"I am a better person when I have less on my plate." ~Elizabeth Gilbert

                               • • •

Abel and I exit the aquarium, but instead of us completely leaving the building like I expected, Abel drags me towards where we entered and leads us to the elevator opposite the main desk.

"Why are we going into the elevator? I thought we were going to eat." I state to him.

"We are." Abel responds vaguely.

The doors shut behind us and Abel presses the button that takes us to the top floor.

"There better be food up here otherwise I'll be eating you." I grumble to him.

Abel leans down to place his mouth next to my ear allowing his lips to brush them as he speaks, "Baby, you can take a bite out of me any time you want." He whispers huskily.

A shiver racks through my body involuntarily as my breathes start to deepen slightly. Immediately, I feel myself become more aware of him; his intoxicating scent of sandalwood and cinnamon wafts up my nose as the feeling of his heat seeps through my clothes and onto my skin.

"You're such a pervert." I whisper breathlessly.

"Only for you." He cups my chin with his hand and tilts my head upwards to look at his; just as he starts to lean in for a kiss, the doors open. I'm both disappointed and relieved; disappointed because Abel's lips are amazing and it's an absolute gift to kiss them but relived because of how consumed I am by him- I always forget where I am when I'm with him and I feel like it's too soon to feel that way.

Not wanting to bring the mood down, I brush away those thoughts and follow Abel out the doors.

Taking a look at my surroundings, I realise that Abel has brought me to the aquarium's own restaurant.  On the far sides are the same glass that lines the wall on the ground floor with similar types of animals behind them. The ceilings hold big chandeliers that seem to reflect the light in all different directions creating a luminous glow throughout the room. The floors are covered in grey tiles to match the walls not occupied by the marine animals. But what captures my interest the most, is that one whole side of the room has large glass windows that stretch from bottom to top exposing the outside area. Even from where I am, I can see that it overlooks one of the many forest areas that occupy this town; but this place seems to have turned it into something more magical by adding fairy lights all around the trees highlighting how beautiful nature truly is.

"Wow." I say to Abel.

Instead of replying, he guides me towards the stand where a woman is waiting.

"Name?" She asks.

"Dellasandro." Abel replies simply.

"Right this way please."

We follow her to the back end of the room where it seems to be more private. Like the gentleman he is, Abel pulls out my chair for me allowing me to sit down before taking a seat at his own.

"Someone will be with you soon." The woman walks away from us.

Both Abel and I take off our coats before speaking, "Abel this is amazing, I've never seen a place like it. How did you find it?" I question.

"I did some research and came across this place; I remembered how you said you've never been to an aquarium and thought it would be nice at this time of year."

I reach for his hands across the table and hold them in mine, "You remembered that?" I ask feeling awed and elated that he paid such close attention.

"Of course I did, I remember everything about you." He says without hesitation.

My eyes soften at his words as a small smile makes its way into my face, "Thank you Abel."

"Anytime Brown Eyes." Abel winks at me as his usual smirk appears. I have to admit that my stomach fills with butterflies at such a simple yet sexy action. Is there anything he does that isn't attractive?

I remove my hands from his and pick up the menu in front of me, "So what kind of food do they have here?" I ask.

"I have no idea to be honest." Abel scratches his jaw slightly just as his eyes light up with excitement. "I have an idea. How about we pick each other's meal? It would be fun since we've never been here before."

I raise my eyebrows in surprise at his suggestion but still feel intrigued at the idea- it does sound fun after all. "That's actually a good idea Abel."

He puffs out his chest at my compliment, obviously feeling satisfied that he came up with it. Men. "Of course it is, I'm full of good ideas."

"Yeah yeah whatever." I roll my eyes at him and focus on the menu at hand.

I scan over the words and find that this place pretty much serves everything from Chinese to Mexican to Italian and much more. After scanning my eyes through it a few more times, I finally decide on something I believe Abel will like and put the menu down.

"Decided yet?" Abel asks.

"As a matter of fact, I have. Whatever you choose for me better me good because I am absolutely starving."

"Yeah I know Keziah, I'm pretty sure the whole world knows because of how loud your stomach is." He teases.

