CHAPTER FOUR
The afternoon breeze ruffles through my hair as I stretch my arms over my head. I wander towards the boot and sigh with content. I toss the blanket over my shoulder and hold the cushions in my arms. Blake grabs the basket and shuts it. He locks the car and shoves the keys into his pocket.
"Hey baby, can I carry a cushion?" He smiles.
"Nope, I'm fine." I nuzzle them to my chest.
"What about the top one? It looks like it's about to fall."
"I don't need help carrying air and some stuffing." I giggle.
Blake reaches for a cushion, so I dip to the side and poke my tongue out. He shakes his head and bumps his side into mine. His arm wraps around my waist and he squeezes it.
"Where do you want to sit? It looks quiet, so we could sit beside the flowers and not be disturbed, or a shady section on a hill somewhere."
"Hm, maybe under a shady tree?" I smile.
"Sounds good." He nods.
His arm tightens around my waist, and we walk up a hill which leads to beautiful green, grassy hills with large trees creating shade.
We find a good spot higher up the hill, under a tree and beside some pretty flowers. Thankfully, there's nobody in sight which means we have a stunning view of our surroundings.
I drop the cushions onto the floor and shake the blanket out. Blake places the basket on the blanket and I collect the pillows and toss them into the centre. We plonk onto the ground and I dive into the basket and retrieve the delicious food.
Blake sprawls across the blanket and props himself up with the pillows. I set up the dips and biscuits, along with the cheese and meat platters. My stomach grumbles with hunger and Blake laughs.
"Do you love me more than food?"
"Why can't I love you both?" I gasp.
"Hm, I suppose." He laughs.
I settle against Blake's side and drag the wooden cheese board closer. Blake squeezes my shoulder and laughs. I chop the cheese and pass him a slice on a plain biscuit.
"All that should matter, is that I love you enough to share my food with you, and even give you some first." I giggle.
"Thank you, Ava." He grins.
Once we're stuffed and unable to move, I stretch out and snuggle into his chest.
His arms wraps around my body and he kisses the side of my head. I sigh with content and kiss his shoulder. Blake grabs my hand and admires the wedding ring.
"Somehow, I haven't lost it yet."
Blake squeezes my hand and kisses it.
"Please don't lose this because I love staring at it! And no, I won't get bored seeing this or referring to you as my wife."
"I'll try my best because I could never find a replacement for it."
"Good baby, good." He nods.
"Once we're out of the food comas, we should explore this place! I haven't been here since I ten or something. I think there's a river somewhere we could have a sneaky swim in."
"We're not swimming because we don't have bathers. Besides, I don't think you're allowed to."
"There's nobody here to say otherwise, and swimming isn't that bad." He winks.
"I can't swim naked in a river because anyone could see us."
"Where's your sense of adventure, the wild Ava that raced down a street naked?"
"The street was dark and nobody was out there."
"Yeah, that we know of." His chest rumbles with laughter.
Once we're able to move, Blake packs the food away and we carry our belongings to the car. I allow Blake to drag me through the park with the hopes we don't find the river or it's dried up from the long summer months.
We follow a pathway that has stunning plants and flowers. The deeper we get, the more it turns into bushland. Blake bounces with excitement as he recalls visits and I keep my eye on all the warning signs which instil some worry.
"I think it's this way." Blake points to a pathway which isn't marked by the park.
"Are you sure? The signs say we should stick to the park."
"Come on, let's be adventurous!"
"Can't we stick to the pathway where it's safe?"
Blake shakes his head and frowns. He bops from side to side and smiles.
"They say stay in your lane, boy, lane, boy, but we go where we want to."
"Don't you dare quote twenty one pilots because it's not going to change my mind!"
"I promise we won't get lost!"
"Mm, let me think some more. No!" I shake my head. "You said, you think you know where you're going, and that's not reassuring."
"Does anyone really know where they're going?" He ponders.
"Blake!" I pout.
"How about this." He sighs. "If I'm wrong, then I won't pressure you to do this again."
"What if we're not alive for there to be a next time?"
"We're in a park, not the wilderness."
"Fine, only because I don't think you'll take no for an answer."
"You're right there." He laughs.
Blake laces his fingers through mine and tugs me off the pathway. As we wander through the bush, the sound of running water makes us smile. The smile slips off my face at the sight of a small fence with a 'no entry' sign on it.
"Do you want some help over?"
"Sure, then I can tell them you threw me over."
I hold on to the fence and Blake pushes me up so that I can swing my leg over. Once I'm on the ground, Blake leaps over and takes my hand.
The stream flows over rocks and down the hill. He tugs me closer and proudly grins.
"See, I told you I knew where it was." Blake smirks.
"Jude and I used to play on the rocks. We'd make boats from leaves and sticks and race them. Jude hated losing though, he'd throw rocks at my boat whilst it was in the water."
"Let's make a boat." I smile.
"You really want to race me?"
"Yes." I nod.
We scatter as we collect resources for our boats. I find fallen leaves, sticks and a few blades of wild grass. I tie the sticks together with the wild grass and stab the stick into the leaf to give it more support. I find a tiny honky nut and race back to Blake who's standing on the side of the stream.
His boat is a stick with a leaf through it which makes me frown.
"Please tell me that's not your boat."
"I haven't finished my master piece yet."
Once he's done poking sticks through leaves and intertwining whatever else he's found, we place the boats in the water and put honky nuts on top to act as sailors.
We let them go and Blake races along the side of the river cheering his boat on. The current has them flying down the stream. My boat hits a rock, and the nut flies off the side and lands in the water.
"I win." Blake jumps on the spot.
"Be careful!"
"I'll be-" He topples into the water and I cringe.
I step over a couple of rocks and frown.
"Blake?"
I hurry down the side and sigh with relief when he bursts to the surface of the water.
"I told you to be careful!" I glare.
"Ops." He smiles.
"Jump in." He opens his arms.
"No." I shake my head.
"Come on, it's nice in here." He splashes his arms.
"We're going to get in trouble."
Blake shrugs his shoulders and splashes water at me. I jump back and squeal as the cold water spray across my skin.
"If we're caught, I'll tell them I threw you in."
"Can't we go home and swim in our pool?"
"Please, Ava."
I look at the water and our surroundings. I remove my shoes and cardigan before throwing myself into the river. As I surface, Blake's arms wrap around me. His lips find mine and I run my fingers through his wet hair.
"See, it's nice."
"You're not getting off that light."
We play in the water until our fingers wrinkle and our teeth chatter. Blake pulls me out of the river and cuddle on the warm rocks. Our fingers and limbs entwined as we stare at the fluffy clouds moving through the blue sky.
"Maybe you're right - today was fun."
"You're welcome, Mrs. Rivers." He laughs.
"I'm not looking forward to going back. Tori already knows the answers to the DNA test, but she doesn't know we're going for full custody again, and that we might actually get it with the testimonies we've given about her."
"She's going to try every trick in the book and I'm ready for her." He smiles.
I'm glad someone is ready for her because I'm not.
His arm tightens around my waist and I kiss his cheek.
With him beside me, I should be ready for anything.