Six Rules: Book Two in the SIX Series by Randileigh Kennedy Page B

exactly what I’m trying to teach you, Mallory.
Unexpected is good,” he said, leaning down towards me. He kissed me
passionately and it took my breath away. He pulled away and extended his hand
out to me, which I accepted, and we walked out of the restaurant.
               “So, will you come with me?” he asked sweetly.
               “Where are we going?”
               “Do you ever just say yes to a question?” he said, poking
me. “I thought you’d be happy that I remembered to ‘ask’ you to come with me,
rather than just telling you I was taking you somewhere.”
               “Fair enough,” I replied. “I walked here anyway, so I
suppose you could give me a lift somewhere.” I wondered what he had in mind.
               He led me to the parking lot and into his big black
pick-up truck. It was a nice vehicle, perfectly clean as if he just had it
detailed.
               He drove us up the mountain for about fifteen minutes,
then pulled into a small cul-de-sac area overlooking the entire downtown area
and even Lake Tahoe. He backed up the truck so the back of his pick-up faced
the view. We both climbed out of the vehicle.
               “Wow, it’s beautiful up here,” I remarked, quite in awe of
the scenery. The pine trees looked even bigger than usual, as if they were
completely engulfing us.   The blue of the
lake still sparkled despite the distance, and the water looked as clear as ever.
“How did you ever find this place?”
               “I had to come up here a couple months ago to make a
delivery to some rich lady in a giant log cabin a little further up the road. I
kind of stumbled upon this spot and I love it. I think they’re going to be
building some houses here eventually. But in the meantime, I love to just come
here and think. I’ve been up here quite a few times since that delivery,
actually.”
               “What do you think about while you’re up here?” I
inquired. It seemed like the perfect spot for some life reflection. The
solitude of it, tucked away from the city, made it a perfect spot to disappear
from the world.
               “Lots of stuff, I guess. Life,” he shrugged. "Too
deep for first date conversation." He opened up the back door of his
pick-up and pulled out a bunch of blankets. He threw them in the back of the
truck. The sun was setting and cast an orange-purple haze across the sky. The
lights of downtown twinkled in the distance.
               Greyson set a small cooler in the bed of the truck before
he helped me climb up into the back of the vehicle. We spread out the blankets
and stretched our legs out on top of them.
               “So, dessert,” he said, opening the small cooler. “Now I
know you’re a dessert expert, so cut me a break here.” He pulled out a
chocolate pie from the cooler, along with two forks.
               “Did you make that?” I asked, noticing the silicone pie
shell around it. Pies from the store didn’t come like that.
               “Not this particular one, but I used to make them with my
mom all the time,” he said, setting it down between us. “It’s one of her
signature items from her breakfast diner. I know, why would a breakfast diner
serve pie? But you’d be surprised how many of these she goes through in a day.”
He handed me a fork. I dug right into the middle of the pie and sampled a bite.
It was rich chocolate with real whipped cream, chocolate shavings, and a
chocolate cookie crust. I’m pretty sure I let out a small groan as I ate it.
               “Do you approve?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.
               “Are you kidding? It’s amazing. It's one of the best
chocolate pies I’ve ever had, honestly.” I dug my fork back in for another
bite. Greyson smiled at me as I ate, and I truly felt comfortable with him in
this moment. It was a simple scene, laying