"What happened to your face Liam?" I ask for the tenth time but he doesn't wanna reply. He just kept walking, looking forward, avoiding my gaze.
Today is 18th November, and we are in Chiang Mai, Thailand. We landed here an hour ago after a 22 hour long flight. I was sitting the whole time and now I can feel my body stiffening. Liam planned the whole three days trip from the travel to stay.
Right now, he is guiding me through the small pathway that was made between the trees, leading towards the guest house. The path was simple but winding, cutting its way through the trees but also allowing enough room to walk .
The trees growing on either side of the pathway provided shade and a more peaceful atmosphere. The path had been made over time, with each passerby adding their footsteps and their mark on the surrounding area. I can see the glimpses of the sky through the trees at certain spots on the pathway.
He walks a few steps forward to me, carrying both of our luggage. I just couldn't decide what outfits to pack for the trip so I stuffed everything I could in the suitcase. What can I do? I need almost everything to look the best of myself
And there is my boyfriend,wearing a white t-shirt that hugs his lean frame, accentuating his toned arms and shoulders. His baggy jeans complimented his physique.
Despite the casual clothing, his appearance was handsome due to his well-groomed look, his hair coiffed just perfectly and skin clear and smooth. He doesn't even need to put any efforts that guy is straight out of books
Hot boyfriend things
But that handsome face of his has a small scratch on his cheekbone. I have been asking him since yesterday but he gives me the same old reply 'its just a paper cut' . Does he flip papers with his mouth? That he has paper cut on the most random location ever
"We are here" Liam announces and steps on the large wooden deck, the pathway has ended and the trees are not surrounding us anymore. The area is more open and free. I step forward and stand beside him, my eyes land on the wooden guest house in front of us in a small clearing surrounded by beautiful greenery on the sides. The front door was carved in ornate patterns
Liam sets our luggage aside and opens the door for me, gesturing me to come inside. I followed him with an excited smile and set foot inside the cozy house . The warmth surrounds me and I can smell the wood and the clean exterior.
It's a simple and comfortable environment, one that provides warmth and security. The rustic interior provides coziness and comfort, creating a peaceful atmosphere. The furniture's sturdy oak provides durability and sturdiness.
The hall is covered with simple yet comfortable furniture, there's a small kitchen built at the side with a small countertop in middle
The bedrooms are upstairs, with large comfortable beds , the soft blankets and warm rugs create a relaxing environment.
As I explored further into the house, I reached the backside which had a fenced yard with a swimming pool, the water crystal clear shining due to the sun. The light breezes making the trees sway with it
There are other guest houses which surround the area but built in a way to give each other privacy. I could hear the cheerful laughs of people from one of the guest houses.
The smile never leaves my face, the excitement growing inside me never dies. Just coming here gives me a sense of liveliness. The rush of adrenaline makes me feel giddy and happy .
Liam steps closer to me and wraps his arms around my waist from behind. Holding me firmly in his gentle embraces, our cheeks pressed together and faces just inches apart, my breath mingles with his
"So. Do you like it?" He says in a low, soft tone which almost comes out as a whisper while holding me close. "Like it? I just love it so much, I am impressed by your taste" I speak in the same manner as his with a hint of playfulness in my words
He lets out a small laugh and turns me towards him "you gotta take rest now, we will leave in the evening"
Even after bringing me to a totally different country he still hasn't even a small clue about his plan. He has kept the surprise really securely, I even tried to look up in Google to find something about this place but he made me promise to him that I wouldn't try to find out about his surprise.
In the end, I gave up because he was already putting so much into this trip. I don't wanna ruin it for anything. I am putting my trust into him
"But I have been sleeping the whole flight, I don't wanna rest anymore" I try to decline his request but he has answers ready "Yet your whole body is cranky, I am not asking you to sleep, just rest for a while and loosen up yourself or else" he pauses and slightly presses my shoulder earning a wince from me.
