Next day, Sarah and Aiden spent morning in two casinos. Aiden was not surprised by Sarah's winning any more. She was on fire, and he enjoyed basking in her flas. Most of the ti he didn't play at all, he just watched her with eyes full of love and admiration.
Sarah spent so ti to explain few of her strategies.
"It all sounds great… but I can't use that logic without your observation skills and attention to detail.", he concluded with sorrow in his voice.
"Oh…" There was hint of disappointnt in her voice. "It's OK. You are doing well without it." She comforted him. Or she tried to.
Aiden didn't mind. He knows that she is at least one level above everyone else. He was happy that she is with him, and that he gets a chance to watch her shine.
…
They went for a walk in one of the streets parallel to the strip, and Aiden sat on one bench next to the sidewalk with an excuse that he needs rest.
'What rest? We are barely walking 15 minutes!' Sarah didn't get a chance to complain about that because she saw where he sat. "Do you need to sit here? Let's go and find you another spot." Panic in her voice was obvious.
Aiden shrugged, pretending he didn't notice her unusual tone. "Nothing wrong with this. Co, sit next to . Take a break."
"Nothing wrong? This is a wedding chapel!" Sarah gestured to the building behind him. Above entrance it had a huge banner: 'The Best WEDDING CHAPPEL In Las Vegas'. "If we sit here, people will misunderstand."
"What is there to misunderstand? Don't make a big deal… it's a bench." He patted a spot next to him while trying to suppress his grin.
Sarah was losing her composure. 'How can he be this careless? Wait… is he doing this on purpose? No way… why would he do this on purpose?' She puffed her cheeks few tis, obviously dissatisfied with his behavior. "What if soone thinks that we are waiting to… you know… get married."
"Is there sothing wrong with that?" Her reaction made disappointnt in him swell. He could not see a single hint that she is interested.
There was so noise from the building, the door opened, and an obviously just married couple ca out. They didn't linger. They walked away down the street while holding each other.
"Are you next?" Man in a black suit asked while standing at the door.
"We don't have paperwork.", Aiden responded; displeasure in his voice was hard to hide.
Man was not discouraged in the slightest. "You don't need any. As long as you have IDs, that is enough. We offer full package. For $350 we will file everything for you, you get marriage certificate in mail. Package includes bottle of champagne, photos and video. Right now, we have a promotion going on, if you book our Elvis for your wedding song, you get 20% off!" It was obvious that man was happy how he advertised his service.
Aiden looked at Sarah who was staring at the man with her mouth slightly open. Aiden exhaled in frustration, "We don't have a willing bride."
Man was confused for few seconds, his eyes darting from Aiden to Sarah. "Well… I can't help you with that. Co back when you find one." The man went back inside, leaving the door open.
Sarah was still staring at the open door and not moving.
Aiden shook his head. 'This will take longer than I thought.' He stood up and put his hand around her shoulder, making her turn away. "Let's go to the hotel. We should get ready for lunch."
On the way to the hotel they were quiet, each in their own thoughts.
Aiden was not happy with Sarah's reaction. 'Does the idea of getting married to terrify her that much?' He felt his chest constricting. He knows she loves him. He knows that she can't imagine her life without him… So, what was that, then? What is with that shock which scread that she does not want to co close to anything like marriage? He started doubting himself. Maybe he is not good enough for her. She is brilliant, and no matter how good he is, he can't compare to her. Even if she is number one, and he is number two… the gap between them is enormous. Will he be able to reach her? To convey his feelings? Maybe he is doing all this in a wrong way. That's right. He will take a step back, reassess the situation and try sothing else.
Sarah's mind was in a loop. 'What was that? Did he drag to the wedding chapel on purpose? Does he want to get married? No way… we talked about it, and agreed that it's early… right? But… What was that?' She realized that she is going in circles and exhaled in frustration. They were close to the hotel when she decided to speak up. "Aiden?"
He looked at her while trying to hide his negative feelings. All his anxiousness, doubts, displeasure… it needs to go away. None of those went away, but he did a good job not letting those feelings show, or so he thought.
Sarah saw that he has so internal struggle. No matter how much he tried to look like everything is fine, Sarah can see that he is not fine. It made her heart ache thinking that there is sothing he is not telling her. 'Does he not trust ? Why can't he just say what is on his mind?'
Sarah hesitated while talking. "Uhm… whatever is on your mind… I hope you can just tell . I'm not good with hints… and I tend to overthink things. So… if you want to tell sothing… just tell … with words. OK?"
Aiden was not moving for few seconds, processing what she said. Then he relaxed. 'Of course. She always liked a straightforward approach. By doing these ridiculous hint-things I'm just making everything worse. What was I thinking?' He cupped her cheek in his palm and caressed its edge with his thumb. "OK. I need so ti to find the best way to convey my thoughts and feelings. As soon as I figure that out, I will tell you… with words." He leaned in and kissed her on the lips lightly.
Sarah felt how that light kiss carried sothing much more than just a kiss… sothing very important. And whatever that sothing is, he will tell her. With words. When he is ready. She smiled. "Thank you." It was obvious that she was relieved.
He was happy that she relaxed. "I should be thanking you… for reminding what is important."
"Like?"
Aiden pulled Sarah in his embrace and held her tightly.. "This."
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