His Naughty Lessons-Chapter 267: Fairytale

** Harper **

Harper could hardly take her eyes off of the view. Did such a dreamy landscape really just pop out of nowhere? Who knew that this evening of a risky dinner with a meddlesome brother and friend would end up like this, with a fairytale date right before her eyes?

"Wait, how did you know this is what’s hidden on the other side of the hills?" The question finally occurred to her. "Have you been planning this all along?"

"Ah, I wish ..." Sounding equally impressed, Eli gave her a sheepish smile. "I didn’t though. I saw on the map earlier that there’s a pond this way, but I didn’t know there would be fireflies. I haven’t seen this many of them in a really long time."

They watched the golden twinkles dance and sway in the distance, dipping in and out of the grass in a magical choreography. Occasionally, a few lively sparkles would rise up high enough above the ground that their reflections caught in the glassy water, winking next to the moon like glittering little stars.

"This is like something straight out of a picture book," Harper marveled. "Like those stories where the prince and princess sneaked out to the secret garden behind the castle, waltzed with the fireflies all night and kissed under the moon ..."

"Yep. How did you know that’s precisely what I’m thinking about doing right at this moment?"

Eh? Harper was still lost in her fairytale daydream when Eli was already nudging her forward, leading her down the small hill and toward the sparkling lawns.

"Wait, Eli!" She laughed, trying to pull him back. "We’re not doing any of that, I don’t know how to waltz!"

"It’s easy, I’ll teach you." He smiled without looking back.

"But there’s no music either—"

"Of course there is. The cricket songs are all around us, don’t you hear them?"

At his reminder, Harper fell quiet and listened. He was right. As they drew closer to the water, the hush of the evening was no longer the way it was before, slowly replaced by the lulling hum of crickets and cicadas. It was light and subtle, a gentle rhythm against the rustle of trees stirring in the evening breeze, weaving together into a summer melody that was cheery and soothing all at the same time.

"Perfect tempo for us, isn’t it?" While she was distracted by the music, Eli had already led her onto the bridge, stopping only when they got to the center of the narrow strip of the pond. "And all you need to do now is to go with the flow. It’s super easy, I promise."

He lifted her left hand to place it on his shoulder, holding her right hand as he rested his own at her waist. Slowly, he started swaying on his feet, leading her into the rhythm of the dance.

Harper wondered if she should panic. She had never learned ballroom before, and she didn’t want to stumble and break the magic of this perfectly romantic moment. But it seemed like Eli knew just exactly how to show her the right thing to do. She could feel the subtle hints in the way he moved, guiding her without the need for words, and every step felt natural and smooth as if they were simply taking a walk hand in hand, in tune with the cricket songs rising and falling around them.

"See? You’re doing it like a pro." Eli raised their held hands, spinning her in a small circle, and he laughed proudly when she turned right back into his arms. "Now look up at me. Let your body carry the rhythm, no need to watch your steps."

Harper didn’t realize it until then that she had been staring at the ground this whole time. "Oh. But I ... what if I step on you?"

He laughed again. "You can step on me all you want. I think I’d call it a stamp of love."

That coaxed a chuckle out of her, and the tightness in her posture relaxed. Slowly, she lifted her gaze, meeting his eyes.

And then she almost stumbled ... not from a missed beat in the dance, but from the look in his eyes that greeted her.

At such a close distance, she could see the bright reflections of the moon in his blue irises, along with the sparkling fireflies dancing alongside them. She could see herself at the center of that fairytale backdrop, held in his embrace, swaying to the soft stir of the night breeze. But the most beautiful sight was not the image of that reflection. It was the smile lifting the corners of his eyes, dazzling as it focused solely on her. A smile so soft and so warm that it could melt the whole world around them.

How long had he been looking at her like that ... while she wasn’t paying attention?

Harper’s heart suddenly skipped a beat. And another beat. Even though she had seen him from far closer than this before, even though they had looked at each other far more intimately than this before, she still couldn’t help but feel ... a little dizzy.

"H-Hey," she stammered, subconsciously trying to pull her eyes away. "C-Can you ... stop looking at me like that?"

There was a slight pause in his steps. "Like what?"

"... Like you want to make me blush."

It took him a moment. Then he ... laughed. "I like looking at you this way, and I like seeing you blush."

"..."

"And I like it when you look at me like that, too."

"... Like what?"

The waltz slowed to a stop. The hand that was resting on her waist reached up, brushing over the loose curls of her hair, while his other hand that was holding hers intertwined their fingers, lowering them together to rest upon his chest.

"Like you’re in love with me," he said softly. And then he leaned into her, touching his lips to hers.

It was a feathery kiss, light and airy like a dream, and when Harper closed her eyes, leaning into his warmth, the world around them disappeared. A quiet breeze stirred the moonlit air, and the crickets continued to sing their lullaby, but all she could feel was the ethereal flutter of magic where their lips met.

The fairytales were right. A night like this was perfect for a rendez-vous in the secret garden, for a waltz with the fireflies and a kiss under the moon.

Perfect for falling in love, once and again. freeweɓnøvel.com