13
CLARITY
My eyes light up as I twist myself to look at him. "Really?" I've never been someone's favorite before.
His hand cups my cheek and travels to my neck as he nods. He's so close I can smell his coconut scent and minty breath. He licks his lips, and my eyes trail down to stare at them.
"Of course," his lips move to say. A shiver runs down my spine.
It's getting steamy all of a sudden. Is the building on fire?
"Clarity,” the flat of his thumb presses against my chin. I want to kiss you now," Olias whispers suddenly, his dark hair brushing against my forehead as he lowers his head oh-so-close.
I lock onto his pretty green eyes.
He wants to…what? Did I imagine the words, or had he actually said them?
My body takes a screenshot when his thumb grazes the corner of my lips.
It's getting hot in here…
His other hand slides under the sweater that I wear and grips my waist.
So take off all your clothes — I'm ridiculous.
"There's so many things I think about doing to you, things I shouldn't be thinking about. And I'm trying to be the good guy, I'm trying to be the better man,” his eyes drill into mine, “but I'm failing so fucking bad at it."
My lips part, and my breath turns shallow as his hand slides down the side of my hip. Oh, he definitely said those words.
Tingles ripple up the middle of my legs, and a desperate sound leaves my throat.
"Sometimes..." I start panting as our gaze fixes on each other. "Sometimes it's okay to fail."
Daringly, I bring my palm to his face, dragging my fingertips against his sharp jawline over the muscles that contract with tension. His eyes close, his hand tightening around my hip.
" Fuck ," he whispers under his breath. “You can’t look at me like that.”
I inhale sharply as Olias cranks his head down and kisses me.
My arms wrap around his neck automatically, flames bursting through my veins, scorching my body. He's soft like clouds yet rough and asserting. It's when his warm tongue slicks against my bottom lip when a whimper leaves my mouth. He swallows it, taking his chance to slip his smooth tongue in against mine, deepening our kiss.
My face burns as I give him my tongue as well, twisting it with his, feeling his hands travel to the back of my thighs, lifting me into his arms.
I wrap my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck, my heart beating at an unholy rate, feeling his hands grip my butt to hold me up.
Oh God.
My heart hammers against my rib cage, our mouths moving in sync. A throaty groan of his fills my mouth as if he can't get enough of how I taste. And when my fingers thread roughly through his hair, pulling it, I feel his breath quicken against my top lip.
He seems to really like it when I do that.
He rips his lips from mine, heavy pants leaving him as he looks up at me, clinging onto him. I can’t get over how strong he is.
He licks his now puffy, pretty lips, and I look back at them, wanting to continue our kiss. A kiss has never felt so good before.
"Why'd you stop it?" I whisper.
He clasps my butt one last time, pressing my waist flush against his, my breath stopping once again before he puts me down to my feet.
Coldness creeps up my body without him against it.
He slides his hand through his fluffed hair. "I had to."
"Why?"
He smirked, leaning down, and slightly pinched my chin to kiss the corner of my lips. Butterflies swarm my stomach, melting my guts. "Because I don't plan on fucking you on a rooftop. And that's exactly what would've happened if I kept kissing you."
My face is undoubtedly the shade of a tomato as I process what he means. "Oh." He's very... blatant with his words.
"And as much as I want to keep kissing you, it isn't why we're up here." He takes my hand into his soft ones. Again, I wonder if he moisturizes. "Come on."
He turns around, and I bring my fingers to my lips, still feeling the pressure of his kiss on my lips.
What just happened?
My body feels warm and fuzzy as he takes me through the door, and when we turn to walk around the concrete roof wall, my jaw drops at the sight of a freaking helicopter.
"Olias!" I gape.
He lets go of my hand and smiles as if proud.
The black helicopter sits in the center of a yellow circle, with an ‘H’ painted in the middle. The blades on top aren’t moving, but they're much more massive than I thought.
I stroll towards it and then laugh, a big grin stretching across my face. “Oh my God ."
"Do you like it?" he asks with hope, his hands in his pocket as he watches me walk up closer, my eyes gliding across the glossy black paint.
"It's amazing! I've never seen one so close," I turn back to look at Olias. "Can we get arrested for being up here?"
He smirks and shakes his head. "Why would I get arrested for checking out my own stuff?"
Can my jaw drop even more? "This is your helicopter?"
He nods. "Technically, it's my dad's, but... yeah, after he passed, everything he owned went to me."
"And exactly how much is everything?"
His shoulders rise and drop, and he changes the topic. "Have you ever been in one before?"
Why had he changed the topic? I guess talking about his dad is something sensitive. I get it; both my parents are sensitive topics.
He walks towards the helicopter and steps up on the extended stairs to open the passenger door. Realization dawns on me. He can fly a freaking helicopter .
"No, I've never been in anything that flies," I admit, astonished.
He holds the door open for me and tilts his head towards the inside. "Come on, then, get in, Clare."
I grin, biting my bottom lip before running up the extended stairs. Olias holds his hand out to help me up and I take it. The wind around us blows wildly through my hair, the brown strands flying everywhere as the tip of my nose freezes to death. It probably looks like I'm cosplaying Rudolph.
