Promises (Jack Gilinsky)

Chapter 27

Charlotte's POV:

A few minutes later, Jack pulls over on the side of the road once again. "We're here."

I get out of the car and look around. On my right I see a small neighborhood, and on my left, I see the woods. I know this road. We're less than ten minutes from my house, so I know exactly where we are. "Jack, why are we here?"

"Well, we're not actually at the surprise yet."

"Then where is it?"

"Follow me." Jack says as he enters the woods. I guess we're going on a hike.

I don't say much as I follow Jack through the woods. We walk along a very dim path. It's obvious that not many people have been back here before.

We walk for about ten more minutes before Jack turns back to me. "Okay, now close your eyes."

I laugh a little at Jack's request. "Why?"

"Just trust me." He says, grinning and walking towards me.

I do as he says. Jack walks behind me with his hands on my shoulder, leading me through the woods. We walk for about thirty seconds until Jack stops me. "Ok, now open."

I open my eyes and can't believe what lies in front of me. it's even more beautiful than the view from the restaurant.

In front of me lies an opening surrounded by beautiful trees on all sides. Except for on side, there lies a lake.

The lake has a sandy entrance, like a beach, and the water looks amazing. There is a dock that stretches about ten feet into the water. There is canoe floating at the end. To my left is a beautiful gazebo with benches along the inside and a swing in the middle.

To the right of the gazebo is a picnic table with a hammock a few feet away. Everything looks so new and well kept. To make it even better, the ground is all sand.

"Jack, what is this place?" I ask, walking towards the water.

"It's my own personal getaway." He says, coming up behind me and wrapping his arms around my waist. He kisses me on the cheek and I smile. "This is where I come when I need time to myself." He continues.

We go and sit on the bench swing in the gazebo. I rest my head on Jack's shoulder and admire the scenery. "How did you find this place?" I ask.

"My aunt used to live in one of those houses across the street. Whenever me and my sisters would visit her when we were younger, we would go play in the woods. One day we found this place, and we started coming back here all the time. Our parents never really found out about it though. But, when my sisters got older, they stopped coming here. But, I didn't. This place means something to me, I couldn't just leave it. All these things were already here, but they were really worn down. So, two summers ago, I decided to fix this place up."

"Wait, you fixed it up all by yourself?"

"Yep. There was no one else that knew about it to help. I mean, my sisters wouldn't help if I told them, and they're the only other ones who know this is here."

"Wait," I say turning to look at him, "you never showed any of the guys this place?"

"No. I love the guys, but this was my place to go when I needed to be alone. And I don't think they would appreciate it as much as they should. "

"Then, why did you show me?"

"You're not like the guys. I knew you would react differently. And, if I'm gonna be alone, I wanna be alone with you." Jack says, smiling at me again. I return the favor and give him a kiss on the cheek.

It gets dark pretty quickly, but we don't care. Jack and I eventually move from the swing to the sand, laying cuddled up next to eachother. We watch the sunset over the trees as we lay in eachothers arms. If only every moment could be as perfect as this one.

"Charlotte?"

"Yeah?" I say, moving from my current position so I'm facing Jack but resting my chin on his chest.

"Nothing, I just wanted to see your face." He smiles a cheesy smile.

I laugh at Jack. I move so that I'm next to him. I lie on my side and face him. He moves so that he's in the same position. We stay like this for a while, just looking at eachother.

This night has been perfect. Jack and I have the perfect relationship in my opinion. There's just one thing that neither of us have said that could make our relationship better. There have been so many times that I wanted to say it. But, I was scared to see how Jack would react. What is he doesn't feel the same way? What if-

"Charlotte?" My thoughts are interrupted by Jack saying my name.

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

Now our relationship is complete.