The Heart Of A Strawberry ✓

The Heart Of A Strawberry

A cold autumn evening, colourful leaves in hues of red, orange, and yellow danced across the air, twisting and twirling with the breeze. The air was wintry and frothy, but as Allie stood in the middle of his kitchen and looked through the glass window stained with a thin layer of frost, he couldn't think of anything more winsome.

Outside, the crisp scent of damp soil and the lush smell of vanilla lingered on the bark of trees, but inside, the sweet scent of strawberries embraced the kitchen. Sitting on the island right behind Allie laid a tray full of the animated red fruits. They were the richest and the juiciest strawberries that he could find at the market, perfect to coat with creamy white chocolate that Allie was stirring in a small glass bowl.

The strawberry-covered chocolates had to be perfect. His boyfriend, Stryker, a renowned tattoo artist who owned his own studio in the big city, was visiting in just half an hour. It was a special day, Stryker's birthday to be precise, and Allie wanted to surprise his lover with his favourite dessert: strawberry-covered chocolates.

Music playfully bounced across the room. Allie hummed along to the upbeat tunes and dumped cut-up pieces of milk chocolate into a saucepan to melt. While he waited for the chocolate to melt, he brought the tray of strawberries over to the counter, and one by one dunked the sweet, juicy fruits into the white chocolate, and set them back down onto the tray to set and dry.

Using the now melted milk chocolate that was a smooth creamy texture in the saucepan, he drizzled designs on the strawberries, taking the time to make sure that each fruit was designed deliciously. Each drizzle of chocolate had his excitement spiking, and he couldn't help but pick up one of the chocolate-covered strawberries to take a bite out of it and test its flavour.

It tasted amazing. The treat was absolutely divine with the melt-in-your-mouth crunchiness given from the chocolate, and the sweet juices of the strawberry beneath the layer. It gave an out-of-this-world taste. Allie's soul was soaring through the kitchen from the searing flavour. It was no wonder Stryker found them to be his all-time favourite go-to dessert.

Allie left the strawberries to set in a cute, heart-shaped container in the refrigerator and cleaned up the kitchen. When the doorbell rang half an hour later, a smile blossomed on Allie's face when his beloved Stryker stood on the other side of the door. His dark brown hair was slicked back out of his face. Icy blue eyes stared down at Allie with a soft intensity. The tattoos dancing across his arms were sparkling art. He was a sight to behold, and Allie loved every part of him.

On the outside, Stryker was an alluring explosion of vehemence, but also soft and carried a sweet smell that was uniquely his. Much like a strawberry, he was vibrantly rich, and on the inside he carried an extra sweetness that only blossomed its colours when he was around Allie, who was the chocolate drizzle, adding the extra flavour that Stryker needed and loved in his life. The love they shared with each other was extraordinary.

"Am I late? I was caught up at the studio finishing up an ankle tattoo," Stryker asked. He pushed off the doorframe. Allie smiled and shook his head.

"No, you're just on time. Come inside, I have a surprise for you!" Allie replied, the sweet smile on his face not once faltering. Stryker's demeanour instantly melted at the sight, a cheeky grin tugging at his lips. He stepped inside, kicked off his shoes and followed Allie into the kitchen.

Stryker glanced around the kitchen in slight confusion, brows knitting together and his nose scrunching up, not noticing anything particularly surprising other than how sparkling clean the counters were, sleek to the point where they shone and sparkled. It wasn't until Allie opened the fridge and pulled out the container of strawberry chocolates, that Stryker's eyes widened in surprise.

"Happy birthday sweetheart." Allie smiled and held the container of chocolates towards him, amused by the look that embedded itself into Stryker's face.

"Did you make those yourself?" Stryker asked. He blinked out of his stupor and smiled at Allie with the most loving smile he could portray. He took the container of strawberry-covered chocolates and picked one up from inside the plastic, admiring the smooth chocolaty designs on the crimson fruits.

"Yup. I made sure to use your favourite: white chocolate." Allie laughed.

Stryker smiled crookedly, inspecting the fruit for a moment longer before taking a large bite. Instantly his taste buds were overwhelmed with the mouth-watering sugariness of the chocolate that melted almost instantly, followed by the sweetness of the strawberry dancing across his tongue. He could taste the love Allie poured into making the desserts, could taste the passion, and it made the strawberry-covered chocolates the best he ever tasted.

Stryker's heart swelled knowing that Allie went out of his way to make something special for him. The copious amounts of love he had for Allie were brighter than a glowing double rainbow after a thunderstorm. Never in his life would he have pictured himself with such an angelic human being as his lover Allie, but now that he was with him, he couldn't think of anything else better.

Allie was his chocolate-covered strawberry. His favourite thing on earth, and was the sweetness he had been waiting for his entire life.

As a young boy, Stryker was first introduced to the delicious treats one Christmas morning, when his mother prepped a batch for the feast later in the evening. The second he took a bite he was swarmed with the sweet and juicy flavour, astounded by the boldness of the treat. He fell in love with them at that moment, and every year after that, on every birthday they spent together until the day she died, Stryker's mother would make him strawberry-covered chocolates as a tradition rather than a cake.

Now, Allie seemed to be taking on the tradition, and Stryker was stunned. The love of his life had made him strawberry-covered chocolates, just like his mother used to.

Tears pricked the corners of Stryker's eyes. A million emotions hit him at once and he fought to keep his tears at bay. He stared down at the half-eaten strawberry, then back up to Allie, love shining in his now glistening eyes. He blinked once, twice, thrice, to get rid of the tears before they fell, and took a step over to Allie, engulfing him into a tight hug.

"Thank you, for everything," He whispered, a little too quiet nonetheless, but he adored the smile that tugged the corners of Allie's lips.

"Anything for you," Allie replied, pressing a kiss to Stryker's cheek, which made his heart soar in his chest. For the first time in a long time, Stryker was truly happy with the way his life was going.

As long as he was with Allie, his life was complete.

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A/N: Haha, this was a short story that I wrote in two days for my Writer's Craft class. It was supposed to be a story based on a food recipe and the "Cooked Foods" article written on the four kinds of food in books.

So yea...I hope you enjoyed the little story that probably made no sense, but hopefully, you can catch on to the main metaphor that revolves around this whole story :-).