Being in love is nothing like I ever imagined-- Scratch that. I never imagined what it was like to be in love until I met Asiel. It's like relaxing by the fireplace with a mug of hot chocolate in your hands--peace, soothing, and cozy. It's like a six hundred-foot jump from a cliff into the big blue ocean of wonder. The dip your stomach gets when you take the chance and jump the gun.

It's a perfect combination to combat the complications of our lives.

Out of everything I've done and experienced, I think this is the most scared I've been in my entire life. Apparently, falling in love has a side effect-- makes you crazy. It's like every second I'm with Asiel, I'm flying on this cotton candy cloud. The calm before the fall. That's what I'm terrified of. The good things in my life always have an expiration, and for the first time in my life, I'm praying that Asiel is different.

I don't think I can handle losing him.

But there's a gut-wrenching feeling in the pit of my stomach that he's going to, no matter what I do.

With a huge smile, I thrust the pale pink polka-dot bow headband on Asiel's head. "Who knew you look so good in pink?"

Asiel's cheeks, and ears flush pink, matching the headband. "My mama always said my olive complexion went well with light colors. She would dress me up in pink a lot when I was younger, before my papa considered it unacceptable."

"Ugh." I roll my eyes at the mention of his father. "Let's not speak about that disrespectful pile of crap. But your mama is right. Pink looks great on you."

Asiel mashes the avocado in the bowl, his bicep flexing from the force he's using. I toss my hair into a messy bun, baby hairs flying everywhere until I push my headband back, leaving my face bare. Using a cosmetic wipe, I remove the foundation from my cheeks and expose the red blemishes. Another downside to being in love-- fucking pimples.

"Did you finish mashing everything?" I ask, grabbing a knife and cutting up a cucumber.

He steals one of the sliced cucumbers and slips it in his mouth, groaning with satisfaction. "Yes. I can't believe you talked me into this."

I roll my eyes and steal the bowl from him. "What? I thought how cute it would be to do matching face masks together."

Asiel squeezes my nose between his knuckles, causing me to breathe through my mouth. "When did you suddenly become the romantic one?"

Grabbing a handful of the mixture, I rub my two hands together before lathering Asiel's face with the green, creamy goo. His body shudders at the strange feeling, and his eyebrows pull tight with disgust.

"Mika, if there's one place you could go... where would you go?" Asiel asks, his nose scrunching as I smear the mixture on his chin.

My mind goes blank like a movie ending before the credits roll. I never had a reason to go anywhere. All my life, I've been running around the dumps of Manhattan searching for a way to live a better one. It took eighteen years to build an empire I was proud of and not rely on anyone. All my nights at Paraiso have set me for life. I could go anywhere with whoever I wanted.

"I don't know," I reply, nibbling on my lip. "There is so much more to see than this shitty city. Hawaii, Ibiza, Barbados, Hong Kong. I'm down to visit Tokyo and learn more about my culture. At the same time, I'm not feeling any of those."

Asiel stuffs another slice of cucumber into his mouth. "Okay, then relax." He places his arms on my shoulders, giving them a soft rub up and down. "Close your eyes and empty your mind. Let imagination take its course."

It's become impossible to neglect Asiel's demands nowadays. So, I close my eyes and take a deep breath. Nothing. Pitch black darkness. Is my mind trying to tell me I have no future? When did I become so hopeless? Frustration spreads through my veins, and I sigh loudly. I have to make sure Asiel understands how annoyed I am.

He interlaces our hands, causing my heart to skip a beat. "Princesa, you have to relax your mind. You're thinking too hard about it."

I groan, my eyes fluttering open. "I am! It's just blank. I think I'm trying to tell myself something."

His eyes narrow. "And that is?"

Butterflies spiral around in a circle in my stomach as I focus on his warm touch. "I-I'm not sure. That I'm doomed. I guess."

My heart pounds in my ears when he squeezes my hand, sporting a boyish grin. A smile tugs at my lips as I stare at his ogre green face. He's my Shrek and Prince charming wrapped in one. The mask is setting on his face, giving his skin a rougher texture as it works its magic. It looks irregular because Asiel stopped me midway, leaving his forehead and nose bare.

"Muñeco, I need to finish the mask," I say, grabbing another glob of avocado and spreading it on his forehead.

He flashes his secret weapon-- his puppy dog eyes and seizes my wrists. "Mika, please answer the question. After we find those fuckers that killed Riley, I want us to get away from all of this. You and me. To escape this hellhole and travel the world together."

My pulse skids to a stop. "But your familia. You have so many responsibilities here, and I have the club. It's going to be this chaotic for the rest of our lives."

