Chapter 277: Vanilla Love

It was just the family chef bringing in their meals. 

Plates are set in front of them – looks like Edward, Adrian and Cassidy are not joining them. Hugo and Joshua are with Olivia at the moment. So, it will really be only the two of them tonight.

The chef placed a glass of water in front of Damien and a cup of jasmine tea down for Aira. 

While she knew her attention should be set on him, she could not help but beam at the meal before her. It was just as he said – protein-heavy red meat and roasted veggies. Still, she knew that every meal at his house was like eating at a nice, fancy restaurant. So, she was excited to dig in. 

Also, the chef remembered Aira's love for the exquisite tea they often had at the house. That's enough to make her feel welcomed. She glanced at Damien once more to make sure he was all set in before she started eating. 

He gave her a smile before he gestured at her plate as he picked up his utensils.

The dinner was fairly quiet - a feature that rarely occurred when they shared meals. They had a few comments and life updates, but the expanse of that place always made Aira feel as though she was not worthy of speaking much. It did not seem to stop Damien from rambling about a video game level he finally beat, though. 

As soon as she finished her meal, he took her hand, grinning from ear to ear.

"Let's go?" he asked way too enthusiastically for someone who just ate a meal of that caliber. 

She simply nodded as she stood up and let him lead the way up to his room. He never let go of her hand that whole time. Soon, she found that his room was starting to feel more and more comfortable with each visit even though she still hadn't gotten used to the unnatural cleanliness and enormous size of the mansion. 

At his home, they would usually sit on the couch and study together and play video games. This was also where their first-ever kiss happened. At her home, on the other hand, he was like a kid in a candy shop. He would indulge himself in pastries, play video games, watch movies, kiss and cuddle, pretend to do homework, and also kiss. 

Aira was hoping that this visit to Damien's would be closer to the time spent at her home.

She let go of his hand once they got all the way, which he hesitantly followed suit. He gave her a questioning brow as she went to where her bag lay on his bed. Coming up behind her, he then tucked his face into the crook of her neck and placed a gentle kiss there, mumbling the question of, "What're you looking for, Aira?" as she rifled through her bag.

Before Damien could register the movement, Aira spun around in his arms and beamed, holding out a bag of what he knew were some oh-so-wonderful carbohydrates from Cassidy's restaurant.

"You know I love you, right?" he said with a sigh as he took the bag she offered and opened it. 

He looked like he was about to faint when the scent and sight of chocolate chip cookies and macaroons were revealed to him. Then, he popped one in his mouth, and he hummed in bliss. 

"Uh-huh, sure. I bet you love your carb-sugar mama almost as much as you love the treats she brings you," Aira giggled.

"Almost isn't even close to how much more I love you than all the sweets in the world," Damien quipped.

He gave her forehead a kiss then, making a blush bloom on her cheeks. She knows he loves her. But that was saying something, especially when he followed with, "Just one of you could ruin the whole sugar harvesting industry. I can't believe you love me, you sweet goddess." 

While his words sounded like teases coming from a dork, the implications were there - she was his sweet goddess. She couldn't stop her brain from thinking, 'Oh, if I'm a goddess, then you are the very sun I honor. The moon I gravitate towards, the ocean I calm and lie beneath-' 

Her thoughts were cut short by the kiss he gave her. He pulled away with a wink. 

Damien grinned at her jarred state before taking a bite of a cookie and making his way towards the couch. Aira wondered if he knew what he did to her. 

He must.

She watched from a distance as he jumped over the back of the couch and plopped ungracefully down on the cushions, giving the seat next to him an inviting pat while looking at her. Shaking her head to clear the marveling thoughts from flooding it, she walked around the couch and sat down next to him. He turned on the TV and set up the Nintendo switch for them to play.

"So, I was thinking we could either play Smash or Mario Kart for a bit and then watch a movie. How does that sound?" 

He gave her that smile - that lovely, wonderful, perfect, goofy smile of his.

Aira didn't realize she'd pressed her lips to his until it happened. If Damien was surprised by the action at all, he didn't show it as he quickly moved his hands to her waist and pulled her closer.

Once she'd gotten over the surprise of her own actions, she placed her hands on his shoulders. He was so warm. Impossibly warm. It's like he really was the sun, giving off warmth and light only for her. She was barely into her metaphorical thought process when he pulled away from her, his face hovering no more than an inch away.

"Not enough room for God. We're breaking rule 51J," he said with a grin she couldn't quite read.

"Does that mean you want to stop-" 

She was cut off when his lips met hers once more. This kiss was so much more than the first. His soft lips moved perfectly in time with hers. He tasted of the cookie he hadn't finished eating.

'Vanilla love,' was the term Aira recalled Cassidy saying earlier, and she knew then that this was what she and Damien had.