Chapter Sixteen

“Why is your alarm going off so early?” Hyemi yawned.

“I’m sorry. Go back to bed. I’m headed out for my workout. Get some more sleep.” Nik pulled the covers up to tuck her new bedmate in and headed out of the room, trying to be as quiet as possible.

It was only about five in the morning when Nik headed down to the gym even though she was exhausted. Truth was, she had barely slept. She hadn’t been on an actual date since her ex husband and her were dating. After a short time, Aaron and Minwoo joined her in the gym.

“Told you,” Aaron smiled sleepily at Minwoo.

“Figured you would be sleeping in since you have your date today,” Minwoo yawned.

“Nothing will keep Momma from her morning workout.”

Minwoo nodded and instructed Aaron to hop on the treadmill as he sat down at one of the bench press machines. “You should have let Minwoo sleep, son. You knew I would be down here,” Nik scolded from the elliptical she was currently on.

“I heard him get up and told him to wait for me. I can take a nap later.” Minwoo gave her one of his signature smiles through the mirror. “Can we talk for a bit?”

“Sure,” Nik said, jumping off the machine and following the dancer out of the gym. “Everything ok?” she asked, leaning up against the wall.

“Yeah. I just wanted to see where you were at. And I’ve already known you long enough to know that you will answer like hyung. Yes, I know you are right here.” Nik pouted at being denied her joke. “But you know what I mean. Emotionally, where are you?”

“I don’t understand what you are asking, honestly.”

“Pilkyo came in elated last night that you agreed to go on a date with him. It’s been a long time since he has been on a date. We all gave up on setting him up years ago, and he really hasn’t tried on his own in the last couple of years.”

Nik let her head fall back against the wall behind her and looked towards the ceiling. “This stays between you and me? This stays here?” She looked down to see Minwoo nod. “I’m about where he is. I haven’t dated in years, and the few guys I’ve been with have made me...hesitant? I don’t know. You know I like him. You shouldn’t question how I feel about him.” She sighed. “I’m divorced. There is a reason I am divorced, and it wasn’t all his fault.”

Minwoo stepped in front of her and wrapped both of his arms tightly around her. “I’m not asking about that. I don’t need to know anything about that. We can discuss that later if you want. I just wanted to make sure after spending this time with us, you weren’t disappointed with the real us.” He kissed her temple and continued holding her close. She shook her head. “Ok, I think you need to finish your workout. Pilkyo wanted to have an early start on your date.” He pulled back and winked her, then gave her another of his breathtaking smiles.

After their workout, they headed back upstairs to shower before the day started. After his shower, Minwoo saw three of his brothers getting dressed for the day while the other two were still asleep. “So what’s on the agenda for today?” he asked, stretching out to take up the entirety the couch. “Nik’s the only one up as far as I can tell.”

“You know what our plans look like, what are you going to do while we are gone?” Pilkyo said as he looked through the small amount of accessories he had brought with him.

Aaron came in from his shower and plopped down on the lounging Minwoo. “I vote marathoning a drama.” Minwoo scowled at the child that was currently using his abdomen as a seat, but the other three men chuckled.

“Drama marathon sounds good to me,” Sunho yawned, rubbing his eyes sleepily as he joined the others. He noticed Minwoo’s predicament and capitalized. He moved Aaron over slightly and then sat himself on top of the older as well. Minwoo sighed and threw his head back, only slightly annoyed at both maknaes’ behavior.

Next door, Nik had showered and came out to find all three other women up, though only slightly. “Pilkyo messaged while I was in the shower. He said that they’re all getting dressed. Should be ready in a good half hour or so if y’all are.”

“I guess that means we should start getting ready,” Briley groaned. The past week had started to catch up with her and she was exhausted. “Heard you woke Hyemi up before it was light out.”

“I forgot to put my alarm on vibrate. I’m sorry again,” she apologized, bending down to place a kiss on the top of Hyemi’s head before sitting down next to her on the couch.

“Don’t worry about it. I just thought it was funny. I was able to go back to sleep,” she said, adjusting to use Nik’s arm as a pillow. “Shouldn’t you be getting ready?” she asked, but didn’t make an attempt to move from her human pillow.

“But you’re so comfortable,” Nik teased and Hyemi sat up.

Nik got up and offered a hand to Hyemi, who took it and they both headed to the bathroom for everyone to get ready. It took a little over a half an hour, but everyone was ready. The day before, Briley had bought a cute baby blue and orange striped romper that everyone agreed would be comfortable and cute for any hike. Lily had found a really cute pink floral maxi dress that flattered her petite frame. Hyemi had made Nik pull out every item of clothing she had with her so that the girls could dress her up. Most of her clothes were either convention or workout outfits. Eventually Hyemi and Lily settled on a pair of denim shorts and a floral skirt Hyemi had brought that they turned into a shirt with Nik’s denim jacket over it.

One by one, the men came to pick up their date for the day.

First came Dongwan. He brought Briley down to the car and they took off. “So where are we going,” she asked after a few minutes.

“You’ll see,” he smiled at her from behind the wheel.

