ᴛʜɪʀᴅ ᴘᴏᴠ

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘚𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘥 𝘞𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨

♛♛♛

The illuminated city lights drowned all that was around.

Her eyes fell from one building to another, the beautiful city night captivated her to no other.

The soon to be couple had ventured to the city for dinner. Well, Julius surprised her.

Without knowing where they were going tonight, Hazel had taken his advice on wearing something 'warm' seriously.

She was layered in baggy, black cargo pants, a baby pink cropped cardigan for the top, and one of Julius's puffer jackets.

He had given it to her before they left the house, simply stating that she'd be cold. And he was right, it was freezing out here.

Nevertheless, she loved the warmth of his jacket. And the smell.

"It's so pretty," She twirled around on her feet, her eyes sparkling under the golden lights, the biggest grin on her face as she returned to his side.

As she went side by side with him, her arm looped around his; the further they strolled, the more crowded it became.

"Are you sure this isn't too soon?" She mumbled, tightening her hold on his arm.

"No. Do you think it's too soon?" He looked down and rose a brow.

She shook her head immediately. "Definitely not. I just don't want you to feel like you have to do this if you aren't ready."

He brought her hand to his lips, those silver intense eyes brought magic to her cheeks.

"I'm more than ready for you, Hazel."

She blushed entirely, her heart melting and her body warming. "So am I, Juls." She replied.

His gaze blinked away as they walked down and past a few open stores. She immediately recognised one of them; it was the same vintage store where Julius had bought her record player.

"I brought my record player you bought me," Hazel said as she drags her gaze away.

She smelt a puff of smoke fall from her side, looking up, Julius was indeed smoking.

"Mhm?"

"Yeah, it's in the suitcase. I wrapped it in bubble wrap and hid it in lots of clothes so it wouldn't break." Shamefully, she looked into his silver eyes which glowed underneath the street lights.

He shook his head twice as he exhaled the smoke from his lungs, amusement rolling off of him.

"Where do you want to eat?"

Hazel took a look around the avenue, which was lined with a variety of restaurants. They were currently standing at an intersection with a variety of cuisines on both sides.

The flickering lights that opted for half the street was the place she chose. It had a large sign on the top of its structure with the name of the restaurant written in large, bold letters and a sculpted whale's fin behind it.

"That one there," She grinned, having a good feeling about the place.

He nodded, leading them the way to the heavily lit up restaurant.

The flashing red, blue, and green lights were brighter as they made their way out the front of the building. It seemed that was its only lighting.

Once they walked in, there was a sign out front instructing them to take a seat and the waiter would be there momentarily.

Doing as told, Julius lead them over to a booth.

The restaurant had a theme of what seemed to be the ocean.

Sculpted fish, turtles, dolphins, and other sea creatures hung from the ceiling. They all popped out, creating a 3D effect that Hazel adored.

She felt like she was in Disneyland.

When they sat down in their booth, the two solitary lights that hung above them were two jellyfish-shaped lights. Hazel was a giggling mess once she saw that the seats were a deep blue, representing the ocean.

"I love this place," She looked around and noticed a gigantic shark with its mouth open hovering above her.

And it seemed like it was about to bite her head off, she flinched and her giggles stopped.

The echo of Julius' breathy laugh caught her attention right away. It amused him that she was afraid of a prosthetic animal.

"So amusing," He mumbled, shaking his head down and beads of his hair fell with him.

"Hi! Welcome to Sting Rays, what can I get you two love birds today?"

Hazel blushed at the woman's enthusiastic voice, and her words mostly. She viewed her uniform. A hat with the logo of the restaurant, a frilly blue skirt that looked a lot like a ballet skirt, and a tank top to match.

What a strange combination.

"Um, can we get a few more minutes?" Hazel smiled politely and the woman nodded insistently.

"Of course! Would you like anything to drink yet?"

Hazel looked over at her Juls, only to see he had been already staring at her.

"She'll have a Sprite with extra ice."

