There was a clear consensus for both parties that anything involving water should be avoided for their second date. One would think after the second go around of dating that the butterflies would be gone and there would be a sense of ease. But it wasn’t like that. Devin once again found herself double checking her appearance in the mirror and making sure everything was set.

This time Devin double checked the food in the picnic basket to make sure nothing in there had anything to do with shrimp or shellfish. Potato salad, check. Chips, check. Sandwiches, check. And to top it off, gooey, brownies. All that Brice had to bring was himself and a cooler of drinks. Devin even had the blanket situation covered.

The change in Matt since Brice had entered their lives in the role he was supposed to live was obvious. At this point in the summer he’d be getting into fights at camp and spending most of his days grumping around the resort complaining about being bored. Now he was on his best behavior as if he was trying to impress his Dad. For the first time in his life, Matt was making friends and was off to a slumber party with Andy, the boy at camp that had become his best friend.

It seemed like the perfect opportunity for a second date to happen. His idea the first time around of a nice restaurant was considerate, but out of all the dates they had ever been on the ones where they were just with each other without definite plans were the best.

She made the suggestion of a picnic and he picked the light house. Now as she was standing outside looking at how tall the building was, Devin was beginning to question his choice.

“You know I’ve never been to the top… and now I’m starting to see why.” 268 steps to the top. At least she hadn’t worn a dress like she first thought about doing. Holding his hand, her fingers threaded between his, Devin squeezed his hand. “You may have to carry me back down.”

Okay, the lighthouse was a lot higher than he remembered. He'd climbed the stairs when he was a teenager but now he was doubting the abilities of his lungs to hold in the oxygen that he would need to make it back down. He worked out, he was in shape...but that was a lot of cardio. He quickly glanced at Devin, just to make sure she wasn't looking for a gut on him or anything like that. Because he had to go to the top just to prove he could.

"It goes fast. And it's cool at the top with the wind. I doubt you'll even break a sweat." He said, reaching into the cooler to grab a can of mountain dew. They were sitting on his tailgate, Brice savoring one of her delicious sandwiches. They didn't let you go up without a tour guide so they had to wait for the next one to start. Which considering that it had just started, it was gonna be a little while. They'd gotten here late and missed it.

"So what do you want to do to kill time? There is a nature trail over there that we could stroll over. Did you by chance bring bug spray?" If there was one thing Brice hated, it was getting bit by mosquitoes. But the trail went through the woods and had fresh water marshes back there. There was bound to be buzzing bugs. "Or we can just sit here and suntan. It's up to you." He told her with a shrug, perfectly content with sitting.

Brice didn’t have to worry about Devin looking for a gut on him. Her eyes were too focused on the top of the light house which was their next destination. Missing the tour that was going on right now really wasn’t that big of a deal to her. They had their tickets (and luckily the day hadn’t sold out) and maybe with the delay they’d still be here around sunset. It was nice for once to not be cooped up inside and the clear sunny day was the perfect time to just go out.

“Some of us haven’t seen the inside of a gym since high school.” Devin was afraid that after the second story she’d be out of breath. Hopefully chasing around a kid had been enough cardio that her stamina would hold out the entire way up. It was also a poke at him and what was obviously something he did. Not in a mean way, but showing that she had indeed noticed that he was no longer the tall and lean boy he used to be. This type of change was not something she minded.

Looking in her large bag next to her, Devin found everything from tissues, gummy snacks, sun screen, even a roll of tape but no bug spray. She was slightly embarrassed at all the stuff in what people jokingly referred to as her “Mom Bag” but she felt the need to always be prepared. “Items to build a nuclear device I seem to have but no bug spray.” Looks like the walk through the woods was out. The last thing they needed after their first date fiasco was to end up covered in bug bites. “I guess that leaves sitting here and enjoying the nice, but hot, weather.”

Laying down in the truck, Devin gave a contented sigh enjoying the feeling of the sun on her skin. “You have no idea how nice doing nothing feels,” she joked, putting her hand against her forehead to shade her eyes as she turned to look at Brice. In her head she took a mental snapshot of him against the robin’s egg blue sky as a backdrop. She had her actual camera, but she didn’t know if that was really a second date approved thing to do on the second go around.

"If you need a personal trainer..." He joked with her. It was true that he spent his fair share of time at the gym nowadays. Once he hit college, he'd decided he needed to build up some muscles. It was how he'd helped himself get over Devin by making himself more attractive to the female population. He'd become a chick magnet, in any case.

When she made a comment about doing nothing for a change, he felt a bit of guilt which was ridiculous because it wasn't like it was anything he could help. He'd had his freedom in college while Devin had been tied down by a baby. If he could do things differently...well obviously he'd do things differently. "I'm going to try my best at making sure you have days where you have nothing to do but relax." Maybe he could get Connor to chip in on a spa day, not that he couldn't afford to do it on his own. But he felt his brother might appreciate the opportunity to help just so he felt like he was doing something too. Hell, he'd get reservations for Chloe too so she and Devin could have a girls day out. He was sure Connor wouldn't mind helping him look after Matt and Kota for a few hours. He'd have to check out the Sanderling's packages.