"Hey! Don't do that" I say and move away from him to stretch my arms a bit. The small bone cracking noise makes Liam snicker silently "see? You will be exhausted by the time we go back to Sydney. So better take care of yourself right now" he turns me around and pushes me back inside the house and takes me upstairs to one of the bedrooms. "I already kept your suitcase inside, I will call you before time so you can get ready"
He turns back to leave, I grab his hand making him stop and look back at me "what should I wear? You are not saying anything about where we are going but I need to know the theme at least " I ask, the confusion is taking over me.
I am gonna have a hard time deciding what to wear if he doesn't drop something. It would be really embarrassing if u wear something casual and he takes me to a restaurant
He leans against the door frame while thinking. But his eyes have a glimpse of mischief in them, I squint my eyes at him looking at him suspiciously but he laughs it off and wraps his arm around my waist pulling me closer to his face. Leaning to my ear he speaks in a low tone "wear something comfortable which makes you feel pretty and happy"
I slightly push him away but he still keeps his arm around me "seriously Liam, I literally brought all types of fits because you. So help me decide at least!" I say in a requesting tone
"I don't know, surprise me with your outfit, freckles" he pecks my cheek and walks away leaving me flustered. My finger grazes over my cheek which he just kissed, the gentle touch still lingers on my skin
Not the time!
I quickly shut the door and pick up my suitcase, placing it on the bed. I open it revealing all the outfits packed up neatly , I take a moment observing each of the items. With the variety of choices I have from jeans to dresses
After hours of going through everything I decided on the most simple one, a white summer knee length dress, white boots and a denim jacket to protect myself from the low temperature at night.
Finishing up, I place the other outfits back inside. Ready to jump in the bed to snuggle up in the soft blankets but the noises from downstairs grabs my attention
Is it Liam?
What is he doing?
I creek the door open slowly, making sure it doesn't make any noise. I sneak downstairs while top toeing but stop mid-way when I see Liam standing in the kitchen, his back facing me, he hasn't noticed my presence yet. So, I decide to stay still in my position to find out his actions
He leaned against the kitchen counter watching something on his phone. His left arm rests on the counter flexing his muscles
Damn-
I should ask him to wear short sleeves more often . He looks so hot
I am drooling over my own boyfriend secretly? I should definitely add this to a bucket list
He suddenly moves, making my duck behind the railing of the staircase. He started removing stuff from the bags. Milk, flour, eggs-
I pause releasing his plan. I slowly tip toe back to my room
He is baking a cake?
That's the cutest thing ever! I just couldn't wait for it but I should remain inside, I don't wanna trouble him or rush him. I lay on the bed and closed my eyes to take some rest.
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A knock on the door makes me regain my senses, I rub my eyes and sit on the bed. The door swings open and Liam walks in, he stands in front of the bed with his arms crossed on his chest. "Slept well?" He asks with a small grin across his face
"Yeah, I did" my voice comes out lazy. I scratch the back of my neck, my head turns towards the side to look out of the window. The blue sky has already started to turn orange, indicating it's time for the sun to set. I didn't even realize how much time has passed
"Get ready, we will leave in an hour" Liam informs, he walks away to leave the room but stops at the door for a moment before speaking "Can i make a request?"
Hearing his words my attention goes totally to him. The sleepiness leaves my mind as I gain full attention of my mind, I sit at the edge of the bed and reply to him "yeah, what is it"
He taps the door frame with his fingers, his face shows a bit of hesitation. His gaze comes back to me "could you not cover up your freckles tonight? Please?" He requests in a sweet tone. His voice makes my heart race .
Since my childhood, I have heard that these freckles hide my beauty, they are small scars on my face which people think are unattractive, from my relatives to classmates. They all had the same opinion about them
But not him
He has his own different view
I most of the time cover my freckles with makeup and I was going to do the same tonight but his request is enough for me to change my mind. If he wants that, I can do that much for him . I nod "sure, I won't cover them"
"Thank you" he mutters before leaving the room
I rush inside the bathroom to take a quick shower, and get dressed up. As I am not doing much makeup I have some time to style my hair into curls. I finished my look in 40 minutes, the cute white dress layered with a denim jacket and white boots. I keep my hair open and do minimal makeup keeping my freckles
Glancing one last time in the mirror. I smile being satisfied with my look
I walk downstairs, looking around for liam. I find him near the door talking to someone on his phone. I turn around to the kitchen to find it clean as before.
