Ariana's POV:
I looked up to see that it was... Elijah. I was surprised to see him here. Come to think of it, it has been a very long time since I last saw him. Since he started ignoring and avoiding me, I haven't seen him much.
"Oh hello Elijah." I greeted him politely.
"Hello Ariana." He said with a complicated expression on his face.
I didn't want to think much of his expression and turned to look at Valente. Only to see that he was looking at Elijah with hostility. I was amused by his expression.
"Valente, this is Elijah Woods. We were in the same class. Elijah, he is Valente, my boyfriend." I said with a hint of pride in my voice.
"Hello, nice to meet you." Elijah said and Valente nodded slightly.
He didn't say anything else.
"I have some work so we will meet again, Ariana." Elijah said.
"Ok goodbye." I said and he went away from there.
Sigh. It was a pity that we have become like this. In the beginning I thought that we would have a strong friendship but well...
I turned to Valente and immediately noticed how dark his eyes had become.
"What happened, Vale..."
Before I could finish speaking, he suddenly pulled me towards him and crashed his lips onto mine. Unlike the gentle kiss at my house, this one was intense and filled with raw passion.
I gasped softly against his lips as his hand slid to my waist, pulling me closer to him. My heart immediately started racing wildly inside my chest.
This time, I remembered to breathe.
Slowly, I kissed him back and the moment he felt me reciprocate, his grip on me tightened slightly. He kissed me deeper, slower, as if he wanted to completely drown me in him.
My fingers clutched onto his shirt tightly while warmth spread throughout my entire body. I felt dizzy from the overwhelming feelings he was making me experience.
After what felt like forever, he finally pulled away.
I leaned against him breathlessly, trying to calm my racing heartbeat.
His forehead rested lightly against mine while he stared at me with possessive eyes.
"What happened?" I asked after calming down.
"Stay away from him." He murmured hoarsely.
"Why?" I asked.
"He looks at you in a different way." He said, his jaw tight.
"That's impossible." I immediately denied that.
"Why? I can tell this because I am also a man."
"Well because when he transferred here we both were in Italian class together. At first, we were getting along well but then suddenly, he started avoiding me and ignoring me. I tried to ask him but he didn't say anything. So if he liked me like you said, wouldn't he get close to me even more?"
"I don't know why he did that but you stay away from him in the future."
"Okay okay. Anyways we have completed high school and would be going to university. We may not meet in the future." I said.
He also nodded and just hugged me like that. I started to get a little hungry.
"Valente."
"Hmm."
"I am hungry. Let's go and eat something."
"Ok. What do you want to eat?"
"Let's go there." I pointed at the food stall a little far away.
He nodded and we went there. We ate some snacks and then went for a walk.
"It's so nice to stroll just like this leisurely." Valente said.
"Yeah. I always longed for this peacefulness. To be able to walk peacefully and spend some time with the one you like." I said and sighed.
"You will always have this from now on now that you have me." He said while taking my hand in his and caressing it softly.
I smiled at him. I was very happy that I had someone like him now. I had liked him since I saw him and now that I have him, I will cherish him with all of my power. We walked for some time and took some pictures.
Afterwards we then went to have dinner at a restaurant.
"Umm... Valente, I think I am not dressed properly for this restaurant." I said while looking at the restaurant.
Valente handed his keys to the valet and placed his hand on my waist.
"Don't worry, you are perfect." He said, looking me up and down with a heated gaze.
I felt my face heating up at his blatant stare. I avoided his eye contact.
"But look, others are dressed formally and I am only dressed like this."
I said while looking at others. Just then a man came and stood in front of us and he greeted Valente very politely. He looked to be a manager of this place.
"Hello, Mr. Vintelli, Miss. Please come in." He said while glancing at me subtly and I could feel that he was very surprised.
"This is my girlfriend. You can address her as Miss Romano." Valente said with a cold expression on his face.
I had noticed that he always talked in that tone with others and only with me he talked in that sexy and charming voice. I was glad that only I got to hear that voice because if I am being honest I am very possessive.
"Hello, Miss Romano. Please come in." The man said.
I saw that his expression kept changing while he tried to mask it but I still caught it. He kept glancing at the hand on my waist and knew that he was surprised that Valente is that close to me.
"Let's go in." Valente said gently to me.
The man was again stunned so much that he faltered in his steps. From his expression and behaviour I knew that he was someone under Valente and he was surprised to see his boss behaving in this way.
We went in and I noticed that all the people there were in formal attire and only we were in casuals. But Valente didn't seem to care and led me to the rooftop. There was no one there and it was decorated in beautiful lights and decorations. There was light music being played and soft golden lights reflected against the rooftop while the cool evening breeze carried the faint scent of roses.
