the winter i turned intelligent: chapter 12 (pt. 2)
Important Note from Dreamy Plots & Story Talks: This story contains suggestive language and sexual content and is only suitable for readers that are 18+.
Chapter 12 (part 2):
Jeremiah’s POV:
Belly wanted to choose our plans for Valentine’s Day this year. Usually we did something simple like go to a nice restaurant or have dinner and watch a movie. I think this year she was hoping to do something more special since I would be starting my new internship soon in London.
Since Valentine’s Day would be next weekend, I wondered if she decided on where she wanted to go, “So do you know where we’re going yet?”
Belly could barely hold in her excitement, “Yes. The most romantic place on Earth.”
“The Cheesecake Factory?”
She rolled her eyes, “Nice try, but guess again.”
“Hmm okay. Disneyland?”
“No. Wait. We could actually.”
Now I was confused.
She clarified, “We’re going to Paris.”
“We? Who’s we?”
“Steven, Taylor, you and me.” She explained, “Taylor and I have always wanted to go on a girl’s trip there before graduating, and we were thinking of going during spring break. But our class schedules just didn’t match up this year. So then we thought about going for Valentine’s Day instead since I don’t start spring semester until next month anyways. And what better way to spend it there than to make it a double date?”
“Do we really want to be sharing Valentine’s Day with Taylor and Steven though?”
She twisted her arms around my waist and kissed my cheek. “Don’t worry. We’ll have plenty of time alone together. Promise.”
“I know how much you love Paris.” She pressed her nose against mine, so naturally I couldn’t object. “I’m sure it’ll be great.”
The Following Weekend:
Our flight was delayed so we managed to make it to Paris in the late afternoon on Valentine’s Day. We tried to book our tickets to make it a few days before, but everything was completely booked. As if the jet lag wasn’t enough, it took us a good two hours to find our luggage and check into our hotel before heading to dinner.
Luckily, the evening had only just begun for the city. With only a few hours until midnight we shared some steak and French Fries with glasses of red wine.
Steven also ordered a few chocolate soufflés for the table with a candle on one of them and placed that one in front of Taylor. She looked understandably confused as she stared at the dessert near her and added, “What’s the candle for?”
He didn’t seem to be clarifying things any better when he added, “It’s for our anniversary, you know.”
“Steven, our anniversary isn’t for another five months.”
“Not the anniversary for when we started dating Taylor.”
She had the same bickering tone that her and Steven used quite frequently around each other. “Then for what anniversary??”
Steven got up, moved his chair, and then turned his attention towards Taylor. He put his hand in his coat pocket and got down on one knee.
Steven didn’t get nervous too often since I’d known him, but I swore I could see a few drops of sweat above his brows as he removed his hand from his jacket that now held a tiny velvet box. His voice shook, “Taylor. Thank you for putting up with all my shit. You know, the way I put up with yours.” We all chuckled including Taylor as she also rolled her eyes before he continued, “Waking up next to you every day is all that I could ever ask for. There’s no way I can put it other than, you just make me...happy. I’m never as happy as I am when I’m around you. I can’t promise that I won’t annoy the shit out of you when we’re married, but will you do me the honor and marry me?” He revealed the oval-shaped diamond with a gold band.
This was the first time Taylor didn’t say much and instead simply put her ring finger out towards him and added, “Yes. Yes. Yes! Get up.” She didn’t even wait for him to fully get up as she bent down to him and kissed him through her tears.
Belly was in tears as well. I missed Conrad in this moment. I knew he would have also been moved seeing Steven this happy.
As soon as Taylor and Steven came down their engagement high, Belly jumped straight into her arms.
I followed and got up to hug Steven. “Congrats man. I’m so happy for you.”
“Thanks Jere,” He added enthusiastically.
After the celebratory remarks were over, Taylor turned to Belly and me. “Did you guys know?”
Belly and I looked at each other in unison, shook our heads, while she responded, “No. We had no clue.”
I supported, “Yeah. I’m pretty shocked at how Steven managed to keep this a secret. I’m impressed.”
“I can be mysterious if necessary,” Steven defended.
Taylor clearly disagreed as she snorted, “Right, sure you can.”
