"I would explain but let's leave here before anyone sees us" he said.Arabella nodded her head and slipped her hand away from his. She folded her hand across her chest so there was no way he would be able to get to her. Kieran let out a sigh before he drove the car out of the parking lot. He drove for a while before coming to a stop in front of a free parking space downtown."Let's talk here first" he said taking off his seat belt and turning to face her. "Look at me," he said. Arabella pouted as she kept facing the rolled-up window. He had left the ignition running and the AC blasting at full speed on their skins."Look at me" he said again using his hand to turn her face to him.As she caught a glimpse of him she almost cussed out herself. How was she so weak that just a look at him almost rendered her speechless? She was about to give in and forget all that had happened but she pushed forward with strong will."Let me explain," he said as her eyes darted all over the place. "Yes I
Arabella nodded her head as she felt him draw closer to her. He spoke no words after taking the permission but she heard every single unspoken word through his eyes.His usual bright green eyes had darkened and for some reason, she wanted to see them more like that. They felt like they held some kind of power and she wanted to be a part of it.He pulled her closer and she cursed the makers of the car for putting whatever that barricade was called in between both seats because all she wanted to do was get closer to him. He placed his lips on hers.She felt herself kissing back with so much intensity. She had not been in many relationships but she had experienced the kissing part of all the ones she was part of and it had been only a few seconds but she knew none of those relationships could be compared to what she felt now. The car felt heated even though the air conditioner was in full blast touching her skin. Her hand tried to wrap around his neck but she was too short to do so and
"We are at the amusement park" Arabella's voice sounded like a child who was getting a wish she had at Christmas."Is it that fun?" "Have you ever been to an amusement park?" she asked and he nodded his head."I have been here, it's just that I did not go on any of the rides" "Do you have any kind of phobia I should be aware of?" she wanted to know before she forced him to tag along on all the rides she wanted to go on."No kind of phobia, I was not just feeling any of the rides" "Oh, would you look at that? This old man is using the language of the young" Arabella teased running her finger across his chin."Shall we?" he asked ignoring her teasing. "You have to go on all the rides, I insist" she said holding his hands and giving it a little squeeze."All the rides?" "Okay then we can do fifty per cent of the rides since it's your first time" she said as if she was giving him a discount on his purchase."Are you suggesting we come back here?" he asked. "Is that all you heard?" s
Arabella had a lot of fun but she could not tell if the same was the case for Kieran because she could barely read his face."What did you think of our date? Or do you think we should have something more sophisticated next time" "If you consider it a date then it is a date" Kieran said taking her hand and intertwining it.As sweet as it sounded and as much as she wanted to swoon over his words she knew she had to be wiser about the situation so it did not end up bad."If I am the only one enjoying our date then why is it a date, I should have just taken myself out on a solo date and enjoyed myself" she said turning to face him."I am having a good time because I am with you but I am not wired for these kinds of situations but I would be glad to try these new things with you""That's so sweet" She could not help herself, she had to comment about it. "Of course," he said with a wink and she laughed. "But if you know you are not having fun then you should let me know immediately" ''S
They say under a bridge as they are their corn dogs. It was just a little past eleven am and it was as if they had the entire park to themselves even though there were other couples around who were also on dates and some young people who were enjoying the rides."You know I already took a bit of this" he said waving the food in his hand in the air. "I guess that should cover up for eating" he leaned in.Arabella leaned back, she wanted his cologne to fill her nose but she was embarrassed to be kissed by him in public. Not because anything was wrong with her but because she was afraid of the attention that would bring."You know I made those myths up right?" she murmured through her fingers over her mouth."I don't care as long as I can kiss you," he said bluntly."I guess maturing gives you some kind of boldness," she said.She had always dated within her age group and never had she encountered someone as confident as him. He always spoke so easily about these things. Sometimes it put
"What else do you want to do?" Kieran asked as they sat in the car."I get to decide again?" she asked."Of course, I want you to have the date you want" "Ice cream," she said with a cheerful voice "Ice cream?" "Yes, to the best ice cream place in the city," she said tapping his shoulders gently. "But take the longest way there and drive very slowly" "Why?" "No reason" "There is no way you have no reason for telling me all that""Well," he said, biting the insides of her lips. "aits because I want to spend a bit more time with you in the car" The car fell silent. Arabella could not deny it, there had been a lot of truthful and intimate moments today. She had thought that Kieran would be less affectionate and their relationship would move at a snail's pace.The contrary was the case as he was the one fast-tracking the entire thing. "So should we go for a drive?" he asked."I feel like I don't have to say too much, it's like you keep reading my mind" she said with a smile."You a
