Hidden Truths

Chapter Cuarenta y Uno

As soon as I had given Eli the okay for dinner, he rushed off to his place saying he wasn't sure how clean it was and that he wanted it perfect for tonight.

I knew there was no need to dress formal, but I still wanted to wear something nice. Digging through my suitcase and with a little advice from Sky, I settled on a short red satin dress dress that sat right above my knees. I decided to leave my hair out in loose curls and top off my look with a bold red lip.

"Should I take something? I should probably take something" I asked the girls who were now occupied in my room, watching me freak out.

Was it rational to be this nervous? Maybe because this was the first time I was actually visiting Eli's own place. All this time it was always Xavier's place, and even though he had his own room, it wasn't the same as a person's own home.

"There's some really good aged tempranillo red wine in the cellar, if you want, I can get it for you?" Zara responded to my question.

"Please don't mention red wine, I'm banned for another 4 months" Katherine wined, looking down at her belly with a frustrated expression.

The girls had occupied my room to comfort me, and thankfully hadn't brought up the elephant in the room.

"Aw poor Kat," Zara mused patting her mockingly, "I'll drink double the wine on your behalf, it's okay."

Katherine scoffed before responding, "wait till you get pregnant, then we'll see who's laughing."

"That's what birth control is for" Zara beamed back.

Amongst their conversation, I took a glance at the clock and realised it was getting late, so I interrupted them, asking Zara for that wine.

Eli had a driver set to come pick me up, and he arrived at 5pm on the dot.

Being alone in the backseat meant I finally had the opportunity to give Seville the attention it deserved. Looking out the window I observed the beauty of the city before me.

The narrow alleyways, the different weaves of styles and shapes that made up the architecture, told its own story of wealth and history. To explain it in common terms, it was beautiful.

We are arrived at Eli's moments later and I was quietly thankful that we didn't pull up to another mansion. Instead we arrived infront of a much humbler, single storey house.

I walked up the small stairs to his porch, and knocked on the front door.

When the door opened, Eli was standing there, his brown locks slicked back, a white dress shirt on, that clung to his arms, outlining his every muscle, with the darkness of his tattoos almost shining through; accompanied by a black apron over the top.

"Hey" he smiled, his slight dimple peeking, sending an unexpected rush of warmth through me.

"Hey" I smiled back, feeling almost shy infront of him.

Taking my hand in his, he gestured for me to walk in and as I did, I was immediately engulfed by all sorts of smells, some sweet, some spicy, but all delightful.

The inside of his house was as humble as the outside, with an open space living area that connected to his kitchen that had a great island. Most of his furniture was either grey or black, but all the intricate pieces of art displayed around the house was what made it feel so homely.

"You look gorgeous... as always" Eli complimented as he placed a kiss on my cheek.

"Thank you," I think I almost blushed. What was wrong with me? This wasn't our first date, and this wasn't the first compliment he had given me.

Pulling myself together I replied, "you look absolutely dashing in that apron."

Eli's eyes momentarily widened before he looked down, "shit. I was supposed to take this off before I opened the door, sorry, I'll just... erm... could you untie this for me, I think I tied it too hard."

I let out a little laugh at his admittance before I placed the wine on his countertop, before he turned around, allowing me to work on untying him.

He placed the apron on its hook and took out two wine glasses, "what do we have here?"

"I didn't know what to bring, so Zara suggested some red wine, I hope it's good."

He stepped closer to me, placing an arm around my waist before pouring some wine in both our glasses, "guess we'll just have to try it to find out."

I watched as he twirled his glass around a little, before smelling it and then taking a sip.

"Mmm it's really good" he mused.

I watched him watching me as he took another sip, except this time, when he put it back down I decided I was ready to taste it too... so I kissed him.

As Eli's lips met mine it was evident he was shocked, but only momentarily, before he opened, allowing me to taste the wine lingering on his tongue.

I broke the kiss before it went any further and looked up at him, "you're right, it is good."

Eli sucked in his lower lip before running his tongue over his lips. It took all my willpower to not jump on and ravish him at that very moment.

"You little vixen" he whispered, his hold around my waist tightening before he leaned in, "I would take you right here over the kitchen top if there wasn't food about to burn in the oven."

I smirked as his lustful eyes looked back at mine, "then you should go check on your food before I decide to throw you on the kitchen top myself."

Chuckling and shaking his head, he reluctantly let go of me before walking around the island to the stove, where they had been something bubbling.

I watched him as he stirred whatever was on the stove, my elbows on the counter and my jaw in my hands. Not bothering with the apron, Eli had rolled up his sleeve revealing his muscular form, prominently showing, despite the black ink from his tattoos completely covering his arms.

He took out two bowls and scooped in the food from the pot before taking my hand and the food, over to the dinner table that I hadn't even noticed until now.

I had never viewed Eli as a romantic person, but as I saw the table setting, I realised there was a secret romantic within him. He had completely set the mood for us, laying rose petals and candles on the table.

He lay the bowls down before taking out a seat for me, "for the princess."

As we sat down he explained that he had made Gazpacho, one of the first things he had learn to cook from his mum.

"Go on, try it!" he beamed, clearly proud of what he had made.

I picked up my spoon and looked down at the bowl infront of me. It looked and smelled amazing so far.

As I tasted the first spoonful I couldn't help but let out a small moan as the juices sunk into my tastebuds.

"Mmm, this is so good Eli!"

"And that's just the appetizer, wait until we get to dessert" he winked and my whole body began to heat up.

He leaned over and wiped at my lips, the simple touch of his fingers setting me alight. He then took his thumb in his mouth and innocently licked at his lips.

Lord help me tonight for I was about to sin.

♡ ♡ ♡

Authors Note: I hope y'all love these moments between Mia and Eli as much as I do!

Don't forget to vote and comment my loves ❤️