Lonely Together

29

VALENTINO

"Parasailing? You're taking me parasailing!" Mariah exclaimed from beside me as I pulled up to our destination, a sign beside it designating what we were doing. "This is gonna be so fun!"

She didn't even give me a chance to respond before she bounded out of the car and ran towards the building, ushering for me to follow after her. I chuckled under my breath as I walked over to her, watching as the grin on her face grew.

Inside the building, we met up with the man who would be driving the boat that we would be parasailing behind and he led us outside to get ready. I couldn't help but to watch Mariah closely as she stripped out of her clothes to reveal the bikini she was wearing underneath.

I let out a whistle that made her snap her head up and glare at me playfully while I laughed.

The man began to strap us in the to the sail and I watched as Mariah suddenly didn't seem as excited as she once was.

"What if we die?" She inquired with wide eyes once the man left us to get the boat started. "What if we have a freak accident and don't even get to enjoy the rest of the trip!?"

"We'll just have to wait and see," I told her with a wink, but grabbing her hand and squeezing it nonetheless to help her calm down. "We'll be perfectly fine and you'll have fun."

She nodded at my words as the boat began to speed up, lifting us up off the water more and more the faster we went.

"Woah," Mariah laughed once we reached our greatest height, her eyes looking down at the deep blue water below us. "Look at how beautiful the mountains look from up here."

I followed her gaze and agreed before turning back to face her, not wanting to look away for even a second. She had no idea what I had planned for the next few days, but just thinking about it was enough to make me incredibly nervous. She knew she was here to see something for my business, but she had no clue how monumental it truly was and I could only hope she would like it.

I felt Mariah's hands reach over and push my hair out of my face as it was whipping in the air, crashing her lips to mine as we began to slowly descend.

"You looked a little scared up there, Val," she smirked, referring to me being worried about her approval.

"I was for a second," I lied, watching as she let out a laugh and laid her head on my shoulder while she kicked the water below her feet now that we were back on the ocean.

"Thank you so much!" She exclaimed to the man as I helped her out of the sail, pulling her into my embrace. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"I'm so glad to be here with you," I admitted, watching as her cheeks flushed and her eyes brightened. I was sure I had a goofy grin on my face. "I never have a dull moment with you."

"You're too sweet," she sighed, wrapping her arms around my waist and lying her head on my shoulder. "I can't imagine being here with anyone else. You're too good to me."

"You deserve it."

I pecked her lips before wrapping my arms around her waist as we walked further onto the dock. She pulled her clothes back on and then we were back in the car, headed back to house.

I hadn't planned too much for today since I knew I would have a big day tomorrow and she would be right along for it. I was beyond nervous and even considered telling her what I was doing for my business so that she could make me feel better, but I also wanted it to be a surprise.

"What are we getting for dinner?" I questioned as we walked back into the house, flopping onto the couch as she stood above me with her hands on her hips.

"You don't have anything planned, Mr. Master Planner?" She giggled, making me roll my eyes as I pulled out my phone.

"No, Miss Wasting My Money."

She gasped at what I said as she swatted my shoulder as I laughed like crazy, collapsing onto my side as she didn't laugh along.

"I am definitely not wasting those millions in your bank account, Val. Now find something to order."

***

"That was so delicious," Mariah sighed as we finished our poke bowls that we had ordered from a place not too far from us. "Can you tell me what you have planned tomorrow? You said it was a busy day, right?"

"Yes. I have two meetings in the morning and then I'll have you come by and see what's going on."

Honestly, I felt like the meetings the next morning were quite pointless, but I had agreed to them nonetheless. It was even worse that my father and brothers would be apart of them—in person.

"I also have to let you know that my family's flying in for it tomorrow...all of them."

I watched as her eyes widened before she replied with, "So I guess I'll be meeting your mom again?"

I chuckled at her words to relieve myself of how nervous I was, but it didn't work. I knew my father and brothers would find a way to speak to her no matter how much I tried to keep them away.

"I have something for us to do," she smiled, standing from the dining room table and going back into the kitchen. She came back with a box of cake mix while I looked at her in confusion.

"If I can't cook, what makes you think I can bake, Ri?"

"It's worth a try! Come on, I went parasailing so you have to bake," she whined, grabbing my hand and pulling me into the kitchen.

Five minutes later, I was following her instructions closely and having a good time baking—even if she was doing the most work.

"We have about 30 minutes until it's done baking."

"That gives us plenty of time," I winked, grabbing her hand and pulling her off to the bedroom.

***

"Stop licking the icing!" Mariah reprimanded me as we iced the cake together, her side looking well put together while mine looked—the exact opposite.

"Why? We're the only two who are gonna eat it!"

She continued icing her side silently as I looked at mine with contempt. Taking a bunch of icing on my finger, I smeared it down the side of Mariah's face as she let out a gasp.

"No you didn't!"

She took some in her hands as well, grabbing me by the back of my neck before smearing all over my face, a cackle leaving her mouth. I picked up the whole container and grabbed even more, getting it all over her.

"No!" She yelled as she laughed, looking at the icing that was all over her chest. "This has gone too far!" She exclaimed, pointing a finger at me accusingly.

"Sorry, love. Let's try the cake."

"You can eat your...interesting side," she laughed, scrunching up her face at my side of the cake.

We both grabbed forks and bit into the cake, talking nonstop until almost half of it was gone.

As we talked, I couldn't take my gaze away from her as I thought about the future I hoped we could have once we got more serious—if we got more serious.

a/n: not very proud of this chapter, but this is just a filler before the next one...

how do you think it's gonna go with Mariah meeting his family????