The two of them ended up at an open park/garden. “What are we doing?”

He gave her his most irresistible smile, “Relaxing.” He sat down on the lush green grass, and tapped the seat beside him.

Kim stared at him curiously, but sat beside him, leaning her body against his. She exhaled. It felt good to just sit there and relax, even for a minute. He wrapped his arms around her, and whispered in her ear, “Relax…clear your mind.” He kissed her temple.

She sighed again and shut her eyes. “I’m sorry, I know I’m probably ruining your day. I bet you didn’t want spend your afternoon listening to me whine about my problems, or wipe my tears away, or even go shopping for a new outfit that I’m sure you already have stashed in your closet.”

Gerald shook his head. “I wanted to spend my day with my girlfriend, my official girlfriend, and I loved every minute of it.”

Kim smiled. “Did you just call me your girlfriend?” She stared up at him.

“Yes, isn’t that what you are? I mean I am meeting your parents.” He said staring back at her.

She just continued to smile at him. “You just never called me that before. I guess I liked hearing it…boyfriend.”

They spent about an hour sitting down talking about non-sense, and laughing, and helping Kim take out all the stress from her mind and body. “Okay, time to go get ready for this awaited night.” He laughed, pushing her up and standing up next to her.

“Ugh, ten more minutes,” she whined, half laughing.

“No, we should get ready; I thought you needed two hours to get yourself ready.” He led her out of the park, but she jumped on his back laughing.

He laughed also, “Maybe you should warn me when you do that next time so I can work on back.”

She chuckled. “Maybe. Hey, I got a question: when’s your next ball game?”

“Uh….in two weeks. Why? Are you planning on coming?”

“Of course, what kind of girlfriend would I be if I didn’t show up to my boyfriend’s home game?”

“Not a very good one.” He adjusted her higher on his back so he could hold her more comfortably. He carried her all the way back to her loft and let her down outside her door, following her upstairs.

She opened the door, and called Erich’s name but there was no answer. Gerald picked up note beside the phone. “Erich went out and said she’d meet us at the restaurant,” he read off the letter. “So I thought this dinner was for family.”

Kim got two water bottles out of the refrigerator and threw one to Gerald. “It is, and Erich is practically family. I’ve knew her since the eighth grade, we went to high school together and bought this loft when we went off to university. She calls my dad, dad. Twinkle thinks of her as a sister and so does my brother. She comes everywhere with the family.” Kim explained. “Okay, there’s a shower in my room so you could use it, and I’ll go use the one in Erich’s room.” She gave a quick peck to Gerald and started up the stairs. “You should get going because I have a few outfits I’d like an opinion on. You know, a fashion show for you and your opinion of me; it’s a win-win situation!” She called down.

Gerald finished getting ready within the hour, black trousers and shirt. He even styled his hair with a small comb he found in Kim’s room. He took this time to look around the loft since he wasn’t exactly given the chance before. Her room was pretty much bare, but there were a couple of pictures on her nightstand. There were pictures of her family (without her mother, of course) and a couple of pictures of her an Erich, and there was one picture that made him smile. It was a picture of the two of them from New York when they were on their way to the Met. “Are you snooping around my stuff?” Kim’s voice came behind him. He looked at her in her bathrobe and toweling off her hair.

“You kept the picture.” He showed her.

Kim smiled and held it in her hands. “Of course I did. I keep everything that’s important to me. This was the first night that I actually saw as more than a complete jackass,” she chuckled to herself. “And a genuine, kind, y human being. It was also the same night we made love for the first time.” She said putting her head on his shoulder. But then looked at him. “You’re already dressed, which means I should start to get ready.” She got up and went into her closet. She took out a couple of dresses. One dress was green, another purple, another dark blue and the last in casual black. She even took out some outfits she got in New York. “Okay, you can try to make a decision while I do my make up and hair.”

