Aiden widened the space between his legs so that a bit of the table top was exposed. Placing the box to his side he reached down to the floor and lifted one of Claire's legs. Before she could even register what he was doing, he took off her plain hotel slipper and pulled a fluffy pink bunny slipper from inside the box to gently place it on her foot.
Claire's eyes widened and a girly squeal escaped her lips before they broke out in the brightest smile he had seen on her. She clasped her hands in front of her chest while she slightly lifted her leg up to see the slipper properly. All of which made Aidan's heart melt.
Unlike her last bunny slippers, which were fairly simple house ones, what Aiden had brought her was on a whole other level of cuteness. They didn't only cover her toes, but wrapped around her whole foot. The insides were padded with soft material that provided comfort and warmth. The white and baby pink also increased their level of cuteness. But what made them even better were the whiskers on each side of the bunny face design the slippers had.
Aiden lifted her other leg and changed her other slipper. Immediately after doing so, Claire stood up and took a few steps around the room to better feel them. She was so thrilled with them that she was unconsciously giggling.
Aiden shifted from the table top to the sofa and was enjoying her extremely cute and girly outburst. Although some might find it to be odd that such a powerful and full grown woman would get excited over such a silly and childish thing, he was glad and somewhat surprised that she was so easy to please.
She turned to face him with the loveliest expression he had seen on her face. Instantly turning into his favorite one due to knowing that it was because of him. The sensation of being the reason she looked so happy felt like pure bliss to him.
Out of nowhere, Claire dashed towards him and smashed into his body for a tight hug. If it weren't for the fact that he was siting on the sofa he would have surely fallen on to the floor. Even so, the force was so much that he had to quickly lean all of his weight forward to avoid flipping over the couch.
In the midst of trying not to fall back, he had quickly adjusted her position so that she was unintentionally straddling him before he wrapped his arms around her waist to hold her safely in place.
Aiden let out a long sigh of relief once he felt his feet properly touching the floor and not in mid air like they were a second ago. His head slumped on Claire's shoulder as he composed himself after the unexpected agility and balance exercise he was made to do.
"Sorry." Claire practically whispered against his neck a few seconds after she realized what she had done.
Feeling her breath on his neck, Aiden realized how close they were straight away. He slightly tightened his grip around her and breathed her scent in. She smelled like a mixture of strawberries and vanilla. It was intoxicating. Like a drug that he was more than willing to get addicted to.
"It's fine Angel. I have no problem what so ever in giving you an endless supply of hugs. Just try and ask nicely next time. No need to get that aggressive about it." Aiden said which made them both chuckle.
Claire leaned back a bit to be able to face him. Her gaze immediately focused on his perfect features. His eyes were like pools of honey she would constantly find herself drowning in. His hair was a bit disheveled, but it kept it's silk like look. Without giving it much thought, she lifted her hand and started to brush her fingers through his thick yet soft hair.
Aiden leaned into her touch as he too studied and memorized every feature of her beautiful face. Her expression was lost in thought as she played with his hair, but even if her gaze was fixed on something else, her eyes mesmerized him without her trying. Her pink, slightly parted lips, were so close that it made it hard for him to concentrate on anything else.
They stared at each other in silence for a while. Aiden had started to draw circles on her back with his thumb while Claire played with his hair. It wasn't awkward or uncomfortable, but calming in a way that neither of them could accurately explain to themselves.
"Claire." Aiden interrupted the quiet between them. She hummed in response while continuing to focus on what she was doing. "Is it alright to think that we're courting each other?"
Claire stilled. She slowly looked at Aiden while dropping her hand to his chest. It had a calm and steady beat thumping inside. Completely contrary to her steadily increasing heart rate.
"Courting each other?" She asked with a bit of disbelief in her voice.
"It may sound old fashion, but I'm not the kind of man that aimlessly dates." His low husky voice made her skin tingle. It was usually alluring on it's own, but hearing him speak so seriously about the matter at hand made her even more aware of the dangerous effect it had on her. "I know what I want when I see it. I'm not trying to rush you into anything, but my wanting you is something that isn't going to go away anytime soon. So I want to make sure we're on the same page about our relationship with each other."
Claire was stumped. Courting happens with the the end goal being marriage. Marriage! Her head was spinning with all of the thoughts that kept popping up. There was no filter on her brain to separate the good ones from the bad ones so everything was swirling around inside while her heart threatened to jump out of her chest.
"I-I'm...." She was beyond nervous. Her hands gripped onto his shirt while bunching the expensive material in her fists. Her face started to turn pale while she struggled to speak. "I-I'm....t-think..."
"Shhh shh." Aiden brought one of his hand up to hold her cheek. "You don't have to answer me now. Like I said, I'm in no rush." He pressed a light kiss on her forehead. "Just think about it later. When you don't have so much going on." He caressed her cheek slowly as she calmed down.
Claire tried to steady her breathing as she leaned into his hand. She closed her eyes and concentrated on his warm touch. It was more soothing than any of the exercises she usually did to calm down.
"I'm sorry." She said after a while.
"I should be the one apologizing. I didn't mean to scare you." He replied as he watched her slowly open her eyes.
Claire stared back at him and unintentionally focused on his lips. After their short kiss in the car, she felt herself drawn to them even more. The temptation to taste them again was overwhelming.
"Aiden." She quietly whispered to which he hummed in response. "Can we still see each other while I think about it?
"That was the plan." He answered while noticing where her gaze was focused on.
"Can we.....can we kiss while I-hmph" Without having to finish the sentence, Aiden crashed his lips onto hers.