Pov y/n

The next morning was calm and thanks to Lizzie, Scarlett and I were able to stay in bed a little longer.

We just laid there and cuddled, enjoyed being close.

I used that moment, to ask her out on a date because I finally saved enough money for what I had planned. She looked at me with big eyes and agreed excitedly.

No matter how much she asked me what we would do, I didn't tell her because I wanted it to be a surprise. The only thing I told her was to bring a swimsuit or bikini, just in case it would be a sunny day.

That made her raise her eyebrow at me and she asked if I was taking her to an indoor swimming pool. I denied that question though because that's far from what I had planned.

It was cute how she tried to guess further after getting one answer but I kept my poker face on and eventually she gave up. She allowed me to take her car though, so I could drive her to the destination I had in mind, so the surprise wouldn't be ruined. I thanked her for that with a lot of kisses, making her giggle.

We joined Lizzie and Rose downstairs for breakfast and listened to Rose talk about the dream she had last night. After breakfast I said my goodbye to be able to prepare tomorrow's date properly.

Since Lizzie and Rose have their special day tomorrow, I thought it'd be nice to do the date tomorrow.

Rose hugged me goodbye before returning to Lizzie to read a book together. Scarlett gave me a kiss and I told her I'll text her tomorrow when I'm gonna pick her up.

Ever since then, I've been busy, running errands and taking care of things. Even though it was a little stressful, it was worth it because it also made the day go by fast and I didn't have a lot of time to be nervous about tomorrow.

Now, that I'm on my way to Scarlett's, I am nervous. Or more excited. So far we've only been on two official dates and both of them were planned by Scarlett and they were amazing, so I am worried that my date may look weak compared to hers.

I watch the tunnels of the subway fly by as my fingers play with the hem of my shirt. It'll work out fine, there's nothing to worry about. I planed out everything perfectly and even the weather is playing along. Although it's October, it's quite warm today and the sun is out, no clouds on the sky. I couldn't wish for a better weather.

After taking a deep breath, I calm myself a little and try to focus on other things than my running thoughts.

It doesn't take long and I arrive at my stop and walk the last few minutes to Scarlett's house. My heart is beating faster than usual when I press the doorbell. Scarlett buzzes me in and as soon as I see her excited face, all my nervousness is gone.

She pulls the door closed behind her and comes to me, wrapping her arms around my neck to pull me in for a short kiss. I smile at her action.

"Did you miss me?" I ask against her lips and she nods before pecking my lips again. Her answer activates the butterflies in my stomach and I lean my forehead against hers for a few seconds.

"Then it's good that we're on a date today, so you get enough time with me." I say and her eyes start to sparkle at the mention of our date.

"I guess you still won't tell me where we're going?" She asks and I shake my head while chuckling a little.

She pouts at me for a few seconds before it turns into a smile and she takes my hand to tug me towards the car. She opens the trunk and we both put our bags in there. Mine is quite big and she eyes it thoughtful and looks at me. I just smile secretly and close the trunk. Scarlett hands me the keys and we get into the car.

It's been a while since I've been driving but I have a license and back at home I drove quite a lot. Since I'm in New York, I never sat behind a wheel because for once cars are expensive and secondly, I don't have a spot where I could park it.

I adjust the mirrors a little bit before I turn on the car. Scarlett opens the gate for me and I carefully reverse onto the street.

After a few minutes of driving, I get used to the car and feel safe behind the wheel.

As almost always, the radio silently plays. We don't talk, which I don't mind because I have to concentrate on the traffic, which is obviously busier than back at home.

First, Scarlett's attention was on the outside world, watching the traffic and trying to figure out where we're going but as we're around half way there, her attention shifts to me and she watches me drive.

When we're at a redlight, I glance back over at her and every time a smile grows on her face. Apparently she finds watching me drive just as interesting as I find watching her drive.

"Now close your eyes." I advise her before we get closer to our destination. She does as I asked her to but chuckles a little.

"Are you gonna kidnap me now?" She asks and I roll my eyes playfully at her, even though she can't see it.

