Gwen's Second Date

When thinking about the different things that Gwen would want to do on their date, horse riding never crossed Mike's mind.

And yet, that's exactly where he was.

"I didn't even know that there were horses here," he said in surprise as Gwen was stroking the head of a horse.

"I had to ask Summer about it, but this place can have anything," said Gwen as she opened the stable to let the horse out. She quickly jumped on the back of the horse and held out her hand for Mike.

"Come on, your turn," she said. Mike hesitated, but tried to mount the horse.

This ended with him falling on his butt.

"Wow, I thought I was the one who's supposed to be extra clumsy," said Gwen while giggling. As soon as she said that, a random bucket of water dumped on her head, yet somehow she remained completely dry.

"That was weird," she said before successfully pulling Mike onto the horse.

"I didn't know you were a horse fan," he said.

"There's a lot you don't know about me Mike. And if we're going to be bonded together, I'd like to change that," she said. Mike couldn't help but smile.

"Now, hold on," she said. Mike barely had time to wrap his arms around her before the horse shot forward, something he wasn't expecting.

"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

...

After scaring Mike half to ****, Gwen brought the horse to a much slower pace. They were walking down a path that gave them a beautiful view of the ocean.

"Wow. This is incredible," he said.

"Yeah, it really is. You know Mike, I think you might be going about this all wrong," said Gabby, shocking Mike.

"But you were all taken against your will. Not only that, but you're being transformed," he said.

"I know. But fighting against the show isn't going to help anyone. You have to bend, or you're going to break," said Gwen.

"But this is all so wrong," said Mike.

"You're right, it is wrong. But even when everything is wrong, you have to look for the good in life. If you look for the bad, that's all you'll ever see," she said. Mike thought about her words for a while, not realizing that they reached their destination, a picnic table with a basket of food overlooking the ocean.

"Come on, let's eat," said Gwen as she buttoned up her flannel. When Mike got off the horse, he fell on his face.

"I'm ok," he said as she picked himself off the ground as Gwen giggled. She stopped giggling and froze when the horse ripped off her flannel and ate it.

"EEEEEKKKK!"

...

Later, Mike was resting his head in Gwen's lap.

"This is really nice," he said, making her smile.

"I'm glad you like it. I was a little worried you wouldn't enjoy spending time with me," she said. Mike sat up and looked at her, shocked by her words. Gwen looked sad and couldn't meet his eyes.

"Gwen, we were friends long before we came here," he said.

"Online friends. I've been burned with that before," she said. Mike reached out and cupped her cheek, making her look him in the eye.

"We're friends all the same. I'm not going to abandon you," he said. Gwen's cheeks heated up as she smiled.

"Well, with the way things are going, we're going to end up as more than friends," she said. Mike looked back out the ocean and gently held her hand.

"I know."