Picnic Area

...

It was a beautiful afternoon, the sun was warm and brights, a gentle breeze rustled the leaves all around. The laughter of children was everywhere as families sat in contentment as their children played. Esme smiled as she tucked her hair back behind her ear, brushing some dirt off her plain light blue sundress. She was waiting for someone special, and kept looking over the horizon to see if she was coming yet. Esme left a note in her mailbox earlier that morning:
"Come find me under the big tree at the top of the biggest hill, I'll be waiting for you Mel.
Love Esme."
She smiled, eager to see Mel and spend a quiet afternoon with her.

Melinoe had gotten the note in her mailbox, and it made her chuckle slightly. She wore her usual outfit, but this time she got some food ready, placing them in a basket. Cheese, bread, grapes, and various other foods with two nice glasses and a bottle of wine. A nice cloth was covering the whole thing. She had found a way to secure it to her motorcycle and placed a helmet on before riding it to the picnic area.

Pulling into the parking lot she slid off the bike, removed the helmet, and got the basket, heading up the hill to the tree that had been mentioned in the note, a soft smile on her face.

Motion caught her eyes, and she turned to see Mel walking toward her. She couldn't contain herself and ran toward her, hugging her when she got close.
"What do you think?"
She stepped back, motioning to the spot she had picked out for them. It was very secluded no one else was close by where they would be. With a broad smile she took Mel's hand and lead her into the shade.
"It's so beautiful out today, that makes me happy knowing we won't be interrupted by bad weather."

Melinoe laughed lightly when Esme came running towards her. She wrapped her free arm around Esme and smiled softly, looking at the spot before nodding her head. "It's a good spot; it's lovely." She looked Esme up and down though and added playfully, "Not as lovely as you though." She followed after Esme, holding her hand gently with a smile. When they came to the tree she set the basket down and pulled out the cloth, laying it down while looking at the woman. "Yeah...I'm happy."

Esme laughed and blushed softly when Mel said the spot wasn't as lovely as she was. Helping her smooth out the blanket she sat cross legged with a bright smile, letting the breeze brush her face.
"I'm happy too Mel, I'm here with you after all."
She brushed another piece of her loose hair from her face, she'd worn it down today since she didn't feel like messing with it before she left. The crusnik looked at Mel with a smile.
"I'm already having fun."

Melinoe sat down the picnic basket before sitting down across from Esme. She shot her a smile once more and said softly, "Yeah...I'm having fun already as well." She reached into the basket and pulled out the two wine glasses, setting one in front of Esme, and the other by herself. She pulled out the wine next and popped off the top, lifting Esme's glass into her hand to pour one, and then doing the same for her own. Sadly there was no ice bucket, but she hoped since it wasn't too hot the wine would be fine later. She reached into the basket again to take out the bread, cheese, fruit, and some sandwiches, placing them nicely after removing the protective plastic wrap.

Esme smiled, lifting her filled wine glass and taking a drink, a very good year. She smiled widely after her sip, setting her glass beside her with a smile.
"Thank you Mel this looks amazing."
Esme never felt so at peace before, even with her exhibition right around the corner. She pushed thought of that away and focused on how good the food Mel brought was looking. Leaning over she kissed Mel quickly and smiled.

Melinoe returned the quick kiss before leaning back to sit up straight. She had a faint blush on her face as she spoke. "I've never really done anything like this before...So I went based off of props I was given in movies..." She felt somewhat dumb for not really knowing what to do on dates and such. She'd never been on an actual date before though. Melinoe had been known to people as the one night stand and "bad-girl" type, and she was curious how she'd be portrayed in the pop-culture news now. It wouldn't bother her either way, but she was curious. Certainly they'd get a hold of the fact that she was on a date, somehow they always managed to get that information. She lifted her own wine glass and took a sip.

Esme chuckled softly against her hand, thinking Mel was precious. She reached over and rubbed her arm softly, a warm smile on her lips.
"It's perfect Mel."
She reached down and grabbed a bunch of grapes, popping a few in her mouth in delight. They weren't bitter or overly sweet, just the right mix of the two. She set the bunch down and smiled, swallowing the bunch she had taken.

Melinoe blushed a bit more when Esme laughed. She wasn't upset or anything though. She lifted a hand to rub at the back of her neck with a small smile on her face as she gave a somewhat nervous laugh. "Haha...Yeah, thank you..." Melinoe hadn't really packed anything she would normally eat. There wasn't any raw meat or anything like that. She didn't think it would exactly be appropriate for a date. She knew she often had problems eating things other than that, but Esme swore up and down that Melinoe was human...So perhaps she would try for her. Silently she stood, picking up the wine glass, and moved over to site beside Esme, reaching out to take a hold of her hand gently.

Esme smiled warmly when Mel stood and moved to sit next to her, taking hold of her hand. She leaned onto Mel's shoulder, lacing their fingers together. She didn't know what to say, what to talk about...but that was fine. The silence was what set the sweetness of the moment, and Esme let that linger for a very long time. Sitting back up she glanced up at the large tree, listening to the wind brush the leaves.
"I'd like to come back here, I'm getting so much inspiration from the spot it isn't even funny."
It was a beautiful spot, you could see for so far up here. Esme smiled and reached down to take off her flats and set them in the grass, feeling much better with bare feet.