Did he bake something or not?
I was really in such a deep sleep that I didn't even hear anything but I could smell the room freshener around the hall. It seems like it had been sprayed just a while ago. We are leaving so what's the point to spray the room freshener or is he trying to hide the evidence
Whatever it is, I just couldn't wait for the surprise he is planning . I stand behind him waiting for him to finish his call. In a few minutes he hangs up and turns around. He looked a bit startled finding me right behind him but he covered it with a smile
My heart skips a beat when his gaze softens looking at me, a pleasant smile on his face as he takes notice of my outfit. His eyes scanned each detail of my dress, yet I felt comfortable. His deep gray eyes hold a sense of admiration towards me, for a few moments his gaze lingers on my face, maybe he is looking at my Freckles.
I want to see myself the way he sees me, his peaceful gaze makes me relaxed and confident in myself
He lets out a shaky breath and speaks slowly "you take my breath away" his eyes meet mine again. I step closer to him wrapping my arms around his neck, my boots have heels but he is still taller than me, he bends his neck to match me
"And you are taking my heart away, I think that's a fair trade" I whisper in his ear. Teasing him by brushing my lips to his neck, I can feel goosebumps on his neck.
I move away to see his reaction, he places his palm over his ear trying to hide the redness. I grin at his cute reaction. I think this is the first time I saw his flustered, he looks at me for a second and diverts his gaze to the side while his other ear also turned red
"You look so cute while blushing" I try to tease him more
He shakes his head at me "only you have that effect over me" his words make me giggle.
"We are now leaving. Could you please tell me now where we are going? Please?" I say desperately holding his forearm Swing him a little. He chuckles at my behavior "why don't you give me a kiss? And I will tell you where we are going?" he leans closer to my face and I lean backwards
This habit of his and mine will never leave
The flustered Liam is long gone and now taken over with the old flirtatious one. I am not complaining, I just love this side of him so much. He doesn't stop until our lips are just inches apart, I know I don't have a choice and this isn't a bad deal.
I press my lips to his, into a soft kiss going slowly but soon he takes over. His hand goes to my neck holding me in place before he starts to increase his pace kissing me with more passion. Pressing his tongue to mine, our lips blending with each other perfectly as we get lost in the moment
His kiss becomes more intense as our breathing becomes heavier with the pleasure and excitement taking over
I place my hand on his chest and pull away from the kiss. He pulled me closer by my waist, not ready to stop yet. He doesn't know gentleness when it comes to kissing. He leans closer to continue but I place my hand on his lips to stop him. He sighs and holds my hand pressing a kiss on my palm and places it on his cheek
"We are going to a lantern festival, which takes place every year in Chiang Mai. And this time it's a day before your birthday so I thought it's the best opportunity to bring you here"
We are currently at the ground where everyone is gathering for this annual event. I can spot the residents and also foreigners from different countries who are present here for this night. As the sun has already set down the horizon. The sky has turned to deep shade of blue and the moon has risen up illuminating above us giving this night a beautiful feel
For many this is a celebration for their beliefs and practices. We may not be included in that but it's still allowed to participate in this festival and to release our lanterns with others.
Everyone has already brought their lanterns and now are slowly releasing them . There might be hundreds of people gathered here.
I am holding the lantern in my hand while Stella is writing a message on it. The way she is dressed is simple but stylish, the dress highlighting her attractive features. The knee length dress and those boots emphasize her femininity.
My eyes wander on her face, the Freckles scattered around her face, covering her cheeks and nose. The cute little patterns are so admirable which makes her eyes shine when she smiles at me.
