Chapter 34: Chapter 34

Isabella's pov;

"Where are you taking me?" I whined to Mr Martinez who woke me up from my sleep and made me get showered in the early morning. He's taking me somewhere in his car. I continued my whining, "I planned to sleep all day since yesterday was a tiring day. Why did you wake me up and where are we going now?" Asked while looking outside the window.

"It's the surprise I told you about." Said while driving the car.

"Was the surprise that big that you're taking me to show me? What is it? Did you buy a building or a mountain?"

He smiled and asked, "If you ask, I'll buy it for you."

I gave an eye roll and said, "Show-off." I let out a yawn and asked, "How long will it take to get there?"

"If you want to take a nap, go on. I'll wake you up once we arrive."

"Thank you!"

I leaned back on the passenger seat and closed my eyes. The world seemed to fade away for a moment as I let myself slip into a relaxed state, slowly drifting off to a light sleep since I was exhausted from the long day of my graduation yesterday.

After a while, Mr Martinez woke me up from my sleep. Not too violently, but enough for it to wake me from my slumber. It felt like the car wasn't on the run. I let out a yawn while rubbing my eyes and asked, "Are we there?" And looked at the time. What! Four hours?

I looked outside to see why he drove for four hours and saw an enormous building with a name board HI inn and suites. He got out of the car and told me to get down while I was amazed by the structure of the building. Did he buy this? Nope! It's an inn. How could he buy this? Um, why are we here?

After I stepped on the ground, I took a look around, it was all green and blue.

He said, "Let's get in." And walked in front of me after giving his car key to some guy who dressed in some kind of uniform.

I followed him behind and entered the inn. The fresh odour of new materials hit me hard when I stepped into the lobby. Apart from that, Woah! Is this heaven? Why does this place look stunning and beautiful?

Mr Martinez talked with the receptionist and took the key from her and said to me, "Let's go."

I moved closer and asked him, "What's going on here? Why are we here?"

He kept his finger on my lips and said, "I said it's a surprise."

When we reached the room, a girl in uniform opened the door and said while walking into the room, "We provide free wifi, custom designed beds, full and lap desk, full-screen tv, coffee maker, pull-out sofas…"

Before she finished, Mr Martinez stopped her and said, "We'll take care of it. You can leave."

She nodded and left the room. The staff looked pretty nice and had a friendly tone while giving explanations but why did Mr Martinez talk like that?

Mr Martinez closed the door after she left and walked towards me.

I stepped back and asked, "W-What are you doing?"

He smiled and said, "Take a shower. We're going out." And tried to leave the room.

"Wait, where are you leaving?"

"I'll be back." And left the room.

I headed to the bathroom and came to know that it's a see-through bathroom where one can see clearly inside the bathroom while standing outside. There was a big white tub placed in the centre of the bathroom where one can see the person bathing while lying on the bed. What kind of inn is this? No time for questioning. Let's get this done quickly before he comes.

After showering, I stood on the balcony and looked at the view. The inn was surrounded by hills and trees. The view of the hills was stunning while looking from here. The air was fresh when I took a breath.

I heard the door opening, I turned to look who it was, Mr Martinez was walking inside the room while holding something in his hands. I opened the balcony door and stepped into the room.

"You showered?"

I nodded and took the drinks from him and placed them on the table while asking, "Where did you get this?"

"From the cafe below."

"We could have gone together, why did you bother buying this on your own?"

He didn't answer my question, instead he asked, "Are you ready?" He took a glance at me and said, "Okay, after this drink. Let's go."

He looked nervous about something so I held his hand and looked him in his eyes and asked, "What is it?"

He looked away and said, "Let's go." And nodded his head and left the room.

While we're on the way to the parking lot, I asked him, "Are you going to drive again?"

"Yes?"

"You drove all the way here. Aren't you tired?"

"No."

When he tried to open the car door, I stopped him and said, "Let's take the cab."

He smiled at me while saying, "I know you're worried about me but it's fine. I can drive. And, the place where I'm taking you is not so far." And tapped on my head before getting into the car.

"Worry, my ass."

"What?"

"Where did you say we're going?"

After a while, he stopped the car in front of a botanical garden. The entrance was underselling but it was good inside the garden. Delightful garden with many trails and paths having a large variety of plants and trees. It was beautiful as well as informative since everything was well labelled in here. There were more trails, where you could adventure for hours inside the garden. Not many picnic areas but there were benches here and there to sit and enjoy the ambience. Very peaceful.

While we're taking a walk around the garden, I asked him, "Is this your surprise? I like it."

He looked at me and said, "No! No, this is not a surprise."

Then, why did he take me here?

I stood in front of the poppy flowers and asked Mr Martinez to take a picture of me. When he asked for my phone, I said to take pictures on his phone. He took out his phone and took pictures of me. Later, I took many pictures along with the flowers.

I walked to him and took his phone from him and saw the pictures he took. It looked good. "Don't you want to take pictures? Can I take a picture for you?"

He shook his head and said, "I don't like taking pictures." With a firm tone.

