29. Delilah
Chapter twenty-nine
Delilah
“ A rcher, stop being such a baby.” I rolled my eyes as he walked me to my terminal.
Our jets were leaving on opposite sides of the airport, and for some reason, he felt upset that he couldn’t accompany me home.
“I just don’t understand why you want to go by yourself. Give Kimiko, Benjamin, and the other two my jet, and we can enjoy this ten-hour flight together,” he somewhat whispered, but I could tell from the looks on Avery and Nathan’s faces that they were not too happy with his comment.
“You’ll be fine. We’ll see each other a little later. Now go. Your jet is waiting for you.”
“I want you to keep me company,” he continued as if it was the simplest thing in the world.
I grabbed his hands in mine as we stopped and stroked his palm. “My parents and Kimi’s parents will be waiting for my plane and, if not them, our other security. We don’t need more of an audience to our relationship, okay? And besides, your plan didn’t include Sterling, and he’s going with you.”
“Unfortunately,” Archer replied.
Kimiko cleared her throat as she watched our interaction. We looked over to see her giving us a look of disapproval.
“I still think this isn’t a good idea,” she said.
Archer went to speak, but I placed a finger over his mouth and shook my head.
“You know she’s not entirely wrong. Now go. I’ll see you later,” I said, and he sighed as he placed a kiss on my forehead before leaving, not sparing the others a look.
I looked over to Kimiko, who seemed like she was about to erupt.
“Reynolds. Leave me alone,” she said menacingly, and Sterling chuckled.
“Admit that you had a good time and that my suggestion to the dean turned out to be a success.”
She sighed and crossed her arms as she glared daggers at him while he held the biggest smirk on his face.
“I did not have a good time. Your suggestion only turned out to be a success because of how close you are to the dean. It was careless and spontaneous, and you still were able to pull a victory over me… You win this round, Reynolds. Next time, I won’t be so tolerant of your idiotic behavior.” She walked away from him as she went towards the terminal, and Avery followed suit.
Sterling placed his hand over his heart, and I watched in confusion as Archer came back to where we had been standing.
“Sterling, you’re lucky I didn’t leave you—what are you doing?” he asked, and Sterling looked over his shoulder in a daze.
“I’ve been lovestruck, Archer, by a five-foot-two little Asian tiger in heels.”
I looked at him in disbelief. “You do know she’s planning on murdering you, right?” I asked in all seriousness, and he nodded, turning his head back to watch Kimiko as she sauntered away, annoyed.
“And if that shall be my fate, then so be it; at least I will die at the hands of such a powerful woman.”
Archer nodded and grabbed Sterling’s arm as he bid me one last goodbye.
Nathan stood a few feet away from me, and I walked over to him so we could make our way to our terminal to find Kimiko, Avery, and Benjamin, who had made his way over earlier as well.
Eventually, as we boarded the plane, I got lost in my thoughts. Benjamin, Nathan, Kimi, Avery, Sterling, Reginald... Six people that I know of are aware of Archer and I being in a relationship.
This number was far too large. We were supposed to be a secret, remain hidden for as long as we could. But the cat was out of the bag, no matter how much I wanted to force it back in.
I sat in my seat and looked out the plane’s window as we finished boarding. Maybe this isn’t a good idea... Maybe I should end it now before we get too deep... before things get out of control and out of hand. Two people went to six in a day. Imagine what will happen when we get back. It’s not too late to back out—
My thoughts wandered like crazy when I felt something pull me out of my trance.
I gazed down at my phone to see it had buzzed. I rolled my eyes, seeing the message from the one and only person who was the source of my stress lately.
Archer: Tomorrow we’re spending the day together.
You seem to think my life revolves around you, Lockwood.
It doesn’t?
I could imagine the arrogant smirk he most definitely had on his face.
Getting a bit of déjà vu from the last time you forced me to spend time with you, but… I’ll think about it.
We’re meeting at the local coffee shop by the academy.
The pilot asked us to fasten our seatbelts to get ready to take flight, so I sent Archer one last message as the smile never left my face.
