Box of Chocolates - 1. Chapter 1

Box of Chocolates
by Ieshwar

“Happy Wednesday, Mon amour”, was written on the wrapped box.

‘Larry,’ Jase smiled as he thought of his half-French half-English boyfriend. Only Larry knew how to make him feel like he was the most beautiful person in the world. Jase wondered what was the reason for such an unexpected gift. But he could already hear his soft voice whispering in his ear, “Every day in love with you is worth celebrating.” That was what he always said. Jase missed him so much; right now he was half-across the globe in France for the launch of his new program.

The moment Jase lifted the small thin box from the doorstep he knew what it was. Chocolates! Grinning like a seven-year old boy, he opened the wrapper and removed the lid as fast as he could. A faint scent rose in the air - the scent of chocolate mixed with the fainter scents of mint, caramel and… was that strawberry? Apart from Larry, only chocolates could make Jase’s knees buckle with weakness.

He sat down on the couch and looked at his newly acquired treasure. Five pieces of chocolates laid on the thin pink paper. His mouth watered as he merely looked at them. He had to choose one. Which one would be the first? The first chocolate from a box is very important. The round one or the oval one? The round one looked a bit bigger. So the round one it was.

Jase sank his teeth in the dark mass and a sweet thick liquid oozed out. Chocolate and caramel! The tastes on his tongue kept switching between the heavenly chocolate and the sweet caramel. Each complemented the other. The caramel made the chocolate taste ‘wilder’ and more ’rustic’; the chocolate made the caramel taste like some refined royal delicate sweet. He couldn’t help but let out a quiet moan of pleasure.

The pleasure didn’t last long enough for Jase’s liking. He went back to the box for the second one. Which one would it be? He looked at them, trying to make sure that his choice was the right one.

This time he chose the one with the peculiar curvy shape. It looked weird and interesting. It was not the sweet caramel; it was the crunchy almond. The chocolate covering danced on his tongue while the almonds crunched between his teeth. Jase had tried chocolate with all kinds of nut, but none could beat the almond. It was not too ‘nutty’ but enough to accompany the chocolate. It was just right.

He noticed small smudges under the chocolates, but he paid no attention to them. He had a box of chocolates to finish. All he needed to know at this moment in time was which one would be the next to go into his hand - or, better, between his teeth.

Of course he already knew which one was going to be next. The mint! He lifted the small chocolate with the small green bits. It looked like a delicious ore. The mint shone like gold. The mixed scent of fresh mint and intoxicating chocolate made his pulse increase. The taste was as heavenly as the scent. The chocolate was the main taste and the mint was like small refreshing breaks in between. Jase remembered Larry once describing the taste of chocolate and mint as “awesome sex, then cuddling, awesome sex, cuddling again and awesome sex and cuddling again.” That moment, he knew that he had chosen the right man for himself.

Jase wondered if he should keep the final two for later. He always told himself this but doing was never easy. The two balls of chocolates looked so inviting. A small voice in his head said, ‘You know you can’t resist it. Just have them all. They want you to taste their delicious soft heavenly…’

Determined, he reached for the box before he changed his mind. But, instead of closing it, his hand, by itself, took the chocolate with the strawberry and put it in his mouth. Jase moaned. He had never tasted such an exquisite strawberry jelly. It was not just sweet like the rest of the jellies; it had this exotic strawberry taste - as if the strawberries had just been freshly crushed. If food had chemistry like people do, chocolate and strawberry would be like Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie - or, more correctly, like Jase and Larry.

He reached for the fifth and last chocolate, the one with the oval shape. As he held it in his hand, he realized that the small smudges he had noticed earlier under the chocolates were in fact words. He peered at them and read out loud:

“Jase, will you marry me?”

His voice stuck in his throat. He kept looking at the words, the chocolate in his hands forgotten. He read three, five… ten times.

“Should I take your silence for consent?” a voice said from the door with a small nervousness creeping in.

Jase raised his head and saw Larry standing there at the door with his signature lopsided grin and his six foot tall frame just fitting in the door. He couldn’t speak, so simply nodded his head. Larry came and took him in his arms.

“I love you, Jase,” he whispered into his ear.

“I love you too,” Jase said, as he found his voice.

And they kissed. There was only one thing that tasted better than chocolate - Larry. He tasted like Heaven itself. Nothing could beat him. Not even the chocolate melting in his hand.