“i’m not complaining , i think i prefer sleeping at yours anyways — nothing beats that view you get from your window” within only days of spending the nights at alix’s , the view of him mixed with the stunning view of san fran she got as soon as she woke up made it hard for her to ever want to leave his bed.
you’d think she’d be used to it at this point , but the feeling of alix’s hand placing itself on her thigh still gave her butterflies and made her cheeks grow an undeniable shade of red - - one that got worse every time she so much as tried to look over at him. her hand moved to place itself on top of his , gently toying with his fingers until the car had finally pulled into…his apartment complex?
“you rushed us all the way over here just to go to your apartment?” her eyebrows had furrowed the minute he put his car in park — confused might have been an understatement as to what she was feeling right now , but then he told her to be patient , and instead of questioning him any further she simply let him take her hand and lead the way. “you pressed the button to the wrong floor you know” she laughed, shaking her head as she caught sight of his excited demeanor ( which , for the record , was probably one of the cutest things he’d ever done ) — if he was trying to pull off a surprise he had definitely already done so.
the ding and opening of the elevator startled her a little bit , not so much the noise but the fact that they were on the roof , the last place she ever would’ve thought for him to take her. “alix…what’s going on?” don’t let the apprehension in her tone of voice fool you , at this point she’s just as excited to see what the hell alix had planned for her as he seemed to be to show her. “with my life” she smiled , and with that her eyes fell shut just as he had asked. his hand on her waist had caused a small gasp to escape from ollie’s mouth, her hands instinctively reaching out in front of her to make sure she didn’t run directly into anything even though he was guiding her steps. “alright , alright … my eyes are closed i promise”
she chose to keep her mouth shut about alix’s frantic steps , trying to muffle her giggles until finally he told her she could open her eyes. on his count , her eyes opened up and a now shaky hand slowly reached up to cover her mouth as it hung open. “oh my god…” she didn’t even know where to look , her eyes wandered up to the mess of fairy lights strung every which way , then to the table that held what she assumed was their dinner and her favorite bottle of wine , then down at the floor to see the flower petals scattered amongst the floor — and finally , to him , smiling so big it hurt her cheeks at this point.
it was beautiful , the flowers , the wine , the dinner , him — it was like he reached into her head , pulled out her dream date and turned it into a reality. “this is for me?” of course it was , but there was still that part of her that couldn’t even wrap her head around the fact that someone would do something like this for her. she had taken a moment to wipe away the few tears that rolled down her cheek before she walked over to him , reaching her arms up to wrap around his neck as soon as she was close enough. “you are more than i ever could have dreamed of , do you know that?” she didn’t even give him the chance to answer before she was pressing her lips against his , standing on the tips of her toes and pulling him close to show him all the gratitude she knew she wouldn’t be able to get out with words alone.
her eyes stayed steady on his as lowered herself back down “te amo” she said softly , giving him one more kiss before turning her attention back to the covered platters on the table. “i guess we should eat before it gets cold , huh?” her hand held his even on the short walk over to the table to sit down. “i’m so glad i have a chef for a boyfriend , cooking me meals on silver platters and whatnot — i feel like a princess” she teased , a little impatient to uncover her dish but she figured she’d let him do it for her. “thank you alix — for doing all of this , i always thought this kind of stuff only existed on pinterest boards” she knew she didn’t have to thank him , this was the way relationships were supposed to be , but she needed him to know how appreciative he was of him going the extra mile like he always did.
“next time you’ll have to let me plan the surprise date , but i am really bad at keeping secrets so if i slip up and tell you just pretend you didn’t hear me”
the sound of ollie's giggles had him grinning from ear to ear ; it was a contagious sound --- how could anyone not smile , at the very least , or laugh along with her. it was a mystery to him how the people around her didn't break out into smiles when they were out. even he couldn't help but laugh , with her giggles mixed in with the way her arms were reached out like she was expecting to walk into something. she looked like a dork and he wished that he had a camera ready to take pictures.
nerves settled in the pit of his stomach as he watched her reaction. romantic gestures weren't something he was good at. he had never had any real opportunities to practice , to think and plan , to impress a girl like this. alicia had helped him figure out some of the things he'd done : leaving flower petals on the ground ( they even trailed from the foot of the door that let them outside to the mess of them surrounded the ground around the table ). she'd told him not to go overboard , ' girls like the thought more than anything , ' she had specifically told him , ' and ollie is going to care more about the fact that you thought about her than whatever you actually do. ' he hated when his sister was right , but he knew she had a point. but he wanted to impress ollie , and not only impress , but to make her feel special in a way no other guy had made her feel before. she had spent too much time letting herself be hurt by past lovers , alix wanted to redeem that. make her realize she deserved more than that she'd get more when she was with him.
" surprise , " he found himself saying , but it came out quiet , soft. eyes searched for any sign that she didn't like what she saw. . . but then he saw that smile. that was the same smile she gave him when they had finally said i love you and after they shared that kiss in the rain. that smile told him that he did good , this is something she deserved.
ollie's question made him laugh , " this is all for you , mi amor. " his composure faltered at the sight of tears rolling down her cheek , his mouth dropped to say something to her but she was too quick to distract him by the feeling of having her so close. without needing to think , his arms found their way around her waist and he left a soft kiss to her forehead before resting his own against it. he wanted to say something in return --- about how ollie was everything he had dreamed about , the perfection of his dreams being reality. but her lips had found his and those thoughts quickly slipped from his mind as his head tiled to the side , soaking in the feeling of the softness of her lips.
" te amo , " he whispered , a soft , gentle smile of his own revealing itself once more. when she led them both to the table he snuck out of the grasp of her hand to pull out her chair for him. it was the true gentleman move , that would give him brownie points for sure. " you are a princess , " he argued , " mi princesa , mi reina. " when she sat down , he took a moment to brush straying strands of her hair from her cheek. a kiss landed itself atop her head and then his attention dropped to the covered dishes waiting to be dug into." i've never made this for you before but i think you'll like it. " reaching down , alix finally uncovered the dish. the air filled with the delicious smell of bandeja paisa as soon as the lid was lifted. it was mouthwatering , he knew that because his mouth was watering just at the smell. the lid was quickly set to the side and he made his way over to his own seat across from ollie. " a girl like you deserves to be treated like this --- romantic dinners with nice views and good food ; i'm lucky that i’m the one getting to treat you to things like this. you make me feel lucky. "
he was laughing now , " if it's a surprise i can't really let you plan it , you'll need to keep it unexpected. " the grin on his face was indescribably happy. it didn't falter for even a second. not while she spoke , or while he grabbed the wine and uncorked it , not when he poured some into her glass --- his cheeks were going to hurt by the time the night was through , but it'd be worth it. " i'll pretend not to know a thing. but. . . i like surprising you like this. i like seeing you light up , it's the best feeling in the world making you smile like this. i wanna see you smile like this every day. " sappy words were slipping from him left and right. tonight he could get away with it , it was the day for love and he loved her. more than anything else ( EVEN titan. )." try the food and tell me if it's any good. i have a backup if it's not , don't worry. you're my official taste tester now , that's part of being my girlfriend. so give me full honesty. " face full of expectance , he picked up his own glass of wine and gestured towards hers and her food. this was his mom's recipe so of course it was good but that didn't mean ollie was guaranteed to like it. the glass lifted to his lips , then , and he took a sip as he waited for her verdict. " good? bad? i can't read what that face means. "