Gerald just stayed in the bedroom looking around while Kim was in her bathroom blow drying her hair. On her dresser, he saw some other photos with her as a child. He smiled, seeing how adorable she was when she was young.

Kim was finished in about twenty minutes, with her hair in soft waves and make-up already done. Okay, so I was thinking that maybe I shouldn’t wear green because we don’t want to look like those matchy matchy couples on the street.” She said putting the dress back in the closet. “And I don’t want to wear those black pants because you’re wearing dress pants also. So either the purple dress or black dress.” She held it up in the mirror. “So which do you think?”

“I like the purple one.” He said smiling.

“Okay, well let’s see it on.” She went into the bathroom and put the halter dress on, but there was a zipper on the back she couldn’t get. She walked out holding her hair up behind her head and stared at Gerald who was sitting on a chair reading a book he found on her table. He got up and walked behind her zipping her up. He could smell her fruity scent he got accustomed to, and stared at her perfect skin.

Kim spun around and stared at Gerald with her arms out, “Voila!” She said smiling. “How do I look?”

“I think you look better without it on,” he . She hit his arm. “I think you look absolutely stunning. You’re beautiful.” He said putting his hands on her waist pulling her close.

She put her hands behind his neck. “You look absolutely handsome also, Mr. Anderson,” leaning in for a kiss.

They were getting ahead of themselves and Kim pushed him away. “Shoes!” She called out, going into her closet again.

“You’re thinking about shoes right now? I thought you’d be thinking of me.” He laughed.

“I was, but I need shoes now. Come on, we have to go or else we’re going to be late. We have ten minutes, and my dad’s already there – he likes to get there early – which means my brother and my mother’s there too, and Ate doesn’t like being late, so by any chance she’s already at the table.” She did the straps on her black heels and grabbed her clutch. “So we are already late!”

They arrived at the restaurant, and just like she predicted, everyone was already there, including her mother. Kim paused at the entrance at the sight of her and her breath got caught in . Gerald stopped also, taking her hand and squeezing it. “We’re in this together.” He whispered, kissing her temple. She smiled and nodded, continuing to walk forward to the table.

“I thought you guys got lost,” Her brother said. “Tay, it’s Gerald,” he whispered to his father.

Kim gave a hug to her brother and kissed her dad. “Sorry, we lost track of time.” Kim said hugging her sister and just giving a blank stare to her mother who was smiling at her. “Everyone, this is my boyfriend, Gerald.”

“Hi Sir,” Gerald said standing up straight and holding his hand out for a shake.

“Sir?” Her father repeated. “You make me sound so old. Anyways, me and my son are big fans. That last shot you made two weeks ago was fantastic, our eyes were glued on the screen.”

Kim cleared and forced a smile to Gerald to take a seat, obviously embarrassed. “So, where’s Erich?”

“She said she was going to be a little late, her boyfriend’s stuck in some meeting.” Her mother replied.

Kim just nodded, not able to stare at her for too long. “So let’s order.” She said opening the menu and reading it over.

The night went by smoothly so far. Her father kept the conversation going with talk of basketball. Her father even asked if Gerald could score tickets for the family. Kim just smiled and laughed. Her nerves were still there because she could feel her mother’s eyes on her for some time. “So Gerald, when basketball’s over, what are your plans for the future?” Lilly asked.

Kim stared at her mother, and then back to Gerald. “Well, Kim and I actually spoke about this in New York; I want to open a community centre for kids in the neighbourhood.” Everyone stared smiling, even Kim. “You know a place where kids don’t have worry about their problems, sort of like an escape of the real world for awhile.”

“That’s wonderful!” Twinkle said smiling. “It’s a real interesting idea. Did my sister have something to do with that?”

“No, I did not. It was actually his dream since starting out.” Kim defended herself. “But he also had other dreams also,” smiling at Gerald.

Everyone stared at him with curiosity in their eyes. He cleared his throat. “Well I want to be married and have a family before the time ever comes when I decide to ‘retire’ from basketball. I’ve always wanted a big family.” He smiled at Kim who was smiling back.

