So the date :) I meant to have it up the day after season 3 premiered but life got in the way as it always seems to...

Ring… Ring… Ring…

Cory sat on his living room couch with his cell phone pressed to his ear, his leg jumping up and down in anticipation, waiting for the person on the other line to pick up.

As the phone kept ringing he wondered more and more why he was seeking ideas of dates from this person.

It wasn't like this specific person had had a lot of dating experience of any way, shape, or form.

He felt silly asking someone her age but was he not proven wrong before by this someone? Beyond your years did mean something right?

Plus, after calling a couple other people who gave him date ideas he wasn't exactly looking for, he was really hoping to get that person who would help.

Mark suggested doing a physical date like playing basketball because he could quote on quote, "get all up in her personal business" by playing defense. He really could be like Puck.

That wasn't totally the date he wanted. Sure, one day it'll be nice to "get all up in her personal business" but not for their first date. He really wanted to get out of the friend zone and do something sweet and romantic for her to show her how much he cared.

Then he called Chord who told him to take her out to dinner but he thought that was so normal and cliché that he immediately dismissed the idea.

So after some deliberation, he dialed the number he was calling now.

"Hello?" A deep voice came over the phone.

Cory was snapped out of his thoughts at hearing the call answered.

"H-Hey bro it's me Cory."

"Oh hey Cor. Listen, this really isn't a good time. I'm just about to start a conference call so I'll talk to you later."

"No no don't hang up please! It's really important Shaun." Cory answered quickly.

He heard his brother sigh over the line. "Alright Cory what do you need?"

Cory put his hand on his restless leg to calm it down a little.

"Is Lexi home? I really need her advice."

He did kind of feel a little stupid when he heard his big brother burst into laughter. After a few seconds he caught his breath and asked, "I'm sorry but did I just hear you say that you needed my nine year old daughter's advice?"

Cory nodded his head a little then realized Shaun could obviously not see him nodding so he just responded with a weak "Um yeah."

"Cory, you're a grown man. You don't think you can handle your problems by yourself?"

He sighed. "Listen Shaun, I get what you're saying but I wouldn't be asking if it weren't really important. Just… Please let me talk to her. Is she home?"

"Yeah she just got home from school about an hour ago… Are you sure you absolutely need to speak to her?"

"Yes I'm absolutely 100% positive." He said clearly.

"I'm not going to regret this am I?" Shaun wondered.

Cory lightly laughed. "No it's nothing bad I promise."

There was a short pause before he heard a quiet "Alright" and then another before he heard muffled noises coming over the line.

"Hello?" a soft voice asked.

He smiled a little to himself at hearing his niece.

"Hey Lexi it's Uncle Cory."

"Hi Uncle Cory!" she squeaked. "What's up?"

He was going to start small talk with her but then remembered she was only nine and would probably get bored of that really fast so he figured he'd get right to the point.

"I need your help with something." He waited until he heard a little, "Uh huh" then continued, "Do you remember that girl we talked about when I visited a couple weeks ago?"

"Yes! Dianna? The pretty blonde woman who you're going to marry and have exactly three kids with along with a dog and a nice white picket fence around your house?"

Cory chuckled to himself. She might be the right person to ask.

"Yes that one. Do you want to help me with something?"

"Is it about her?"

Cory smiled. "Yeah it is actually." He took a deep breath then asked, "Where should I take her or what should I do with her on a date?"

Alexis screamed in excitement from the other side. "Yay! So you are getting married! Can I come and be your flower girl?"

He laughed again. "No we aren't getting married Lexi-"

"Not yet then."

"Okay, not yet then. I have to bring her on a date first so we can start having plans for the future. What do you think I should do?"

"You're asking me what you should do?" She asked surprised.

He shrugged. "Well yeah I mean, you seem to know a lot about my feelings for her and I just thought that since you seemed to know what you were talking about then, you would give me good advice now."

"Okay. This is easy then…" She started right way. "You know how my mom loves to ride on things?"

"Huh?" Cory choked out while he stifled a laugh. 'Yeah, my brother.' Yes, he was a little immature… Deal with it.

"Like, she likes to go on rides like on horses and um…"

"I don't think I can get horses for tonight Lexi."

