THIS STORY IS FOR LAUREN AND STELLA. IT WOULD HAVE BEEN IMPOSSIBLE TO WRITE THIS WITHOUT YOU.

THE PURSUIT OF CHOCOLATE

Chapter Thirteen:

YOU CAN HAVE IT ALL, EVEN CHOCOLATE

Nathalie

One of the things I loved most about Mark was that he always understood me. He understood I wanted to take it slowly with him, and even though he thought that after all these years we have known each other moving into a relationship was hardly rushing it; he waited for me. We began to date – we didn't tell our parents right away though I'm pretty sure Jess knew; one because Mark moved back home, and two because I'm beginning to suspect that she knows everything and secretly is queen of the world.

Mark took me to the movies and out to diner, and dancing sometimes. Sometimes he cooked for me and sometimes I cooked for him. Sometimes we would just rent movies and stay at home making out and/or having sex, even if sometimes, like during sex, I began to think that I was doing it with Mark and I would begin to giggle; I still loved it.

There were many things I loved, to say the truth, I loved how Mark always held my hand when we walked. How he never forgot to bring napkins when we went to the movies so I didn't end up whipping my fingers on my pants. How, when I was in that time of the month, he made sure there was plenty chocolate and painkillers in the house and he rubbed my back. He took me to hockey games. And when we had sex, he always kissed the top of my head afterwards.

About two months after he moved back into the apartment, I moved into his room since it was the biggest one and I found his bed comfier than mine; I made him re-paint the walls, of course, and added my touch here and there until it didn't look like his room anymore but as ours.

Around that time we told our parents that we were 'together as in an item', Mom and Auntie Stella were thrilled, Dad took Mark aside to "have a little talk" and acted a bit weird around us for a while, but eventually things went back to normal between Daddy and Mark, which was good. In the time I had been gone messing up my life, Mark had stayed and won my dad's respect and he had to admit Mark was good for me.

Mark and me argue sometimes, but I think I like that, he doesn't always agree with me and he lets me know it, which I find incredibly hot, not that I'm neurotic or anything, but he does look sexy when he's angry, plus we usually have make up sex afterwards. Jess says I shouldn't worry that Mark and I have as much sex as we do, she says that, as a lawyer, she has found out that while bad sex makes up for 79 of a crappy relationship; good sex only makes about 10 of a good relationship. Sometimes I don't get from where Jess makes this kind of announcement but I trust Jess to tell me the truth in most aspects of life – except on what's really going on between her and that hot lawyer guy (who Mark calls The Devil's Avocado) that she has been seeing for the last few months.

At home, Mark and I are much of what we have always been, only better. And I get to see his naked butt a lot, which is good, since is a very nice butt indeed. And sometimes, late at night, we just lay in bed talking. We talk about the future, about the things we want to do and the places we want to be. We talk about traveling together through the north of Europe or the south of Asia; sometimes we talk about going as far as Australia and New Zealand, or simply just going all around the world. We talk about what would we do if we opened our own restaurant instead of keep working at Zephyr's; what type of food would we serve, where would we locate it, how he would have to do the accounting and all those things because I don't like doing it.

We might do that some day, open our own restaurant away from Zephyr's and Dad's menus and Uncle John's support. We don't know yet, but we decided that when we see a local that we like and things make sense in our heads that we are going to do it, open our own place.

Mark and I have a lot of plans and ideas and things we want to do together. I think the only thing we haven't talk about is getting married. Even though I know he's the one I'm going to marry, that I love him and that I want to spent the rest of my life with him; we haven't talked about actually doing the whole wedding thing – which sets both our mothers on the edge as they are eager to plan a wedding, let me tell you - but we are okay as we are.

I'm his girl and he's mine.

Is funny how life sometimes turns out.

Growing up I would have never imagine that I would end up with Mark; it was just not something I ever considered. But I wouldn't trade him for the world.

In so many words: I have IT all, only that it turned out the IT was not what I expected.

But that's fine.

I like to be surprised.

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End of Chapter Thirteen

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End of The Pursuit of Chocolate