They finally got to the ice cream place and got their ice cream to go. The drive had taken them a while and it was already mid-afternoon by the time they got to the ice cream shop. They got into the car and continued with their drive."Are we going somewhere?" Arabella asked."It's just a drive" Arabella could not believe his words because it seemed like he had a direction since he kept glancing all around the place."But you keep checking the GPS and the surroundings" "I just want to make sure we are not lost" his tone was final as if he did not want any more questions.She kept to herself, they had been having a nice time and she knew it would be foolish of her to create a mountain out of a molehill. They had just started dating and she had already caused a fight twice. If she was being honest he had handled every situation with so much wisdom and grace that she had not felt violated or sad that he did so. Maybe that was the perk of him being older. While she was worried about al
"Oh my gosh," Arabella exclaimed with a joyful voice. "Really?" she asked covering her mouth with her hand and tapping his hand excitedly."I knew you would like this place," he said when he saw how happy she was. She was unable to pull off the smirk from her face as she bounced happily in her seat."Oh my gosh, this was one of the things that made me switch cities," she said."I am glad that you like it" "How can I not like it? It's books in hardcover, I can see them in different prints and covers" she said dreamily like she was having a great dream."Shall we go in?" "Are we going to tour the entire place?" Arabella asked. When she heard that there was going to be an international bookstore where all books that hands could be laid on would be sold there. The place also doubled as a library where one could rent books.When she heard about it she had always wanted to visit and the deciding factor for her when she got the job was the bookstore. She saw it as a chance to finally vis
"I am so happy for you," Ava said as she stood with Kieran and Arabella; they had just got married, and it was truly a joyous day. Kieran had been so quick with the preparations that it took them barely two months to put everything together. "I just couldn't believe that my little one had found love," she added, tears welling in here again."Mom, you need to stop crying; seeing you cry makes me cry as well," Arabella said, blinking back the tears. Her make-up artist had retouched her make-up multiple times because she knew she was getting annoying already, but she could not control the burst of emotions flowing from her body. "Mom," Seraphina said, coming from behind and putting her hand over the shoulders of her mother. "It is a happy day; why do you keep crying? Someone, I mistake you to be mourning." "I am just thinking of how proud your father would have been to witness today.""I am sure he is watching over us from above," Arabella said, holding her mom's hand tightly."Mom, let
1 YEAR LATER Arabella was meeting Kieran after work; she had moved out because she was not comfortable with being there while dating him and had found herself a new job where she seemed to function much better. She was even on her way to write a book of her own. Kieran, who started a book publishing house solely for the money, now began to learn about this thing so he could help her out with the publication.She was glad that she had given in and tried to date him, or else she would never understand what this kind of relationship meant. Kieran was so attentive and made her feel like his entire world revolved around her. She learnt to drive and even bought her car.Sometimes she believed that he was going to propose to her because he would bring up discussions that centered around their future home, but then after that, it would be like they were back to base one. She liked base one, but she hated living all by herself. She wanted to move back in with him, and she wanted to begin havi
"A trip?" Arabella asked, taking up the blanket and covering herself. "Yes, a couple's trip," he said, dropping the phone back on the table and walking to her. "What about work? Aren't you going to work again?" she asked. "Are you afraid that you would live broke?" he asked in a teasing tone."Of course I am," Arabella said before tilting her head. "I am jobless now; at least one of us needs to work so we can live a happy life," she added."You know that I do not mind you still thinking with us," Kieran said. After the trial, Arabella decided to stop working there even though Aurora was no longer there. How could she work there after everything that happened? She would be able to face her co-workers if that were the case. "I am sure I will get an offer soon from one of those companies," she said, and he sat beside her. "And you know you do not need to work again; I can take care of you and as many children as you want to have," he said with a wink. "Children?" she said flustered
