Summer Long

July 2 "We've already kissed, anyway." (11)

"It was delicious." I said as soon as I finished eating the last bite of our dinner.
"Exactly what I needed." Bella agreed.

She took the menu back in her hand and flipped it to the last page.
"Would you like some dessert?" She asked as she stared focusedly at the menu.

I touched my stomach, letting out a sigh.
"I am pretty full, actually..."
"No probs, we'll eat one in a half." She confidently stated.

Bella showed me the menu and we decided to take a chocolate soufflè with vanilla ice cream.
"You can't finish a dinner without a little dessert." She said, serious.
Her long fingers with a bordeaux nail polish rose gracefully into the air.

I laughed, raising an eyebrow: "Didn't know that..."
Bella winked in my direction: "Now you do."

My phone lit up and I quickly read the preview of the text.
"They got dessert, too..." I announced.
"Let me see..." She said.

Joe had sent me a photo of three small cream puffs each placed on a casket with some little gold leaf.
It looked like something sophisticated...

Bella burst out laughing.

I looked at that photo, then I looked at her and I involuntarily burst out laughing too.

"We are we even laughing for?" I asked her but I didn't stop laughing.

"I don't know," Bella was crying with laughter now.
She has a beautiful contagious laugh, that kind of laugh that fills the room with happiness.

"My god... Would you look at that photo?! That's ridiculous!" She exclaimed with an amused smile.
Bella was making fun of them, by now.

And she had a point, by the way...

We couldn't stop laughing until the waiter brought us our dessert.
And that was nice.

I picked up the spoon in my head.
"Wait." Bella said, touching my arm
and becoming serious again.
"If you want to take a picture..."

I smiled: "I'll do it... but I'll it keep it for myself."
Bella smiled in satisfaction: "I think you are starting to learn..."

I divided the sufflè and a cascade of hot chocolate came out of it.
I brought the spoon to my lips but I stopped awkwardy.
"May I? It's not that..."

Bella smiled, understanding what I meant: "No, it's okay. We've already kissed, anyway."
And she made a gesture with her hand as if to tell me to go ahead.

I can't believe she actually said those words... and how I remained deeply mesmerized by them.

Bella lowered her eyes towards that souffle.
I could swear she had a slight smirk on her lips, even though she tried to remain serious.

A strange silence had fallen between us as we began to eat.
Our sighs intertwined, and whenever I brought the spoon to my lips, she stared somehow mesmerized at me.

Her eyes were so hypnotic that I too, helplessly began to stare mesmerized at her and her way of licking out the chocolate of her spoon.

In that moment I made a strange thought: that if that soufflè had been a seven- layer cake I would have eaten it all... along with her.

What kind of mess thought was this?

I interrupted that contact first.

"It was good, by the way..." I whispered awkwardly as I stared on a wall behind her.
Bella winked at me: "Told you."

We got up from the table that it was past eleven p.m. to return to the resort
As I looked up there was still that half-moon on the sky.

As we walked our arms slowly touched each other again.