"Sure, because I didn't have the chance to do that for a while now." I answer with a smirk and her cute laugh fills the car.

"No, I just want to fully surprise you. So, no peeking." I explain and she nods with a happy smile.

We arrive a few minutes later and I walk around the car to grab our bags and open Scarlett's door. She carefully gets out and reaches for my hand. I link our hands and slowly guide her.

"It smells a little bit more salty here." She observes and I smile at how attentive she is. I don't say anything to that but warn her that there will be a step. Once we come to a halt, she grins a little.

"I can hear water." She tells me, proud about her second observation. I shake my head with a smile.

"You can open your eyes now." I say and watch her reaction closely.

First she seems a little confused but when she looks around and sees our bags laying in a motor boat, her eyes grow big and start to sparkle.

"You're taking me on a boat ride?" She asks and I nod.

"Yes, I am." I confirm and she turns around to give me a quick kiss before turning to eye the boat.

It has a little control area with a steering wheel with a cover on top. Up front, there is space to lay in the sun and in the back there is space to sit. I spent some extra money to rent a boat that also has a small toilet below the front area.

"You didn't buy that, right?" Scarlett asks and almost looks at me in shock. Her question makes me laugh and I shake my head.

"No, I rented it. If I had the money to buy this kind of boat, I probably wouldn't live in a small apartment anymore." I answer and she nods in relief.

"May I help you enter the boat?" I offer her my hand and she takes it and carefully steps onto the boat. It sways a little but she can balance it out.

Since I already talked to the renting shop, I am able to start the trip now. I got a short lecture about how to handle the boat and stuff, so I know how to drive it. First I have to make it loose though.

Scarlett watches me untie the knot and helps me into the boat as well. I sit behind the steering wheel and when she sits as well, I start the motor and slowly maneuver us away from the landing stage.

As soon as we're further out on the water, I speed up more and the wind hits my face and the feeling of freedom spreads inside me. I glance over to Scarlett who has her face angled to where the wind comes from and her eyes closed, enjoying the boat ride. Seeing her happy and carefree makes my heart fill with warmth and I look ahead of us again.

Once we're out of the bay, I slow down a bit, not wanting our boat to hit the waves with too much speed.

I decide here's a good spot and turn off the engine. Scarlett opens her eyes and looks at me with a smile. I let the anker into the water, so we won't be taken away by the waves.

Scarlett looks down into the water and I follow her eyes but don't see any fish. So, I decide to climb into the back of the boat and open my bag. I get out a picknick blanket and lay it onto the ground before getting out the food I prepared.

Scarlett's attention snaps to me and she smiles when she sees what I'm doing. She sits on one of the benches on the sides and watches me prepare everything. When I'm done, I get back up and proudly look at everything, it looks as good as I imagined it.

Her eyes look over all the food before they look at me.

"When did you prepare all of this?" She asks impressed and I sit down next to her.

"Yesterday after I asked you out. I wanted to make sure you're free and want to go on a date with me before I started preparing everything." I explain and she looks at me with soft eyes.

"I think it turned out pretty good but it's okay if you don't like it. I know it's not exactly fancy restaurant food and maybe seems a little weak for being the first date I'm taking you on and-" My rambling is interrupted by her soft lips on mine. It's only a short kiss but doesn't fail in making me stop spiraling. She cups my face with both hands.

"It's perfect, y/n. I love it and you put so much thought and effort into it. Don't worry about me not liking it because I love it." Scarlett assures me in a sweet voice, her eyes never leaving mine. A small weight lifts off my heart and I smile a little at her, happy that she likes it.

"You really do?" I ask one more time to be sure and she nods and gives me another sweet kiss.

"I do." She confirms and holds eye contact with me for a few more seconds before looking at the food.

"Shall we?"

I grin and nod and we sit down on the ground as well to eat the food.

She hums at the different small dishes I made and I feel my heart swelling with happiness that she likes what I made.

We talk about some random things while we eat and whenever a joke makes her laugh, my heart jumps at the sound that I wish to hear forever.

