Forbidden Cravings-Chapter 274: The Words I Always Wanted to Hear

The fairy lights strung around the ice-cream truck glowed like warm little fireflies, their soft yellow light bouncing off the pastel paint of the truck and making the whole scene feel like something out of an old movie. The air smelled like melted chocolate and fresh grass, mixed with the faint cool scent of the lake behind us. Crickets kept up their steady song, and every now and then a tiny ripple from the water would catch the lamplight and sparkle for a second before disappearing.

Aeri was still perched on the metal counter of the serving window, legs swinging gently, the little paper ice-cream hat tilted crookedly on her head. Chocolate had melted down the side of her cone and was making slow brown rivers over her fingers. She didn’t seem to care. She just kept looking at me with those dark, gentle eyes that always made my chest feel too small for my heart.

"Then stick with me, Ezra," she whispered again, softer this time, like the words were too precious to say out loud. "We’ll keep making this kind of magic... every single day."

My throat went tight. A tiny "Ahem—" slipped out before I could stop it. My pulse was pounding so loud I was sure she could hear it. I tried to play it cool, but my voice came out shaky anyway. "Obviously I will," I said, managing a smile that probably looked as nervous as I felt.

She licked a drip of ice cream off her wrist, then tilted her head, the paper hat flopping sideways. "You’ll take care of me, right?" she asked, almost like she was double-checking the most important thing in the world.

"I will," I answered immediately, eyes dropping to my own cone because looking straight at her felt too big right now.

"You won’t ever hurt me?" Her voice got even smaller, louder than the crickets.

I lifted my gaze and locked it on hers. "Never, Aeri. I swear."

She studied my face for a long second, then asked the question that made the whole garden go still. "You’ll love me... and only me?"

There wasn’t even a pause in my head. "Yep. Always. No one else could ever take your place. Not in a million years."

Aeri’s cheeks went pink under the fairy lights. She bit her bottom lip, the same way she used to when I was little and she was trying not to laugh at one of my silly drawings. "Then say it properly, Ezra," she said, voice trembling just a little. "I want to hear the words."

I sucked in a slow breath. The lake kept rippling quietly behind us. The lamps buzzed softly overhead. Everything felt like it was waiting.

"I love you, Aeri," I said, clear and steady this time. The words floated out into the warm night air and hung there between us like they belonged to the stars.

For a heartbeat she just stared, mouth slightly open, eyes wide and shining. Then the biggest, softest smile spread across her face, the kind that made little crinkle lines by her eyes.

"I love you too, Ezra," she whispered.

The second the words left her mouth, my eyes burned. My heart slammed against my ribs so hard I swear the ground shook. The morning she had pushed me away. And now... now she was saying it back. Tears blurred the fairy lights into golden halos. I tried to blink them away, turning my head to the left so she wouldn’t see.

Of course she saw anyway.

"Aww, someone’s blushing," she teased, leaning forward and poking my cheek with a chocolate-covered finger.

"It’s nothing like that," I muttered, trying to sound serious. I stared hard at my cone and licked a long stripe of chocolate, straight-faced, like a soldier on duty. My ears were burning. If she kept going, I was going to lose it and cry right here in front of the stupid truck.

"I see... is that so?" Aeri grinned wider, kicking her bare foot gently against my shin from her spot on the counter. "Ezra doesn’t blush at all, you mean?"

"You know what?" I said, suddenly done pretending. I tossed my half-eaten cone straight into the little bin beside the truck (plop, perfect shot).

"What?" She tilted her head, eyes sparkling, still licking her ice cream like nothing happened.

"Come here." My voice came out low and flat, the kind of tone that said playtime was over.

Before she could answer, I stepped in, slid my hands under her thighs, and lifted her clean off the counter. She let out a surprised squeak, then burst into giggles as her legs automatically wrapped around my waist, ankles locking behind my back.

"Wha—what are you doing, Ezra?!" she laughed, clutching her cone with one hand and my shoulder with the other.

"Showing you what happens when you tease me like that," I said, carrying her the few steps to one of the little round tables under the fairy lights. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

I set her down on the edge so she was sitting, legs still around me, the paper hat finally falling off and landing on the table.

"Ezra, the ice cream’s gonna fall!" she protested, but she was grinning so wide her cheeks had to hurt.

"And any reason I should care right now?" I asked, stepping closer so there was no space left between us.

Her eyes went big and soft, the teasing melting into something warmer. She opened her mouth to say something smart, but I didn’t let her.

I leaned in and kissed her.

It wasn’t soft or careful. It was all the waiting, all the wanting, all the mornings I’d woken up wishing for this.

My hands found her waist, fingers pressing into the thin fabric of her white dress. She tasted like cold chocolate and summer and every good thing I’d ever known.

Her free hand slid up into my hair, pulling me closer, and the little gasp she made when our lips met sent sparks straight through me.