219 Ready For Dessert?

"Eh? Oh! Isn't that Isaac? Let me try going over to him. Hold on, give me a second." Celinda grabbed Bryan's hand and pulled him into the crowd with her. The camera swayed in different directions, dizzying everyone on the video call.

Unfortunately, by the time the couple reached the spot where Isaac was last spotted, he was already gone. Celinda tried screaming out his name, but the crowd was too noisy that it overpowered her voice.

"Hmm? Where did he go?" Celinda looked around, but couldn't find Isaac anywhere. While she scavenger hunted for Isaac, Bryan followed closely behind her to protect her from getting shoved by others. After a while of searching, Celinda couldn't stand the heat and stepped aside for some fresh air.

"Phew." Celinda gasped with her phone tilted on her knee. Bryan stroked her back as she took deep breaths by the window.

"Are you feeling alright, Celinda?" Selina asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry, Kyla. I thought I could get a hold of Isaac and see what he was doing." Celinda turned her head sideways to make sure she couldn't see him in the crowd. After exchanging a few more words, the girls ended the conversation because the couple was planning to leave the building. Since they were on vacation, the girls knew they shouldn't be the lightbulbs between them. At the same time, the guys also hung up the call on Bryan's side.

Time passed by quicker than usual. By the time Bryan and Celinda finished wandering around the area and visited a few tourist attractions, the sun was already setting. However, the two of them were smiling sillily at each other.

"Should we go back to the hotel now?" Bryan rubbed the ring on her finger as they walked along the boardwalk. It was a rare chance for them to find time to go on vacation together. She leaned against his arm and clasped her free hand on top of their intertwined ones.

"Mmm. Ahh! Look over there!! So beautiful!" Celinda pointed towards the beach where groups of families stood together holding lanterns in their hands. On each lantern, ink words were written on the sides. On the count of five, everyone released their hands, letting the lanterns float in the sunset. Though the sun was setting, the sky was dark enough to see the lanterns glow.

"Let's go ask the grandpa at the vendor over there if he is still selling lanterns! I want to release one too!" Celinda excitedly pulled him towards the vendor where traditional blank lanterns were lined up neatly.

Standing in front of the vendor, Celinda held a brush in one hand. She stared intensely at the blank lantern in her other hand. While she was still thinking about what she should write as her wish, Bryan has already finished writing his wish.

"What did you write?" She tried peeking over his shoulders. However, he blocked it from her sight.

"Didn't you hear what the grandpa said just now? He said the wish will come true only if nobody else reads or knows about it. Are you finished with yours?" He hid the lantern behind his back to prevent her from sneaking around.

"Hmm, but I already have everything I want and need. Nothing...Ah! I know what my wish is now. Teehee. You can't peek! Turn around!" Celinda turned him around with his back facing her. Quickly jotting down her wish, a loving smile appeared on her face.

"Alright! Let's borrow the grandpa's lighter and watch our lanterns fly away!" She giggled childishly, tempting Bryan to peek at her wish. Even though his curiosity was tormenting his mind, he didn't steal any peeks at what she wrote.

At a vacant spot, Bryan took out the lighter they borrowed from the grandpa and lit their lanterns. Once the warm, cozy fire lit up in the lantern, the couple counted to five and released their lanterns simultaneously. Right after letting the lanterns go, both of them clapped their hands and silently hoped that their wish would come true.

Watching their lanterns flying far away without burning down, Celinda smiled blissfully. Taking his hand once again, she hugged his arm in her arms. "Let's go! Hehe. We can get some dessert on our way back to the suite. I want chocolate hazelnut cream mille crepe cake!"

Seeing the joyful curve on her lips, he also smiled. "Alright. Then, I will order the strawberry shortcake cream with pop-rock layers in the mille crepe cake."

"Eh?! There are such flavors? How come I didn't see it on my menu? I want to try it too!" The distance between where they were to the hotel suite was a fifteen-minute walk. With soft breezes blowing against their faces on their short walk, the couple felt it was a productive day.

Back in the hotel room, Bryan stepped out of the bathroom with a towel in his hand. He wiped the excess water from his hair. To his surprise, Celinda has finished showering before him and was applying her nightly skin routine on her face.

Hearing the door creak open, she quickly blended the rest of the moisturizer out on her face and ran to his side. Naturally hooping her arms around his nape, she tiptoed to give him a small peck on the lips. Perhaps it was the berry flavored lip sleeping mask on her lips, she smelled extra sweet tonight.

"Are you ready for dessert?" She whispered into his ears.

"Didn't we eat-" As soon as he started speaking, he found his mouth blocked by her lips. Leaning her weight on his torso, her lips caressed his lips hungrily. Halfway through the kiss, she opened her eyes and realized he was staring affectionately at her. His arms found its way around her slim waist and tightened over the minutes of kissing.

Slowly, she pushed him closer to the bed, guiding him to the soft mattress. She reached out and untied the ribbon around the curtains of their canopy bed. The thin transparent fabric fluttered in a drifting motion as the two figures rolled over each other repeatedly. Pillows were pushed and tossed off the bed during the process as the two fell in each other's embrace.