Chapter 3 - Drive

"I gotta do something," Adam said as he took a bite of his roast beef sandwich.

"About what?" Kevin questioned.

They were sitting together around the table in the break room, both of them eating sandwiches they got delivered from a local deli. Adam popped a potato chip in his mouth, sipping on a soda. It was a slow day in Intelligence. They were both grateful for the break.

"About Kim."

"Something wrong?"

"I think she's still a little pissed about finding out I was engaged twice before," Adam explained. 'A little pissed' was an understatement. Even after Adam had showed up at her apartment and explained each engagement in detail, and they spent the night making love, he could still feel Kim's cold shoulder in the morning.

"I thought you two talked it out?" Kevin said. "I thought you explained everything."

"I did, but she's a woman, you know?"

"Yeah, I know. Women sure as hell know how to hold grudges."

"True, but I can't really blame her," Adam admitted. "I should have told her about being engaged to Nicole. I thought I had to be honest."

"And maybe explaining Nicole in a text message wasn't one of your finest moments."

"We were both working! What else was I supposed to do? Besides, you're the one who told her about Nicole in the first place," Adam reminded him.

"I thought she already knew about Nicole! This isn't my fault, man."

"Yeah, I know."

"So…what are you thinking?" Kevin asked.

"About what?"

"You said you wanted to do something for Kim to smooth things over. So, what are you thinking? Fancy dinner? Night out on the town? Romantic dinner at home?"

"I don't know," Adam admitted. "But it's got be something good, you know. Something different."

"Hmm…that festival is coming to town next weekend," Kevin suggested.

"So we can ride the Ferris wheel together? This isn't high school."
"Ok. Fine. That new restaurant opened downtown. It's supposed to be fancy. Good food, good drinks."

"Yeah, maybe…" Adam replied, not in love with the idea. He needed something special to remind Kim that he loved her.

"Didn't she say she loves Burnham Park?"

"Yeah. She goes running there sometimes in the mornings. She says there's nowhere in that park with a bad view. She always used to bug me about taking a picnic there. We just never had the time."

"Well, maybe now's the time."

"A picnic in the park?" Adam wondered out loud. "Really? You think that's romantic enough?"
"You said she's been asking you to take her there. Besides, sometimes seeing a place you like to visit in a different light with somebody you love can be the most romantic thing in the world," Kevin said.

Lindsey popped her head into the room.

"Voight wants us," Lindsey told them.

"We'll be right there," Kevin replied, finishing the last bite of his sandwich. He stood up to throw his garbage away. Adam stayed in his seat, gazing off into space. "Ruzek, you coming?"

Adam blinked, his mind full of ideas. "Yeah, I'm coming."

A few days later, Adam pulled the car up to the corner near Kim's apartment building. He got out of the car, made sure he locked in, and then jogged up to Kim's building. Thankfully someone was exiting the building as he was entering so he didn't have to buzz in. It would make the surprise that much better. It was almost five o'clock, the perfect time to pull off what he had planned.

Adam made his way to her apartment. He knocked loudly. The door opened a few moments later.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey."

Adam was happy to see she was in form-fitting Jeans and a plain, red shirt that showed off the cleavage he loved so much. Her hair was down, her feet bare. It was exactly the way he loved to see her.

"You are so beautiful."

"Ok…" Kim said, unsure of what was going on. She appreciated the flattery, but knew something was up. "What's going on?"

"I have a surprise for you."

"I thought you were going out with the guys tonight?"

Adam had made up the little white lie so that he could get everything ready for the evening he had planned.

"Change of plans. Besides, you're more important."

She smiled. "What kind of surprise?" She asked, her eyes lighting up. Adam knew no woman could refused a surprise, romantic date. It made him happy to see Kim so happy.

"You're just going to have to wait to find out."

Adam reached out and took Kim's hand. He stepped into her apartment. First thing was first. They needed a proper start to their date. He leaned in and kissed her hard and fast.

"This better not be the surprise," Kim moaned in between kisses.

Adam laughed. "Let's just say that's not the only surprise." Adam took her hands in his and looked into her eyes. "I know things with this engagement haven't exactly been going as planned…"

"Because you kept the fact that you were engaged twice before from me," Kim reminded him.

"Actually, you knew about one of them."

"Are you really going to argue with me on this one right now?"

"No. Sorry," he mumbled even though he didn't really know what he was sorry for. She was the one who basically started the argument. Then again, he had learned a long time ago that it was always in a man's best interest to just say 'sorry' even if he didn't know why.

"So…about this surprise…" Kim prompted.

"Come here."

Adam led her over to the window, glad that her apartment faced the street. Kim looked around the outside, but saw nothing out of the ordinary. She didn't know what she was supposed to be looking for.

"So…what am I looking at?"

"The car," he answered.

He pointed to a red convertible parked across the street. It was the same car that he had driven to her apartment.

"Why am I looking at a fancy car?" Kim asked.

"Because it's ours."

Kim's jaw dropped. She whirled back around to look at Adam.

"What? You bought us a Mercedes? Adam, what the hell were you thinking? First of all, we can't afford it. We're trying to plan a wedding. We're trying to start a life together! And this is Chicago! What is the point of owning a car like this in Chicago? In the winter it's freezing and the traffic is always ridiculous! Not to mention the pollution! And did you forget about…"

"Are you through?" He asked, cutting her off.

"No, I'm not through!"

"I rented it," he explained.

Kim looked at him, confused. She really had no idea what was going on.