"If you weren't out with me today, what would you be doing? I mean, do you and Chloe often have days where you and her do something without the kids? How's her situation with her daughter's father, by the way?" He figured he'd ask since the last he'd heard had been at that dinner that had turned into a disaster.

A smile and a slight laugh went with him suggesting to be a personal trainer. “Are you trying to imply that I need one?” she joked back poking him in the side gently. For someone that had a kid and didn’t have the time to go to the gym, she thought that she at least looked… well… not like she had a kid or needed to go to the gym.

It wasn’t so bad to be tied down to Matt. For the last eight years they technically both dealt with puking children. Just she had to deal with the flu and he most likely had to deal with his frat brothers. Stretching up her arms over her head, Devin’s baby yellow tank rode up and stayed there exposing her stomach to the sun as well. If it wasn’t for the fact that she didn’t want to miss their tour she would have taken a nap. “I won’t know what to do with myself with all these days of relaxation. Guess I’ll have to pick up a hobby.” Every day since she moved out of her aunt’s home Devin had been working or taking care of Matthew. If she was single she tended to build up her schedule so she wouldn’t feel lonely and if she was dating, well that was one other person to take care of in her opinion. To have a day where her wants and needs came first? Well she wouldn’t know what to do with that.

“We get our nails done every so often, but that’s about it. Usually we’re with the kids.” If Chloe needed time she called Devin to watch Kota and the same went with Devin for Matt. There were other babysitters but Devin only called them when something at work came up. “To be honest, I’d probably be working at the resort to make some overtime.” She should have been on salary but it meant that if she worked more than eight hours she didn’t get overtime pay. This way there was a slight cut on her wage, but it was made up with all the extra hours she put in.

“Chloe hasn’t said anything about that. He’s still at the resort though. I don’t even know if she’s talked to him since dinner. Adam probably thinks we’re all crazy.”

Devin worked herself to death. Would she allow him to give her some kind of support? Was this the time to bring up child support? Especially with the discussion suddenly falling on Adam and Chloe. "You know Devin...I don't bring this up because I want you to think that this is my way of dipping out. It's not. I just...I want to pay child support or something. You work so much and I just want you to have something. It wouldn't have to be anything official...just an understood agreement between us. Put it in Matt's college fund, I don't know." He didn't know where they were going as far as a relationship went, so if they did end up back together, child support would be moot anyway. But it made him feel better to bring it up.

The tour group was coming out of the lighthouse, looking particularly sweaty and out of breath. He was in shape, but that was a long climb. He was going to get all sweaty in front of Devin and probably smell. Hell, it probably smelled of musk inside that building. He knew he was definitely walking behind her. No one was going to be looking up her shorts but him and he figured he was alright because he'd seen it before.

This line of conversation made the atmosphere become suddenly uncomfortable for her. Turning her head away from him the sense of relaxation had quickly been replaced with apprehension. It was obvious that her whole body language had changed. The last thing she wanted was his money. It wasn’t going to fix anything. “If you want to put money in a fund for Matt, I won’t stop you.” She was making it clear that the money was for their son and that was it. Devin didn’t need him paying her bills or buying things for her house. Running a hand through her hair, Devin let out a breath she didn’t even know she was holding. Where did they even go from that?

Seeing a group of people walking out of the lighthouse, Devin figured that it was their cue to head on over. “Guess it’s our turn,” she said grabbing her camera out of her bag to take pictures when they got to the top. She didn’t feel like climbing the two hundred steps any more but they had paid for the tickets.

“If I trip and fall you have to promise to catch me.” She was known for being a klutz so falling up the stairs was highly possible. At least she knew the person who was going to be staring at her backside for the trek instead of some complete stranger.

He could sense he'd made her uncomfortable in his new subject but damnit she needed to realize that she wasn't doing this alone anymore. But he'd settle for a college fund until he could work in other things. He'd sneak shit into her house if he had to.

"Don't worry, I won't let you fall." He said, placing a hand at the small of her back as he followed her up to the entrance. His hand stayed there as the tour guide gave some information about when the lighthouse was built and how many times it had been moved. Even told some ghost love story that Brice wasn't sure he believed or not. Probably something they made up for kicks. Everyone loved a happy love story.

They wouldn't let anyone with heart problems or children with them climb, though the tour guide gave Brice an appreciative look. "You shouldn't even break a sweat." She gave him a laugh and a wink and Brice's hand stayed steady on Devin, as if to say he was spoken for. He didn't want the tour guide hitting on him.

Every now and then the group ahead of them would stop as someone needed to rest a moment, which made the long trek up the steps much longer. Not to mention the steepness of the steps allowed Brice a clear view up Devin's shorts, which he tried to avoid like a gentleman. Sometimes he forgot that though cause he was still just a man.

Unlike Brice who probably already knew all this information already, Devin was actually listening with intent. And well, she found the cheesy ghost love story endearing. But then again she did have a shelf dedicated to Nicholas Sparks and a whole other bookcase to cheesy romance novels and films.

Devin could admit that the tour guide was pretty… alright she was practically a super model. When she walked by them and eyed up Brice, there might have been a bit of the green eyed monster showing. So as they waited for their turn to start the climb up, Devin put her hand on his just to reaffirm that he was there and to send that bitch a clear message that he was on a date right now.