The woman nodded, jotting down the order. "And anything for you sir?"

"Water." He replied coldly, sinking in his seat as he eyed the woman with a glare.

She smiled at the two and clasped her hands.

"One of our bartenders will be back here with your drinks, and I'll give you guys another few minutes to decide on your meals"

The woman with the name tag 'Laura' left and strode away to the bar that was behind Julius.

Hazel smiled at Julius and lifted her hand across the table. His hand automatically lifted too, placing his hand in hers.

"I'm glad you're aware of my obsession now," Hazel says, biting her bottom lip to keep from giggling.

"Which one?" He teased and she blushed red.

"My extra ice one," He hummed and continued to smirk devilishly.

"Stop it, Juls," She pulled her hand away from his and covered her blushing cheeks.

He chuckled, leaning forward as he grasped both her hands into his now.

"I like your obsessions," He whispered as he placed a kiss on either hand.

Hazel had to restrain herself from telling him that he was probably at the top of her obsessions.

"Do you like this place?" Hazel took the menu into her hands. She held it up, covering her view of him and she giggled upon that.

"Mhm," He hummed unconvincingly.

As she read over the menu, she decided on a Caesar Salad and a side of Chicken Tenders, not really in the mood for a lot of food.

She looked up again, she caught onto a tall man heading toward their table with a tray of drinks.

When he made it to the table, she dropped the menu and smiled at him as he placed the drinks down.

"I've got one Sprite with extra ice," He placed it down in the middle, Julius leaning back, watching the exchange.

"And a water," The man mumbled placing down a jar and two empty glasses.

"Thank you!" Hazel smiled at him, he looked at her and gave her a not so subtle wink. "You're welcome, gorgeous."

The man tucked one hand inside his pocket and moved back to the bar with the tray.

"Gorgeous," Julius scoffed, his tatted arms clasping her vision as he poured himself a glass of water.

He attractively gulped it down in one go, licking his lips as he placed the glass back onto the table—eyeing her the entire time.

Hazel reached for her drink, planning on taking a gulp of her own beverage that was intervened by Julius who simply took it from her hold.

Julius grasped the glass in his hands and frowned at it. He seemed to be searching for something inside before his lips were pressed to the glass and he took an informal sip.

Hazel was more than puzzled when he casually swallowed it and returned it to her.

"What?" She stuttered in disbelief, a curious glance between him and the drink.

"Could've been drugged," He muttered, looking behind him to the bar.

"Juls? What do you mean—

"Are we ready to order!" The woman's insistent voice cut Hazel off, which made her just a tinge frustrated.

Nevertheless, Hazel ordered the food that she wanted, Julius ordering himself just a plate of fries.

Once the woman left with their orders in her hold, Hazel began to chat away with Julius again.

"Okay, I have some questions," She grinned squeezing his hand for assurance.

He nodded, sighing as he leaned back against the plush booth.

"What—

"Only if you answer mine." He interrupted, staring at her deeply.

With a hesitant nod, Hazel obliged. His questions could be about her past, but it was only fair since she asked about his.

But she did want him to know. It was just if only the words wanted to come out of her mouth without crying.

"I'll go first," She said, hazel eyes blazing through his.

Julius squeezed her hand back, giving a single nod of his head. He watched her with his eyes, observing every feature and every word that flew past her lips.

"Have you ever had a...girlfriend, before?" Her cheeks had become red not even seconds before spilling the words out. She didn't know why she was so embarrassed to ask the question.

Julius let out a breath of amusement which had her eyes snapping back to him running a hand through his thick locks of brown.

"No." He answered coldly, pouring cool water back into his empty glass.

"And you? Boyfriend?" He glanced through his lashes, his plump lips wrapping around one portion of the glass as he took a slow sip.

She gulped, shaking her head in response.

"Have you done other things though?" She impossibly reddened further, eyes not even daring to look at him.

She glared holes into the glass of sprite, mentally cursing herself for spitting out such vulgar.

