I woke up the next day feeling well rested and optimistic about my date. However, my optimism was annihilated when I looked at the time on my phone.

"Shit!" I cursed, jumping out of bed. I was supposed to be picking Larissa up in thirty minutes.

I regretted taking the pill, and beat myself up about it while I ran to the bathroom. I didn't have time to shower so I had a quick wash, and brushed my teeth. After pulling a comb through my hair, I put on some makeup and got dressed into ripped skinny jeans and a red tartan shirt.

I frowned at myself in the mirror, wishing I had time to make more of an effort. Unfortunately, I had well and truly fucked that up, so I would just have to deal with it.

I put on my converse, then scrambled out the door, grabbing a jacket and my car keys on the way. I called Alice as I walked to the car.

"Hey, you all set?" She asked, answering within seconds of me dialling her number.

"Not really," I groaned. "I woke up late!"

"Oh my god, Ivy. Where are you?" She said, laughing slightly.

"I'm just getting in the car now," I said, opening the car door.

"Okay, well you've still got time. I'm finished here now and heading to the coffee shop."

"Thank you, Alice. You're amazing," I said truthfully.

"Don't worry about it," she said modestly. "Enjoy your date and I'll speak to you later."

"See you later," I said.

I put down the phone and started my car, driving as soon as the engine kicked in. I still had five minutes before I should be at Larissa's, so I put my foot down and prayed there was no traffic. I couldn't be late for our first date.

Thankfully, the roads were clear, and I made it with a minute to spare. I quickly text Larissa to say I was outside, but she appeared before I hit send.

The world seemed to slow down as she walked to my car, but my heart sped up. She flashed me a shy smile when she saw me, and I got the very familiar butterflies.

She was wearing a strapless black dress which had white polka dots all over it. She was also wearing black converse, and she had a small black purse in her hand. Her silky auburn hair looked more red as the sunlight shone on her, and her emerald eyes sparkled beneath her glasses.

I loved it when she wore her glasses. I had only seen her in contacts recently, but the glasses made her even sexier, if that was possible.

Larissa caught me staring at her, and her cheeks turned pink as she looked away from me shyly.

After what felt like an hour of her walking towards me, she reached my car and got in.

"Hey," she smiled, and kissed me quickly on the lips.

She took me by surprise, and now I was the one blushing. I couldn't believe how she made it seem normal. It took me a few seconds to gather my thoughts, and finally make words come out of my mouth.

"H-hey, what- um, how are you?" I stuttered, still reeling from her surprise kiss.

She grinned at my attempt to put a sentence together, and I felt my face heat up more.

"I'm good," she replied. "So, where are you taking me?"

"It's a surprise," I answered, and she raised an eyebrow at me.

"Should I be worried?"

"Not at all," I laughed, and started to drive towards the lake. "You look beautiful."

"Thank you," she said, smiling. "So do you."

I thanked her, then tried to pay more attention to the road in front of me. We chatted mostly about work while I drove, and I finally calmed myself down a little bit.

As we started to drive along the narrow country roads, I saw Larissa's face change. She must have realised where I was taking her, because she suddenly started to look excited as she stared out of the window.

"How did you-"

"I have very well informed contacts," I joked.

"I can't believe we're actually here," she said, as I parked my car on the car park. "I haven't been here for years."

I got out of the car, and walked around to open her door, but she was already put of the car. She was looking all around us, in awe of everything she was seeing. I let her take everything in for a moment, before speaking.

"You wanna take a walk?"

She smiled sweetly, and nodded at my request. I started to walk slowly along the path I had walked with Alice, and she stayed by my side.

"Tell me about this place," I requested.

"I don't know where to start," she laughed. "My dad used to come here for fishing all the time when I was younger, and I always came along with him. He would pitch up a tent, and set up all of his fishing gear, and I would just sit with him all day, watching the water. If I got bored, I would go and collect flowers and leaves and things, and he would always make out like it was the best thing he'd ever seen. I used to get so excited over the littlest things here, this was always my escape."

I couldn't help but smile at her story, she seemed so at peace when she spoke.

"That's so nice," I said. "I didn't really think of you as a fishing kind of girl."

"Oh, I wasn't," she chuckled. "Any time my dad caught a fish, I would cry and tell him off for hurting the fish. I got so upset with him one time, that he let me take a fish home to keep as a pet just to shut me up."

"So I just need to buy you a pet fish to shut you up?" I joked.

She pouted, and playfully pushed me. I pushed back gently, then took her hand in mine. She interlaced her fingers with mine, and squeezed my hand softly.

I brought my eyes up to meet hers, and I saw that she was gently chewing on her lip, and my heart stopped momentarily.

I wanted to stop and kiss her roughly, but I knew that we were only a few minutes from the lake, and I didn't want to mess up my plan for the day.

"You know, this place looks even better than before the storm," she said, looking out into the forest. "The fallen trees just make it seem magical."

"I know, it's so beautiful here," I replied.

As we neared the lake, I felt nervous. I wanted everything to be perfect, and I just hoped that Alice and I had done enough.

"Oh my God," Larissa whispered as we made it to the grassy are where Alice had set up the picnic.

My eyes widened when I saw it, and I realised that Alice was quickly catching up with Rob on my imaginary list of best friends.

There was a large blue picnic blanket laid out on the grassy area, with a pillow resting on each corner of the blanket. I guessed Alice was preparing in the event of strong winds blowing the blanket away.

Next to the blanket was a wicker picnic basket, which was filled with the foods Alice and I had discussed. Beside the basket, was a bottle of red wine and two glasses. Alice knew that I would not be drinking, so she left some cans of cola there too.

There was a bouquet of flowers in the centre of the blanket, which I assumed Alice had actually picked herself, as the flowers were similar to some I had seen along the path.

"When did you do all of this?" She asked, sounding both confused and impressed.

"I had a little help from Alice," I admitted, and Larissa smiled at me.

"It's amazing, Ivy," she said, and wrapped both of her arms around one of mine, then kissed me softly on the cheek.

I walked towards the blanket, with Larissa still attached to my arm, and gestured for her to sit with me.

We both sat cross legged on the blanket, facing each other. I offered her a drink of wine, but she refused it and asked for a cola. I, of course, poured our drinks into wine glasses because we're so sophisticated.

We made small talk while we ate and drank, and I could feel myself becoming more relaxed as the time went on. Although it was technically our first date, we had already slept together, which should have made me more relaxed in the first place.

The nerves just never seemed to fade with Larissa. She was on a whole other level than any other girls I have ever been interested in. This girl had me wrapped around her finger.