This Love

Chapter Twenty-One- Fresh Strawberries and Chocolate Kisses

"Hungry?" he asked teasingly. I simply squinted my eyes at him. The answer was written all over my face. Who wouldn't be hungry with fresh fruits?

He handed me a small plastic fork and I eagerly took a melon cube. It was crunchy and watery in my mouth. I had two more until I moved to the grapes and pineapples. Everything tasted sweet and juicy. I can't seem to stop eating.

"It's a delight to see you eat without me asking you to." Michael commented as he popped a grape in his mouth. He was obviously entertained in watching me eat. He raised his glass and waited for me to clink glasses with him. The wine was crisp and sweet. It blended well with the taste of the fruits.

"Asking? I'm not sure that's the right word for it." I gazed at him while pretending to be in deep thought. "Ordering or forcing was more like it." I asserted.

"Good point. But if you cared for your well-being, there's no need for me to force you to eat."

"Yeah. Yeah. Whatever." I waved him off making him chuckle.

We spent the next minutes talking about the eco-park. Apparently, his parents were huge sponsors of the place. Mr. and Mrs. Madrid were members of an environment group which promotes eco-friendly and sustainable development. The eco-park was one of their projects in the city. This explained the privacy we were experiencing now.

His mother's charities have annual tree planting activities and fund-racing events to support other environmental causes while his father was very active on cases related to protecting the environment.

Listening to Michael talk about his parents, I can't help but grow admiration for these people. I haven't met them but they seemed to be great like what he said before. He was blessed to have amazing people as his parents. I was surprised I didn't envy him for that. Actually, I felt happy for him being raised by great parents.

We finished all the fruits on the first Tupperware so we moved to the strawberries. He brought out a small jar from the basket. It was filled with what I think was chocolate. He took a strawberry by the leaves and dipped it in the chocolate. He bit the bottom of the fruit covered with chocolate.

It seemed like my world turned into slow motion as I watched him. I had the same feeling when I'm looking at a KFC poster with the famous fried chicken. In three words? Finger-licking good.

The chocolate-covered strawberries. Not Michael. Just to make things clear.

It took me a few seconds to come back to my senses. I wet my lips as it felt dry with what I just witnessed. My eyes flew to his pink lips which were sharp and perfectly proportioned. I wondered how it tasted. Wait. What?

"What was that?"

"This," he whispered while taking a strawberry. "is our thing." He continued, dipping the fruit in the chocolate. "Try it." His tone was almost seducing. I smiled trying to hide my embarrassment for what I was thinking about his lips. Thank god, he couldn't read minds.

Our thing. He wanted us to have a 'thing'. The thought made me smile. My heart melted like chocolate in my mouth.

I mirrored Michael and tried the strawberries. Mmm. I knew it would taste really good from his little performance a minute ago but it was better. The chocolate was new to my taste buds. It was unlike other sweets I've tasted.

"Good, right?" he said taking another one. I nodded in agreement.

"What kind of chocolate is this?"

"Nutella." he answered and I made Nutella my official favorite chocolate.

We continued chatting while enjoying the strawberries. He told me that when we come back next time we'd go biking and boating. There will be a next time and I couldn't hide my excitement. I was looking forward to the next time we'd be spending time together. To be honest, I didn't want this morning to end. In just a few hours, he has made me feel happy, excited, overwhelmed and...