Falling, Fallen | ✔️

15

~Ayla's POV~

"Don't touch me," I huffed to Soren as I sat down on the couch, unused to the odd tingles that came when his hand lingered on my lower back. I pulled the bottom of my brown, black and white plaid dress down, glad that I had put the short sleeve top on underneath it. It didn't make very much of a difference in looks, but it made me feel more comfortable in the dress.

"Feisty," Soren murmured, peering down at me as I slid my black heeled boots onto my feet. These were my go to pair of shoes, because they went with everything.

"You know, though," Suddenly he grabbed my chin gently in his hand and tilted my head back, causing me to immediately try to pull away. He leaned over and his face got close to mine, making my eyes widen before I leaned back into his couch to try to put some distance between us. With his grip on my chin he pulled me closer, his other hand coming down onto the back of the couch beside my right shoulder. Our faces were so close I could see how soft his lips really looked up close, his warm breath fanning over my face. "If you can't even have me touch your back in private, how do you plan to kiss me in public?" He wondered, his voice low. Almost mocking.

My lips parted at the thought of kissing him again, to be able to really feel what it would be like. "The difference between the two is I have to endure you kissing me. I don't have to endure you touching me, if we're alone." I said, causing him to smile in amusement. "Mhm, but you hardly can say that you wouldn't like it either way." He taunted, blue eyes glinting with smug satisfaction. I didn't respond, because he sure as hell didn't need anything from me to make his ego bigger than it already was.

He leaned even closer and I gasped when our lips nearly collided, his grip on my chin traveling to the back of my neck instead. I avoided looking at him, my face feeling as if it were on fire, and I felt his fingertips creep into the hair at the nape of my neck. "Look at me." He muttered, and I reluctantly did so, feeling as if I could just about pass out. Even sitting down like I was, my legs felt like jelly. The effects he had on me were ones I had never had to deal with before, and it drove me nuts how easy it was for him to turn me to goo like this.

Our eyes met and he stared at me deeply, his lips twitching up at the edges. "I'm going to kiss you tonight, Ayla. I won't warn you beforehand, but I will kiss you before the night is over." He swore.

**

Soren and I sat down together in the small table that he had booked at the restaurant, which was much more fancy than I had been expecting. Of course I had heard of the River Cafe and so I knew it was a fancy restaurant, but it was more than I had thought.

The table he had booked us was against the window, which overlooked the large river and the night view of the city lights. Over the table were soft white cloths and there was a candle lit between the two of us, giving it a romantic feel. Both of us had currently unempty wine glasses in front of us on the table, but I certainly didn't intend to keep mine empty for much longer. I'd need some alcohol to get through this.

I would probably never truly admit it aloud, but Soren looked handsome, even more so than usual. He was dressed in a dark suit, and there had never been a time quite like right now where I really loved a man dressed in a suit. There was just something about seeing him in one that made him a thousand times more attractive. It wasn't as if I had never seen him in one before, because I had by now, but I wasn't sure I could ever get over it.

"You like what you see, Ayla? You're staring at me again." Soren said suddenly, snapping me out of my thoughts. I hadn't even realized I was staring. God, it had become such a habit that I didn't even notice when I was doing it anymore.

"N-No." I narrowed my eyes at him and he merely smirked, looking amused. He trailed his gaze over my face, taking in the way I had done my makeup today. I had spent at least an hour on the eyeshadow on my lids, but I would never tell him I had only done that because I knew we'd be going out to dinner.