"Okay well, what about a boat ride?"

"A boat ride?" he echoed.

"Mhm a boat ride. Mom loves the ocean and she told me once of this really

nice boat ride she went on with dad for a date. They had a dinner on it and everything."

Cory pursed his lips in thought for a minute. That wasn't a bad idea. But where would he get a boat?

Then it hit him.

"Thanks Alexis! You truly are a child prodigy."

He listened to the giggles on the other side. "Thanks but… what do I get?"

He forced his eyebrows up into his forehead in confusion.

"What do you get?"

"Yep. What was in it for me?"

"Well you got to help out your awesome Uncle." He tried.

"Yeah I know that and that's nice and all but it would be cool if… maybe you came back to see me to thank me in person." She hinted as sweet as she could. "It's always fun to see you."

Cory chuckled a bit. "How about something better? What if I flew you down to L.A. for a weekend and you could hang out with me and the rest of the cast on set for the day? Of course I have to run it by my producers and your parents but I don't think it'll be a problem."

He had to hold the phone back from his ear when he heard loud squeals from the other end. Then he heard Shaun ask if she was okay and her respond with a quick yes.

Cory laughed and put the phone back against his ear.

"So? What do you think of that?" he asked.

"I'd really like that."

"Good then it's settled. I'll talk to some people and see what I can do okay?"

"You promise?"

His eyes softened. "I promise."

"Okay." She said with some excitement.

"Thanks for the idea Lexi. You're my favorite niece."

"I'm your only niece." She stated matter of factly.

"Right…" he said with a laugh. "I'll talk to you later alright?"

"Alright. Bye Uncle Cor have fun on your date."

"I will and thanks again."

After he got off the phone with Alexis he made a couple more calls to some buddies, one of whom who he knew had a boat in a marina in L.A. Since they had been friends for years both being from the Vancouver area, he gladly lent Cory his small yacht sized sailboat and agreed to sail it around the area while they were there since Cory had absolutely no idea how to work a boat. He definitely would have caused them to capsize or something else bad.

Now that he had a boat, all he had to do was figure out what they would do on it.

He remembered how Alexis had mentioned that his brother and his wife had eaten on the boat they went on. If he wasn't sailing he could definitely attempt cooking.

He texted Dianna and told her he'd pick her up at seven.

He took a shower and shaved. Then he took about ten minutes of just staring at different clothes to figure out what he would wear.

First he pulled out some tan slacks with loafers and a button up shirt but then he decided that would be way too formal to go on a boat so he swapped them out for his nicest pair of jeans with a long sleeved polo shirt and a pair of boat shoes. What could be more fitting right?

He looked at himself in a mirror. He snapped his fingers at himself. He did look good. Hopefully Dianna would think so.

Once he was done checking himself out, he picked up his phone from where it was charging on his nightstand and dialed Dianna's number.

A few rings later she picked up.

"Hey Cor!"

"Hey Di!" he greeted back with matched enthusiasm. "So are you ready?"

"I guess so. I wasn't exactly sure what to wear since you always make everything a surprise…"

"The surprise will be worth it and trust me, you look great in anything you wear."

"Aw Cory…" he could tell she was blushing on the other side.

"So I'll come pick you up in fifteen minutes okay?"

"Okay. See you then. Can't wait." She responded.

"Me either. Bye."

After he hung up the phone he brushed his teeth and styled his hair fast then grabbed the keys to his car and made his way to Dianna's apartment but first stopped at a local florist where he bought for the second time, some pink calla lilies.

He pulled up to the curb outside of her building and made his way to her door, calla lilies in hand.

Only after two quick knocks did she open the door.

At first sight of her he was speechless. Literally! He looked her up and down and saw that she was wearing a slimming black v-neck dress with some slight heeled shoes and her hair was down and curled on the ends.

He opened his mouth to say something but only empty breaths came out which earned him a soft growing smile from Dianna.

After a few seconds he finally got words out. "You look beautiful not that you don't always look beautiful but you look extra beautiful tonight."

She kept on smiling. "Thank you and you look really cute too. I just didn't know what to wear and maybe I went out on a limb too much or-"

"No you look absolutely perfect." He interrupted as he handed her the flowers. "These were meant for you a while ago."

