They landed about an hour and a half after takeoff.
Jonathan had arranged for a rental car and it was waiting on them when they landed.
"Ok folks. I'll be at a sports bar up the street. Just call me when you need me".
"Thank you, Jack".
"Thanks Jack".
They got in the car and drove along.
"Darling, where are we?"
"We are in Sacramento. A buddy of mine owns a restaurant up here, and I called and reserved it for the whole night, for just the two of us".
"How sweet".
He drove them to the restaurant and then parked and opened the door for her.
He took her hand and led her inside.
"Hello, Mr. Hart, Miss Edwards".
"Hi."
"Your table is ready, right this way".
They were taken to a table in the middle of the restaurant that had been set with the most beautiful square plates with a silver ribbon, and two tall candles in silver candle sticks.
Jonathan pulled her chair out for her, and then took a seat right next to her.
"Darling, would you like some wine, or some champagne?"
"Some wine would be nice. Zinfandel if they have it".
Jonathan turned to the waitress.
"Bring us your best bottle of White Zinfandel, please".
"Yes sir".
They perused the menu and made their selections and then placed their orders when the waitress came back.
"I will put these in right away. Do you want your salads to come out with your meal?"
"Yes, please".
"Ok, you are looking at about 25-30 minutes."
"Thank you".
The waitress got out a camera.
"Ok, lean in close and smile".
Jennifer managed to make it look convincing.
"Great. Pick this up at the hostess stand when you leave".
Jennifer took a sip of her wine, and then looked around the room.
"This is a lovely restaurant".
"Yes, it is".
"So, your friend owns it?"
"Yes, and he's the head chef. His name is Marc Eddleton. He's a good guy".
The band started to play and Jonathan looked over at Jennifer.
"Would you like to dance?"
She nodded.
They made their way to the dance floor and wrapped their arms around each other and started to dance.
She rubbed his back while they danced, and he pressed his cheek against hers.
It felt so good to him to hold her in his arms. He never wanted to let her go.
Jennifer had no idea how long they had been dancing. Time seemed to stand still when she was with Jonathan.
He kissed her cheek when their dances were finished, and they went and sat down.
The head chef brought out their entrees.
"Jonathan, great to see you! It has been too long".
"Yes, yes it has".
"And you must be the lovely Jennifer Edwards. I'm Marc Eddleton".
"Hi, it's lovely to meet you".
"Likewise, ma'am".
"Ok, so we have the 9 oz ribeye, with sour cream mashed potatoes, and a house salad with our special house dressing".
Jonathan raised his hand.
"And we have the Chicken Christopher with a Caesar salad, and some of our house special jumbo asparagus".
"Looks great".
"Please, enjoy your meal, and let my staff know if I can get you anything else. Here is a dessert menu, when you are ready. I can pack it to go if I need to".
"Thank you, Marc".
They had a nice dinner, and both declared the food was out of this world.
"How did you find this place?"
"I attended the grand opening several months ago. He and I were in the Navy together, and he was on kitchen staff. The kitchen staff took turns, meaning one week they would cook, the next they would clean, the next they would serve, and the next they were on breakfast duty. We all loved it when it was his turn to cook, because he always made the meals taste better".
After they were finished eating, they decided to split a dessert.
Jonathan ordered them the chocolate mousse.
After he had paid the bill, they said their final goodbye to Marc and then Jonathan called Jack and arranged for him to head to the airport before they headed to the car.
He opened the door for her and helped her in, and then slid into the driver's seat.
She laced her fingers through his as they drove to the airport.
They made it back to the airport, and after Jennifer was settled on the plane, Jonathan went and returned the rental car and then came back.
"Ok Jack, whenever you are ready".
Jennifer had reclined her seat and kicked her heels off.
As they were taxiing to take off, Jonathan looked at Jennifer.
"Sweetheart, I'm really sorry about last night".
"It's ok, Jonathan. We don't have to talk about it. We don't ever have to talk about it again".
He leaned over and kissed her several times, slowly and with just enough passion to make her want the kisses to keep going.
They kissed for the entire plane ride. Some were short and sweet, some were long and romantic. Every single one was passionate and intense.
Jack buzzed them but they didn't answer.
After he had landed the plane, he came into the cabin.
"Ok, it's time to take the late-show home, unless you want me to start charging admission".
Jennifer started laughing and buried her head on his shoulder.
They got up and exited the plane, and then got in the car.
She laced her fingers through his again, and they drove back to her apartment.
She let him unlock the door, and they went inside.
"Thank you for dinner, that was incredible".
She wrapped her arms around his waist.
"Forgive me, sweetheart?"
She nodded and kissed him.
"Are all our dates going to be like this?"
He grinned at her.
"Most of them".
He gave her a few goodnight kisses and then headed home.
