Ally

"Harvey," I placed my hand on his arm as he drove out of the garage. The car came to a stop as he turned his attention towards me.

"Ally," he replied, waiting for me to continue.

I didn't think this through. I wanted to tell him how thankful I was for such an incredible experience. I wanted him to feel the lightness I felt in my chest after his surprise. I wanted him to see how happy I was at that moment. But all I could manage was to say his name out loud.

I kept my smile from ear to ear. "I'm hungry," I lied. Then, I turned my smile upside down, mimicking a sad face with my frowned lips.

A burst of laughter escaped his inviting mouth. His eyes glistened as he shook his head in amusement. "Damn, you're too fucking cute."

"It's not funny," I whined, forcing my eyebrows to meet. I tapped on my belly. "My poor fats," I said, comforting the rolls on my abdomen.

He reached for my hand and slid his fingers in between mines. "I could kiss you right now," he warned as he slowly leaned closer.

I squeezed his hand tighter, stopping him. "But my babies want to be fed," I complained like a child and redirected his attention as I squeezed the flaws on my abdomen.

"You probably think this is the worst date ever. I didn't mean to starve you like this. But we're on our way to pick up the food," he explained.

"Food?" My eyes lit up at the mention of the word.

"Sorry, I should've planned this better."

The concern and guilt in his voice left a sour sensation in my stomach. I wasn't as hungry as I whined to be.

"Wrong. Tonight started out so good. It was definitely a surprise. I'm just eager to know what's next."

"You really don't like to be kept in the dark, huh?"

"You have no idea."

"I am a man of my word. Just bear with me a little longer. I'm just hoping not to disappoint you at the end of the night."

"I'm definitely far from being disappointed. So far, you're at seven out of ten."

"Well, I intend to hit a double digit tonight. Maybe even triple."

"Oh, you're such an overachiever," I playfully slapped his arm.

He mouthed ouch as he rubbed his victimized arm. He pulled over and pressed the hazard on. "I always meet my goals," he reassured before opening his door. "I'll be right back."

I nodded and stayed put. I watched him sprint  towards the restaurant across the street. A few minutes later, he came out with two bags of take-out food. The moment I inhaled the aromatic scent of the food seeping through its container, my mouth instantly salivated.

"Oh my God. That smells so good!" My eyes fired up with hunger.

"We're almost there," he said as he drove off in the opposite direction from his condo.

"Oh. So, we're not going back to your place to eat this?"

He shook his head. "Bear with me," he pleaded.

"Whoops! I forgot. No more prying. I'll shut up now." Aware of my lack of self control, I covered my mouth with my palm.

"No, keep talking. I like listening to you. Just no more questions about tonight cause I don't know how much longer I can resist you."

"I'm glad I'm not the only one suffering then," I teased. "Play something for me."

"Any special request?"

"Surprise me."

The picking of the guitar echoed in the car. The song had an indie rock and folk vibe to it. The man started singing and I knew I've never heard of this song, nor this voice before.

"It's empty in the valley of your heart. The sun, it rises slowly as you walk. Away from all the fears. And all the fault you've left behind."

I found myself bobbing my head as I listened to the words. My legs had mind of its own as it danced along with the bass. I watched him drum his fingers on the steering wheel. He mouthed the song word for word.

I drooled at the view.

It was a sin to be such a beautiful creature as he was. He had such a strong and powerful physique. However, the more I spent time with him, the more he subconsciously unraveled the softness behind his obvious masculinity.

"I've never heard of this song. Who are they?" I was intrigued. I thought I listened to many genres, but I was disappointed that I've never got into this type of music.

"Mumford and Sons."

"I've never heard of them."

"You like it?"

"Yes! Very much. It's so catchy."

"How so?" He asked as he turned into the street leading to the museum district. At this point, I knew not to question him anymore.

"First of all, the beat is very catchy. You could feel the emotions from the powerful strumming of the guitar, but the banjo was a surprise to me."

"Wow. You sure do know how to surprise a man," he said.

"So, I was right about the banjo?"

He nodded with approval of my knowledge in music.

"Lucky guess," I reassured him. I was no musical genius. I hesitated to even voice out my analysis of the song, but my filter was always under maintenance around him. As a result, my thoughts would randomly slip out of my mouth.

"The lyrics definitely sent out a strong and bold message and they delivered it perfectly. I'm gonna have to listen to it again and again." I intended to do such a thing once I got home.

"You're gonna have to share this analysis with me," he requested.

"For a price," I bargained.

"And what would that be?"

"Share more of this."

"Of my playlist?" He asked and I nodded in response. "Deal. But I'll save that for later. We're here."