The patterns are like little paintings on her beautiful face, drawn by God himself . Each tiny Freckles is a piece of art. A piece of her which makes her Stella
I want her to see that too. I wish she saw herself the way I see her
Stella looks up and smiles, closing the marker's cap and putting it in my pocket "are you done?" I ask, reading what she wrote
'The attraction of opposites brings a harmonious balance, like the opposite sides of a coin which fit perfectly with each other. Without the other side, it's worth is meaningless'
A smile forms on my face reading her writing, she didn't write something random. She wrote something about us mixing it with a beautiful example
"I am right, aren't I?" She questions as her finger traces over the lines "Yeah, you wrote well. Ready to release it?" I ask , removing a matchstick box from my pocket. She nods and we both place the lantern on the ground, she holds it from top while it lights up the small candle attached below the structure
With a flick I light up the lantern and the warm air fills it up . I hold the lantern from below to prevent it from flowing, Stella's hands hold mine as we lock our gaze together
The sky gets filled up with colorful lanterns as they are being slowly released by people below. The lanterns filled the sky with sparkling light in various shades and hues.
"Ready?" I ask her
"Yes!" She says, her voice filled with excitement
We both release the lantern from our grip as it floats away gently in a slow and effortless motion, filling the air with a magical atmosphere. The people cheer while enjoying the beautiful view in front of us.
Stella's eyes twinkle as she watches the moment of our lantern floating away, her eyes following it until it mixes up with other lanterns. She leans against me as her hand interviews with mine in a soft grip, that tender touch fills my heart with bliss
"It's the most beautiful view I saw in my life" she says looking at the sky
"Yeah, it's really the most beautiful view I have ever seen" I say looking at her while she admires the lanterns in front of her with a delicate smile
The most beautiful view
My favorite view
The lanterns slowly started disappearing, their beautiful colors gently fading off as the wind took them away. One by one, the lanterns were slowly blown around by the gentle breeze, gradually disappearing into the night sky.
I check the time it's already past 10pm. I have taken help from the staff to decorate the house while we are away for the festival. I have arranged dinner for her back there
I tried to bake too but it didn't turn out well so I decided to go by ordering the cake instead
I bring her hand to my lips and press a gentle kiss on her knuckles, she turns to face me, light blush covering her cheeks "ready to go back?" I ask
Her eyes grow curious as she catches up on my gesture "wait- you have something more?"
"Of course, there's more. Let's go"
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Our guest house and the venue for the festival was quite far. It's more than an hour drive and we had to travel in cabs and due to the occasion there was so much traffic on our way back. But luckily we arrived before midnight.
The lights of the guest house look closed, indicating that everything is set. We both walk together through the pathway with our hands interlocked. As we get nearer to the guest house my heartbeat increases with each step.
Will she like it?
It's really simple but still
I hope she likes it
Oh lord
We both reach the guest house, seeing the lights completely off Stella hesitate for a bit before stepping on the wooden deck. The light switch on again filling the place with lights
A surprised gasp escapes Stella's mouth as she notices the table placed in the middle of the wooden deck outside the house. A silver table covers the table and a few pink and white balloons are attached to the edges of the table as they float in the air.
Our surroundings decorated with small Golden lights illuminating the place gracefully
The chocolate cake decorated with Frosting and strawberries is placed on the table with candles on it. Stella steps closer to it and observes everything keenly like a little child
She turns back to me and suddenly jumps on me for a hug, my reflexes moves and holds her carefully as I was about to lose my balance myself
"Oh my god! This is so beautiful! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She screams in joy, her each thank you is followed by a kiss on my forehead and my cheeks.
"This is amazing, I love it!" She says jumping on her feet as the boots make tapping noises. Her smile is genuine and satisfying to watch. I glance at my watch as the clock hits 12, I step forward and kiss her forehead "Happy Birthday, freckles" I say against her forehead. My hand caress her cheeks looking at her ocean blue eyes
"Thank you" she mumbles
"Come on time to cut the cake" I take her to the table and light the candles on the cake. I stand on the other side while she stands opposite to me. She closes her eyes and joins her hands together to make a wish
A snap a quick photo of her carefree face
There's no worries on her face, just happiness while living in the moment. If I make a wish then I want her to stay like this, forever
She opens her eyes and glances at me before blowing out the candles in one go, I clap at her lung capacity as she blows all ten candles at once. She picks up the knife and slices out a small piece of cake and holds it near my mouth
As I open my mouth to eat, she takes it and puts it in her mouth instead. I look at her confused as she giggles, licking her fingers. "That's my revenge for the dumplings!" She replies
What is she talking about?
