Kade P.O.V.

I couldn't take it anymore.

I manned up, quit my whining and took a flight straight out of Chicago and to New York as soon as my last work day was over.

And it was worth it.

Oliver and Soph willingly gave up Isobel's address thank goodness, so I could head over there and make her my girl.

For real this time.

No more fooling around, no more unanswered questions and no more doubt.

~

As I stared down at her beautiful face, I feel like now, I could finally reach out to her soul and grow the connection that we've always had. The sun set atop the Empire State Building as we gazed at the view, taking in the thousands of sparkling lights of the city. NYC was a spectacular sight. I had never been on top of the building before, but it was quite worth it especially since I got to do it with Bels.

I tugged her to my side, wrapping an arm around her shoulders as I noticed goosebumps on her skin. Silly thing was wearing a barely there top that hugged the curves of her body, leaving a small gap of skin around her waist. Not complaining about the view, but she was cold.

About now was as good a time as any to get a move on with my date plans this Friday night. Of course, not without a bit of her tricky behaviour. Quickly, I wrapped my hand around her small one, inviting the warm tingles that ignited at our touch. I lead her back down the elevator to the ground floor before hailing a cab.

"What have you got up your sleeve Whitley?" Bel glanced at me curiously.

I continued to smile, pressing a kiss to our joint hands.

"What is it?" Her expression turned into suspicion, as she eyed me. "You're smiling too much."

"Can't I just be happy?" I arched a brow. "To be here with you?"

A smile broke through her previous expression before she leaned her head on my shoulder. "I'm happy that you're here."

I grinned, placing my hand on her thigh. "About time you admitted you love being with me."

She chuckled, saying nothing more. That was an admittance in itself.

"Okay! We're here!" I said excitedly, handing the cab driver some cash as the car came to a stop. I slid out the door first before holding it open for her to exit.

"Thankyou," she beamed, stepping out onto the street. Her gaze glanced up at the place we had just stopped by. "Eataly..." she murmured reading the illuminated sign above the brick building.

"Hungry?" I asked, leading her into the restaurant.

Her face lit up as she nodded eagerly.

"Welcome!" A loud, hearty voice boomed as a man in an all white chef's attire, complete with a white hat, stepped out grinning.

"Hi Emilio," I smiled, glancing down at his name badge before taking the man's hand to shake. "This is Isobel."

"You must be Mr Whitley," he grinned, giving me a firm shake, before doing the same with Bels. "Please come on through."

I followed behind Bel and Emilio, our chef instructor back into the small cooking class studio. I had hired a private class for us this evening, so we could have fun and make our own dinner. I hoped it would be a good idea.

Bels drank in her surroundings, darting her gaze around the kitchen room before looking at me with a big grin. "Are we cooking?"

I nodded enthusiastically as we stepped behind a metal bench in front of Emilio's, whom was at the front. Some light Italian music was playing in the background, giving us an authentic-feeling atmosphere.

"Wow, this is so cool!" She gushed excitedly, her eyes shining brightly. "I've never done this before."

I chuckled, pleased with the answer. "Me neither. Another first for us."

She blushed, biting her lip. I fought the urges to take her into my arms and start devouring her right then and there. Thankfully, Emilio voiced up, giving us instructions.

"Grab an apron and wash your hands over there." Emilio said pointing towards the side of the room.

I popped the apron over her head before turning her around to tie it at the back. "You're cute my little chef." I winked playfully.

"I'm not too bad of a cook." She chuckled as we returned to our bench. All sorts of cooking materials were laid out in front of us, bowls filled with ingredients, spoons, measuring cups and electronic machines.

"Alrighty, so today we will be making pizzas, everything from scratch! Traditional bases and toppings." Emilio announced.

"First, please take your yeast, and pour 1 cup of warm water and a little sugar in a bowl like this." We watched as he grabbed the ingredients and added them together before setting it aside.

"Yeast, yeast, yeast..." Isobel muttered under her breath, scanning the tabletop for the correct bowl. I noticed it labeled and picked it up as she sprinkled sugar in it and we poured in some warm water.

"Damn baby, look at us go." I teased. "Teamwork makes the dream work."

"This is only the beginning," she laughed out loud, nudging me in the side. I smiled, catching that double-meaning there.

"Next, pour your all-purpose flour into the large glass bowl, add a pinch of salt and then shape the flour into a well."

