All smiles
I was extremely stunned by what I had just seen. He had placed his phone to capture the plastic thing the waiter had brought, and it didn’t take long before a picture of their menu appeared on his phone.
“Whoa, how did you do that?” I asked as soon as he looked closely at his phone to study the menu.
“How did I do what?”
“The thing you just did. How were you able to get the menu on your phone by placing it on that plastic thing?”
“Oh, the QR code scanner. It’s just technology, quite advanced, if you’re interested.”
“Wow, I have read a lot about human technology. They are so smart, but I just can’t bring myself to understand how they even come up with these things.” Lucas chuckled a bit, and I smiled in return.
“And how have you been reading about all these things, Ashely?”
“Oh, when Simon finishes with the magazines, articles, and newspapers he frequently reads, I gather them and read them whenever I’m bored. They honestly help a lot when I’m bored, so I really enjoy them, and they broaden my knowledge even further.”
“Hmm, that’s very nice,” he responded, and I nodded in return. I looked towards his phone to remind him of the menu, and when he soon realized this, he quickly returned his focus to studying what we could have. After a short while, he handed me his phone, and I took it from him to check what was on there as well.
“Thank you,” I said as I took the phone from him. The content was not too long; however, many of the dishes displayed were things I had never heard or seen before. I scrolled from one dish to the other, trying to find one I could recognize, as the menu thankfully had pictures to help display what the listed foods looked like. After looking through for a while, I finally found something I could eat, and that was pasta.
“So, have you decided on what you want to eat?” Lucas asked, and I nodded in response.
“Alright then, waiter,” he called out, and the waiter, whose name was Ryan, instantly came towards us.
“Yes, sir, are you ready to order now?”
“Yes.”
“Alright then, just a minute, please,” he said as he took out a pen and a small book from his pocket bag. This didn’t take up to 10 seconds, but for me, it looked like he had actually taken forever, struggling a bit with the zipper of his bag.
“So, you were saying?” he said, as he turned to face both of us.
“Ashely, please go first,” Lucas offered, and I smiled at him in acknowledgment. Turning to face Ryan, I made sure he was ready to write down what I had to say before looking back at the phone to call out what I wanted.
“Alright then, I will just have a plate of pasta with a little bit of grated cheese,” I said, looking back up to see Ryan scribbling away on a page of the book. He stopped after getting what I said, but then asked,
“What pasta do you want, ma’am? There is a variety of options.”
“Oh, please enlighten me a bit on them.”
“Well, we have seafood pasta, vegan pasta, beef, chicken, and also what type of pasta do you want?”
“Oh, well I think I would just go for the beef, and yes, spaghetti would be just fine, thank you,” I responded, and he quickly noted it before turning to face Lucas. The latter went through the menu one more time before finally speaking.
“I’ll have the risotto with a side salad, a little bit of chicken, and some lemon escalopes.” Ryan took a bit of time penning it all down, but he finally got it and then returned to facing us.
“Alright then, that would be for the main meal. What would you like to have for your starters?”
“Starters?” I asked softly, as I looked towards Lucas across the table.
“Oh yes, that’s right.”
“Well, just bring anything you think would be very good. Surprise us, Ryan,” Lucas said excitedly, and the former raised his brows in surprise.
“Oh, are you sure, sir?”
“Absolutely! Recommend any of the best starters you think the restaurant can offer,” he continued, and Ryan nodded before leaving to get our food. In the meantime, I looked around at the few other couples that were also on the rooftop. The restaurant was definitely not for the average class of people, but seeing so many other wealthy and well-to-do individuals made me feel a bit out of place. I might be looking polished, elegant, and very expensive at this moment, but I was still the same; nothing had changed. I felt like an imposter just being in their midst, but what could I possibly do? After all, Lucas was the one who had brought me here.
It was during this moment of silence that I soon realized that soft music was being played for us on the rooftop. I breathed in the fresh air that blew, allowing myself to be gently swayed by the soothing music. I felt Lucas’ hand touch mine, and I instantly looked towards him to see what was going on. He had a subtle look on his face, and he gently picked up my right hand, kissing the back of my palm very softly. I curled my toes under the table as my body shivered from the feel of his lips on my hand. He looked up to face me for a short while before doing the same thing to my other hand.
I was expecting him to finally profess his love to me, given that the atmosphere was already so romantic, but nothing came. I was about to speak up about what was on my mind at that moment. At least if I said something first, he might just say what’s in his heart as well. Who knows, behind the hard, strong-hearted, and stern Lucas might just be a shy and introverted lover who preferred his partner to take the first step.