I held his hand and said, "Let's take pictures together." And took selfies of us.

Instead of a car, he walked on the road.

"Where are you going? What about the car?"

"We're going to walk."

"What?"

"There's a little animal park here, let's take a look."

I walked along with him on the road and laughed while saying, "This looks funny! Take a look at this." And showed the phone to Mr Martinez who was walking beside me.

He took a look and asked, "When do you take this?"

"Hahaha. There's so many funny pictures of you. Don't delete it afterwards." And laughed while swiping the pictures I took at the botanical garden.

Suddenly, he began walking so fast. I ran to him and asked, "Why are you walking so fast?"

"I'm walking normally. It's your leg."

"Are you saying that I have short legs? Just because you have long legs doesn't mean others have short legs. We're normal people. It's you who looks like a giant."

He patted my head and said, "You're short." And softly pinched my cheek.

I snapped his hand and said, "Don't touch me, giant!" And started running quickly.

After a while, I ran out of breath and started breathing heavily.

"You have to do a lot of exercise."

When I heard Mr Martinez's voice, I lifted my head and saw him standing beside me breathing normally.

"How could you breathe normally while I was suffering here?"

"Because I'm not the one who ran all the way here." And walked past me.

"Aren't you going to carry me?"

"Why should I?"

"Haven't you seen any kdrama? The male lead will carry their girlfriends on back when she can't walk. You said I'm your girlfriend so carry me."

He smiled and gave a flick on my forehead and said, "We're almost there. Come on, let's go." And started to walk.

I let out a sigh and continued walking behind him from a distance since he had longer legs than me.

After a while, I saw the animal park he mentioned earlier. The park wasn't big but was beautifully kept. A very nice little zoo.

"Wow! It looks good." And walked inside before him.

I nudged Mr Martinez when I saw a red panda, he asked, "You were like a sloth before but now acting like a squirrel. I wonder how you gain energy so quickly after that snail walk of yours." And walked in front of me.

My jaw dropped when he mentioned every animal when he teased me. After he began talking like others, he's been bolting out his sarcasm to me.

I ignored him and enjoyed looking at the cute animals in front of me.

"Mommy, let's see otters!" A little boy pleaded with his mother beside me.

I asked, "There's otters in here?"

The boy nodded hurriedly and said, "Yeah! And it's cute too."

"Really?"

I turned to Mr Martinez and asked, "Can we go and see the otters too?"

After he gave a nod, we walked to the place where the otters are kept.

We stood in front of the skywalk which led us to the otters. Mr Martinez walked on the bridge casually, while I was struggling to step on them.

"Isabella, what happened?"

"I'm a little scared of heights." Said while grinning.

He gave his hand and asked, "Hold me. Let's walk together."

"Do we really have to take this way to see the otters? Wasn't there any other way?"

The Little boy who I saw earlier walked on the skywalk like a nothing. He made funny faces and walked past me.

Mr Martinez walked to me and said, "Wrap your hands around my neck."

"What?"

Suddenly, Mr Martinez took me in his arms like a princess.

"What are you doing?"

"In this way, you can only see me." And started walking.

I wrapped my hands around his neck and leaned on his chest. The heart beats of him made me stay calm.

"I didn't know you were scared of heights."

I lifted my head and looked at him while saying, "Only if it's too high."

He smiled and asked, "Did you get scared when I lifted you when we kissed?"

I hit him on his chest and said, "Don't say it out loud. People can hear you."

He whispered into my ears in a seducing way, "Are you shy?"

He ignored him and leaned on his chest again. I hear his heartbeat throbbing inside.

"Why does your heart beat fast?"

"Because you're so close to me and we're not in our room."

"Stop spouting nonsense."

"Okay, okay. I'll stop but I don't think I can stop when we get back to the hotel."

While I was staring at him, he said, "We're here."

The skywalk came to an end and we headed to the otters place.

"Ahhh! So cute! Awww! I wanna touch them. Can I!" I screamed when I saw the otters swimming in a cute way inside the pool.

Mr Martinez, "No. It's not allowed."

"Whyyyy!? I wanna touch them so badly." Said while looking at the otters which were swimming in the pool.

Mr Martinez caressed my hair while I was looking at the otters with longing eyes.

"Are you hungry?"

I nodded hurriedly while looking at the otters.

He tapped on my shoulder and said, "Then, let's go."

Outside the park, the sun sinks behind trees in a halo of gold and orange, painting everything in shades of pink and crimson before the dark shadows swallow it whole. I watch it sink into the horizon, as the world turns from day to night. The sky is stained with deep oranges and pinks, the sun's rays reflecting off of the clouds so it glows.

After we got to the car, he drove us to the restaurant. Just walking inside the restaurant smells delightful.

"I'm getting a nice smell. Mr Martinez, can I drink tonight?"

He stared at me.

"Please… promise I won't get drunk tonight."

He gave a nod and headed to the table.

After we seated,

"What do you like to eat?"