Arabella rolled over, and she landed right into Kieran's hands. She looked at him like it was an offence for her to do so. She peered at him and then covered her eyes with her hand. She could not believe what she had done over the night. If her mom heard she was going to give her a long lecture and then have her head afterwards. She looked at him, and she was tempted to trace her finger across his face in frustration. "Sleep so much more," she was startled to hear him talk as his mouth moved without even opening his eyes. "How long have you been awake?" She muttered, feeling shy that he had caught her staring so much that she could drill a hole into his face. "A while now," he said, his eyes framing open like a princess that was cast under a spell but was now liberated all of a sudden. He pulled her closer as he wished they could somehow get closer and maybe even mesh together. "Should we go home? Everly must be worried searching for us," Arabella murmured into his chest. He opene
"Somewhere, like where?" she asked shyly, dropping her head so their eyes would not meet. "You would see," he said, lifting her head gently. "But we have to make sure that the ride ends first," he said, looking around. He had thought that they were going to have a moment there, but seeing how things turned out, he could not wait to be out of there. Finally, the ride was over, and he drove out of the amusement park to a hotel. "You brought me to a hotel?" she asked in shock as they drove into the underground parking lot. "Why?" she asked now that her tone was in a hushed whisper. "I told you we should come somewhere, and you agreed," he said as he drove by the cars looking for a place to park. "That was because I thought you said that we should go someplace nice," she muttered, looking around like they were sneaking around. "Why are you looking around like we are committing a sin?" he asked, noticing how uncomfortable she got. "It is not that...""Am I being clueless? Am I jumpin
Kieran paid the operator to let the ride go in a loop three times, and Arabella wondered why he did that."Why?" she whispered to him."To have some alone time," he replied with the same wink from earlier. She gulped down hard, wondering what he was thinking.As the ride got into the tunnel, Arabella held the hand of Kieran tightly with her eyes closed. She had no time to think of what he might have meant with the wink and statements because the ride was definitely scarier than she had expected it to be. She looked at him when she felt his firm hand hold her face and turn it to him. "Are you scared?" he asked, dropping a kiss on her lip. "Kieran," she said in a hushed whisper as she looked around. "There is no one here, and I have been waiting all day just to get that," he said before dropping his head for another kiss. She placed her hand over her mouth because he could kiss her and therefore kissed the back of her hand. He took her hand from her mouth and began to drop multiple k
Arabella could feel Kieran's excitement for the date, and she wondered why they got so lucky. They went on every ride in the park like they had been waiting to do this. Arabella was more proud of the fact that a handsome hunk named Kieran was with her. In every line, they heard murmurs of people talking about how handsome he was. She was not letting any of that bother her because she could disagree with them; he was a beauty to behold. She did not let the nasty comments, such as those criticising his choice, get to her. He glued to her like gum on the sole of a shoe, and it must have infuriated the crowd the more because of the kinds of dirty glances she received from them. Kieran was always pushing back her hair and staring at her while holding her hand tightly and dropping random kisses on her forehead. She was shy, but she liked how he marked his terror so openly. She was on a date, and she was going to try her best not to be affected by any of that. "Should we go there?" Kieran
"Do you want to explain why you are here?" Kieran asked. Arabella had expected him to scream his lungs out, but he was wrong. Myabe's drive down has calmed him down. "It is a stupid reason; I don't want to tell you," Arabella murmured to herself. She had wanted to hear an apology so much that it felt like her self-worth depended on it. She turned her head to the side so she was looking out the window. "Look at me," Kieran said softly. "Look at me," he said again, this time turning her head with his hand gently. "I am so ashamed of myself; I don't know what I was thinking," Arabella said again. Seeing Kieran had somehow triggered something in her. It was like judging her actions without even saying anything. "Tell me, I want to know why you dressed up and left the house to come here when you should be resting.""Okay," she said as she heaved a sigh. "I wanted an apology so bad." "What?" "See, I knew you would judge me.""Ara, I am not judging you. I just want to understand what y
"Why are you laughing?" Arabella was shocked. That was not the expression she was expecting from her. "Dearest Arabella, you must think the world revolves around you," she said, leaning in that she was seated at the edge of her seat. "Why do you think I would apologize to you? I did what I did, and I would do it again and again if need be.""You are not sorry for kidnapping and assaulting me even though you ended up here?" Arabella asked. "Of course, if I had the chance to, I would do it again. Can you imagine how hard I worked? I worked hard on Kieran, and you swooped in from nowhere and decided you wanted to take him from me. Oh, please, like you deserve him," Aurora said, leaning into the chair. "If you are here to ask me for an apology, I am afraid that you have to go back without one today and that you need not expect one from me," she said, looking at her nails like she had gotten a fresh set of nails. "Arabella, I think one of the problems you have is that you seem to overra