Smiling as Esme laid her head onto her shoulder Melinoe tilted her own head to rest her cheek gently against the top of the other's head; closing her own fingers to help Esme intertwine them comfortably. Melinoe didn't mind the silence, she was used to it, but having someone to share that silence with changed it from being lonely to filled with enjoyment. She easily shifted when Esme shifted and glanced towards where Esme was looking while listening to her. Nodding her head Melinoe replied "I can definitely see why you'd come back here. It's nice."

"It's peaceful here."
She shut her eyes for a moment, letting mother nature speak for a moment as she lie on her back. The soft wind carried her bangs across her forehead, a soft and content sigh escaping Esme's lips. Her eyes opened again, to look over at Mel with a broad smile.
"Thank you Mel, this is just what I needed. I've actually been really stressed over my exhibition and getting everything done in time. I have to give a big speech while I'm there too, there will be over 100 people there excluding me and Reino, I'm really nervous."
She sat back up to have another sip of her wine, sighing softly after she moved the rim of the glass from her lips.

"I like nature..." Melinoe watched as Esme shifted and laid down. She herself remained sitting, but she did allow her eyes to shut as she listened to the things around them, and the thing she looked for the most; Esme's voice. Her eyes opened back up as she listened to the woman thank her then speak of her concerns. She shifted this time, twisting onto her side before leaning down over Esme after she'd moved the glass away from her lips. Looking Esme straight in the eyes with a serious and encouraging look Melinoe spoke, "You're going to do great, Esme. It'll be...The best exhibition ever, with a great speech from a lovely woman, and everyone will be impressed and love it, including Reino."

A big smile and a soft chuckle was Esme's reply as Mel spoke, a pink hue coming over her face.
"Thank you Mel, that's so sweet."
She leaned up to kiss her softly, rubbing her cheek before letting go. Mel gave her the confidence to relax about the whole thing, and she was once again eager for tomorrow. She could get offers to buy her art, she could be hired by a big name company, so many possibilities they were all so thrilling.
"But forget the exhibition for now, right now is all about us."
She brushed Mel's cheek softly before reaching for a sandwich.

Melinoe smiled softly at Esme "Nothing to thank me for. Just telling the truth." She returned the kiss, rather pleased that her words to Esme seemed to have cheered her up and boosted her confidence. She straightened herself up and took a sip of wine. "Alright. I can handle that." Another soft smile.

Mel sipped at her own wine and Esme smiled, feeling relaxed as ever right now. She glanced at the tree again, seeing a few leaves fall off and onto the ground. Seemed the wind was getting a little stronger but not by much. She finished the sandwich and washed it down with more wine.
"This is a good year, what kind of wine is this?"

Melinoe lifted a hand to rub at the back of her neck and laughed nervously. "Well...It's whatever the guy gave me." She blushed in slight embarrassment. "Like I said, I've never done anything like this before...And I don't normally drink wine, so I know nothing about it..."

Esme giggled softly, thinking how cute Mel was. She lifted the glass and swirled the contents slowly and sipped it. Esme had wine more then Mel did so she would try her best to figure out what it was.
"It tastes like normal red wine, it's a very good year too."
She set her glass down and sighed contently, running a hand through her hair.
"It could have been cheap as hell but I'd still be happy because it's from you Mel."

Melinoe laid herself down and curled up some while wrapping her arms around the woman's waist. She nuzzled her face into her side. "Look at you, being all classy and such." Melinoe much preferred other forms of alcohol such as liquor. A light laugh escaped from Melinoe's lips at Esme's words. "You still haven't looked me up, have you?" Melinoe may not have gone on dates and such, but when there was someone she liked she wasn't known for simply bringing them fast food.

Esme giggled as Mel rubbed her face in her side, making it tickle a little. She petted her hair as she turned to put Mel's head in her lap. A sheepish grin and a light blush crossed over her cheeks.
"No I haven't yet...I know it's bad I'm sorry."
She leaned down to kiss Melinoe softly as a form of apology. Sitting back up she leaned back on one arm while the other played with Mel's hair.

Melinoe laughed softly again as Esme apologized. "Don't worry about it, love. That's nothing to apologize for." She closed her eyes and returned the kiss while moving her head to rest her cheek against Esme's leg. "Maybe it's better you didn't look me up, anyway..." She teased a bit with that statement. She was known for getting into some trouble, but nothing too bad. Esme could probably guess that anyway.

Her fingers twisted a few strands around before letting them fall, a smile on her lips. Esme still wanted to know more about Mel, even if she did get in trouble sometimes. Everyone did, that just made Esme feel Mel was more human then she let on. The crusnik grinned as she heard Mel tease her a little, stroking the side of her face.
"You should know the golden rule Mel: if you tell someone not to do something it makes them want to do it more."
She laughed and reached over, shyly grabbing the grapes again.
"Don't laugh at me...but I've always wanted to do this."
She plucked one off and held it toward Mel's lips.

Melinoe got a cocky little grin on her face when Esme spoke. "Maybe that was my plan all along." Her voice was somewhat of a purr. "Hm?" What would Melinoe laugh at Esme for? Then she realized what the woman was doing. Grapes didn't seem too appetizing to her, but she hadn't brought any raw meat for this specific reason; to prove to herself that she could eat like a normal human could, since Esme was so adamant that she was human. She parted her lips for the grape, letting her tongue teasingly graze Esme's finger as she took it. She also had to remember to chew. Which she did.