Her foot slipped on one of the steps but she was able to catch herself without the worry of causing a domino affect. Looking behind her she shot Brice a full watt smile. Maybe chasing after Matt had been enough cardio to make sure she wasn’t getting winded. “You doing okay back there?” she asked him before they had reached the top.

“Wow…” Devin breathed out taking in the view from this height. Reaching for Brice’s hand she wanted to see it with him right there with her. “This is beautiful.”

Brice tactfully failed to comment on Devin's choice in underwear that day, though he'd gotten an eyeful whenever she stepped a certain way and he happened to be looking. Hey, he had to make sure she wasn't about to topple backwards on him, right? Plus there was a girl ahead of them who was wearing a skirt and he was a guy. But he'd enjoyed looking at Devin's more so than hers.

"I'm doing alright. Barely sweating." He lied. The sweat was starting to bead at his hairline and roll down the center of his back in that uncomfortable way that made you twitch. He wished he could pull his shirt off but then it wouldn't be any better. It was humid inside this spiraled building and he yearned for a cool breeze.

Once outside, it was almost instantaneous how his body cooled off. Being so high up, there was a constant breeze and he closed his eyes to feel the cool air against his damp skin. He knew he needed to savor it now because what goes up must come down.

He followed her to the railing, his fingers tangling with hers as he sandwiched her against the rail. Without much thought, his arms went on either side of her, holding her hands against the railing as her hair gently blew in his face. He inhaled her shampoo and eyed the milky white skin of her neck. "It sure is." He said, but he wasn't talking about the same view that she was. He wished the rest of the people would disappear so this could just be their moment. Their space.

If that tour guide was thinking about making another pass at Brice she’d hopefully get the message from how they were standing now that he was not on the market. Leaning back into his chest, Devin took in the view of the trees stretching out towards the beach. Every once and awhile she could see the white foam of a wave breaking. Things looked small and simple from up here… she wished that she could apply that perspective to her life.

She was glad that Brice was holding her. He was warm from the exercise of climbing up the stairs and she knew that at some point the breeze would make her feel chilly. Devin had always had trouble keeping warm, it seemed like she ran ten degrees cooler than most people on her best days.

“This is definitely a nine and a half,” she stated, rating their second date right now. There was a way for it to become a ten but she didn’t want to push her luck. They may have been in a group but to here everyone else had just faded into background noise. They might as well be alone for all she cared.

Slipping one of her hands out from under his, Devin pulled out her camera from her pocket, still standing in the circle of his arms. “How about a picture, handsome?” she asked. Devin was a hoarder of memories and photographs. This new picture would mark their fresh start and the beginning of creating new moments… hopefully together. “You’ll have to take it though.” Tilting her head to look at him, she gave him her own version of his puppy look.

"A sweaty nine and a half." He commented, pulling the front of his shirt back and forth to catch the breeze a little more. He was glad he hadn't forgotten to put on deodorant that morning.

He took the camera awkwardly, not sure of what she wanted him to do with it. He didn't want to drop it over the edge so he wrapped the cord around his wrist and held the device securely in his hand. He looked at the controls, figuring out how to work it without her having to tell him. He'd never had to read manuals when he opened things. He just figured them out on his own.

"Alright, smile big." He said, holding it out and hunching forward to get both their faces in there. He wasn't a photographer by any means so he had no clue how to position the camera to get a good picture. After it clicked, it pulled it up to look at it, frowning when he saw he'd cut off Devin's chin. "Let's try it again." He said, switching it back to camera mode and holding it out once more. After about 5 pictures, he finally got a good one that had all of their heads in it. It looked like one of those snapshots you'd see in a cheesy photo frame, come to think of it.

"I don't want to trek back down those steps. Think you could carry me on your back for it?" He asked her as the tour guide gave them a 10 minute warning. He ignored any look of disappointment she gave his way after seeing him and Devin in an intimate sort of embrace. "Then I'll carry you to the truck and rub your feet. Sounds like a fair trade, if you ask me."

He suddenly had the urge to pull a penny from his pocket and throw it over the side, just to see if it would hurt someone. But on the off chance that it would, he let the idea go. Didn't need to go to prison right now.

It wasn’t like cameras had changed much in the last fifty years. The button was still on the same side it had always been on and to take a picture he just had to push it like any other camera. Devin didn’t delete any of the horrible ones where he was out of frame or only her forehead was in it. They kind of made her laugh.

“I’ll just tap into my reserve super human strength.” Shaking her head she jabbed her elbow into his stomach a bit at that. It wasn’t like she wanted to go back down either. The quiet of the wind whisking away all the other sound was nice. Being with him was even better. Turning around in the circle of his arms, Devin slipped the camera back in her pocket before looping her arms over his neck. Her fingers lightly brushed at the hairs at the nape.

“How about we just stay up here? We can do that right?” They still had the rest of their picnic to eat, but she kind of wanted this part of their date to last a little longer. Ten minutes just didn’t seem like enough. “And if we do go down, you can still carry me to the truck, but a neck rub would be much better.”

Back down on the ground there would probably be more talk about child support, and figuring out schedules, and of course Brice relocating. Up here it just felt like she could be in the moment and leave those behind for just a few more minutes. “And maybe if you do a good job you can have the dessert I made.”