She pouted but sat quietly for the next twenty minutes until they were pulling off into a secluded parking lot. “Where are we?”

“On our date. Stay.” Dongwan got out of the car and walked around to open the door for her, offering his hand to help her out of the car. She accepted his hand and looked around her as Dongwan pulled Nik’s backpack out of the trunk. “When did you get the car?”

“I rented it online and they delivered it this morning,” he answered as he pulled the backpack on. “Come on.” He reached into the trunk one more time before closing it, pulling out a camera and putting the strap around his neck and letting it fall against his chest.

They started up the trail in silence. As they followed the dirt path, Briley was overwhelmed by the beautiful scenery. Having been born and raised in a more urban area, she had not been surrounded by this much natural beauty before. She didn’t realize that she had stopped walking, having been staring out across the field of buttercups and thimbleweeds.

“Everything ok?” she heard Dongwan ask from right beside her and she nodded. He reached out and tangled their fingers together as he looked out with her, then suddenly started pulling her out into the field.

“What are you doing?”

“Photoshoot, come on.” He pulled her out until they were completely surrounded by the flowers. Dongwan then instructed her to sit in the flowers and began snapping photos of the Brit. He would make suggestions for ways that she should pose, but mostly just let her do whatever she felt.

“My turn,” Briley said, getting up and reaching out for the camera. He laughed and gave her the camera, following any instructions or suggestions she had for him to pose.

“Now, hand me the camera back.” Briley handed the camera back but was surprised when he pulled her against him and snapped a few photos of them two together. “Ready to keep going?” Dongwan asked and Briley agreed, so they set back off down the path.

They continued walking for a while, quietly talking about the scenery, but mostly silent and looking around. It was getting close to noon when they came up to a clearing next to a stream. Dongwan led Briley under some shade before dropping the backpack and pulling out a blanket for them to sit on. Once seated, he pulled out some food that he had woken up early to prepare.

“You know, I’ve never taken anyone on a picnic date,” Dongwan confessed as he pulled out two cups and a bottle of wine. “I hope you like wine. I also brought water, just in case.”

“I’ve never been on a picnic date, either. Wine is good,” she smiled. Dongwan then filled a glass and handed it to her. “It’s so beautiful out here. The water looks so calm.”

They talked quietly as they ate the meal Dongwan had prepared for them. After they finished, he put away their dishes and pulled out some fruit for dessert. He had ordered a box of chocolate covered strawberries the day before that had arrived and he stored while everyone was getting ready for the ceremony.

“These are delicious!” she nearly moaned out as she took the first bite. He smiled, happy he had made the right choice.

“The strawberries are definitely fresh.”

He reached over to feed her one as she stared back out at the lake. She smiled and opened embarrassed. Right before she bit down, he pulled it back teasingly. Briley pouted at him until he brought it back and let her bite it properly. He watched as her eyes closed when the she bit into the strawberry and smiled at the way she sighed happily while she chewed.

When Briley had finished the strawberry, she opened her eyes to see Dongwan looking into her face.

He hadn’t noticed how close he had leaned in, but the moment their eyes met, he couldn’t seem to move back. He watched her bite at her bottom lip, then let his eyes trail back up to meet hers. Swallowing the nerves that had bubbled up from their close proximity, Dongwan reached his hand up to gently run his fingertips down Briley’s cheek, moving some hair out of the way before he leaned in closer. He watched her close his eyes once again before he did the same, brushing his lips softly against hers.

It was only the briefest of kisses. Dongwan pulled back and opened his eyes, memorized every feature of the Brit’s face. Before she opened her eyes back up, he leaned back in, this time with a bit more pressure. Their lips molded together and Briley sighed into the kiss.

The second kiss lasted longer, but was just as sweet as the first. He smiled down at her as he finally pulled back. Her eyes fluttered open and Dongwan ran his thumb softly across her cheek. He smiled as she giggle nervously.

Dongwan stood up and put his hand out to her so that Briley would stand. “What now? the Brit asked softly, still half in a daze from probably the best first kiss she had ever had.

He led her to the edge of the water and slipped his shoes and socks off, then bent down to help Briley out of hers. He then walked them out to walk in the water and they explored a ways down the river with the water reaching up about mid-calf on Briley. He kept her hand in his the whole way as they explored. They took photos, together and separate, and of everything they they saw. It had been an hour before they headed back to the bank to dry and put their shoes back on.

Dongwan sat back down on the blanket then pulled Briley down to lean up against him. “Thank you for coming out here with me.”

“This is by far the best date I have ever been on.”

“Same for me. Though, I think I should confess something,” Dongwan waited for Briley to nod. “So, we mentioned that we had seen a few of your videos, right?” Briley ‘hmmed’ and nodded. He then spilled everything about how they had been fans of their channel for several months. He told her everything. Briley giggled at how nervous Dongwan and then excited he got as he talked about everything.

“That is so cute,” Briley smiled after he was finished with his confession.

He ran his fingers through her hair and they watched the water, talking and occasionally sharing another soft kiss, until it was time to head back to their hotel.