Steven pretended to act hurt by her words.
She shook her head while placing her hands in his hair, “You know I love you just the same,” as Steven gave in and kissed her in response.
It was still a little odd seeing them make out when they spent years arguing with each other. I knew it was all in good fun, but I didn’t think I’d ever get used to it since we all grew up together. I was sure Steven resonated with this even more with me and Belly given that they were also siblings.
We could tell that they wanted their privacy even though they didn’t ask us for it. Belly and I got up, and before we left I announced, “We’ll see you guys back at the hotel.” We didn’t really receive a response, and we were fine with it. We knew that their only focus at the moment was on each other.
I didn’t notice how much wine Belly had actually drunk until she started stumbling across the moonlit pavement as we made our way back to our room. The walk was only a few blocks, but once we barely passed the first street, I decided to carry her in my arms after she almost tripped over her heels.
She mumbled in my ear, “Isn’t this magical? Look at this place. It’s so sparkly. Do you feel the magic?” She poked my ear making me laugh.
“Yes Bells. It is magical.”
“Jere?” She asked with wide eyes.
“Yeah?” I had to be careful. Her mesmerizing eyes had to stop distracting me or else I would have tripped anytime now.
“You’re so magical.”
It was embarrassing how nervous this woman still made me years later. I couldn’t help but laugh at her words though, “Did you drink that entire bottle of wine?”
“Maybe,” She pressed her index finger against my lips, “Or maybe not.”
Belly complained as soon as I placed her back on the ground once we got to the hotel. “Hey! Why did you do that?”
“Bells, there won’t be room for other people in the elevator. I’ll pick you up once we’re in the hallway again if you want.”
She scoffed but shortly forgot about it all when we got to our room within a few minutes.
Before I could even take off my shoes, I noticed her start to unbutton her blouse and move towards me. The warmth from her hands around my neck made me shiver. But this was not the right time for anything.
“Belly, you’re drunk.”
“Just a little,” She giggled.
“That doesn’t matter. A little or a lot, you’re still drunk. We’re not doing anything.”
“Okay.” She looked frustrated for a moment but then quickly yawned, “Why am I so tired?”
I looked for her pajamas. “Here. These are nice and warm.”
After she changed, I helped undo her braid before she eagerly went under the covers. She smiled at the comfort of the sheets and looked up at me and added through another yawn, “Happy Valentine’s Day.”
“Happy Valentine’s Day babe.” I kissed her forehead. As I was about to dim the lights to help her sleep better, I could already hear her snoring peacefully.
The Following Day:
During breakfast Belly kept apologizing for getting drunk the previous night, and this was her third time, “I’m so sorry Jere. I ruined our night.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. You didn’t ruin anything. You were just having a little fun.”
“But that was supposed to be our Valentine’s Day,” I could hear the disappointment in her voice.
“Well today could be our Valentine’s Day then.”
She smiled, “Okay what do you want to do?”
I thought of the places we planned on visiting together, “Do you want to go to Versailles?”
“Yes! We have to go to the Palace of Versailles.”
Taylor and Steven decided to relax at the hotel today so they didn’t really want to travel anywhere. Since Belly and I wanted to visit a few places on our own, this worked out great.
The drive was about an hour before we got there. The architecture and paintings were like no other. It was breathtaking to say the least. Belly was particularly taken aback by the gardens of Versailles. “This is so beautiful.”
“I know. It’s pretty incredible.” The fact that it was a very sunny day made the site even more picturesque.
When we got back to Paris, first we looked for a snack to share before dinner. We decided on an almond croissant that had to have been the best croissant hands down that we’d ever had. Then we explored the streets before stopping at a charming flower shop. I picked out a fresh bouquet of red roses and pink peonies wrapped around a soft pink silk ribbon for Belly. She was still looking through the sunflowers and daisies when I handed the arrangement to her.
She kissed my cheek, “Stop. You didn’t. They’re perfect. Thank you.”
She added, “C’mon there’s a store I want to check before we go for dinner.”
“Okay, sure. I think we have about an hour left anyways.”
“Perfect.”
