A kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech, when words become superfluous.
by Ingrid Bergman
The car came to stop within the underground garage of the building Enrico resided in. He turned off the engine, then let out a light sigh before shifting his eyes to Kiana, who sat beside him. A simple smile plastered on his face.
She stared back at him with almost the same display of joy in her eyes and smile on her face. His hand lightly squeezed hers in his, causing her to take a look at their hands.
"We're home." He commented causing her to raise her eyes back up to him. She nodded a bit shyly at his statement of the fact. Both knew the next step to take, but it seemed neither was ready to take that step.
For Enrico, time around him had really come to a stop the moment he heard those beautiful words from her. Stepping at least five steps away from her for even a second, felt a little terrifying and empty. That right there, holding her hand in his, smiling and staring into her eyes all seemed so beautiful. Reality had never been this good to him.
"You... you do understand that we have to step down, right?" Kiana posed, a little tone of amusement in her voice as well as her expression.
He let out a light chuckle.
"Not really. I have all I could ever need in my life right here, in my car with me. Living in my car doesn't seem like a bad idea to me... what do you say?" He commented, with a dash of cockiness.
Kiana scoffed, as she looked away from him for a moment, then her attention was returned back to him.
"I say you're crazy... We both have responsibilities and can't live in your car for the rest of our lives, so we have to get off." She explained as she tried her best with the help of her other hand to free her hand from his hold. Enrico noticed and decided to let her have her way. After all, she did make a pretty good point.
Kiana unbuckled her seat belt, before reaching for the door in an attempt to open it.
"Wait." Enrico demanded, causing her to return her gaze back to him.
"You... you're now my woman and as a gentleman, I'll get the door for you." He told her with a cute smile drawn across his face.
A shy smile displayed on her face in the context in which he described her. It didn't sound as awkward as it did the first time he jokingly addressed her in such a manner in the presence of his mother. In fact, it sounded fun, exciting and it made her feel like butterflies were tickling her from within. She had always wondered what it felt like to be in love, to be in a relationship, to have to depend on your significant other. Now, she was slowly going to find out how it actually feels to be in such a position. She was definitely going to have the peace of her life she never had. Honestly, the knowledge of that fact felt exciting for her.
"You really don't have to..." Her words and attempt to appear modest trailed away, as he quickly stepped down from the car. She watched him walk all the way to her side and without wasting a moment more, he opened the door for her, then stretched out a hand for her to hold onto. A true charming smile portrayed on his face.
Kiana couldn't help, but stare at him. For a moment there, it all seemed so surreal to her. He was actually offering her his hand. He had never done that before and she couldn't deny the fact that this side of him was pretty much great. Still hanging on to that simple smile on her face, Kiana placed her hand in his and with his help, she stepped down from the car. Only when was she on her feet once more, did she feel a sharp pain shoot up throughout her entire body. She couldn't place which exact part for sure within her body actually ached. It was just a pain that seemed to shift from one part to the other, but Kiana tried her best not to show that actual fact.
As Enrico shut the door, he couldn't help, but notice the one second expression on her face. She had taken her eyes off him to hide the discomfort her face was portraying. He knew she wasn't alright and he had offered to take her to the hospital, but Kiana had claimed that she was alright. No matter how many times he attempted to convince her, her answer was always no. He hated the fact that he hadn't just gone ahead and taken her there, regardless of her decision. The car might not have run her over, but she did take a hard fall to the ground.
"Are you okay?" He asked and she instantly shifted her eyes back to him, the last expression quickly disappearing from her face.
"Me?" She posed, a moment of surprise on her face, before replacing it with a simple smile. She gave a quick nod.
"I'm fine. I'm okay." She quickly added, all too obvious at her attempt to make her lie seem real. Enrico was no fool. He could clearly read between the lines.
A silent sigh escaped his lips as he kept staring at her. He wasn't too surprised by her attempt to always try and handle everything by herself. That had been her life tune for a long time. It only made sense that such habit wouldn't just disappear within a maximum of a few hours they've been together. He didn't exactly know how, but he was definitely going to let her understand she isn't alone anymore.
He brought his hand to lightly caress her cheek, while her hand remained in his other hand. She had no choice, but to stare back into his very attractive eyes. His hand on her cheek had taken her a little by surprise, causing strange fireworks shooting up her body, but Kiana tried her best to remain still and not pass out at his very touch. Her legs as they seem were already feeling wobbly and threatening to give up on her, but she just didn't want that. She tried her best to remain composed.
He took a step closer, closing up any gap that there might have been between them. Kiana's eyes instantly widened and for a moment, held her breath as she felt frozen to that very spot she stood on. Was she panicking and feeling a little dizzy about all this actually being so real? Yes, yes she was. Truth be told, no man had ever been this close to her and had this crazy effect on her. Kiana couldn't look away from his eyes. They were like magnets to which hers were attracted to.
