The time was 6 pm, and both Sam and Mercedes were at their homes, getting ready for their date.

Sam looked in the mirror as he ran one hand through his neatly combed hair and used his other hand to hold his chin as he got a better look at his face, hoping to see clear skin as opposed to acne.

He was wearing a gray cardigan sweater with a white dress shirt and a black tie, tan khaki pants and black dress shoes.

Happy with his appearance, Sam smirked at his reflection. 'Looking good, Evans.'

After putting his cell phone and wallet, as well as a tube of ChapStick, into his pant pockets then grabbing his keys, he exits his bedroom, walks down the stairs and leaves the house, before getting into his car and driving over to pick up Mercedes from her house.

Mercedes stares into the mirror as she looks at her make-up, pleased with the way her face looks since she only applied a very small amount of make-up, going for a natural look.

She puts on her lipstick and rubs her lips together then gives them a pucker with a 'POP!'

Her hair was curled, styled 'half up, half down.'

She was wearing a yellow, short-sleeved, knee-length dress with a black, slim belt, as well as a black necklace and black earrings. She also wore black, sling-back, peep-toe, high-heeled shoes. Since her dress is yellow, she is wearing a matching, yellow cast cover upon her injured arm.

She smiled while looking at her reflection. 'Looking good, Jones.'

She began placing her make-up products into her purse, including her lipstick, mascara and eye-shadow.

There was a knock at Mercedes' bedroom door.

"Come in," Mercedes said.

Edna-Ruth entered her granddaughter's bedroom. The elderly lady smiled as she looked at the young woman in front of her. 'She looks just like I did when I was her age.' Edna-Ruth thought with a smile. "Mercedes, you look lovely!"

Mercedes smiled. "Thank you, grandma."

Edna-Ruth approached Mercedes as Mercedes zipped up her purse and put it on top of her dresser drawers. The grandmother held Mercedes' hands and gave her granddaughter a kiss on her forehead. "Have fun tonight." She said.

Mercedes nodded.

"I know you're glad that your aunt and uncle are out of town with Roberta." Edna-Ruth said with a chuckle.

Mercedes chuckled too. "Oh my goodness, Grandma! How lucky am I? Surprisingly, I'm excited. I'm not nervous at all. But I know that I wouldn't be able to say that if everybody else was here, making things awkward."

"Well, luckily, you don't have to worry about that. After all, you have the coolest Grandma ever." Edna-
Ruth said in a casual tone.

Mercedes smiled. "I sure do."

Edna-Ruth smiled as well.

Suddenly, they both heard the sound of the doorbell as it rang.

"I'll answer the door," the grandmother said. She opened Mercedes' bedroom door and closed it after she exited the room. Edna-Ruth began heading downstairs.

While opening the front door, Edna-Ruth smiles. "Good evening, Sam," she said. "My, my, my, you look handsome." She stepped aside, allowing him to enter the home. After she closes the door, she notices the bouquet of flowers that Sam is holding. "Oh, those are beautiful."

He smiles too. "Good evening, Mrs. Geiger. And thank you, for both compliments. I hope that Mercedes agrees with you." He said with a chuckle.

Edna-Ruth chuckled as well. "Trust me, she will."

Mercedes checked her reflection in the mirror once more. She breathed deeply and smiled. Happy with her appearance, she walks over to the door and opens it before exiting her bedroom.

As she walks down the staircase, Mercedes sees Sam. She smiles. "Hi, Sam."

Sam smiled uncontrollably as he sees Mercedes. "Hi, Mercedes. You look incredible!"

Shyly, she looked at the floor for a brief moment, as her cheeks and ears began to get warm. "Thank you." She said, unable to stop smiling herself. "So do you."

Now Sam is the shy one. He hopes that he isn't noticeably blushing. "Thanks." He said. "These are for you." Sam referred to the flowers as he handed the bouquet to Mercedes.

Mercedes took the bouquet. "These are beautiful."

"I hoped that you would like them. They're a mixed assortment instead of the typical roses. I just wanted you to have something special." He said.

Mercedes nodded with a smile. "They certainly are special. Thank you." She said.

Sam smiled back.

She smelled the lovely scent of the flowers. "Grandma, could you put these in a vase for me, please?"

"Sure, sweetie." Edna-Ruth said before she took the bouquet.

Edna-Ruth, Mercedes and Sam walked towards the front door.

Sam and Mercedes stepped outside of the house and onto the porch as Edna-Ruth approached the doorway.

"I'll be back before midnight, grandma." Mercedes said.

Edna-Ruth smiled. "Okay." She said. "You two have a good night."