She lightly laughed and took the flowers. "Well I'm glad that you decided to still give them to me. I love these." She sniffed the bouquet and smiled then looked behind her. "I don't have a place to put them right now."

Cory shrugged. "Don't worry about it. Take them with you."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah of course. I'm sure we can find a way to put them to good use." He told her with a grin.

She grinned in return. "Okay I will then."

"Alright so… Shall we?" he asked, holding out his arm to her.

She giggled a little and smiled her hundred watt smile while grabbing onto his arm. "We shall."

When they got down to his car he felt like being the gentleman that she deserved after dating Alex so he opened her door for her and closed it once she was in. Then he jogged over to the driver's side.

"So where are we going?" Dianna wondered as she stuck her face in the flowers to smell them again.

Cory glanced over to her quickly before looking back to the road. "Have you ever heard of Marina Del Rey?"

Dianna forced her brows down. "Yeah isn't that the marina right in southern L.A.?"

"Yep."

"You're taking me to a marina?" she asked, unimpressed. "Is that why you wanted it to be a surprise? So I wouldn't say no to going to a marina for a date then I'd have to go once you picked me up?"

"No actually, do you remember the time when you only gave me an address to meet you somewhere once?"

Dianna nodded.

"Well consider this pay back Ms. Quote on quote, 'I know if I don't do it this way, you won't want to go where we're going. I figure once you're there, I'll make you stay.' And end quote." He joked with a smirk.

She playfully rolled her eyes at him with a smirk of her own. "You are such a dork. I can't believe you remember that."

Cory kept on smirking and shrugged. "I knew I'd get you back one day for that so I figured it was something worth remembering."

They drove for another fifteen minutes before Cory pulled off the main road and onto a smaller road that led to the marina entrance.

Dianna watched through the window as they passed by many boats when she noticed them slowing down.

"We're here." He simply said.

'Why are we here?' she thought to herself.

He jumped out of the car and opened her door for her for which she thanked him yet again. She loved old sappy movie moves like that.

"Would you mind handing me the flowers?" Cory asked. Dianna gave him a weird look but handed the bouquet over anyway. Then she watched as Cory pulled out a tie from his pocket.

"What's that for?" she wondered a little warily.

"Your eyes." He answered with a smirk.

"My eyes?"

Cory nodded. "I told you this was going to be a surprise and I meant it."

She raised an eyebrow at him in worry and he just sweetly smiled at her.

"Don't worry okay."

"Sure, that's what all the killers say before they stab an innocent woman on the boat docks." She joked.

Cory threw a hand over his face. "Aww man! I can't believe you figured out my plan already! I'm going to have to resort to plan B!"

They both laughed and he tied the material over her eyes then he held onto her arm directing her carefully to the boat.

After what felt like forever to Dianna, she felt him stop her in her tracks then she felt his hands at the back of her head, untying the tie knot.

The next sight she saw was truly amazing.

Her mouth fell into a big O as the tie dropped from in front of her eyes. There, right in front of her was a beautiful big sailboat. It had a tall mast with bright white Christmas looking lights cascading down its lines. It had small lights on the edges of the boat and there was even a vase filled with water sitting on a small table built in behind the captain's wheel with a man that donned a captain's hat holding onto it. There were even a few rose petals scattered on and around the boat's entrance to boot.

Cory was so sweet!

Cory looked at Dianna's beaming and awe struck expression. He loved to make her happy.

He wasn't sure about the rose pedals at first thinking that he might have gone over the edge with them but Dianna's expression made him sure he made the right choice.

Then he looked to his friend that gave him a subtle thumbs up. Cory gave him a quick wink back.

"So… Surprise!" Cory exclaimed looking to Dianna who was still staring at the sailboat.

"Cory this is amazing!" she began while looking back to him with a huge smile. "How did you do all this in a matter of an afternoon?"

"I'm a very important person in the world of competitive boating. They all look up to me for my skills." He enlightened her nonchalantly.

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Really?" she challenged.

Cory nodded. "Absolutely. Clearly you didn't know that I race boats in my spare time off the show and I'm actually pretty good."

