His Darkness (bxb)

chapter thirty-two

i fell in love again

there's no way around it

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"What do you think of these ones?" Mia asks, holding up a pack of lilac floral bedsheets. 

"I like them - they suit you," I nod as I come up behind her, pushing our cart along with me. 

We've spent the past few hours strolling around IKEA, picking up anything Mia needs for her new apartment. It's relatively empty for a Saturday morning, but I'm not complaining - the calm ambience feels almost romantic. 

"Suit me?" she asks looking back, her brown eyes glimmering in amusement. It hits me all at once and a shiver runs down my spine as the butterflies in my stomach rage - she's beautiful. 

"Yeah," I swallow after a moment spent collecting myself. "They suit your aesthetic."

"You're cute," she chuckles, placing the bedsheets in the cart and joining my side as we walk a little more, passing rack after rack of carpets and rugs. "I'm not looking for anything too big," Mia explains as we look through the many options, "just something small for the bedroom and something a little bigger in the living room."

"That one's nice," I say, pointing to a blue and white tessellated rug. "The colour works well with your couch." We approach it and Mia instantly runs her slender hand over its surface. 

"That's really soft." Her eyes widen as she grabs my hand and smooths it over the soft fuzz. I can barely feel it though, distracted by the warmth of her skin on mine, contrasted by the cold touch of the many rings on her fingers. 

"It's nice," I breathe and even I'm not sure if I'm referring to the rug or Mia's touch. "How much is it?"

"Forty dollars. Not bad at all."

"You wanna grab one?"

Mia nods and helps me as we lift a rolled up rug from behind the display, placing it gently in our cart. We spend another few minutes browsing the area before settling on a smaller lilac rug in her room.

"Kitchen stuff, plants, candles, mirrors, a beanbag, rugs - I think we're done," Mia smiles, clapping her hands together. 

"Great because I could eat," I say as I push our cart towards the cashier. 

"So could I."

After Mia pays, we grab our things and head outside to the parking lot to drop it off in Mia's car. 

"Thanks for coming with me today," she smiles earnestly as we hurry out of the cold and back into the store. "You must be exhausted from your training session this morning."

"Not at all. I'm just honoured you value my opinion enough to want me to come with you," I chuckle lightheartedly. My hands are itching to reach for Mia's, but hers are in her pockets, so I do the same as we walk back into the the warm building. 

"This feels strangely intimate," Mia says, looking deep in thought. She's blushing and I don't know if its from the piercing cold we were just walking in or something else. "Us furniture shopping together," she explains. 

"A little," I manage to say through a giddy smile. "I like it."

"Me, too." She pulls her hands out of her pockets and reaches for mine - I oblige instantly. We head upstairs to the restaurant and order our food, picking a quiet corner to sit in and enjoy our lunch together. 

I spend more time worshipping the golden flecks in Mia's eyes, the freckles dusted across her cheeks, her gentle features than eating my food. 

"Any plans today?" she asks after swallowing a mouthful of meatballs. "Besides training this afternoon, of course."