CHAPTER 35. DINNER DATE.
Raphael and Evelyn arrived at Raphael’s only secret penthouse. As she stepped out, she was amazed by the exterior decorations, it was all thanks to the lights that she was able to see everything. Raphael watched her silently as she was so invested in her surroundings and he silently thanked his stars for bringing the two of them together at this certain point. She looked so beautiful that Raphael was finding it hard to take his eyes off her throughout the whole ride.
He walked over to meet her. Evelyn caught a whiff of his manly and intoxicating perfume, it smelt homely.
“Shall we?” She glanced at him and then at his cuffed hand, she gently hooked hers with his and he led the way.
Stepping into the place was like another new world for Evelyn. Her eyes kept checking out every detail she came across.
“You have a beautiful home.” She commented.
“It can’t be called home yet if it’s this empty. It’s only a house.” Raphael responded.
They continued walking until they got to the staircase, they climbed slowly…well, that was because of Evelyn who was careful not to trip. That would be embarrassing.
“Are we there yet?” Evelyn asked.
“Almost.”
She nodded and looked ahead. It seemed like a balcony…a very wide one. Her steps turned slower than before as she came closer to the venue. Roses were used in designing the place and different shades of light brightened it. There was a table and two chairs opposite each other, they were all stationed in the middle.
“Here we are.” Raphael pulled one of the chairs for her to sit on. He excused himself and came back later pushing a cart that was carrying covered plates. Evelyn looked around, there was no chef or maybe someone that could serve the meal for them.
“You didn’t hire anyone to…”
“No. I prepared all of these myself.” Raphael answered and started serving the meal. He arranged the needed things carefully on the table before pushing the cart to another side. He went to the music player and started playing one of Ruth B’s songs DANDELION by title to help make the atmosphere more romantic.
He sat back in front of Evelyn.
“Shall we?” He smiled and she flashed him a quick one too before she started eating. The lyrics in the song were easy to understand and Evelyn’s focus was on it as she gobbled down her meal. Raphael would once in a while steal a glance at her.
Evelyn couldn’t raise her head to look him in the eye as she was scared of embarrassing herself.
“How is the meal?” Raphael asked.
“Very tasteful. I never knew you could cook.” Evelyn answered.
“Do you think cooking should be made compulsory for females only?”
“No, that’s a bad idea especially not when the world is growing faster than we can imagine and people falling for each other with the same gender as themselves. I don’t see it as a compulsory task for a female anymore, it’s a fifty-fifty work now for both genders.” Evelyn answered.
“Exactly. So, yeah, I can cook maybe not in a perfect way but at least in a good and edible manner.”
Evelyn chortled, “That’s better. Did you learn it from your mum?”
Raphael paused while eating for a while when he heard the question. Evelyn saw that his countenance had changed and she cleared her throat.
“Nevermind…”
“No, I didn’t learn it from her. I wasn’t given the chance to before she left me.” He interrupted. Evelyn felt bad and wanted to console him but withheld herself and continued eating. The system of ‘table manners’ started applying to both of them from that moment till they were done eating. Raphael insisted on parking the plates alone.
“Do you want to take a stroll around the place so your meal can be digested before leaving?” Evelyn held her gaze with him for a minute and stood up as a sign of approval but this time, they didn’t hold hands. Raphael did most of the talking while Evelyn listened with rapt attention.
“Aside from me, no one knows that this place exists at all?” Evelyn asked in awe.
“Exactly, aside from you and my two best friends, my family isn’t aware.”
“Why?”
“I built it with my hard-earned money, not theirs so I see no reason I should tell them. It’s not like they care about me or what I do but if my father knows about this place, he might go crazy and accuse me of stealing his company’s money.”
“Does that mean you don’t have a smooth relationship with your family?” Evelyn asked and he nodded.
“Wow, that’s deep. I guess most of us who happen to be lonely are those without family but if you are unhappy with the way they treat you, why are you still with them?”
