Chapter Thirty-four

Kenna

My eyebrows furrow as Gerald comes to a stop near a private jet, causing me to look around but as soon as he opens the door for me, I'm left to step out of the car, feeling a little bit of an unknown feeling building inside.

''So . . . here's my stop?'' I ask Gerald.

He smiles, ''I can't tell you that.''

''Sworn to secrecy?'' I joke and he laughs, gesturing for me to take the next few steps before looking up to find a couple of stewardess and pilot to smile down at me; leaving me to sigh.

I walk up the stairs to the flight, ''Welcome, Mrs. Ashton. I'll take you inside,'' One of the stewardess says before walking ahead of me, making me follow her from behind and straight towards one of the seats, liking how comfortable they feel.

To my surprise, she places a MacBook on the small desk in front of me, causing me to furrow my brows but I remain still as she walks away, leaving me all by myself.

Within seconds, Aidan's name shows up on the screen through FaceTime, letting me press 'answer' before seeing it being connected; his face showing up on the screen as he starts to smile, ''Right . . . do you always take girls out on a date in your private jet?'' I ask.

He chuckles and I take my time to see that he's also being in the same situation as I am, the familiar yet different seat in the background; showing that he's also in a jet. ''You'll see me in seven hours,'' He replies.

''What?'' I frown.

He smiles, revealing his teeth. ''Trust me, Kenna. I'll see you in a bit and we're going to have the best time of our lives,'' He continues to speak. ''Just enjoy your flight and I'll be there as soon as you land. I love you,'' He adds, soothing my heart.

Just as he ends the call, I am left hearing the captain assuring the flight going up to our destination but he didn't say where; leaving me to lean back on my seat, glancing down at my dress and looking back at my makeup, smiling to myself at how much I actually trust Aidan.

''Is there anything I can do for you, Mrs. Ashton?'' One of the stewardess stands beside me with a small smile plastered on her face as she bows down a little. ''If you're famished, we have a lot of to choose from.'' She adds.

My eyebrows furrow as I try to think of something to eat, ''What would you suggest?''

''You would want my suggestion?'' She seems a little bit surprised at my question which causes me to look at her, seeing that she might be a afraid to give a suggestion yet she covers it up by clearing her throat. ''The fish fillet is actually very good,''

''Then . . . I'd like the fish fillet,'' I reply, smiling.

The next few hours are spent with me gazing down the night sky through the window, letting me relax as I find myself slowly drifting off to sleep; trying to blink the tiredness away but just as the coldness seeps in, I am left defeated. Even though the night sky is beautiful and almost breathtaking yet the tiredness is something that I can't push away.

''Mrs. Ashton . . . we're here,'' One of the stewardess says, making me blink a few times to see myself being covered in a warm blanket before immediately sitting up straight, taking my phone to check my makeup and hair, luckily everything is as perfect as how I made.

I stand up to slowly fix my dress before following the stewardess out towards the exit, thanking them for the great service a few hours ago; they were great to serve me such delicious food and wine, left me full and content. The long flight was forgotten easily because they were by far very, very friendly.

My eyes wander to the night sky, somehow it feels like I never left. Just as I'm about to utter another word, my eyes land on a familiar figure, the most beautiful man I've ever seen in my life and it's not me exaggerating. The way his lips are curving up into a smile as he continues to eye me walk down the stairs and straight towards him.

''Told you I'd be here when you land,'' He whispers before kissing my cheek and one of his hand pressed against my back.

''Where are we?'' I ask, our faces are inches apart.

''You'll see,'' He replies before pulling my hand and straight towards an expensive black car, his hand never leaving mine as soon as the chauffeur drives away, letting me to look out the window; trying to familiarise the surroundings—as if I've seen it somewhere and somehow.

Everything seems to be a blur as I try to process it all, somehow a little jet lag and slightly confused but I remain quiet, waiting for the views to come into sight as Aidan continues to grip onto my hand, making me turn to look at him, seeing him staring at me.

''You're very beautiful,'' He says with a smile.

My cheeks heat up at his compliment before looking down at our hands, ''Thank you.''

''Look,'' He points out at the window as I follow his gaze, eyes widening at the sight of the Eiffel Tower before realising where we really are; leaving me to blink a few times to make sure that this is all real and by far, as real as it can get.