“Are you guys saying you’re getting married?” Her brother chimed in.

Kim kicked her brother underneath the table and he groaned. “Well, I have to say, you have an amazing daughter, sir, and she would make a wonderful wife someday. And if it turns out to be me, than I’ll be the lucky one.”

They finished dinner talking about embarrassing stories of Kim when she was younger. “Oh my, there was this one time where Kim was walking down the stairs for junior prom and her date wasn’t holding her, so when she went down a step, her dress got caught in her shoe and she fell!” Everyone laughed, including Gerald who was still holding her hand. Kim laughed too at the dreadful memory Erich recounted.

It grew quiet after a while and a song came on from the band, a slow romantic medley, and Gerald leaned to her and whispered, “Would you like to dance?”

She smiled and took his hand, letting him lead her to the dance floor where it was full of couples already dancing. He put one hand behind her, on the small of her back, and the other hand holding hers against his chest. “Well you’re a total hit.” Kim said, staring at her family who was staring at her smiling.

“What can I say, parents love me.” Their bodies moved slowly to the rhythm. “And they’re not as bad as you put them to be.”

“That’s only because it’s your first night. You’re new to them; they’re on their best behaviour.”

“I just hope they approve of me.”

Kim smiled at him as he held her close. “Don’t worry, they approve. If they see me happy, they’re happy. And I’m extremely happy.” Kim leaned in for a kiss.

“That’s good to hear.” Gerald said back, before kissing her again.

After dinner, Kim’s dad invited everyone to go to the family house. Kim and Gerald were the first ones there, and she let herself in. “So this is where you grew up?”

“Yup,” she said collapsing on the couch and sighing.

He made his way next to her and put one arm around her. “Tonight was good, I think I made a good impression.”

Kim smiled, “You did, and they loved you. Ate thought you were funny and you listened; actually acted like you were interested in what they had to say. And you and my brother are going out next week, and my dad didn’t stop smiling once. Did you notice? He only wanted to speak to you; I bet if I wasn’t there he’d ask for your autograph.” She laughed. “You did amazing tonight and thank you for everything. You’re an amazing boyfriend,” she gently pressed her lips against his.

Gerald kissed her back, holding her face gently, but at the same time securely to keep her head in place. She started laughing and pushed him away. “We can’t do this,” she said her lips and fixing her hair.

“Why not?” he asked staring at her.

“It’s my dad’s house, and my family is on their way, and they can catch us.” She said leaning over to look at the window; no sign of them. She stared back at him. “Stop staring at me like that.”

“I believe you promised a great night.” He retorted.

Kim laughed, “And when was this promise made? And FYI, you said you had a great night, you were with me.”

Gerald shook his head. “That was a *good* night, I want a great night.” He pulled her closer and kissed her again. She didn’t resist. He deserved it for being a good boyfriend; being there for her and promising they’d go through everything together, and he was a great kisser. He pulled her body closer, and his hands ended up behind her, where the bow situated at the back of her dress. He undid the bow and then found the zipper, beginning to pull it down. But the sound of keys jiggling in the door distracted him. She pushed him off of her and stood up. Her dad’s car was in the driveway and they would have seen them if the lights were ; good thing they weren’t.

“Oh no,” Kim said frantically trying to tie her dress, as Gerald was buttoning his shirt. Kim couldn’t believe that they got that far without thinking, but Gerald had that effect on her. She fixed her hair, and the door burst open.

“Tay, you drank too much. You couldn’t even find the key.” Twinkle’s voice sounded, entering the foyer.

Kim rubbed her face, pulling her hair back with her fingers. She calmed herself, slowing her breathing, but then Gerald zipped up her dress, and she looked down. “Oh, my gosh!” She whispered, straightening her dress, laughing.

“I am not drunk, I did drive home!” Her dad yelled, coming into the living room, finding Kim and Gerald smiling and standing like they were waiting for them. “What’s going on? You ca sit down, are waiting for something?”

