Temptations

24. LOVE PROPOSAL

NATHAN

When my eyes opened the next day, I found the bed empty which was strange as I usually wake up first. I went to the bathroom, did my morning routine and then went to the deck to look for Ellie but she was nowhere to be found. My anxiety heightened at the thought of her getting lost somewhere on the island so I immediately changed into trousers and shirt and ran outside.

In the main lobby of the resort, people had gathered for brunch. I looked around the massive hall and finally after some five minutes, my eyes landed on her. She was sitting alone on a table, stuffing her mouth with whatever was on her plate, all the while taking selfies. I rolled my eyes at her and walked over to her table.

This girl. She will be the death of me one day.

"What the hell do you think are you doing?" I asked, sitting by her side.

"You were in deep sleep so I thought I would rather enjoy." She shrugged.

"Helena and her husband are right behind you. What will they think?" I stressed. Thankfully, they haven't seen us yet.

"They would think I am so considerate that I let you sleep and come for breakfast alone." She smiled sheepishly.

Ever since we came here, Ellie has been in awe. I have been to such places before so it was nothing different but for her, all this mattered. Perhaps, the only bump in her road of enjoyment was my presence, as she subtly hinted last night. But despite all this, a part of me was happy to see her this excited and carefree.

"What are you eating?" I asked.

"That's fish soup." She replied and I made a disgusted face.

"Do you even like fish?" I asked.

"No. But while I am here, I am going to enjoy local cuisine." She said.

"Very well." I said and went to fill my plate with something to eat. There was so much variety but I wasn't that keen on adventure so I just served myself oats and fresh fruits. Ellie scowled at my plate and it looked like her hands were itching to knock some sense in me.

"Thank God you aren't my real husband or I would have to kill you or kill myself." She said.

"The feeling is mutual." I said.

She left no opportunity to remind me that we weren't truly married, which was annoying. I was well aware of that fact and wasn't interested in anything more than that. On the other hand, maybe it was better this way. The constant reminders would probably keep me in check and stop me from slipping into dangerous territory.

"Hey lovebirds." Our peaceful breakfast was disturbed by Helena's chirpy voice. As I watched her sashay towards us, I cursed the day I agreed to come to Maldives.

"Hey." Ellie responded.

"What are you upto today?" She took the seat beside us.

"Nothing much. Just food, beach and sex." I said and Ellie's eyes popped out of her orbits. She kicked me from under the table and I yelped.

Helena chuckled in her annoying manner and then said, "Hey, we're going snorkeling today. The resort is arranging a trip. Why don't you join us?"

"I am not sure..."

"Snorkeling? That's on my bucket list." Ellie exclaimed loudly. "Can we go? Please?" She gave me her best puppy dog look.

If Helena wasn't sitting there, I would have refused but I couldn't do that when she was observing my every action. "Fine, love. Whatever you say." I said sweetly, holding her hands.

..........

The snorkeling session lasted 45 minutes. I had done it before and I never enjoyed it too much. Ellie on the other hand was ecstatic. When she came out of the water, she did a victory dance while I was shivering with cold. Right now, she was on a video call with her friend Max, telling her about all the fun she was having.

All the snorkeling participants were now in a local restaurant, giving their sore muscles some rest and filling their insides. Ellie and I were sharing a table with Helena and Troy, the latter seemed to have lost his ability to speak since his marriage with Helena.

"The food is getting cold." I said to Ellie, who was standing in a corner to catch better internet reception. She was wearing a small flowy yellow sundress today that reached her thighs, leaving most of her milky legs bare. The diving session had done a favour to her hair, leaving her with wet ringlets falling on her shoulders. All in all, she looked sexy.

"You know, when I last talked to Serena, she thought you're marrying her to get back at her." Helena said, pulling me out of the trance.

"Uhh..." I chewed my lips nervously.

"But I can see you're completely smitten with that girl." She added.

"Yes, I am." I managed to say, feeling heat around my cheeks. "What's not to love?"

If a shrewd woman like Helena bought our pretence, that meant we were doing a pretty good job at it.

"What are you talking about?" Ellie asked as she walked over to us.

"Nothing much. Your husband was telling us how much he loves you." Helena told her and Ellie raised her eyebrows at this.

"Is that so?" She smirked at me.

"Yes, absolutely. Ever since Ellie proposed to me, I have been thoroughly in love with her." I mimicked her smirk.

"She proposed?" Helena's eyes widened and so did Ellie's, but for a completely different reason.

"Yes. You see, she never told me she had this huge crush on me." I grinned at her. "Right?"

"Yeah, he is just so...." She gritted her words and her nostrils flared. "So irresistible."

Seeing the look of agony on her face was so satisfactory that it made me want to embarass her more.

"Yes. It is such a funny story. I mean, she got on her feet and..." Helena excitedly clapped at this. "And said.... Take me Nathan, I am yours. Pick me to be your wife."

"Did she? Awww." Helena said while Ellie cringed.

"Yep, I did." She gave me the deadliest glare possible. "I was so madly in love. But you know, I didn't know he loved me back. And trust me, I have never seen a guy cry like he did." She said and my mouth parted.

"Nathan cried? Oh My God, that's so romantic." Helena said and I glared at Ellie.

"You won't believe this. He got on his knees too and started crying like a baby. There came a point when I had to pat his back so he wouldn't choke on his tears." It was Ellie's turn to smile now.

"What can I say? I felt like the luckiest man alive." I said sourly.

"Wow, you guys are such a dreamy couple. I wish you guys had filmed this." Helena said.

"Yes..." I whispered. "That would have been great."

Thankfully, the topic of our discussion changed to snorkeling and I had a sigh of relief.

When we were finally alone, Ellie said to me, "Me? Proposed you? Crush on you?"

We were now walking along the coast of the ocean, leaving our footprints on the sand. Ellie was walking in front of me, swaying from left to right.

"We needed a good proposal story." I shrugged.

"And you couldn't be the one proposing?" She asked, resting her hands on her waist.

"We had to make it believable." I smirked and she smacked my arm. "Ow. Miss. Anderson, I am still your boss."

"Should have thought that before accepting my proposal, Love." She smirked at me and then walked away.

...............................