Entangled: Playfully

Chapter-35

I picked up the box of his late-night craving favorites 'walnut cookies' and walked to him.

I stood behind him and extended my hand from the side, showing the cookie box to him. "I'm sorry."

"I'm not a kid, Eloi." He swatted my hand. I pursed my lips and narrowed my eyes at his back but then smiled sweetly and stood in front of him.

"I know you're not a kid. You're a man. And there is this particular man who once told me to give him food if I do something wrong and need to apologize to him then he'll not make me wait for long to forgive me."

A smile almost tugged his lips but he covered it by looking away. I grabbed his chin and made him look into my eyes. "I'm sorry," I said sweetly.

"Ugh, why can't I be mad at you for long? Come here." He said and pulled me in a bone-crushing hug.

"I can never avoid you because I love you," I mumbled.

"I love you too." He kissed the side of my head which made me smile in satisfaction. I pulled away and kissed his cheek.

"Now forget everything and tell me what you wanted to ask from me."

He grinned and rubbed the back of his head. "Actually, I wanted to ask if you'll go out with me? I know we have gone out several times but we never went out on an official date. So, will you go out on a date with me?"

"Goodness, Daniel. You're so cute." I laughed as I pinched his cheek. "Yes, I will."

"But wait, what about paparazzi? I mean the tension related to Rick is still there and—"

"Shh." He silenced me by putting his index finger on my lips. "When is paparazzi not around you? And you can't keep yourself locked just because of him." He scowled.

"Okay, fine." I smiled but again frowned when I remembered something. I hit his chest. "If you already had all this planned then why didn't you tell me beforehand? Now I've to look for a dress and I don't even know if I've got a dress for a date night or not."

"Hey, hey, Eloi, you don't have to wear clothes —"

I gasped out loud and stepped back. "You did not just say that! What do you mean by I don't have to wear clothes?" I asked in utter shock.

Suddenly, he burst out into laughter and laughed until he was out of breath.

"Goodness, you're such a pervy." He said while gasping for air. I narrowed my eyes into slits. He suddenly grabbed my waist and pulled me to his chest. He still was grinning ear to ear.

"I didn't know you have such a dirty mind, Eloi." Amusement was lingering in his eyes. A blush started to crawl up my face.

"Then why you said that?"

"You didn't let me complete, Eloi. What I mean to say is you don't have to wear clothes to impress me as I'm already smitten by you." He winked.

My face flushed a deep shade of red and I lowered my head in embarrassment. Damn! How could I think like that?

"Now, do you want to wear clothes and go out or you want to stay here without—"

Before he could complete his sentence, I dashed into the bathroom and shut the door with a loud thud. And then only I noticed, the box of cookies was robbed from me. How did he do that?

"Pamper yourself, I'm going to another room to shower." He muffle-yelled from outside. I rolled my eyes as I got the clue that he was eating the cookies. Then I heard the door being shut.

I freshen up and wore a comfortable plus stylish blue, slit dress given to me by a well-known designer. I then went downstairs into the living room where he was waiting for me.

When he saw me he came up to me and kissed my cheek. "Gorgeous as always. But this exposed skin of yours is going to give me a hard time." He rasped, brushing his fingers on my thigh which made me shudder in delight.

Oh god, I'm sure tonight again my leg is going to be tortured by Daniel. Please save me from his sweet tortures. I prayed mentally.

"You have no idea how badly I want to cancel the date plan and ravish you all night." He whispered huskily.

Oh, believe me, I know everything.

"But I can't as it's our first official date. Come on." He said and led me to his car and drove off.

We went to an exquisite open-kitchen themed Japanese restaurant. There he had reserved a private room where we could have our own personal chef cooking in front of us. We sat side by side on the long sofa chair and ordered our first dish that would spring to anyone's mind when talking about Japanese cuisine, Sushi.

A chef came inside with a trolly and started preparing the dish before our eyes. I was mesmerized by his knife skills, the speed that he attained while cutting the thin slices of fish and avocado left me astounded. My eyes couldn't leave the sight of his hands. Wow! That's all I could say. Looking at him working with a knife felt like I had zero skills related to cooking. Well, that's true.

Other dishes came along as Daniel had already ordered them. After placing different traditional Japanese foods like Gyoza, Rice curry, and Ramen, servers left us alone.

"Wow, what a knife skill he has," I said admiringly, looking at the perfectly cut pieces of sushi.

"That's why I brought you here. I knew you would like to see this." He whispered in my ear and blew at my neck.

"Stop Daniel, it tickles."  I giggled and pushed him away but he didn't stop his feathery torture.

"Daniel, let me eat. I'm dying to taste these yummy dishes." I whined.

"Ah! I knew no one gets spared from my influence." He dramatically shook his head. "But my influence has worked early on you." He winked. I rolled my eyes and nudged him.

"Let's dig in." He chuckled and served Sushi and Gyoza on my plate.

I shut my eyes and moaned in delight when savory moon-shaped dumplings tickled my taste buds.

"This is heaven," I mumbled. I took another huge bite of the dumpling which made the sauce spread on my lips and chin.

"Eat slowly, Eloi. Food isn't going anywhere." He chuckled as he wiped my chin with the tissue. I blushed and lowered my head in embarrassment.

What happened to your eating habits, Eloise? I mentally scolded myself. You're asking what happened? It's Daniel's influence on you, Eloise. My mind retorted back.

"Hey," Daniel cupped my chin and raised my head. "You don't have to be embarrassed about anything. No one is judging you here. Eat the way you want. I'm just saying eat slowly, you might burn your tongue as the food is hot."

I smiled sheepishly and nodded my head and again dug in the food again but not before mocking him. "Well, it's your bad influence on me."

"Hey, my influence is not bad." He retorted playfully. I ignored him and continued eating.

While eating, we were having casual talks and I didn't know when the topic diverted to sharing our childhood memories.

"So, tell me what kind of girl you used to be in your childhood? Naughty, troublemaker, nerd, or rebellious?" He asked, taking a bite of rice soaked in curry.

"A blend of all." I grinned. I shifted a little to sit diagonally so that I was facing him.

"Let me tell you what a troublemaker I was in my childhood," I said proudly.

I then started telling him about my childhood and he listened attentively.

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