They were in a small pod with numerous strangers, but to them, it felt like they were the only ones there.
Darcy leaned back against Thelonious, enjoying the way he wound his arms around her middle and hugged her to him, resting his chin on her head as they both gazed out the pod.
"I've never seen London look so peaceful."
Thelonious chuckled, and she hummed as his laughter vibrated against her back. "It only looks peaceful because we're so high up."
"In the moment, everything feels like such a big deal." She sighed. "But being some place like this, it dulls everything in comparison, making it all seem small and insignificant."
He placed a kiss on her temple. "Standing here, anywhere, with you in my arms makes me feel that way and so much more."
The couple enjoyed the silence as they stared at the view of London as the pod that they were in glided back to the bottom. They followed the crowd and exited. She laughed as he grabbed her hand and wound their fingers together.
"What's next on the agenda?"
He smiled down at her. "Who says I have an agenda?"
She sent him a pointed look. Thelonious owned and managed a hotel for a living which required a certain degree of organisational skills and discipline, both of which he held in very high regard. There was no way that he didn't have a rough agenda planned for their date.
"There's a park nearby, about 5 minutes away." He gestured towards the direction they were walking. "We could go for a stroll." He suggested casually.
She happily agreed and swung their hands slightly as they walked.
Just as he promised, they reached the park in less than 5 minutes.
"How about a bike ride?" She eyed the bikes that were docked near where they had just entered, on loan for just £2.
Before he could respond, Darcy grinned and swung her leg over one of the bikes. Riding a bike while wearing a dress wasn't exactly ideal, but the coat and tights helped. "My dad taught me to ride bike. We used to go to the park every weekend and he would run alongside me while I rode it."
She looked back as he got himself a bike and rode up towards her. "What colour was your bike?"
"The first one was pink." She grinned at the memory.
"The first one?" He smirked as they rode alongside each other, pedalling through the chilly winds that were determined to hold them back. "What happened to it?"
"I didn't like the colour so I switched with a girl who lived on my street. Hers was green. I much preferred that over pink."
He threw his head back and laughed. "Let me guess, your dad wasn't happy?"
Her shoulders shook slightly as she laughed. "It turned out the bike he bought me was worth more than double the one I traded it for."
"You got conned."
"Probably. She was a couple years older than me. Enough about me. Tell me something about you." She sent him a wicked grin. "Something you haven't told me before."
Thelonious grinned and stopped riding near some bicycle docks at the end of the park. She hadn't even realised that they had cycled round the whole park already.
Time seemed to fly when you were having fun.
She followed suit and jumped off the bike, slotting it back into the docks.
He held out his hand, his heart skipping a beat when she instantly accepted. "Have dinner with me and I'll tell you anything you want."
Darcy grinned and curled herself into his side, more so because she wanted to be near him rather than preserve heat.
They exited the park together and he gestured towards the street. "Pick a place to eat."
She pondered over it as she gazed down the street. "What are you in the mood for?"
"Whatever you're in the mood for."
Her eyes trailed over a few restaurants, lingering on what appeared to a quaint little curry house. "Indian?"
A low hum sounded from him. "I didn't peg you for Indian food."
She grinned up at him, brushing some hair away from her face. "I can handle my spice."
"You'll have to prove it to me."
Something glinted in her eyes as she walked into the restaurant, holding the door open behind her for him. "I guess I will."
Within the next 5 minutes, they had been seated at a corner table a little away from all the other tables â as per the request of Thelonious who wanted to get her alone â with a bottle of their finest red wine ordered to share.
"I think I'm feeling chicken." She mumbled to herself, eying the menu.
He smirked. "The idea of chilli that scary?"
She glanced up at the odd question, her eyes narrowed into slits before she understood what she meant. A small laugh escaped her. "No, not at all. I meant that I'm in the mood for a chicken dish."
He made a lingering appraisal of her and she shuffled in her chair, unable to decipher the hidden message hidden in the deep pools of his eyes. "How about I get a lamb dish and we can share?"
Her lips twitched at the corners. "That sounds great."
She ended up ordering a hot chicken tikka while he opted for the lamb equivalent. They got some rice and garlic naan to go with it, content to sit back and enjoy their wine as they waited for their meal. They didn't have to wait long as their food arrived in front of them in under 15 minutes.
"What do you want from life, Darcy Blake?"
She downed the rest of her wine and set the glass on the table. When he grabbed the bottle and topped it up for her, she smiled at him thankfully which set his beating heart off into a frenzy. He drank some ice water too calm himself down, pulling a face when he accidentally swallowed an ice cube in the process.