Asiel moves in closer, skimming his palms up the side of my thighs, and my skin scorched from his touch. "The familia can survive without me. If they need me, I'll be a call away. I don't need to be physically here to run it. Besides, I don't want it. I never did. The club doesn't need you. We can do it."

My lungs collapse inside of me. Ignorance is bliss. The world doesn't always give us the path we want. Sometimes I wish we were in a different universe where we were both normal adults. No secrets, no dark pasts, no enemies. In another world, Asiel could be the painter he always dreamed of, and I'll be the lonely girl searching for a reason in his paintings. We would go on coffee dates and long walks around the central park. Fall in love and share our first kiss under the city streetlights.

Simple.

Simple is great.

Simple works.

But that's not the reality.

A vision pops into my brain. The tall ancient building with shining bright yellow lights roams over us. A large body of water is in front of it with neatly trimmed grass. It's booming with other couples wandering around, holding hands, kissing. A slow grin crawls across Asiel's full lips as he shakes the massive teddy bear in his arms.

"Where do I want to go?" I say, grinning at the picture-perfect vision in my head. "I want to live your dream. Go to Paris together and do all that disgusting romantic shit you like. Share a croissant and coffee. Dance under the Eiffel tower. Honestly, we could be in a fucking box under a bridge-- I'll be happy because I'm with you."

With both of his hands, he grabs the back of my head and showers my cheeks with a million kisses. A stupid smile crawls across my face as I try to move away from his ogre, moist face. I shriek as the avocado spreads onto my skin. Asiel laughs, forcefully holding my face still to torture me.

"Muñeco!" I shriek, giggling so hard I can barely breathe. "Stop! You're such an asshole."

Asiel pouts with a hint of amusement in his upside-down frown. "I love it when you talk all romantic to me." He squeezes my cheeks like a pufferfish and places a massive sloppy kiss on my mouth to smear his avocado mask on my face. His lips are soft against mine, intertwining like perfect pieces in a puzzle. Asiel's kisses are sweet like him, mixed with a dash of poisonous pureness.

"Asiel! The mask is only the first step. We still have nine more steps before we can go lay in bed," I explain, causing a crease to form between his eyebrows. 

"What the heck?" Asiel groans, slumping back into his chair. "Why are there so many steps? It's not like you need any of this. You're fucking gorgeous just like this." A precious smile crawls across his face as his irises flare with admiration.

A frown mars my face as I stare into the mirror, catching a glimpse of the random chunks of avocado on my cheeks and nose. A literal fucking mess. The messy bun on top of my head does me no justice. I'm at my best in my birthday suit and shiny lip gloss. Asiel thinks I look gorgeous like this? In a fluffy white bathrobe?

"You think I look gorgeous like this?" I ask, earning an eager nod from him. "With Shrek's come all over my face? Thanks for that, by the way."

"Well, you know what they say." Asiel licks his lips as the sweet smile morphs into a teasing one. "Come helps keep the pimples away. It's the best natural mask. Maybe we should skip the rest of the steps and use the natural way God gave us."

My eyes playfully roll back. "You don't have to ask, Asiel. Just shove your cock in the back of my throat, and I'll gladly suck."

Asiel scrunches his nose, shifting around, but I catch the dent in his grey boxers as he rearranges himself. How cute. He gets a boner so effortless, but only for me. Seriously, we tried watching porn earlier, so I could explain sex positions better to him, and he never once got a boner until I went under the covers, sucking him off.

What can I say? I love watching people fuck and fucking in general.

A frown falls on my lips when Asiel grabs the bowl of avocado instead of shoving his dick in my face. "Aww, I was getting excited. Look at how much my mouth is salivating at the thought of your cock."

The heat from his mouth wafts around me as he grabs the nape of my neck, pulling my face towards him. "What a fucking brat," he mutters with a sly grin before crashing his mouth down on mine, drowning out my words. My heart thumps loud enough for the entire world to hear.

I can never get used to the way his lips feel. His lips are softer than anything I've ever come across, like floating in a pool of water, like biting into ice cream. The taste of him is causing my mind to fall off the deep end. He tastes like watery cucumber and desires. He steals my breath away every time.

How strange that instead of taking his heart, he ended up taking mine.

Slowly, my eyes flutter open, adjusting to the bright lights hanging on my makeup mirror. I grab the hand fan on the counter and wave it to combat the heat rushing through me from that kiss. There's a part of me-- my younger naive self wants to scream and proclaim to the world about my happiness.