I was so consumed by the song that I hadn't realized the car had been parked. I knew this area. But I've never been here at night like this.

We were at the end of the museum district, surrounded by the lake. He got out of his car with the intention to walk around to open the door for me. But I rushed to undo the seatbelt and open the door myself. The look of disappointment painted his face, but he kept quiet about it. Instead, he turned around to grab the food from the trunk.

When I stepped out of the car, I found him standing tall with the bags of dinner in his hand and a rolled blanket tucked under his arm.

"What's going on?"

"Dinner." He tilted his head down to the blanket and the take-out food.

My jaw fell to the ground. My heart began to beat faster than normal that I could have sworn it skipped some beats that would have caused me to pass out. I was in shock. He planned all of this. For me.

"I see the wheels turning in your head," he interrupted my deep thoughts.

"I-," I tried to come up with something to say. Anything at all. But, I was speechless.

"Let's go," he said without hesitation, saving me from my lack of words.

He led me down the steps towards the water. There wasn't much crowd at this end of the strip. Most hung out closer to Shedd Aquarium as there were more street lights in that area. We were at the tail of the district by Adler Planetarium. Less lights. Less crowd. More privacy.

I stood silently as I watched him lay out the blanket for us to sit on. The reflection of the Chicago skyline on the lake was a breathtaking view. The sound of the children's laughter as they chased each other while their parents scolded them to take caution was still audible. But, it was mostly drowned out by the sound of the waves hitting the rocks

"Are you okay?" He was weary of my silence.

"Harvey, this is incredible. How did you even think of this?"

He reached for me to sit down next to him as he laid out our dinner in front of us. "Ten out of ten?"

"Fuck the double digit. I'm beyond impressed. You definitely hit that triple digit you aimed for." I wanted to jump on him and show him my appreciation, but the aroma of the Thai food he ordered distracted me. "Yum! These look so good!"

The potsticker, Pad Thai, and lime chicken was laid out in front of us. I didn't realize how real my hunger was until I devoured the first bite.

We almost finished our dinner as he confessed how nervous he was by his choice for tonight. He wanted to ask me what I craved, but didn't want to spoil his plan. He ordered Thai iced tea, which I drank in a heartbeat. It was one of my favorite drinks. He shuffled his playlist in the background from his phone. I took the initiative to clean up our leftovers after we finished.

"I got it," he said, interrupting me.

"Please, let me. It's the least I could do to thank you for tonight."

He quietly watched as I cleared up what was left of our dinner. Even with my back turned to him, I could feel his eyes burning through me. I reached for my purse to scavenge for a gum, but found a metal tin of Altoids mints instead. I turned to him and 1offered him the tin.

"Thanks." He leaned against the step stone revetment.

I rested my back against the cold concrete next to him. I didn't dare to look at him. Instead, I watched the starless darkness of the night.

"Here. It's chilly," he tried to offer his jacket as he shuffled to take it off of his body.

"No, really, I'm fine. You'll be cold if you take it off." I was too nervous to even complain about the coldness. Besides, it kept me warm enough not to shiver like I did during our first date.

I didn't give him any time to fight my refusal. I moved closer to him and as our arm touched, I was instantly comforted by the warmth that radiated from him.

He reached for my hand and laced his fingers with mine. For a short while, neither of us dared to break the silence. Until my nervousness took over.

"This is really nice."
"Hmm." He agreed.

We kept our gaze towards the darkness of the waves crashing against the revetment. Our thumbs continued to glide against each other. The heat radiating from the friction of my skin rubbing against his brought comfort against the cold air of the lake. I challenged his strength as I exerted more effort on locking his thumb underneath mine.

He smirked at my effort, knowing damn well he had the strength to instantly lock me down, but he continued to stall. I was determined to win so I used the remaining strength of my body to bar my thumb over his.

I knew I was no match to him and the more I tried to withdraw my hand from his possession, the stronger he kept his hold on to me.

His audible and boastful smirk made me turn to him. I saw the rise and fall of his chest that mimicked my heavy breathing. Then, when I finally had the courage to look up, I fell deep into those dark emerald eyes of his.

And that was when I lost.

His hand burned the back of my neck as I welcomed his lips on mine.  Our tongues danced in harmony and everything else around us became a blur.

My fingers swam through the waves of his hair. He caressed my jaw with his thumb in a repetitive motion.

I was forced to lift my eyelids open when I found my mouth searching for his. The warm sensation of his breath airing my wet lips lit up every cell in my body.  His heavy and longing breaths played music in my ears. A moan escaped my lips

Then, he stopped.