A cry that she had no idea would change her life forever. The scream that saved her from all of her despair. Sweet, innocent Renee Woods had no idea what was in store for her after being saved by the infamous beast himself- Maddox Knight.
He's the...
I watched carefully as Renee opened her eyes and allowed herself to adjust to her surroundings. Marie had helped me plan and set up this date, and I could only hope Renee loved it. The path we had walked down led to a clearing, just by the shore of a lake. The sun was already setting, reflecting onto the surface of the water. There was a stunning view of the city's skyline across the lake.
A little ways from the water, a large white picnic blanket was spread out on the grass. Pillows were placed around a small table for us to sit on. Along the edges of the blanket were lanterns to maintain light throughout the evening. Marie decided it would add to the "aesthetic", as she called it, to put fairy lights around the blanket.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
*a little something to help you imagine the setup but we're gonna pretend there's a basket on the table lmao xx*
I had prepared a basket of food for tonight that was placed on the table, along with flowers. It really did look beautiful along with the view, and I was excited yet anxious to see Renee's reaction.
As soon as Renee opened her eyes, she stood for a second in awe. She cupped her hands over her mouth and took in the view in front of her. I smiled and watched her, taking in the only view I needed at that very moment, her.
"What do you think, love?"
In response to my question, Renee ran over to me and enveloped me in a warm hug.
She gently wrapped her arms around my neck and I picked her up a bit so she could wrap her legs around my torso. Our significant height difference made it difficult for her to hug me with her petite stature compared to my tall one.
I quietly laughed and rubbed circles on her back, wishing I could stay here, in this very moment, forever. Being in her arms was already more addictive than I thought it'd be. I placed her down on the ground softly and Renee pulled away just enough so I could see her smiling face, and looked into my eyes.
"I love it!" She beamed.
"Thank you, Maddox..." Renee said gratefully.
"This is beautiful." She admired the view once more, bouncing on the balls of her feet happily.
"Only the best for you," I smiled, more than relieved that she liked what I had planned for us.
"You hungry?" I asked, nodding my head in the direction of the table.
"Always," Renee giggled and took her small hand in mine, leading me over to the blanket.
At this exact moment, watching her small figure as she delicately pulled me along, I felt truly happy; for the first time in a long time. It seemed very possible that this woman could be the one to fill the void in my heart I hadn't even known that existed, until now.
Somehow, she already had me wrapped around her finger and had no idea.
We both sat down on a pillow across from each other. Renee looked over at the skyline which was complemented by the sunset, different shades of orange, pink, and blue merging together.
I began to set the table with the food I made: containers of spaghetti and meatballs, tomato and mozzarella salad, along with a loaf of fresh Italian bread.
"This looks delicious, did you make it?" She inquired.
"I did." I replied.
"I enjoy cooking in my free time,"
"Damn, you're a chef too?" Renee teased.
I laughed, "What can I say? I'm a man of many talents."
I winked at her as I began to fill her plate with food. She laughed as I handed her the plate, consisting of a little bit of everything.
"To start you off. If you want more, there's plenty here."
"Thank you," Renee grinned.
I watched as Renee began to eat her food, taking a bite of the spaghetti and meatballs. Her eyes lit up and she let out a quiet moan as she tasted it. The sound was like music to my ears, causing my mind to wander. I tensed up as I continued to watch her reaction.
She looked up at me, her green eyes curious. "This is amazing. But aren't you going to eat, Maddox?"
Her words snapped me out of my daze, and I visibly scrambled to grab food, having the full knowledge that she had seen me staring. Renee placed her hand over mine that was on the spoon, and took it from me.
"Let me,"
She began to fill my plate with food, asking me to stop her whenever the amount was sufficient. Renee then smiled at me and handed me the plate. Just the sight of her smile increased my heart rate tenfold.
"Thank you."
We both started to eat in a comfortable silence for the first few minutes. Renee and I talked about anything and everything. She told me that her favorite color was yellow, explaining passionately that it was such a happy color and brightens everything around it.
When I thought about it, I came to realize that Renee was my yellow.
I hadn't known her for long at all, and she had already begun to bring so much light into my life. Just how important she was to me already was mind-blowing.
The night went by as we just took the time to learn more about each other. She was 19, two years younger than me, and lived with her best friend Savannah. She worked at a nearby restaurant, the Diamond Diner. She was an only child, and her parents mean the world to her.
Hearing her talk about the things and people she loved most with such enthusiasm made me happy. I enjoyed learning about her, and couldn't wait to learn more as we spend more time together.
That is, if she wanted to.
By the time we had finished up, it was 9:00 and had become quite dark out. I didn't want to keep her outside for much longer, so I packed up our stuff and we began to walk to the car. I held the basket in one hand and her small, dainty hand in the other.
At this point, us holding hands was completely automatic. Neither of us thought about the action, simply lacing our fingers together and continuing on.
Once we reached the car I let her in, and for a second we both sat there, quietly and comfortably. Renee turned to me and hesitated for a moment, before carefully lifting her hand up to touch my cheek.
I felt warmth spread across my skin once her smooth hand and fingertips touched my skin, and subconsciously leaned into her hand as she rubbed her thumb across my cheek.
