Chapter Seventeen

" Rio, where we going?" Anny cried out for the umpteenth time that day.

" Nope! I ain't telling you. Just a little more patience" I said, a smile on my face.

" But Rio, we've been in this car for over half an over. Where are we going?" she said again. I didn't respond.

" Are you trying to kidnap me?" she said and suddenly grew serious. I couldn't help but laugh as I looked at her face through the rear mirror.

" Maybe! To a world with just you and me" I said.

" I'm being serious. Tell me where you're taking me?"

" Oh c'mon Anny, just a little more patience. Please!" I said and looked at her briefly with cute baby eyes. She rolled her eyes and sat back on the car seat.

" Fine!" she said sulkily. I smiled at the sight of that.

" You know you look beautiful when you make that face" I said. Our eyes met at the rear mirror and she rolled them at me.

" Aw! Babe, don't spoil the surprise by getting mad at me. I promise you're gonna love it"

" And if I don't, I won't talk to you for a whole week" Anny said. What! A whole week?

" And if you do, I'd get to kiss those sexy lips of yours" I said and winked at her. She rolled her eyes again and I smiled. She didn't say anything else so I focused on my driving. The road was a little rough so I had to be careful. A little while later, I pulled the car to a stop and she looked at me surprised.

" We're here" I said. She didn't share my excited look.

" Here where?" she asked.

" You ask a lotta questions Anny, just come with me please" I said. She rolled her eyes yet again and stepped down of the car, slamming the door shut.

" Hey! Take it easy on the poor car" I said and she glared at me. I walked to her and held her hand, surprisingly she didn't resist.

" Okay, I know you're mad at me but you're gonna have to hold it in for just a little while more. Once you see my surprise then you can vent it all out on me" I said.

" Trust me, I'll kill you"

" I'll gladly die in your hands" I said and winked at her again. She seemed to smile but she didn't.

" Okay! You got me but we are in the middle of nowhere " Anny said.

" Well, not exactly! You could say we're in the middle of Texas."

Her eyes widened in surprise.

" Is this your surprise?" she asked.

" Nope! I'mma need you to do something though "

" What?"

" Quick question, are you afraid of heights?" I asked, suddenly concerned that my surprise would get ruined. That would have been drastic.

" Nope. Used to do mountain climbing as a hobby with my twin" she said and I released a breath I didn't realize I was holding.

" Well, that's great news cause we are gonna climb up there" I said pointing up to a high hill.

" Really Rio? You would have told me, I ain't prepared for this"

" Nahh, you don't have to be prepared. I'll carry you when you get tired"

" You sure about that?"

" Well what are these muscles for?" I said flexing my thick arm. She rolled her eyes and shrugged.

" Okay, if you say so"

" C'mon, I can't wait to see your face when you see the surprise"

She smiled and I did too. I took out my backpack and held out my hand to her. She took it and we set off climbing. The path wasn't rough, thankfully. Anny was a good climber though I had to support her at times. It took about five minutes before we made it to the top.

" Okay, Anny,to add a little effect, close your eyes" I said as we were about getting to the flat surface of the cliff.

" This better be good" she said and closed her eyes.I smiled as I registered her beautiful face in my memory stock, might need them when this is all over cause I'm getting way too used to this girl in front of me. Too bad this isn't real.

" Trust me"I said as I led her up. We climbed unto the flat surface and I did a quick check of everything before turning to Anny. Everything was perfect, just like her!

" Okay Anny, you can open your eyes now" I said. She opened her eyes slowly and I watched silently as her lips curved up and her eyes lit up.

" Oh my God! Rio"

I couldn't help but smile as she got excited. Guess my hard work paid off!!!

Her Pov

OMG!!! I almost lost my breath as I stared at the picnic setting. It was all designed in my favourite colour- the blue carpet and blue hearts and the flowers everywhere. God! Did Rio go through all these trouble for me? Someone's falling for me. Playgirl winning again. I'd celebrate his falling for me later but now I gotta enjoy this moment. He does deserve a little love for doing this for me.

" You like it?"I heard him ask.

" Oh my God, Rio, I love it" I blurted.

" What were u saying about not liking my surprise again?" Rio asked and I punched him lightly.

" You're so busy looking at the picnic setting that you didn't even notice the sight" he said. That was when I looked around and God!!! Never knew Texas could be this beautiful. The city was breathtaking, I gasped as I looked around. It was... beautiful is quite an understatement.

" Rio, this is amazing. How did you find this place?" I asked as I walked forward to the near edge of the cliff. Rio followed me.

" Used to come here with my mum and dad when I was younger till they got too busy with their issues to come here anymore "

" Oh! Why did you bring me here?" I asked, sensing this was a bit personal. I didn't want to pry into his issues. I'mma do that later.

" Well... I just thought of this place cause I wanna be with you. Just us, no one else " he said. He was staring into my eyes and I felt awkward so I looked away and continued staring at the sight.

" The main sight comes when it's sunset. I got us enough food, would you like to start the picnic "

" Sure " I said and took his stretched hand. Well, isn't he sweet? Too bad this isn't real, he'd make a really good boyfriend if he's not so busy thinking of how to get into your pants and dump you. He isn't trying to do that with me and that's just the sign that he's falling. Exactly the way I planned it.

We settled down on the carpet and he opened up the food basket. There were some snacks.

" I brought your favourite, Mac and cheese" Rio said.

" Just how do you remember all these little details"

" They aren't little to me, everything about you is important to me" Rio said and I smiled.

" Quit flattering me" I said.

" There's more. My mum cooked all of these"

" What?" I asked surprised.

" Yeap. Told her I was having a picnic with my girlfriend and needed to order up some stuffs and she offered to cook it up for me"

" Woaw! That's serious"

" Yep! She'd do anything to see her son get settled. She's a great cook, trust me you'll love it"

He opened up the plates and the aroma of the food filled the air.

" Damn! This smells good" I said.

" It tastes better" Rio said. He gave a bit of it in a smaller plate.

" Try it" he said.

I ate and felt my eyes widen.

" God! Rio, this is good" I said before I could help it. He smiled.

" Told ya"

I went on eating and noticed after a while that Rio was watching me. I stopped and stared back at him.

" What?"

" You're beautiful, Anny" he said. I couldn't help but smile.

" Thanks" I managed to say.

" Now quit staring at me like that, you're making me shy"I said and he laughed.

" Here "I said as I fed him. He took it and winked at me. He took his share and began eating. It was fun, we talked and laughed and ate, he is some great company. It'll be quite a miracle if I don't fall for him after all this. I wish this was real. I can't possibly fall for him. That would be me walking into a death trap with my eyes wide open. Rio is still the playboy he's always been. He lied to me about Amy and I had to act like I didn't realize it. I bet he thinks he got me and I have to act like that's true but no matter how sweet he gets,the game continues. That's just how it has to be...