Remembering Sundays

When Zack’s alarm suddenly went off he nearly rolled over and went back to bed when he saw that the clock read three in the morning. But just as he was about to he suddenly remembered why he had set his alarm. He date with Emma.

He got out of bed faster than he ever had before and rushed around his room to grab everything he needed so he could grab a quick shower. Before he actually got into the shower, he rushed into the kitchen to put a pot of coffee on and then went back into the bathroom to get ready so it had time to brew while he was busy doing other things.

Once he was done, he went back to his room to pull on a pair of jeans and a nicer shirt, trying to keep it casual considering what he had planned but wanting to look at least a little nice. When he was dressed, he made his way back out into the kitchen almost forgetting that Ben had stayed over the night before until the bundle underneath the blankets on the couch started moving and a moan came from the couch.

“What the hell are you doing up at 3:30 in the freaking morning?” Ben grumbled as he sat up and rubbed his eyes.

Zack didn’t bother looking up since he was no pouring the now finished coffee into a thermos and didn’t want to burn himself if he paid more attention to his friend instead of the liquid. “Date with Emma.”

“Dude, I realize you’re excited about it but you don’t need to get up at three in the morning to prepare. You have a few hours before you need to get ready.”

Zack shook his head, “no I don’t. I’m actually running late.”

“Whatever, it’s too early to understand what you’re talking about. I’m going back to bed.” Ben mumbled as he flopped back on the couch and pulled the blankets over his head in attempt to block out the noises Zack was making as he continued to rummage through the kitchen.

Finally he was ready, having everything he needed. Well, except one thing. He put his things by the door and then made his way over to where Ben was attempting to fall back asleep and pulled the blankets off of him. Ben instantly started to whine as he blindly reached for the blankets that Zack was now neatly folding up.

“Dude, give them back, I want to sleep.”

“No, I need them,” Zack replied as Ben gave him his best glare he could muster so early in the morning. “Go sleep in my bed, I have a heating blanket in there. I’ve got to go! Wish me luck!”

He grabbed his things and then made his way to the door barely heard the grumbled response he got from his best friend as the door began to shut behind him. Going out to his car, he put everything he had in the trunk and then got in, pulling out of the parking lot and heading to the first place he needed to stop. Pulling out his phone, he sent a quick text at a stop light to say that he was on his way.

As he drove, he kept checking the time to make sure he wasn’t late and that they wouldn’t miss it. It was still dark out, only tiny bit of a lighter shade of blue was showing through the otherwise dark sky. The stars were still out and sparkling even though they were fading a bit because of the sky getting lighter as the time continued to pass.

When he pulled into the parking lot, he was about to pull his phone out again as he found a parking spot but stopped when he saw the all too familiar person standing there looking half asleep as they made their way over. He couldn’t help the wide grin that grew on his face as she opened the car door and climbed inside. She returned a much sleepier one as he backed out of the spot to get back on the road.

“So why the hell are we up before the sun is even up?” Emma asked in between yawns as Zack continued driving.

He just gave a sly smile as he glanced over to face her for a moment. “You’ll see.”

“Should I be scared?”

“Just trust me, I think you’ll like it.”

She just left it at that as she rest her head against the back of the seat as he drove. The radio was on low on the back and they sat in silence, their own thoughts going through their head throughout the drive. When the destination came up, Zack slowed the car down as he pulled into yet another parking lot. Finding a spot, he turned the car off and gave Emma a small smile as he opened his door and got out after popping open the trunk.

As he was grabbing the things from the back, she got out also and he glanced up at her and couldn’t help but admire her as he saw her standing their shyly. Emma was wearing a pair of jeans and flats with a long sleeved shirt since just because they were in LA didn’t mean the mornings could be a little cold in the winter seasons. Her hair was in a braid draped over her shoulder and had the locket around her neck and light makeup on.

“Whoa, you’re prepared,” Emma muttered as she saw watching him take all the things out of the trunk.

He blushed lightly as he shut the trunk and looked up at her again, “Follow me.”

Emma nodded as she offered to carry something but Zack shook his head as he began walking through the all too familiar park leading her to where he planned on taking her. Every now and then he would glance up at the sky to see if they had to hurry but he was thankful that he had planned everything way ahead of time so that they wouldn’t miss it. Though, he still picked up his pace a little, hoping that he wasn’t tiring Emma out but wanting to get there early so they could set up.

When the hill came in view, he heard Emma gasp and whisper a wow as she saw it. He met her gaze and smiled shyly again, continuing to walk so that they could begin to head up the hill. It wasn’t a horrible steep hill so neither of them ran out of breath by the time they were at the top.

Zack set the things in his hands down on the ground and took one of the blankets and held it tight as he tossed one half in the air holding onto the other as it slowly unfolded and floated back down to the ground. Once it as spread out, he grabbed the other blanket and opened it as he sat and patted the space next to him inviting Emma to sit with him.

“So this is your plan? Sit on the top of a hill and watch the sunrise?” She asked with a teasing smile making him blush more.

He played it off cool by shrugging and grabbing the basket he also had grabbing some of the things inside. “That and I brought breakfast.” He replied as he showed her the little bag of muffins and scones he had and the thermos of coffee.

“How did you find this place?” She asked after he had poured her a cup of coffee and they split a muffin. The sun was just slowly starting to peak out, changing the dark sky to beautiful reds and purples as it continued to slowly rise.

He shrugged again, “when I first moved to LA I decided to explore a bit and found this park. I’ve never brought anyone else here; I usually just come here to think when I need some space.”

“Well, thank you for sharing it with me; this is the best first date I’ve ever been on.” She replied as she leaned over and kissed his cheek lightly.

Soon she was leaning right against him with his arms around her waist and sharing the blanket as the sun rose higher. They both sat in silence, just enjoying the view and the time together. Zack couldn’t help but realize how lucky he was to have met her. Even if this was only the first date, he couldn’t help but have a feeling that this could go somewhere. That he might be able to call her his girlfriend in the very near future.

Emma snuggled closer to him pulling him from his thoughts and he looked down to see that she was asleep against him. The sun was now fully up and the familiar noises of LA were starting to come to life as the city began yet another busy day. But he didn’t care; all he cared about was the girl next to him and spending as much time with her and getting to know her more.

A while later, she woke up and both of them were a little sore from sitting there for so long so they decided to leave. But neither of them wanted to part ways just yet and go home and since they had taken small naps to make up for sleep lost, they decided to go grab a late breakfast before deciding what else to do for the day.

But Zack honestly didn’t care what they did, just as long as it meant spending more time with Emma. And from what he could tell, she felt the same way. Well at least at the fact that she had took his hand and walked as close as possible as she could as they made their way back to his car after packing up.