Chapter 9 Exhilaration

It was a NICE park. It was quiet. Clean air was present. I felt a sense of relief as I listened to the rustling of the leaves. The sky was glowing orange since it was getting dark. I was positioned beneath a large tree. Dog walkers were out and about, kids were running around, and there were numerous hot dog and ice cream stalls. We had been talking about the most illogical topics all day.

I was told about Alex's family by him. I could tell he loves his father a lot by the way he talks about him. He related several absurd tales from his youth. We had lunch at a little restaurant called Berry. There, the meal was excellent. I've learned that Alexis is a nice person at his core after spending time with him. Just an hour ago, he assisted an elderly woman by carrying her shopping bags to her car.

Alex was currently purchasing hotdogs for us. The milkshakes had been consumed, but we were still hungry.

Oh my God! Sorry, but I believe we might need to leave the nation. As he pushed me along the sidewalk, Alex's hands landed on my wrist, forcing me to keep pace with him. The sudden shift in attitude immediately made my senses cautious.

"What?" I questioned her in shock. "What happened?" you ask.

He looked back at me and muttered, "I got involved with bad people." Then he ran on, terror in his eyes. As we ran, I tightened my grip on his hand as my heart rate soared.

"What undesirables?" I inquired out of breath and shock.

It's "The Puppy Mafia!" He shouted while glancing back at me. When I turned back, a pack of puppies was after us. They were adorable but also appeared agitated. Have I ever mentioned my fear of dogs? So now I'm also afraid of pups.

"What did you do, Alex?" I inquired while attempting to contain my laughter at the entire scenario. With Alex's grave attitude, I could not help but chuckle even harder.

"I tripped over their tails by accident." He yelled while glancing about for something with his eyes. I felt a sudden tug on my heels, and when I turned around, I saw a puppy biting the hem of my pants.

"Ahhh! Alex! I'm being bit by it. Help!" I yelled as I ran more quickly, attempting to shake the puppy off. I saw that the dog was fairly close to our feet when I looked up. My eyes widened, and fear rushed through me. I had sweat running down my forehead. God, oh God! Alex! "Carry me!"

He picked me up and brought me into his arms in a matter of seconds. I clutched on to him while scanning his back for any trace of those malicious puppies. "Run! Faster! They are making up ground.

Only then did I realise that the entire park was amused and sympathetically observing us. Some of them were even filming the scene with their camcorders.

We've located a spot to hide. Alex exhaled and then abruptly leaped. He soon found himself racing down a deck of wood, which led to the tiny cruises and boats cruising the lake. He was ascending the stairway of a tiny cruise ship, which was stunning.

You cannot simply board one of the ships. I said.

"I own it." My eyes widened in shock, as Alex said. The puppy mafia was standing at the park's edge and barking at us as I turned around to look behind me.

When we reached the ship's deck, Alex halted. Although he put me on one of the tables, he didn't completely let go of me. He panted as he stood in between my legs with his hands on either side of my thighs. I glanced at him, feeling a little bad for forcing him to carry me.

His cheeks were still a bit flushed when he looked up, feeling somewhat more normal. When I started laughing, we both turned to look at each other. Before joining in the laughter, he grinned. We both burst out laughing at the situation as a whole.

We both turned toward the park after hearing a bark. One puppy was still barking at us.

"Fuck you, puppy!" The puppy fled after Alex gave it the finger. I giggled louder. I guffawed as I'd never guffawed before. I shrieked as suddenly powerful arms encircled my body, and I realised I was back in Alex's embrace.

We stopped laughing, and he turned to face me. As I waited for him to speak, I encircled his neck with my hand.

"I promised to keep you safe," I said. He smiled.

By puppies?

"Whatever."

His cheeks turned scarlet with embarrassment as I laughed. I laughed even more because I enjoyed his embarrassment. I've never seen him in this condition before. Before bringing me closer, he grinned at me.

I said, "Put me down." I jabbed him with my finger.

"No." He gave me a wink and a smirk before approaching the edge of the floating boat.

"Put me down right now." I made another attempt despite not really wanting to leave his embrace.

"Ok." I was abruptly pushed over the edge of the boat by his hands as he stated, holding me out. He was holding me above the water, I realised. Fear gripped me as I turned to face the river below. I was terrified as memories of my previous encounters with water raced through my thoughts. I shrieked in terror. I clung to him like a Koala, reaching for his neck. He laughed.

That wasn't hilarious, at all. He recognized his mistake after hearing my serious tone and walked over to the table to set me down.

"What's that? Tell me-" A harsh voice interrupted his consoling one.

"Sir." The call came from behind. Alex turned to face me. "Joab."

"Sir, do you need me? I have boat driving skills. Alex asked, looking to me for the response. I pursed my lips and nodded, trying to block out all the bad memories. After getting my approval, Joab swiftly jumped on board, and Alex accepted Joab's offer.

Alex returned my gaze. "You can tell me anything, Olivia." He gave my hands a comforting rubdown. Saying "I'm sorry."

I smiled at him while pursing my lips and gazing up at him. Asking "Where are we going?" Alex agreed after noticing that I was changing the subject and responding to my question.

"Wherever you like," He made a pledge in his whisper.