Finally, I got to enjoy a full night sleep and only start to stir when I get this constant, annoying tickling feeling on my nose. I rub my nose several times but it still feels weird, so I finally give in and open my eyes to check what it is, only to I see a smiling Amy with a feather in hand.
"Were you tickling my nose?" I ask groggily and a little confused.
"YES!" She smiles.
"Why?" I ask as I roll over and bury my face into my pillow.
"Because it's date day and you have one and a half hours to get ready.... Is that even enough time?" She questions.
"Is that your way of saying I look like crap?" I laugh, "Because despite the guys setting up a bit of a campfire last, I didn't stay up, so that I wouldn't look like crap." I give her a pointed stare.
She shrugs me off.
"You look fine. You did miss a good night though, TJ, Nick and Stu were pranking each other. TJ won because he posted a picture on Stu's account and now Stu's account is suspended." Amy starts chuckling away to herself and I just stare at her, watching the tears of laughter fall down her face.
"What was the picture?" I ask curiously.
"A FAKE nude!" She bursts into laughter again, this time falling over onto the bed.
"Oh god. I'd better message David and warn him, the media will have fun with that." I sigh.
Amy sits ups and stops laughing, "It's your day off and the picture was funny, it just violated the nudity rules, David can handle it."
I throw the blankets off my legs and head to the bathroom. I grab a shower and head back to Amy. I stop in the doorway, a little shocked that she has spread a selection of outfits across my bed, which is stupid of me because it's Amy! I really should have expected it.
"Hey, ok. I have a pretty decent selection of outfits for your date and I made sure they are a sexy mixture between casual and flirty." Amy says proudly.
"Wow, you have skills! I was literally gone five minutes." I laugh and head over to the bed to check out the selection.
"Which one are you thinking?" She asks excitedly, "The low-cut dress? Or the silk blouse?"
"Erm.... Anything a little more casual?" I ask.
"Jamie, you're on a first official date." Amy says, staring at me firmly.
"Yeah, I know but Reece and I are emotionally and physically past the first date stage. He should know me enough to know I'd prefer jeans and a cute top."
I hear steps coming towards my room and Reece sleepily passes the doorway heading to the bathroom, the footsteps stop suddenly and he start to laugh. Backing up, he peers into the room, rubbing his eyes.
"Morning! How early did Amy wake you up?" He asks, still smiling.
"Not early enough!" Amy insists, "We have so much to do, and she is struggling to pick an appropriate outfit."
Reece looks at the clothes scattered on the bed and shrugs.
"It's only me, wear your jeans and a hoody." He kisses my cheek and heads back towards the door.
"You two are ruining this first date for me! She won't dress up and you don't want her too!" Amy jokingly huffs.
Reece turns to Amy with a soft, understanding smile.
"I promise, there will be plenty of times in the future when you can style Jamie to your hearts content, with Jamie's permission of course."
"Yeah, because you often seek that." I giggle at her.
"But for now, the more casual we look, the more we will blend in and can enjoy the day outside. Un- noticed." He says and Amy nods in understanding.
"That makes complete sense. I'm sorry I should have thought of that" Amy says blushing.
"No time for apologising, I need help looking casually beautiful."
Amy gives me a wicked smile. She jokingly pushes Reece out of the room and turns to me, "Right let's pick your sexiest fitting jeans."
The next hour is filled with laughter and excitement as I get pampered by Amy for my date. Once I'm ready, I head downstairs and Reece smiles as soon as he spots me. He places a soft kiss on my lips and entwines our fingers.
"Ready to go?" He asks and feeling nervous, I blush and smile.
As we approach the door, a throat clears behind us and we both turn in confusion.
"Before you take OUR Jamie out on a date, we have the right to know your intentions?" Jokes TJ.
Stu jumps in grinning, "Every single one."
As soon as he waves his eyebrows, Amy whacks him playfully.
"GO! Have fun and keep our girl safe." Amy smiles.
We head out and Reece places the helmet on my head and gives me some protective gear to put on, as the journey is longer than before. He takes a selfie of us, both with and without the visor covering our faces, and then we ride off.
The roads are quiet so we don't make any stops. When the roads finally start to get busy, he takes the back roads and eventually we park around the back of a building.
"Where are we?" I ask, staring at a graffiti wall.
"It's a surprise. A rather awesome one too." He says proudly.
"Did Reece from Deadly Sins call in favours?" I joke as he removes my protective gear.
"No, not this time." He stops and stares straight into my eyes, "Today I am Reece Pearson, finally on a first official date with you. Reece Pearson also happens to have a friend who works here, and he owed me." He grins.
"Owed you how?" I ask, being nosey.
