Special thanks to Hey-Hayley, sister101, potter8, and Sandalaris. They all came up inspired ideas for Kevin to do to make Macy feel better. I used Sandalaris' because the animal thing was just so cute when I played it in my head.

Also, in addition to Sandalaris, potter8 also mentioned shirtless Kevin in her review of chapter five.

I woke up just before noon for the game in a few hours. I was pumped. Lacrosse had always been my favorite. And, Kevin was supposed to be coming to the game. I was a little nervous that he would be there, but I just clasped the chain of my "#1" charm around my neck and hoped for the best.

***

My best sucked. We lost the game. The other team played dirty, but in such a sneaky way that it was impossible for anyone but the players to tell. I saw Kevin waiting for me at the end of the field; I gave him a half-hearted wave and a weak smile before I went to drown my sorrows in the showers. The hot water and my rosemary and citrus shampoo helped lift my mood a little, as well as the hug I got from Kevin when I stepped out of the locker room.

"Sorry about the game," he said softly, "I know how much it meant to you."

"You win some, you lose some," I shrugged.

"Want me to walk you home?" he asked. I nodded and after a ten minute walk, made it to my front door.

We had been talking fairly easily since we left the lacrosse field, but now standing at my door, it felt like the really awkward end of a date.

"So…want to hang out tomorrow? Go to the park or something? I could bring food."

"That sounds really good actually," I said, turning to go.

"Hey, Mace? What's your favorite animal?"

"What a time to ask that, Kevin," I said with a hint of a smile.

"Oh, come on, it could prove to be important."

"Stop wheedling me."

"Stop being difficult."

"I like being difficult."

"I like it when you're difficult," he said, leaning towards me.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," he said in a low voice.

"Then you'll like this," I said, quickly ducking inside the house and shutting the door.

"Macy!" I heard Kevin yell.

I pulled my phone out and sent him a quick text.

I like horses. –Little Miss Difficult

Not even a minute later, I got a reply.

Thank you. See you around noon tomorrow?

I replied,

Sure. Sounds good.

***

Even though I was excited to be spending tomorrow with Kevin, I was still upset about losing the game. I took a long, hot bath, put on my ratty old sweats and t-shirt, climbed into bed with a pint of Ben & Jerry's and watched Ever After and The Princess Bride. I texted Stella some, and felt a little better after a few hours.

When I woke up the next day, I had a text from Kevin,

Wear jeans today. You'll thank me later.

Totally confused, but taking his advice, I found my favorite pair of jeans and threw them on, along with an HMA hockey shirt. I put on a little bit of makeup, looked at myself in the mirror and spritzed a dab of perfume on, just in case we were going to be sitting next to each other or something.

Soon there was a knock on my door and I ran to answer it. Kevin was standing there in another pair of tight jeans and a t-shirt. He smiled at me and said,

"Ready for your surprise?"

"surprise?"

"Yeah, I figured you'd need something to cheer you up after yesterday."

"What did you have in mind?"

"Well, part of your surprise is a picnic…"

"Part?"

"Yeah, part."

"There are multiple parts to the surprise?"

"Yeah."

"What's the other part?" I said excitedly as he opened the car door for me.

"You'll see," he said with an excited smile.

We got to the park and he lifted a picnic basket out of the trunk.

"Come on, but close your eyes, okay? No peeking."

"But how do I know that I'm not going to fall or anything?" I asked, blinking up at him.

"Macy, I'm not going to let you fall, okay? But if for some reason you do, I'll be there to catch you, okay?"

"Promise?"

"Pinky promise," he answered, linking his finger with mine. "Now, you take the basket so I can guide you, okay?"

"Okay," he handed me the basket, his fingers brushing against mine as he did so. He came up behind me, holding my shoulders. He was breathing lightly against my neck as he walked me carefully through the park, occasionally telling me to step up or down, duck a branch or turn left or right.

"Okay, stop here," he said, taking the basket out of my hands, "Open your eyes."

I slowly blinked them open and saw the surprise…

A beautiful white and grey appaloosa horse was standing in a clearing, munching on a mouthful of hay.

"A-a-a horse? You got me a horse?" I asked breathlessly.

"I got you a horse for the day."

"You…got me…a horse…for the day?"

"Well, I mean, I could have bought one for you, but that would have been really expensive and I wasn't sure which horse you would have liked because there were like ten of them I could have picked from. And I-"

"Kevin," I said, putting a finger to his lips, "Renting a horse for the day is just fine. No one's done that for me before. And the horse is beautiful. Really. Appaloosas are my favorite. You did good, mister."

"Really?" he asked, a shy smile on his face.

"Absolutely," I confirmed, giving him a fierce hug. I pulled away from him after a while, smiled and said, "I can ride the horse, right?"