Gerald chuckled, “We just heard you guys come in…”

“I was just about to show Gerald my old room, but then you guys came in…” Kim specified. “You know, it’s getting late, and Ge has a meeting tomorrow, so maybe we should go.” She said grabbing her bag. She hugged her sister and brother, and gave a kiss to her dad, again not knowing what to do, she just smiled at her mother stiffly and said goodbye. “I’ll call you tomorrow, Tay.”

“Goodnight, Anak.” Her dad said. “It was good to finally meet the man who put that smile on my baby’s face.” He shook a smiling Gerald’s hand.

“Okay!” She said loudly to end the embarrassing chatter that might have happened. “Ge, come on before my dad starts his drunken conversation.” She glared at her dad, and then stared at her sister, “Make sure he drinks coffee. Bye.” Kim grabbed Gerald’s hand and pulled him out the door. She began laughing, getting into his car. “I can’t believe my whole family almost caught us making out.”

He smiled, “I felt like I was back in high school.” He replied.

Kim raised her eyebrow, “Something is telling me that this happened a lot.” There was no comment. Kim choked a laugh, “Oh, so I see, I’m dating a chick magnet. How many girlfriends have you had?”

Gerald chuckled. “Are you seriously asking me that question?”

“Okay, well, maybe I don’t need an actual number, since obviously you can’t answer that, just a ball park figure.”

“I’m not a baseball person,” Gerald joked. Kim’s eyes bore into him with curiosity. “But, it’s definitely less than a ball park.”

Her jaw dropped. “Wow, like half a ball park? More than half…?” Gerald stared at her, “Okay…wow. So you’re very experienced in your 25 years of living.”

“What about yours? Your secret number?” He stole little glimpses of her.

“Well, I can assure you it’s less than your number. I had four boyfriends; two in high school, one in college and you. That’s my number.” She said with a little smugness in her voice. She looked outside the window and realized they weren’t parked outside her condo. “I thought I was going home.”

He laughed and ran around to open her door. “My lady,” he chuckled, lending his hand for her to take. She took it, and he led her to his door. “We spent the entire day at your place, the least you could do is spend the night.” He kissed her cheek.

“And my work tomorrow? I have nothing to wear.” She proposed, but Gerald let her in, and opened his coat closet. There were some of her outfits already inside. “Where did you get all this?”

“I pulled a few favours, maybe Erich was involved, but no explanation required, right?” He pulled her to the living room and the opened his sliding door to the deck. “Come on, it’s nice night.” He stepped out first, and she joined him.

His back yard was beautiful. There were lights suspended above them which illuminated a soft glow. There were beautiful flowers showcased in his garden. “You designed this?”

He shook his head, “My mom knows a little bit about landscaping, she pretty much designed it, but I did get it done.” He took a seat. She did so also on the chair next to him. “I come out here just to clear my head, for relaxing. It’s like my oasis.”

“And you wanted to show it to me? Your paradise?” She asked him.

“I just wanted to spend time with you without any interruptions.” He took her hand and kissed it. He leaned back and sighed with his eyes closed. He looked peaceful.

Kim turned to her side so she could fully face him. “What are you thinking?” She asked in a calm voice.

“You,” he smiled. He opened his eyes and looked at her. “Come here.” He whispered, opening his arms so she could sit with him. Kim crawled into the space he left for her and felt his arms encircle her body. She felt warm and safe. “What are you thinking about?”

Kim also closed her eyes, resting her head on his chest. “I’m thinking…I could stay in your arms forever; just lying here with you.”

Gerald stayed quiet for a moment, and then began humming a medley into her ear. “♪ I could hold you in my arms / I could hold you forever ♪ .” She smiled and shivered to the feeling of his breath on her skin. “Let’s go up?”

