Is this destiny?

In the kitchen…

Both Sarah and Aiden are wearing fluffy white bathrobes and Sarah is sitting on the barstool at the kitchen island while Aiden is checking the contents of the fridge and humming a tune.

Sarah wanted to help, but he insisted on carrying her and that she should sit and not do anything. She wondered, what is he doing while looking at the fridge without moving?

To keep herself busy, Sarah observed the kitchen. With clean lines, high-end stainless steel appliances, white cabinets with a lot of storage, gray quartz countertops, and recessed lights on the ceiling, this is a modern kitchen. If Sarah does not know where they are, she would assume that this kitchen belongs to the industrial flat at the core of a large city, and not inside a house in a forest.

On her right, Sarah can see the dining area, which has a massive table for at least twelve people.

"Cake?", Aiden's voice broke the silence.

Sarah raised her eyebrow suspiciously. Didn't he say that he is hungry? Aiden eats heathy food and he would never eat cake if it's not for dessert. "What kind?" 

"Do I ever offer you something you don't like?"

His question confirmed Sarah's suspicion that they are not here because he is hungry, and she can guess that he brought her here as a diversion. Sarah remembered that she was sappy in the hot tub and she scolded herself for that. This is their wedding night, and that is why he is offering her the cake, because he knows she likes it and it will improve her mood.

"Close your eyes…", Aiden said.

Sarah frowned. She still didn't say if she wants the cake or not. Why does she need to close her eyes?

"Again? I don't know if I can handle more surprises." Sarah's tone told him that she is not willing. 

Aiden turned from the fridge and looked at Sarah with a displeased pout. "Either you close your eyes, or I blindfold you."

"OK. OK.", Sarah waved defensively and closed her eyes. She gives up.

"No peeking!", Aiden warned her.

"No peeking.", Sarah confirmed while stifling a laugh.

Through her closed eyelids, Sarah could see that the lights went off and that two seconds later, a dimmer light came on.

"OK. You can look now…", Aiden's voice sounded by her side.

Sarah opened her eyes and realized that what she perceived as the dimmer light are candles on the cake.

Aiden wrapped his arms around Sarah, gave her a gentle squeeze and kissed her cheek. 

"Happy birthday, my love…", Aiden wished her with a big grin, pleased with her reaction.

Sarah observed the white round cake with 'Happy birthday, Sarah' and twenty-one candle on it, and she sighed when she saw that the clock on the microwave shows 12:02 as the current time. It's her birthday.

"I am speechless.", Sarah admitted. "With everything going on… you remembered my birthday, and even got a cake."

Aiden was happy to hear the praise. "How can I forget my wife's twenty-first birthday?"

"Make a wish and blow them.", he encouraged her.

Sarah closed her eyes for a second before blowing them all off in one go.

"That was either a very short wish or you didn't make any.", Aiden observed.

Sarah smiled. "You know me well. I don't have any wishes. Everything I ever wanted is right here."

She gave Aiden a knowing look indicating that her everything is him.

Aiden made a face. "You could have wished for a new car or a boat. A helicopter maybe… you can never have enough of those. Or a jet ski!"

Sarah laughed. She pinched his cheeks lightly. "What did I do to deserve such an adorable husband?"

Aiden looked at her in disbelief. "Adorable? You should point out that I am handsome, manly, smart, strong… Look at these muscles! Adorable is for babies."

Sarah laughed harder. 

Aiden is happy that her mood improved. No more sappy birthday girl (aka his wife).

Aiden gave Sarah a knife and removed the candles so that she can cut the cake. 

Of course, he offered her the first bite from his plate.

"Since we had vanilla cake with strawberries twice in the last week, I thought of changing it to something else. Do you like it?", Aiden asked expectantly. 

Sarah nodded happily while digging in.

"I can feel that I am getting fat… and there is nothing I can do to stop it…", Sarah mumbled while enjoying the cake melting in her mouth with her eyes closed. 

The outside is a layer of white whipped cream, but the cake inside is a chocolate cake with a light and fluffy chocolate cream, strawberries, pineapples, and bananas. When it all combines in the mouth it tastes like a fruit salad which is drizzled with chocolate and whipped cream. It's delicious.

Sarah was surprised when Aiden dabbed a dollop of whipped cream on the tip of her nose. 

"Are you starting a food fight?", Sarah asked while reaching for her nose to wipe it off.

Aiden held her hand in his. "I would not dare mess with my wife, not on her birthday. This was an accident. Let me fix it…"

Before Sarah could react, her nose was inside Aiden's mouth and he licked the cream away.

She inched away and frowned while speaking in a whiny voice: "Disgusting… some of the cream went in my nose…"

Aiden held Sarah, preventing her from moving away. "I missed some? Let me get it…"

Her eyes sprang open in panic. "Don't you dare. It's gross! Stay away!"

Aiden laughed and tightened this hold while licking his lips, indicating that he plans to lick her nose again… and probably inside as well.

Sarah squirmed and her eyes fell on the piece of cake in her plate. She grabbed some of the cream on her fingers and smeared it on his face. 

"It's my turn to lick you off.", Sarah said victoriously when she saw him frowning.

Sarah realized that she miscalculated when Aiden's eyes flashed, and her robe came undone. A split second later, he buried his face in her chest and she watched helplessly while he rubbed his cheeks on her breasts.

Sarah looked at his smug grin and said in a defeat: "This is what you were after from the start."

Aiden wiggled his eyebrows playfully.

Sarah's eyes flashed a second before she grabbed a piece of cake and flung it at him. Aiden moved and she missed, but the next piece was already flying his way. 

In an instant, the kitchen became a battlefield where cake pieces are used as a weapon. 

Both Sarah and Aiden are agile, dodging and hiding behind the island and chairs, but at the same time, both of them have a strong hand and good precision. 

At some point, they ran out of cake.

Sarah and Aiden laughed at their messy appearances with robes hanging loosely from their shoulders and cake-chaos everywhere.

They agreed that the cake-fight was a draw, and neither of them wanted to talk about cleaning up the kitchen. 

Sarah pulled a strawberry out of her hair and threw it into the trash. "Let's go and clean up."

Aiden agreed. "We will, but first…"

Aiden touched her chin, tipping her head up and lowering his lips on hers.

When Aiden gathered Sarah against him, she felt his body pressing on hers, and she was surprised that despite his arousal Aiden's kiss was gentle and unhurried, allowing her to melt into him.

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