His Naughty Lessons-Chapter 266: Make the Best of It

** Eli **

The smile that slowly bloomed over Harper’s face was mesmerizing, curving her sweet lips before crinkling the corners of her eyes, making them gleam even more prettily in the soft evening light.

"Yes, you may," she chuckled. "It’s a lovely evening for a stroll, isn’t it? The moon is so perfect and bright."

They both looked up. A full moon was hanging high in the deep blue sky, its silver light falling on the treetops like a sheer layer of snow dusting over the tip of the tallest branches. The radiant luminance dimmed the stars on the dark expanse above, but brightened up the whole world beneath in a serene shade of pale blue, and the sight of the crisp midsummer night was such a stark contrast to the lively chaos at the restaurant mere moments ago.

"It is lovely," Eli agreed. With a flourish, he made a bow and lifted Harper’s hand, pressing a gentle kiss onto its back. "And it makes you look all the more so as well, cloaked in its glowing halo."

Harper tilted her head and chuckled again, apparently entertained by his knightly gesture and praise, though she probably had no idea that he absolutely meant what he said. She took his hand, laced his fingers through hers, and the two made their way together through the stony park gate.

"So I guess dinner was a reasonable success today," the girl mused as they followed the cobblestone walkway winding across a gentle hill, lined by birches and oak trees. "Don’t you think so? Tyler was even making fun of you a couple of times. That’s his sign of treating you as a good friend again. He seemed to be in a pretty good mood in general, too, and we probably have Chelsea’s clever jokes to thank for that."

"Mmm." Eli agreed, though he wasn’t particularly focused on thinking about their dinner guests anymore. It was a bit too distracting, when the moonlight was draping over Harper’s slender figure like a flowing, shimmering veil, turning the vibrant color of her hair into a soft blur and the white summer dress she wore into a silky, glowing charm out of a fairytale.

Who ever said that a goddess needed a regal gown and crown to look breathtaking? Even under this plain light, she still looked so dreamy and ethereal, dazzling with a holy light that made him lose all his thoughts when he looked upon her.

"I think we should do this again," she continued. "The four of us on a double date, I mean. I have a feeling that we’re going to get along together really well that way! Though I’ll have to make sure it’s not a date involving tequilas, I really can’t stand the taste of that thing."

She grimaced, wrinkling her nose.

Even that silly expression didn’t affect her fairytale-like image. On the contrary, it only added a spark of vividness to her enchanting figure, and Eli couldn’t help but smile at the cute way she pursed her lips in dislike.

"Um ... What’s wrong Eli? You’re grinning at me the same way you did when you hit your head on the wall last time. Are you alright?"

"..."

Right. The simper on his face must’ve strayed too much into the "you are so beautiful that I’m getting dizzy from simply looking at you" direction.

"Sorry. I was just thinking ..." Eli cleared his throat, a bit too embarrassed to admit the lovestruck trance that he had just fallen into. "Um, I was just thinking ... you said we’re meeting again next weekend when Tyler left, right?"

Not that he wanted to be thinking about a double date with other irrelevant people already, but in a moment of trying to hide his real thoughts — which would probably only sound cheesy and insincere even if he dared to admit them — it was the first excuse that came to his mind.

To his surprise, Harper sighed. "Yeah, I did, though that was more of an excuse to send him away. My project’s full concept design deadline is coming up in a couple of weeks. It’s a big deal, and even though I’m getting more help on my workload these days from the team, next weekend is probably still going to be insanely busy ..."

She looked around them, letting out a soft sigh. "But either way, this is a nice break I’m getting before then, and we should come back here when I have the time for it again! It’s such a pretty part of the town that I didn’t know existed. The restaurant was nice, too, and I like the smell of fresh grass and woods here that you can’t possibly get in the middle of the city."

A soft breeze stirred past as she said the words, and she closed her eyes, drawing a deep inhale of that fresh air she loved. The wind tousled her hair, gently swaying the skirt of her dress, and for a moment, she looked like a fairy spreading her wings, lost dreamily in the pure nature surrounding them.

Eli’s heart fluttered at the sight, all the while aching for the demanding job that had to make her busy even on a weekend. And that was when he knew what was the right thing to do next.

"Or we should make the best of it this time while we’re here. Come with me." Tightening his clasp on her hand, he led her up the small hill to the side of the cobblestone walkway, and it took them a few minutes of treading through shallow grass to climb up the gentle rise of the slope.

"Wait, where are we— oh."

Harper’s question died on her lips when they emerged on the other side of the hill, overlooking a small pond that reflected the perfect full moon over its mirror-like surface. A tiny bridge stretched over the center of the water, and a ring of meticulously manicured lawns was laid out in a circle surrounding the banks.

Above the lawns, twinkling like little golden stars scattered all over the grass, were countless sparkles of fireflies.