"Hazel," He took her hand, squeezing it like before.

Slowly, her head tilted up to look at him, her other hand casually making her gulp down a taste of her sprite.

"I have, but it's only ever been meaningless."

She sucked on her bottom lip, nervously nodding her head. That answer seemed to cause a deep feeling to settle into her stomach, she should've known he was experienced, she did know.

But the sound of him with another female caused flames to ignite in her heart. Jealously was horrible, the dwelling feeling killed.

And she tried to cut it out of her head.

"Hazel," He called again, her eyes darted up to his revealing the swelling emotion behind her gaze.

A small smirk played on his plump lips she's grown to love more.

"They meant nothing, darling. Besides, it's been a while," He shrugged, looking straight through her.

"A while?" She frowned, tilting her head in confusion. He hummed, lifting her chin to face him properly.

"Remember that I want you, Hazel. Nobody else."

Her heart lurched out of her chest, she felt everything from her toes to her fingertips ignite. This feeling was getting so strong it was taking over everything inside her.

"Likewise," She breathed out, grazing her lips with his.

That smirk never left, placing her heated gaze there. She felt hypnotized to move that inch closer and connect their lips, to embrace the warmth and feel of him.

His smirked lips dropped into a straight line, solely concentrating on her fascinating parting lips.

"If you push those sweet lips of yours onto mine, I can't guarantee you that you'll still be here for dinner."

A gasp left her lips as his own pecked her cheek, slowly moving from her distance.

Befuddled and crazed, she sank back in her chair and dazed mindlessly above his head.

"My turn." He said, his low hum breaking her away from whatever trance she was in. A serious look plastered on his face, his body surged forward, closer to her.

"Tell me about your sister."

Her gaze fell and so did her mind. One of the hardest topics, one of the most sensitive, yet Hazel was so willingly wanting to tell him about her sibling.

"Liana was three years older than me. She had blonde hair, warm brown eyes that reminded me of chocolate," She giggled slightly, tracing the tattoos on Julius' hand, her mind lost in memories.

"Everything reminds you of chocolate," Julius retorted leading Hazel to playfully glare at him. His lips curled and he nodded for her to continue.

"Growing up, Liana was a star at everything. She was a cheerleader in high school, she had A+ grades and she was genuinely a lighthearted person."

Hazel began to frown, her heart swelling as memories flooded her mind.

"But no one knew she was experiencing depression. All her smiles were fake, everything was just false."

She felt her palm being soothed, her other hand still focusing on the tattoos that aligned up his arms.

"Liana always took care of me. Ever since birth I've never been able to make friends, no one liked me for some reason, even till this day." She sighed, now looking up.

His eyes had hardened significantly, his cold gaze piercing her. "Fuck them," He mumbled, pulling her hand to his lips. She smiled wholeheartedly, gazing at her kissed hand.

"But that was until you came along. And Trace and Gracie," She took another deep breath in, meaning every word.

Julius was the sole purpose of why she had called him her hero. He saved her that night. He saved her from falling into a sadness she most likely couldn't grow out of. But her positive mind held hope to meet him again, and the universe granted her that.

"Liana would be proud of me,"

Hazel already felt her eyes watering from her own comment. If Liana could see her now, she'd be praising her little sister for getting out there and being herself, experiencing new things.

Both his hands left her own, they came to her face holding both her cheeks in his palm.

"She would be so proud of you, Angel." He held her seriously, keeping his tone and facial appearance near to nothing.

But she felt every octave of his words, the assurance behind the toneless words held her captive, adapting a new hope for her.

"Thank you, Juls." She said truthfully. "I promise I'll tell you about that night, one day."

He nodded, brushing away her fallen tears. "Take all the time you need,"

The sudden smell of food entering her nostrils was what pulled her away from her love.

A bowl of salad was placed in front of her, along with a separate plate of crumbed chicken. A plate of fries was placed in front of Julius and he stared at it with boredom.

Hazel giggled at that, which veered his attention to her.

