Author's Note: Tumblr prompt of "Our first date is a picnic on a beach under the stars? Have you swallowed a romance novel? Do I need to call a doctor?"
First Date
After a few seconds of convincing himself he had to, Jed pulled himself away from Abbey. He cleared his throat, trying to distract her from the way she had begun sucking on his neck. She persisted, so he had to gently push her off.
"What?" she asked, affronted at the interruption.
He chuckled. "I think it's time I took you on a real date."
Whatever she expected, that wasn't it. She furrowed her brow at him. "What do you mean? Haven't we been dating?"
"Abbey, we've been making out in dark corners for two weeks."
"You've bought me dinner," she pointed out.
"Paying for beers and sandwiches at the diner around the corner from your apartment doesn't count."
She narrowed her eyes at him. "So what does count?'
He grinned. "I'll pick you up at seven on Saturday."
"Where are we going?"
"It's a surprise. Wear something special, but not anything you don't mind getting a little dirty," he recommended.
Abbey was suspicious but decided not to question him at the moment. "So is that it? Can we go back to what we were doing?"
"You are insatiable!" he teased.
"Oh you have no idea." And with that, she kissed him hard on the mouth, tangling her fingers in his thick hair.
Saturday rolled around and Abbey spent hours nervously getting ready. She changed her clothes four times before deciding on a red and white shift dress with blue stockings. The hint of not minding getting dirty was making her nervous. It was well into fall but it hadn't started snowing yet. And it hadn't rained in the last week, so there wasn't much mud to worry about. Jed had a creative streak coupled with a magical enthusiasm that she loved but it did lead to some unpredictable ideas. Especially since he'd quit the seminary, she never quite knew what to expect from him.
She was finishing up her hair when he came to the door. Her roommate, Millie, let him in. "Abbey is almost ready. But it takes time to prepare for a first date."
Jed smiled kindly, trying to hide how strangely nervous he was feeling. "I'm sure she looks beautiful as always." He craned his neck to shout down the hall, "Abb? You ready to go?"
The clattering sound of something falling to the floor echoed from the bathroom. "Almost! I just have to—dammit!—Sorry, hang on!"
"I'm going to see if I can assist," Millie told Jed before jogging down the hall to help.
From where he was standing, Jed could overhear snippets of their conversation.
"For god's sake, why is he always on time! Doesn't he know how long all of this takes?"
"He probably doesn't. And you know he's always punctual."
Abbey sighed. "That's true. How does he look?"
"Excited."
"What's he wearing?"
"Blue polo shirt, khakis, brown loafers," Millie reported.
Abbey moaned quietly. "The polo? Really?"
Millie laughed. "Yes, really."
Jed stood up a little straighter. The idea of Abbey getting excited over what he was wearing calmed his nerves. Though there was no reason he should be nervous. He knew that. They were together. They were happy. But this was an important step in their relationship. Necking in the ancient history section of the library was one thing, but going on a proper date made it more real. More serious.
At last, Abbey emerged. "Alright, how's this? Since I have no idea what we're doing, I wasn't sure what to wear."
Jed smiled brightly. "You look absolutely perfect. I really like that dress."
Abbey's nose crinkled as she grinned. "Thank you." She crossed the room to kiss him hello. "Shall we?"
He offered his arm to her and escorted her out to the car. They drove out of town, Abbey getting more and more curious the further they got form the university. They finally stopped in an empty parking lot near the lake.
Still confused, Abbey let Jed lead her to the beach. It was slow-going, as her shoes were not compatible with the sand. "Jed, what the hell are we doing here?" she asked, stumbling through the darkness. The cool autumn air was starting to give her a chill. But she knew he was excited about whatever this was, so she tried to keep from complaining too much.
"Alright, here it is," he announced proudly. A large blanket had been set up on the beach with a large picnic basket. "I set it up before I came to pick you up, but I wanted to make sure we got here to eat under the stars."