He knew they couldn't stay up here. Even loads of money couldn't rent out the lighthouse but he didn't want to 'break her heart.' Rather than telling her so, he took the moment to sweep in and press a light kiss to her lips. Nothing too deep or passionate, just sweet. A first date, type of kiss. "Felt like one of those moments." He explained to her rather sheepishly.

The tour guide cleared her throat and Brice colored to realized everyone was looking at them and clearly waiting on them. "When I said 10 minutes, I meant 10 minutes.' The tour guide said rather snottily. Brice didn't think her attitude was that called for and he frowned. But rather than hold up the group any longer, he threaded his fingers through Devin's and pulled her back into the doorway. This time he went first and let her trail behind him so in case she fell forward, she'd fall on him and him not on her. Luckily there were a few people behind them so the tour guide wasn't directly on their butts. Brice was growing uncomfortable with the looks she kept giving in their direction. He wondered if maybe he'd had a one night stand with her in college or something to incite that much rage.

"Keep up Devin, I want that dessert." He joked, looking back at her as she stayed on his heels. At least on the way down, no one would be looking up her shorts. Devin could check out his ass if she wanted, that Brice would not argue with.

He didn't know what the rest of their date would be like. Up on top of the lighthouse, it was like a different world where they were just dating and being carefree. Back on the ground, responsibility would come back into play. He knew he'd made her uncomfortable earlier and he didn't want to go back there, but the topic of conversation was important to him. But he'd save it for another day.

Ten. It was definitely a ten now. If there was room for her foot to pop like in the old classic movies, Devin would have done it. Instead she just enjoyed the feel of his lips against hers. The kiss was almost a repeat of the first time he had kissed her at the boardwalk on their real first date. At least this one didn’t start with his head hitting hers because she wasn’t expecting it. “I like those moments,” she smiled at him.

Leave it to the tour guide whose eyes couldn’t stay away from Brice’s ass to ruin it though. The other visitors didn’t seem like they minded. In fact there were two middle aged women who probably owned many cats that seemed to just be swooning at the display. Taking his hand though, Devin would rather keep just the McDonald’s on the list of places they had been kicked out from. She chose to just ignore the glare that the tour guide shot her way as she passed her.

It would be a bald face lie if she said that she didn’t look at Brice’s backside every once and awhile. No doubt those same middle aged ladies that were behind her were doing the same. At one point one of them whispered to her. “That one’s a keeper, young lady.” Smiling Devin gave a nod. “I know.”

As if she wasn’t right on his ass, she rolled her eyes at his joke and followed him out the main door. The ending speech from the tour guide seemed to take forever. She definitely didn’t want to give miss high and mighty any more time to ruin their date. Devin was the first one back to the truck and in her hands she had pulled out the cake-like brownies, balancing the container in her lap. “I don’t know if you should get any. I seem to remember something about carrying me back to the truck which obviously didn’t happen.”

"Hey it's not my fault that you took off like a speed demon. It's okay, the tour guide was a bitch. You can say it. Clearly she's jealous and wanted a piece of this. Who wouldn't? Maybe she's a fan of my work." He teased as he hopped back up on the truck bed. Soon the sun would be beating down their necks like a fire breathing dragon and they'd have to retreat into the air conditioning of his truck. But right now, there was a slight breeze and it was decent. Plus he was just really, really thirsty from the trek back down the lighthouse. But at least coming down was easier than going up.

He turned around and reached into the cooler, digging out a bottle of water. The ice in the cooler had started to melt so the water was extra cold with the paper label all wet from the moisture. He twisted off the cap and tilted his head back, guzzling it down. His adams apple bobbed up and down as he swallowed, a few droplets of water running down his chin and down his neck, him reaching up with his other hand to wipe them away with the back of it. He drank the bottle until the plastic collapsed from the pressure of his swallowing.

Throwing the empty bottle back in the cooler, he turned back to Devin. "Is that brownies I spy? You know I love brownies. Well, really I love anything that is chocolate and full of sugar. Today, my favorite happens to be brownies though." He said, giving her a cheeky grin and eyeing the knife she'd use to slice them.

“She wanted a piece of something,” Devin mumbled under her breath as she cut the brownies into hand held portions. She wasn’t going to admit that she wanted to scratch the girl’s eyes out, or thought about placing her hand in Brice’s back pocket. There was no reason for her to even be that way at all. It wasn’t like Brice had a title like boyfriend or anything like that.

Setting down the brownies, Devin realized her hair was a tangle of messy waves from the wind having tossed it around. Slipping a hair tie off of her wrist, she pulled it up quickly. Though she tended to like to keep her hair down, this at least would mean she could keep cool for a few more minutes. Turning to see him chug down the bottle of water, Devin tried to keep her eyes from following the trail one of the droplets made. Instead she teased him bumping her elbow against his arm. “People would think you had just been stranded in the Sahara from the way you’re drinking.”

Slipping the knife back in the basket, Devin moved the brownies so they were just out of his reach on her other side. Picking one up she took a bite, some of the chocolate frosting on the top getting on her fingers. “Well these are really good. I think probably my best.” An impish smile settled on her face as she looked at the brownies. Picking another one up, she turned towards Brice. “I guess keeping your favorite from you would be mean.” Without hesitating Devin smooshed the brownie over his mouth and in his face. “Looks good on you too,” she laughed.

