vanilla

✏Devin

''Do you want to have ice cream?'' I asked Ren as we sat on the lamppost bench in front of the cathedral. We walked around this place for about thirty minutes nonstop and she roamed around like a kid at Disneyland.

''No ice cream'' she shakes her head vigorously rubbing her hands on her arms up and down. ''I didn't know that Milan can be this cold at night.'' she rubbed her palms together and blew a breath on them. She must be really cold because I can see goosebumps on her arms from where I sat.

Without asking for her permission, I drape my jacket over her shoulders. She looked at me to protest but I beat her to it. ''I brought this for you.'' As if on cue, her cheeks turned crimson and she pulled the hem of my jacket closer to her body.

''Thank you.''

''Come, I'm dying for ice cream'' I teased her and she rolled her eyes on me. If she was mine, she would regret doing that stunt with her big green eyes.

She placed her hands inside the sleeves of my jacket and it looks like a blanket on her petite figure. She folded the sleeves of the black denim jacket until her hands were visible again. She looks cute in my clothes.

Fuck!

I am getting a hard on in public again because of this girl.

She followed me silently and we walked side by side. Her cold hand sometimes grazed against mine when she was forced to walk closer to me with the passerby's on the streets. I wanted to hold her hand, give her my warmth but I knew better than to give in to my body's needs.

When we walked into the shop where we're headed, Ren's eyes scanned the whole place. I brought her to the same shop that Mom and I used to have all day meals when she was still alive. She loved this place and I knew Ren would love it here too.

''I'll order for us, do you really want that ice cream?'' she asked looking up into my eyes.

''Yeah, I feel hot'' she rolled her eyes at me again and sashayed to the counter to order our meal. She doesn't even know that she's the reason I feel hot on this cold night. I found us an empty table by the corner, overseeing the tourist filled streets of Milan.

It has been years since I visited this place, and the feeling it sends on my heart is still there. The warmth from the coffee aroma and the clatter from the diners as I remember it just less Mom in the picture.

Ren came back with the tray of our orders, I took the receipt resting on the side of the tray but she snatched it away from me.

''This is my treat because you gave me the tour again'' she skillfully placed every item on the tray to our table. My brows shot up inquisitively when she placed a very plain vanilla ice cream cup in front of me. How did she even know my favorite ice cream flavor?

I pretended that it didn't bug me. I knew next to nothing about her yet here she is, knowing everything about my likes and dislikes. I thought that it was just a coincidence that she prepared a pasta dish for dinner but now, I was starting to wonder why.

She placed her hands over the coffee cup she ordered and she closed her eyes as she let the warmth crawled to her skin. While she was doing that, I took this chance to study her face. There was no makeup in her face except for the lip tint grazing her lips and she was still pretty. Beautiful even. How did I not notice this before?

She slowly opened her eyes and I was frozen on my watching stance as her gaze locked in with me. ''Didn't you like it?''

''Hmm?''

''Vanilla, that's your favorite flavor, right?'' glad that she voiced that out. I can finally ask her.

''How did you know?''

She gave me an uncomfortable smile as she took a sip of her steaming hot black coffee. ''I guess I got to observe you from afar, Devin.''

The way she slur my name is so beautiful it should be sinful. I smirked ''I know nothing about you, Ren. Don't you thinks that's unfair.''

She heaved a sigh before taking a mouthful of the fries lying on the red basket ''well, what do you want to know boss?''

I chuckled lightly at her courtesy ''why did you work for the company?''

''That's a long story'' she pointed a fries in my direction and I had to suppress my laughter. ''Your foundation sponsored my scholarship through college so when I graduated, Mávros enterprises was my first stop. Luckily, you were looking for a P.A. and they hired me. That's the short version of that long story.''

My laughter couldn't be suppressed anymore as she giggled with me. This was the first time I'm having a proper conversation with a girl without planning on fucking them senseless after. At least for now. ''I'd like to hear the longer version sometimes.''

''That should be discussed over a bottle of whiskey, Sir.''

It was nice talking to her. It was lighter than I expected, as if we've been friends for a long time. ''Why did you stay when I fired you many times?'' Her face turned serious, as if contemplating on whether to tell me the truth or sugar coat it. ''You can tell me, Ren.''

She swallowed hard before looking into the window, as if counting all the passers by. ''I knew you were a good person, Devin.'' That froze me on my seat. I never expected those words from her, the person who suffered the most in my hands. ''I still do, even after those incidents, you know.'' She gave me a reassuring smile and I had to gather all my strength not to break down in front of this girl.

Who is this girl in front of me? I wanted to know her more.

''Why did you left then?''