The Marriage Contract [Completed]

twenty four

Ethan

"Thank you," I smiled sincerely at Xael as I looked at her eyes, sparkling with unshed tears. What have I done to deserve a girl like her.

"Come on, time to get on with our date," I told her as I stood up and extended a hand to her. "Okay," she agreed with a smile as she placed her tiny hands into my big ones. Deciding to tease her, I suddenly tugged her hand, causing her to lose her balance and fall into my arms.

"Aww, what's with the sudden hug," I teased with a smile as Xael playfully punched my shoulder. "Funny," she retorted as she stuck out her tongue. Her childishness makes me crack up. I shook my head as Xael lightly pushed me away and marched along the sand.

"You're not going to wait for me Xaely?" I sing sang and  Xael turned around to blow raspberries at me before running further away.

"Hey wait up," I shouted before running after her. "I'm gonna catch you," I warned as I ran at lightning speed. Despite her small figure, Xael was a fast runner.

"Catch me if you can," she laughed as she picked up her speed and increased the distance between us.

"Gotcha," I laughed as I wrapped my arms around Xael's stomach and lifted her up. "Hey! Let me down," she protested but I shook my head and walked towards the water. "Are you gonna run away from me again?" I asked while chuckling and Xael shook her head, "i'm not, i'm not. Don't drop me," she shut her eyes tightly.

She's cute. Giving her a light peck on her forehead, I released my arms around her gently as her feet touched the sand.

Xael

Ethan removed his arms from around me as my feet touched the sand, which was damp from the retreating wave.

I closed my eyes as the gentle sea breeze ruffled my hair and the salty air filled my nostrils. The beach is really a nice place to be, I thought to myself as I stretched my arms, feeling the waves overlap one another at my ankles.

Feeling a warm palm on my cheek, I opened my eyes to see Ethan looking at me with an endearing gaze. The intensity of his gaze was enough to send butterflies to my tummy.

"You're really beautiful," Ethan murmured as he leaned in closer until his lips were on mine. As he kissed me, I felt the world around us fall away. It was soft and slow. Warmth filled every inch of my body and our lips moved in perfect synchrony, just like that of two dancers. My heart soared as our kiss deepened, nothing else mattered at that moment. It was just Ethan and I.

A few moments later, we parted for air and Ethan rested his forehead against mine. "Shall we finally get on with our date?" He whispered with a hint of a smile and I nodded, "we should."

"You must be hungry?" Ethan asked as he laced his fingers through mine and began to walk. "Yes, I could eat a cow," I told him as he chuckled. "Don't worry, dinner is next," he assured.

After walking side by side for a few minutes, Ethan suddenly let go of my hand and came behind me. "Close your eyes," he instructed and I did as I was told as Ethan placed his palms over my eyes.

"There's a step here," Ethan said as he slowly led me to the said dinner place. "Ok, don't be too surprised. You can open your eyes now," Ethan told me as I felt the weight of his palms leave my eyelids.

I slowly opened my eyes to see a lit path leading to a dining area which has a canopy above it. "Woah," I marveled at the sight in front of me. "You can close your mouth now," Ethan chuckled as he gently pushed my jaw close. "Do you like it?" He asked and I nodded vigorously.

Taking hold of my hand once again, Ethan led us to the dining table which was adorned with a white table cloth as well as a vase of flowers and some intricately designed candles.

Pulling out my chair for me, Ethan gestured for me to take a seat before he returned to his own seat opposite mine.

Just a second after we sat down, the waiter poured a glass of wine for each of us. "Should I start serving now, Mr Ford?" The waiter politely asked and Ethan nodded.

"I ordered for us already so that you wouldn't bite off the spoon while waiting for the food," Ethan told me with a smile. "Thank you," I returned the smile. He was right, I would consider biting off the spoon with my level of hunger.

Soon, the waiter came with two bowls of soup. "Seafood chowder," the waiter announced before serving us our starter. "It smells heavenly," I commented before picking up my spoon and tasting the soup. "Was it to your liking?" Ethan asked and I replied with a "its delicious".

After we finished our soup, the waiter came to clear our bowls while another waiter served us our entree. "Poulet à la Crème," he told us before placing the plate of chicken and cream before us. I dug into my dish without time to spare. My mouth was drooling. The food here is fantastic, I thought to myself as I felt a pair of eyes on me.

Turning my head up, I saw Ethan looking at me with an amused grin. "You're such a messy eater," he shook his head as he reached over and wiped the corners of my lips with his thumb. I blinked several times as my heart began to speed up.

"Did I make your heart race?" He teased, snapping me out of my thoughts and I shook my head vehemently before continuing my moment with Mr Chicken which ended abruptly several moments ago because of some guy named Ethan.

After we were done with our entree, dessert was served. It was a vanilla crème brûlée. I was already full by then, but there's always room for dessert.

"How do you like the food here?" Ethan asked after we finished up with dessert and was drinking our wine. "Its delicious. Every dish was," I replied patting my tummy. "My tummy is satisfied."

Ethan chuckled at my words and said, "I'm glad you liked it."

Ethan

Now's the time, my brain told me and I took in a deep breath before picking up the bouquet of flowers that I prepared earlier and stood up, making my way over to Xael.

Xael stood up and her eyes widened, like that of a goldfish and I held back my urge to smile. "For you," I told her and she extended her hand to receive the flowers. "Thank you, it's beautiful," she said softly.

"Xael, will you be my girlfriend?" I asked sincerely as I took hold of Xael's hands. "Yes," she answered, smiling widely as she wrapped an arm around my torso.

I hugged her back, my lips pulled back in a wide grin.

The rumbling of the sky above us made us pull back from one another. "Its going to rain," Xael commented as I said, "let's go."

Hand in hand, we ran towards the car as water droplets landed on us.

Thankfully, we reached the car just as the rain began to pelt down. "Phew," we both heaved a sigh of relief and laughed.

Reaching to the backseat for some tissues, I wiped off the water droplets on Xael's face as she did the same for me.

"Thank you," I smiled and she replied with an identical smile, "thank you too."

As I drove us home, Xael fell asleep amidst the raindrops  knocking against the windows and the soft music playing from the radio.

She looks so innocent when she's asleep, I thought to myself as I parked the car in the parking lot and picked her up, bridal style, careful not to wake her up.

"You must be tired, it was a long day. Goodnight," I whispered as I laid her down in bed and pecked her forehead.

Looking at Xael sleeping peacefully, it suddenly dawned on me that I'm falling for her faster than I even realized.