It greatly surprised Brice when she smashed the brownie into his face. Out of all the things he might have expected, that wasn't one of them. "It's delicious. If we weren't in a public place, I'd make you eat it off my face." He said, his tongue darting out to catch bits before they fell to the ground. He lifted his hand to wipe away smeared chocolate from places his tongue couldn't reach, sure he still had some left after his attempt at using his hand as a napkin.

But not letting her get away unscathed, he reached out for the end of her shirt, wiping his hand on it. He would have just put his whole face into it but again, they were in a public place and he didn't want to lift her shirt up for everyone to see.

"Did I get it all?" He asked her in a serious voice. The last thing he wanted was someone asking him why he had shit on his face. It reminded him of a bad joke where a mailman asked a guy why he had peanut butter on his forehead. Except it wasn't peanut butter.

"And just so you know, you'll be paying for that later. Matt may have gotten his trickery and pranks from his father." He said, giving her a devious grin as if he were plotting some kind of world domination.

Licking her fingers clean, Devin was actually quite proud of herself. It was one of those things that before she met Brice, she never would have done. There were a lot of things that ended up being fun that she wouldn’t have ever tried before. She wished that she hadn’t have dropped her camera back into her bag because this was surely a Kodak moment. Of course it probably was now at the bottom of the bag underneath everything.

“Brice… don’t even…” but it was too late. Her shirt had just become a paper towel for his hands. First her white one and now her yellow one. He already had wrecked one of her blouses. Brice was a one man clothes wrecking machine. “Jerk,” she laughed through an open mouth not believing he had just done that.

“Just no lizards,” she reminded him. She’d be ready for any prank he could throw at her as long as she didn’t wake up to something like an iguana in her bed. He knew how phobic she was of the creatures and if he ever wanted her talking to him again, he’d stay away from that area.

Looking over his face she was trying to see if everything was off. There was still a bit on his cheek and caught in the corner of his mouth. Scooting closer, Devin used her thumb to wipe away the chocolate on his cheek. But being this close to him, well it made her mind shut off for a second and the next thing she realized was that she was kissing him. Not just a simple peck like up on the top of the light house or a hello how are you kiss. This was one of the soul searing kind that felt as if it didn’t last long enough.

“Now it’s all gone,” she stated pulling back before she did anything else stupid.

To be honest, Brice was expecting her to do that mom thing where she licked a napkin and dabbed at his face. Which would be kind of disgusting when all she had to do was dip the cloth into the cooler. But rather than lick the napkin, well she just licked him. Next thing he knew, Devin had her tongue down his throat and he seriously thought they were on their way to indecent exposure and a night in jail.

It seemed that lately, whenever they allowed themselves to kiss like this, it blazed like a wild forest fire and they ended up doing things they weren't ready for. And as much as he enjoyed the feel of her mouth on his (oh he was kissing her back, no doubt), he knew that they needed to stop or this foundation they were building would be void. The point was to get to know each other and make their relationship stronger.

"I'll be sure to wear my food more often." He said, clearing his throat and shifting on the truck bed so he could adjust his jeans. He felt eyes glaring into the back of his head and he turned to see the bitch tour guide looking in their direction before she tossed her hair over her shoulder and walked off towards the visitor center. What the hell was her problem?

He didn't comment on the kiss or say that they'd gone too far cause he figured it was moot. Sometimes they'd do something that they just couldn't control and kissing was one of them. Just as long as it didn't go beyond that, he figured they were safe.

"So...what else do you want to do today? Fly to Europe?" He should probably bring up that he needed to drive back to New York really soon.

There were no regrets in kissing him. It wasn’t because she couldn’t control herself. Obviously by pulling back she could. Devin did it because she wanted to. She knew that there would need to be boundaries with the way this had all started in the first place. Add to that they were in public.

But there was also the fact that the physical would just take away from the emotional. Did she want to sleep with Brice again? Well, who wouldn’t. But she could wait and would rather have a relationship where they were best friends again. That was the worst part about sending him off the first time. It wasn’t that she had pushed away the boy she loved with all her heart, but that she lost her best friend at the same time.

“I think I just made an enemy,” Devin said pulling her lower lip through her teeth and resituating herself so she wasn’t as much in Brice’s personal space. Still her leg was against his. She had to control the need to be somewhat immature and stick her tongue out at the bitchy tour guide. Perhaps she just wanted to reclaim the fun and immaturity that she missed out on.

She actually had to think about it. Her schedule was completely free and well, if she went home she’d probably just curl up with a good book or find some meaningless chore to do. Then there was dinner and cooking for one just seemed dumb. “Only if we fly first class,” she joked, smiling at him. “Matt’s gone for the night… not that…I mean…” Wow, that just came out wrong. “What I mean is that my day is open. Could go see a movie like we used to? I can’t remember the last time I saw one that wasn’t animated or rated above G.”

He looked back at the tour guide when Devin mentioned an enemy. "Don't worry about her. I think I can take her." He said with a shrug, turning back to her with a grin. Back in his college days, he would have basically tapped any thing that gave him a certain kind of look. In another time, he'd be all over that tour guide. It actually made him feel kind of disgusting to think how easily he fell into sex when it used to mean something. He was no longer interested in sex just for sex, these days. He wanted to settle down and have a family, thus why he'd been about to marry Rachel in the first place. Well, he had half of it covered, at least. He had a family. A son. It still caught him off guard sometimes and amazed him all over again.