I kick his leg underneath the table pulling out an 'ouch' from him, "Don't be mean." I pout.

"Me mean? You're the one that just kicked me! Geez woman." Abel narrows his eyes at me as he rubs the sore spot.

I bat my eyelashes at him innocently and plaster on a great big smile, "I'm the definition of angelic Abel so there is no way I'm the mean one here."

"Don't be cute."

"Why? Can't handle it huh?" I tease.

Abel shakes his head at me with a barely concealed smile but before he can respond, a waiter walks up to us.

"Hi, my name is Jonah and I'll be serving you today. Have you decided what you want?" The young guy who looks to be about our age asks us. His eyes flicker towards me as he checks me out not so discreetly.

"My girlfriend will have the jerk chicken with grilled asparagus and cheesy scalloped potatoes as well as Pepsi ." Abel glares at the waiter, clearly caught on to the fact that he was staring at me.

Jonah then turns to face me and plasters on a wide smile, "You sure that's alright with you sweetheart?"

I raise one of my eyebrows in surprise at his forwardness. It's not that I'm not flattered by it but he clearly knows I'm with my boyfriend and that's just downright rude. I despise people that act like that; like seriously where is your moral code?

A quick peek at Abel tells me he's holding onto his barely controlled rage; his eyebrows are furrowed deeply narrowing his deep blue orbs and his hands are clenched tightly across the table as if it's taking everything in him to hold back.

I reach over and untangle his fingers to intertwine mine within his. "My boyfriend will be having the steak medallion with the spicy peppercorn sauce and the thin chips with the roasted vegetables and coke. Just like he trusts my judgment, I trust his so yes, it's alright with me sweetheart."

I roll my eyes and shake my head at his insolence before focusing on Abel to find him chuckling happily; a complete contrast to his previous demeanour.

I feel Jonah's presence leave before I launch into a spiel about our waiters behaviour. "Can you believe him? I'm obviously sitting here with you, my boyfriend by the way so why was he doing that? I hate people like that; it's just rude you know? Like there's plenty of fish in the sea people stop going for the taken ones. Absolutely ridiculous." I shake my head and start playing with the salt and pepper shakes in front of me.

"Keziah." The sound of Abel's deepened tone draws my attention towards his hooded eyes and intense gaze.

"Yeah?" I ask tentatively.

"Do you have any idea how hot that was? You talking back with such attitude. Gosh I'm struggling to stop myself from reaching over the table and pulling you in to press my lips so deeply against yours that it would leave bruises. You're so feisty baby and it is truly one of the sexiest things about you."

Abel speaks with such confidence and blunt honesty that my heart starts pounding fiercely against my ribs.

I swallow loudly as my lips part to release a soft breath, "Um."

A wolfish predatory gleam crosses his face making him more attractive in such a roguish way. "Have I rendered you speechless? I'm not surprised, I seem to have that affect on people."

My lips pull down into an unamused frown as I throw Abel a blank stare, "Way to ruin the moment Abel."

He chuckles deeply, the low timber spreading throughout my entire body, "So, what do you think of what I chose for you?"

I quickly think back to what Abel ordered causing my mouth to water at the thought of it, "I have to admit, it sounds pretty good. Let's just hope it lives up to its expectations. For your sake of course."

Abel's lips lift up in amusement as his eyes twinkle with happiness, "My sake?"

"Obviously. If I don't like it, I'll be eating your food." I shrug my shoulders nonchalantly.

"That doesn't surprise me. I bet even if you do like it, you'll eat my food anyway." He responds.

I think about that for a second before replying, "Yeah, you're probably right." A small giggle escapes my mouth as my eyes crinkle slightly.

"That giggle of yours is so adorable; it always makes my day no matter what." He smiles softly at me and grabs my hand to place a gentle kiss on my palm.

Jonah suddenly appears out of no where and places our dishes in front of us, forcing our hands to separate. Abel grumbles underneath his breath while sending daggers Jonah's way. To calm him down, I reach beneath the table and place my hand on his knee before stroking in small circles. I watch as his body relaxes while he places his hand on top of mine.

