Sam smiled, leading her towards the water as he answered almost sheepishly, "I thought of it after our conversation about dolphins, and even if it's rare to see them around here, I wanted to bring you somewhere that we could possibly see them. Plus, this is one of the nicest views of the oceans around." He had originally wanted to bring her to swim with dolphins, but seeing as this was still one of the first dates, he decided a picnic would be better. Though he still had plans to fulfill his original idea later in the selection.
"It's super pretty," Holly said dreamily. "I love it." Although she knew that she might not be able to see dolphins, she was still really touched that he had remembered what she had said. She saw the picnic basket in his hand and her grin widened slightly. He was… so thoughtful, it was unbelievably amazing. Was this really real?
"I'm glad you like it," He said in return, hiding just how happy it made him to hear that she liked it. His cheeks flushed as he motioned around to the now visible stretch of ocean and sand, adding on quickly, "You can pick where to sit if you'd like. You are my guest after all." Sam wasn't sure if she would like a picnic, but she seemed to like everything else so far, and he only hoped his luck with this gorgeous girl continued.
As Holly glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, she realized that he was blushing, and so naturally, she blushed pink, too. "A-alright." She took the opportunity to look around to place her free hand on her cheeks, hoping it would cool her blush down. There wasn't much success. She spotted a group of rocks not too far from the edge and pointed. "There. Then we can have a table."
Sam smiled gently, nodding as he internally cursed how visible his blush was. He led her there slowly, setting down the basket next to the rocks before pulling out a checkered cloth that could act as a picnic blanket, or in this case, a tablecloth of sorts. He had to unhook her arm from his sadly, but he pushed the thought away in favor of thoughts of eating with her while looking out on the water.
When he pulled his arm away, Holly shivered slightly for a moment. It had been so warm… but he needed his arm. She sat down, brushing her dress carefully under her before sitting down on a rock. She smiled up at him as he spread the tablecloth, and a warm blush crossed her face as she looked at him. Outlined by the sun, he seemed to glow… he was so handsome. Like, ridiculously so.
“So, I wasn’t sure what you liked…so I brought a little of everything,” He said once the cloth was laid out, glancing up at her for a split second with a smile, “Plus I may have brought several samples of desserts…” Sam had debated over what to bring to eat for a while, eventually settling on a few different choices of fruit, some sandwiches, chips, and a variety of other things.
Holly's face lit up at the amount of food there was, and she smiled happily. "This looks amazing!" She said, voice tinged with awe. "Did you pack all of this by yourself, or did you have help?" Her mouth watered at some of the things she saw laid out… he was so considerate.
He blushed furiously at the compliment and he shrugged, “I picked out everything and packed the basket, but I let the cooks make the food…otherwise it might not have been edible.” Sam smiled and looked up at her, his hesitant smile growing when he saw how happy she looked. That was a sight he was sure he could look at forever without complaining. “As for drinks, I only brought lemonade and water..I hope that’s alright.”
"I don't know how to cook very well, either," Holly admitted with a small laugh. She saw him looking at her, and her cheeks pinkened(is that even a word lol). "I can make sandwiches, and that's about it." She smiled and looked down at his gaze, fiddling with her fingers. "And water and lemonade is fine. I don't really drink much else… besides coffee, of course, but that's only when I've stayed up reading the entire night. Which kind of happens a lot."
(Lol hey, if it's not a word, become the next Shakespeare and make it a word)
Sam nodded easily and pulled out two sealed pitchers, each labeled carefully with their respective drinks. He finally sat down as he took the final things out of the basket, two plates, cups, and sets of silverware, all painted with seashells and sand dollars as if they were made just for something like this. "I've tried to learn, but I end up eating everything before it ends up in a recipe," He admitted with a small laugh even as he blushed.
(Exactly. Then I might make a lot of money…and stuff. I'll make a dictionary of words I made up lmao)
Holly laughed softly. "That sounds like something I would do," she said, smiling. "If the food is good, it's better to eat it right away before anyone else can get their hands on it." Privately, she was very impressed with his preparation of food and dishes. Unless this was the chefs' ideas… but still, it was very neat and tidy. She felt a rush of happiness that he had done this for her, and no one else.
(See? Perfect idea lmao, I would definitely buy it)
"My thinking exactly," He replied with a gentle laugh, looking at her but glancing away as soon as he felt his cheeks heat again. To hide the betraying color of his cheeks, he busied himself with filling his plate with some of the food, offering her the other plate as well as a cup. He had prepared almost the entire date by himself, from when and where, to what to eat and even how to pack the basket. The only thing he didn't do was cook the food, and he was even tempted to do that if he knew it would taste good. Sadly he wasn't sure though, and so that was the only thing he left to the chef.
(I'll give you a copy for free, since you've given me the idea lol)
"I guess I'll have to make sure that you don't eat everything, then," Holly teased with a small grin at him. She started to fill up her plate as well, and for the slightest moment, her fingers brushed against his. She hurriedly pulled her hand away, butterflies flapping wildly inside her, and used a stray strand of hair as an excuse to look away from him and not meet his eyes.