He smiled at her fumbling over words. He knew that she wasn't offering sex or anything like that. In short, he knew what she meant and thought it was adorable that she was falling over her choice in phrases. "How interested are you in Iron Man 2? Cause I haven't seen it yet and I'd like to before it left theaters. Plus I'm sure you'll like the Robert Downey, Jr eye candy." He joked, thinking how awesome it would be to have a suit like that.

"I don't know. She had a good set of nails." She was still blushing from her fumbling with words. Sometimes they just seemed to come out wrong and it was one of the reasons she had been a wallflower back in high school. It was why when Brice even took notice of her she was taken back. There were just some things that no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't cure. Much like the fact she never could really let him go.

Maybe she had been using Matt as an excuse for that. She didn't date saying it was because she didn't want him to get hurt. The few guys there were she knew from the beginning it wasn't going to work. Why else would she still be friends with Erik? None of them ever made her feel what he had. It was an odd dichotomy. Just sitting next to him she felt at ease and yet all in knots. The scary thing about it was that now he'd be in her life no matter what, and if she still couldn't let go if things went downhill... well she'd only be living a half life.

"Iron Man is the one about the guy in the suit, right?" Matt was into comic books and superheroes, another thing that he shared with Brice. She thought he might have had an Iron Man action figure in his collection. Two meant there had been a first movie but she hadn't seen it. But he did bring up Robert Downey Jr. and well, what girl could say no to that? "I think I could watch that. I mean, only fair to see the work of my future husband," she teased because while Robert Downey was nice to look at, there was only one guy she could see filling that role but she wasn't going to entertain those thoughts now.

Taking a sip of her water bottle, Devin played with the corner of the label. Not really peeling it off nor trying to stick it back on. "I bet it will be weird to live with Connor again. I mean, unless you already have something set up. If you need help moving in, I know of a seven year old who'd be dying to do it and someone who could bring food."

Awesome. He hated going to the movies by himself and it didn't seem like the type of movie he could drag Connor to. Cooper would have gone, but he hadn't spoke to him in a little while. He thought of Tate, but it had been so long since he'd spoken to him too. He needed to give him a call.

"I haven't made any official plans. I'll stay with Connor for a little while until I get a place of my own, I guess. There are some nice apartments for rent." He didn't want to live with Connor, to be honest. He'd been on his own for eight years and after having male roommates, it had been nice to live with a woman. Though she spent a lot of time away and it was like he was living by himself. Besides, he was sure Connor would be less than pleased when Brice lugged in a big screen TV and loaded it up with video game systems and then stayed up until 3 in the morning, playing said video games. Connor had to get up at the crack of dawn when Brice would probably just be going to bed.

"I actually need to go back to New York really soon and take care of some stuff." That would be awkward if Rachel was there, if she hadn't destroyed everything he owned. He'd been living out of a suitcase recently and he was getting tired of wearing the same clothes over and over again. "You and Matt could come with me? I could show you New York. Like a vacation." He suddenly suggested.

Nodding her head at his decision to get his own place it probably was for the best. Connor and Brice hadn't lived with each other for a long time and Connor's daily schedule would drive her nuts after just a week. "They just built a new block of them down by the marina. They probably have an amazing view. Just don't make it too cool or Matt might never come home after a visit." It actually brought a good question about visits and time that Brice and Matthew spent alone together. What was normal? So far Brice had just come over but they'd have to work out something like the first weekend of every month or something like that.

Looking at him and then at her hands in her lap holding the bottle of water she smiled, her hair falling over her shoulder. "I'd love to go..." she said wistfully. Seeing the tall buildings of New York would be like a dream come true. Seeing them with Matthew would be even better. But the three of them on a vacation would feel like they were a real family and not some hybrid of one. There were more reasons not to go though.

"... but I can't." It would be like playing house, the only difference was that when the game was over someone was going to get hurt and she deep down knew it would be her. "June is one of the busiest times at the resort with the Fourth of July right around the corner." She didn't add that she couldn't afford to take the time off either. "But you should take Matt," she offered. "I know he'd love to go and it would be for both of you to have time without me there." Matthew would have to get used to the idea there would be times they weren't all together.

"A souvenir would be nice though." Maybe one day she'd make it there.

The idea of taking Matt out of the state terrified him. What if something happened and he didn't know what to do? And he drove rather than flew and a hyperactive 8 year old sitting in the front seat over the course of an 11-12 hour drive? Well it intimidated him a little bit. Kids liked to ask questions that he didn't want to answer. But if Matt wanted to go...well he'd let him tag along. "Only if you're okay with that. And if you trust me that much." He said sincerely. The more he thought about it, the more he'd love for Matt to go. He'd love for Devin to go too, but if she had to work she had to work. Plus she'd have time to relax without Matt bugging her all the time.

"Well, I'm not leaving right now. So let's get on to that movie before they sell out of tickets." He joked, knowing that they'd be lucky if it was actually playing. The movie theater here only had like four theaters and they were usually older movies. The sacrifice you had to make to live in an area like this. He was definitely taking Matt to the movies in New York.

