- topper may not seem like the thoughtful type
- but i can see topper putting a lot of time and thought into planning dates
- always researching the best places to go
- new restaurants to try
- but restaurants aren't really topper's thing
- it reminds him of the long fancy dinners he'd have to sit through with his parents
- but he treats you to them every once and a while just to see you dressed up
- he liked to have fun
- beach dates were big with you two
- like so much of your time together revolved around the beach
- sometimes he'd set up a picnic blanket on the beach and would pick up dinner
- so you could watch the sunset together
- he would've cooked the food but he couldn't risk burning anything
- evenings on the beach always turned into nights on the beach
- you two stayed there until the sun went down and the stars came out
- topper would always break into his mom's wine cellar and bring a bottle along
- which had you both fairly tipsy by nightfall
- leading to a stupid gave of never have i ever as you both laid down on the blanket
- "never have i ever... gone skinny dipping." you prompted
- topper didn't respond right away, chuckling softly and letting his dimples show. "never. i haven't done that."
- you gasped, sitting up and placing a hand on his chest, shaking him a little bit.
- "well?! what are you waiting for? now's the time!"
- you took his hand, pulling him up with you
needless to say, topper now had a different answer to that question
- some days you'd volunteer for beach cleanup after a big storm
- and even though it wasn't a traditional date, you still managed to talk most of the time and work as a team
- "hey! look at these shells!" topper would shout towards you just a few feet away, kneeling down on the sand. "i think i wanna take some home."
- "what are you, five?" you laughed at your boyfriend who was slipping shells into the pockets of his board shorts.
- "you can never be too old to collect shells, y/n."
- later, he'd hold one in particular, smoothing his thumb over the ridges before handing it to you
- "i want you to have this one. it's the prettiest, so it's only fair that it belongs to the prettiest girl in the obx."
- even though it was a little silly, you still treated that damn shell like it was a diamond, finding a place for it on your nightstand
- "so now, whenever you miss me, you can whisper into the shell and i'll whisper back." topper explained.
- "i don't think it works like that, but whatever you believe, baby. i'll do it."
- some beach days when topper wasn't busy collecting sea shells, he was having you bury him in the sand
- sometimes your friends joined you also
- or when you didn't feel like going in the water, topper wanted to sit in the sand right beside you while you relaxed on your towel
- the first time it happened, rafe and kelce buried him in the sand next to you
- and having dozed off, you hadn't noticed, figuring all three boys were in the water
- but no
- you shrieked, eyes shooting wide open as you saw nothing but topper's head sticking out of the sand once you woke up
- soon enough you joined in on the boy's laughter, but it did startle you quite a bit at first
- anyways
- PARASAILING 🪂
- topper would act so tough, as if he would be protecting you and helping you through it the whole time
- when in reality he has his eyes closed while you go up and again when you come back down
- your screams where ones of excitement while his held a little bit of fear
- not to mention him squeezing the life out of your hand
- he would hug you so tight once you were back on land, chest still heaving up and down from the adrenaline
- "wasn't that fun?!" you asked him.
- "you betcha!"
- "let's go again!"
- ROADTRIPS ROADTRIPS ROADTRIPS
- this is obviously longer than just a date, but you had to admit it was one of your favorites
- there didn't have to be an occasion
- sometimes, when you two were sick of being stuck at home, all it took was the word
- "roadtrip?"
- and you were off
- throwing a few changes of clothes into a backpack and some other things you might need
- and settling into topper's jeep, connecting your phone to the aux immediately
- in fact, over time you built a roadtrip playlist
you both knew the words to all the songs
- singing them from the lyrics you knew by heart
- once topper was pulling out of your driveway, you both realized you hadn't come up with a destination
- but you didn't need one
- he drove with his hand on your thigh
- and that wasn't up for debate
- SURFING DATES
- topper was a nationally ranked surfer so this was a given that he share his talent with you
- you weren't the most excited to join him in surfing, knowing he would outdo you
- you preferred to watch him do his thing
- but he insisted you let him help you
- and at the end of the day you couldn't say no to him
- topper would never admit it, but he purposely missed some waves or fell just to make you feel better
- excusing it with a: "shit, i don't know what happened."
- you'd only taunt him right back for the fun of it
- "feeling intimidated, thornton? is someone feeling scared?"
- HIKES
- i know this boy loves to hike
- he just gives me those vibes
- if you didn't want to do that in the scorching heat, topper would insist on carrying you on his shoulders
- and of course you would protest, telling him how unsafe that could be
- "come on! it's not like i would drop you or anything!"
- if you were feeling like taking a hike, you'd be nonchalant about it
- and at the beginning, staying back just a little bit to give him some confidence
- before passing him up and reaching the destination the fastest
- silly topper
- using all of his energy at the beginning
- you both loved your chill days too
- laying in bed together, letting the breeze in through your open bedroom windows as you watched tv
- you ran your fingers through topper's hair, totally messing it up from his usual look
- he would groan and complain about having to fix it before he could go out again
- "i should just keep a comb over here. i need it every time i leave this place."
- but truthfully, he wouldn't have it any other way