"Date night huh?" I smiled, trailing my fingers along Hunter's spine, "yeah okay."

"You decided on the first one. So it's my turn. Can ya keep yourself busy in your room for a little while?"

"I wanna help," I pouted and he pressed a kiss to my jaw, stealing his hat back.

"Let me spoil you a little."

"Fine," I huffed.

"It'll be worth it," he poked my nose.

"Do I need to dress up?"

"No," he laughed, "well… I might wear a nice shirt, so maybe a little?"

"I'll do my best with the limited wardrobe I have."

"Alright. Head in. Get ready. Imma start cookin'. I'll knock on your door when it's ready."

We headed inside and I went down the hallway to my room, Bear on my heels and he jumped on my bed as I closed the door.

Going to my closet, I started looking through my nicer shirts, picking out two and holding them up to myself. One was a powder blue button-up, and the other was a green collared sweater. I kept switching between them and sighed, turning to Bear.

"Bubs. I know you're colorblind. But which is better?"

He barked and jumped down, coming over to poke the green shirt with his nose.

"You're right. Thank you," laughing, I rubbed between his ears and he climbed onto the bed, going back to sleep.

Grabbing a pair of tan pants and a white undershirt, I slowly got changed, leaving the flower Hunter had given me earlier on my dresser.

I should get a journal to press the flowers he gives me.

Smiling, I fixed my hair a little and climbed onto the bed, turning the TV on.

I got through most of the movie when there was a soft knock on my bedroom door.

"Gray? Are you ready?" Hunter called quietly.

"I'm always waiting on you silly," climbing off the bed, I rushed over and opened the door, my eyes growing wide when I saw Hunter, "oh…"

Hunter had dressed in a pale sunflower yellow cable knit sweater over white jeans, his boots forgotten. All of his hair was pinned to the right side of his head and instead of his normal raspberry and rum scent, a waft of gentle cologne filled my senses.

"You look really nice," he whispered, caressing the collar of my shirt.

"So do you… you surprised me."

"Good surprise?"

"Amazing surprise," I smiled at him.

He bent down and kissed my cheek, near the corner of my mouth, and held his arm out, "come on. It's a date after all."

I giggled as I laced my arm through his and he led me to the dining room where I froze, "Holy shit."

There were small candles everywhere, bathing the room in a beautiful orange glow, twinkling off of the chandelier on the ceiling. He'd set the table with dishes I had never seen in the house, crystal wine glasses near them. There was a large roast ham on the table, with mashed potatoes and gravy, a fresh salad, and bread. A vase of red roses sat on the counter with a small card resting against it, my name written on the front.

"Hunter," I gasped, taking in the scene in front of me, "this is incredible."

"Really? I did my best," he rubbed the nape of his neck.

"I love it," I wiped a tear from my cheek and let him guide me to the table, where he pulled my chair out, "thank you."

"I've been thinkin' about how to do this for days. Thank God for the internet. I had no idea," he laughed, taking a seat across from me, "Are you still on the pain meds?"

"Nope. Totally clear."

"White wine then?" He held up the bottle and I nodded, holding my glass out.

"Thank you," I laughed softly, taking a sip, "I'm pleasantly surprised by all this. I wouldn’t have pegged you as a romantic."

"Hopeless romantic I suppose. I'm glad ya like it," he reached over and softly rubbed the back of my hand, "hungry?"

"Starving. We didn't eat lunch. I'm gonna have to start packing snacks on delivery days."

"Oh, that'd be nice. Thank you," he smiled and started serving us both dinner.

I took my first bite and my eyes grew wide, "holy hell this is amazing!"

"Yeah? It's a recipe I learned from Ma. Secret glaze."

"What's in it?"

"I'm not allowed to tell you," he laughed, taking a sip of wine.

"Why not?"

"Ya gotta be part of the family. It's from my great-grandma. Ya can't know unless you're a Hope."

"Dammit. It's so sweet though. Make it for me more than just date nights?"

"Whenever you wish," he flashed me his crooked half-smile.

"Hm. I wanna get to know each other better. So I'm gonna ask you random questions."

"Go ahead. I ain't got nothin' to hide."

"How important are holidays to you?"

"Well. I only like two of 'em. Christmas and New Year. We didn’t really do Halloween, and I only like the fourth because of the fireworks. That's also why I like the new year. What about you?"

"I spent most holidays alone because my mom worked. I would make costumes and go trick-or-treating by myself. I only got one or two presents for Christmas which was fine because I didn't want them. Just wanted my mom. But I loved New Years. She worked nights at a really nice hotel and would take me to watch fireworks from the roof every year. I thought if I wished on the fireworks, it would come true."

