“I still not sure why you invited me,” Ronan said, pulling at the neck of his button up shirt anxiously. “Venice would have been a much better date.” They were already in the back of the rented limo on their way to her awards ceremony for the play she’d been in earlier in the year, so it was too late to back out now, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to complain. He had been completely shocked when she’d asked him to come. He rarely ever got invited to important events like this. He’d stupidly gotten into a little bit of a bar brawl last night, so he had a black eye and fresh cuts on his knuckles, but he’d called Aria over earlier to help him cover it up with make up. The black eye, anyway. There wasn’t much they could do about his hands.
Whoever was putting on the ceremony (the theater department?) had it set up like a true red carpet event: After the stars were dropped off, they made their way down a red carpet flocked with ‘paparazzi’ on either side. Ronan took several deep breaths and, by the time if was their turn to step out of the limo, he had mostly calmed down. He stepped out first, holding out a hand to help Cynthia out of the car. She looked so happy and so beautiful, he couldn’t help but grin down at her.
They were halfway down the carpet when he decided to make sure she was the most memorable entrance of the night. Letting go of her hand, he moved it to her lower back and pulled her flush against him. She was too short for him to lean down and kiss her comfortably, so he wrapped both arms around her waist and pulled her up into the air so their faces were level. Ronan softly rubbed his nose along her’s before pressing their lips together in a firm kiss. He kept the kiss short, only teasing her lips with his tongue once, and then set her back onto the ground. “You have a thing for vanilla, huh? Your lip gloss tastes like it.” He chuckled, grabbing her hand again as they finished their walk towards the open theater doors.