The One [a Roman Reigns story]

9 I liked what I saw

Novalee POV

The next morning I stood in the bathroom and applied a little makeup. Only mascara and lip gloss before I dressed for the day. I could hear that Roman was already awake. He tried to be quiet, but his heavy footsteps could easily be heard through the small cottage.

I rummaged through my suitcase until I finally decided on an outfit. Not knowing what Roman was up to, I decided on a plain white t-shirt and denim shorts over a bikini.

Even though I didn't like to admit it I was quite nervous. Somehow I was even more confused than I had expected. But this time in a weirdly good way. When I told him yesterday that it felt like I was seeing him for the first time, it was the truth. 

Never before had his sight, a look into his dark, kind eyes had such an effect on me. It was so powerful that I really nearly forgot myself. I guess it was good that Roman was such a good, decent guy. He didn't give in to temptation, even though it might have been tremendous for him, too.

Or maybe I was just imagining it and he was just letting me down slowly. Ugh... My head was still so messed up. Why was it so hard for me to just let it come to me? Oh yeah... I was a fucking control freak. I had almost forgotten that.

I quickly pulled my hair into a high messy bun before grabbing the doorknob. I hesitated just long enough to take another deep breath.

"Good morning." I said as I saw Roman sitting on the sofa in the living room area. 

He scrolled up and down on the phone until he heard my voice. Then he lifted his head and smiled at me. I walked over to him and sat cross-legged next to him, but I kept some distance.

"Good morning, Shortcake. Did you sleep well?" he asked as he set the phone aside.

"I did. How about you? Do you want me to order breakfast or do you want to go down to the restaurant?" I asked reaching for the menu to hand it to him.

"Oh I already have plans about that. For the whole day actually. I was just waiting for you to wake up." he explained, gently rubbing my knee.

"Really? And what exactly are your plans, Mr. Reigns?" I wanted to know.

"You'll see. I promise you'll like it. I realize you hate not knowing something, but just trust me, okay?" he replied simply.

He knew me far too well. I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. I mean... could there still be real surprises this way?

"I do. Well... I guess let's go then." I said then.

Roman stood up and held out his hand to me. Carefully he pulled me to my feet and close to him.

"You look great by the way, Shortcake." he said softly.

"Thanks, Ro... But if anyone looks great around here, it's you. I can only hope not to get lost next to you. Oh, and... I'm not used to you flirting with me, so this might take me a little while to get used to." I replied.

"Oh baby girl, believe me. I haven't even started yet." Roman said, making his voice sound so deep that it fluttered in my stomach.

He lifted my hand and pressed a kiss to it before we headed out. I couldn't wait to see where this day would take us. 

*****

And what a day it has been so far. I had no idea how he had managed to organize everything so quickly.

First we had a terrific breakfast in a tree house high in the treetops. And still it had a great view over the mountains. The sound of one of the waterfalls nearby could even be heard as well as the chirping of hundreds of birds.

Afterwards we went on a private jeep safari through the jungle. We got glimpses of the tropical rain forest. The guide told us a lot about the native plants, animals and of course the volcano. It was so much, I would probably forget half of it all.

After that we hiked along the twisted paths to a sulfur spring, only 10 minutes away from the volcano. Whenever the path became a bit difficult or something was lying on the ground, Roman took my hand so that I wouldn't slip or hurt myself in any other way. Every time he did that, my heart beat a little faster.

Finally we came to a place where it was possible to take a mud bath. I giggled like a little kid as Ro and I smeared each other with the gray mud. I drew little patterns on his face, even though he grimaced. But that was mainly because of the not very pleasant smell.

Nevertheless, it was a nice experience. Especially because it included the fact that I could touch him. Too bad the next group of tourists was not waiting so that the fun was over quickly.

We cleaned up before the tour continued. It was a long day, but I hadn't been this relaxed in a long time. Roman and I stay close to each other the whole time. He kept reaching for my hand or stroking my back. His fingers slowly stroked my cheek whenever he brushed a few hairs that had escaped my bun behind my ear.

I felt myself blush as he looked deep into my eyes. We also shared a kiss every now and then. It was almost too easy to get lost in these moments and let myself fall. And a look into his eyes showed me that he seemed to feel the same way.

"Ready for the grand finale, Miss Spencer?" he asked late that afternoon after we had freshened up at the cottage.

"There's more?" I asked, not expecting that.

"Why, of course!" said Roman as if it were obvious.

I just shook my head with a smile. I probably should have known that it really wasn't all yet.

We left the cottage again and were already awaited by a car. The driver drove us in the direction of one of the waterfalls. At least that was what I could gather from the signposts.

"Close your eyes, Nova." Roman then said softly to me.

I did as he said. The car stopped and Ro got out, but my eyes remained closed. Then my door opened and he took my hands in his and helped me get out.

"Keep them closed, please." he then said as he turned me in the right direction.

"Okay... now you can open them." he said shortly after.

I did, but the sight was as beautiful as it was unexpected. There in the river into which a large waterfall gushed was a large raft anchored. On it stood a table and two chairs. On the raft and on the stones on the bank were candles and tea lights and flower petals distributed. Everything glowed mysteriously, like in a fairy tale.

"Oh my God!" I whispered, overwhelmed.

"I hope you like it, Shortcake. Dinner is served." he said softly as he put his hand on my hip and pulled me close.

Roman pressed a kiss to my temple before I turned my head. I lifted my hand and placed it against his cheek. My thumb stroked the skin under his eye before I stood on my tiptoes and reached out to him.

I kissed him. For a long time. Everything around us stopped making sense. He returned my kiss as he held me close. 

"Shall we?" he asked after seemingly endless minutes.

"I'd love to," I replied.

Hand in hand, we walked along the narrow footbridge onto the raft. It wobbled slightly, but that didn't bother me.

Roman adjusted my chair before he sat down, too. Out of nowhere, a waiter appeared with our meal.

We ate and drank. Laughed and made jokes. But most of all, we got to know each other all over again. In a way I had never thought possible. I couldn't help but wonder why we had wasted so much time. And whether we could have had this and everything that went with it much sooner.

When I looked into Roman's eyes, I felt like I was looking into my future. And I liked what I saw. Now I could only pray that he saw the same as I did.

And when he put his chair next to mine and then put his arm around me so that we could both watch the waterfall, I just felt that it was like that.

Roman sighed deeply and relaxed before he pressed his lips to my hair and lingered there.