I grabbed the bag, opening it up as a big puff of flour burst out and flew towards Bel. Her lips pressed into a flat line before she dusted it off her face and chest. "Thanks." She said sarcastically, giving me the side-eye.

I couldn't help but chuckle as I helped her dust the flour off her nose. "My bad."

"Yeah yeah," she brushed off, pulling out the measuring cup and scales. "Just pour it in- to the bowl and not on me, that is."

"Bellissimo!" Emilio said, as we made a well in the flour. "Now pour in your yeast mixture and  a splash of olive oil, then mix well."

"Time to get your hands dirty," she teased, seeing as Emilio was mixing the ingredients with his hands.

"I have no trouble doing that," I winked at her as I rolled up my sleeves and dipped my hand into the mixture. I wiggled my eyebrows as I squished the batter in my palms, making little squeezing hand gestures and other inappropriate motions.

Her eyes widened before she looked away. "What the hell Whitley!" She reprimanded. "Stop defiling our dinner!"

I guffawed, as I kneaded the dough into a little ball. "Just getting ma hands dirty."

She looked at me incredulously as her shoulders shook lightly with laughter. There was nothing better in this world than hearing her perfectly imperfect chortles and seeing her face radiate with happiness.

"Okay okay," Emilio piped up. "Once your dough is balled up, leave it in the centre of the bowl and wrap it. We will leave it in a warm spot to proof for a little while."

Bel tore a piece of clear wrap before putting it on top of the bowl. Emilio came and took our dough before disappearing. "Now, we shall make our sauce! Please cut the tomatoes up and place in the blender. We will then add the spice mixture in the labelled bowl there," he directed, grabbing a multitude of ingredients, "with a few basil leaves and blitz it up!"

We did as told, prepping the sauce for the pizza. I loved how everything was made fresh from scratch.

"This is actually really fun," Bel grinned as she chopped up some onion and garlic. "I just hope ours doesn't come out as a disaster," she chuckled.

"Come on, have some faith in us," I teased. "We'll make the most beautiful pizza babies."

She raised an eyebrow at my particular use of words.

"Alrighty, heat your saucepan up with olive oil, and add in your onion and garlic." We did as told, frying up the vegetables. "Now, pour in your purée so we can simmer and reduce the sauce down to enhance the flavour and texture. Add some sugar, a bit more of this spice mix, some oregano, salt and pepper to taste." He said, expertly sprinkling in the spices. "Oh! And a splash of white wine," he winked.

Bel stirred our pizza sauce in the saucepan excitedly, before lifting up the spoon to taste it. She blew on it to cool it down, whilst her tongue darted out carefully. "Mmm!" She smiled, tilting the spoon to my mouth.

I licked the sauce, my face lighting up at the tangy, sweet yet flavourful sauce on my tastebuds. "Woah it's pretty damn good."

She nodded happily, reciting my earlier line with a sly grin. "Team work makes the dream work."

I shook my head and chortled. God damn. This girl. I'd never met anyone better.

"Wine break! As we let the sauce simmer, you've earned yourselves a well deserved drink." Emilio cheered, pouring us a glass of the deep red liquor.

"Cheers!" I grinned, clinking my cup to hers. She winked, raising the glass to her lips to take a sip.

"I'm so excited to finish this and eat." Bel said, as we watched Emilio stoke the coal fire in their stone pizza oven. He disappeared once again and returned with our ball of dough, setting it on our bench.

"Woah, it got thicc." I noted, giving the risen ball a nice slap.

Bel chortled. "Kade!"

"You know what they say? Food tastes better when it's made with love," I grinned cheekily, caressing the round curve top of the dough.

She giggled, covering her mouth. "You're ridiculous."

"Ridiculously good-looking."

She laughed, shaking her head to herself. "What have I gotten myself in to..."

Something fucking great I mentally added in amusement.

"Alright! Now cut your dough in half with the knife. You may have one each. Flour your bench surface and your hands well and get to kneading!" Emilio said, as he rolled the dough around in repetitive motions. "We can also now turn off the heat on the sauce."

We tried our best to knead the dough, I even made mine into funny shapes as if it was like kids play dough. She giggled, quickly smooshing my penis shaped dough up before Emilio saw.

"Okay now we roll the dough up into a ball, pull the edge out slightly and spin like this up in the air with our single hand" He said. Like magic, the dough stretched and transformed into a perfectly round thin pizza shape. He placed it on the floured bench before piercing into it a few times with a fork. "This is to let some air in while it bakes."