''Paris?'' I raise an eyebrow as I feel mesmerised by the city, somehow enjoying the lights and the beautiful view. ''My—''

He cuts me off, ''Your bucket list number four. Visit a foreign country . . . preferably Paris.'' He adds which causes me to immediately place my lips onto his, feeling the softness mixed with my own; somehow making me fall deeper and deeper in love with him than I already am.

''How can you be perfect?'' I smile as I look up into his eyes, seeing him grinning at me; enjoying my arms wrapped around his neck as he has both of his hands placed on both sides of my waist.

We both come to a stop near the Eiffel Tower, letting me eye it from down here with Aidan's hand around my waist, his chauffeur waiting as we both walk down the streets and straight to a well-known hotel in Paris, reviews have said that it would cost them around thousands to book a suite and it'd for sure would burn a hole in their pocket but probably for Aidan and someone like him, it wouldn't be a big deal.

''Bienvenue à Paris. Bonsoir,'' The man greets us before letting us enter, greeted by the air-conditioned room; letting me mesmerise the view by wandering my eyes around, letting Aidan lead me inside, straight towards the reception counter—where there are a couple of receptionist smiling at our arrival.

I stand in the middle, underneath the shining chandelier as I appear to be standing out in this dress, receiving attention from the people here but rather than being bothered by the amount of people laying their eyes on me, I am actually mesmerised by the beauty standing near the counter as he smiles, turning to look at me.

At times like this, my life feels like a fairytale. Something out of a movie or a novel, leaving me to wonder how the hell did I get super lucky?

''Merci,'' I hear him utter to the receptionist before walking back towards me, grabbing onto my hand.

We both walk towards the elevator, entering it as soon as the doors open; leaving us inside with nobody else. ''So . . . that was a nice first date,'' I say with a little bit of sarcasm which causes him to laugh, shaking his head before pressing onto the button, the elevator moving up with me still staring at his smile.

''I hope you got a nice sleep,'' He replies as he looks at me.

I raise an eyebrow, ''Why?''

Just as the the elevator stops, we both turn to look at a couple entering—they have their hands entwined as they stand close to each other, not being bothered by our presence or if Aidan and I feel uncomfortable about public display of affection yet my eyes widen at the sight of them kissing each other, in front of us.

Aidan continues to smile as he looks down at his feet while I remain speechless, eyeing them endlessly—realising that their kisses are getting quite intense.

As soon as they arrive at their floor, they immediately walk out, leaving Aidan and I by ourselves again as I let out a breath of relief; causing me to lean against the wall, ''I'm definitely in the city of love,'' I say with a chuckle.

My eyes widen as soon as the doors open again, leaving me to see an unforgettable view; candles and petals of roses on the ground as a table for two in the middle is being highlighted by the amazing view of the Eiffel Tower. Just as I'm being mesmerised by the beauty of the city, I don't seem to realise just how Aidan is currently being mesmerised by the beauty beside of him, leaving me breathless.

We walk out of the elevator as I'm truly out of words.

''You . . . you did this?'' I ask, my eyes are tearing up as I look up at him, seeing him smiling down at me as both of his hands rest on my hips before one of his hands go up to caress the side of my face.

''Well, I planned it and I arranged but I didn't have time to exactly do it.'' He replies, our eyes are piercing deeply, ''I hope it's everything you ever wanted—I'm not very good at this but I hope I did good enough to make you smile.'' He adds.

''But this . . . all of this feels familiar,'' I mutter under my breath but loud enough for him to hear.

''You don't remember, do you?'' He asks as I frown, ''It's all from your bucket list, Kenna. The one you made when we were in high school—also, the one you threw away because you thought that it was hopeless and stupid. So far . . . you've completed five out of five.'' He continues to speak, leaving me to stare at him; not believing that the man in front of me was and is my best friend, the one who I've never guessed as someone romantic.

''I threw it away . . . how did you—''

He cuts me off by pulling out a piece of paper from his pocket, leaving me to stare at the ten-year-old paper. My fingers run across the paper, eyeing my teenage and quirky handwriting before looking back at him, ''You're very unpredictable, Aidan Gabriel Ashton.'' I wrap my arms around his neck, pulling him closer.

