Chapter 5: Chapter v. Chocolate Convention

“ Did you realize that our every outing is somehow connected to food ? “ Dennis asked, breaking the comfortable silence between then.

Arin was lounging on the couch, her legs over his lap, reading a book. It was her favorite past time, ever since her prisoner times she’d loved reading. She used to read whenever she’d catch some free time from cooking and cleaning to wander off into the imaginary world where everything was better. Just like Cinderella. And just like her, she found her Prince Charming and they were now living their happy and peaceful ever after in their kingdom.

“ Where did you get that from ? “ she chuckled slightly, not looking up from her book so she didn’t lose her spot. If she had looked up only for a brief moment, she would have seen her Prince Charming staring absentmindedly at the plush pig toy she’d won for him at the fair.

“ Remember the first time we got here, the first thing we did was cook together. Then the carnival with cotton candy and junk food. By the way, I still can’t believe you can eat a whole mega maxi sized fries but can’t eat one whole burger ! What kind of a human are you ? “ - he chuckled at the thought and Arin swatted him gently, laughing - “ And now this chocolate convention I want to take you to. “

Her eyes widened as he continued. Sometimes she really couldn’t follow his superior artificial brain. His thoughts seemed to be travelling at the speed of light, thus he was able to change topics almost in an instant. Though, he could easily control it and he usually did so !

He smirked at her dumbfounded look. He recalled the fair when she did the same to him, although he could safely say her reaction was much cuter than his might have been.

Of course, after she’d recovered from the confusion that struck first, she nodded. How could she possibly deny something like that - she loved chocolate and she loved Dennis !

… His company, of course.

Later that evening, they’ve made it safely to the convention. There weren’t many people when they got there, it was still early in the evening and the sun was still high. It was summer so people didn’t usually go out until the air cooled down. But, some brave souls such as Arin and Dennis were there already, enjoying all the different kinds of chocolate - black, white, bunny shaped, in the form of a fountain, everything was there at their disposal.

Arin was especially excited about it. Her sweet tooth loved everything chocolate, or even fruity as long as it was sweet. Her excitement was visible on her, she peered around, enjoying the sight of chocolate everywhere around her. Dennis noticed it and couldn’t help but chuckle, it was such an endearing sight - as if he’d brought a child into a chocolate factory, which wasn’t all that far from the truth.

From the moment she walked into the spacious white hall with red curtains covering the windows, she’d laid her eyes upon a huge chocolate fountain where one was able to try it with different fruits or even cheese. Though, she didn’t pull him towards it, even though her body gravitated to it, but instead she let them slowly make their way down the hall and enjoy each other’s company beforehand. Dennis pointed out some famous chocolate types, such as the Switzer chocolate, one of the most famous in the world. It was all the same to Arin, as long as she was allowed to stuff her mouth with it.

Later on, more people started to arrive. She didn’t even notice how much time had passed - time didn’t exist in that moment, there were only her, Dennis and chocolate - but by the fact halls were getting crowded, she could tell it was getting late. She didn’t want to miss the chance to try out the chocolate fountain so she tugged on Dennis ’s sleeve for him to follow her there. She needed to ensure her spot there before people made it impossible to walk between the two sets of tables on every side of the hall. The space between them wasn’t tight, but people could make it seem so.

Dennis had noticed what her goal was so he gladly followed, he even tried to help her push her way to it. Her expression from right in front of the fountain was priceless to him. Her gawking at the huge statue like exhibit brought out a bright smile on his face. Truly, he couldn’t make out if it was her or the masterpiece in front of them the true work of art.

“ Try it, “ he urged her, before the other people came.

She nodded and took a strawberry from a white see through bowl. Then she dipped it into the chocolate running down the fountain before bringing it to her lips. Dennis followed the strawberry up to Arin ’s lips, watching her munch on the juicy strawberry.

It was only a moment later when she noticed his eyes on her. “ You want some too ? “ she asked, completely missing the cause of his looking. She didn’t wait for his answer - that wouldn’t come out as anything more than a few flustered stutters - but instead had already dipped another strawberry into the chocolate.

Just as she was about to bring it closer to his lips and let him have a taste as well, a drop of chocolate dripped on her white shirt, leaving a dark trail on her chest. She whined and tried to wipe it off, but only ended up smudging it even more. To help her, Dennis took out a tissue and just as he’d reached out to try and help her, he realized what he’d be touching so he stopped, blushing at the thought. Instead, he just handed her the tissue, he was still a gentleman before everything.

“ Yah let’s just go home ~ “ she whispered lowly and headed to the exit, her arms crossed on her chest to try and hide the stain, a pout on her lips. Dennis followed. For what else could he have done - indeed, he regretted not taking his jacket that he’d be able to put around her and cover the stain, but the feelings of guilt and regret weren’t actually helping the situation.

They’ve been quiet while walking back to their flat. None of them dared to say a word ; he didn’t want to make her feel worse and she was too embarrassed to say anything. It was already dark, there was not a star on the sky to help fixing the atmosphere with its twinkling.

Arin was the first one to speak up. “ I’m sorry. “

“ Why ? “

“ For ruining the date. I’m so sorry I’m clumsy, “ she continued in a quiet voice, the feeling of guilt dripping from her voice.

Dennis couldn’t bear the sound of guilt in her voice so he stopped walking what made her stop as well. She was staring down at her feet, afraid of his reaction. She expected him to shout at her, tell her she was stupid and curse her like Daniel would.

“You didn’t, “ he spoke up, “ It wasn’t your fault, it was an accident that could’ve happened to anyone, “ he explained in a gentle voice. Without success, she was still looking down at her feet. “ Besides, we can always continue the date somewhere else. Somewhere there’s no one else to look at us and we can be as messy as we want. “

“ I’m the only messy one, though ~ “ she whispered and buried her face into his chest with a groan, reassured by his soft voice but still very much feeling bad, “ Ah why must I be such a klutz. These things always happen to me ! “

“ Hey, at least our dates are never boring ! “ he chuckled, rubbing her back gently, trying to make her feel better with both being gentle and trying to be funny.

He did manage to make her chuckle. “ I guess so. “ Only then did she realize how close to him she was : his arms were wrapped around her and even though she was used to being hugged by him, it was different. “ I love how you’re calling it a date too, “ she noted, gazing up at his eyes from her spot on his chest. She could tell he blushed, even though it was barely noticeable.

“ Sorry. “

“ Why ? I said I liked it. “

“ So, “ he hummed and cleared his throat to get rid of the nervousness that’d showcase in his voice, “ This was a date ? A real one ? “

She nodded. “ If you want it to be. “

“ Our first one, “ he noted.

She nodded, still gazing at his features from her spot. He looked so stunning, his eyes were the stars missing on the sky. As if every one of them hid just so his eyes could be the only bright thing that evening. To her, it was his soul shining through his eyes. He was so good, he made her feel so confident and happy. For the first time in forever she felt as if she was living, truly living real life. With him. She felt freedom, she felt in control of her own life.

It was so overwhelming, so empowering .. So freeing ! She couldn’t suppress herself from doing the unimaginable, the only thing left to be done that evening. She got on her tippy toes and pressed her lips on his.