Chapter 9 #2
Over lunch, our conversation is light and easy.
Denham makes me smile and he’s very affectionate with little touches here and there that make my whole body hum.
The wine he ordered to drink with our meal is going down very well, and before I know it we’re finishing the bottle.
Well, I mean, I think I’ve finished nearly an entire bottle.
Come to think of it, Denham still has half a glass and I’m sure it’s the same half he started with.
I’m feeling fuzzy around the edges, so I excuse myself to go to the bathroom.
As I straighten myself out and reapply my lipstick, I decide I’m only going to have water from here on in, hoping the fresh air will do me good when we leave.
I can’t remember the last time I was tipsy like this; I’ve kept control of myself and my sensibility for so long, yet I didn’t even notice I’d let that guard slip.
When I return to the table, I see that Denham has ordered a dessert for two. Ever the gentleman, he stands before I’m seated. “Everything okay?” He frowns and holds a hand out for me to take.
I smile wide and nod. “Yes, I just … I didn’t realize how much wine I had drunk …” I look away, feeling a little ashamed.
“And that’s a problem because …?” He bends his knees until his eyes are level with mine.
“I don’t want you to think I make a habit of this,” I whisper.
“A habit of what Ari?” He laughs.
“You know … getting drunk on a first date. I mean, I’m not drunk, just a little tipsy, but it’s the first, first date I’ve been on since … well, since …”
“Arianna …” He says my voice so softly but it still stops my train of thought.
“Yes …” My voice is just as quiet only it feels small.
His lips meet mine, gently at first but then with more pressure as he moves into me.
The rest of the world falls away and as far as I’m concerned we’re standing alone at the top of the Eiffel Tower.
When Denham breaks away, reality comes screaming back to me as the rest of the diners start to cheer and whistle at our very public display.
How does he do that? He makes it feel like we’re the only people in the world.
I’ve never been one for public displays of affection, mainly because Jonny used to use them to pretend to the world how happy we were.
But Denham isn’t Jonny, he’s the polar opposite.
I might be so embarrassed that I want the ground to open up and swallow me whole, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy it.
I quite like the fact that Denham isn’t afraid to show all these people how he feels toward me. It’s a genuine gesture.
He’s everything I’ve never had and all I could possibly want.
“You ready for dessert?” he asks with a smirk.
I nod and take my seat. There is one glass bowl placed in the middle of the table filled with what looks like chocolate sundae and my mouth starts to water just looking at it.
Denham scoops some onto a spoon and looks at me expectantly. “Open …”
“What?”
“Open your mouth, Ari, and close your eyes.”
“I …” I’m lost for words again.
“Please,” he asks hopefully.
And just like that, my eyes close at his gentle request. It feels weird to close my eyes in the middle of the restaurant and not know what to expect or when to expect it.
It’s another test of my trust to a degree, albeit a small one.
I make true to my promise not to open my eyes, but the sounds around me have my senses on high alert.
“Keep your eyes shut,” he orders in a soft, husky tone.
The first touch of the cold ice cream makes me shiver.
He sweeps my lower lip, wetting it just enough that my tongue instinctively moves to taste it.
The sound of a low growl from Denham confirms that it isn’t just me enjoying this.
He moves the spoon from one side of my lip to the other before gently allowing the sweet ice cream to slide off and on to my tongue.
It’s delicious and I groan in appreciation.
I might have my eyes closed, but I can feel Denham watching me and the waves of heat coming from him.
“Is that good Ari?”
“Mmmm yes, very.”
I feel him come close to me again. This time the spoon is replaced with his thumb as he runs it across the length of my bottom lip, tugging gently and wiping away the remaining melted ice cream. As hard as I try, I can’t control my reaction to his touch and I open my eyes.
He holds my gaze, his eyes burning holes into me and dips into the chocolate sauce with his index finger.
He lifts it to my mouth, bold, unabashed and waits patiently while I hesitate briefly to part my lips.
This doesn’t feel like two people sharing a dessert, it feels like a slow, torturous, delicious foreplay, one that has me fidgeting in my seat and wanting to throw caution to the wind and give in to him completely.