Enrico could clearly see in her eyes at how much effect he was having on her. It was a little applauding at the fact that her legs haven't given up yet and she hasn't fallen into his arms for support. It was truly commendable. She does have an effect on him as well, but he was also great at handling such things.
Slowly, he slipped his hand away from hers. Using more of the tips of his fingers, he gently and caressingly made his way up her hand and towards her shoulder. Kiana gulped down quite immediately as her heart raced nonstop, almost as fast as a gazelle. The tingling sensation, the blood pounding over her ears and her heart racing so fast that it could jump out of her chest all made Kiana admit the fact that this was all new for her. His every touch was weakening her will to stay strong. Something about this entire feeling made her want more.
"You really don't know anything about relationships... do you?" He posed the very unexpected question, but all Kiana could hear and think of was how different his voice suddenly sounded. A little low, deep, husky and with a dash of sexy. She was totally attracted to him.
What?
She instantly looked away from his eyes, took in a deep breath and tried her best to calm down. She couldn't afford to let her imagination run wild. In fact, imagination running wild wasn't her thing. She was more of a focused and less demanding person, but it seemed something was changing. Kiana felt a little guilty about looking away from him that she gathered enough courage to gaze back into his eyes. She could barely recall exactly what his question was. She hadn't paid attention to the question, but instead got distracted by something entirely different.
"We..." She attempted a speech, but right that moment, he drew his face closer to hers. Her eyes widened in surprise and her heart raced so fast.
Oh dear lord!
She exclaimed in her mind and it didn't help matters that he stared right into her eyes, as if to find out something peculiar about her. That act alone left her stunned. The feeling right there was maddening. She could feel her palms getting sweaty.
A slow but sure smirk displayed on his face. Something about that very expression reminded her of the times when he did exactly what he was doing, therefore rendered her looking vulnerable and shocked. She recalled the one fact that he was a player. A man who knew how to push the right buttons of a woman and leave her needing more from him. Of course, it all did make sense to her. He was clearly using that very same tactic on her. After all, he was handsome and her heart belonged to him. What more could he use apart from that? The mere blinking of his lashes sent her heart fluttering like a teenager, who just met her celebrity crush. Regardless of everything, Kiana felt a little sad knowing the fact that he might never be a one-woman person.
She forced herself to lower her eyes away from his eyes, so they don't hypnotise her anymore.
"We should go inside. It's getting late." She commented as she attempted to walk past him, but he quickly took hold of her hand. She turned her eyes to him and without saying a word more, he bent and carried her into his arms.
Although his very act surprised her, Kiana had to hold on by quickly wrapping her arms around his neck.
"What are you doing?" She immediately asked and Enrico just balanced her weight properly on arms.
"Taking care of my girlfriend." he quoted, emphasizing specifically on the word girlfriend. The word girlfriend made her speechless. He just called her his girlfriend. It sounded a little strange, but at the same time, nice. They did confess their feelings to each other, so she had to assume that gave her the right to that title.
"You think too much, Kiana." His words forced her out of her thoughts. His statement alone seemed as if he could tell so much about what was going on in her mind.
"You don't have to carry me." She explained, as she attempted to get off, but he wouldn't let her.
"I do." He stated before pressing the key fob to lock the car, then venturing further towards the elevator.
Kiana had no choice but to remain quiet and hold onto him for support as he kept on walking. A part of her liked this. It made her feel safe and cared for. It was a great feeling altogether.
Enrico made Kiana input the password without letting her off his arms. She did argue a little about how okay it was for her to get off at this point, but he wouldn't listen to her excuses. Eventually, he carried her that same manner into the penthouse and directly into her room. Gently, he sat her on the bed, a little to her puzzle.
"Thank you." She appreciated, once more in-charge of her own gravity.
He wore a simple smile on his face, as he stood straight staring down at her. Kiana stared back for a moment before shyly looking away. She could still feel his eyes on her and it made her wonder what was going on in his mind. He hadn't said a word either.
"Freshen up and I'll be back." He suddenly ordered, then turned away towards the door. Instantly, she raised her eyes and was only able to catch a sight of him walking out of the room and shutting the door behind him.
Her brows slightly furrowed at what just happened. Looking away from the door, she recalled his last words.
I'll be back.
It didn't make much sense to her that he would choose to say those words, instead of make dinner or good night.
Kiana let out a sigh as she shook her head in disbelief. She was probably overthinking this whole situation and like Enrico said, she actually does think too much about a lot of stuff. She shut her eyes for a moment and decided to push all her thoughts aside. Everything was going to work out on its own. She got up from the bed and decided to freshen up like he told her.
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