(Ayyy yesss I love free books XD)
He chuckled lightly, going to respond before he felt their hands brush. Quickly he busied himself with filling the rest of his plate, wondering why he felt so electrified just through one simple touch. It wasn't like it was their first time touching, but this was a different feeling. At least he didn't blush as hard this time. "I'll have to make sure you don't eat everything either…or at least save room or desert," He said, glancing up at her and softly smiling.
(Gosh these two…where Lacey and Alex are little flirts…these two are going to be torture to write them falling for each other its going to be such a slow burnnn )
(Me too! I would live in a library if I could. Maybe I will someday.)
"I always have room for desert," Holly responded lightly, hoping he wouldn't notice her reaction to his touch. Since when had she started to act like a teenager in love? Oh wait…. she shook her head at the thought and piled some food onto her plate, making sure not to make eye contact with the prince or else she would turn into a radish again.
(Right? And the first kisses will be so different, too…. man, I can't tell who I'm more frustrated with: the flirty, emotionless bricks or the blushing pure ones.)
(Yes, very good housing choice…maybe not the most fire-resistant, but eh who cares, it's a good tradeoff)
"I brought plenty, so hopefully you're right," He replied, glancing up at her again and smiling softly, even if she didn't make eye contact. Sam didn't hesitate to start eating as he filled his plate, starting with one of the sandwiches. "So, miss Holly…tell me about yourself," He said gently after finishing a bite, finding himself quite wanting to reach out and grab her hand from across the rock table. He didn't though, just messed with his sandwich instead.
(And yes ohmygosh it's going to be so different…so so different. Currently, they're both frustrating me I just wanna have them be together and poof…but that ruins the fun so XD)
(Pff, who cares about fire resistant when books.)
Holly looked down and fiddled with her fingers while she thought what to say. "Well… what would you like to know about me?" She asked slowly, picking up a sandwich and nibbling it, trying to calm the butterflies in her stomach, which threatened to pop out of her. "I like to read, but you probably know that," she said softly.
(I know! I want them to get together already but aaaagh that wouldn't be any fun!! I don't know who I love more…)
"I want to know anything you'll tell me," He said in the same gentle tone, smiling as he found his confidence and nodded, "You've mentioned that you like to read…but I suppose that's a conversation more suited to a library. Tell me something else about yourself. In return I can answer what you want to know about me again." Sam focused back on his sandwiches as he waited for her answer, sure that at this rate he was going to eat too much just to keep himself from asking to hold her hand or do something embarrassing.
Holly blushed at his words. 'I want to know anything you'll tell me…' Was this guy really real, and not one from fairy tales? He was kind, considerate, and funny, and good looking besides. This was a dream, wasn't it? "Um… I don't know. I'm not really an interesting person." She thought about it. "I really like flowers. Lavender, mostly, because it's such a pretty color, and it smells really good, in a way that no scent can ever get. I also really like when it's dawn, and the sun is just barely creeping over the clouds. It's beatiful." She was at a loss for words after that, and so looked out at the ocean.
He made a mental note of what she said, smiling and nodding to show her that he was listening to what she said. "Before you go on, I want to say that you are a very interesting person, don't sell yourself short," Sam said, almost immediately blushing after he finished speaking, then conveniently found himself busy eating again. He met her eyes for a second, sure that his face was beet red once more as he caught himself thinking about how pretty she was. She looked gorgeous, and to top it all off she was interesting, and curious as well as extremely kind.
At his words, Holly's face turned such a bright red that it was almost glowing. She looked down, extremely flustered, and then back up just in time to make eye contact with him. She looked immediately back down again, little butterflies - no, more like birds, now - fluttering through her entire body. She noticed vaguely that his face was as red as hers, if not more so. She tried to eat something, but her stomach was flip-flopping so much that she couldn't. She dared another glance up at him, and when he wasn't looking at her, could watch him. His profile was outlined by the sun and water, and she felt her heart still… it wasn't possible to be this handsome. It just wasn't. She shook her head to clear that thought, and a long awkward pause, said, "Um… I also really like watching people do dumb things."
(All I can imagine is how different this whole scene would go down with Alex and Lacey instead of these lovebirds…gosh I love all four of them XD)
Sam chuckled lightly, looking down at his plate for a second as he answered, "I guarantee there's no shortage of dumb things happening around the palace, or around me…I can't say I make the best decisions all the time." He spared another glance up at her as he felt his face cool, then he turned his attention to look at the water for a moment. It was a gorgeous day, and this time of year the water would be a bearable temperature. He was sure he would go wade in it too, if he wasn't nervous about what Holly would think.
(Oh my goodness yes. It would certainly be an…. experience. And me too. They're so adorable and adbhjsdfb. All of them. They are all perfect and amazing and wonderful.)
Holly giggled a bit at his words. "Well, I don't either. I can imagine that Alex doesn't make very smart decisions, so you must have your hands full." She remembered the handsome man from the other day, but… well, he wasn't as handsome as the one in front of her.
(It's funny to think that Holly much prefers Sam over Alex when they seriously look very much alike XD But hey, I understand that they are far from the same…especially in personality)
"He's…he's not known to make the best decisions, no," Sam said with a genuine laugh, shaking his head, "It's how I imagine parenting a toddler most days, just trying to keep Alex out of his shenanigans." He finally met her eyes, smiling, "I don't think I've told you any of his brilliant ideas…have I?"
