks me up and begins spinning us around in a circle.

"I don't care if they're watching. I'm gonna kiss you now."

Tyler sets me down to my feet while planting a big kiss on my lips which I happily accept. He dips me backwards while my hands play with the hair at the base of his neck. I hear Payton and Mrs. Johnson faintly cheering from the house. Tyler and I can't help but giggle at our audience.

"She said yes if you didn't figure that out already you nosey women!" Tyler shouts to his mom and sister across the yard. "Now go away and stop spying on our date."

We watch as Payton and Mrs. Johnson close the curtains from the upstairs window and disappear.

"Sorry about them, I tried to tell them before I picked you up tonight that they had to leave us alone.....clearly they forgot that conversation."

"It's ok. I'm glad they know and are happy. That was one of my biggest fears when I started crushing on you actually, that I would lose Payton or hurt her if I let myself have feelings for you."

"You don't need to worry about that. She's team Lila all the way. She's made that clear to me for months now."

I laugh. "Why am I not surprised? That girl always has my back."

😂

😊