"We will." They said, in unison.

"Goodnight, Mrs. Geiger." Sam said.

"Bye," Mercedes said.

Sam and Mercedes held hands as they approached Sam's car. Sam opened the passenger door of the car for Mercedes. She thanked him before entering the car. Once she was inside, Sam closed the door and walked over to the driver's side of the car before entering as well. After they both put on their seatbelts and Sam checked the mirrors, he started the car.

Sam backed out of the driveway and began driving away from the house.

Mercedes looked at Sam and asked him a question. "So, are you finally going to tell me where we're going tonight?"

Sam shook his head. "Nope." He said.

Mercedes playfully rolled her eyes.

Sam smirked at her.

"I thought you were going to tell me when you picked me up. You haven't mentioned anything at all about where we're going. Instead, all you told me was that you want me to be 'surprised.'" Mercedes said.

"You won't know until we get there. And that is to be said for each place we go." Sam said.

Confused, Mercedes wrinkled her brow. "'Each place we go?'" She asked. "And just how many places do you plan on taking me tonight?"

Sam smiled. "I'm not telling you that, either." He looked at her and winked before focusing on the road again.

Mercedes smiled as well. In understanding, she nodded. "Okay."

Eventually, they arrived at Breadstix.

Sam drives into the parking lot, finds a parking space and parks the car.

After exiting the car, they begin walking towards the entrance of the restaurant.

"Ah, yes, the famous Breadstix." Mercedes said. "Everybody really loves this place, huh?"

Sam chuckled. "Yeah. Geez, you really didn't visit Lima before you moved here."

Mercedes chuckled too. "No. Since my grandmother's home is in Fairfield, whenever all of us were able to get together as a family, it was at her house or a restaurant in the area. There was never a reason to go anywhere else."

Sam nodded. "Yeah, that makes sense. But, hey, you're here now. And as a 'Liman,' it is your obligation to love Breadstix. Understand?"

Mercedes smiled. "Fine." She said.

Sam smiled as well. He opened the door for Mercedes before they both approached the Host-stand.

The host smiled at them. "Hello, welcome to Breadstix. How may I assist you this evening?"

Sam spoke. "Hi, we have a reservation. I made it under the name 'Evans.'"

The restaurant worker looked at his list of reservations for the night. "Evans, dinner for two." He read. After grabbing two menus, he stepped from behind his stand. "Right this way," he said to the teenagers.

They walked over to a table located in the center of the restaurant.

The table was set beautifully, with a tablecloth and silverware, as well as two lit candles.

The host pulled out Mercedes' chair for her and she thanked him as she sat down. Sam sat down too.

The host gave both Sam and Mercedes a menu. "Your waiter will be with you in a moment." He said with a smile before he began walking back towards the front of the restaurant.

Mercedes looked at the candles. "I don't remember Breadstix being THIS type of restaurant." She said.

Sam chuckled. "Yeah, that's because it isn't. I've never known of the workers setting a table like this before. Honestly, I didn't think that they would even have any of this kind of stuff available or even know how to go about doing all of this. But they pleasantly surprised me." He said. "I figured I could at least ask." Sam smiled at her.

Mercedes smiled back. "I appreciate it." She said.

"Don't worry about it, really." Sam said.

Mercedes was curious about something. "Hopefully, you haven't given me a reason to 'worry.'" She said. "Please tell me that this didn't cost too much."

Sam shook his head. "Mercedes, you have nothing to worry about." He tapped his wallet. "I've got this." Sam winked at her.

She giggled.

They looked at their menus and it didn't take either of them a long time decide what they wanted to eat.

The waiter approached the table. He put down a basket of breadsticks. After he introduced himself, he took their orders.

"I'll have the pasta with grilled chicken, and I'd like olives and peppers as well as the sauce, please." Mercedes said.

Sam spoke next. "I'll have the same."

They also choose their appetizers and drinks.

The waiter wrote down the orders. Before he left, he told Sam and Mercedes that he would be back with the appetizers and drinks, and that their main dishes would be ready soon.

Sam and Mercedes reached for a breadstick at the same time and grabbed the same one, Sam grabbed the top of it and Mercedes grabbed the bottom of it.

They smiled at each other.

As though they were able to read each other's mind, they bent their ends until the breadstick snapped in half, at the center.

They leaned forward, towards each other.

Mercedes fed Sam a bite of her half of the breadstick, then Sam did the same for Mercedes. With no thoughts of their main dishes, they continued doing so until the basket was empty.

A few hours later, Sam and Mercedes walked out of the movie theater.

"That movie was even better than I thought it would be." Sam said.