"What did you wish for?" He smiled, taking a sip of wine.

"The same thing every year until I was old enough to realize it wouldn't come true. I always wished for more time with my mom. But when I was old enough to realize that she had to work so much to provide for me, I only ever wished for her to stay healthy."

"That's… so unselfish of ya," he stared at me surprised.

"I don't wish for things for myself. I never have. I would much rather everyone around me was happy and healthy.”

“Ya have to want things for yourself too, Grayson,” he sighed softly, going back to eating his dinner.

“And I do. But my wishes are smaller. I just wish to wake up every morning. To see the sunrise and sunset. Spend time with someone important to me. Get married, have kids. Live a quiet, but comfortable life. I have no grandiose dreams.”

“Your dreams match up with mine,” he smiled.

“Can I ask a question?”

“Sure,” he shrugged, pouring himself another glass of wine as I sipped at mine.

“You’re a lot smarter than you let on, aren’t you?”

“I suppose,” he nodded, “people tend to think I’m simple because of the way I talk. I have a thick country accent from my grandpa. He didn’t always live here in Montana. He was in North Carolina for a long time. I spent so much time with him, that I wanted to copy his voice as a kid because I thought it was cool. Now, I can’t stop talkin’ like this. But I could read at 2. Ya watched me do complex equations in my head. If I hadn’t had the farm, I woulda gone to college like Zee and probably done somethin’ science related. Mom started gettin’ books on physics and chemistry and it wasn’t hard for me to understand as I got older. But I like bein’ here. I didn’t want to do all that. So I’m okay with people thinkin’ I’m a little dumber than I am.”

“But you aren’t and people should see that.”

“Maybe,” he smiled, “but it don’t bother me. People already make assumptions about who I am. Why change it? It doesn’t keep me up at night.”

“That’s… I wish I had thought about that when I was in high school,” I sighed softly, draining my glass, “it was hard to be the only openly gay kid. I got bullied a lot. Tossed in lockers, knocked to the ground. People would steal my notebooks, class books, homework. My mom would come down and stand up for me, but it didn’t help. I had to be put in with a tutor, instead of in the general classes because I was failing due to the way people treated me. I did graduate though. I was so proud of that. I got to walk the stage and my mom actually managed to be there. It was the happiest moment of my life, I think.”

“I’m sorry that happened,” he reached over and squeezed my hand, “I woulda protected you.”

“I know,” I laughed softly, rubbing his hand with my thumb, “but you can just keep me safe now.”

“I will.”

We finished dinner, talking about simple things such as our favorite foods, favorite time of year, the best places we’ve been, and general things to allow us to continue to get to know each other more. We shared a pet peeve -lying- and both hated the smell and taste of brussels sprouts. Overall, we shared many things in common and only disagreed on small things.

I started to clean up, putting the plates in the sink when music started to play from the speakers by the TV. Snapping my head up, I immediately recognized the song and started to sing along, washing the plates. Hunter came over and stopped me, and I tilted my head to look up at him.

“What is it?”

“Dance with me?”

“Okay,” I nodded, turning the sink off and drying my hands.

Hunter carefully took my hand and pulled me to the living room, lacing our fingers together and I laid my free hand on his chest.

“Do you know how?” I giggled as his arm wrapped around my waist.

“Mom taught Hazel and me. She thought it was important.”

We started swaying to the music, a slow song I loved and I kept singing along quietly, my gaze never leaving Hunters. He would spin me occasionally, cautious of my leg, and as the song came to an end, he pulled me close, his fingers trailing up my back.

“How in the world did you learn to dance?” he laughed quietly, still holding me.

“My mom. She loved to dance. So we would dance around the house when she had a rare day off from all of her jobs. She loved swing music from the ‘50s. I think because of my granddad. I can’t do that right now because of my leg.”

“Show me when it’s healed.”

“Deal. What should we do now?”

“I already set somethin’ up for ya,” he released my waist, his fingers still laced with mine and we went into the backyard, where I found the utility vehicle packed with blankets, a thermos of something warm to drink, and my favorite new jacket.

“Where are we going?”

“Get in. We’re gonna miss it.”

We climbed into the utility vehicle and I put my seatbelt on as Hunter pulled away from the house, going down a path to the left of the farm. We road for a while, through all of the trees, and slowly they began to thin, the path getting a bit rougher. A large, sparkling pond came into view and I looked up to realize that you had a perfect view of the clear sky. The sun had already started to set, giving everything a pink and orange glow, the weather warmer than it had been in days, and he came to a stop next to a large gazebo tucked against the shore of the pond.

