Grabbing my jacket up, I put it on and dust my lapels off. Someone pushes my shoulder and I bring my eyes up to the top of my stairs.

In movies I always see the moments where the guy gazes up to the top of the stairs, he is rendered utterly speechless because of the beauty that is walking toward him. I would think that is so much bullshit. If you have seen one beautiful woman you’ve seen, then all. I was wrong.

As I mentally try to scrape my jaw off of the terracotta tiled floor, my wife gracefully glides towards me. Flowers appear in front of me.

“Hi.” She smiles.

“Hi. You’re stunning,” I reply, holding the bouquet of flowers in my hand.

“Are those for me?” She points at the bouquets of sunflowers in my hand.

“Shit, yes, sorry.” I pass the flowers to her.

“They are beautiful.” She smells them and smiles up at me.

Both of us just stand there watching each other. I never thought a blazer could be this sexy. Her legs are glowing, I can see hints of gold on her skin.

Her lips glisten with a rich caramel gloss. It’s inviting me for a taste, I know from experience they taste as beautiful as they look.

“Um, let me take these flowers from you.” Cassia takes the bouquet out of Anise hands.

“Okay kiddos off you go. I got Kai for the night. Enjoy.” Rosemary claps break the spell that I feel Anise has placed me under since she came down the stairs.

“My lady.” I stick my elbow out.

“Sir.” She smiles up at me and leans in closer. Everything about this moment feels right. She smells like coco cream and musk. It’s sweet and sexy. If it were just the two of us here the date would have been postponed, because I would have taken her right here on the couch.

“I’m excited.” She squeezes my forearm.

“Me too.”

* * *

ANISE

We are going flying. This is not just any flight; we will be taking a closed-door helicopter tour of Charleswood city. I am so excited I want to scream.

After looking at the safety video, Eryx and I are escorted out to the helicopter we are harnessed for our safety. Open rides are what most people do. But because of my heels and short dress, this will be a close door ride.

As the helicopter blades begin to whirl, I adjust my headphones and I wrap my arm around Eryx’s.

“You, okay?” He questions his voice full of concern.

“Yes, this is amazing,”

As we rise into the dark night sky, the stars twinkle around us. The humming of the engine lulls me into a trance as the night sky meets the glowing landscape.

The pilot takes us over the city of Charleswood, the streets transform into a warm river of light. The tall glass buildings stand proud as they all shimmer and gleam in the night sky.

Eryx intertwines his fingers with mine as he points out the famous building of Charleswood. I watch as his stormy gray eyes dilated in excitement.

His eyes sparkle in wonder as he continues to point out all the streets and the rivers. From this height everything looks so serene, and peaceful.

“All right, Mr. and Mrs. Demopoulos, I’m about to dim the light to show you the real beauty of Charleswood,” the captain said.

“A whole new world,” Eryx whispers in my ear.

“I love sharing this with you. Aladdin, you remembered!” She blushes, her cheeks raise high on her face.