Lonely Together

04

MARIAH

Against my wishes, the dinner had ultimately come to an end and I definitely was not ready for the night to be over.

Once Valentino and I were back in the elevator, alone once again, I turned to him and said, "Can I he honest with you? I'm not ready for tonight to be over."

"Who said it was?" He replied with a smirk, leaning cooly against the wall.

"Where are we going?"

"You ask a lot of questions, Mariah."

"Okay, I'll be quiet," I said softly and sweetly, the corners of my mouth turning up as his eyes widened and his face reddened. It was cute.

It was only eight and the sun was just beginning to set on the warm summer night, so the streets outside the restaurant were filled with a bunch of people.

"Are you fine with walking a bit?" He inquired, leaning close to me as a group of people pushed past us. "In heels and all?"

"Yeah, but I'll probably regret it tomorrow."

He nodded and we began to walk up the sidewalk, moving past people who were walking in the opposite direction.

"What is this?" I questioned, shocked when I saw a bunch of lights sparkling in the center of the city where a bunch of people were standing.

"It's some festival. I saw a sign for it earlier today," he remarked, looking down at me with a soft smile on his face. "I hope this isn't corny."

"It's not! I love festivals and this is sweet," I grinned up at him as we neared the square, the sweet smell of desserts filling my senses.

We entered the festival and walked around to a bunch of the stalls, buying small souvenirs and chatting with one another.

"That looks good," Valentino muttered from beside me, his eyes locked on the half chocolate-half vanilla ice cream cone that a little boy was devouring. Valentino was practically drooling just looking at the ice cream.

Laughing, I grabbed his wrist and brought him over to the stall where the ice cream was being sold. I settled for salted caramel while he went with a vanilla and chocolate swirl. Before he could protest, I pulled out my wallet and paid.

We both began to walk away and find a seat with our cones, but I quickly ran back and grabbed a spoon.

"Just in case you decide you wanna try my food once again," I told him when he raised his eyebrows at me. When he rolled his eyes at me I added, "For a guy, you sure perfected rolling your eyes."

"Lots of practice," he replied as we sat by side on one of the benches set up for the guests.

We chatted a bit more, mostly about the scene around us until I couldn't hold it back anymore.

"Is your choice in ice cream flavor some sort of statement?" I questioned, knowing immediately that he understood what I was eluding to.

"I could say the same for you," he retorted, leaning in closer to me. "Vanilla and Italian water ice?"

He could barely get through the statement before both of us burst out laughing, garnering stares from the people moving around us.

"But seriously, can I try some?" He said once we calmed down.

As before, I stuck the spoon into my ice cream and brought it towards him. He hummed as he tasted it, letting me know it was good.

Once we finished our cones, we walked back down to the restaurant where his car was already being pulled up for us.

We got in and he turned the radio up and put the windows down as we cruised down the nearly empty streets leading back to my place. We shared a bit of banter along the way, but for the most part we just relished in the shared silence.

When we stopped in front of my building, he once again opened the door for me and placed a hand on the small of my back as we walked into the lobby. He kept it there as we ascended in the elevator, my cheeks flushed.

"I really enjoyed tonight," I told him once we were standing outside of my apartment door.

"I did too, Mariah," he said slyly, his charming side clearly coming out as a boyish smile grew on his face while he placed a hand on my waist.

I turned to face him, our eyes locking and he immediately brought his lips down to mine, his hand gripping my waist even tighter. After a few seconds he pulled away, his bottom lip caught in his teeth.

"That's it?" I questioned jokingly, although I was serious. That kiss was so short, yet it was absolutely amazing and left me wanting more.

"I have a flight to catch in...forty-five minutes."

"What?"

"I have a business trip to go on with my father. I'll be back on Friday. Can I take you out when I get back?" He said, his hand now holding onto my wrist.

"Yeah. Of course."

"Perfect. Good night, Mariah."

"Good night," I replied softly as he brought my hand up to his lips.

I watched as he walked down the hallway and towards the elevator, not before looking back at me and sending me wink.

Once he was gone, I finally opened the apartment door and stepped in, closing the door with my back as I leaned against it.

What an amazing date.

A/N: I actually HATE this chapter but I needed something as a filler. Please don't hate me, I just wrote chapter 8 and it is AMAZING (in my opinion)