''Only when I'm with you,'' He chuckles.

I look back down at the list, ''Number one, marry someone as beautiful as Zac Efron. I don't think I can cross this one . . . can I?'' I raise an eyebrow at him as I tease which causes him to look at me in surprised before laughing, ''I mean, don't get me wrong—Zac Efron is actually very beautiful.'' I add.

''Well . . . you're lucky because you married someone much more beautiful than Zac Efron,'' He replies with a smirk.

I laugh at his confidence before continuing to read, ''Number two, have my wedding at The New York Public Library. Number three, a romantic candlelight dinner with the one I love. Number four, visit a foreign country, preferably Paris and last but not least, number five . . . be happy.'' I fold back the paper as I smile at myself, realising that he was right.

''You should've made a longer list,'' He laughs before pulling me close, placing his right hand on the side of my face while the other remains around my waist; letting me feel the warmth radiating from his hand—causing me to close my eyes as I smile.

Our eyes meet again, ''You did all of this for me?''

''I'd do anything for you. When are you going to realise that?'' He leans closer, ''I've done everything for you, Kenna. You have always been the one but I was too stupid and I was too clueless to even see that. It took me ten fucking years and I don't want to waste another ten with you only being my best friend instead of also being my wife. I want to have everything with you, I want to be everywhere with you and I want to experience everything with you.'' The way his voice is low and clear as we both continue to stare into each other's eyes, it leaves me to see the sincerity hidden.

''When you walked down the aisle and when we kissed, I realised how much I missed out on life. How much time I've wasted by being with other people instead of actually spending it all with you—the past with you was beautiful and amazing, the present is even more intriguing but the future is uncertain yet I know and I see my future with you.'' He adds, tucking a few strands of hair behind my ear.

''So, Kenna Anne, you've got no choice but to spend the rest of your life with me. Till death do us part, baby.'' He says with his lips curving up into a smile which causes me to chuckle before slowly leaning towards his lips, feeling the softness leaving me to appreciate this exact moment, liking how both of his arms are wrapped around my waist as I pull him closer by the face.

The kiss turns from sweet and innocent into something much more lustful and passionate which leaves me to feel my body pressed against his, liking how his strong arms are somehow keeping me safe and close. Everything around me seems to have passed by unnoticed as I'm only focusing onto the masterpiece in front of me.

I break the kiss before resting my forehead against his, my eyes gazing down at his redden lips as his eyes remain closed.

''I love you,'' He whispers, leaning in to kiss me again as we both continue, kissing each other as if tonight is our last. As if everything will end and drift away if we don't give our all tonight but there's nothing for us to worry about because as far as we're heading, we're content and grateful for this.

To think back about twenty-years ago seems like a dream, from the moment he pushed me off the swing and up till now, there's nothing better in life than being together. We've always been together from the very beginning and our lives revolve around each other, from when we were kids, up till we were teenagers and now, being adults. We might as well spend our next decades creating new and beautiful memories, together.

Because all I want is him.

His imperfections is what makes him . . . him. It doesn't bother me if he ends up falling off his bike again if we go cycling, how he shuts himself out when there's thunder or when he snorts if he's annoyed . . . because as far as I'm concerned, those little things are what attracts me most to him. Not his perfectly shaped features or soft brown eyes and big warm hands.

''I've been meaning to ask, what about the contract?'' I ask, causing him to turn and look at me, his eyebrows furrow slightly.

He grabs onto my hand, ''I got a few ideas. We can burn it or we can burn it and we can burn it? Which one do you choose?'' He smirks as we both begin to chuckle before feeling his thumb rubbing the back of my hand, leaving me feeling calm.

''I'd choose all three. What do you think?'' I grin.

''Wow, that's what I had in mind, too.'' He replies.

The next couple of hours are spent with us laying under the stars, watching the beautiful night sky and even the Eiffel Tower before we started to take pictures. Mostly pictures of us together but I caught him taking my pictures, a few times—we snuggled close and we started to count the amount of stars in the sky, trying to compare with the amount of our love.

