She started to chuckle. “What is all this?”
“This is because we’re alone, and we can celebrate getting into the same college. Also, I think it’s the right time, don’t you think?” He helped remove her jacket, and placed it on the back of one of the chairs.
“You did all of this for me?”
“Of course. There’s no one else in the world that I would do it for.” He took hold of her hands, and pressed a kiss to the corner of her mouth. “I love you, Aria. I can’t guarantee tonight is going to be perfect, but I’m going to do my best to make it as perfect for you as I can.” He ran his hands down her body, cupping her ass, and drawing her closer.
“You’re in a good mood.”
“Why not?” Taking her hand, he made her sit down, and poured her a glass of juice.
“No beer?” she asked.
“I didn’t want anything to interfere with tonight. I want your senses to be clear. Now, I can cook a good pancake, or make a good sandwich, but that’s all I can do.” He left the table. Rushing into the kitchen, he grabbed the tray that he’d kept their food heating on. “I went to our favorite fast food joint.”
“Burgers and fries, how romantic.”
“I could have taken you to a fancy restaurant, but then we’d be sitting, talking, and waiting, and before we knew what had happened—”
“Our night would have been over.”
“Yes, and I wanted tonight to be special for both of us. The start of a new beginning.”
“You’re reading a lot,” she said.
“I know. I never used to get so much enjoyment out of books.”
She giggled. He’d always loved to read, and she knew it.
“Stop distracting me, eat your burger.”
“Yes, sir.” She took a bite out of her burger, and winced. “How long have you had them keeping warm?”
“An hour, maybe.”
“It’s very chewy.”
They were both trying to hide their laughter as they chewed through half of their burger, and some dried out fries.
Eli didn’t concede defeat, and grabbed a carton of chocolate ice-cream, and two spoons. “Dessert.”
“A man after my own heart.” She took one of the offered spoons, and the tub was placed on the table between them. “Could you believe we’d be here at eighteen, eating ice-cream, preparing for a future together when we were just kids?”
“Eating ice cream and preparing for the future, we did that as kids as well.”
“I know, it’s just, becoming a scary clown for birthdays wasn’t exactly a good dream job,” she said.
He frowned. “You remembered that?”
“You had a huge fascination with clowns. Don’t know why. They are seriously scary.” She scrunched up her nose, and released a growl. “Grrr.”
“I have a confession to make. They freaked me out as well. I never understood why so many kids liked them. They had weird ass faces, and were fucking ugly.”
She chuckled. “What are your dreams now?”
“I want to get a degree in business economics. Dad took me on a tour of the company a couple of days ago, and I know the area we have weaknesses in. I want to work for my dad, make him proud, so that one day, I can step into his shoes. Maybe have a son or daughter of my own.”
“No arranged marriage with that?” she asked.