“Hi,” he says.
He straightens up, crosses his arms, looks at me and laughs.
“Your chariot awaits, my princess.”
I laugh. He’s being goofy but I know he’s trying.
He grabs my hand and walks me to his Jeep. As I approach it, I see that monster of a sweet dog shoving his head out the window and panting.
“Rexie!” I call out.
I go up to Rexie and put my hand up to his nose. He sniffs it and starts whining.
“Told ya he missed you,” Lincoln says.
I pat Rexie’s head and he wags his tail and shakes his body. He’s a big German Shepherd looking thing, all black and brown and beige and white.
I have to admit that I pretty immediately fell in love with him and every time I see him, the feeling is even more overpowering.
Rexie, that is. Not Lincoln.
Or maybe Lincoln, too.
“OK, enough,” Lincoln says.
He leads me around to the passenger side of the Jeep, opens the door, and hoists me in with a pat on my ass.
“Careful,” I say.
He places his hands on his hips.
“Careful?” he asks and squints. “I’m just getting started.”
I sit down and Rexie starts panting and wagging his tail in the space behind the back seat of the Jeep. He starts to howl.
Lincoln gets in the driver’s seat and starts the Jeep.
“Enough, Rexie,” he says. “We’ll be there in a minute.”
Rexie yawns, paces around the small space at the very back of the Jeep and lies down.
He then lets out an enormous sigh.
“Good boy,” Lincoln says, as Rexie emits one last whine and then grows quiet.
Lincoln drives to the public park on the other side of the city near the Rio Grande river. It’s a pretty place with lots of nice spots to enjoy a picnic and a bit of privacy given the clumps of trees dotting the landscape here and there.
We park. Lincoln lifts the hatchback of the Jeep and lets Rexie out. He leaps out of the Jeep onto the ground. In one great sprint, he runs and runs aimlessly. He runs up to us and then back and runs up to us and then back. Each time he approaches us, he nudges my hand and emits a baby growl.
“He really likes you,” Lincoln remarks.
He goes to the back seat and unloads a couple of coolers and a bag of other stuff.
“Let me help you,” I say.
He smiles.
“Sure thing.”
By this point, Rexie has worn himself out and comes up to us panting and whining. Lincoln takes a dog bowl out of the bag and fills it with a bottle of spring water.
“There you go, boy.”
I smile and feel butterflies inside. It’s a funny feeling, but I’m thinking, here is Mr. Tough Guy MMA who’ll beat your brains out until you bleed, and he’s thought of what the dog needs as we picnic.
It’s just so sexy!
We move over to a grove of trees and I take the bag from him. He’s packed blankets and plastic utensils and paper plates.
He opens up the coolers and takes the food out one at a time.
“For the first course,” he says, “I have some of your wonderful gray cheese.”
I laugh.
“It’s Gruyere.”
“Whatever,” he says.
“And also,” he says as he takes out a long loaf of bread wrapped in a paper bag featuring the red, white and blue of a French flag and café. “A lovely baguette.”
My heart is just bursting. What a romantic guy!
“Let me help,” I say.
I take the bread and cheese and clumsily cut it with the plastic knife and place it on the paper plates.
“Sorry for the mess,” I say.
“Not at all,” Lincoln says.
We sit on the blanket and enjoy the cheese and bread.
“And to drink,” he says. “A nice crisp white wine.”
He opens the bottle. The cork seems to stick and his neck and arm muscles bulge as he removes it. It’s really hot.
I grab the wine glasses from another bag and hold them up.
He pours the wine and then smiles at me.
“Cheers,” he says.
“Cheers!”
We clink glasses, sip, and then look at each other.
We remain silent and he leans into me and kisses me on the lips.
Just then Rexie howls.
We break apart and laugh.
“Rexie,” I say. “We love you too.”
Lincoln takes out some fried chicken, tears it up with his hands, places it in Rexie’s dog bowl and he devours it.
I laugh and take another sip of my wine.
“So, I wanted to ask you about going back to Odessa,” I finally tell him. “I’m feeling really stupid for ever bringing it up.”
He shakes his head.
“Now is not the time, my love,” he says. “Let’s just enjoy the moment.”
I don’t push the issue. This date is going so well that I don’t want to ruin anything.
He reaches into the cooler and starts to prepare our meal.
After we’ve eaten fried chicken, cole slaw, and fresh soft rolls, we’re drowsy from the food and wine.