“Maybe if I just say something, he’ll finally do so as well,” I mumbled to myself, and he furrowed his brows, trying to understand what I had just said.
“Did you say something, Ashely?”
“No, I, um… actually, yes, I did. Well, you see, the thing is, I have been in the house for quite a while now, and you have made my stay so worthwhile in the most amazing ways possible. Now I think I am, um, I think I am in l…” I didn’t get to finish my statement when Ryan’s arrival soon interrupted us. He pushed in a food trolley, and when he got to our table, Lucas took his hands away from mine to help get the table ready for the food.
I was obviously not happy about that. I didn’t like that I wasn’t able to confess my feelings, but at the end of the day, this was something I would still get many chances to do, so why cry over one spilled milk when there was so much left?
“Alright ma’am and sir, for your starter dish, I got you the ginger and prawn dumpling platter, which happens to be one of the best and most requested starter dishes on our menu to date. These have been made with some of the finest and best quality ingredients, brought together to make your taste buds extremely satisfied. Please, enjoy,” he said, as he placed the platters in front of us alongside small glasses of water.
“Hmm, these look nice,” Lucas said, as he grabbed the pair of chopsticks that came with the dumplings. We had just two dumplings each, which were both decent enough for our starter meal, considering their size. I watched Lucas quietly as I tried to see how his hands worked with the chopsticks. Since I hadn’t used chopsticks ever in my life, I was a bit nervous about using them this time. After watching him work with them for a while, I finally got confident enough to try, but as soon as I tried grabbing hold of the dumpling with them, one of the sticks instantly flew out of my hands, and I bit my lips in embarrassment.
“Here, you don’t need to do it yourself when I can just feed you,” Lucas said, as Ryan went over to get the chopstick that had flown over to the other end of the place. I was really embarrassed, but Lucas didn’t make the situation obvious, not even a bit. He was so understanding, and I smiled as he
fed me.
We ate in silence, and after that, Ryan then came over to serve us our main dishes. As soon as he was done, he returned to his reserved space to give us some privacy.
During this period, Lucas and I ate quietly as we both couldn’t let the cool ambiance go to waste. As soon as we were done eating, I thought we had finished. At this point, I was already getting full, but I was extremely surprised when Ryan came over to serve us moderate portions of ice cream as our dessert.
“Dessert? I thought we were just going to have the starters and our main meal?”
“No, of course there’s going to be some dessert,” Lucas said, as he took his bowl of ice cream from the table. Even though I was already getting full, I just had to make room for the ice cream. I mean, who doesn’t love ice cream?
By the time we were finally done, I was completely stuffed. Our empty dishes were packed up, and Lucas paid the bill for everything we had.
“It was an extreme pleasure serving you, Mr. and Mrs. Salvatore. I hope to see you both again. In the meantime, please take a lot of pictures, take in the amazing view of the city, dance, and just have a good time in general. I will still be here just in case you need anything again, but right now, I will leave you two to it. Until next time, goodbye,” he said, and we both smiled at him.
“Thank you, Ryan, how lucky we were to get someone like you,” I said in acknowledgment, and he bowed slightly.
“Always my pleasure, ma’am,” he said finally before making his way away from us.
“Do you want to dance?” Lucas asked not too long after, and I nodded excitedly. He got up from his seat, helped me up from mine, and then led me to the dance floor. The music was slow and romantic, so I took in every moment and every chance I got to be extremely close to Lucas. Every time I had to be twirled away and then back into his arms, the intoxicating smell of his perfume always invited me back. I took in his masculine scent very gratefully, and with every passing moment I got to spend dancing with him, I cherished it with all my heart.
“Lucas,” I called out while we were dancing.
“Hmm?”
“I just wanted to say thank you so much for bringing me here. I really do appreciate how much you consider my emotions and take care of me. You make my heart swell.” While I spoke, I rested my head on his chest as we slowly danced. He gently held on to my waist, and I relished the moment.
“You don’t have to thank me. I’ll always be here for you,” he said, and I smiled warmly.
“I know you will. I trust you, Lucas, and I love you so much.”
“I love you too, Ashely,” he responded, and I felt a million butterflies dancing in my belly. I looked up to see him, but he had looked down to face me as well, so at this point, our eyes met passionately. He gave me a very soft kiss, and although my wolf had already started getting hungry for more, I just had to compose myself, especially since we were obviously not inside.