"See you tomorrow, Miss Edwards".
"See you tomorrow, Mr. Hart".
She closed the door behind him, and smiled the whole way to bed.
***Saturday***
Jennifer was in the middle of a double, and she was more than slammed. She stepped into the kitchen to take a breath for 2 seconds, when the hostess came to find her.
"Hey, you had a phone call. A guy named Jonathan. He said they finished early, so he will meet you at your house when your shift ends".
"Ok thanks".
By 9 p.m., she was dead on her feet, and all she could think of was getting a bubble bath.
Her final table was a table of 26. She stayed on top of it, and they rewarded her handsomely.
As soon as they left, and she put in her tip-share, the manager came and called her in the office.
"Hi, I have your tip-share for the last few weeks, from the bar".
"Oh, thank you".
"Also, Emily wants to know if you and her can switch shifts-she says you can have her Thursday if she can have your Monday".
"Yes, please".
"Great. Good work today. Go on home, I'll have the busboys clean your tables and do setup".
"Thank you immensely".
She barely had the energy to walk in the door.
She was glad to find Jonathan sitting on the couch.
"Hi darling".
"Hi baby. You look beat".
He stood up to hug her.
He leaned over and kissed her.
"I am".
"Well, I was going to fly us somewhere tonight, as a surprise".
"We can do it, I just need a hot bath first".
"Sure".
He poured her a glass of wine, and then took it to her in the bath.
"Oh great idea. Thank you".
He sat in the living room while she took her bath, and then went and sat in the bedroom with her while she packed an overnight bag.
"Dressy?"
"Casual".
"Got it".
"Were you guys busy?"
"Yeah, we were. I didn't get a break all day".
"Darling, how long are you going to wait tables? I can pay for whatever you need if you can't pay for it".
"I can't ask you to do that, Jonathan. We barely know each other".
"Barely know each other? We've been out of town together twice now, and in about an hour we will do it again".
"I didn't mean it like that. Come on, if you're looking for a fight, I promise you, I don't have the energy".
"I'm not looking for a fight. But baby, you make great money working for me. Plus, you have your articles. And I know you said you can make fast cash waiting tables. I just hate to see you so tired after your shift".
"I'm not going to do it forever, I promise".
She finished packing her bag and then they headed to the living room.
"Darling, where is my apron?"
"Oh, it's right here".
He handed it to her and she pulled out a wad of cash from the pocket. She counted it, and then pulled some bills out and put them in her wallet and put the rest in the jar.
"Ok, ready?"
"Yeah. Can I ask for one more favor?"
"Anything".
"I'm starved".
"We can pick something up if you want".
She nodded.
"Let's do this".
2 hours later, she had eaten, taken a short nap on the plane, and they were about to land.
Jack buzzed them and told Jonathan they were landing in 10 minutes.
He leaned over and started kissing her.
"Wake up baby, we are about to land".
She returned the kiss and sat up.
"Where are we?"
"In the most private place I could think of. All will be revealed soon, I promise".
He helped her into the rental car, and began to drive them towards their destination.
"Darling, normally I would book us a 5-star hotel, or as close to 5 stars as I can get. This town doesn't have that, so I just want you to understand we are going for privacy over elegance".
"I'm with you, Jonathan. That's all I need".
He kissed the back of her hand.
A few minutes later, they pulled up into the parking lot of a Best Western.
"Ok, so this is the nicest hotel in town. We have a room here for the night".
"Where are we?"
"We are in the farthest north corner of the state, in Crescent City. Where nobody knows us, or will see us, and we can just be us".
"I love this".
They walked inside and checked in, and then headed to their room.
They had a king-sized suite with all the extras. Jonathan carried their bags inside and set them down.
He went to go fill up the ice bucket for them, and she changed into her nightgown.
She was comfy in the bed when he got back.
He stripped down to his boxer briefs and climbed into bed with her and wrapped his arms around her.
She scratched his chest for a bit and settled on his shoulder.
He just held her and lightly ran his hands up and down her back.
"If I could hold you all the time, I would. This just feels so right".
"You would?"
"Yeah, I would. There was a guy in the Navy who used to tell his wife 'velvet under your feet and gold all over the ground'. I would do the same for you. That's why I hate to see you so dead on your feet after working at the restaurant. I just want to carry you all over the place so you don't get tired. I want to protect you from everything".
"You are the sweetest man I've ever known".
She leaned over and gave him a couple kisses.
"Even at the office?"
"You have your moments".
She played with his chest hair for a bit and then suddenly, she sat straight up.
"Oh my gosh! Table 12 wanted ranch, and I forgot to get it for them and I forgot to tell anyone else!".
"Darling, it's ok. It's alright. I'm sure nobody has ever died from lack of ranch".
She laid back down in his arms.