“Hunter,” I whispered, climbing out and touching the tree nearest me, my eyes wide, “do you own this?”

“I do,” he smiled, unloading, “I own most of the land right here. Even though it’s not gated, a mile out behind where my grandparents and your mom are is mine, a mile in both directions from the house. I open it up because I want people to enjoy it, but I do have cameras everywhere that let me know when someone comes on the property. I might gate it off at some point. But this? No one knows this is here. Ya can’t see it from the main road. It’s mine.”

“Did you build the gazebo?” I walked into it and found a switch on the left inside post. Flicking that on, I smiled when the 4 lights on the posts turned on, as well as strands that were wrapped along the roof.

“I did. It runs on solar power. Not attached to the grid though so if the weather is bad, there’s no light out here.”

Taking a seat on the bench, I started rubbing my hands together, the wind chilling me a bit, and Hunter laid my jacket around my shoulders, pulling the front so I was wrapped up. He sat on my left and tossed the blanket over both of us, pulling me close to him.

“I forget ya get cold easily,” he whispered, pressing a gentle kiss to the top of my head, “I’m glad I brought the blankets.”

“You’re not cold?”

“Nah. It takes a lot for me. But, the best way to stay warm when out like this is to have someone's body heat to share. So, blanket over both of us and,” he handed me a travel mug and I sniffed the drink before taking a sip, “hot buttered rum. Don’t drink too much though.”

“It’s fantastic! Holy… I’ve never had a drink like this.”

“It’s my favorite,” he smiled, “I like bourbon but this is my favorite when it’s cold. I wanted to share it with ya.”

“You’re… so sweet,” I smiled up at him when a small movement from my right side caught my attention and I slowly turned as Hunter turned the light switch off, “oh.”

A tiny white-tailed fawn came walking into the clearing, its mother behind it, and they began to drink from the pond. They were beautiful, clearly making the area around the pond their home and we sat in silence, watching them as I squeezed Hunter’s hand. The deers noticed us and both bounced off into the forest and I laughed softly.

“Oh. That was the cutest thing I’ve ever seen,” sighing happily, I looked up at Hunter.

“I thought ya might like that. I’ve been watchin’ them on the trail cam and knew they came out here every day at dusk to get water. I thought it might make ya smile.”

“You’re so thoughtful,” I set my mug down and reached up to gently touch his cheek, “I’m so happy I met you.”

“Promise?” he covered my hand with his own, squeezing softly.

“Oh, I swear it,” I laughed softly.

“How did I do for my first date?”

“Amazing. Wonderful. More than I could have asked for. Treated me like a prince.”

“Good. I’ll keep doin’ that. How many dates a week should we do? We didn’t even talk about that.”

“Hm…” I moved my hand and leaned into his side and he wrapped his arm around my waist, “3? 2 dinner dates and a picnic or small hike.”

“Perfect. That was my idea too. But hikes can’t be long until your thigh heals. Although, if it ever bothers ya when we’re out on a trail, I’ll carry you on my back.”

“Will you do that anyway? Even if it isn’t? I like… being held by you like that.”

“Absolutely,” he laughed, nuzzling the top of my head.

We finished our drinks, watching as the stars began to twinkle on the surface of the pond before we loaded up and headed back to the house.

As Hunter unloaded, I went to my room and changed into comfortable clothes before I started cleaning the kitchen, putting away leftovers, and wiping down the counters.

I had just finished cleaning everything when he came in from making sure the stable and the barn were closed and locked. I had taken a seat on the kitchen counter, flipping through a recipe book I had found, trying to decide what to make for dinner tomorrow based on what we had in the fridge.

Hunter slowly took the book from my hands and I pouted, staring up at him.

“I was figuring out what to cook tomorrow!”

“You can do that in the morning,” he smiled, wrapping my legs around his waist, “we’re still on a date.”

“We are?”

“Yes,” he laughed, cradling my cheek as I wrapped my arms around his neck, “I’m gonna go put on my pajamas. You get your pillows from your bed and blanket. It’s movie night.”

“Alright,” I laughed and he leaned down, pressing his lips to my forehead, a small happy sigh escaping him, “I always love how that feels. It’s so warm. Comforting.”

“Good. I’ll be right back.”

Hunter ran off to his room and I got the couch set up as he asked. As soon as he was changed, he laid down and I stood there, chewing my lip.

“Where do I lay?”

“Cuddle with me?”

“Okay.”