“That’s because of my mother’s sake. I promised her that I will win my father’s heart and prove to him that I can be a better son and even fit perfectly into his description of one. Ever since I have been working all my life since I was a kid to make him happy but never for once has he appreciated my effort. Instead, he praised that lame stepbrother of mine over nothing.” Raphael sulked.
Evelyn opened her arms for him and he was stunned by what she did, Evelyn signaled to him with her eyes to hug her and he did.
“That’s my boy. All you need is a warm hug.” Evelyn teased. Raphael grinned and a distant voice rang in his head;
‘If you can make her warm up to you and feel comfortable then I can assure you, you will easily win her.’
Evelyn released him from the embrace and looked into his eyes.
“Listen, I don’t know much of your family’s background or anything but you know you need to stand up for yourself, I believe that if your mum was alive, she would have reasoned this with you. Don’t hurt yourself, okay?”
“Thank you. I really needed these words. Thank you for everything, for coming out with me, joining me for dinner, and even being my listening ear.”
“You are welcome. Unfortunately, I need to leave now. Kira needs to go back home and Tom must be waiting.” Evelyn stepped back from him.
“No problem. Let me grab my keys and your things.” Raphael offered.
“Thank you.”
Evelyn then caught a glimpse of a woman’s picture hung on the wall but it was a few feet away from her. She looked at the stairs to see if Raphael was already heading back before satisfying her curiosity. It was a bold painting of a woman. She was beautiful despite her older looks.
Below was Raphael’s signature and she trailed it with the tip of her finger. The surface of the painting was smooth.
“That’s my mum, you do recognize her, right?” Raphael asked from behind and she was startled. She turned to look at him and smiled.
“Yes, I do recognize her. She was beautiful.”
“Hmm. Let’s go.”
They both exited the building. On their way, Raphael stopped to buy a few things and they continued. In a few minutes, they arrived in front of Evelyn’s house. He turned off the engine and unlocked the door for the both of them to step out. He carried the things that he had bought and went over to meet her at the other side.
“Take this. They are for Tom. I don’t know what he likes in particular but this is a general favorite of kiddies.” He handed them over to her.
“I don’t know what to say other than thank you so much, Raphael.”
“It’s no problem.” Evelyn stared at him for a moment and wanted to walk away but she was pulled back a little by Raphael. She threw a questioning gaze at him.
“Do you need something, Raphael?” She asked.
“Can I kiss you?” He asked with a lot of effort. Evelyn’s mouth was slightly apart and closed again, no words were coming out of her mouth and she found it difficult to step back even when Raphael was getting closer to her. With his two hands inside his pockets, he kissed the tip of her nose, and her eyelashes quivered. He stopped and gazed into her eyes as if asking for consent [which he was actually doing] before proceeding, his lips met with hers and everything else that bothered Evelyn paused for the moment.
Her eyes bugged out until he distanced their lips.
“Have a good night’s sleep.” He kissed her forehead after. Evelyn nodded nervously and left as quickly as possible. She slammed the door and rested her back against it as she tried to calm her heart.
Raphael got into his car with a victorious smirk and he drove away.
*********
“As much as I would love to listen to the details, I need to be on my way.” Kira waved her hands and walked past her to wear her shoes. Well, Evelyn was still in a daze and only nodded subconsciously.
“Wow, the kiss must have been so electrocuting. I need to find myself a prince charming Charlie.” Kira pushed Evelyn slightly with her butts and stepped out of the house. It was already late and she needed to get home as she had some unfinished work.
The cab she ordered arrived and dropped her off at her house. She paid the driver and hummed a tune as she approached her door. On getting there, she found that the door was unlocked.
“Hold on, I remember locking the door before leaving so why is it…” She pushed the door open only to be greeted by the half-naked sight of a man in her sitting room. She opened her mouth and half yelled before closing the door after entering.
“What the hell?!”
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