Baby, I'm dancing in the dark,
with you between my arms,
barefoot on the grass,
listening to our favourite song."
- Perfect : Ed Sheeran
\ pink tulips ~ sweetness, gentleness \
{Echo pov}
It was the day of the garden party. Layla came over to our place, and we told the boys we'd go over by ourselves, wanting to give them a surprise.
Things had been going really well with me and Levi, although we were both busy with work, we made enough time for each other. The day I stayed over at his house, was pretty awkward. I know I've stayed over at his house multiple times before, but this was the first time we were both alone in the house, and we were in a relationship.
He sent me home after breakfast, hugging and kissed me lightly on the cheek, always assuring me that he loves me. I can't be happier than I already am.
"Alison, pass me the hairdryer, please." Layla said from across the room.
"Echo, do you need these?" She asked, showing me a pair of earrings.
"Layla, are you done drying your hair?" I asked, literally shouting over the noise.
And finally, we were all set. Alison was driving, and it was never a boring day with these two girls, they honestly being out the best in me. We turned up the radio, singing at the top of our lungs on the way to our destination.
When we reached the place, it was brightly lit, with beautiful fairy lights, scrumptious looking food, and the view, oh the view, it was high up, overlooking the whole of Paris, close to the Eiffel Tower. Ah, Paris.
The place was already crowded with Levi's staff, casually chatting with one another, but I forgot to mention how Lucas thought it'd be a good idea to make it a mini-reunion as well, I guess he wanted the singing club to be there when he was going to propose to her. He posted an invitation, weeks ago, so anyone could come if they were interested. And someone really 'special' decided to turn up, unfortunately.
I walked towards Levi who was wearing a white dress shirt and navy blue slacks. He was leaning against the wall, talking to someone. His hands were in his pocket, looking effortlessly handsome.
He has yet to spot me, as I got closer, I saw that, that someone he was talking to was none other than his ex. That dreaded feeling was back, that punch in my heart named jealously started seeping through. I trusted Levi, I really did, but I don't trust her.
"Hi, Sierra!" I smiled as innocently as I could.
"Echo! What a surprise to see you here. It's been so long." She asked. Damn the guts this girl had.
I looked at Levi, who was eyeing me with awe, he didn't say anything and just stood there gawking. I mentally rolled my eyes. I was wearing a short silver dress with silver stars, with only one accessory, the star bracelet he got me.
Before I could answer her, however, he grabbed me by the waist and pulled me to his side, answering her, "She's the girl, I was talking about. My girlfriend." He smiled radiantly at me.
Her eyes widened, trying to comprehend what was going on.
"Echo's your girlfriend?" She asked in disbelief.
"She is." He kissed my temple. "If you'll excuse us." He said, leading me to a table. I nodded towards her, not wanting to seem rude.
As we were walking away, he whispered, "Fuck, you're so beautiful."
It made my heart flutter, and face heating up.
"You look good too, sweetheart." I whispered back to him. His hand was still on waist, squeezing it at the compliment I gave him.
We sat at the table eating, spotting Lucas dancing with Layla, Alison already on the move with her fashion gossip. There were some of his staff around but everyone was so engrossed in their own conversations.
"So, what did ya'll talk about?" I asked, treading carefully, which apparently did not work.
"Mmm, why? You jealous, sweetheart?" He asked, teasingly.
"No, why would I be? You told her I was the girl you were talking about, what was that about?"
"I told her I fell in love with this girl, and she makes me so fucking crazy, and she's mine." He said, casually taking my plate to put some food on it.
"You're blushing, sweetheart." He glanced at me, placing the plate down.
Of course, I'd blush, ugh how was he so good at words? He knows exactly what to say to make me heat up, I swear.
After some time, Lucas used the end of his fork to lightly hit the wine glass, getting attention from everyone.
"Bonjour, everyone! I hope you're all having a great time. Thank you for coming to this garden party. My girlfriend and I planned it for everyone to bond and have a good time together. What she didn't know was that, I can't stand her being my girlfriend." He said, causing a look of worry and fear in Layla's eyes.
"Layla, baby, I don't want to call you my girlfriend anymore. I want more, baby. I can't stand being apart from you anymore, I want us to be together for a lifetime, where I'll listen to you speak about all those biology terms I don't understand, where we'll bake our favourite chocolate chip cookies together, and where we'll start thinking about out future together. Trust me, mon amour. I'll give you the world. Will you marry me, baby?" Lucas got down on one knee, with the ring box in his hand.