She nodded, getting up and instead of him leading, she did. She opened the door to his bedroom and walked in, with his arms around her waist and face on her shoulder. She pulled his hands apart and turned around facing him. “Look, as much as I hate to spoil this wonderful evening, I think we should talk about what may happen tomorrow.”

He took her hands into his and kissed her forehead. “Okay, what’s up?”

She pulled him onto the bed and they sat beside each other. “Well, I’m speaking with Janet, and you heard what Mel said, she doesn’t allow this type of thing.” She looked down. Despite all the smiles and laughter that just happened, she couldn’t help but think about it. “I just don’t want lose this job you know.”

He nodded. “But Mel also said that she was going to try to talk her out of it. And I highly doubt that she’ll fire you because you fell in love. Janet’s married; she knows what it feels like. I think she’s a more reasonable person than you think of her.” He said before he fell backwards and was lying on his back.

Kim then laid on her side so she was still facing him and leaned on one arm, while the other was on top of his chest. “So what you’re saying is that I shouldn’t be scared.”

He looked at her, “You’re actually scared?”

She laughed, “Hell yeah. Janet is super intimidating. One time Mel forgot to send out invitations to some people and Janet made her cry. I had to convince her that it was going to be okay; Mel didn’t even leave her office until Janet left, and being the head to the company, Mel was waiting for a really long time to leave her office.” Kim relived the memory.

“But you didn’t forget to send out invitations, you like someone; a crime wasn’t made here. And I’m sure if she does fire you, you’ll have a case against her. I’m sure there’s a rule that says you can’t fire an employee for loving someone.” Gerald insisted. He sighed and brushed strands away from her face. “Look at me,” he ordered. “You’ll have nothing to worry about. And if you’d like, I’ll go with you. I told you we’re in this together; I’m not leaving you.” Gerald gave her a reassuring smile and pulled her body on top his, and kissed her fervidly.

Once again, all her sense overwhelmed her, pleasure filling every part of her body. She pulled his body closer, which led him to roll her over so he now had the top position. She hooked one leg around his hip, and his hand rubbed the back of her calf. His tongue slipped through the opening of her lips and met hers. She moaned softly, allowing herself to not only feel, but enjoy the sensations he was able to bring her.

His finger slowly unravelled her dress and pulled it off her body, then made his way to his clothes. They went under his covers and she rubbed her hands on his athletic arms. His lips moved from her lips, down to , then her collarbone, and down to her belly button. Her hands were on the side of his head. Her legs writhed beneath her body, and a moan escaped her lips. Gerald made his way up back to her lips.

This felt so natural to him, making love to Kim didn’t only feel right, but it felt necessary, as it was the only way to truly show he loved her; flowers and gifts and dinner wasn’t enough. It may help, but he loved her so much and hearing her moan in pleasure or hearing his name coming from her lips made it more beautiful. Of course it wasn’t just about with him, but it was one of his favourite past times with her.

After dealing with the protection, he slowly entered her. Her breath got caught in , and she gasped quietly. The both of them gradually picked up their own rhythm and speed perfect for just the two of them; perfect for the two of them to have a truly mind-blowing . All of a sudden both their worlds collided as one, seeing bright lights as a stream of ecstasy overwhelmed both their bodies.

This wasn’t their first making love, but it was their first time with the whole world knowing about their relationship; it made this a whole new milestone in both their lives, and Gerald couldn’t be happier. The two of them fell asleep in each other’s arms happy and satisfied. Tonight was more than their first time as an actual couple; it was a way of Gerald “marking” his territory. There was no way of him leaving her now, they weren’t just Gerald and Kim, boy met girl and fell in love; they were one. Their souls were connected forever, and nothing, absolutely nothing could ever tear them apart. This was why they both slept soundly because no matter what would try to tear them apart, they were going to overcome it, because this love would be able to fight anything and conquer all odds. It was this love that would stay together.

(so i forgot the rest of the titles, and i don't feel like making them up, therefore the rest will be untitled. But don't worry, i'm not missing anything)