Angela subconsciously ran her fingertip along her lips as she thought about it. "The best date… Hmmm... I can't really say it's the best—maybe wild, but there was this guy a few years ago, he only visited Mayne for the week but he brought me to this fancy restaurant downtown. We sat next to a group of people who turned out to be Gateway—a British rock band. They were really nice and fun and they invited us to their end of the tour celebration that night. And that party was crazy."

Taking a deep breath, she shifted in his arms before she continued, "I've had my fair share of bad dates. And this happened back in college, a couple of months after that Jeremy incident. A guy from one of my classes asked me out on a date. He was kinda cute so I agreed to meet him on a weekend to 'hang out' at a cafe. On the day, he insisted on picking me up, and then he drove us to his frat house—not the cafe like he told me. I was like—you know what? Sure, why not. It was still on school grounds so I thought it was okay.

"He turned on the T.V. saying we're watching a game. I told him I wasn't into football, but he still insisted on watching it anyway, telling me I'll come to like it. I really should have left right away." She groaned at the memory. "Ugh. Twenty minutes later, his ex came and started screaming at us—she threw stuff—almost hit me in the face! Turns out he only asked me there to make his ex jealous. What a total jerk."

"What did you do?"

"They went up to his room to talk and didn't come back down. So I called Oliver to pick me up because I had no ride back home. While I was waiting outside the frat house, I heard moaning and a girl's excited scream—there wasn't any other girl in that house—so I'm pretty sure they were having sex upstairs. Like what the hell?" Angela fake gagged as she recalled what happened a long time ago. "And that's not all, he then texted me that night asking why I left without telling him and told me he really liked me so we should hang out again. I ignored him. What an ass."

"What a dick," Gael remarked, shaking his head.

Angela turned to him. "You?"

"Worst date…" He brushed the scruff on his jaw as he thought. "In college. A friend set me up with this chick that was his girlfriend's friend. She was pretty but had an attitude. We went out on a double date where she thought it was funny to make fun of the waitress. Our orders came and that girl put a strand of hair in her soup then complained to the manager saying it was the waitress's hair. After the manager scolded the waitress and pulled her to the kitchen, that girl, my friend, and his girlfriend all laughed so hard."

Angela's brows drew together. Gael always had soft spots for servers, considering his mother was once a waitress. "Oh, no! What did you do?"

"I asked for the bill right away without eating and paid a hefty tip for the waitress—that also riled that girl up when she saw how much money I left. She said the waitress didn't even do a good job so there was no need to tip her. Needless to say, I left and didn't see her after that."

"What a bîtch! Sorry—" She slapped her hand over her mouth. "I shouldn't say that. But she really was one."

Gael laughed. "I couldn't agree more." He casually checked the time on his watch and he suddenly straightened up. "Come on. It's almost time."

"Time for what?" Angela looked up at him in confusion, placing her hand in his when he held out his hand for her.

He didn't say anything and only smiled. She was so curious about what he was up to, but she no longer questioned him and decided to go with the flow as he led them up to the rooftop. There was a rooftop bar, but it was closed this week because of the cold weather. However, dainty fairy lights decorated the landscape, giving it a dreamy vibe.

"Wear this." He removed his coat and put it around her, shielding her from the wind. Because they were in higher ground, it was colder than it was in Mayne City. He pulled her towards a corner of the rooftop.

"What are we doing here?" Angela wondered as she tried to look around but did not spot anything unusual. The view from up there was even lovelier than their private dining room as they were on the other side of the building. In their room, they could see the city view, while on the roof, there was a division between the bright city on the left, and trees and mountains on the right. It was such a beautiful transition and the air was fresh and cool.

Just as Gael was about to speak, bright lights on the sky caught their attention. Their heads turned and a series of spatter noises and glamorous rainbows painted the dark sky. Her jaw dropped, marveling at the fireworks crackling above a tall building in the city. Smiling, he pulled her to his arms and told her, "Before you say I'm being too much—I have nothing to do with that. I just happened to know that Cho Corp was celebrating something tonight, thus the fireworks. I did, however, choose this place, thinking it had the best spot to watch it."

Angela laughed heartily, wrapping her arms around his waist. "I love it. It's beautiful, Gael. Thank you for bringing me here. Do you mind if I take a picture of us?"

"Not at all."

Because he was taller, he offered to take photos of them together with the fireworks as a backdrop—as well as a twenty-second video. Then they watched the sky again.

She looked up, expecting him to watch the display, but he was looking at her instead. Suddenly, everything just stopped. She saw herself in his grey eyes that were illuminated by the intermittent glowing of the fireworks. Her heart beat weirdly in a cadence that she had never felt before, causing her breathing to hasten like she was craving for something—his lips, his touch, his everything.

He pulled her by the waist, pressing their bodies together and leaning down as he stared at her lips. That was all it took for her to tiptoe, their eyes closing when their lips finally touched.

Angela's heart felt like it would burst from feeling too happy at the moment. She had been looking forward to their date tonight since he asked her out last night and for it to end like this, it was just perfect. It was then that she decided that it had little to do with the date's location or how fancy it was—she was loving every bit of tonight all because she was with Gael.

How was it possible for her to feel this much emotion towards a man whom she should be staying away from? And every time she'd find herself only proving her negativity that what he was didn't matter. She really wanted this. She wanted him—so badly she did.

The pyrotechnics was still on when they broke their kiss. He looked at her in the eyes and whispered, "I want to cross the line, Angel. Would you cross it with me?"

YES! Damn it. Tonight, she didn't think. She just nodded.

He kissed her again, harder this time as if he couldn't help himself. Then he reluctantly pulled away, an amused smile flitting across his face as he looked at her lips. He pressed another kiss as if to prove something.

"What?" she wondered, seeing his stare.

"Nothing. Your lips didn't smudge at all."

His comment made her giggle. "I'm wearing a kiss-proof lipstick."

"That exists? I love it. The color red looks sexy on you."

"I guess I have to thank the brand for it, then."

Gael stole another chaste kiss before pulling her towards the door. "I can't wait any longer. Let's go."

They made their way back to their dining room where she retrieved her purse. She insisted on paying half the bill and gave him her card, but he firmly declined, saying she could get it next time. He settled the bill while she made a quick run to the bathroom. Angela knew that Gael would never let her pay—she just needed to be faster taking the bill next time.

The two practically sprinted towards the exit, only to have to wait for the valet. She could feel him so tense next to her as he hadn't let go of her hand since they descended to the ground floor. As soon as his car arrived in front of them, he tossed a Benjamin to the valet attendant who almost didn't catch the money in surprise.

Gael helped her into the passenger's seat and jogged to his side. Once their seatbelts were fastened, he sped out of The Medallion. "Your place or mine?"

Angela bit her bottom lip for a brief second and placed her hand on his thigh. "Yours is much closer."

"I'll get us there fast." A sly smirk ghosted his lips as he stepped on the gas.