When she burst out laughing and squirmed against him, Arvil smirked. He increased the force with which he was tickling her, but it had been a bad idea.
Pinning her under him would’ve been a better idea.
Arvil hoped she didn’t notice. She would, but there was no harm in wishing.
“No, no, no,” Daisy squealed finally, gasping for breath. She squirmed again, pressing back harder against him. A breath that had nothing to do with being tickled left her lips as she did so, and her heart skipped a beat. Was he… turned on by this? “Arvil…”
Shit. Arvil immediately let her go, clearing his throat. He rubbed the back of his neck as he stepped back, cursing himself. Way to let her know just how badly he wanted her.
“Well, no tickling you with you pressed against me like this,” he declared, fighting his awkwardness. “I’ll let you eat.”
Daisy was shocked enough that she didn’t even bother to turn around for a moment. When she did, her face was bright red, and she looked over his face. Her lips were parted slightly, though she didn’t say anything.
After a second, she blinked and slowly sat back down in her seat. She couldn't meet his gaze for a while as she ate, slowly as her mind ran rampant with her thoughts.
Arvil took a seat as well. Though he wasn’t visibly red, he was embarrassed, too. That had never happened before. Then again, he’d never wanted anyone as much as he wanted Daisy.
He drank the cold water, hoping it would cool him down.
“Right,” he cleared his throat, blinking his eyes. “Was there anything we needed to discuss…?”
Daisy glanced up at him and took a sip of her own water. She wasn’t embarrassed… just a little flustered.
She had made him feel that way. She was the reason his body had reacted like that. And she had no idea why he would want her badly enough that it would happen.
“Right, uh… That’s all I have for now, I think. I’ll let you know if I think of anything else,” she said, her voice surprisingly clear and level.
Arvil ran a hand through his hair, sighing before looking at Daisy.
“I’m sorry,” he apologized, though he had no idea why. “It won’t happen again. I didn’t realize—uh, yeah…”
Daisy blinked, the pink she had just barely gotten rid of immediately returning to her cheeks. She coughed softly, lifting her glass to her lips for another drink.
“It— it was fine. Really. You can’t control how your body reacts,” she assured him quietly.
Arvil immediately stood up, his eyebrows furrowed. It was a terrible idea staying. He needed to leave.
“I should go,” he said, swallowing, avoiding looking at her. “The food was delicious, Daisy. It truly was.”
Daisy looked up at him, her brows drawing together as she stood as well. Her lips pursed as her gaze flickered over his face.
“Thank you. Are you sure, though?“ she asked slowly, her palms flat on the table. “You don’t have to leave. Like I said, it was fine.”
“Trust me, Daisy, I should leave,” Arvil repeated, his voice rough. She really had no idea what she did to him, did she?
Daisy’s nostrils flared slightly, not from anger or hurt but… slight confusion. Why couldn't he stay? Why did she suddenly want him to so badly?
“All right,” she finally agreed with a nod. “Do you want to take any food home with you, by any chance?”
Arvil exhaled softly, finally looking at her once he had himself stabilized.
“If there’s some to take, I’d love to,” he responded quietly, his grip on the chair he grabbed tightening.
Daisy nodded at him once, slowly, and picked up the bowl from the center of the table. “I’ll be back in a minute,” she said before disappearing into the kitchen. True to her word, she came back not long after and held out a piece of Tupperware for him to take.
Arvil took it, still cursing himself for his stupidity. Why couldn’t his body behave around her?
“Thanks,” he cleared his throat again. “I’ll let you know when you can have a tour of my house. And when we can visit my mother.”
“Sure. Thank you for coming over today,” Daisy said softly, reaching up to pat her hair a couple of times out of habit. “Have a nice rest of your day, Arvil.”
Arvil hummed, wishing her goodbye as he exited her apartment. As he walked to his car, he continued to curse himself.
What was he, a high schooler? That was mortifying.
Once daisy had closed the door behind Arvil, she sighed heavily and leaned her forehead against it. She still could not believe that had just happened… Did he really want her like that? Really?
[TIME SKIP: A FEW DAYS]
After the… incident, Arvil pretended nothing had ever happened. He was back to his usual self, but he couldn’t exactly forget the incident. He could look at Daisy in the eyes, but not without remembering. It was all an inner turmoil.
He managed to clear up the misunderstanding about Cameron being their son during an interview. He didn’t want to bring much attention to his sister—though she had simply laughed when she found out.
Anyway, it was time for lunch. Arvil and Daisy’s wedding was getting closer, and it had been a good idea to meet up to discuss further things before they met his mother later in the week. So he was there, in the restaurant they agreed to meet at, waiting for Daisy at a table.
Daisy slid her glasses back up her nose as she searched in her bag for her phone. She could have sworn she’d put it in her bag when she left her house, but for some reason she couldn’t find it. And she was already at the restaurant where she was supposed to meet Arvil. What if work called? They might need to tell her something important, and she wouldn’t— Oh, no, that was it. Hidden in the bottom of her purse. As usual.
Releasing a relieved breath, she finally climbed out of her car and made her way to the front door. It was already a couple of minutes later than she was supposed to have met with Arvil, so he hopefully wouldn't think she was flaking out on him.
When she entered, she glanced around before her gaze landed on her fake? fiancée. She walked over and greeted him with a soft, “Hey,” before sitting across from him.
Arvil looked up when he heard Daisy’s voice. His lips curled up into a smile as he watched her take her seat.
“Hello there, Daisy darling,” his eyes twinkled mischievously. “The issue with our supposed child was resolved, if you were watching the interview. Or saw the articles on the internet. You are no longer a mother.”
Daisy groaned a little, putting her forehead in her hand. She shook her head and looked up at him with raised eyebrows.
“Well, thank you for that. I’m definitely glad that the issue was resolved,” she said, glancing down at the menu in front of her. She opened it and glanced over the items before looking back up at him. “Although, that was a weird way to word it. Makes it sound a little sad.”
Arvil let out a laugh, shaking his head. “True. Indeed, it was a weird way to word it,” he watched her amusedly. “You are no longer mistaken as a mother. Does that work?”
“That’s better,” Daisy agreed with a hum. She looked him over, her head tilting slightly to the side. “So… How have you been?”
I haven’t seen you since… the other night…
“I’ve been good,” Arvil hummed as nonchalantly as possible. As good as he could be. “What about you? The wedding’s in a few weeks, isn’t it? Do you have a dress ready yet?”