With a faint clink from the dainty entrance doorbell, the hearty laughter and the smell of caffeine accompanied us on our way out of the *Shot of Paradise* Cafe.
Ansel and I remained mesmerized as we witness the unwavering love of Madam Rosa and Signor Florentine through the cafe moniker of the window display.
Thinking aloud, my "I wonder..." had caught Ansel's attention.
"Care to share your fancies?" Sincere silver eyes implored me, as Ansel couldn't help but ask to help sate his curiosity.
"I- uhmmm... it's a bit embarrassing. So I don't think I'm brave enough to pass on my fancy." Admitting to Ansel that I'm a bit hesitant to say aloud about his opinions if he can see us having a love story as life-changing and transformative as our idols, is quite possibly the first ingredient to a codependent disaster that's waiting to brew.
His big warm hand gently caressing the back of my hair, Ansel spoke, "Understood. Just tell me when you're ready. You know me, Nikita. There's no room for judgment between us. I got you, okay?"
Reassuring me as Ansel firmly placed a chaste kiss on my forehead, he pulled me closer to a cozy protective embrace.
Leaning on Ansel's broad chest, hearing his steady heartbeat up close always leaves me weak on my knees.
As if on cue, I found myself, feeling safely vunerable in Ansel's strong arms. Like a bride lovingly carried by her dashing groom, my emerald eyes fluttered in and out of consciousness.
Every cell in my body knows that only with Ansel can I feel truly safe and protected. My recovering feminity surely thrives in his rehabilitated masculinity.
As Ansel gently settled me down on the passenger seat, he leaned further in the car to reach my seatbelt, my expectant lips lightly brushed his newly shaved chiseled cheek.
Electricity buzzed through our bodies as if time stood still.
Seeing his Adam's apple bob up close, both of us losing grip of reality, Ansel slowly turns to face me, inching closer and closer until...
*riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiing*
The unwelcome buzzing from his phone had Ansel reluctantly retreat off of me, silently cursing whoever dare ruin our heated moment.
Ansel, obviously pissed off at the caller with ungodly timing, begrudgingly stood up and gently closed my door. Trying to keep himself from losing control, I watched Ansel drag his feet around the car while unwillingly nodding while I took my time putting on my seatbelt.
Catching a glimpse of a rather mad yet sexy Ansel outside the driver's side window, I leaned forward to see him sigh in defeat as he opened the door to get settled in his seat.
"Is anything wrong? Are you okay?" I asked as my left hand found its way to massage the back of his neck.
With a weak smile, Ansel took my left hand and placed a kiss on my palm as he said, "I'm sorry we couldn't head straight to the museum today. Uncle Pierre had called me to help out on an errand. Do you mind if I-"
Placing a quick peck on his cheek, my eyes closed as I rubbed the tip of his nose with mine, I said, "Say no more. Let's go do your errand. Is it on the way or what? I've always been curious what your errands are like?"
Opening my eyes, hoping my smile can somehow reassure Ansel that I'm okay with helping him with errands.
Chuckling as Ansel put on his seatbelt, he said, "You know? In my head, I thought we were already married. So when you tried to calm me down, I caught myself before I almost nodded *What my wife wants, my wife gets*."
Wife?! Hearing him refer to me in his head as his *wife* had my heart beat faster than I can run in a marathon. It isn't a nervous racing heartbeat, rather it's the eager and exciting type.
Stuttering while fingers nervously played with my hair, Ansel quickly leaned closer and placed a kiss on my left temple as he whispered in my ear, "I've already imagined a minimum of 50 years with you. And let me tell you..."
Closing his eyes as he inhaled and nuzzled on my neck, Ansel continued, "Better yet? Let me work hard so that our reality fairs better than my fantasies of a lifetime of happiness filled with you." as he placed a firm kiss on my neck and settled down on the driver's seat, leaving my cheeks showcasing red in different shades.
Trying to avoid his gaze, I tried Ansel about the details of his errand.
Pierre called because one of the VIPs that his assigned team has recently dropped off, left a very important envelop document in the backseat of their company SUV.
Ansel and I simply have to pick up the document and deliver it to the VIP in the North Wrest Tower 1, which is five blocks before the slew of restaurant by the pier start to open for the early evening.
Seeing as the errand is simply transporting a sealed envelope, I wondered why Ansel was so pissed off.
Not wanting to press on the issue further, I asked Ansel if I can turn on the radio to which he obliged. Not really looking as Ansel tinkered on his radio, I noticed he was actually connecting to Spotfy and selected his playlist titled: Words left unsaid.
Closing my eyes to Alicia Keys' *If I Ain't Got You*, my mind wanders as my half-open eyes see the city slowly transitioned to modern city night life.
My sleepy emerald eyes wander off to emerging vibrancy of this city's west side night life.
Food trucks heading towards the pier.
Trucks of plastic chairs and tables head towards the same street as the food trucks took.
But what struck me the most was the conversation I heard when Ansel slightly roll down his window to stick out the sealed envelop to the fuming red-headed puny she-devil outside the car.
"Who is she?! A client!? You never let yourself get assigned to female clients?! I know!? I tried begging Daddy to have be assigned to me?!"
Peeking with my side mirror, what I saw was the Ansel that went berserk in the airport, coldy dismissing the overdressed red-headed trust fund baby as she was prying to open Ansel's window open.
Her building personnel dragged her desperate ass off our car as her staff profusely apologized, all while Ansel remained deathly silent.
It feels nice to hear the undeniable fury from whoever this shrill-voice prententious brat is. To know that no matter how much money they throw at Piere's security businesss, Ansel never budged.
A territorial flame in me ignited as I watched her fight her way back near our car.
A shameless thought crossed my mind, in turn graced a mischievous grin in my half-dazed face.
Muttering under my breath, "Looks like someone needed help to be put into their place" had finally broken Ansel's death glare when he faced, silver eyes full of concern, asking if I'm okay.
Without looking, keeping a bored look on my face, muttering under my breath, "After dinner, remember to save some room for dessert."
Puzzled by my words, Ansel raised his eyebrow as he asked, "What's for the dessert?"
Slightly titling my head, keeping Ansel's eyes only on me, my unassuming grin slyly transformed into a knowing smirk as I pointed my index finger to myself.
Earning an excited grin from Ansel and a fuming scream from a stubborn fire-haired brat certainly did wonders to my recovering ego.
Dismissing the staff as he signalled our depature, I thoroughly enjoyed watching a certain flame-haired spoiled brat wrecking havok on the rear view mirror.
"Uhm, Nikita?" Ansel didn't even bother to hide the eagerness in his voice.
"Can we just skip dinner altogether and go straight to dessert?"