Paulina arrives at Jake's work for their "friendship" date finding him tinkering with his motorcycle wearing his distinguishable black leather jacket. She is ready for some excitement unsure of what Jake has planned. "Hi." She stops just short of him, "you look very hot, McKinnon."
He hands her the helmet before kissing her cheek. "You look more hot." They both sit on the bike and Paulina immediately clings onto his waist. "Hold on tight. We should be there in about thirty minutes."
She forgoes asking for more details; she is well-aware he relishes these types of surprises. About half way to the destination, Paulina starts really paying attention to where they are traveling while liking the cool breeze. At their next stoplight, she speaks up into his ear. "This looks awfully familiar."
Ten minutes pass and Jake parks the motorcycle on a long gravel road, about halfway down just passed a sign that reads 'Private Property'.
"We're here." He reaches for her hand.
"Am I crazy or is this the same land we found..." She unwraps her thin checkered scarf to just hang loosely around her neck.
"You're right. It was on a bike ride one weekend." He looks into her eyes and grabs her hand, "Let's take a walk."
Paulina is amazed. "Do you remember when we found this?"
Jake passes a forest of mature oak trees heading straight for the barn. "It was a chilly autumn day a few weeks before our wedding." The joy is plastered on his face as she surveys the land recalling what made them stop the first time all those years ago. "You know there's about twenty-five acres or so."
Paulina rests at the stone retaining wall at the end of the drive. "Honey, why are we here?" He stands in front her crossed legs, "I know we talked about plans for this place and then…"
"Do you still like it?" Jake plays with her hair between two fingers edging to be closer.
"Yeah... I mean, I haven't thought about it in sometime. It's a tremendous piece of land." She looks up at him. "What?"
Jake takes a deep breath, "Don't get mad." He witnesses her face go from jovial to mystified. "I bought this place, all twenty-five plus acres, after I… returned." Her jaw drops, "I know, I know.. I was going to tell you, give it to you as a present on our last date together. You know… the dancing on the roof top. But, well you know how that ended." He ends his monologue out of breath and full of nerves.
Paulina recalls that difficult night. "Let me get this straight. You bought all of this for us and you have been making payments on it all this time."
He confirms with shy grin. "I never let go, Paulina. We wanted this place to be our future." Jake starts to pace in front of her. "Anyways, it's been somewhere for me to escape and remember us, remember our love." He points to the barn, "I've worked on that for the last few years."
"Seriously... I want to see." She starts to run towards the barn and hollers back, "Come on." They head in that direction passing the pond.
They pause outside the door of the six thousand square foot, two-story redwood cedar shake barn with a green roof. Paulina closes her eyes as Jake slides open the barn door. The enthusiasm is very evident. She saunters in slowly becoming quickly immersed with the hay, the tall ceilings, the black trimmed windows, and the group of horse stalls.
"This is breathtaking, Jake." She turns to find him leaning against a horse stable rail. "I would not change a thing. I cannot believe you did this…" She is so stunned by his romantic gesture.
He responds shyly, "Well, I like you."
She walks towards him, "I like you too."
He looks over his shoulder, "Tell me, again. Is this it? You and me, together."
Without hesitation, Paulina wraps her arms around him from behind. "This is it. Us. Together."
He holds her hands tight against his chest. "We've been tested… so many times."
She rests her chin on his shoulder, "We sure have." She inhales deeply catching a glimpse of a large steel sign above the barn doors. "And, I'm so glad… and blessed to have you back in my life."
He keeps a hold of her hand as he turns to face her. "Paulina," he brushes the back of his hand along her blushed cheek, "Life means something when we're together. And this is it, our chance to build a life. I want to raise our family here."
She grips tighter to his hands, "Jake, look at me, look into my eyes. What you have done, I'll never forget. This is the real thing. We're the real thing. Whatever it is that keeps bringing us back together: kismet, fate, luck, stubbornness. I don't care. I will take it all to share my life with you, forever."
They walk out of the barn hand in hand. The intimacy in this simple act feels so natural for each of them. They sit on a long cumbersome tree branch low to ground.
Jake points to the end plat of land, "We can build our dream home over there."
Paulina threads her arm with his, "It'll be perfect. A new place for us, our family. The kids to run around and play. It's just very exciting." Their hands take a mind of their own. "We could get moving on that… maybe meet with an architect."
Full of elation, "Absolutely, is next week too soon?"
"No, not at all." Paulina holds Jake's head in her hands, "Thank you for this..."
Standing near Jake's parked motorcycle after returning from their afternoon adventure, Paulina finds herself fondling the zipper on his jacket. He gravitates closer feeling her body ache for him. Though their relationship remains to be a secret, their electricity lights the town.
"I want this all the time. You holding me." She feels his hands move to her hips.
His thumbs graze her soft skin. He hears her suck in air between those lush lips.
Paulina closes her eyes focusing on words, "Before you go, I want to tell you my remaining favorite memory."
Jake reinforces, "Not including today…."
She runs a hand thru his thick black short hair. "I was thinking about this last night. We are so lucky to have so many amazing times together. This memory may shock you, but I have my reasoning." She moistens her lips, "Your body, your voice…your heart. It's all a temptation for me, always has been, Jake." She looks up to stare into his striking eyes, "It was one of the several times where I would say 'I hate you' during our squabbles. Then you'd seduce me… with that look and that kiss."
Jake smirks in disbelief, "I'd seduce you?" His thumbs move in a circular motion, with one hand moving closer to her belly button.
She bites her bottom lip gripping onto his jacket collar for balance. "We had just shared a shower after some stupid argument." A groan escapes, "You were standing behind me facing the mirror in the bathroom. All naked, dripping wet, and you gave me this look… it melted me. You described every part of me." She smiles, "You never were bashful with your words or your touches. But that moment, it was different. It was like you were painting me."
He moves his hands to hold hers against his chest, "I remember."
"You always made me feel beautiful; you still do… but, that moment Jake…" She brushes her lips against his cheek, "I never felt like that before: empowered and vulnerable at the same time. I was floating on air…"
Jake makes a mental to note to not let moments like that pass by: spoiler her, prioritize her… us. They both feel what they had is blossoming into something more, bigger, deeper.