“This meal is really delicious, Cal.” Emerald mused as she busied her mouth with the task of chewing the chicken dish, savouring the burst of flavour that exploded in her mouth as it melted, coating her tongue in its creamy goodness.
She struggled to stifle a satisfied moan, but to no avail as her eyes fluttered close. Emerald never thought of herself to be a foodie until she tasted ‘Carol’s’ meals-or rather, Jordan’s-for the first time. She knew about the white lie he had been telling and it was finally time to call him out on it.
Jordan’s sudden groan was successful in whipping Emerald’s eyes open. She shot him a questioning look whilst still chewing her meal. “You might want to suppress your moans, Gem. I know I’m an excellent chef but I don’t think you and I are ready for what those sounds of yours are doing to me,” he spoke, his voice sounding more husky than usual and his chocolate eyes appeared darker than normal as he stared intently at her.
Emerald’s eyes widened momentarily with a blush tainting her cheeks when his words finally registered in her brain. She hurriedly grabbed her wine glass and downed its contents-the new Cabernet he had released a few months ago yet its limitedness still drove people crazy till today.
Jordan chuckled at her expression before adjusting himself while wiggling subtly on the seat.
The memory of the Cabernet made Emerald realise how far she and Jordan had come since the moment he had knocked on her door and blurted out his intention to sleep with her, quite literally. She smiled at the reminiscence and cleared her throat before speaking.
“What did you call the name of the meal again?”
Jordan swallowed past his busy mouth before replying. “Coconut lime chicken,” he answered, “Why do you ask?”
“I have got to have the recipe, that’s why.” She shoved another forkful of its creaminess into her mouth, making Jordan chuckle at her rarity of a gusto. He never knew she could eat with such vigor and it gave him great joy to see the huge difference between the old Emerald and the one currently eating so animatedly before him. A loving smile snaked his expression.
“And you’re certain you made this?” She asked, clearing her plate.
“I am.”
She looked at him with raised eyebrows. “Absolutely?”
“Absolutely,” Jordan nodded, “why? You don’t believe me?”
“No, that’s not it. It’s just that your food tastes awfully the same as Carol’s,” she mused, noticing how his movements seemed to come to a halt altogether. “It tastes exactly the same, especially the tenderness of the chicken and the unique marinade she seemed to always make use of whenever she made any chicken related dish.”
She looked into his eyes, placing her cutlery down on her empty plate and giving him her undivided attention, an innocent look hiding the mischievous intent in her eyes.
They were currently seated in the second floor of the house, out on the spacious balcony situated on one side of the house, where Jordan had set up a simple yet very beautiful dinner date setting. A round table, two chairs on opposite sides, a bouquet of assorted flowers, excluding wisterias thankfully with scented electronic candles – the type you had to shake to turn on.
The moon was fully out now and accompanying it, were millions of stars lighting the dark canvas of the night sky. It was a beautiful sight to behold because here in Manhattan, it was an almost rare sight to be able to see the night sky past the so so many skyscrapers blocking the space.
Another hindrance would be the exhausts and fumes from industrial chimneys but right here, right now, all of those things seemed to be nonexistent as she continued to stare at a stiff Jordan, admiring his sinister beauty against the light from the silver ball behind him and the glow from the fake candles in front of him.
The glow from the candles cast a shadow of his jawline, making it seem more pronounced. The almost non-existent scar that ran from the corner of his lip and towards his jaw seemed to make him look even more perfect and beautiful despite the mark of imperfection the scar bore with it.
Emerald’s fingers itched to trace it and her curiosity bit at her to know the story behind every scar, every mark and every tattoo on his skin. But now wasn’t the time.
“Well? Aren’t you going to try to explain or come up with some sort of lame excuse?” she smirked. “Maybe how you had taught her everything she knows? Or how the marinade and spices are a family recipe only you two know about.” A knowing brow was raised on her forehead as she regarded his defeated look.
Jordan let out a sigh before setting down his own cutlery as well. “You know, don’t you?” He asked.
“What do you think?” Emerald asked with a teasing smile as she took a sip of her wine.
“How did you find out?”
“Let’s just say Carol and I had a long talk,” Emerald dragged out and returned her wine glass to the table, laughing at Jordan’s groan. “Why did you do it though? I can’t imagine the stress you had to go through because of me.”
“Hey,” Jordan called out, placing his hands over hers resting on the table. “Believe me when I say I loved every bit of it,” he smiled, “I’ve never done something like that before and it was really exhilarating,” he laughed.
His grip around her hands tightened as he grinned widely. “All of this is so new to me, but I love every single moment of it all, believe me. As long as I get to do it all with you and do it all for you, then I would do so willingly, Gem.”
Emerald smiled a watery smile, directing her eyes to look up at the night sky so she could somehow drive away the tears that welled up in her eyes, but all to naught. A twin drop trailed down both her eyes as she smiled, wondering if perhaps, she had saved an entire nation in her past life to deserve such a man.
“What did I ever do to deserve you, Jordan? I’ve been bad, I’ve been worse and I didn’t think I deserved such happiness, yet here I am. But why doesn’t it feel wrong? Shouldn’t I feel bad for being so happy? Do I really deserve this? I feel like it’s too good to be true. It feels so. . .” she heaved a shaky breath, “. . . so surreal.”
Jordan smiled and stood to his feet, pulling her up with me. Together, they walked to the railing of the balcony and Jordan stood behind her, holding her firmly against his warm body. They let the silence dwell longingly between them, only their calm breathing filling the night air as Emerald calmed herself.
“If you think you’ve been bad or you’ve been worse,” he started softly, “then I’ve been way more than ‘worst’. I’ve done bad things, Gem and using the word ‘bad’ is just me putting my gruesome acts lightly. If you think that you do not deserve happiness, then I deserve eternal damnation. In fact, if there was something more cruel than that, that would be befitting. So Gem,” he turned her around and placed a soft kiss on her forehead before drawing back to stare her in the eyes.
“You deserve every bit of happiness in this world and much more. If there’s anyone who should never be happy, then that’ll be me. You shouldn’t feel bad for being truly happy because after everything you must’ve been through, you deserve true happiness, love. Unlike me,” he smiled ruefully.
“No,” Emerald shook her head firmly. “We both deserve happiness. You deserve as much happiness as I do and even more, Jordan.” Jordan began to shake his head, but she stopped him by cupping his face in her small and delicate hands.
“No, listen to me, Jordan. Everyone deserves happiness. Everyone deserves a second chance regardless of whatever atrocities they might have committed in the past. And that’s what it is, Jordan, the past and it will always remain in the past. You taught me that. You made me realise that, Cal and you should believe in yourself as well. You deserve as much happiness as everyone out there. You and me both, Cal.”
Silence fell like a cloak over the both of them as they stared at each other, unyielding. Jordan opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by the ringtone of a phone.