"What's your favourite colour?" Kelvin asked.
"Yellow. You?"
Leila already knew the answer to her question but she wanted to keep their conversation flowing. Today was a lazy day for her and she was loving every moment with her husband. She smiled at Kelvin as he massaged her feet.
"Black," he answered. He cracked her knuckles and she giggled like a teenager. The cramps had reduced, his presence might have to do with that. "What's your favourite food?"
He adjusted her legs on his lap and she wriggled when he began tracing circles on the sole of her feet. They were in the living room and the television was on. This was the first time they were spending time together like this in their house. Work made it near impossible.
Leila grinned. "Noodles."
Her husband laughed. "That doesn't count as real food, you know?"
She didn't know that and she would argue the validity of his statement any time, any day. Noodles was a complete meal. She pouted and he pushed her legs gently to the floor. On his command, she switched positions so her head was resting on his lap instead. Kelvin pecked her nose and a flurry of emotions exploded inside her.
"How do you feel now, Leila?" She jutted out her lower lip. If she told him she felt much better, would he leave? Leila didn't want him to leave. "Do you feel better?"
"Yeah." His head lowered and he rubbed his nose against her forehead. His intense gaze entranced her. "Kev?"
Her hands raised to palm his face, she wasn't sure what she wanted to say. Kelvin's eyes flickered to her mouth. His lips collided with hers, and he stole her breath away with that kiss. One second she was lying down, the next second, she was straddling him. Her chest rose and fell as she took everything Kelvin offered.
His lips. His moans.
Their foreheads touched, he swiped his thumb across her swollen lip. Nestling her head into the crook of his neck, she closed her eyes and listened to the sound of his breathing. This moment was too precious. Kelvin placed a kiss on her temple and laced their hands.
"Do you feel sleepy?" he asked. She shook her head. "Do you want to see a movie?" Not really. But as long as it kept her in this position with him, she was up for it. "Any favourites?" A romcom was her go to for movies. Romance and comedy could never disappoint but she had a feeling Kelvin would be more comfortable with an action movie. Her silence made him say, "I'm putting a horror movie."
A chill ran over the back of her legs. "No," she shrieked. The last horror movie she watched was Chucky and it scarred her for life. The first few days after the movie, she kept seeing the ugly, scarred doll in her dream. "No horror movies."
Kelvin laughed so hard tears sprung out of his eyes. Leila didn't care if he was laughing at her. She would shit her pants watching that genre of movie. Kelvin lowered her to the seat to get the remote. He flipped through channels and settled on a comedy romance.
Her smile was instant when he looked to her for confirmation, she nodded and he hit a button on the remote. Kelvin excused himself to get something inside and she followed behind after a few minutes. It might be the hormones that were making her clingy.
She met him in the kitchen popping kernels. He looked up at the sound of her feet colliding with the floor. Putting the first bowl of popcorn on the counter, he folded his arms across his chest. His arched brow made Leila hug herself. She tilted her head, inspecting his face to gauge his reaction to her unsolicited presence.
"What are you doing here?" he asked. A hint of mischief coated his words. He put in the next batch of popcorn, then turned back to her. Leila shrugged. "I told you to wait for me."
"I know." Her hands fell to the sides but she chose to be vulnerable with him. "I missed you, Kev." Kelvin laughed at her comical expression, she skipped to him and slapped his chest. Sometime before they relocated to the living room, he had changed into a pair of shorts and a plain shirt. "Stop laughing at me. It's not funny."
"But it is." She pouted. "I was gone for only a minute."
It felt longer than that to her. Kelvin grabbed her wrists and pinned her underneath him, caging her between him and the counter. Dragging her lip between his teeth, he held her wrists with one hand and squeezed her butt. She moaned. His eyes darkened with lust, she lifted one leg and rubbed her front against the bulge straining against his shorts.
The veins in his forehead nearly popped, he closed his eyes and she moved against him with a grin.
"Leila... Stop teasing." His words sounded like music to her ears, she pushed herself on tiptoes and claimed his lips. Kelvin lifted her off the ground, her butt met with the counter and he took charge of the kiss. He wrenched his lips from hers when the timer went off. Their popcorn was ready. He pecked her. "My Leila."
Blushing, she said, "My Kelvin."
They headed to the living room together, a bowl of popcorn in one hand and a can of soda in the other. Kelvin rushed to their bedroom to get a blanket, he was back before she could blink.
Curtains closed, lights dimmed and AC blasting cold air, their living room had been converted to a mini-cinema. Leila snuggled close to her husband, legs tucked under the blanket. He fed her popcorn at intervals from his bowl, and she did the same too.
The movie played in the background but they didn't pay it the same attention they were paying to themselves. Leila sat up when the scene changed. The two love interests were walking hand in hand.
"I've never had a meet cute," Leila murmured.
The main characters were talking about their first meet cute. It was in elementary school. The female lead fell and sprained her ankle. The boy carried her to her class. She didn't remember the encounter but the boy did. They met later in college, fell in love and were about to get married. Leila almost envied their romance.
"Meet cute?" Kelvin's face scrunched. "What's that?"
She angled her head to kiss his jaw. "The first time you meet your future partner." His brows knotted and she laughed. She loved his confused face. "It's usually under weird or funny circumstances. Maybe I meet you at a party and throw up on you." Leila cringed talking about this. It was how she met Charles. They were at a house party, she drank a little too much than she usually would to drown her pains. "Then we never see each other again until later in the future and we develop a romantic relationship."
"Oh." His head bobbed and she pinched his cheeks. He was too cute with his face like this. "I think I get it." His arms wrapped around her and he rested his jaw on her head. "I had a meet cute."
Leila froze, she raised her head up to get a better look at his face. "With who?"
"You." Leila rolled her eyes. She didn't find the humour in his statement. Fine, she was his wife but she was jealous of that other woman who got to experience a meet cute with her husband. It would have been something to brag about to Freya. Talk about, our marriage was destined to happen. "Leila." She shrugged his hand off her cheek and dragged the blanket over her chest. "Are you jealous?"
"No."
The lie almost choked her. Kelvin chuckled, he tossed the blanket and kissed her lips. "I was kidding, Leila."
Something told her he wasn't. She hugged him from the side. It didn't matter who was his meet cute, she was the one he settled with at the end of it all. It was all that mattered. Her pep talk did only a little to calm her.
The movie resumed playing but she had lost interest in it. Her husband fed her but she didn't do the same. When the movie was over, she stayed in his arms, thinking about Kelvin's meet cute. She hated her mind and her ability to overthink things. It was in the past.
"You are awfully quiet, Leila." Kelvin frowned down at her. "What are you thinking?"
"Why didn't you marry your meet cute?" she blurted out. Leila slapped her hand over her mouth and Kelvin's lips pressed to her cheek. As much as she wanted to hear his reply, she said, "You don't have to answer that."
Kelvin pushed her hair over one shoulder and she bit a corner of her lips. "The past doesn't matter anymore. I'm here now with you." She nodded. "What next? Want to see another movie?"
"Sure. Anything you want, Kev."