Once we're done so far, we pack away the empty containers and bags and let the rest out in case we want to snack on them later on. The sun is shining down on us and it's getting quite warm even though it's fall.

"Would you mind if I changed into my bikini?" Scarlett asks and I smile at her question.

"No, of course not. Would you mind if I changed as well?" I ask back and she shakes her head.

"Okay. How about you change in the bathroom and I here? There are no people anywhere close, so I should be fine." I offer and her eyes grow soft at my words.

"You are such a sweet human being, do you know that?" She asks and I blush a little bit at her words.

"But yes, we'll do it like that. I'll just knock before stepping out."

I nod in agreement and hand Scarlett her bag, so she can go change. She smiles at me one last time before disappearing. I check our surroundings one more time before I quickly change into a bikini as well.

Usually I don't wear bikinis because swimsuits are more practical when you swim and because I feel a little insecure in bikinis but I thought I might try it today because other than Scarlett, no one will see me.

When a silent knock is heard, I chuckle.

"I'm changed, you can come up." I tell her and watch her come up the stairs.

My mouth almost falls open at how hot she looks in this bikini. I mean, she always does, no matter what she wears but this takes my breath away.

She catches me starring and throws her bag on the backside of the boat before stepping closer to me.

"You like what you see?" She asks, her voice a tiny bit raspier than usual, which gives me goosebumps but the good kind. I slowly nod and divert my attention back to her face.

"Wow." Is all I can say and she smirks a little at my reaction. When her eyes start to look at my body, I am worried she might not like it but I see nothing but adoration in her eyes. She bites her lip and seeing her react this way, takes away my insecurities as she doesn't seem to judge me at all.

"Damn, you're hot." She mumbles under her breath and her eyes meet mine. They hold a certain intensity within that I'm sure is also present in my eyes.

Her hands slowly grab a hold of my waist as her eyes stay on mine and she pulls me closer to her. I wrap my arms around her neck and hold the eye contact.

Heat builds up between us and when my body touches hers, it feels like little fireworks go off on my skin and in my insides.

I am very aware of her hands that are now on my back and slide down until they rest above my butt. My brain switches off and I connect my lips with hers.

This time the kiss isn't sweet and soft but passionate. I find her tongue in an instant and they start to dance with one another before a battle for dominance starts.

My hands hold her face close to mine as hers pull my body more into hers. A fire ignites inside me and I slowly start to walk her backwards until we reach the area to lay on, in the front of the boat. We break the kiss for air and I carefully push her down onto the soft surface. I straddle her hips and tug some hair out of her face. Her pupils are a little dilated, making her eyes seem darker. I'm pretty sure my eyes are darker as well right now.

Her hands settle on my hips and her eyes dart from my eyes to my lips before she leans in and kisses me again. Her teeth graze over my bottom lip before she starts sucking on it a little, making me sigh at the feeling. I can feel her smirk against my lips before she slowly pushes her tongue into my mouth again.

This time she puts more effort into it and wins our little battle, pulling away with a grin. I roll my eyes playfully at her. She shuffles a little and I squeal a little when she gets up and automatically wrap my legs around her hips.

Her hands settle under my butt to keep me up and a hot tingle shoots down my body.

She lays me onto the surface now, her hands back on my sides again as she crawls over me. Her hair falls around our faces, secluding us from the outside world. The look in her eyes makes me gulp and I lean up to kiss her hungrily. Her body lays on top of mine. The weight of her on me and her lips on mine fuel the fire inside me and I have to hold back to not let out a tiny moan.

My breath hitches a little when she starts to grind slowly against me and my hands slide down from her shoulders to her hips to guide her movements a little bit.

I am definitely turned on by this and my mind is all foggy and I can't think straight anymore.

She pulls away and watches my face, her hands on either side of my head to keep her up a little. When her leg grinds against my center, I sigh and close my eyes for a second. I can hear her sigh as well, feeling hers on my thigh. The feeling drives me crazy and when I open my eyes, I can tell that she feels the same way.

