"This is your villa!" She exclaimed.
He nodded and went out to open the door on her side.
"Told you I'd bring you back" he said.
He led her inside and there was a huge bouquet of purple and white peonies on the table. Picking it up, he gently held her hand and put it in them and laid a soft kiss on her head.
She was feeling giddy with all the romantic gestures.
Gosh he never ceases to amaze her.
The peonies are what she got engraved on their matching bracelets.
She shyly thanked him with a kiss on his cheek for which he gladly bent down.
"Would you like to guess what I brought you here for?"
"Umm..... because..... it's beautiful and I love it here?" She said, smiling sheepishly.
He chuckled, shaking his head while looking down.
"I asked for what, my love, not why"
She blushed and shrugged.
"For dinner. I will be cooking for you myself" He presented a menu to her whose front page said,
(Let's feed you, my love.)
She giggled at that and nodded.
"Umm okay, then I'd have Crispy Calamari, Mushroom and Truffle Tagliatelle, Loch Duart Organic Salmon and of course Hazelnut Chocolate Cake '' She listed with a happy smile.
They were some of her favorite foods.
"Great choice, what about optionals?" He asked, already opening the fridge to get the ingredients.
"This is already a lot for me besides it will be too much for you to cook"
" I can manage," he replied.
" Thank you, Mr Chef but that'll be all." She leaned on the island and grinned.
He began preparing the dishes and Oh Lord, there was no better sight on the entire planet than having to watch him do it.
"You can watch a movie till then" he said while grating the cheese.
" Nope, I'd rather watch my amazing boyfriend cook amazing food for me"
It was a last minute decision to bring her here for dinner because suddenly the restaurant didn't feel safe enough for him. So he made his people run to stock up his pantry here.
Though he had to cut down a lot of things from the plan, he knew she would be happy with anything because to her the thought counts more than the actual deed.
He made a cup of hot chocolate in between and had a hearty conversation with her about general things even though she was the one doing most of the talking.
And she was absolutely loving how he would lean all the way on the counter to make her taste the food.
He did it once and she asked him to keep doing it.
She was drinking the last of her hot chocolate when he stopped whatever he was doing and stared at her but when she stretched her hand out to offer him too, he put the water on boiling and started strolling towards her until he was standing right between her legs.
She craned her neck all the way up to look at him with a tilt of her head, very confused and shy from the proximity.
He took the cup from her hands and gently put it down.
"What-"
"Shhh" he put his thumb on her lips while cupping her face.
"Did I tell you, you look marvelous?" He said in an unusual deep voice. Like deeper than his regular deep voice.
It, along with his hand placement, sent tingles down her body and she nodded her head meekly.
"Good because I was about to show you as well" he said, causing her to blush profusely.
She didn't even get to ask him what he meant by that when he leaned down and laid his lips down on hers.
She shouldn't have been caught so off guard because the tell tales were right there in his eyes from the beginning but her eyes widened nevertheless before closing down on their own.
He was letting her remember the feel of it by taking it slow and gentle. Soon his hands came down to her waist and picked her up to put her on the counter to gain more access to her body.
Without breaking their steamy kiss, he pulled her even closer to him with a little jerk, earning a gasp from her and she wrapped her legs around his torso to somehow satisfy the sudden excitement of her body.
While his hands roamed around her, praising every curve, she had her one hand on his neck and the other was entangled in his luscious brown curls.
He felt he could go on forever with her mouth on hers but she couldn't go any longer without oxygen so she gently tapped on his chest to hint him to pull back.
He groaned but still moved his head back.
He was about to attack her neck but her appearance stopped him mid way.
He quickly pulled out his phone and snapped a picture of her messy yet hot face.
Probably got the lipstick on his face too by the looks of it.
She was baffled by this act of him and tried to peek in his phone but he quickly put it back.
"What was that?" She asked in a feeble voice, finding it extremely hard to look in his direction.
He smirked and made her look at him by holding her jaw.
"Just capturing how you look when I taste you"
"That- I-" She stumbled over her words and then defeatedly hid her face in her hands.
He started laughing and embraced her tightly, putting his chin on her head.
"God, you're so fucking adorable" He kissed her head for the last time and went back to the food.
She was still very much in the kiss that happened two minutes ago and stayed like that for the next few minutes till the food was ready.
He would look up and find her fidgeting with her fingers while looking down and smile at her cuteness.