He helped her pack up the picnic and noticed that it looked like it was about to rain. They had good timing. The best thing to do on a rainy day was go to the movies. Even if Iron Man wasn't playing, they'd watch something. Maybe a scary movie.

Was she okay with that? She knew it wasn't going to be just an over night trip. In all of his life Devin hadn't been away from Matthew for more than one night. Now she was pushing Brice, a person she couldn't ever remember being around kids, to take care of the most important person in her life. But it wasn't like he was really on his own. She already had everything he would need in case something happened taken care of on a sheet that she left for babysitters. She could make a copy of the insurance card and all the information there. And she'd be just a phone call away. "Yeah... you'll be fine. There's no one I'd trust him with more. You're his father after all."

Devin really didn't care if they saw that movie or not. Any movie would really do. Though she wouldn't make Brice watch some romance movie. Not at this stage anyway. She had made him go see something with Meg Ryan in it once. It was only fair since she saw the new Star Wars about ten times with him. "I'll have to put together one of the infamous road trip snack packs for you guys."

Packing up the stuff, Devin didn't even notice the change in the weather. Of course she hadn't brought anything to deal with rain. Good thing they'd be inside though that wouldn't help with the walk into the movie theater. It started to pour on the drive to the movie theater and once they got there it seemed like just another disappointment. "Second choice?" she asked seeing that Iron Man 2 was not listed on the board. Time Traveler's Wife, The Princess and the Frog, and two other movies that she had never heard of were. And having read the book to the first one, that was definitely out of question.

Being his father still didn't mean that much to him as far as being able. He'd, more or less, been a sperm donor...yeah? But he did perk up at the thought of a road trip kit. What did that mean exactly? Food? Games? If it was food, he was down with that. Brice always thought with his stomach.

He stared out the windshield, the wipers going back and forth with a furious pace. He was kind of disappointed that Iron Man 2 wasn't playing but not surprised. Hell to the fucking no on the chick flick and the Disney kid flick. "The Crazies looks good." Well, to be honest he hadn't been that impressed with the previews and the unoriginal title. But it was looking like the best option. It looked like a stupid zombie flick or something. But he'd bite. He didn't really remember how Devin was with scary movies so the thought hadn't crossed his mind.

He flipped open the dash to grab the emergency umbrella he kept there and quickly opened the door, opening it wide and over his head. He hurried over to Devin's side so she could get under and then he was ushering her to the ticket window. He purchased the tickets and then was at a loss of what to do with the soaked umbrella. Oh well, he'd just sit it in the seat beside him. Poor fool who sat there next would walk away looking like he pissed himself.

"If you get scared, you can hold my hand and I won't tease you for it." He joked as he chose some seats in the back. He didn't think to get any snacks since they'd just ate.

She hated horror movies. It wasn't because they were horrible movies but it was because she could barely make it through half the film without covering her eyes. Everything made her jump and then there would be the nightmares later on. But that's the movie Brice had chosen so she'd just have to suck it up and deal with it in the best way possible. It wasn't like the movie was real or anything.

Rushed to the theater, because of the height difference she got a little wet but it could have been worse. He had paid for the tickets and she was going to offer to buy drinks or snacks but he was already taking her into the theater. "And no teasing if I hide my eyes behind the other hand, right?" Most likely she'd end up hiding her face in his shoulder and then stay up all night watching happy, fluffy movies and jumping at every little sound like at any moment a zombie hoard would burst through her door. At least she didn't have to worry about popcorn being thrown everywhere.

Down the row he picked there were already some teenagers, probably about the same age they were when they first started dating, going at it. "You do know the back row of a movie theater is reserved for making out and other indecent activities, right?" she whispered to him as the lights dimmed and the screen flickered to life.

The previews had just started and already she was holding his hand. Then the movie began and within ten minutes she had jumped at least five times. Another horrific scene flashed on the screen and Devin turned her face into Brice's shoulder as best as she could in these older theater seats that had the armrest in the way. The Princess and the Frog was starting to look better and better.

"I haven't made out in a movie theater in a long time. I must have forgot." He said, already distracted by the previews that were playing on the screen. He was serious about previews. They made him feel like a movie critic. Oh that one is gonna be good. I'll pass on that one. Can't believe they are remaking that. He always got to the movies early so not to miss them.

On a scary scale of 1 to 10, he'd give this movie a 5. He'd seen better and he'd seen worse. He'd give it a B. But now that he'd been sitting there for a little bit, he realized he had nothing to munch on in his hands. Popcorn was essential to watching any movie! Devin would be alright if he went, right? She was jumping constantly and was probably wearing a bald spot on his arm in the way she was squeezing it. Now he remembered why he took her to scary movies in his youth. Ulterior motives.

"Hey, I'm going to get some popcorn. Do you want anything?" He whispered to her, turning towards her in the seat. He could send her out to get it, but there was the off chance that she wouldn't come back or would go sneak into another movie just to avoid this one. Not that he thought she'd really do that, but you couldn't trust scaredy cats.

There was screaming and blood and well, Devin wouldn't have known about the blood because her face was buried against Brice's shoulder. She held his hand trying to get some sort of comfort for it. How he could sit there and watch it like he was, well Devin would never know. Maybe those two teenagers had it right with the distracting one another that way from the gross scenes playing across the large screen.