Abbey burst out laughing. "Our first date is a picnic on a beach under the stars? Have you swallowed a romance novel? Do I need to call a doctor?"
His face fell. "Well, if you don't like it…" he mumbled.
She immediately grabbed his arm and pulled him towards her. "No, Jed, I love it, I promise. I just didn't know you were such a romantic!" She gave him a lingering kiss. "It's perfect. No one's ever done anything like this for me before."
He brightened considerably. "Well, you deserve it."
Jed went to work unpacking the basket. The first thing he did was pull out a few candles and a lighter to augment the light from the stars and the moon. Abbey stood by, trying to figure out how to sit on a blanket on the beach in her short dress. Her heels were sinking into the sand. It was unstable and obnoxious. While Jed was busy with the basket, she subtly unpinned her stockings from her garter belt and removed her shoes and stockings before falling to her knees and then sitting herself on edge of the blanket with her legs crossed straight in front of her in the sand. Supremely uncomfortable and awkward, but it was all she could do. She stuffed her stockings in her shoes and placed them in the corner.
"Hey good idea," Jed remarked. He removed his own shoes and socks as well. "Maybe we can wade into the lake after we eat."
Abbey stared at him. "Jed. It's October. It's gonna be freezing!"
He just shrugged. "A little cold water never hurt anyone."
"Tell that to the people on the Titanic," she grumbled.
He chose to ignore her sass. "Alright, I figured we could start with a little Russian vodka."
"Oh very fancy!"
He handed her a shot and they clinked glasses. "To you, Abigail Barrington, and to our first official date."
"To you, Josiah Bartlet, and to our first date of many," she replied with a grin before knocking back the vodka. "Oh my, that's very smooth."
"I thought you'd like it."
He then passed her a platter of bread and cheeses and charcuterie for their picnic meal. He opened a bottle of red wine for them to share. They talked and laughed as they ate and drank. It was just the two of them on the far edge of the beach. No one else was around. And Abbey couldn't think of when she'd ever been so blissfully happy. Spending too much time with anyone usually exhausted her. But not with Jed. Even when he annoyed her, she never wanted him to leave. She realized she could imagine being like this with him forever, even when they were old and gray.
"What?" Jed asked, wondering why she was staring at him like that.
"Oh nothing. This is just the best date I've ever been on."
"You like the picnic?"
She smiled. "Actually, it's freezing out here and I'm fairly certain I've eaten about a tablespoon of sand. But no, it's you. Anything we do is wonderful. We could have sat in your car drinking beers and I still would have had a great time. But this is so sweet and so like you to come up with something like this."
In the flickering candlelight, Jed's blue eyes sparkled as he beamed with absolute adoration of the woman sitting beside him. He was amazed that the perfect moment had presented itself. "Abbey?"
She was caught off guard by his serious tone. "Yes?" she replied tentatively.
"Are we...I mean is this..." He took a deep breath and started again. "Abbey, will you go steady with me?"
She smiled widely. "Of course."
"I didn't think to bring a class ring or anything. This wasn't really how I pictured this going."
"It's alright," she assured him. "I don't need anything. You can just start calling me your girlfriend and I'll be happy."
"You're my girlfriend?" he repeated excitedly.
"Yes I am, boyfriend," she replied with equal enthusiasm. She leaned over their plates and kissed him.
He pulled away with a happy sigh. "Alright, how about we clean this up and wander down to the water?"
Abbey feigned disappointment with the end of their evening. "Oh alright, fine." But she started to laugh, her nose wrinkling happily.
They finished their first date by sharing a cigarette while splashing in freezing water up to their ankles. Abbey wrapped the picnic blanket around her and ran back to the car, laughing breathlessly. Jed followed with their shoes and the basket. In his mind, he was already planning their next adventure, delighting in the idea that, if he was lucky, he'd get to come up with ideas like this for the next fifty years or more.