Alone.

He Glares, He Pouts And He Huffs!

Chapter: 19
He Glares, He Pouts And He Huffs!

"I take it your taste buds are satisfied."

"Oh, very satisfied." I closed my eyes as I savoured the taste of strawberry chunks and chocolate ice cream with specks of fudge brownie mixed in there and the whole thing drizzled with thick chocolate syrup. "Oh good God, how have I never been to this place before?" I moaned in contentment.

I was met with silence. I opened my eyes to see Adam staring at me with those intensely deep eyes of his. My heart skipped a beat. He gave a small smile. The one that reached his eyes so brilliantly. "I had to ask Michael. It was his recommendation."

I nodded as I took another heavenly bite of my sugary sweetness. "I think I love Michael."

"You'll love anyone who introduces you to good food," he pointed out dryly.

"Hey, food comes above all else. No arguments there," I defended as I bit on a combination of fudge and frozen strawberries. Oh, this is heaven!

We sat in silence then. The ice cream parlour was in a busy food street. The lights were dim and the atmosphere calm and peaceful. We sat at a table adjacent to the glass panels that showed the systemic hustle bustle of the people going about their business; some laughing, some busy on phones, some with families, some with a group of friends and others by themselves and at peace. The night was beautiful.

The colourful lights hanging from above the roof and dangling onto the glass panels from the outside cascaded mesmerising hues over Adam's profile. His handsome facial features heightened with numerous shades falling over. He was looking out the window, head tilted and held by his closed fist as his elbow was braced on the table surface. A few stray strands fell on his forehead from his usually styled hair. God, I would love to kiss him right now.

He glanced at me and when he saw that I was already staring at him he turned completely, both hands folded in front of him on the table as he leaned in with a knowing smirk playing on his lips, "What were you thinking?"

A blush came across my cheeks which I loathed with vengeance because it was a dead giveaway as to what exactly I had running through my muddled mind. "I'd rather not say." I looked away shyly as I pushed the now empty bowl away from me.

I heard him chuckle and gave him a half-hearted glare. A thoughtful expression fell over his face, "Ive been meaning to ask you this..."

I raised my brows curiously, "Ask me what?"

He sighed, "I don't know how to really explain this to you." He rubbed the back of his neck and then gave me his rapt attention, "You see, when you live for so long, you've got to be discreet about it so as to not raise questions. Therefore, my family has spread the business across on an international scale. It's diffused throughout so that when it feels as if we've stayed long enough in a certain place, we move to the next best location where people won't think twice about us other than in reference to business-" he paused as if feeling rushed and asked me, "Are you following me, Ray?"

I nodded, smiling, "Yes, of course. I'm not a dunce, you know. I understand completely."

He nodded, "Well, while we do have to keep a low profile, we also have to give certain appearances to the public, once a while, again so as to not raise questions."

I nodded again, it made complete sense. You can't hide behind the curtain forever because people will question that how a big firm on an international scale has never revealed the face behind it all. "How do you go about it then?"

"We hold charity events, formal parties-" he gave an inverted fingers gesture, "for all the higher ups to give them opportunities to expand their business alongside ours or simply to mingle."