“Taste …” he insists quietly before gently slipping his finger into my mouth.
I close my lips over his finger and swirl my tongue around it, keeping my eyes locked on his. I suck gently until all the cream is gone and I just get a taste of Denham. His gentle insistence makes me feel like I can do anything, and I feel bold from his reaction to me.
“Fuck,” he hisses, pulling his finger out and straightening himself in his chair.
I smile knowing that while it certainly affected me, I can get away without it visibly showing, but he can’t and this is a far too public place to be taking this any further.
“You’re killing me, Stunner,” he breathes out.
I laugh softly. “I know the feeling …”
He smiles, warming me from the inside and making me feel more alive than I’ve ever been. “Eat up,” he says, handing me a spoon.
After leaving 'Paris', we wander along the Strip with Denham’s arm wrapped around my shoulder and my head nestled into him like we’re made to fit.
The fresh air clears the fuzziness that is lingering from the alcohol and I’m beginning to think that this could be one of my favorite places to be, tucked in close to his warm chest and held fast by his strong protective arm, surrounded by a bubble of happiness.
It’s comfortable, but it’s easy to feel comfortable with him. He makes it that way.
I look up at him and smile. “Denham, where are we going? Have you forgotten where you live?”
“No.” He chuckles. “I haven’t forgotten where I live, and just to correct you, you live there too now, remember?”
“I haven’t forgotten. So where are we going then?”
“I don’t know … anywhere.” He shrugs and pulls me closer into him. My arms move further around his waist until we’re squeezed together tightly. “I don’t want our first date to end, so I thought we’d just keep walking.”
I don’t want it to end either. So far it’s been amazing. “You know if we keep walking, we could end up in Mexico.”
“Wouldn’t be far enough,” he states.
“I’m not sure I could walk that far in these heels.”
“Your feet hurt?” He looks down at me, his handsome face marred with a frown.
“No, not yet, but if we walk to Mexico they will.”
“I’ll carry you.” He stops in the middle of the sidewalk and turns me so I’m flush to his body, pulling me closer with his hands on my hips.
Even when I’m in heels, he’s taller than me.
I angle my head a little to look up at him.
I’m close enough to see every whisker, every crease in his handsome face.
“I might be too heavy.”
“Arianna, you’d never be too heavy. I’ll always be strong enough to carry you.”
I don’t think we’re still talking about Mexico; the look in his eyes tells me it couldn’t be further from his thoughts.
I watch his lips part as he moves closer to me.
They touch mine with the pressure of a butterfly—a sweet, sweet kiss, full of promise and I’ve never been kissed like this before.
His sincerity steals my breath away. He presses harder then pulls away and I feel bare. My lips immediately miss his.
“Breathe, Arianna. I love that I make you breathless, but if you stop breathing every time I kiss you, I’m going to stop kissing you.”
I laugh and take a deep breath. “Okay, I’m breathing.” I pull my shoulders straight. “Where to now? Mexico?”
Before I can blink, I’m scooped up in Denham’s arms. I let out a squeal as I wrap my arms around his neck and he marches back in the direction of the hotel.
“I can walk. Honestly, my feet aren’t hurting, I promise.”
He stands still and looks at me. “I know, but I want to carry you.” He places a gentle kiss on the end of my nose and continues to walk down the Strip.
I know this is Las Vegas and crazy stuff happens here so we probably don’t look out of place, but it still feels kinda weird.
I’m so used to keeping up appearances that it feels strange to let go without a care.
“People are looking at us like we’re crazy,” I say.
“You care?”
“No, but …”
“But what? Are you happy? I don’t mean in general but in life. I mean right now, this very minute, being carried along this street, are you happy?” Denham stops walking again and waits for my answer.
I look deep into his eyes and answer him honestly. “Yes.”
“Well then, who gives a shit what these people think? I’m happy, you’re happy. What else matters?”
He’s right, I know he is, but years of careful actions leave it hard for me to think any other way. He’s exposed me in so many ways, and now he’s doing his best to strip me of my insecurities.
“Arianna, it’s been three days since we first met and I don’t know about you, but this feeling … well, I’ve never felt like this before. When I’m with you, you’re the only person in the world that matters.”
