chapter 21

Chapter 21. Getting to know each other better.Oliver and Arianna were seated on opposite sides of a table; they were eating at a five star hotel. Oliver had taken her out on a date.Arianna raised her face and caught him staring at her, even after being caught, he still didn't stop staring. She chuckled and dropped her cutleries, then also fixed her glare on him.“Mr. Oliver Gomez, why are you staring at me like that?” She smiled.“Well, Miss Arianna McQueen, your beauty has put me in a trance, a world of fantasy, your dazzling eyes make me think of precious stones, and your lips remind me of some Hollywood goddess.” Oliver complimented.“Come on, stop it now.” She laughed.“I am serious girl, in the night when I go to bed, I dream about you. I don’t know how you take me to this beautiful place, and in the daytime… you are all that occupies my mind, your beauty and good heart.”“Seriously Stark, if you don’t stop then I would have to poke you in the stomach with a fork.” She giggled.“I don’t mind getting poked by you, as long as you are happy. I usually don’t like it when people call me by my first name, I prefer Oliver but after hearing you pronounce it today, I think we should stick to that, your angelic voice makes it sound special.”Arianna giggled and looked down shyly, she had not been so flattered by the male specie before, but was she supposed to be surprised? He was Stark Oliver Gomez after all, a billionaire playboy with a lot of experience with women, but why was he doing this right now?She looked up at him and blushed. “Oliver, can I ask you a question?”He paused and stared at her with anxiousness written all over his face. What was she going to ask now?“Alright, go on…” He permitted.“Your family, I want to know about your family,” she replied.Oliver sighed in relief, he had feared that her question might be complicating but it was not something to be worried about.“Oh, well… My dad was this wealthy son who inherited trillions from birth, my grandfather used to be a famous politician in those days, so my father grew up, not giving a damn about anyone, he got whatever he wanted by just asking, sometimes he didn’t even need to ask.My dad never found it necessary to start a business, or get a job, he just wanted to live on his father's wealth and grandpa couldn’t do much about it. Then my father found my mother, she was from an average family but they had some connections to powerful people.I was their only child, and would have had a sister but she was stillborn. Dad got drunk one day and drove over the bridge. We never found him again, after one week of searching the ocean, we gave up on him, he was gone forever. I was just fifteen then.” Oliver narrated, and then he brought out his handkerchief from his breast pocket to clean the tears that were forming in his eyes.“I… I am really sorry about that; if it hurts then you should not continue…”“No, don’t worry I am fine… mom took over my responsibility, till my twentieth birthday, her heart stopped beating and she gave up the ghost. The truth is that she had died the very day the news of my father`s death got to her, perhaps I was what kept her going for an extra five years,” he said and wiped his eyes, then forced a smile.“I am really sorry about that, but does it mean you don’t have any family left?” Aria queried.“Well, I still have grandpa, he is my only family right now and he means the world to me. He is out of the country for vacation, he would be back sometime soon,” Oliver replied.“Oh, I see…” Aria replied and looked down, she was starting to regret asking that question. She just wanted to know why he lived alone.“Yeah… so what about you?” Oliver queried.“Me?”“Mmgh, tell me about your family too,” he requested“Oh, okay… Well, there is nothing special. My dad used to work for this millionaire; he handled his shipping of goods in and out of the country. But then my dad fell ill, it was critical… he spent all the money he had saved. That was a few years ago, when I was eighteen, my dad's boss was owing him about two thousand dollars, he went to request for the money but his boss refused to give itAnd so… so my father was unable to pay the hospital bills, he lost his life in the process, not too long after, my mom followed him. I became an orphan, no relatives apart from my old grandmother who lived in the village. She was my mother`s mother, I guess we have a similar story, okay maybe not too similar.” Arianna replied and forced a chuckle.Oliver brought out another handkerchief and handed it to her. “Is alright, you can let it out you know?”She took the handkerchief and chuckled softly, “there would be no need for that, and I think I have cried more than enough.”“You are right, you shouldn’t cry anymore. So I guess, the other lady with you back there at my office was your friend,”“Yes, Rosie is my best friend, we have known way back to before high school and I live in her house now.” Aria replied.“So… did he ever come back?” Oliver asked, avoiding her eyes“Who?” Arianna queried.“Um… it’s nobody, never mind,” he replied, waving it off on a second thought.“You are asking about Dave right?” She spoke softly.He laughed softly, “yeah, you got me… the guy who left, has he tried to contact you?”“Nope, well he made it clear that he was not coming back.” She laughed.After a great time at the restaurant, they both got into Oliver`s car, he had come out without a bodyguard or driver, he just wanted to be alone with Arianna.Oliver drove gently on their way home while they discussed, he was going to take her home first.“So, I think you should invite your friend the next time we do this,” Oliver suggested.“Sure, not a bad idea, but then you have to invite your friend too so that she doesn’t feel like a third wheel,” Arianna replied and laughed softly.“You mean Sammy? I can’t promise he would love to come on a date but I would try, I am his boss after all,” Oliver smirked.Arianna chuckled, and then drifted to thought. This was her second date with Oliver ever since she visited him in his house, and things have really been progressing between them. At this point, she had no idea what relationship they shared.Was she his friend? Or just his baby's mama? Or was there something going on between them, were they in a romantic relationship? The situation was very confusing for her.They arrived at Rosie's apartment and Oliver pulled over, the both remained silent, staring at each other.Then Arianna broke the silence, “thanks Stark, it was really fun hanging out with you today,”“You don’t need to thank me, I should be thanking you, I am glad you are in my life Aria.”She blushed and looked downwards, after two minutes of awkward silence, Oliver moved to her side of the front seat and kissed her gently, and then he let go of her tender jaws.She was surprised, she had not expected it. Even after breaking the kiss, the effects were still on her. The lingering taste of his lips, the speed of her heartbeat and the thumping sound it made, her body froze and even princess was quiet like she was aware of what her dad just did.“Goodnight Aria, sleep tight and have good dreams.” He smiledArianna managed to force a smile, then she got down from the car in a hurry, she could not look him in the eye after the lips to lips contact. She walked off towards the house door.“We are going to do this some other time right?” Oliver asked loudly and she froze on her tracks.She turned around and smiled at him. “Yes, just ping me when it's time,” she replied and hurried in shylyOliver chuckled softly and waved his head, and then he drove off with a smirk on his face. This was sure a fun night, and he looked forward to more like this.