Never, not even in his wildest thoughts he imagined meeting someone like her but thank his stars she was with him as his.
He set the table without disturbing her and then quietly went behind her.
She was in her own world when suddenly someone tickled her causing her to jerk forward and before she could hit the ground, she was in the arms of her man.
"Didn't mean to scare you," he said, carrying her to the table.
She couldn't bring herself to say something and he loved it. She had entered her post-kiss phase and it will last for sometime as he knew by experience.
They both sat next to each other and he served her food and drink and fed her bites in between too.
The food was, unsurprisingly, delicious. Almost better than her mother's.
And she will compliment it. Later.
When they were done, she wordlessly helped him put away the dishes.
He took her hand and led her outside where a car was waiting for them.
She looked at him, perplexed.
"We're going on a date," he shrugged.
She became more confused at that.
"You seriously didn't think this was our entire date, hmm?" He said, raising an eyebrow.
"I did. It was won- wonderful" she replied and accidentally glanced up at his lips, causing her words to stutter.
"Silly, baby" he patted her head and opened the door to her side before settling in himself.
It would've been a hassle to arrange a hot dinner where they were going.
The car started moving and he held her hand.
He had a feeling that something bad was going to happen so he kept looking for comfort in her and she was giving it to him, unknowingly.
She put her free hand on his too and grinned.
"Can you cook for me again?"
"Hmm, of course. But will I get paid like today?" He smirked with a teasing look.
"Xavier... " she groaned and put her face between his arm and the seat.
"Was it good?" He asked.
"Absolutely delicious, I will tell mama that she has a competitor now"
"Was it more delicious than me?" He asked and it left her speechless.
This man truly loves to tease her.
Well she can't choose any one because she loved both of them but if she had to then she would pick him for being slightly better than his food.
They traveled for a little more and she reapplied her lipstick after she saw herself in the camera while taking pictures with him and scolded him for not telling her but he simply said that he liked it smudged better.
The car came to a halt.
He put a blindfold around her eyes just for the sake of her romantic fantasies.
He carried her out because he was not about to risk her falling on such a special occasion.
After walking for a bit he put her down and slowly untied the black silk cloth around her eyes.
Though she was anticipating it for so long, when he untied the cloth around her eyes, she couldn't stop the gasp that left her mouth and froze on the spot.
She stumbled back a bit, trying to grasp him and he immediately moved forward, taking her hand in his.
It was the same place he brought her for stargazing where they shared their first kiss. He wanted to bring her to a place which holds their precious memories.
At a little distance was a beautifully decorated gazebo but with no table and chairs underneath, rather a blanket with some things on it.
The path to it was decorated with golden lights and white rose petals that stood out in the dark night and dusty ground.
"This..." she said, turning towards him with a pout that showed how hard she was trying to not cry.
" Mhmm" he slowly led her ahead.
The guards were still there but they turned their backs on them and remained at a far distance to give them some privacy.
" I wanted to take you to the beach where we always go..... like the day you decided to trust on me," he said as they walked.
"Ahnn, then what happened?" She asked with a smile.
"A lot of people walking their dogs at this time and I wanted no one to look at us"
He helped her sit down and she began noticing the details.
It smelled so good because of the flowers and trees around them.
There was a big basket and more flowers. This time it were roses.
Big red roses.
Two pillows and more blankets.
She turned to him when she realized the idea behind it.
Her most favorite thing, stargazing.
"And it is a clear night too" She said and hugged him.
"Yeah, got lucky again" he winked and plopped down on the pillow.
She giggled when he made tired groaning noises as if he was hiking all day and just got to sit down.
But only if she knew.
When she didn't join him for the next five minutes he pulled her down on him and quickly caged her in the blankets.
The top of the gazebo was made of glass, making the stars appear clearly.
"It's so pretty."
She was awestruck.
It was literally the best thing she could've imagined for a date night.
Stargazing is her absolute favorite, especially when the night and place was so perfect.
Not to forget the best partner.
Suddenly, he sat up along with her and cleared his throat.
For the first time in his entire life he felt less than confident.
She smiled and raised her eyebrows, silently asking him what was wrong.
Xavier looked down and sighed,
"Fuck it" he murmured.
Ailee didn't see it coming when it happened.
He suddenly pulled out a black rose shaped velvet box which had a diamond ring.
She gasped and felt an array of emotions consuming her.
Her brain went into a haywire.