Bel glanced at me with a hesitant look as she picked up the ball and attempted to spin and thin out the dough. I laughed as I did the same, both of ours coming out in awkward lumpy shapes.

"No worries folks." Emilio grinned. "Good for you for having a go." He picked up our dough and spun it easily, before placing it down. "Spoon your sauce over the base and down in the mini fridge underneath your bench, you will find an array of toppings. Place whatever you like!"

Excitedly, I pulled out the pepperoni and topped my pizza with it before placing a ton of buffalo mozzarella cheese slices. I put one basil leaf in the very centre. I've seen people do that sometimes for decoration. So gourmet.

I looked over towards Bel whom was decorating her pizza artistically. She placed little bits of ham on the pizza alongside a few pepperoni slices and spinach leaves in a pattern. Finally with the cheese, she sprinkled it around the edges before making a heart shape in the centre.

"That's cheesy," I chuckled, teasing her.

She rolled her eyes. "This is my pizza, mind your own business."

"Is that loveheart for me though?" I prodded, biting my lip.

She snorted, pushing me away. "Noo, it's for myself. I just love myself y'know."

I grabbed a spoon before drizzling more sauce atop my pizza in a K + I shape above the white backdrop of the cheese. She glanced over her shoulder subtly, before looking away with a sweet, bashful smile. I grinned, feeling my chest flutter. That heart was 100% for me.

"Bellissimo!" Emilio said as he shuffled our pizza atop a large sort of pizza shovel.

"You may do the honours if you like Mr. Whitley!" He said cheerfully, handing it over to me. "Just pop it in the oven!"

Nearing the stone oven, I could feel the heat radiate off the hot surface. I slipped our pizzas inside carefully with the shovel. Slowly we could watch the dough puff up and crisp, as the cheese melted into a beautiful gooey golden brown. I slid the pizzas out and onto a platter. The aroma was incredible. It smelled absolutely fresh and mouthwatering.

He grabbed our platters and we grabbed our drinks before heading up into a nice rooftop dining area with twinkling lights strung up.

"Enjoy!" He grinned placing our pizzas down alongside a professional Margherita pizza he made.

"Wow," Bel breathed in. She grabbed the cutter before rolling it through the pizza to take a slice. "Thankyou for taking me out tonight, by the way Kade," she grinned.

"You're welcome Bel. Anything for you." I murmured softly, unable to wipe the smile off my face.

Slightly tipsy off wine, laughter and conversation we decided to grab some cannoli to go and strolled towards Central Park. Some buskers were out and about, providing entertainment for the many other passer-bys out on this beautiful night.

I stopped, sitting beside Bel on a bench before blurting out something that had been playing on my mind.

There's no time to waste.

I took both her hands in mine and stared deep into those warm soulful eyes.

"I love you."

"What?" Her lips parted as her eyes widened in shock. "N-no, you don't," She said in slight panic, a blush creeping up her cheeks.

I frowned confusingly at her blatant refusal. "I do. I love you Isobel, I loved you back then, although I had no clue I did, and I love you now even more so."

Her mouth opened and closed as her breathing grew shallow. "Kade- I, I, what? Really?" She squeaked. "We're on our first date!"

"Yes. I know and I don't care. I love you and I'm fucking cursed because of it."

"What?" She chuckled, furrowing her brows at me. "What does that even mean? You're crazy Kade."

"Only crazy for you." I shot her a devilish smirk. "Love makes me crazy for you, that's what I meant."

She shook her head, staring at me with an amused expression, tilting her lips up at the corner.

"And my crazy ass fucking loves every part of your crazy ass." I added. She chuckled lightly once again before drawing in a breath.

"I'm in love with you Isobel." I shook my head to myself with a chuckle. It's like I couldn't stop declaring how much I loved her out loud now that it's been said.

She swallowed her throat before biting her lip. "Wow. I- gosh...I-"

"- You don't have to say it back. I just wanted to let you know; I'm in it to win it." I smiled softly, cupping her cheek.

"No. I'm- ah fuck," she cursed under her breath. "I am in love with you, Kade." She breathed, peering up at me through her lashes. "I love you too... I think, I always have deep down."

My lips curved into an immediate grin as I smashed our lips together. A new level of insane fireworks burst as our lips met. She was desperate, bunching my shirt in her hands as we kissed each other roughly. With laboured breaths, I pulled back, staring deep into her chocolate pools. "Date night's over, let's go home baby." I said huskily.