After a few more seconds, she stops to move and slowly rolls off me to lay next to me, supporting her head with her arm while laying on her side. It's like we had a silent conversation, agreeing not to have our first time on a boat out in the world, no matter if anyone could see us or not.

I mirror her position and with my free hand, I brush some hair out of her face. The gesture makes her smile and when my hand comes to rest on her cheeks, she turns her head to kiss my palm, making my heart soar with happiness.

We gaze into each other's eyes for a long time and I am completely lost in her green oceans.

"This is perfect." She whispers into the small space between us and her eyes sparkle.

"I'm very glad you like this date." I whisper back and lean forward to kiss her nose, making it scrunch up a little.

"I couldn't ask for more." She replies and cups my face with her hand, running her thumb over my cheek. I lean into her touch and just enjoy the moment with her.

After a few more seconds, she takes her hand away and we both lay back and look up at the sky. We stay quiet and just enjoy the sun, the slight rocking of the boat and each other's presence.

I get lost in my thoughts and think about Scarlett and I and all the moments we spent together. My eyes are closed, so I don't get blinded by the sun but I still can see Scarlett before my inner eye. The way she looks at Rose and me, the way she laughs, the way she moves and talks, everything about her makes me fall for her more and more.

We might not know each other for very long but I already find it hard to imagine what my life would be if I hadn't met her. I came to New York to find myself and get some distance between me and the events at home. I can't say that I fully found myself already but with each day, I feel more like myself, free to do whatever I want and able to have dreams for my future. What I did find though is a beautiful woman with a precious daughter who both give me so much love and happiness.

Even the smallest of moments are special, just like the moment we shared today. When we are so close to each other and I look into her sparkling, warm eyes, I feel like I arrived at home.

The longer I think about it, the more I realize that she feels like home for me. A warm fuzzy feeling spreads through my body and it's almost scary to admit but I can't deny it: I love her.

I'm not sure when exactly I started to love her but this right now is the moment where I fully realize it. It makes me incredibly happy and also a little scared at the same time because I don't know if she feels the same way about me.

Before I get sucked further into my thoughts, I feel a delicate finger drawing shapes on my stomach and I smile at the gentle touch and open my eyes. I look right into Scarlett's emerald eyes, shining brightly down at me.

"Hey, sleepyhead." She greets me and kisses my cheek, making me smile.

"Why sleepyhead?" I ask and run a hand through her hair.

"Because you fell asleep." She explains softly and I look at her in confusion.

It felt like I was awake the whole time though.

She seems to be able to read my thoughts because she chuckles a little and showers my face with kisses, making me smile.

"I hope you had a good rest but I had to wake you up, before we stay in the sun for too long." She explains and I nod and by my still slightly hazy mind, I can tell that I really fell asleep.

Her fingers move up to my face and she strokes from my left cheekbone over my nose to my right one.

"It looks a little like you have a natural blush." She observes with a smile that I can only return. I stretch my arms over my head and slowly sit up. Scarlett watches me and leans back herself.

"What does the time say?" I ask and look at her.

"5 pm, so we should also slowly head home because Rose and Lizzie will be there soon as well." Scarlett answers and I nod before I slightly frown.

"I'm sorry I feel asleep on our date, I didn't mean to." I apologize, feeling bad to have shortened our time together. But Scarlett shakes her head and cups my face.

"You don't have to apologize for that, baby. I had a great time and I loved having a calm afternoon with you." She assures me and my heart jumps at the name. It just came so naturally over her lips that I almost didn't notice it. I smile and lean my head against her hand.

"Did you just call me 'baby'?" I whisper with a little smile. Scarlett only seems to notice now and blushes a bit.

"Yeah, I... it just felt right in the moment and, I don't know." She rambles and pulls her hand back to fiddle with her fingers. I cup her hands to stop her from fiddling.

"It's okay, really. I liked it, I was just a little surprised, that's all." I explain and she looks at me relieved.

"So, you don't mind if I call you that?" She asks and I shake my head.