A Step Closer to Love

Arabella and Kieran returned home after their date. By the time they got home, it was already late into the night but Ethan was neither up nor waiting for them like Everly would have done.

“Do you want to have a cup of coffee?” Kieran asked as they entered the house.

“Coffee? At this time?” she asked him.

“Oh I see, this is too late to have a cup of coffee” he continued realizing what he had said. It was indeed too late to have any caffeine at that time.

“Yeah, I would like to sleep tonight so I could be awake early tomorrow”

“If you are late I will wait for you” Arabella could not deny that Kieran had a sweet mouth because why did that singular statement make her stomach swirl in a fit of happiness?

“It’s not about you waiting for me but about having me being early to work” she said trying to steady her emotions. She did not want to swoon over him.

“Okay then maybe we could have tea?” he suggested. He knew they were late but he did not want to let go of her yet. He wanted to stay even a minute more with her.

“Tea?” she asked and then shrugged. “We can have just one cup” she said raising one finger to signify the counting.

“Okay, this way” his hands found a way to hers as he pulled her to the kitchen. He dragged her to one of the kitchen stools and had her sit. “Stay here, let me get that tea started”

Arabella thought of it and knew that if Everly was at home there would have been a pot of tea brewing ready in case anyone wanted it. “I miss your mom” Arabella said and Kieran turned to her as he was reheating the water in the kettle.

“So do I” Kieran admitted. On a normal day, he would have been indifferent about admitting it but he knew that something was different, something felt different even though he could not place what it was he knew there was just something different.

“What kind of tea do you want?”

“Anything”

“Anything?”

“I don’t have a favourite” she said picking at her fingers.

“Okay then I will let you have a taste of my favourite” he said taking out a tea bag from the tea bag tray.

“You sound like a polished English man saying you have a favourite tea” Arabella commented.

“I do?” he asked turning briefly to catch a glimpse of her face before continuing with his tea preparation.

“Yeah”

“And you don’t like that?” He was confused at the emotion her voice was portraying.

“I like it” she said silently biting the corner of her lips.

“Hmm, you do?” Kieran asked coming over to her with two cups in his hands. “Here you go” he said dropping a cup in her front.

She took the cup to her mouth and allowed the smell to fill her nose. “Yeah I think it’s sexy” she said with a wink before taking a sip.

Kieran choked on his cup as he began to cough. “What?” he asked dropping the cup to the island.

“What?” she asked her eyes going wide like a doe.

“What did you just say?” Kieran asked wiping the corners of his mouth with his hand.

“I said I found you sexy” Arabella replied feeling bold about her statement. He had been the one making her swoon all day so she was glad that from the expression on his face, she had the same effect on him.

“You should be careful of what you say” Kieran said taking up the cup again and taking a sip. “You should only say what you mean” he added before taking another sip.

“I meant it” She shrugged wondering why he would think she said it mindlessly.

“Ara,” he said silently. His breath was so heavy that she could hear it. “Should we go to bed?”Copyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.

“Already?” she was perplexed. He was the one who wanted to extend the night and now all of a sudden he wanted to call it a night abruptly.

“I still have some tea left” She tapped on the corner of the glass before taking it up and taking a sip again.

“Let’s go to bed” he said moving close to her. His cup was long gone from his hand and he was trying his best to restrict himself from jumping on her.

She had somehow opened up something within. Something he had suppressed for such a long time he was shocked it still worked.

“Okay,” she murmured when she saw the expression on his face. She did not understand what it meant but she knew it was not the same one she had seen all day.

She chugged the rest of the tea and it scalded her tongue. “Ouch,” she shouted in reflex as the cup went back to the table.

“What’s that?” Kieran asked rushing to her. He had been a few metres away from her so the flight time was not all that much, barely in seconds.

“I scalded my tongue,” she said with her tongue out of her mouth.

“How did that happen?” he asked holding her face and turning it to the side.

She rolled her eyes as she was not exactly happy that she had to explain the obvious to him. “You caused this”

“I did?”

“Yeah, did you have to hurry me while I was drinking tea?” she asked crossing her hand over her chest.

“You did not have to drink the tea” he said wondering why she had not just left the tea in the cup and gone to bed.

“And waste the precious tea you made for me” she pouted and she shook her head. “Never”

He was taken aback by her reason. He moved from her in silence because he did not know the right way to react to what she had just said. He opened up the ice compartment inside the refrigerator and took out an ice cube.

“Open your mouth” he said standing in front of her again.

“Ahh” she said opening her mouth and waiting for his action.

“Here, cool. your tongue with this” he said dropping the ice cube to his tongue.

“Thank you” she murmured with her mouth full.

“Don’t talk” he said stopping her.