As Valente took me to the table I noticed that it was decorated in flowers and candles. It was a candle light dinner. It looked so beautiful.
Valente took a bouquet from the man's hand.
"Ariana, for you."
He handed me the bouquet and I was surprised to see that it was roses. They were my favorite flowers. The roses were in different colours and that was how I liked it. I was surprised that he knew my preference so clearly.
"Thank you Valente. This is beautiful." I said while smiling at him brightly.
"I am glad that you like it, Ariana."
He smiled and pulled out the chair for me. I thanked him and sat. While he also sat in front of me.
"Valnete all of this is beautiful. When did you arrange all of this?"
"Well as you may have guessed this is my restaurant. So when we decided to come out and spend time together I called and arranged all of this. I am glad that you like it. This is our first date and I wanted to make it memorable for you." He smiled gently.
"Thank you for all of this."
Just then a waiter came and took our order. Valente ordered my favourite dishes as I told him to order for me also. Once again, I was surprised that he knew my likes and dislikes. As he knew that I don't like meat so he didn't order it.
"You seem to know my likes and dislikes. Hmm?" I raised my eyebrow.
I saw that he stiffened slightly. It wasn't noticeable but I still saw it.
"Of course I should know that as your boyfriend."
"Yes but you have only become my boyfriend today and have been with me since then so how come you know my taste?"
"Ok I admit. I knew this long ago because as you know I have liked you for a long time and also fell in love with you." He said with a sheepish smile on his face.
I smiled at him. He was so cute and also cared for me.
Shortly after dinner arrived. The dinner and everything was just perfect. I felt like it was all a dream. Valente poured wine in our glasses and raised it.
"To our relationship."
"To our relationship." I also raised my glass and clinked with his. We sipped our wine and had our meal.
"Do you want a dessert?" He asked me after our meal.
"Um... yup. I want it." I said while my eyes lit up.
I enjoyed a good dessert after the meal. I don't think there are many people who don't like desserts. Valente chuckled at my reaction and handed me the menu.
I looked through it and decided to order a chocolate mousse.
"I want chocolate mousse. What about you Valente?"
"I will just have some of yours."
When I heard that my expression changed immediately. What! He wants my chocolate mousse. But if I refuse him won't it be rude and besides that we have only started dating today and it would look bad. And I thought that if he had any dessert I would also taste some of it but now.
I was thinking all of this when I heard Valente chuckling. I looked up to him and saw that he had clicked my picture.
"Why are you laughing? And why did you click my picture?" I was thoroughly confused as to what was so funny that he was chuckling.
"I was just teasing you. I will order something for myself. But your expression was damn good to see. You are so cute."
He was still chuckling while looking at me. He reached out and pinched my cheeks softly. I felt my face turning hot. I knew that my face would be red at this moment. I slapped his hand and covered my face and sure enough it was warm.
"Why are you pinching my cheeks?" I asked while glaring at him but knew that my expression at this time was far from furious because of my blushing.
"You are just so cute that I couldn't help myself."
He said this and came towards me. He kissed my cheeks light and sat down back on his seat.
"Stop it." I said while blushing even more.
"Okay okay." He chuckled and called a waiter and gave our orders. He ordered pots de crème for himself.
"Do you also like chocolate?" I asked excitedly.
"Yup. Especially dark chocolate." He said with a glint in his eyes.
I noticed it and felt flustered even more. Can't he talk normally. Why does he always have to make me blush even more?
"Can't you speak normally?" I asked a little angry.
"What did I say?" He asked, looking confused.
"You... you said you liked dark chocolate especially." I stammered a little.
"Yes and..." He asked.
"You... you." I really couldn't speak after that.
"What is wrong with me saying that I like dark chocolate? Isn't it a normal sentence?" He really can act.
Look at him, he is looking so innocent right now. As if I don't understand him and was only overthinking. In the end I couldn't say anything and fell silent. Seeing that he smirked slightly and I noticed it. I was really furious. This man. Huff*
"Ok sorry. Don't be angry. I was wrong." He said when he saw that I was ignoring him.
I didn't mind him and just then the desserts arrived.
I nearly drooled looking at the delicacies. I quickly took my dessert and had a bite. Mmm. It was really so good that I nearly moaned. Thank God I held it in, otherwise I would have embarrassed myself further.
I could feel his burning gaze on me. I shifted a little and continued to eat my dessert, completely ignoring him.
****
Hello dear readers.
So the chapter is about romance. I think after all of this, the characters deserve it. Right?
Happy reading.
Love, Stella.