"Yeah, I thought so too." Mercedes agreed.

Sam had an idea. "Your favorite movie." He said, implying that he and Mercedes would both immediately say what their favorite movie is. This is a game that they'd been playing throughout their date.

They spoke in unison. "'Avatar!'"

They laughed.

"Unbelievable. I never thought that I would meet another fan of 'Avatar.' Almost everyone I know has basically said that they think it's overrated." Sam said.

"I know what you mean." Mercedes said. "Personally, I think that the people that say things like that are secretly the biggest fans."

Sam nodded. "I don't get it. Seriously, what was there to hate? The movie was perfect."

Mercedes nodded her head too. "It sure was."

They continued their discussion about movies as they walked towards the parking lot.

Several minutes later, they were getting close to an area that was unknown to Mercedes and special to Sam.

Sam drove up the hill until they approached the top.

Once they came to the top of the hill, Sam parked the car before he and Mercedes exited.

He took her hand and they began walking along a pathway that led towards trees.

The light from the streetlights, meant to illuminate the surrounding streets, provided enough light within the area so Sam and Mercedes were able to see where they were going.

They walked beside the trees until they entered a new area.

The area was a rare one, especially in a town like Lima. Located at the highest elevation point in Lima, separated by trees from the traffic and businesses, there was an area of nothing but grass. This area was in the shape of a circle. If you looked straight up, you saw nothing but the sky, if you looked straight down, you saw nothing but grass, and if you looked straight ahead, in front of you, there was the town.

Mercedes was stunned. "…This…is…awesome."

Sam smiled. "It is, isn't it?"

Mercedes nodded. "How long and how often have you come here?" She asked.

"For a while, and as often as I can." Sam said. "I've always wondered if other people have visited this area, as long or often as me, or at all. I've never seen anyone here when I arrive or when I leave."

"Well, that might not be true from now on, since I know about it now," Mercedes said, jokingly.

They both laughed.

"That's okay. I wouldn't mind sharing it with you." Sam said.

Mercedes smiled at him.

Sam brought Mercedes towards him so that she was now standing in front of him. While standing behind her, he intertwined their fingers as they held hands and moved their hands so that they were now in front of Mercedes, and Sam's arms were wrapped around her waist.

They continued to look around, at the grass and the sky as well as the town, just enjoying all of what they were able to see.

"You know what?" Sam asked.

"What?" Mercedes asked.

Sam chuckled. "I found this place unintentionally." He said. "When I was a kid, I would spend most of my free time going on bike rides. Over the years, I dared myself to go further and further away from my house. And one day, I came across all of this." He smiled. "And I've been coming here ever since."

Mercedes was intrigued. She looked at him as he spoke again.

"I usually come here when I need to do some 'serious' thinking or when I want to be alone, as in someplace that no one will find me, or both." He chuckled again. "This is one of the only things about Lima that I'll actually miss after we go off to college."

"I can see why." Mercedes said. "This is beautiful."

Sam looked at her. "Weird. Here I was thinking that the only beauty around me right now is you."

Mercedes smiled.

They continued enjoying the area, the view of the town and their time together.

About an hour later, they returned to Mercedes' house.

After he exited the car himself, Sam opened the car door for Mercedes and grabbed her hand as she exited the car as well, before they walked to the front door of her house.

Once they approached the door, Mercedes turned around and stood face-to-face with Sam.

"I had the best time tonight." Mercedes said. "Thank you, for…everything."

It made Sam happy to hear her say that. "So did I. And you don't have to thank me for anything."

Sam and Mercedes looked deeply into each other's eyes.

Sam wanted to ask her something. "Mercedes?"

"Yes?" Mercedes responded.

They held hands.

"I-…You-…" Sam struggled to find the right words so that he would be able to ask what he wanted to ask. He took a deep breath. "Okay."

Mercedes listened carefully.

Sam asked Mercedes the question. "Would you be my girlfriend, Mercedes?"

Mercedes looked at their joined hands with a smile and smiled at Sam as she answered his question. "Sam…I would love to be your girlfriend."

Sam smiled at her as well.

They shared a kiss. As they kissed, Sam put his hands on Mercedes' hips and Mercedes held the back of Sam's head with one of her hands.

Soon, they ended the kiss, pressing their foreheads together as they looked at each other and smiled.

Mercedes got her house keys from her purse, unlocked and opened the door. "I'll see you tomorrow?" She asked.

"Yeah. I'll call you in the morning." Sam said.

Sam and Mercedes shared one more kiss before ending their date.

"Goodnight," Mercedes said.

Sam said so as well. "Goodnight."