Asiel digs his fingers in the bowl, gathering a ball of the mixture before spreading it on my face. "I think I figured out how to shut you up."

"Hey!" I protest, feeling my cheeks burn like a lamplight. "I'm not the one that goes on random tangents when they're embarrassed."

He scoffs. "And I recall you saying you love it."

I roll my eyes. "Whatever."

Asiel spreads the mixture on my cheeks, nose, chin, and forehead. His eyes fall to my lips, a reflex since we shared our first kiss. He drags my lower lip down with his thumb, slightly trembling from his touch.

"Who was your first kiss, Mika?"

My heart constricts, hating the answer to his question. "You won't like the answer. Besides, why does it matter?"

"Sue me for wanting to learn everything about you. Including your faults and perfections," Asiel says, his tone calm and genuine.

"Who do you think it was?" I say rhetorically, playing with the belt holding my bathrobe together. "Diablo or Eugene. When it happened, he used to go by that name. It was my sixteenth birthday, and he wanted to celebrate by getting drunk together. He was opening up Diablo's Paraiso at the time and I wanted to be an Angele. He refused, saying I was too young, which was true, but claimed I didn't have it in me."

I scoff, shaking my head. "I guess I was feeling rebellious. Our relationship had been strictly friends, but I wanted to show him I could get anyone, including him, to fall for my charms. So, we kissed-- made out. Either way, in the morning, he stood by his decision and said maybe when I turned eighteen, he would rethink his decision."

Asiel scratches the back of his hair, causing his strands to become a fluffy mess. "Did you have a lot of your firsts with him?"

I nod, feeling a pang in my chest as I catch a drift of Asiel's feelings from his scratchy throat cough. "None of it meant anything to me. It wasn't like I was giving away my precious flower-- it was more like a necessity to live. Besides, it was taken away from me before I had a chance to give it to someone. Experiencing this with you is real-- more real than anything I've done with Eugene."

Noticing the cracks in his mask, I grab a damp cloth and wipe the gunk from his face. "D-Did you ever have feelings for him? I'm not upset, Princesa. I like knowing your train of thought at the time."

I blow out a raspberry. "Hitting me with all the hard questions, huh? I guess, when I kissed him, it wasn't solely driven by my business inspirations. I spent most of my life with him-- it's natural a crush would surface, but it's long gone. Diablo and I know the in and outs of each other better than anyone."

"Better than me?" Asiel asks, his tone dripping with gloom.

"No," I whisper. "Diablo used to know me. The me before I met you. I've changed. Sometimes I like it and other days, I despise it, but I don't want to be anything like him. You're the only one who truly knows me."

He wants to shape me into the perfect little monster, but I'm not sure if I want that anymore.

Asiel cups my cheek. "You have nothing to worry about. You're nothing like him. You have just been lost, but I want to help you find what you're seeking."

His warmth scorches my skin as he strokes circles on my cheek with his thumb. "I don't even know what I'm searching for."

"It's okay."

Using his delicate touch, Asiel pulls on the belt around my waist, unraveling the robe and lowering the fabric off my shoulders. The bullet wound left a nasty scar on my shoulder-- deep and ingrained. His fingers dance over the gash, his irises losing Asiel's light in them. He doesn't need to feel guilty. I have plenty of scars. At least this time, I was proud of how I got it.

"It's nothing, Muñeco," I say to console him. "I have plenty of scars. This one is just the most noticeable."

He leans forward and presses his lips to the jagged, harsh skin. "Mika," he whispers my name, trailing his lips down my collarbone, causing my heart to pound out of my chest. "I didn't want to be like the rest. I want to protect you-- not throw you into the line of fire."

I wanted to thump him on the head. Give him a million reasons why he's nothing like the rest of the men I've known. His purity shines on me like a taunting reminder. I want the same exact thing he wants. To protect him from the harsh realities of the Cartel industry, but I'm the cause of him entering it, to begin with. Without realizing it, I'm throwing him into the line of fire, and I don't know if I can extinguish it in time.

Huh?

I guess the writers were right.

Love certainly makes you crazy.

Heheh I think this chapter is soo sweet and soo calm... so I hope you guys enjoy it 😜😜but I love soft movements like these.

It feels so mundane to have Asiel and Mika do something normal couples do since their life is so freaking intense 😂😂do you guys like it? Or I should skip and go to the action 😂👀.

Thank you for every comment, vote and just reading! I'm honestly so grateful and I get super excited whenever I upload because I love to see all your reactions!! I always wonder if you guys will react like how I did when I wrote it 😂😂🤭

Love ya💜