Lisa and I ended up exchanging personal numbers before I left for the day.
This time, Zai was outside waiting near the door. He was wearing a white hoodie and dark blue jeans with white sneakers; the brand symbol and lacing on the shoes were neon orange.
I was not used to him dressing so brightly, and the clothes looked so expensive that I felt dressed down even though he was casual.
"Why are you staring at me?" he asked, breaking me from my trance.
"I... just noticed you changed clothes..." I answered.
He laughed and said,
"I was wearing pajama pants and a jacket when I dropped you off... not good for going out in."
He then extended his hand to me, and I took it graciously.
Yay! We're finally holding hands.
I feel like I should have gotten used to it, but even small skin contact sends tingles throughout my whole body.
He led me to the car, and after I was buckled in, he started driving.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
He placed his hand on mine and laced our fingers together.
"You haven't gone to an amusement park before... thought you might like it."
Then he turned on the radio.
"What?! I've only seen one once in a movie," I revealed, "Why there?"
"I want you to experience it, see if you like it. If you do, we'll come back."
The trip took about an hour, and the park was built behind a hotel. There were a few people inside.
Zai walked away and talked with a staff member.
She nodded, then came over to where I was, saying,
"I'm going to escort you to our boutique. There you can choose a bathing suit to wear for our cruise later this evening."
I'm going on a boat?! Wait, no, a ship?! I looked at Zai, and he waved as if to signal me to go with her.
The shop had five workers; no other customers were inside when I arrived.
"What kind of bathing suit do you want?" she asked.
"I... always liked swim dresses or maybe a bikini..."
Zai might like seeing me in that.
After hearing my answer, I was led into a large room with three mirrored walls and a padded leather bench.
"You may wait here. I'll bring you some things that you may like," she said politely.
"Wait, what's your name?" I asked, and she looked shocked.
"Forgive me, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Ruby, madam."
I smiled.
"It's alright, thank you, Ruby."
She smiled back and said,
"I'll be right back, Mrs. Walker."
What did she just call me?!
I mean... I'm just not used to that... should I get used to it??
A few minutes later, she returned with 5 Swim dresses, all in shades of pink, and 10 Bikinis, too many choices! I disqualified the ones that were too revealing.
I'm not bold enough to walk around like that.
Still... maybe I should accept one to show Zai privately.
In the end, I went with a light pink, floral bikini that had a high-waisted swim skirt bottom. It was packed up for me in a checkered, pink, and gold gift bag.
"This is a gift from our store as well, to thank you for your business," Ruby stated while putting an expensive-looking perfume bottle and lotion in the bag as well.
Is this how amusement parks are usually? This feels a bit more luxurious than I imagined.
Zai was waiting for me on a bench near the clothes shop,
"They were so nice," I whispered to him.
Zai snickered and said,
"That better have been. You kept me waiting long enough. Let's go."
He stood up and started walking, so I followed him. We arrived at a pair of glass double doors.
"You can leave your bag with me, I'll make sure it's on the Windsong when you arrive," a male staff member who was nearby said, while holding his hand out to me.
I obliged, then he walked away.
Zai held the door open for me.
There were roller coasters as far as I could see, food stalls, and gift shops as well.
"Wow..." I spoke before I knew it, and Zai pecked my cheek and pulled me along.
First, we rode a rollercoaster, on which I had to stand up and grip the shoulder harness for dear life.
No matter how tightly I held on, I still worried that I could slip out at any moment. I felt like my insides were being jerked to and fro.
As soon as it ended, I turned to Zai and screamed,
"What a rush!" He chuckled in response,
"Yeah, I've experienced higher speeds before, but the feeling of danger and instability of these rides is awesome!"
So this is his first time, too?
Once our harnesses were released, we rushed off.
Riding five more high-speed roller coasters before finally ending up on a ferris wheel.
I felt my body swaying as if I were on an elevator, and I was able to look out at the rest of the park through the window.
The sun was setting, so all the rides were lit up. It was beautiful.
"We're going up pretty high," I noted. Zai scooted closer to me, causing the booth to shake, and put his arm around my shoulder.