"Ultimately, I want to start my own business. I'm not completely sure yet what, but I definitely want it to be something in the tech industry."
"Like apps, and stuff?"
She nodded enthusiastically, a small smile stretching onto her face. "Yes, I want to start off like that. I'm not sure how successful I'll be from the get go, so I would need a full-time job to keep myself stable and afloat. On the side, I would be trying to make some extra money working on apps and websites for people, kind of like what I'm doing for your hotel. I'd love to develop some games and make them available on the App store too and maybe one day, I'd love to do that full time."
"Like Sony and Ubisoft?" He asked, mentioning the first two game companies that came to mind. He wasn't too knowledgeable regarding the world of technology â mostly just what he needed to know to keep the hotel up and running, and ahead of the game in the modern world â but for her, he would learn.
She laughed softly at his question. "Yeah, something like that. Like I said, I'm not completely sure yet but I'm open to all sorts. In the long run, I would love to create something that would compete with the likes of Apple and Samsung, but I'm not sure if that's possible."
"I know you, Darcy. You can do anything you put your mind to."
Her face flushed at his words. "I appreciate your belief in me, but it's a big dream."
"And I know you can turn it into a reality."
She dazzled him with a bright smile, one which pulled at his heart strings and caused butterflies to flutter in his stomach.
He didn't want to ask because he was afraid of the answer, but he felt like he needed to know. "How do I fit into that picture?" He asked, feeling like there was a lump stuck in his throat.
She paused and gazed at him from under her lashes, confused with where the question had come from. "What do you mean?"
"I know you have dreams and aspirations, things that you want to achieve in life. I don't want to hold you back." He forced the words out of his mouth before he bottled it. If he didn't ask now then he would never be able to bring himself to ask. If he was going to get his heart broken then he would rather mentally prepare himself while savouring the remaining time that he had left with her.
Anytime with Darcy was worth the heartbreak. He just wished it wouldn't come to that.
A pregnant paused passed between them as they stared at each other, neither of them daring their gaze to waver away from the others. Their waiter came and cleared the table before retreating with their finished meal yet they still sat in silence, a sombre cloud hovering above their table.
Darcy frowned. "Is this you breaking up with me?"
"What? No."
"Good." She mumbled, still frowning. "If you're not breaking up with me then I don't plan on going anywhere."
A teasing smile coiled around his lips, his heart no longer coiled tightly. "Even if you become rich and successful?"
She snorted. "I refuse to become rich and successful without you by my side." When he opened his mouth to say something further, she reached across the table and patted his hand to silence him. She knew he was just making excuses because he was feeling scared.
"Thelonious, you have absolutely nothing to worry about."
"I know," he sighed and bowed his hand, resting his free hand on top of hers, entwining their fingers together. "I just don't want to hold you back."
"You're not going to hold me back. Ever." She squeezed his hand and when he looked up, she smiled. "We're going to grow together. Plus, if anyone's got something to feel insecure about then it's me."
"You?" He snorted at the absurdity of the notion. "What have you got to feel insecure about?"
"My boyfriend owns a successful hotel in central London. It won't be long before you're thinking about opening up a second hotel while I'm still trying to make it in app development during weekends and after work hours."
At first, he wanted to protest at her words but when she sent him a pointed look, he allowed himself to mull it over.
As per usual, Darcy was right.
If they both wanted to make it, then they needed each other and he was determined that during the whole process of it, he would do anything to keep her by his side. Where she belonged. As equals.
"I love you."
The words tumbled out of his mouth before he could even begin to process the thought of stopping it but once it was out, he couldn't bring himself to deny it. Thelonious couldn't deny his feelings for the vixen of a woman sat in front of him.
She had come into his life unexpectedly but now that he had his hands on her, he refused to let her go. He had never truly known happiness before Darcy Blake walked into his arms, where he hoped she would stay for good.
There was a part of him that thought she wouldn't feel the same way. That she would reject him then and there, but just after the heartfelt conversation they had just had about their future, he knew he couldn't continue allowing his insecurities rule his life.
If he wanted them to grow together, â and he did â then he would have to take risks. Especially huge ones like this that put everything that mattered to him on the line.
"That's good," she winked at him from the rim of her glass as she sipped at her wine. "Because I love you too."
He grinned and she grinned, and he couldn't think of any place he would rather be.
"Come on," he reached across the table and grabbed her hand. His touch was soft as his thumb rubbed the top of her hand, gentle. "Let's get out of here."
-
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Layla Knight
09.05.2020