"Wait, there's a lot of dishes that sound delicious. Mmm… I want Fettuccine carbonara, calamari fritters, Salmone alla griglia, chocolate gelato, cheesecake."

"Didn't you order a cocktail?"

"Ah! I forgot. The redwood and Parkside."

After I'm done ordering my dishes to the waiter, Mr Martinez said the dishes he wanted.

After a while, the food was served.

When I took a bite from the Fettuccine, "Wow! Creamy sauce is delicious and pasta is perfectly done. Come on, taste it." I tried to feel him, he looked at the pasta and leaned forward and took the bite.

I asked him while he was eating the pasta, "Does it taste delish?"

He nodded.

I ate the calamari fritters, every bite tasted awesome.

"Mr Martinez, you should try this."

I feeded him again and he ate it.

While I was eating, Mr Martinez pointed to his spoon with veggies.

"What is this?" I asked while frowning my eyebrows.

"Arugula and pear salad."

"Um… Mr Martinez, I don't like veggies."

"But you eat at home."

"Because Kirk makes it as I like. I don't eat veggies outside the house."

He placed the spoon on his table and looked bad. Did I make him upset?

I looked at the table and spotted piccolo pizza and asked him, "Mr Martinez, feed me the pizza. I want to know how the toppings taste."

He nodded and took a slice and fed it to me. When I took a bite, the cheese pull fell on my shirt.

"I'm sorry."

Mr Martinez gave a tissue paper, I cleaned the bits of cheese on my shirt using it.

After we finished food,

We got into the car and he started driving. I looked outside since it was a pretty view to look at.

"Did you like the food?"

"Yeah, we should come here again. I liked the calamari fritters so much. I'll ask Kirk to cook for me once I get back."

"I cook too."

"Do you know how to cook calamari?" I asked him excitedly.

He gave a nod while looking in the front of the road.

"Then make me one when we get to the house. I want to taste it so badly because every food you cook is appetising."

"Okay."

We stopped in front of the hotel we came to.

In the room,

I dropped on the bed once I stepped into the room. When I looked at the bathroom to get shower, I forgot that it was a see-through and looked at the ceiling again. What should I do now? I feel so stuffy.

Seeing Mr Martinez carrying the blanket across the room, I asked him while lying on the bed, "Where are you taking it?"

He hung the blanket in front of the bathroom and said, "You take shower freely."

Did he just read my mind? Since he did it many times, it became normal to me.

While I was taking a dress to change after showering, Mr Martinez asked, "Can I order something to eat?"

"Is that even a question? Go on and order already."

"We just ate."

"That was lunch but we were late. We haven't had dinner yet so go on and order dinner for us."

"I'll just order for you. I'm full."

"Eating salad makes you full? Anyways, Don't forget to order wine for me."

"You said you're planning to get drunk."

"Not in here."

I took the clothes and walked into the bathroom.

After showering, I came out while drying my hair with a towel. I saw so many dishes spreaded on the table.

"Wow! Everything looks luscious. I'm going to dig in!"

While I was eating, I looked at him. He wasn't eating anything out of the table.

"What are you waiting for? An invitation?"

"It's not even two hours since we are at the restaurant." And sat on his bed.

"Whatever."

I continued eating the food.

After finishing the food, the staff came and took the utensils. I walked to the bed and sat on it.

"How can you sleep right after eating? Didn't no one tell you?"

"Tell me what?"

"Eating after sleeping gains weight. You are already overweight for your age so don't sleep yet."

"Am I overweight?" Asked while staring at him.

"Since you finished with your shower, it's my turn now." And flew away to the revealing bathroom.

I lied on the bed again to sleep but I couldn't do it anymore.

I saw the paintings on the wall. I didn't know why people like paintings. Buying with a lot of money, and making them hang around in the wall just as a decor. Actually, there's so many things out there as decor available cheaply.

After eating, we went to sleep.

In the middle of the night, a dry cough woke me up. I looked around for water and found that Mr Martinez's bed was empty.

After drinking a glass of water, I walked out of the balcony and saw Mr Martinez sitting on a couch.

"What are you doing out here instead of being in bed?"

"Did I wake you up?"

"No, I woke up on my own. Ooohhh! It's chilly here. Didn't you feel cold?" I rubbed my arms while asking him.

"No."

"When did you wake up or can't sleep?"

"Can't sleep."

"Is it a nightmare?"

"No, it's a beautiful dream."

I sat beside him and said, "Tell me. I'm all ears."

"I'll tell you tomorrow."

"Argh! I thought you're going to tell me. And, you just pranked me. Okay, what are you looking at?" And looked in the direction he focused on before and asked, "Are you looking at the stars?"

Suddenly, he stood from the couch and said, "I'm going to bed. Close the doors after you come inside." And left the balcony all to myself.

Mmmmmmm..,,,

The sky looked astonishing in the moonlight. I came into the room and saw him lying on his bed.

I lied on my bed and said, "Goodnight, Mr Martinez." And covered the blanket up to my neck and closed my eyes to sleep.