Chapter 10 #2
That made sense. While it would be under his shop’s name, the artist there would play a big part in making the event successful. Eri liked that he was taking their feedback into consideration and not just telling them how it was going to go because he could have.
“Have you decided if you’re going to display a bike, and which one?”
“I will. Right now, I’ll be displaying my own, but I might contact a couple of clients in the city and have them come out.”
“That’s a good idea. Especially if you get Koa to come. Oh, and Rei. I’ve been watching his streams, and he has a large following, too.”
“You have?”
Eri nodded. Rei was the person whose Halloween party they’d gone to last year. A couple of weeks later, she found him and joined his stream. He was good, and it made for great background noise and entertainment when she was cooking or cleaning.
“Both could bring more people out, which would mean more eyes on both businesses and more revenue if they want tattoos,” she said.
“You’re right. I’ll reach out to them and see.”
The rest of the ride shifted back to silence, and before long, they were pulling up to the restaurant. Eri had heard good things about it, but she hadn’t been in the year they’d been open. She was excited to try it.
Eri leaned against Elias’ side as the images of stars, comets, and planets played overhead.
She wasn’t sure when it happened, but she’d lifted the armrest between them at some point.
The excuse to herself was that it was digging into her side, and she didn’t like it.
It wasn’t as if she needed an excuse. He hadn’t said anything when she did and only slipped his arm around her.
After dinner, they’d come to the planetarium, and while there weren’t many people, they’d opted to sit in the back row in a corner away from everyone else.
It’d been such a long time since she’d gone to a planetarium that she forgot how pretty it was.
Eri was sure the last time had been with her parents when she was a child, and it felt nostalgic.
When the lights slowly came back on, Elias removed his arm as he stood, helping her up. They filed out with the others in attendance, who were close behind them.
“That was fun,” she stated in the car.
“I’m glad you liked it,” he responded, pulling out of the parking lot, and Eri could immediately tell they weren’t heading to her apartment. “I have one more stop for us to make,” he said as if reading her mind.
She didn’t mind. It was ten-thirty, but her first class the following day wasn’t until ten, and she’d already finished most of the class’s assignments.
They’d been driving for twenty minutes, and Eri knew they were headed out of the city.
The direction they were heading in was nothing but nature for thirty miles before they’d get to the next town.
At some point, he turned off onto a dirt road and then came to a stop in an open field.
Eri looked around, and she might have been frightened if he had been anyone else.
It was dark, and they were the only ones there.
Elias got out of the car, opened the passenger door, and helped her out. He left the car running and pulled a blanket out of the backseat then led her to the trunk. He wrapped the blanket around her shoulders before pulling out his phone.
“What are we doing here?” she asked.
Elias put his phone away and pulled her to stand in front of him, turning her around, her back against his chest.
“Just wait,” he responded.
She didn’t have to wait long before she heard the whistling of fireworks and the sky lit up with them. There were a few designs in the array of lights, and Eri couldn’t help but feel a little emotional.
Valentine’s Day was her least favorite day.
It was the day she was assaulted two years ago, and she’d hated everything about it since then.
She’d been content never to celebrate it again, but she was glad she’d told him yes earlier when every part of her had been screaming no and for her to lock herself away as she had the previous year and drown her sorrows.
Eri swallowed the lump in her throat before turning around to look at him.
“Thank you,” she told him. “Today was…thank you.” She didn’t have the words to describe it and didn’t want to cry.
“You don’t have to thank me. I wanted to,” he responded, hands settling on her waist.
Eri hesitated only briefly as she slid her arms over his shoulders, the blanket falling to the ground. She laced her fingers in his hair and pulled him down, his face inches from hers.
“Are you asking me, Amate?”
Eri shook her head. “No.”
He always made the first move and was always the one leading, and Eri decided it was her turn. She wanted him to kiss her; she wanted to kiss him, and she was going to make that move.
With that, she closed the rest of the distance between them.
Their lips moved slowly as the sound of the fireworks continued in the background.
Which soon faded away as the only thing she wanted to focus on was the way his tongue moved with hers.
The way they tasted one another as he led her in the kiss.
He pulled her closer, and Eri melted, body relaxing against his as he continued to kiss her breathlessly. The fireworks died down, and it was only then that they pulled apart, Elias giving her one final soft kiss.
“Yeah, I think I enjoyed that even more than you asking me,” he told her. Eri didn’t respond, but she knew he didn’t need her to. They separated, and he picked up the blanket as she shivered. “Let’s get you home,” he stated.
When they were back in the car and headed towards her house, Eri contemplated whether she would ask him or take what she wanted again when they arrived. All she knew for sure was that he would kiss her again before he left.