He supports his body by leaning on his side, his elbow on the ground as his palm at the side of his head, both of his eyes watching me as I continue to point up at the sky before turning to look at him. To my surprise, he starts to lean in to place a kiss on the side of my cheek, ''I love that,'' He says.

''What?'' I ask with a smile.

''That look on your face. You were just watching the stars but I love how your brows furrowed and your lips puckered as you squinted your eyes. You don't realise that but the little things you do are always beautiful,'' He replies, instantly leaving me to feel my cheeks heat up as I try to brush it off by looking away yet I'm left replaying it in my mind.

''Are you always like this with women?'' I ask, copying his gesture by laying on my side and support my head by pressing my elbow onto the ground and my palm on the side of my head.

He chuckles, ''No . . . I don't waste my breath to speak like that with someone temporary. What's the point of saying how beautiful they are if they're not going to be in your life for the next couple of months or even years?'' He blinks a few times, looking away. ''Thinking back about it . . . I wasted a lot of time.'' He adds.

''But you were happy, weren't you?'' I continue to look at his face.

''For awhile. I was happy for a little while,'' He replies without hesitation in which I fairly appreciate him being honest. ''It was a temporary happiness and it was fun to live in the moment but now . . . it's best to be with someone permanent and think of how fun it would be to live in the present and the future with that someone.''

''And that someone appears to be me,'' I lean towards him, purposely teasing him by pecking onto his lips in which he responds with a smile.

--

We walk inside our penthouse suite as I turn to see him taking off his tie, heading towards the bedroom upstairs, leaving me to stand in the middle of the living room—eyeing the decorations. I look around before heading towards the balcony, eyeing the Eiffel Tower once more, as I hear footsteps approaching me from behind.

My breath hitches at the familiar warmth of his hand running down my arms, leaving me to close my eyes for a few seconds; letting him rest his chin on my shoulder while I feel my heart beginning to race. ''It's cold outside,'' He says before he starts to take a couple of steps back, causing me to turn and face him.

''I didn't exactly bring any extra clothes,'' I mutter.

''I got it all prepared. They're upstairs,'' He replies and I take my time to eye his figure, seeing that he has both of his sleeves rolled up to his elbows and a couple of his buttons are undone, showing off a more casual side of him—yet, there's just something that makes him appear more and more sexier than usual.

''Great . . . great,'' I clear my throat as he continues to stare at me.

As we continue to stare at each other for an exact minute, I begin to shake my head before chuckling. ''Actually, I'm not very tired—I'll just stay here for awhile,'' I reply which causes him to smile at me, uncrossing his arms as he begins to take a few steps towards me.

''We can just stay here or we can do something else,'' He says, both of his brown eyes are piercing deeply into my blue ones; leaving me to frown as my cheeks are beginning to heat up and my heart is beating faster than usual.

''Like . . . what?'' I ask.

Just like that, he begins to lean in towards me before slowly caressing both sides of my face, causing me to close my eyes, feeling the warmth radiating and the softness of his fingertips to leave an unexplainable amount of sparks. My lips begin to part as he brushes his against mine, feeling him run his hands to the back of my neck and up to my jawline.

Both of my eyes remain closed as I feel his lips tracing kisses down my jawline and neck, leaving me to hold in my breath—staying still at my spot, trying to regain my balance. The way his lips are leaving soft and passionate kisses on my neck causes me to lean my head to the side, letting the waves of pleasure to take control.

I open my eyes to find him staring down at me, our faces are inches apart as both of his hands are still cupping onto my face but there's something in his eyes in which I'm pretty sure is in mine, too. Something I've never seen before but for some reason, it's very clear of what we both want at the same time.

I place both of my hands on his chest before meeting his lips, causing him to kiss me back with the same rhythm as our bodies are pressed against one another, feeling him running one of his hand down to my waist and to my lower bottom near my thigh, lifting one leg up as he starts to push me against the balcony doors, slowly.

Our lips are never leaving each other as he continues to leave kisses down my neck and near my collarbone as his hand travels down to lift my dress up, leaving me to lean my head back; eyes closed while I wrap both of my arms around his neck, earning support.

His hand caresses from down my knee to my bare thigh, leaving me to feel myself growing hot and somehow in fire. Just like that, he wraps both of my legs around my waist before placing both of his hands behind my back, supporting my body from falling onto the ground as he brings us inside with my arms around his neck and his lips pressing passionately on my lips.