Well, shit. He’s voiced every word that’s going on in my head but was afraid to admit.
He’s intense, self-assured and very convincing, and he’s doing irreparable damage to the walls around my heart, but it feels right.
So right. Even in the beginning of my previous relationships it was never like this.
It’s all too much and I can’t think straight.
“I think we should head back. I can walk now.” I wriggle and twist my legs to make Denham let go, but he just holds on to me tighter.
“What’s got you looking so frightened, Stunner?”
“Denham, put me down,” I sigh. I don’t want our amazing date to take a negative turn, but my self-preservation is starting to kick in.
“No,” he says flatly.
“What do you mean no?”
“I mean I’m not letting you go, not until you tell me what’s going on in the pretty little head of yours. I’m sorry if my words are too soon or too much, but I can’t be anything but honest with you, Ari.”
I look into his deep brown eyes and see nothing but pure intentions and genuine, heartfelt honesty.
I may be way off the mark, but I can’t fight it.
I’m already out of my depth, but it feels so goddamn right.
The thought of not spending more time with him stabs at my heart, but I can’t keep going back and forth like this.
It’s not fair on him and it’s making me dizzy.
“Ari, I’m not going to apologize for the way I feel. It is how it is. I won’t force anything on you, but I won’t let you run from it either.”
He gently lets my legs fall until they touch the floor, but his eyes haven’t left mine.
I’m not sure if he’s waiting for me to speak or looking for the answers in my eyes.
He takes both my hands in his, pulls them up to his chest and holds them tight.
“I don’t know who you’re thinking about but I’m not all those assholes that hurt you before.
I’m not them.” With those few words, he confirms that he can, in fact, see into my soul.
There is no hiding from this man.
“Okay.”
“Okay?”
“Yes, I know you’re not them. You’ve been different from the very first day I met you.
It’s hard for me to say this but … I trust you.
I have no idea why, there’s no explanation for it, I just do.
” He lets go of my hands and wraps me up in his large frame, pressing me to his chest and resting his head against mine.
“Are we done with the serious stuff?” he says after a few minutes.
“Yes.”
“Good, not that I wasn’t serious about everything I said, but this is our first date, and I want to have some fun.” He turns his back to me and bends to crouch. “Hop on.”
“You’re crazy!”
“I know,” he says, turning and giving me his most playful smirk. “Come on, hop on.”
“You have a thing for carrying me …”
“No, I just have a thing for you. Being able to carry you everywhere is a bonus.”
I sling my purse strap over my head and brace my hands on his shoulders. I feel his muscles bunch under my fingertips, ready to take my weight. “You ready?” I ask.
“Do it,” he says impatiently.
I take a leap, wrapping my hands around his neck and my legs around his waist. His hands instantly grip around the back of my knees and he holds me tight. I’ve never had a piggyback before. Not even as a child. He playfully starts to wobble from side to side.
“Jeez. All that lunch you ate is sitting heavy.” He chuckles.
“I knew I’d be too heavy. Just let me down, I can walk!” I try to get him to let me go by wiggling my legs, but he grips tighter.
“Not a chance, sweetheart.”
He breaks into an all-out run, spinning me around in circles and feigning his inability to carry me. I laugh and scream nearly all the way back down the Strip until we reach the fountains outside The Kingdom. Denham slows down and walks to the edge of the biggest fountain.
I rest my head on his, still clinging on for dear life, but when he feels my body go slack and relax a little, he playfully tips me toward the fountain.
I don’t think he means to tip me quite so far and it throws him off balance.
It happens in slow motion, both of us trying to regain our balance but overcompensating, and before I know it, we’re plunged into the cold water of the fountain, falling in headfirst and coming up gasping for air.
We glance at each other, stunned and soaking wet from top to toe as we sit on our asses in a fountain in the middle of the Las Vegas Strip.
I can’t hold the laughter in; it’s the kind of contagious laughter that makes your ribs ache and your soul dance.
It feels great to laugh so hard, especially in such great company.
The whole day so far has been amazing. The world that was weighing so heavily on my shoulders feels a little lighter now.
Lighter, but wetter!