Then he was whispering about leaving to get popcorn. Did he not see how freaked out she was by this film? Now he wanted her to sit there in the dark theater by herself? But all that she was able to do was shake her head no at his question and slowly let go of his hand so he could go get his snack.

If anything the movie just seemed to get worse since he left. As the music changed intensity Devin curled up more in her seat. She practically had her face buried in her knees at one point. Why couldn't Iron Man 2 have been playing? That couldn't be as creepy as this movie was turning out to be. Devin hoped Brice's popcorn was worth it. The longer it took him to get back the more sure she was about just going to sit out in the lobby for the rest of the movie. Did that guy just ... yes... yes he did and Devin had her hand over her eyes worrying her lower lip. Romantic views to people getting massacred... that was not a typical progression of a date.

Brice was unaware just how freaked out Devin was right now. He'd assumed that if it got too much for her, she'd just be sensible and close her eyes and ears. But when he came back inside, she was practically curled up into a ball in that seat somehow. He didn't know how she'd gotten every limb within the armrests, but she had.

He shook his head and got back in the seat, setting his popcorn in the seat on the other side of him. "It's only a movie Devin. We can go if you want." He told her, pulling her over to lean into his embrace as best as he could over the armrest. He supposed he didn't understand how a person could get that scared about something that wasn't real. The movie was gory, that was it.

From her balled up position Devin looked up when he rejoined her. She knew it was a movie, knew that it was fake and she was in the safety of reality. No one was going to come up on the street and gut her nor was something going to grab her from underneath the bed. But still she got scared every time something jumped out from around the corner.

Letting her knees go as he pulled her into him, Devin shook her head. "Don't let me ruin your fun. Plus I bet you're getting a good laugh right now at my expense." Something jumped out from underneath something and Devin immediately turned her head into his chest. Her hand fisted the fabric of his shirt. "Is it safe to look?" she asked wanting to know if the incredibly gory part was over.

There couldn't be that much more movie left. And now she was sure that she'd be inviting Brice to stay for dinner just because she didn't want to be alone in case some psychopath came crashing through her door. Maybe they would go back to her place and settle on the couch to some horrible Lifetime movie that involved a kid dying from cancer. "I hate you right now," she teased taking comfort in his arm being around her. "I'm going to have nightmares from this."

"Like I'd laugh at you." He said, rolling his eyes. "Come on." He pulled her up from the seat and started to drag her out of the theater. He'd just bought that thing of popcorn too but hey, it was only 8 bucks. What was 8 bucks? The movie had been what...20? Yeah...30 dollars was just a drop in the bucket, totally. Kind of like pocket change.

In the time they had spent in there, the rain had stopped and though it was still overcast and humid, at least it wasn't pouring down rain. But that didn't mean it wouldn't start pouring down at any moment so he hurried her back to the truck. "Are you gonna be scared of the boogeyman now? Do I need to go in your closets and spray boogeyman repellent?" He remembered Tate saying something about that boogeyman repellent. That when it was naptime for his class, he had to go in all the closets and spray a bottle of water into the air so the boogeyman would stay away. He thought it was particularly cheesy but then he'd never been around kids that much, especially when it came to bedtime and monsters.

"Or I could just stand guard all night. Maybe borrow one of Connor's guns." Actually, Brice had a handgun in the center console of his truck. He'd had to take some concealed carry course that cost him about 90 bucks or so to get the permit to have it. He'd gotten it when he came back home after turning 21, but then it had been kind of useless when the permit wasn't recognized in New York. Speaking of, it was about to expire. But to be honest, that gun had only been fired at the shooting range and that was a long time ago. It was just one of those things that he'd gotten from his dad. The only thing.

"You always laugh at me," she pointed out and then she was being yanked out of the seat. At least it got those teenagers to come up for air at the sudden distraction. They didn't have to leave, really. She would have just not watched the rest of the move and squeezed his hand. Then there was the fact that he had paid and she felt horrible about his money just getting thrown down the drain. Already she was thinking of ways to make it up to him that involved making some god awfully delicious dessert.

"Talked to Tate I see," she laughed once she was settled back into the seat of his truck and again the heavens opened up. Their timing just seemed to be getting better and better. At least the rain brought the heat down a bit more. "Matt had him as a teacher... and don't knock it. It actually works." Brice would learn soon enough in this crash course that sometimes the cheesiest most simple things would set a child at ease when fears started to settle in their head. "But no... no boogeyman repellent needed. Not when there's a Sasquatch in my house," she teased using the nickname that close friends and mostly Connor used.

The thought of him standing guard all night actually was a bit appealing. The few times he had stayed over night the house had felt safer. Connor had made her get a hand gun that she kept in a lock box in the bedside table. There'd be no way Devin could fight off a normal size guy if anyone did break in. Then there was Matt to worry about. But there was something about having a man in the house, more so one that she knew would want Matt to be safe that set her more at ease than she had been in awhile. "Though the standing guard I don't mind. I'll even make you dinner and breakfast for being so brave and sacrificing."

Pulling into her driveway, it still was pouring buckets. "Think we should make a break for it?" How soaked could they really get in the twenty feet between the car and the porch?