"What? You didn't buy it?"

"No. I didn't buy it."

"Ok," she said, trying to make sense of what Adam was telling her. "So…why did you rent it? You have a car, Adam."

"I rented it for today," he said. "For us."

"I don't understand."

"It's part of the surprise."

"You're not making any sense," she said.

"Do you trust me?" He asked.

"Of course I do."

"Then, just go with it."

"Go with what?"

"With the romantic evening I have planned," he said. "Now come on, we gotta go or we're going to miss it."

"Miss what?"

"Didn't I just say that you have to trust me?"

She sighed. "Fine."

"Ok. Then let's go," he said, tugging on her arm.
Kim pointed to her bare feet.

"You won't need shoes."
Adam didn't skip a beat. He scooped her up in his arms bridal style. She immediately put her arms around his neck.

"Adam, what are you doing?"
"Trust me," he whispered, kissing her on the cheek.

Adam carried her out of the building and to the car. She couldn't help but giggle as he unlocked the car. Somehow he managed to open the door with her still in his arms. He placed her gently in the passenger seat and then closed the door. Kim had never been inside a brand new luxury vehicle before. It still had the new car smell. The lush carpet on her naked toes felt amazing.

Adam jogged to the other side of the car and got in. He pushed the start button and the car purred to life. He pressed another button and the roof of the car began folding towards the back. Adam was happy that the weather was cooperating with them.

"Impressive," Kim said. She grabbed a hair elastic from around her wrist and promptly put her hair in a pony tail.

"Now this is the life," Adam said. He winked at Kim, took the car out of park, and sped down the road.

"Are you going to tell me where we're going?" Kim asked, her hair whipping around even in the ponytail.

"No."

"Can you at least tell me if I am dressed appropriately?" She asked. "Even though I have no shoes."

"You look beautiful."

"That's not what I asked."

"Well, that's going to be my answer every time," he replied. "Because it's the truth."

"You're very frustrating, you know that?" She asked with a smile. She was loving this fun, playful side of him. They didn't often get a chance to just be a normal couple doing romantic things. Usually one or both of them was too busy chasing bad guys.
"Isn't that why you love me?"

"Just keep telling yourself that," she replied sarcastically.

He put his hand on her knee. They drove in silence, both enjoying the experience of the wind in their faces. About twenty minutes later, Adam turned into the park.

"We're going to the park? It's almost dark. The park closes at dark."

"Good thing we're the police and we patrol the park at night."

Adam slowed the car down as they drove down the winding roads. He knew exactly where he was going. It was the most beautiful place in the park, off the beaten path, but totally worth it. He had scoped it out days earlier after work one night. He wanted everything to be perfect. Adam started driving up a steep hill.

"I don't think this car was meant for off-roading," Kim said.

"It'll make it."

They drove straight up for a few minutes. When they came to the top, it flattened out. Adam parked the car right at the edge. In front of them was a spectacular view of the city. Behind them was the beautiful, green park.

"Adam, this is…amazing," she said.

He looked down at the time on his cell phone.

"It's about to get better."

Adam got out of the car and popped the trunk. He pulled out a large picnic basket. After closing the trunk, he put the basket on the back trunk of the car. He climbed into the backseat, motioning for Kim to join him. She just climbed over the front seat, loving that the car didn't have a roof and she could move around freely. They both perched themselves on the back of the car, their legs dangling on the backseat. Adam turned around and opened the picnic basket. He pulled out a bottle of expensive wine and two wine glasses. After uncorking the wine and pouring some into the two wine glasses, he passed one of them to Kim.

"Thank you," she said.

"To us," he said, holding up his glass.

"To us."

They touched their glasses together before each taking a sip.

"You hungry?" He asked. "I've got some cheese and crackers."

"Maybe in a few minutes. I just want to…sit here with you."

She leaned her head on his shoulder as they looked over the bustling city. The sun was beginning to set. The sky was full of brilliant pink and orange hues. Neither of them spoke. Instead they just held hands and enjoyed the view. As the sun lowered in the sky, the lights from the city began to turn on. It was like a light show just for them. Kim shivered. Adam grabbed a blanket from the picnic basket and wrapped it around her shoulders.

"Thank you," she said. "For all of this. It's incredible."

"Well, you always said you wanted a picnic in the park."
"This is better than any picnic."

"And you haven't even tasted the chocolate covered strawberries for dessert yet."

"You didn't have to do all of this," she stated.

"Yes I did. I love you, Kim. I want you to know that."

"I know."

"And I'm serious about this wedding and this marriage. There is no one else I want to spend my life with."

She smiled. "I love you. And I love chocolate covered strawberries."

Adam chuckled. He reached behind him and pulled out the container of chocolate covered strawberries. He knew they were Kim's favorite dessert. He took the cover off and took out a strawberry. He held it out to her. She licked her lips, but instead of taking the strawberry from him with her hands, she took it between her teeth. The juice squirted from her mouth. Before she could wipe her mouth, Adam leaned forward and kissed the juice from her chin. His lips found hers, the taste of the chocolate and strawberry mixing between them.

"Ever had sex in the back of a Mercedes?" He asked.

"No, but there's a first time for everything."

Adam smiled and pulled her into the backseat.

Author's Note: This was a fun one – although it is getting more difficult for me to come up with romantic date ideas since I've written so many other "one-shots" for this couple. If you have any romantic date ideas (probably for future stories), let me know! I'm always looking for inspiration! Thanks for reading!