Hazel took her fork and began poking bits of her salad before pulling the food into her mouth, she hummed in delight.

Julius mindlessly started throwing bits of his fries into his mouth, watching Hazel as he did so. The silence was a result of their tension, it was just a matter of time before Hazel started to giggle from it or ramble.

"So, since we have exactly fourteen days together, including our nights, what is one of the many things you'd like to do with me?"

As her words poured, her small hand took a few of his fries in the process, proceeding to pretend she didn't as she placed them with her chicken tenders.

Ignoring her actions, he lightly smirked as his dark hair flopped down in front of his forehead, the perfect tilt of his head had her legs turning jello.

"There are many things I'd like to do with you, Hazel."

A shocked gasp left her sweet lips, her cheeks turned rosy again yet she couldn't help but form anything but an innocent smile.

"Juls," She warned, dropping her eyes to the chain around his smooth neck.

"Tell me what you want to do." He says, turning the question back around to her. Hazel's eyes glittered with easy excitement, obviously already having an idea of what she wanted to experience with Julius.

"A nighttime picnic." She answered, shoving another bite of salad into her mouth.

"Mhm," He hummed, motioning for her to elaborate.

"Okay, so I was thinking in that secret field that you took me to a while ago. We could have a picnic there, whenever you're free of course." She smiled beautifully, the bright aura that surrounded her was easily shining now.

He nodded slowly, easily agreeing to her simple request.

"What time do you get off work tomorrow?"

"Seven."

Nodding, the two continued to eat.

Hazel was smiling as she inspected all the animals above her but avoided the scary shark directly above her. There was a higher part of the restaurant, which was just behind Julius. It was sort of like a deck on a ship, she realised that was what the theme was.

After munching down her salad, more of Julius' fries, and all of her chicken tenders, Hazel sat back with a full stomach.

She momentarily looked down at it, patting her bloated tummy. It looked like she was pregnant, she giggled at the thought.

"Santo." A deep voice had appeared at their table, which surprised Hazel and made her jump hitting her head against the jellyfish light.

Pouting, she rubbed her forehead but a hand had grasped her wrist pulling it away. Julius looked at her forehead with slight concern, it wasn't shown but she knew it was there. Also because of how softly he caressed her.

"Okay?" He asked, staring at the red spot. She shyly nodded, assuring him. "All good, Juls."

Hazel's eyes went to the man standing at their table, looking at the two with confusion.

Momentarily, Julius looked over as well. His eyes set in a cold glare as he stiffened and faced the man.

Julius said nothing, but clearly, with his eyes, it told the man something to instantly make him back off.

"I've just got a few regulations to ask you resuming in our shipments coming from Europe."

With an eye roll, Julius brought his gaze back to the woman in front of him, proceeding to ignore the man.

"I'm at dinner." He said clearly, coldly. The other man gulped from his use of tone, the obvious clue that Julius wanted him to leave was clear.

"Sorry, sir. I'll send through an email tomorrow."

Staring at Hazel's wide gaze, Julius waited for the male to leave and once he did, Julius glared at his stumbling, walking figure.

"I would say that wasn't very nice, but why must they come while you're eating. You never get a break, Juls." She frowned, concerned.

He let out a dry chuckle, his hand digging deep into his pocket.

"What happens when you're a leader, Angel."

A one-hundred-dollar bill was placed on the table, Hazel was almost about to push it away and place down her own money, though the daring look in his eyes was enough for her to back away.

"Leader?" She questions as Julius helps her out of her seat.

Giving her a once over, he lands back to her eyes, not replying.

"Room for dessert?" He lifts his brow, wrapping his arm loosely around her waist guiding her out of the room.

"Plenty of room," She grins, wrapping her hand through his one resting on her stomach.

They exited the restaurant, figuring she was going to miss the lively place as close to how much she misses chocolate.

But as she just thinks of chocolate, her eyes find a store just a few steps down the street to an open chocolate store. Now, it wasn't her favourite chocolate store but anything would do right now.