"That's a story for later. Once you get to know the real me, you'll discover I'm extremely dull and that story might score me an end of date kiss."
The back door opens and a guy in a polo top and shorts smiles at us.
"Reece, good to see you!"
"And you man. How's the missus?"
"Gutted she wasn't able to say hi to you this morning, but our little ones are both teething. It's a nightmare."
Reece smiles at me, "Jamie this is Michael. We went to school together and he has recently had twins with his lovely wife."
"Nice to meet you Jamie, come on in."
We follow Michael through a dimly lit hallway. The air feels hugely different inside, almost moist, and there's a smell that seems familiar. We walk through an arch way and the ground we're walking on feels suddenly different. I feel a little nervous so Reece squeezes my hand. Michael stops us mid step and walks ahead to turn the lights up slightly.
Reece gives me a relaxed, happy smile and looks down. I follow his gaze and I realise we're walking on glass. A stingray swims below us and I jump back to avoid it, causing Reece to laugh at me.
"Oh my god." I smile and watch as more sea creatures swim past.
"We can watch these later. First, we have some sharks to visit."
Reece takes my hand and we catch up to Michael. He leads us through parts of the aquarium and then opens a black, locked door. We head inside and in front of us is a large open tank enclosure, to the left is the toilets, and to the right is lots of piping and railings and a metal cage hovering over the tank.
We follow Michael into the bathroom and he pulls us out a wet suit each, and I stand there staring at an amused Reece, speechless.
"What's the matter? You're not afraid of a little old shark, are you?" He teases.
"We're going in there? They will eat us!" I say, shocked.
"We will be protected by the cage. But we will be remarkably close." Reece says and kisses my head.
"We will need to go over some safety precautions and just so you aren't going to be shocked sometimes they nudge the cage, but they can't get to you, and you can hurt them. Get suited up and then we can go over the rules and get started."
"Reece, this is insane!" I laugh, "But I am so excited."
"I've always wanted to do it and now, with you, is the perfect time."
Reece leans in and kisses me. I part my lips and pull him into a deeper kiss as my body craves more of him. His hands pull my body as close as possible.
"I hope you didn't kiss my wife like that!" Jokes Michael.
We pull back as Reece laughs loudly.
"You know I don't kiss and tell mate." Reece winks at him and the two of them laugh it out.
We go through the rules and then we're helped into the cage and given breathing masks so we can go under the shallow water the cage is floating on. The whole forty-five-minute experience is incredible. Reece and I laughed so much, especially when we were knocked about by the sharks and a giant turtle.
When Reece sings, he loses his surroundings and is absorbed into the world of music at his fingertips. Today I saw the exact same Reece, and I knew that he was sharing something incredible with me, and it just makes me love him even more.
Michael, very kindly, takes pictures and videos on Reece's phone for us, and once we have showered and dressed again, we go for a private tour of the aquarium before being shown to a private cove where we are served a slightly late breakfast of pancakes and chocolate milkshakes, picnic style.
"Are you enjoying our date?" He asks shyly.
"Are you joking? Reece, this whole day so far has been amazing. Thank you."
"I wanted to let you see another part of me. My grandfather used to bring me here all the time when I was little because I was obsessed with sea life. Every present he ever got me was sea life related, we watched documentaries together and hunted down rare books. It was our thing. I was so scared to tell him that I wanted to join the band with the guys. But he pulled me into a hug and said 'This is your life and your opportunities. If you feel the band route is the one for you, then aim high. You can always return to the world of the sea if the band life isn't what you want. No regrets Reece'."
"Your Grandad sounds awesome. Mine took me to a charity shop and told me to pick anything I wanted for my birthday." I start to laugh and Reece smiles.
"When he died, I was broken Today is the first time I've been back here since I last went with him."
Sadness is in his voice. My eyes fix on his and I lean in to kiss him. As my lips brush his, he moves closer and the kiss deepens. Within seconds I'm pressed against the cove wall, with sharks and other sea life swimming past, as Reece and I kiss.
As we become breathless, we break apart and look at each other, both amused at how hard it is to be apart. Reece strokes my face and he begins to blush.
He gazes at me and quietly says, "The other day, when Chloe asked me to say those things, I couldn't. But it wasn't because she was right. It was because I had told her so many times that I loved her and it wasn't until I met you, that I realised what really falling in love felt like. I don't know at what point you had stolen my heart, but I knew the second you met Joey and signed to him that what I was feeling was love. I love you Jamie, with all my heart."
A smile immediately breaks out onto my face and I cup his face and kiss him gently and pull back.
"I love you too." I say confidently, with my usual blush.
Reece lets a huge breath and laughs and kisses me.