"Well, this is the largest ferris wheel on the continent." I gasped and then said,
"Only the continent?!" In a joking manner, he laughed and replied,
"I'll take you to the largest one in the world next time." I can't help but feel shy when being alone with him, especially when he's being so sweet. He then caught me off guard by tickling my neck with a series of kisses.
"You... you... What are you up to?" I said nervously, trying hard to suppress my giggling, Zai moved his free hand onto my thigh and said,
"You were giving me that look... like you wanted me."
"Do you think I'm sort of a pervert?!" I questioned.
He lightly licked my jaw, and I squealed.
"I do think that... and I'm right." The ride ended, and he moved to the exit first.
He's not wrong.
I'm not sure when it started, but it's hard not to think X-rated thoughts when I look at him.
It must be very easy for him to read me, even without my eyes giving me away.
"It's time to head to the ship now," Zai announced while checking the time on his phone.
"Alright."
After my reply, he put the phone away and hooked arms with me, once again leading the way.
"It's so weird we're the only ones here, do people not come to these places at night?"
"Oh... that's because I rented out the park," Zai replied nonchalantly,
"The whole park?! Why?" He grinned widely,
"We don't have hours to wait in line. I wanted you to experience everything except that." The docks were starting to come into view when I noticed how massive the ship was.
It's gonna be just me and him on that huge thing?! The man from earlier was standing at the ramp and said,
"Mrs. Walker, your bag is waiting on the bed in your room, and hello, Mr. Walker, your dinners are ready. I hope you both have a wonderful time."
I need to remind myself to look up how much it costs to rent out this whole place because everyone is being so nice.
"Wow, we're getting so much special treatment," I commented. wanted to get some more info out of Zai.
How long has he planned this? How much did it cost? Why is he doing this?
He glanced at me and responded by saying,
"I already tipped in advance... Maybe that's why."
How much did he tip them!?
The staff seems to be in love with us!
We were escorted to a glass table near a pool.
There were flowers near the seats, light-pink geraniums?! There was an intricate golden centerpiece with 3 candles lit on the table as well.
It looked like golden, thorny stems with three glass roses blooming from the top, where short white candles were placed.
Once we were close enough, our chairs were pulled out for us, and seconds later, a live orchestra played softly from about 100 feet away.
Soon, a bottle of wine was brought to the table, along with empty glasses and glasses of water. A glass of wine was poured for me first, then for Zai.
It was a pale blush wine with a sweet floral aroma, and I could taste strawberries.
"Did you plan all this today!?" I whispered to Zai, and he replied,
"No, I had to figure out a lot of things in advance... but I brought the flowers in today."
"Wait... Is that why you've been busy lately?" I inquired as I finished eating.
"Well... partially... I'll tell you everything later." While he was speaking, a dessert was brought to the table, and our empty plates were taken away.
We each received a beautiful slice of chocolate cake that almost looked too perfect to eat. Mine came with three chocolate-covered strawberries.
I took a bite and moaned in delight.
I had no idea cake could be this delicious!
Zai stared at me, eating with a smile on his face.
Once I was done stuffing myself, he came to my side and offered his hand to me.
"We're going to our room."
Once my hand was in his, we were led to a cabin area.
"We'll leave you alone for now," stated the employees as they opened the door for us.
There wasn't much in the room other than a bed and a television mounted up on the wall.
My shopping bag from earlier was sitting in the center of the bed.
"Zai... why... did you plan all this?" I asked, and then he hugged me from behind.
"I wanted to do something with you... something fun..."
My eyes started to water and Zai hugged me more securely and said,
"Let's watch a movie before we go swimming..."
Then his arms left me, and he sat on the bed facing the television.
"Thank you," I mumbled, causing his face to flush.
He mentioned a movie, and I didn't feel repulsed, maybe because it's hard to think about anything negative when I'm with Zai.
No bad memories are allowed.
I rushed over and jumped on top of him, pinning him to the bed.
"I don't want to watch a movie," I declared boldly.
He looked at me with fondness, then reached up, letting his fingertips brush across my cheek.
"Then... what do you want to do, instead? Tell me, clearly."
Zai then looked into my eyes, daring me to go further.