Where We Are

28: I’m Not Letting You Go Again

Tasting a little of the food that he had prepared, Iker grinned to himself, more than a little proud of himself. It had been a while, with a lot of their focus settled on the build up to Ella’s arrival, they’d not had a chance to celebrate the fact that they had gotten back together, and Iker wanted to take the opportunity to mark it, even if he had only prepared them a quiet dinner at home. He wanted to make a little bit of a fuss of Maia. It had been a busy few weeks, with Ella having arrived a lot of people had been keen to make a fuss of the baby, and Iker wanted to make one of Maia, wanting to remind her how happy he was that they’d patched things up.

Their relationship had taken a backseat, when Ella had come along, things had between him and Maia had fallen into the background, and he wanted to pull it to the forefront again, even if it was just for a night. He wanted to ensure that Maia knew that she, and their relationship, were important to him.

Taking another bite of the food he had made, he moved to place the tray back into the oven to keep warm before the sound of the front door opening and closing reached his ears, causing him to quirk a grin to himself before he padded through the apartment, leaning against the doorframe which led out into the hall. “You’re back” he quipped.

Maia, who’d moved to pull her coat off, startled visibly at the sound of his voice before she looked up, offering him a small glare. “Did you do that on purpose?” she posed, her voice caught between irked and teasing.

Iker chuckled slightly before he shook his head. “Of course not” he noted “But I am glad that you’re back. Dinner is about ready” he added.

Maia, who’d moved to slip her feet out of the shoes, lifted an eyebrow. “Dinner?” she posed.

Iker nodded. “You didn’t think that there was a reason I asked if your madre wanted to watch Ella?” he quipped, a boyish grin on his face.

Maia simply offered him an unimpressed smile, causing him to let out an amused laugh before he stretched his arm out, offering his hand to her. “You trust me?” he quipped impishly.

Maia rolled her eyes but still proceeded to place her hand in his, allowing him to guide her through the apartment, stopping as they reached the kitchen.

Offering Iker a quick dubious look, she turned to look at the room before she shook her head, a grin pulling at the corner of her mouth. “You’ve been busy” she quipped, admiring the room.

It wasn’t too much, Iker had simply lit a few candles and placed a vase of flowers in the centre of the table, but still it made enough to make Maia smile. It’d been a while since they’d had an opportunity to take a romantic night to themselves.

“I’d hardly say that” Iker countered, offering her a small smile “But I have cooked. Are you hungry?” he posed, pressing a soft kiss against her temple.

Maia closed her eyes at the feel of his lips against her head before she nodded, stepping away from him slightly. “When was the last time you cooked for me?” she quipped, moving to collect a couple of plates from the cupboard.

Iker, who’d moved to collect the tray from the oven, shrugged. “I don’t remember” he noted “If you remember, this isn’t exactly my forte” he added with a grin.

Maia let out a small laugh before she nodded. “I remember the first time you tried to cook dinner here” she quipped “We’d been together for almost three months I think and you were insistent about it. I kept offering to help, but you insisted that you’d be fine so I left you to it, only to come back through to find you staring at a burnt saucepan with flour on your face” she added with a smile.

Iker admired the bright smile on her face before he shook his head, his expression slightly sheepish. “I remember that” he noted “It was only the second time you’d let me come by here and I almost set the place on fire. I was amazed that you let me come back” he added, moving to place some food down onto the plate.

Maia, who’d moved to sit down at the table, shrugged playfully. “You were pretty cute” she quipped “Besides, that night was the night that we first said a certain three words to one another” she added, bashfully tucking some hair off of her face.

“You remember that?” Iker posed, his voice softening slightly.

Maia nodded, her cheeks turning a soft shade of pink. “We’d just settled down with the bag of food that I’d ordered in to replace the mess you’d made in my kitchen and you just started staring at me” she babbled, shaking her head.

“You got nervous” Iker followed on with a chuckle, sitting down in the seat opposite her “You did that thing where you push your hair behind your ear and then you made some awkward little joke and I just kind of...said it” he added as he reached his hand out, gently taking a hold of hers which fiddled shyly with the napkin which he had laid out on the table.

Maia spared a look down towards their hands before she shook her head, her cheeks still a soft shade of pink. “I thought I’d heard you wrong” she mumbled, a soft laugh falling out of her mouth.

Iker snorted out a laugh. “I thought you looked terrified when I said it” he teased.

Maia rolled her eyes before she shook her head, something which caused Iker to lift her hand, allowing him to press a soft kiss against the back of it. “I love you” he murmured softly “And I know that the last few weeks, they’ve been pretty up in the air with Ella arriving and all the fuss that that has bought, but I want you to know that. I’m crazy about you, Maia, and whilst nights like this are going to be few and far between for a while, I don’t want you to doubt that” he insisted, pressing another soft kiss to the back of her hand.

Maia smiled at the feel of his lips against her hand before she shuffled her seat a little closer, allowing her to press a soft kiss against his lips. “I don’t doubt it” she murmured as she pulled back “You’re the worst liar” she added teasingly.

Iker simply rolled his eyes, something which encouraged Maia to lean into him once, stealing another couple of soft kisses. “I don’t doubt it, Iker” she murmured “I know how you feel about me, and I hope you know that the feeling is mutual. We’ve made our mistakes when it comes to this...to us, me perhaps more than you, but I am happy, Iker. I love you, you know that, right?” she posed, her expression slightly unsure.

Iker admired the look on her face for a moment, his dark eyes scanning her blues, before he nodded his head, a reassuring smile appearing at the corner of his mouth. “I know” he noted “And you’re right, we did make mistakes before, but that is behind us, Maia. This is new, this is a fresh start, and I want to get it right this time. I don’t want to let you go again, amor” he insisted, squeezing her hand gently.

Maia spared a small glance down towards their hands before she nodded her head, wordlessly agreeing with him. It was new, despite what had gone before it, their relationship was new and different, and she wanted to make it work as much he did. She liked them together, to her mind at least, they made a good couple, and she didn’t want to let it slip by again, not when she knew that there likely wouldn’t be a third shot.
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Thanks to FootieJo for the comment :)