It doesn't take me long to realise that we're heading upstairs until he places me on the ground, feeling my feet growing weak as he continues to place both of his hands around my hips before he starts to lift the dress from my thighs again, leaving me to unbutton his shirt before throwing it away on the ground.

As he stands shirtless, in front of me, I immediately feel him lift my dress up to my stomach as his warm fingers are leaving traces on my lower abdomen before dropping the dress on the ground near his shirt, leaving me to stand in my undergarments but unnoticed as we continue to kiss again, my body growing warmer and needy with every passing second.

I find myself laying on the bed which causes me to open my eyes, realising that he's currently eyeing down my body with a seductive smile plastered on his face as he slowly starts to unbutton his pants, leaving them drop down onto the ground before he starts to hover on top of me, both of his elbows supporting his body from crushing me.

Our eyes are staring at each other as we breathe heavily, feeling each other's skin against one another as he starts to caress the side of my face, pushing my hair away from my face; tracing soft kisses on my forehead, down to the bridge of my nose and last but not least, my lips with a little bit longer than he intended to.

''I love you,'' I whisper near his ear as he kisses down my neck, biting softly.

He leans back to look into my eyes again, ''I love you, more.''

Just like that, he starts to leave kisses down to my collarbone and my stomach, leaving me to lean my head back on the bed before feeling pleasure building in the centre. My heart feels like it's going to thump out of my chest with the way his lips and tongue is doing its magic and also the movement of his fingers, leaving me to grab onto the sheets, gripping hard.

Everything seems to move slow and passionately which appears much more sexy than anything I've ever done before.

Just as I feel the familiar yet intense explosion, I begin to lift his face up to my lips before kissing me again. Within seconds, I have already turned us around with me being on top which causes him to chuckle, the hoarseness of his voice seems to have turned me on a bit more than I already have as I kiss down his neck, both of his hands on my waist.

I teasingly move my hips on his lower body which causes him to clench his jaw with both of his eyes staring onto my body by letting him run his hands up the back of my bra, letting it slide down as he unclasps them, leaving him to stare at my bare body; for some reason, anything about embarrassment or shyness has flown out the window.

Aidan turns us around again as he stares into my eyes before running one of his hand down to the middle of my thighs, leaving me to gasp—feeling his skin against mine, causing me to be breathless before realising that we have nothing covering our bodies anymore and we're already skin to skin, feeling every inch and every part.

His brown eyes are staring directly into my eyes as I feel him slowly thrusting inside me, making my mouth go wide before grabbing hard onto his shoulders, feeling the pleasure building inside of me as he starts to move, slowly. The sound of his breaths mixing with mine seems to have caused us to feel much more in depth than before as he begins to thrust in and out with both of his eyes still staring down at my face.

Just as the pleasure starts to build up, I feel him thrusting slightly faster than before yet still keeping it passionate which causes me to bite onto my lower lip, trying to hold in any uncontrollable sounds from escaping my lips as I continue to grip hard around his neck before dropping my hands down to grab onto the sheets.

He grabs onto my hand before pushing it up beside my head, our breaths mixing together with our moans—letting ourselves know just how much we enjoy this sensation and how we don't exactly want this moment to end. Just by the way he moves his body, makes me feel much more comfortable with my own body than I've ever been before.

We begin to entwine our fingers together as I feel the pleasure becoming much and much more unbearable before wrapping my legs around his waist, trying to find something else to grab onto as another wave hits me—leaving me to throw my head back as he slows down his thrusts, letting me feel the pleasure taking control of my body.

Then, he presses his body a bit closer to mine before continuing to move, slowly and passionately to the rhythm; letting me grip hard onto the tips of his hand as I run my fingers across his back, hearing him breathing heavily near my ear as he kisses down my neck.

All I can remember is every single moment of our bodies being one and how we spent the entire night being blessed with waves of pleasures, not once left unsatisfied or quiet. It was one of the best moments of us and I wouldn't want to spend the night any other way, my first time with him was by far, unforgettable and very, very pleasurable.

He wasn't kidding with those puns.