"I know, I always propose in the shittest way possible but Ailee, you- You make me do crazy stuff which I never thought I would do for anyone." He said and took a deep breath.
"I fucking love you too much to wait anymore, Coco. I felt like it was my infatuation towards you in the beginning but.... that wasn't it. I was already deep in the shit when I realized that I actually care for you..... heck I will kill for you."
"I.....love you, my little.....chocolate obsessed darling." he paused in his confession, taking the time to capture every little mole, blink and breath of her to take it with him till the last second of his life while his hand never stopped caressing the flushed skin of her face.
Everything felt surreal to her.
To her, he was the absolute best soulmate she could've asked for.
"Time to marry me and move into my house." he ended his very straightforward and honest speech.
It was safe to say he was blushing by the end of it.
While on the other hand Ailee was full blown sobbing. She thought he'd need another year or so to even consider being married but here he was, impatient and all to wife her up.
The thought struck her hard that she won't be a young and pampered girl anymore.
Well he would pamper her no less than her parents but she would have to take a step into the more mature phase of her life where she will build a family of her own and will have serious responsibilities on her shoulders.
"Say, yes, my love" he urged when she stayed silent for too long.
He was getting anxious.
Ailee laughed through her tears when he asked her to say yes and decided to tease him a bit more.
She put her finger on her chin as if thinking hard and weighing her options.
Xavier grumbled something under his breath and held her hand and pushed the ring on her ring finger.
"Too late" he murmured and pecked her all over her face causing her to burst into laughter and embraced her.
Ailee wrapped her one hand around him and stretched out her other hand to adore the beautiful ring on it by wiggling her cute little fingers.
It was even the perfect size and her size is usually hard to get.
"Zai, I love you more than the stars above us. I'm so thankful to have found you and thank you for always sticking by my side and for always, and I mean always giving your best. So whenever things go down and whenever you feel like you have no energy just come back home- to me and I promise it will be okay, okay? And I would love to marry you." She poured her heart out while enjoying the warmth of his arms.
When she praises him like that it makes him feel all mushy. The rest of the world can go and fuck themselves because all that matters to him is her and what she thinks about him.
He nodded and sighed in relief.
She pulled back and laughed more when she saw her smudged lipstick on his mouth, again.
When she started cleaning it up, he raised an eyebrow and started cleaning hers as well.
She just shrugged her shoulders and smiled.
Finally, he can leave in peace now that he has expressed his feelings for her.
But the hardest part of tonight will be to break the news of his departure to her.
He knows that she wants to spend more time with him to imprint these memories in her head forever and so does he but his flight is scheduled for four in the morning.
Time passed by, they ate the sweet snacks and drinks that he prepared for her personally while they kept switching positions from lying down to sitting to just walking around the field hand in hand.
When they were settled in the car to go back, he held her hand and started drawing circles on the back of it near the ring.
"Oh! I just noticed. Did you not include a ring in the outfit today because you were going to get me one yourself?" She beamed, laying her head on his shoulder.
He stopped his movements on her hand for a second before nodding and continuing again.
"It was smart.... and cute, Mr Xavier" she patted his arm in pride.
"Coco?" He said seriously which alerted her a little.
"Hmm?"
"I .... Will you be okay if I leave for work for a few days?" He asked cautiously.
"Huh? You- you're leaving? When?" She turned towards him with big concerned eyes and started fidgeting with her ring feeling an uneasy pit forming in her stomach.
"Early in the morning" he replied to which she just nodded.
" Is it..... is it about.... That?" She asked, pointing her thumb towards the back.
She meant what happened in the earlier days.
He nodded and put both of her palms in his before kissing each of her knuckles.
"Is it really really really important?" She asked and he nodded again.
"It cannot be postponed?" She tried again and he shook his head.
"Are you-" Xavier put his thumb on her lips while cupping her jaw from his one hand and shook his head. He could see the hurt in her eyes.
"At least tell me that you'll be okay" she pleaded when he removed his thumb.
"I will be," he affirmed.
She was expecting him to leave because of the recent events but her heart wasn't ready to send him to a place that is capable of hurting him badly.
"Promise?" She raised her pinky and he just looked at it.
He answered while kissing the little finger waiting for him to wrap around his.
Xavier hugged her from the side and put his chin on her head.
"You don't have to worry, it will be okay and that I promise"
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Double updates!!
Remaining 2-3 chaps will be up soon (in a day or two)
And ahhhhhhh what you think about this chapter
The kitchen scene-