Whatever You Want
ARIANA
I woke up in the morning, and found myself alone in bed. His side of the bed was not even warm. It meant, either he left the bed a while ago or he didn't even come to sleep at night. I wasn't sure about it. I could only remember getting into the car. After a fabulous dinner, he took me to Butte Montmartre, for stargazing. It was a stunning experience. We laid on the grass and while staring at the sky, we chatted.
We chatted about stupid things. It wasn't anything important or special in any way. Yet, that conversation with him was actually one of the best conversations I had with him. Then I remembered getting into the car when I was extremely tired with the whole day in Paris. Lazily, I got out of the bed and made my way toward the bathroom, hoping I would find him there.
To my disappointment, he wasn't in the bathroom. Though, the bathing gown that was hanging in the bathroom just for me, I knew he had used the bathroom before me. I wanted to soak myself in warm water but then, my stomach started growling. So I decided to take a quick shower and get out.
Once done, I made my way to the kitchen. I stepped inside and found him cooking. I was glad that he wasn't standing all naked. Or I would have lost the control I was trying to keep on myself. I wanted to try and create a distance to check if with new memories that he was making, I would be able to survive once I would leave.
I didn't want to get attached to him. I didn't want to get attached to anyone. I just wanted my freedom back. I wanted to walk without having to look behind to make sure no one I knew, was following me.
“Ah! You are awake. Last night, you fell asleep in the car. I didn't get to know if you liked everything or not.” Enzo spoke in a low tone as he made his way toward me with a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice.
I thanked him awkwardly and took a sip. To be honest, I liked the taste very much. For some reason, my mouth had been bitter since I woke up. And that fresh juice just tasted heavenly.
When I looked up, I found him staring at me. He looked nervous. “Oh, you mean you want to know now?” I asked. He sighed and shook his head.
“Well, do you want an honest answer or so you want a buttered answer?” He frowned when he heard my questions.
“Buttered answer!? Is that even a thing?” Enzo asked, chuckling at me.
“Well! If you choose a buttered answer. I would tell you that it was the most romantic and magical night of my life. It was beautiful. I loved everything. The food was just amazing. I will never forget this night as it was the best thing to remember.” He frowned, listening to me. He expected to hear all that from me. But i had already cleared it up that it was a buttered answer, not the truth.
“Then tell me the truth.” He asked as he walked back to the stove and started working on whatever he was cooking.
I knew, he was disappointed in himself, in a way. That's why, he would avoid looking at me. But he wanted to know the truth. I grabbed my glass, hopped off of the Chair and walked toward him. I dimmed the stove the, placed the glass on the counter and made him look at me.
“Expensive dinners, stargazing at the most beautiful place, royalty, expensive clothes. I didn't want all that. The food was actually amazing. And I enjoyed the soda most. Dessert wasn't really that much to my liking. I would have preferred fresh vanilla ice cream. But the rest was too expensive to my liking.” I answered him truthfully.
Enzo pulled me up and made me sit on top of the counter. He placed both of his hands on either side of me, on the counter and leaned over. “I just wanted to make this night memorable for you. But I guess I messed up. Because I am stupid. I didn't even ask you about your priorities. I never really did. I just assumed whatever you might like. And I just got you things I thought you would like. This whole trip was nothing but a failure.” He whispered in a disappointed tone.
He was about to move away when I grabbed his hand. I interlaced my fingers with his. “Yes! You never ask me about my opinion. Yes! I still love Paris. But you never asked me why.” I added in a low tone.
He was suddenly interested in the conversation. “So tell me now! Whatever you like.” He asked.
“Enzo, The Eiffel tower was never my favorite. I liked the culture. And my favorite place is the famous Ferris wheel. And I heard, there's an amusement park there as well. I don't expect it to be expensive. I don't need anything expensive. Bills don't attract me, but the effort. The amount of effort you put into anything.” He was a little confused.
He might have raised me too but like everyone else, he just assumed that every woman put there, liked to have expensive clothes, bags, jewellery and dinners. “I wouldn't care less about the expensive dinner at the most popular restaurants in Paris. But I enjoy meals you cook for me. The effort is what I care about.” I explained further and he looked shocked.
“So! What do you want to do?” He asked me and I just wanted to roll my eyes at him for being so clueless.
“I just gave you a hint, Enzo. I want to go to the amusement park. In casual clothes where I wouldn't have to worry about spilling things on it. I want everything normal.” I replied in an annoyed tone.
Enzo chuckled nervously when he heard me. He was rubbing the back of his neck nervously. “Alright! I'll get us two tickets for the amusement park and especially, the Ferris wheel. And you don't have to wear anything expensive.” He replied, dishing something out on a plate. When he placed the plate in front of me, I felt like something wasn't right.
One look at the steak on the plate with eggs and I was suddenly feeling sick. Covering my mouth with both of my hands, I ran toward the sink. I puked in the sink. I couldn't control it. “Are you okay?” Enzo asked me, while rubbing my back to make me feel better. I splashed some fresh water on my face, hoping it would make me feel better.
“How can I be okay when you have constantly been feeding me steak? Don't you have anything else. Like chicken, sea food, veggies, cakes, burgers, pizza, pasta. You have fed me so much steal, I am starting to feel sick when I look at it.” I complained again about his new obsession with steak.
“Okay! Okay! Relax! I'll cook something else for you.” He whispered as he took the steak away and went to the fridge to get something else for me.