Dianna just stood and stared at him with her arms folded over her chest. "You know, I'm just having an extremely hard time believing you here."

Cory's smile grew and he looked away from her. "Okay maybe I over exaggerated on how good I was."

"Cory…"

"Okay okay, I just have some good friends and one of them happens to own this boat."

He pointed over to the man standing at the wheel as the two of them walked up to the threshold where the boat met the dock. Cory hopped over the small gap first then held out his hand to Dianna to help her over.

Once they were on the boat they met up with Cory's friend.

"Di, this is Reed, one of my good friends from home. He has a vacation home in Malibu." Cory gave Reed a quick bro hug then Dianna shook his hand.

"Nice to meet you Dianna." Reed said.

"Same to you." She returned with a friendly smile.

"Yeah well, Reed here agreed to be our captain for the night and sail us around the area for a little."

"Oh I thought you were a world class sailor Cory?" Dianna asked with a smirk.

"Yeah um, I just… you know-"

"Can't actually sail a boat." she finished for him.

"You are absolutely right." He admitted and they laughed. "I'd probably sink us some how."

"I'm glad Reed is here then."

"Me too." Cory agreed while he glanced over to Reed who gave him a light smile then back to Dianna. "So do you want to walk around the boat and see what it's like before we go? I just want to talk to Reed really quick first."

"Sure."

Dianna gave him one last fleeting smile before she walked around the side of the boat to the front.

"Thanks a lot dude I really owe you one." Cory told Reed who just shook his head.

"Hey don't worry about it. You've helped me so many times back home I just figured this would be one of the ways I'd make it up to you. So are you ready to set sail?"

"Yeah totally." Cory was about to turn around when he remembered something. "Oh by the way, did you remember to pick up those food ingredients I asked about?"

"Yeah I did that. Don't worry about it. Everything for your dinner should be set."

Cory let a soft smile appear on his lips. "Thanks man, like seriously. And oh, nice hat." He smirked.

"Yeah haha laugh at the hat." Reed shot back.

Cory quickly laughed then made his way to the front of the boat to meet up with Dianna.

He watched as he walked and saw that she was looking at the ocean as the sun set.

He slowly stepped next to her and looked out, then she looked to him.

"This is really beautiful Cory." She commented then returned her view back to the sunset.

He just kept staring at her. "Yeah, it really is."

After last minute checks of the boat, they began to sail around.

Cory and Dianna were having a great time.

After being friends for such a long time, Cory wasn't really sure going into their date if they could make the friend to potential couple transition but now he was totally thinking it could go smoothly.

Their chemistry was undeniable. There was never a lull in conversation and they always were good around each other; never an uncomfortable moment.

He finally had found someone to laugh at all his idiotic jokes and 'awesome' dance moves she had finally found someone who she knew was into her and only her unlike Alex.

Cory was sweet, funny, kind, gentle, romantic, and just plain such a great guy. He was always there for her and she loved that. She loved him.

After some time of Dianna teaching Cory some new, better dance moves, he knew he had to start cooking dinner.

"Hey I'm getting pretty hungry. What about you?" he wondered.

She nodded her head. "Yeah I could go for something to eat."

"Great let's go."

They made their way back to the stern of the boat.

"Dianna, would you like to sail the boat?" Reed questioned her.

Her eyes grew wide. "Really?"

"Yeah sure. It's not too hard. I figured since we're here I could give a lesson on sailing."

"What about Cory?" She didn't want to leave him out.

"Don't worry about me Di. I'm gonna cook." He explained.

"Wait you're cooking?" Dianna asked in disbelief.

"Yes I'm going to cook." He echoed. "It's either that or I drive the boat and we capsize."

"Yeah go to the kitchen Cor." Reed ordered definitely not wanting Cory to take the wheel. Especially after that one time growing up and going to summer camp where they took sailing lessons…. He didn't even want to think about it.

Dianna giggled. "Are you really that bad?"

"Listen, I'm not kidding when I say this Di. It wouldn't be the first time I would capsize a boat." He assured her, sharing the same thought as Reed and they shared a knowing look.

"Okay." Dianna agreed with another giggle and grabbed the wheel from Reed.