"Is there anything else you guys need?" Although Jonah phrases the question as if it's aimed at both of us, he focuses his attention solely on me.

"We are perfectly fine, so it would be great if you could leave so we can actually enjoy our food." Abel rolls his eyes and scoffs at him.

Jonah still doesn't take the hint and sends a flirty smile my way, "Enjoy your meal sweetheart."

"What a dick." Abel grumbles out when Jonah leaves.

"Ignore him and let's focus on the beauty in front of us."

I stare down at my plate of jerk chicken glistening with marinade and the grilled asparagus sprinkled with various herbs. The cheesy scalloped potatoes capture my attention the most since I've never had them before; the cheese bubbles on the top layer leaving crispy brown circles behind.

The spicy aroma assaults my senses in such an enticing way that I immediately dig in to my food. Since I can't decide on what to start with, I put a little bit of everything on my fork before shovelling it into my mouth, "Ohmigosh, dis is so good!" I exclaim in delight. Obviously, I couldn't swallow before speaking, so my words come out a little bit jumbled. I shovel some more food in my mouth, this time deciding to focus on the chicken. As soon as it hits my tongue, an assortment flavour explodes on my taste buds making me moan out loud. Once I've tried everything individually, I take a sip of my drink and look to Abel who is just staring at me, "What?" I ask.

"My girlfriend's an animal." Abel gives me a faked worried look.

"Oh, shut up."

"This, is how you eat properly." Abel picks up his knife and fork and begins to cut his steak delicately before placing a piece into his mouth. He swallows and then proceeds to dab his mouth with a napkin, "That was lovely. You see that Brown Eyes? That's how normal people eat." He smirks at me.

I roll my eyes at him before cutting off some of the chicken and potatoes, "Here, just try this and you'll see why I ate like that."

Abel leans forward and wraps his plump lips around the fork before slowly taking the food off. "Oh wow, that is amazing. Now, its your turn to try mine."

Abel puts some of his steak and
vegetables on his fork and holds it in mid air for me to take. Deciding that I could tease him a bit here, I reach over and place my mouth around the fork before removing it in an agonisingly slow manor. Once its in my mouth, my tongue darts out slightly to gently lick the seam of my lips. The whole time, my gaze matches Abels as I watch him gulp loudly. Once I've swallowed, instead of cleaning the sauce off my lips with a napkin, I leave it there as a sneaky idea pops into my mind.

"Abel, do I have some sauce on my lip?" I point towards my bottom lip while batting my eyes innocently at him.

His eyes instantly darkened with desire as I push out my bottom lip, pouting slightly as the sauce continues to drip on the corner of my mouth.

"Yeah," Abel leans forward to wipe it off and instead of using his finger like I thought, he wraps his lips around mine before literally sucking it off. Even when I'm sure he's removed the sauce, he continues kissing me as if it's the air he needs to survive. I respond back with equal fervour before leaning back to catch a breath.

I drink some of my Pepsi to cool down the inferno raging within my body before clearing my throat, "That was.... Unexpected."

Abel also drinks his Coke and scratches the back of his head, "I believe you initiated it Brown Eyes."

"No, I didn't." Yes, I did.

Abel gives me a knowing look before returning back to his food. For the next few minutes, we both eat in silence except from a few words exchanged here and there. I eat and I eat until I feel as if my stomach is going to explode, "I am ridiculously full. If I eat anymore, I truly will spontaneously combust."

"You're so unnecessarily dramatic babe." Abel raises his eyebrows at me in a cheeky manor.

"I am not. Seriously, if you felt my stomach, you'd see what I mean." I respond.

Abel grabs my plate and starts scooping my leftovers onto his. As he continues to eat, I rub my belly gently while murmuring consoling words, "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have eaten that much but it was so good you know? I promise I won't do that to you next time."

I look up to find Abel giving me a very weirded out look, "I have no words to be honest."

I giggle lightly at him as we continue to talk some more.

• • •
A/N:
This chapter was originally over 5000 words and I had to split it into two but it's still kind of long.
Aren't they such a cute couple? I love all the date chapters.

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