Kaden's Luna

Chapter 12 - Passionfruit



I was currently finishing up a class test in one of the halls on campus. We were supposed to have this before Halloween but our lecturer became ill and couldn’t set the paper, so it was postponed to today.

Kaden is picking me up for our date today, which is at three in the evening since I have no other classes. But this exam started at eleven and I had taken up the two hours to properly write down my answers. Sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ FɪndNøvel.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

Now as I’m exiting the hall with Eva and Maddox, I’m rushing to get home and get ready for the date. Like my previous date, Eva was bummed that she couldn’t be there to help me get ready. I say goodbye to both before walking towards where my bicycle is, I finally got it back from the repair shop this morning.

I unlock my bike lock and get on, cycling out of campus and towards my house. I cycle fast through the city before I reach home, putting my bike at the back of our house before unlocking the door and rushing upstairs.

Opening my wardrobe, I quickly decide on a plain red, sleeveless dress with my wool grey coat and tights that had tiny black spots on them. I step into the bathroom with my underwear and quickly take a shower and make sure my legs are hair free before stepping out and drying my body and hair.

I change into my underwear after applying body lotion before stepping back into my room and slipping into the red dress, smoothing my hands across the material. Next, I put on my spotty tights before blow drying my hair and styling them into messy waves. It’s when I must go over a few sections of hair did I realise I need a haircut soon.

After I have styled my hair and set it with hairspray, I work on my makeup. I decide to keep it natural with just a winged liner, a red lip and the lightest of blush on my cheeks to add some colour.

It is 2.45 p.m. when I finish and I spend the last fifteen minutes putting on my favourite perfume and packing a shoulder bag with essentials before picking out a pair of shoes. I decide to go with my black flat boots since Kaden had texted me yesterday night to dress warm with comfortable shoes.

I send a picture of my outfit to Eva, as requested, whilst putting in some earrings and a ring on my finger with a dainty bracelet. She responds immediately with a lot of heart and fire emoticons which make me laugh as I make my way down the stairs.

The bell rings just as I have finished my glass of water, making me fix my outfit before walking to the door with butterflies in my tummy. I open it to see Kaden looking as handsome as ever. He is wearing a grey, waist length coat with a light sweater underneath, black jeans and boots on his feet. His jet-black hair is brushed back and rests upon his head in a sleek fashion.

He turns towards me and smiles, holding out his hand for me to take as I step out and greet him.

“You look beautiful, Luna.” He compliments as I slip my hand in his and let him guide me towards his car.

“Thank you, you look really nice too.” I say, sitting down before he closes my door and walks around the front of the car to get in.

“I guess we had the same thoughts today.” He grins, gesturing to our grey coats which makes me laugh lightly and nod.

He starts the car and pulls out of the neighbourhood, driving onto the main road before we head downtown. I ask him where we are going but he tells me it’s a surprise and he hopes that I will like it.

I wonder what we will be doing today since Kaden seems like the type of man who puts a lot of thought into date ideas. It was confirmed when he took me to an aquarium slash planetarium on the first date, I never would have imagined that. I was expecting to go to a restaurant or a movie but he proved me wrong.

And our second date was no different.

Forty minutes of us listening to old classics and chatting about how our week went, Kaden veers off onto a dirt path. I frown in confusion and turn to look at him, seeing a smile on his lips as he focuses on the road ahead. There are trees all around us, sparse enough for me to see how much they stretched out over this land.

We drive on for fifteen minutes through the trees before we reach a clearing where there are about seven or eight other cars. Kaden cuts off the engine and gets out of the car, making me follow and meet him at the back. He holds his hand out for me to take and I grab it, letting him intertwine our fingers.

He still doesn’t tell me where we are and what we will be doing until I see a sigh that says ‘Farm this way,’ with an arrow pointing to the left. I’m curious now and want to know what Kaden has planned, but it takes us a bit of a walk to reach another clearing.

There is a large wooden café with tables and chairs inside that I can see through the window panes. We walk past that and up to the wooden booth where a woman stands. There is a large sign next to it that says ’Welcome to the Brünhilde farm!”

I gasp quietly when I see people collecting baskets and making their way into the farm, other families with children and couples coming back with full baskets of fruits and vegetables. It was a farm where you could pick produce!

Grinning, I turn to face Kaden who has already bought our tickets and grabbed us baskets whilst I was occupied. “This is amazing!”

“I’m glad you like it.” He chuckles huskily, handing me my basket and leading me towards the farm.

We are given a map which shows us exactly what produce is available for us to pick and the location of where it grows. I point to the apple orchard, telling Kaden how I want to check that out too whilst he points to the first produce on our list, the one we are currently heading to, which are the cranberries.

We pick them off the vines and place some into our green baskets, moving onto trees filled with pomegranates. They’re within reach and I easily grab two off the tree as does Kaden before we walk on. There are certain limits as to how many things we can take from each category so that there is enough for everyone.

“Okay, next up is the…pears.” Kaden tells me, folding the map again and putting it into his basket.