"I don't know what's wrong with me. When I'm at the office, I'm thinking about my article or about waiting tables. When I'm waiting tables, I'm thinking about the office. I don't mean to be so scatterbrained".
"You aren't scatterbrained. You are adorable, and sexy, and kind, and beautiful, and intelligent, and you are pushing yourself way too hard, darling. You're tired, and that's why you keep thinking about giving people ranch".
She chuckled. "Maybe".
She dragged her fingernail across his chest.
"What did you want to do tomorrow?"
"Oh, we have a few surprises. And the rest, we'll get to when we get to it".
"I love it when you're mysterious".
"I'll remember that".
He held her and stroked her hair till she fell asleep, vowing to be the person she needed him to be every day.
***Sunday***
Around 5 a.m., Jennifer woke up to go to the bathroom and then came back to bed.
Jonathan sleepily wrapped his arms around her as she climbed under the covers.
"You ok?"
"Yeah, I'm fine".
They slept a couple more hours and then woke up.
He rolled over and kissed her cheek.
"Morning beautiful".
"Morning".
"Feel up to having breakfast in bed?"
"Sure".
They called a local restaurant and placed a delivery order and then got comfy again. He turned on the tv and found them a movie to watch.
A few minutes later, their delivery arrived.
She got up to put a robe on, while he paid for it, and then they immediately took it to bed.
"If only we could have breakfast together every day".
"Well, we could, if I wasn't working for you. You want me to quit the office?"
"Not on your life".
She smiled at him.
"I love knowing you are just down the hall from me".
"Yeah, I love it too."
She fed him a bite of her waffle, and he fed her a bite of her French Toast.
"Do you think anyone at the office knows about us?"
"No, I don't. How could they? It's not like we've tipped our hand or anything".
"Yeah, that's true. But some people just have a radar for that sort of thing".
After they finished their breakfast, he bagged up their trash and then went and hung it on the doorknob.
"Ok, time for a surprise".
"What? This early?"
"Yes. So, roll over on your stomach and close your eyes."
She did, and then he straddled her back. He started rubbing some massage oil under her nightgown.
She raised up slightly and pulled it off over her head and laid back down.
He rubbed out all her stress knots and got her completely relaxed. She couldn't recall when she had received a better massage, even one she had paid for.
He rubbed on her back for at least an hour and then gave her a wonderful calf massage.
After her massage was done, they switched, and she gave him a deep-tissue elbow massage.
"We should remember to do this more often".
"I agree".
After his massage was over, Jennifer headed for the shower. She had just finished rinsing off the massage oil when Jonathan stepped in the shower behind her.
He wrapped his arms around her and started kissing her neck.
"Want to soap my back?"
"Sure".
She handed him the soap and he got her all lathered up, and then reached around and soaped her breasts.
"Mmmm".
She shampooed and rinsed her hair while he let his hands roam all over her body, eventually ending up focused on her butt.
She turned around and kissed him, wrapping her arms around his neck.
She shampooed his hair for him, and then kissed his chest and neck as he rinsed the shampoo out.
She stepped out and grabbed a towel, and started drying off. He turned the water off and did the same.
He picked her up and carried her to the bed and gently laid her down.
She grabbed his face and kissed him as he climbed on top of her.
He moved his kisses to her neck, and found this one spot that drove her nuts when he kissed it. She ran her fingers through his hair, as he moved her kisses to her chest. He reached down and squeezed one of her breasts, and then started sucking on her nipple.
"Oh yeah…"
He loved knowing that he could make her breathless with just a flick of his tongue.
He returned his lips to her lips, and then climbed off her and grabbed a condom. He climbed back on top of her a few seconds later, and she threw a leg over his hip. He quickly joined their bodies together and sank himself inside of her with a forceful thrust.
They began rocking their hips back and forth in synchronous motions.
"Oh yeah, baby…"
"Ho….ney….."
They exploded into ecstasy together, but that didn't stop them. They kept going and found their release again. Finally sated, he collapsed on top of her and wrapped his arms around her as they both calmed down.
"You're incredible".
"You're not so bad yourself".
He leaned down and kissed her for several minutes, and then they got up and started getting dressed.
Jennifer went and sprayed some leave in conditioner in her hair and brushed it through.
She came out of the bathroom and found Jonathan sitting on the bed.
She started giggling.
"What?"
"Your hair is so cute. It's sticking straight up".
He ran his hand through it.
"Here, let me fix it".
She sprayed some leave in conditioner in it, and combed it back down.
She leaned down and kissed him and then grabbed her makeup bag and headed back to the bathroom.
"Darling, are we about to leave the hotel?"
"Yes, we are".
"Wonderful".
He got some things together and then once she was ready they headed out.
"Where are we going?"
"On an adventure".