With tears streaming down her face, she got up, "Yes, oh my god, yes, Lucas, yes!"
Everyone clapped for the happy couple, as he hugged her. I walked over to them, congratulating them, and hugging my best friend. I can't believe she's practically engaged. Layla's parents are coming to Paris tomorrow, and they were all going to meet and have another proper engagement ceremony, just among the family members.
"Did you know?" She asked, happily.
"I did, and it was so hard to keep it from you." I smiled brightly at her. "I'm so happy for you." I hugged her tight.
Once the proposal was over, the dancing commenced. After hugging and congratulating them, I realised that Levi wasn't there. I tried looking for him, frantically searching, but I didn't see him.
"Boyfriend left you already?" Sierra sarcastically asked.
I turned to her, "Why are you really here, Sierra?"
"What do you mean, Echo? You think I want Levi?"
"Sierra, I don't know what is it exactly that you want but I love Levi and he loves me. Whatever you say about us will not bring us down, so please, just leave." I told her honestly. I was never one to bring down another girl, and I wanted to end this as quietly as possible, not wanting to cause an unnecessary fuss.
Fortunately, she left walking towards the entrance, and I saw Levi with a bouquet of pink tulips, walking towards me. I saw her glance at him, snorting, while he, well, he just looked at me.
"Pink?" I asked. We went to our table, and sat down.
"You thought I left, didn't you?" He asked, looking at me calm down once I saw him. He gave the flowers to me, lifting his left hand to stroke my cheek gently. "I'm sorry, sweetheart, I went to get these from my car."
"I know, I...just, you know how I can be. I'm sorry. Thank you, these look beautiful." I said, leaning to his touch.
I took the card, reading it.
" To my sweetheart,
Pink symbolises sweetness and gentleness.
They remind me of
your sweet smile,
and your gentle touch.
From, your sweetheart. "
"You sure know how to make a girl happy." I smiled, still looking at the card.
"Only you, sweetheart." He chuckled, lowly, causing an eruption of butterflies in my stomach.
"Shall we?" He asked, reaching out his hand to me to take, wanting to dance.
I placed my hand in his, and when we reached the area where everyone were dancing, he put one hand on my waist, and the other reaching for one of my hands to place it in his. My other hand rested lightly on his shoulder.
Perfect by Ed Sheeran started playing, and we were just swaying, enjoying both our presences, getting drunk in the moment. He pulled me even closer to him, and slowly I leaned my temple against his shoulder, his lips touching my forehead. I closed my eyes, immersing myself in whatever we had going on. It felt surreal, I could feel his body close to mine, the feeling of comfort and warmth took over me.
Once the song was over, we walked over to quieter corner, holding our wine glasses, as we stood at the balcony overlooking the night sky of Paris. He put his glass down by the side, looking at me, and I did the same. Our eyes met, and it seemed like we were the only two people in the room. He took me in his arms and hugged me. I returned the hug, loving his scent.
We leaned back a little, his hands around my waist, mine interlocked at his back. He leaned closer, lightly biting my ear lobe playfully, whispering, "I want to kiss you."
My eyes flutter and my breath hitched, and I bet he could see the blush creeping on my face, but I decided to brave, just this once, I thought.
I stood on my tip-toes, pressed a light kiss on his lips. Almost immediately, he cradled the side of my face using one of his hands, crashing his lips on mine. The intensity of the kiss was mind-blowing, he wasn't too rough, but yet he took charge of it. My lips parted, and his tongue clashed with mine, the tinge of sweetness from the red wine.
I wish it would never stop, but I had to, I was becoming breathless. I pulled back slightly, his forehead on mine, his eyes closed, and he whispered on my lips, "I'm not going to ask for your permission to kiss you anymore. Consider that the first and last time, sweetheart."
I nodded a little, and he kissed me again until this time we were both extremely breathless. It was like this long waiting period brought us to this unexplainable, beautiful and unforgettable kiss. Damn, he was a good kisser.
He drove me back to my apartment, still holding my hands when we were at the front of my door.
"I don't want to let you go." He said, kissing my forehead.
"Me too, but I'll see you tomorrow." I smiled, kissing his cheek.
"Now, now sweetheart, that's not a proper way to say goodnight to your boyfriend." He playfully said, using his index finger to tap on his lips.
I kissed him on his lips, whispering on his lips, "Goodnight, Levi."
"Goodnight, sweetheart."
With him holding me in his arms, with his lips on mine, maybe the world didn't seem that bad, after all.