We reach the trees and Kaden picks four green pears from the trees, as they are too high for me, before putting them in our baskets. He wraps his arm across my waist and holds me close as we walk towards the vegetables. We pick up oranges and limes on the way before I see carrots, parsnips, turnips, Brussel sprouts and sweet potatoes.

I grab two of each with five Brussel sprouts that we are limited to before turning to Kaden who is following me with a half full basket. I grin widely, waving at him to hurry up and seeing a smile bloom on his lips.

He catches up to me and pulls me close just as I turn to face him. “This is so much fun!”

“It is, I’m glad I chose this place.” He nods, pointing to the squash and zucchinis.

“I’m glad you brought me here.” I reply happily, looping my arm through his as we walk towards the patch.

He places a firm kiss to my temple before crouching down, making me follow. We set our baskets down beside us and decide on which ones look ripe and ready to be eaten. After grabbing one each, we place them in our baskets before carrying on.

“What is this?” I wonder aloud, pointing to the green spheres up ahead.

“Hmm, it says they are called tomatillos, a type of tomato used commonly in Mexican cooking.” Kaden reads off the map, before telling me to pick one if I want.

I decide to leave them be since I knew I wouldn’t be using them. We walk on and grab onions, horseradish and cabbage before looking at the map to see how to get to the apple orchard. I glance around, spotting something purple in the distance as we walk through the farm.

“Is that…passionfruit?!” I turn to Kaden, watching as he nods.

I rush over to the tall vine, wanting to pick the fruit, only to realise that the lower ones weren’t that ripe and I wouldn’t be able to reach the top ones. Pouting, I look over to Kaden who chuckles and makes his way over to me. He sets down his basket beside mine before picking me, making me squeal in surprise before reaching for the fruit.

His arms are wrapped tightly around my legs as he lifts me higher so that I can grab the oval shaped fruit easily. The purple colour is dotted with light yellow specks as I carefully pick them, handing them down to Kaden who drops them into our baskets.

I look down and my hair falls around us like a curtain. He tucks away a strand of my hair, placing it behind my left ear. There are people walking around us in the distance but that all seems to fade away for me as I stare into his eyes. His body emanates heat, especially his hands as they move to my waist. He lowers me down till my feet are on the ground, stepping closer until our lips are just a breath away.

I bite my lip in anticipation, seeing his eyes darken in lust. His hand curls around my waist before our lips meet, sparks exploding instantly and tingles dancing on my skin. As always, I find myself smiling against his lips and pressing myself closer to him as he kisses me gently.

His lips are soft and I can smell his earthy cologne with a hint of sandalwood, the scent consuming me. The kiss doesn’t go any further than our lips pressing against each other, both of us quite aware of our surroundings. We pull away and I rest my forehead against his with a shy smile, feeling my cheeks heat up.

Before we could carry on, a girl in her twenties runs up to us with a camera in her hand. She greets us before holding out two polaroid pictures making us look at her in confusion before taking them. I smile gently at what she’s captured; Kaden and I kissing with vines of passionfruit behind us. We thank her, complimenting her photography before she walks away.

With our baskets in hand, we make our way towards the apple orchard. Trees upon trees of colourful apples stand tall in rows that stretch across the land. I chuckle as Kaden jumps up and successfully grabs a granny smith. He gets another one and places one each into our baskets before picking me up when we head over to the trees with red apples. I grab one each before passing it down to him before he lowers me to the ground again.

We take a bite out of our red apples as we search for more, spotting idared apples at the end of the orchard when we were on our way out. These apples were green from one side and red on the other and we picked one for each of us before exiting the far.

We make our way back to the wooden booth, paying for any extra produce we have picked up before leaving our baskets and grabbing the bags the woman has placed our fruits and vegetables into. Walking down the path that leads us to the car, I take Kaden’s bag before making my way towards the passenger seat.

I’m surprised when he opens my door for me, thinking that he would already be inside the car. Thanking him, I sit down and put the bags down by my feet before putting on my seatbelt. When he gets in and starts the car, reversing out of the parking space before driving down the dirt path towards the main road, he glances at me.

“Are you hungry?”

“A little bit, you?” I turn to face him, seeing him nod in reply.

“What are you in the mood for?” He asks, turning right at a junction before grabbing my hand and intertwining our fingers, placing them on his thigh.

“Hmm, Italian? Would that be okay?” I ask, trying my best to ignore the tingles he was creating just by brushing his thumb across my skin.

“I love Italian.” He grins, making me smile.

I tell him about the restaurant I have been to before and we decide to go there. He drives on for twenty minutes more and I start telling him directions to where it is in the city. It’s now six in the evening and the sun has set, the sky carrying hues of light blue, pink and purple. It reminds me of cotton candy.

We find a space on the street near the restaurant and walk in. The place is just like I left it with its chequered tablecloths and wine glasses, the smell of homemade food and a cosy interior providing a calming atmosphere. Kaden and I walk towards a table by a window and he pulls out my chair for me before taking a seat opposite me.

