Derrick gently touched her cheek, brushing aside a piece of hair and then grazed his finger down her jaw line, grabbing her chin delicately between his thumb and index finger. He pulled her towards him and met her for a kiss, their lips soft and tender as they reminisced with one another. He then kissed her cheeks, her forehead, and the tip of her nose with such loving affection that she felt herself feeling like a school girl falling head over heels insanely quickly.
Of course she already loved this man but he had this way of making her fall in love with him again and again. Time with him was never boring or stale, but rather exciting and continually fresh. She loved kissing him and feeling him against her and most of all she loved how much he loved her. He would do anything for her and she knew that now. Derrick was no longer the boyish guy she first fell in love with, he was a man and growing more so each passing day.
She took another sip of champagne a bit too quickly as she felt the butterflies in her stomach when she looked at him. She didn’t know where they were going or how long of a drive it was but there was nothing more she wanted to do then yank his suit and tie off right then and there. Derrick leaned in to kiss her again, eagerly looking at her lips and wanting to taste them again.
Kate suddenly felt something in her chest and just as Derrick was moving in to kiss her, she belched right in his face. A loud, unladylike burp less than two inches from him. She couldn’t even believe it. Kate was mortified, her face turning bright red. Derrick jerked his head back in surprise at the sudden noise and movement and then burst out laughing when he realized what had just happened.
“Oh my god, I can’t even believe I just did that!” Kate groaned and put her hand over her face, feeling mortified.
Derrick was still laughing, almost bellowing at this point, especially when he saw how embarrassed she was. He nearly fell off his seat as his body convulsed and tears sprung to his eyes.
“Okay, it’s not that funny. Seriously, Derrick! You don’t have to make fun of me!” Kate said, trying to sound angry but in truth she was trying not to laugh as well. She grinned at him, still blushing as he leaned in and planted a firm kiss smack on her lips, and then continued laughing.
“God, I love you, Kate. You never stop surprising me.” He winked at her and poured them both another glass of champagne. He raised his glass in the air for a second toast.
“To a lifetime of surprises and laughter.” He said, still smiling and then clinked glasses with hers. She returned his smile and then sipped her champagne, much more slowly this time.
~~~~
It didn’t take much longer before she felt the limousine slowing down and coming to a stop, indicating that they had reached their destination. The air had a salty scent clinging to it and the sounds of water splashing the sides of a hull reached her ears. She loved going to the harbor and Washington DC had many wonderful waterfront spots, so Kate was immediately excited when she realized that they were going to be doing something near the water. The windows were tinted and it was dark outside so she couldn’t see very clearly.
“What are we doing down by the water?” Kate smiled at Derrick and finished the last sips of her champagne. He just smiled at her with a devious glint in his eyes and slid towards the door which was opened by the chauffeur standing outside. He got out of the limousine and Kate shuffled over the seat to follow him, attempting to keep her skirt down as it was starting to slide up her thigh. Once Derrick was standing up outside the limousine, he turned back around and offered her his hand.
“Thank you, kind sir.” Kate smiled up at him as she took his hand and let him help her up out of the back seat. She was absolutely enamored with the entire scene around her when she got out. The limousine was facing a dock that was lined with string lights down the wooden planks out onto the water.
The dock ended at a large ship that was also covered in string lights and bobbing gently on the soft waves. It was a toned down off-white color, slightly darker near the water where dirt had clung to it over time. In black cursive lettering on the side of the boat towards the front was the boat’s name, The Spirit of Love. The dock had a long line of people slowly working towards the end and piling onto the ship. Several were choosing to stop and take a photograph in front of a symbolic lifesaver that had the boat’s name on it. Everyone was very dressed up and looked excited and Kate eagerly clutched Derrick’s hand as he led her down the dock.
“Are we going on a dinner cruise?” She asked him eagerly.