Accidentally, In love ( UNDER EDITING )

Chapter 17 : Happy Birthday

“I will love it.” He says with a cocky grin.

He tears open the parcel and his eyes light up like that of my five year old cousin Sid when he gets the toy he set his eyes on as a birthday gift.

He is speechless the first few minutes and then suddenly he hugs me. A bone crushing bear hug. Once again he manages to take me by surprise.

“Zoya, this is incredible. How did you manage it? This is a dream come true.” He says happily.

I knew Arnaud would like the gift.

 It was a football with the autograph of the entire French Football team along with two plane tickets to France for him and Laurent.  The Football Champion matches  were about to begin and I know how much Arnaud loves football, thanks to Laurent.

“Zoya this is really special. No one has ever done anything like this for me before. Merci Beaucoup. Thankyou so much.”  He says earnestly.

“Your welcome. I’m glad you like it.” I say relieved that he loved it. “ A lot of the credit goes to Jay. He knew someone, who knew someone who could help me to get this.” I say pointing at the football.

Arnaud’s smile wavers a bit.

“I’m so sorry for my behavior for the past few weeks.” I continue. “ Jay knew that I can’t keep a surprise for long so he promised to help out that’s the reason he used to come over every day  and take me out on the pretext of ice-cream and a long walk.  I honestly hope you can forgive me.” I say sincerely not looking at him.

“Zoya,” Arnaud lifts my face towards him with his forefinger.

“I can never be angry with you. “ He says kissing me on the cheek.

 I start blushing very conscious of the fact that he is half clothed, kissing me on the cheek in his bedroom.  An outsider would definitely get the wrong idea. Arnaud suddenly remembers his current state of undress and grins.

“Zoya, the things I do in front of you. My manners have jumped out of the window. Imagine if my family saw me like that.” He says earning a big smile from me. “Wait un instant. Let me grab a shirt.”

He goes to the closet and pulls out a light blue cotton shirt.

“No!!” my mind shrieks. “Don’t”

With every button that glorious view that I am privy to goes out of sight.

“Come on.” He intertwines my hands with his and leads the way.

“Where are we going?” I ask confused but nevertheless gladly following.

“To a place, where we can be alone, just the two of us.” He says with a serious look, his eyes trailing over my lips. I gulp and he starts laughing. That deep throaty laugh caresses me making me feel safe. The rumble in his stomach makes my knees buckle.

“Your expressions are priceless.” He admits honestly. “Don’t be afraid. I’m taking you to the kitchen for my birthday treat.”

I breathe a sigh of relief. Thankfully this time he doesn’t bother  about the rules and allows me in with my slippers intact. I sit on the counter, while he goes to the fridge and removes a delicious pastry from it.

Dark chocolate, my favorite.

“ I love midnight birthday treats. They are my favorite.” I say getting excited.

He cuts the pastry perfectly and gives me a spoonful. A little chocolate drop rolls down my lips, he catches it on his finger and puts it in his mouth.

“They are my favorite too.” He says with a wicked grin. 

AN : Sorry for the delay. I hope you like this chapter. Show your appreciation. Vote and comment. I look forward to it. Any ideas what will happen further. Any Birthday wishes for Arnaud? To all my French readers Bonne Fete. Happy Sunday Everyone!