Before I can sit inside, he stops me. "What's your favorite color?"
"Pink. Why?"
He laughs. "Of course."
"What?" I question with a head tilt.
He shakes his head, pulls out his phone, and begins to text something, his thumbs moving quickly. "Nothing, it's just that it was very predictable. You're a girly girl."
"There's nothing wrong with being a girly girl," I protest, putting a hand on my hip. If anything, there aren't enough in the world anymore.
He puts a hand up in surrender, slipping his phone back in his pocket. "Hey, I never said there was. I like girly girls. A lot, actually. If I didn't, I wouldn't have kissed one a few minutes ago."
He gives me his famous crooked smile, and my insides go mushy.
If I didn't know any better, I'd think it was only us two on this planet at this moment instead of the seven-point-however-many billion other people that share it with us. Because that's what it feels like. Like it's just us.
My lips pull into a smile, and I drop my head a little so my hair covers my numb face.
I hear him let out a laugh through his nose. His hand comes to my waist. "Get in, Clare. I wanna show you this."
I nod, the flush of my face subsiding just a bit as excitement replaces it. Climbing in, I don't waste a second to slide my eyes across the inside of the helicopter like a kid in a candy shop.
Amazing is the only word to come to mind— That's not entirely true.
Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious is the first word to come to mind. But that's silly.
Olias climbs into the control seat and shuts the door behind him. He flicks on a few buttons, light rising from the control panels. My eyes light up, looking at all the buttons that remind me of some futuristic contraption. They glow in different colors, circles, and switches, with many buttons begging to be pressed.
Do not touch them.
Do not touch them.
Do not touch them.
I lift a hand towards a button—
" Clarity ," Olias grips my wrist tightly, yanking it away from the buttons. Damn it . "Don't touch anything at all . Do I have to tie your hands together?"
I shake my head as he passes me large, headphone-looking things. "Nope, I won't touch anything."
"I'm serious, Clarity. I want to get you back to my house safely tonight." He stares at me sternly, not letting go of my wrist.
"I won't touch, I swear."
He lifts his pinky, and a smile lifts on my face. "Then pinky promise me," he says.
I bite my lip to try and compress the joy I feel from him using what I taught him. I feel like a proud mom. Wait— no, that's weird. I kissed him.
My pinky slips around his, and it's final: I won't touch anything. To make sure of this, I sit on my hands.
Olias correctly puts the headphones on my head. He told me they’re used so we can hear each other while in the sky. The blades of the wings begin to spin, and I watch the helicopter slowly lift, Olias controlling the steering.
My mouth drops open, and I scream in excitement, still sitting on my hands to prevent me from grabbing things uncontrollably.
In seconds, we're thousands of feet in the air, and I lean over to look out further, seeing all the tall skyscrapers of New York City face to face. All the people below us in Times Square look like ants in a colony.
I can't believe it…I'm in a damn helicopter!
"Olias, this is..." I'm lost for words, a giant grin on my face as I look sideways to stare at Olias.
He's smiling ear to ear, his eyes crinkling at the corners as he stares at the sky, just like someone would stare at a road if driving.
"Feeling better?" He turns to me for a moment and then back to the sky. His voice comes through the headphones, a little muffled as if we were on the phone.
"Better? This is the best thing I've ever done in my life ," I exclaim. “I feel amazing.”
"Really? Because I haven't even shown you the best part."
I tilt my head. "What do you mean?"
He chuckles. "You said your favorite color is pink, right?"
"Yeah?"
"Turn your head around and look out the window."
I do as he says, whipping my head around. A gasp fills my lungs, my hands slipping from under my butt as I look through the helicopter window to see the Empire State Building glowing pink. My favorite color. How in the world?
"You did that?" I ask, my hands coming to touch the cold glass as he circles around the building at a generous distance. It's bright pink, and the very top section, which consists of a few stories, is illuminated with the color.
"Yeah, it was a hassle. I've been getting it done since we left the hospital. I know a few guys that work it. I figured you needed this after what happened. You like it?"
I turn to face him, coughing out a laugh. He's kidding . "I love it. Thank you."
He only responds with a warm smile and a glance away from the sky.
I stare at the building, the one that only ever changes color for special holidays and important dates. But yet this man made it change because it's my favorite color. My heart hurts in the best way possible. It feels more deeply than it ever did with Jonah. And now that I think about it, my heart has only ever hurt in the worst ways possible when I'm with him. I don't cry or get bruises when I'm with Olias. I don't mope or frown. I've always heard the phrase love blinds you, but I never considered it until now. Has my love for Jonah blinded me?
"You doing okay over there?" Olias asks, snapping me out of my thought bubble.
I nod. "Yeah, just thinking about how special your future girlfriend will be if you go this extreme for your friends.”
A part of me is jealous of my statement; another part is sad that I gave the girlfriend title to someone who doesn’t deserve it.
I hear him sigh through the headset. "Clarity..." he starts. I hum in response. "That shit fucking hurts," his quiet voice cracks, his jaw flexing.
My brows furrow. "What was that?"
He shakes his head, not looking at me. "Never mind, it's nothing," he says quietly.