Cory gave her a quick grin before retreating into the boat's cabin. There, he pulled out the ingredients to make a pizza out of the cabinets.

Why was he making pizza instead of something more romantic?

Well, he figured the boat itself was pretty romantic but at the same time, even though he wanted out of the friend zone, he still wanted some aspect of that in their relationship. He always believed the best relationships came out of friendships.

So when he started, it took him two tries to make the crust of the pizza.

The first time he thought he'd be like a professional and threw the crust up in the air. When he went to catch it though, he wasn't a professional. It ended up landing right on the floor.

After that, he decided to just work with the dough right on the counter.

Finally, an hour later, his creation was finished and Cory thought it actually looked edible.

Before he brought out the pizza, he made sure everything outside was set. There were two plates in the table with napkins since they would need them, and the calla lilies were in the vase as well.

As soon as he saw Dianna sit down at the table he brought out the pizza and her eyes went wide in surprise.

"Ah you actually managed to make something." She teased with a giggle and Cory gave a slight smile in return.

"Yeah you know, I figured since I was the master at cooking frozen pizzas I could manage a real one." He joked back.

He set it down on the table and Dianna eyed it intently.

"Well it looks pretty good but is it edible?" she smirked with a quirked eyebrow.

"Wh-what? Is it edible?" Cory playfully scoffed. "I guess we will have to find out. You can be the guinea pig."

Dianna cocked her head back in surprise. "Oh no Cor. I am not being your test subject."

"Oh fine then." Cory picked up a slice of the pre cut pizza and took a big bite. Honestly, to his surprise, it was actually good, like really good. He knew those cooking shows he used to watch combined with Lea's tutoring would pay off.

"Oh… Oh my god… This is so good." He gushed as he chewed and smiled at the blonde across the small table who only raised an eyebrow at his food filled moans.

"Okay then." She finally said and picked a slice for herself.

Cory watched as her face contorted into one of surprise after she took a bite. "Wow Cory, this is actually amazing!"

"See? And you doubted me."

"Cory, I'm pretty sure this is the first thing you've ever made that tasted good… No offense." She added.

He shrugged. "Eh, no offense taken. I'm quite aware actually." He laughed.

As they finished eating Dianna asked, "So why pizza? Was it because it was the only thing you can actually make?"

Cory smirked and shook his head at her. "No…"

Then she gave him an 'I don't believe you' look.

"Okay yeah… It's really the only thing I could make but it wasn't my thinking for tonight. I always thought pizza was a good friendly kind of meal and even though I don't want to be just friends with you, I wanted it to symbolize what we already have. I never want to lose your friendship no matter what." He finished looking straight at her seriously but still with a soft smile.

She let a growing smile on her face. "You are truly the sweetest guy I know Cor and you'll never lose me."

Just then Reed walked over to the table. "Sorry to interrupt guys but I wanted to contribute a little something extra to this date."

Cory looked at him curiously and watched as he pulled a bottle from behind his back.

"Would anyone like some dessert champagne?"

Cory immediately looked over to Dianna who was still eyeing the bottle.

"I know pizza and champagne is a weird combo but I think you two should try it. My wife Sheila swears by this stuff." He added.

"How about it Di?" Cory asked.

Dianna returned her gaze back to Cory and let out a breath. "Hmm… Why not? Best combo ever right?"

Cory let out a light chuckle. "Right… Yeah we'll try some man. Thanks."

"No problem Cor." He returned as he pulled two champagne glasses from a nearby cabinet and poured them some.

They ended up sipping on their champagne as they sat in the front of the boat and watched the distant lights of the skyline and the gentle waves.

It was really nice, then Dianna got up from her seat and put her glass down on a small ledge.

"I have an idea." She informed him and Cory noticed that mischievous twinkle in her eye.

"What kind of an idea?" he wondered with furrowed brows.

Dianna motioned her head in the direction of the small climbing space you could go up and it would take you on top of the boat's indoor cabin. It was basically the roof of the cabin.

Cory didn't get a word out before she slipped off her heels and began climbing on top of the roof.

"Hey Reed! Can we go up here?" Cory questioned his friend who was peering over from the side as he continued to sail the boat.

"Eh why not?" he returned.

Cory gave him a quick smile before putting his glass next to Dianna's then followed up next to her.

