Chapter 76 Aslan
Aslan
Aitor glanced at me as I started the car and raised an eyebrow. “So you do know how to drive for sure, right, angel?”
I snorted. “Hon, I can’t afford a car right now, but I’ve been driving since I was sixteen.”
“Good,” he said calmly. “I’d hate for our romantic mystery trip to end in a ditch.”
“Relax,” I replied, pulling onto the road. “I’ve got this.”
We had been driving for about twenty minutes when Aitor finally looked out the window again and frowned slightly.
“Are you sure we’re going the right way? I see the city really small behind us…”
“Yep. It's only gonna get smaller!”
He turned toward me. “Are we there yet?”
I kept my eyes on the road with a grin. “Questions are forbidden, and don't try to look at the navigator!”
He laughed softly and leaned back in his seat. “That sounds suspicious.”
“Good,” I said. “It’s supposed to.”
We drove in comfortable silence for a minute before he spoke again.
“So… should we stop somewhere?” he asked. “Do we need to get anything? Snacks maybe? Drinks for later?”
I shook my head. “We need nothing.”
“All taken care of?”
“All taken care of.”
That only made him more curious.
“You’re enjoying this way too much.”
“Absolutely.”
By the time the road started winding through the trees, he was openly trying to figure it out.
“Okay,” he said, looking around through the windshield. “This is definitely not the way to any restaurant I know.”
“I hope so!”
“So we’re not meeting anyone.”
“Maybe yes, maybe not.”
He laughed again and shook his head. “Alright. I’ll wait.”
A few minutes later, I pulled the car into a small clearing and parked. Aitor looked up first, and the lake stretched out in front of us, calm and wide, surrounded by tall trees dusted with snow. For a second he didn’t say anything, just stared out through the windshield.
Then he noticed the cabin.
He slowly turned toward me. “Are we… visiting someone?”
I tried not to smile too early. “We’ll see.”
We got out of the car and walked up to the door. I opened it and stepped aside so he could go in first. Aitor walked inside and stopped as the soft glow of the lights filled the room. Candles flickered around the cabin, the table was already set, and the fireplace waited with the wood stacked neatly beside it.
He didn’t move for a moment. He just looked around.
Then he turned back toward me, confusion slowly shifting into realization. His eyes moved across the room again, taking in the table, the lights, the fireplace, and finally landing on me.
“You did this?”
I shrugged a little, suddenly feeling strangely nervous. “Well…”
He stared at me, his eyes suddenly glassy. “You did this for me?”
I stepped closer and wrapped my arms loosely around his neck. “For us.”
For a second, he didn’t say anything. Then he pulled me into a hug so tight it almost made me laugh.
“You’re unbelievable,” he murmured.
I smiled against his shoulder. “Wait until you see the jacuzzi.”
He leaned back immediately. “There’s a jacuzzi?”
“Oh, yeah.”
Aitor looked around the cabin again, shaking his head slightly like he still couldn’t believe it. “You planned all of this?”
“With a little help from James.”
“Of course.”
I smiled. “Happy Thanksgiving.”
After a few minutes of walking around the cabin, we carried our bags to the bedroom and dropped them near the bed. The temptation to just fall into it and make out was definitely there, but the cabin was still a little cold, and the quiet energy between us made it hard to stay still for long.
“Let’s get the fire going first,” I said.
Aitor nodded and followed me back into the living room. We knelt together in front of the fireplace, stacking the wood and lighting the kindling until the first flames started to catch. Slowly the fire grew stronger, the crackling sound filling the quiet cabin and pushing a little warmth into the room.
Once it was burning steadily, I stood and brushed my hands together.
“Well,” I said, glancing at the window, “since it’s still early… would you like to take a walk with me?”
Aitor smiled immediately. “Of course.”
We pulled on our coats and stepped outside again. The air was cold but bright, the lake stretching out quietly in front of us with the snow reflecting the afternoon light. For a while, we just walked along the edge of the water without saying much.
At one point, Aitor reached for my hand.
For a split second, I hesitated. Then I let my fingers lace with his.
It felt strangely intimate, more than anything we've done before, including me almost sucking his dick in his bathtub.
The warmth of his fingers around mine, the softness of his skin… made my heart beat faster. Funny how something so small could mean so much.
Just then, something shifted between us. We kept walking slowly, our hands together, neither of us saying anything for a while.
Eventually, we found a dry patch of ground where the sun was hitting the snow just enough to make it sparkle. We sat there, looking out at the lake.
Aitor broke the silence first.
“You know,” he said quietly, “when I was younger and we still celebrated Thanksgiving, we didn’t have a place by a lake like this. But we used to go somewhere in Spain.”
I turned toward him. “You have a place in Spain?”
He nodded. “A house near the coast. No one really uses it anymore, but it’s still there. Back then we would go every year, the three of us.”
“Even though Spain doesn’t celebrate Thanksgiving?”
He smiled faintly. “My parents liked the idea of it. So we made our own version.”
He looked out toward the lake again.
“Every year after dinner, we would go for a walk on the beach. It was warmer than here for sure, even in winter. My parents would hold hands while we walked.”
His fingers tightened gently around mine.
“Just like we are now.”
For a moment neither of us spoke. Then he looked back at me.
“Thank you for bringing me here.”
I smiled softly.
“You too, Ai,” I said, squeezing his hand, “thank you for being here with me on my first Thanksgiving away from home.”
I met his eyes. “I’m really glad it’s you.”
His eyes were suddenly on mine, beautiful and honest, his lips slightly parted, and I could feel his breath an inch away along with the rising and falling of his chest, quiet but intense. We both leaned closer at the same time, and when our lips met, it felt warm and slow at first before deepening into something stronger.
By the time we pulled apart, the cold had definitely caught up with us.
Aitor laughed softly and rubbed his hands together. “Okay, now I’m freezing.”
“Same,” I said.
We stood up quickly and started jogging back toward the cabin, laughing as the cold air hit our faces. When we stepped inside again, the warmth from the fireplace felt incredible.
We both moved closer to the fire, holding our hands out toward the flames. Then I glanced toward the bathroom.
“You know what?” I said.
Aitor looked at me. “What?”
“I have a really good idea to warm up fast.”
His eyes followed my gaze toward the bathroom door.
“Yes!” He reached out to take my hand, his eyes bright with excitement.
“But first…” I walked into the kitchen, grabbed both of our phones, and slid them into a drawer before putting them on silent.
Aitor raised an eyebrow. “You read my mind, angel!”
I closed the drawer and smiled. “Now we’re ready.”
Aitor watched me for a second, that slow smile spreading across his face.
“So,” he said quietly, stepping closer, “what exactly are we ready for?”