"Of course. That's why I told you to wear jeans. Just ask Doug for a leg up," Kevin said, pointing towards an older man in jeans and a cowboy shirt.

"Aw, is Kevin the cowboy too bashful to help little old me out?" I asked in a Southern accent.

Kevin blushed, but took my hand, leading me to the horse.

"Oh, by the way, her name's Dreamcatcher," he said as he ducked down and cupped his hands, which I stepped into and he lifted me up.

"Wow," I said softly, settling into the saddle, "This is…this is nice."

"What is?" Kevin asked, his hands resting on my knee.

"The view. I'm so tall from here. Not something I'm used to," I said with a laugh.

"Really? Let me check it out." With a nod from Doug, Kevin climbed on to the back of the horse. His arms went around my waist, and we were pressed against each other, my back to his chest. I could feel his breath on my neck again and I was feeling more than a little flustered.

"You're right," he breathed in a low whisper that made me blush furiously, "the view is great."

"You can ride around the park if y'all want, just be careful," said Doug. I had quite forgotten he was there.

"It's been a while since I've ridden a horse, Macy. You sure you feel safe with me?"

In a moment of daring, I pulled his arms more closely around me,

"Now I feel safe," I said with a smirk. Kevin made a sputtering noise, but left his arms around me. He gave Dreamcatcher a kick and we rode off.

About an hour later, we came back. Kevin slipped off the horse first, then helped me down from her back. He was close enough to kiss, but I resisted the urge. Kevin didn't seem like the type of guy to appreciate a girl, even one he liked, planting one on him.

"Want to eat now?" he asked. I nodded, and we sat down on a blanket he had suddenly pulled from the basket.

"What'd you get?" I asked.

"Well…I called Stella up and asked her what foods you liked. I got a bunch of stuff from Italiano's. Fettuccine Alfredo, salad Caprese, those garlic knots, and that chocolate mousse cake. All the things Stella said you liked."

"Kevin…" I said softly, "You didn't have to go through all this trouble. Especially for me."

"It was no trouble. Once the owner heard it was for you, she was ecstatic. She told the cook to give me anything I asked for."

"Really?" I asked, taking the bottle of flavored water he was offering me. The owner was like an aunt to me, and to know that she had helped out with this outing made it all the more special.

"Yeah, she was really tough on me. 'Why are you doing all this for her? You better not hurt her, mister.' I told her I just wanted to make you happy after what happened the other day.

Blushing, I leaned over and kissed Kevin on the cheek. He blushed too and we quickly dug into our food, avoiding looking at each other.

"You used to ride, right?" I asked after a while.

"Yeah, but how'd you know that?" Kevin asked through a mouth full of bowtie pasta.

"Stella told me about that one home video. The one where you were roping the horse? She said you were really cute. Not that you're not cute now, because you are. But you were little boy cute then, and now you're teenage boy cute."

"Well, you're cute too," he said, this time with a mouth full of garlic roll, butter dripping down his chin.

I giggled, ducking my head.

"Kevin, you have butter on your chin," I said to him; I tapped my chin to point it out. He swiped at his chin, but missed.

"Oh, here," I sighed with a roll of my eyes. I leaned forward again, this time brushing my thumb across his chin. I accidentally grazed his lower lip and I bit back a gasp. His eyes locked with mine and we stared at each other for what seemed like forever, but was really only a couple of minutes.

Oh, Lord, I sound like a romance novel. A really cheesy one.

Kevin broke the silence first.

"How about that cake, huh?" he said, turning away from me and pulling the container out of the basket. The slice of chocolate cake, with dark and white chocolate mousse layered in between, lay on its side in the container, whipped cream and strawberries all around it.

"They only had one slice left when I got there...do you mind sharing?"

As if I'd object to sharing a piece of cake with Kevin. We ate the cake, saving the whipped cream and strawberries for last. After the cake was gone, we began a mad fight for the last strawberry. I speared it with my fork, sticking my tongue out at Kevin after I ate it. His response was to scoop some whipped cream from the bottom of the box and smear it across my cheek. I laughed, throwing my napkin at him. He quickly got up from his place on the ground and ran away from me. I chased after him, catching up soon afterward and tackled him, landing on his back.

"Never start a fight with me, Kev. You'll lose," I mumbled into his hair. He laughed, turning over and giving me an awkward hug.

"If you're always going to tackle me like that, I'll gladly start a fight with you."

Okay, so it got kinda cheesy and ridiculous there…but it's Kevin/Macy. I have a feeling they'd be cheesy. Anyways, Italiano's is my favorite Italian place back home with these huge garlic knots covered in butter and parmesan cheese. And their Alfredo is to die for. So's the chocolate mousse cake. Horses are my favorite animal and I would love for a guy (Kevin) to rent me one for the day. And get me a picnic with my favorite foods.