They both laid down on the top and stared at the stars. Dianna snuggled into Cory's side and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders so her head was resting on it.

"It's really nice to be able to look up and see the stars huh?" she commented, mesmerized by the shining dots in the black sky.

"Yeah it is. We never get to see them because of all the lights in the city."

"We should totally cause a city wide power outage so everyone can enjoy something like this." Dianna suggested.

"Dianna's master plans."

"Most definitely." She agreed with a smile and giggle.

After a few more minutes, Cory searched around for a certain star and found it.

"That one right there," he began pointing to the sky. "That one is the North Star. It'll help you find your way if you're ever lost."

Dianna shifted her head to look at him. "And where did you learn that?"

"I was a pretty good boy scout when I was younger growing up in Victoria." He stated proudly.

"Is that so?" she mused and he nodded. "Well no offense but, they didn't teach you boys very well. That one right there is actually the North Star." She corrected him, pointing to an even brighter star a little further from Cory's original star.

Cory let out a sigh and closed his eyes in shame. "Aw my scout leader would not be impressed."

"Hey," Dianna drawled. "Don't be embarrassed. It was a good attempt." She watched as Cory's lips began to form a smile. "I guess girl scouts knew a little more than just how to sell cookies."

"You were a girl scout?"

Dianna smiled. "Yep. My brother was in the boy scouts growing up so I decided one day that I wanted to join something like that too. I would just like to make it known that I got more badges than he did." She responded with a proud smile.

"That's pretty cool. Now you know I missed out on getting my constellation slash how to read the stars in general badge." He said with a laugh.

"It's never to late to learn." She told him. "Unlike you I did get my constellations badge."

"Well then teach me oh great star reader." He playfully said.

Dianna raised an eyebrow and smirked. "Okay."

A half hour later, Cory learned where the big and little dippers were and what Orion's belt was. He felt pretty accomplished.

Dianna turned over on her side to face Cory and laid her head back down on his arm.

"This is the best first date I've ever been on in my entire life."

Cory turned his head to his side to look at her and their faces were only inches apart.

"I'm glad. It's the best first date I've ever been on too I promise." He assured her.

"I still can't believe you put all this together in an afternoon." Cory raised his eyebrows and nodded his head.

"Yeah well, I actually took the majority of the afternoon thinking of what I could do or where I could bring you tonight."

Dianna scrunched her brows. "Are you saying you asked me out without even having a plan?"

Cory shrugged and gave her a lop sided smile. "Yeah. I had to though. I had the chance to finally ask you on a date. I didn't want to miss my chance while thinking of plans of what we could have done."

"Well no matter what, I loved it. I can't believe you did all of this for me…"

Cory smiled and said, "I don't know how many times I have to tell you this but, I'd do anything for you Di… Anything."

Dianna bit the side of her bottom lip. "I know." She whispered while she stared into his eyes.

Cory took this as a good time as ever to lean in and just as he got really close, Dianna spoke.

"I never kiss on the first date. It's my rule." She quietly confessed.

Cory lightly laughed as he started backing his head away. "That's funny because, neither do I."

"Sure…" she drawled with a slight smirk.

"Is there anyway I could change your mind on that?"

"I could think of a few ways…"

The corner of Cory's lips arched up into a light smile as he began to lean in again.

"Like?" he whispered, so close to her face that it was practically against her lips.

And just then without an answer, she met him the rest of the short distance and pressed her lips to his.

When she pulled back she watched as he reopened his eyes. "What about your rule?"

She shrugged. "Rules are meant to be broken, don't you think?" And with that she pulled him into another kiss, this one much more heated than before.

Yes, this truly was the best date of his life and hers.

I'm not really sure how many more chapters I want this to be. I wanted it to be a realistic story so i figured it would end up being long to fit the realism of a real relationship in but I have recently been having a bunch of story ideas flood my mind and I really want to write them and I'm not a good multitasker so I can't really handle writing more than one story at a time. Would you guys be upset if I made this story significantly shorter so I can start something new?

Anyway, other than that, leaving a review would mean very much to me. Where should I take this from here? Their relationship is in your hands people! Haha well, to an extent. So review :D