Dumplings?
Oh wait-
I sigh when I realize that she is talking about the day when we went to downtown street and she couldn't eat the dumpling because of chopsticks and I was teasing her even more. She really took revenge for it. She cuts another small piece and again eats it without offering me
I cross my arms over my chest huffing at her behavior. She laughs more while eating the cake, the chocolate cream which is smudged on the corner of her lips. I walk around the table and stand in front of her .
She grabs a strawberry from the cake and wishes herself "Happy Birthday to myself" and places the strawberry in her mouth
She closes her eyes and hums due to its tartness and sweetness while chewing on it slowly, she licks off the juice of strawberry from her lips.
She doesn't realize what her actions are doing to me. As she savories the juicy flavor in her mouth, here I am tempted to savor her-
Fuck-
Her lips will take me to heaven
And my mind will take me to hell
I shake off my mind and groan in frustration. Not now Liam, not the right time at all.
"Did you bake it?" Stella's voice snaps me out of my thoughts. "No, I brought it" I replied truthfully because I got to know today that baking is not my thing.
She looks at the cake and then back at me again, her expression shows she is confused with something "I saw you trying to bake something" her confrontation makes me shocked for a moment but I try to cover it "bake? NO- I was- wasn't ba-baking" I try to speak normally but my words shutter in between
Stella crosses her arms and steps closer to me "Don't lie to me, you baked something where is it?" Her voice comes out demanding. For the first time I am shaken with her gaze which isn't gentle and with her body language, I know she won't back down any soon
I sigh "I did try, but it didn't turn out well. So I just ordered the cake"
She regains her smile and drops her hands to the side "really? Please i wanna taste it" she requests. "It didn't turn out well, it's not worth it. They might spoil your taste" I try to change her mind by putting all the negative comments but she doesn't care
"It's my birthday and I wanna taste it. Please?" She requests again this time with more gentleness looking at me with those soft eyes which could melt me one day
"Fine, but I know you will regret it!" I walk inside the house and bring out the tray of brownies which I hide really well in the kitchen and I even sprayed extra room freshener so that Stella doesn't smell it but my attempts failed
I have cooked many times but never tried baking until today and it turned out really bad.
I hold the tray in front of her with an uneasy feeling. She looks at the brownies curiously but still smiling, this is really embarrassing
"They look good" she comments and brings the tray close to her nose "and they smell good too. Why do you think they didn't turn out well?" Before I could reply to her, she picked up a brownie and took a bite of it. The bite isn't soft like eating a cake but it makes a crunch sound when she chews on the hard brownie
That's the problem
Everything went well except the brownies didn't turn out soft but hard instead
She shrugs off her shoulders and eats the whole brownie and takes another piece. I grabbed her hand before she could eat it. "Why are you eating them? They are literally rock hard"
She doesn't listen and takes another bite from that chocolate rock. Her chewing brings out a crunching noise yet she eats it with a smile "They are not that hard, you baked them with dedication. I don't wanna let it go to waste."
"You literally have a whole cake right there!" I say with amusement as she is preferring this tasteless thing instead of that delicious cake
"They didn't turn out soft like brownies, at least they are crunchy as cookies. Right?" She replies
I Chuckle at her words, she isn't eating because of the taste but because I baked them. I join her and taste those brownie plus cookies, I take a moment to let the taste melt in my mouth
These are fine, but not the best. Gotta work on that
"So what do you think? They are good right?" Stella asks
"Not bad but let's not hurt our intestines and just eat the proper food" I take the tray and put it away.
I carry the cake inside and set it on the dining table along with the dinner.Her smile grows wider looking at the cuisine set in front of us, I pull out the chair for her and make her sit. I sit opposite her as we spend the night talking while having our dinner.
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Author's Note
Another long chapter but the Thailand trip has not ended yet! There's another chapter for it
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-have a nice day/night and take care of your health ð