Belly led the way and stopped after we reached a few shops down. My heart fluttered at the realization of the store she chose. It looked like a lingerie shop. As she opened the door she requested, “I want you to help me choose one.”
I surprised myself when I managed to respond through my dry throat, “Yeah. Okay.”
Belly browsed through the store and then returned shortly with a few pieces of silky fabric, “Okay there’s three that I like. Tell me which one’s your favorite?”
I couldn’t quite make out the style of any of the items, but they all looked pretty sheer and delicate. “I think you should choose your favorite. I’m sure I’ll like all of them.”
Belly’s POV:
He smirked, “And besides, you know they’ll come off quickly anyways.”
“What makes you so sure they’re for you?”
He challenged, “Well who else are they for then?”
“Maybe they’re just for me,” I coyly added.
“Okay. Now I’m intrigued.”
While he stood there in his flustered thoughts, I quickly purchased the slip I decided on before returning to make it in time for our dinner reservations.
Dinner was even better than last night. We shared a sole meunière, which is essentially my new favorite dish. It was such a comfort meal that I promised Jeremiah we had to come back to this very same restaurant tomorrow. It was that good.
It was a few minutes until 9 pm when I almost forgot about the Eiffel Tower light show. This was one of the biggest things that I was looking forward to seeing in Paris. I missed it last night when I drank one too many glasses of one of the best red wines I also ever had. I wasn’t going to miss this now though. Hand in hand, we hurried towards the tower.
The Eiffel Tower usually sparkled at the beginning of the hour for five minutes after dusk. Luckily we made it in time for two minutes of the show. And it was the most beautiful two minutes. I couldn’t have imagined it being more stunning than this. It looked as if there was fluorescent gold glitter covering the entire tower.
As if I didn’t already have goosebumps from the view, Jeremiah’s arms wrapped around my waist from behind as he whispered into my ear, “Woah.”
I whispered back, “I know.”
When the lights stopped flickering, we returned to the hotel.
Back to Jeremiah’s POV:
Belly disappeared into the bathroom shortly after we got back to our room. I waited in anticipation wondering what she decided on getting from earlier. Suddenly I felt a little warm from holding back from her since we got here. After I opened the window slightly and turned around, she was standing in the hallway in a sheer burgundy slip that had the tiniest crystals all over it.
“I told you I’d like whatever you chose.”
She tilted her head and smirked knowing exactly what she was doing to me, “Is that what you said? It’s funny because I just remember the other thing you said.”
I walked towards her, each step feeling like a mile away from all the tension that kept building.
I brushed my thumb against her cheek “Care to remind me what I said?”
“No. Not really,” She teased. “You could always just show me.”
I didn’t waste another moment. As I lifted her slip slowly, I bit my lip when I noticed that she wasn’t wearing anything else underneath.
I must have been staring at her for more than I realized when her next words finally caught my attention, “What?”
“Nothing. What do you mean?”
She giggled, “Why are you looking at me like you’ve never seen me naked before?”
I felt my own cheeks blush, “Because I’m still amazed that I get to be with you. For me, every time feels like the first.”
“Now you’re just saying words to make me want to sleep with you even more.”
I knew she was teasing me, but I meant every word I said. I still couldn’t believe that we were together and that this was real. I guessed the best way for her to believe me was to show her how I felt rather than tell her.
I moved her long silky chestnut hair to the side and placed my hand on her warm neck. She quickly moved to unbutton my shirt, while I removed my pants.
All the waiting that led to this moment was worth it when my lips pressed against hers.
I was caught off guard when she broke away from the kiss first. Belly turned us around so that now my back was facing the bed. As soon as I put on protection and got on the bed, she positioned herself on top of me and gave me the biggest smug grin if I’d ever seen one.
“We should come to Paris more often,” I added.
She laughed harder than I’d expected. I didn’t mean to make her laugh moments before this, but I couldn’t help it. And now she reminded me why I fell in love with her all over again. Belly’s smile lit up the entire city.
When she was on top of me, I couldn’t think straight. It was hard to tell if I was seeing stars from her taking control like this or from the view of the city’s sparkling lights reflecting from the balcony. Most likely from both.