We are given breadsticks and bruschetta as appetisers first before I order a chicken fettucine alfredo pasta whilst Kaden goes for the lasagne that I recommend. He also gets a Neapolitan pizza for us to share and we order red wine after the waitress recommends it to us.

Our food arrives in no time and we dig in. I take a bite of my pasta and immediately taste the parmesan and butter. I chuckle when Kaden groans and tells me how good the lasagne is, making me tell him the story of when I first tried out this place in September. I was missing my dad’s cooking and stumbled across this restaurant on my way back from college. After trying their lasagne, I was hooked.

We share the pizza which is cooked to perfection, taking sips of our red wine and commenting on the flavour and smell of it. I’m full by the end of dinner but when Kaden asks if I want dessert, I can’t say no. We order the Tiramisu to share and when I take a bite, I can instantly taste the coffee and cocoa. After a few bites, I’m full and lean back in my seat, protesting when Kaden holds his spoon out for me to finish the last bite of the dessert. I laugh lightly and let him feed me the last bite before we agree to leave.

Kaden pays for the bill, much to my protest, and leads me out of the restaurant with his hand on the small of my back. Even with my coat between us, I can still feel the heat his body emanates, shivers running down my spine at the feeling of him being so close to me.

We get into the car and he pulls out onto the road, driving in the familiar direction of my neighbourhood. I’m sad that the night has come to an end but hopeful that there will be many more dates to come.

We chat about anything and everything as he drives and I find it so easy to slip into a comfortable state around him. Our conversations flow naturally and when there’s silence, it’s not awkward.

His hand is curled around my thigh and my breathing is slightly faster than usual, warmth seeping through the material of my tights. I’m realising that I love his sweet gestures of just touching me or holding me so that I’m close. I rest my hand over his, absentmindedly brushing my thumb across his skin as I look out the window.

Night has fallen when we arrive in my neighbourhood. He parks outside my house and cuts off the engine but instead of turning to me like I thought he would, he gets out of the car and walks to my side. Opening the door, he takes my hand and gently pulls me out. I thank him before he walks me to the door, our hands intertwined.

I know the door is unlocked because the hallway light is on which means that someone is home. He turns to face me, pulling me gently so that I turn towards him also. My breath hitches when he smiles handsomely and I struggle to keep myself from becoming a puddle on the floor.

His blue eyes darken around the edges, an intensity burning bright within them that has me feeling lightheaded. Instead of him taking the step, I push up and press my lips against his, not being able to take it any longer. He groans softly and cups my face with both hands, deepening the kiss.

I press myself closer, making him wrap one arm around my waist and hold me tightly as if he is afraid that I will disappear if he didn’t. His lips are soft, slightly cold from the chilly weather tonight but they warm up as we kiss. I moan softly, wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling him close.

When we pull away for air, we don’t stop kissing. He keeps pecking my lips, biting down softly on my bottom lip before tugging it. I play with the ends of his dark hair, pulling on it gently when he brushes his lips against my jaw, my breathing coming out in soft pants when he trails his lips down the curve of my neck, kissing and nipping my skin.

All too soon, he pulls away and I almost groan at the lack of touch. I unwrap my arms from around his neck but he still holds me close, not wanting to let go of each other yet. I smile softly, rubbing his bottom lip that currently has my lipstick on it. He chuckles huskily when I show him my red thumb, pecking my lips once again.

“I had fun.” I whisper against his lips, shivers running down my spine at the sensation of our lips brushing against each other. “Thank you for bringing me to the farm.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed it. I was a bit nervous that you might think it would be boring.” He admits, biting down on his bottom lip.

I laugh lightly and shake my head. “Your date ideas are just too good Kaden Reid. I would be a fool not to love them.”

A wide smile lights up his expression, a happy twinkle in his eyes as he stares down at me. He presses his lips against my forehead, thanking me for today before pulling away. I know it’s time for him to leave but I don’t want him to go.

Nevertheless, I bid him goodbye. “Goodnight, Kaden.”

“Sweet dreams, little moon.” He murmurs ever so softly, taking my hand and brushing his lips to my knuckles in a kiss before letting go.

It is only when he’s inside his car that I open the front door and step inside, waving goodbye and watching him drive out of the neighbourhood. I lock the door when I hear that both Maddox and Eva are home before making my way into the kitchen. They’re making hot chocolate and Maddox immediately grabs another mug when he sees me. I greet them, placing my shoulder bag and the bag full of produce on the dining table.

“Woah, I thought you were on a date?!” Eva asks, walking over and peeking inside the bag.

I chuckle, taking out the fruits and vegetables and putting them away. “Kaden and I went to a picking farm today, there was so much produce!”

“Okay, he is literally causing me to set my standards sky high. How does he come up with these ideas? First the aquarium and planetarium, now a picking farm, what’s next?!” She exclaims, topping the hot chocolates with marshmallows.

“Boyfriend goals.” Maddox states in a piercing falsetto making me laugh.

We grab our hot chocolates and make our way into the sitting room where I see that they have picked out an action movie to watch, a bowl of popcorn with snacks and sweets on the coffee table.

And so, I spend the rest of my night filling them in on my date.


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