Stop texting me before you take down my plane.
And I’m the bossy one, huh, Princess?
I walked into the coffee shop, and Archer sent me a text telling me how far away he was. When I had got home around midnight yesterday, my family was ecstatic to see me. They crushed me with their hugs and kisses.
We only had a few days before school officially started back up, and I would, unfortunately, start working for Calvin to return the favor of him giving my father peace of mind... It was times like these that I wished anyone else could take my position as the mediator between them.
My mother was usually in charge of being the peacekeeper, but after I turned about thirteen, she unofficially passed that job over to me, just as she had unofficially gotten the job in the first place.
Calvin is… different. He has twisted intentions and a messed-up view of life, but in order to be happy, I had to learn him, understand the intent behind his actions, play his game. I had to make him happy so my father could be satisfied and so I could, therefore, be happy—a truly unhealthy way of living.
I stood by the counter, waiting for my name to be called, and I couldn’t help but feel like I was being watched. Giving into my thoughts, I looked around to see Luca on the nearby wall with his eyes fixed on me. He had about a hundred different emotions moving across his face. He seemed happy to see me, but at the same time, it was like I was the last person he was expecting as well.
I looked away from him as I waited for my drink, and I could hear him approach me.
“Hello, doll,” he said, and I peered up at him. The look on his face was indescribable. He looked confused, but I couldn’t decipher any possibilities as to why.
“Why are you staring at me like that?” I asked him, and he seemed to snap out of whatever he was doing and return to as normal as he could act.
“Such a beautiful individual like yourself should be used to the stares of men, wouldn’t you think so?”
I tilted my head. “Even if they act as creepy as you do?” I asked innocently, and he chuckled, but it was dry and serious.
“You do things to men, Delilah. There’s just something about you that can make any man fall to his knees and be at your beck and call... Yet here I am, and you continue to ignore me.” He whispered the last part, but I still heard him.
I went to answer, but another voice entered our conversation, causing me to turn my head.
“It’s impolite to harass women, Luca,” Archer said as he wrapped his arm around my waist, causing a blush to rise to my face.
Luca chuckled as he watched the small gesture and looked away. “But apparently when you do it, it’s cute and sweet… However, I must say, you did have an unfair advantage over me: over ten years of desperation,” he remarked.
Archer laughed, but I could tell he was anything but humored by Luca’s words.
“You think you’re in any place to talk, Crawford?” he started, but I grabbed his arm.
“Archer,” I simply said, and he looked down at me as I shook my head.
Luca chuckled once again. “So I guess I wasn’t entirely wrong. You’re a couple now. How cute,” he remarked.
This time, I couldn’t hold Archer back as he stepped closer to Luca.
“I would hope you know that this isn’t any of your concern.”
“Oh, I am quite aware that it is none of my concern.” Luca spoke with satire lacing his voice.
Archer glared at him. “Exactly. None of your concern, so I’m sure you know to keep your mouth shut about this.”
Luca shrugged. “I will, for now.”
Archer didn’t bother staying any longer as he grabbed my hand and practically dragged me out of the coffee shop.
We walked toward his car, and he opened the passenger side for me with unneeded force. I looked over to him, and he looked at me as if asking why I wasn’t getting in the car.
“Archer, you need to calm down,” I told him.
He responded angrily, “I am calm.”
I rolled my eyes at him. Closing the car door, I walked closer to him and placed my hands on the sides of his face. He watched me intently as I did so, and I slowly rubbed my thumbs on his cheeks.
“What are you doing?” he whispered, and I shrugged.
“Calming you down. Is it working?” I asked him, and he nodded. His eyes held so many unexpressed feelings, and I could tell, even if he wanted to, he wouldn’t be able to say what they were or explain them.
I slowed my caresses, and as I went to move, he pulled me closer with his hands on my waist.
“I didn’t say for you to stop,” he said, and I giggled as he slowly started to feel a bit more like himself. He leaned down, and I sighed into the kiss he placed on my lips while pulling him closer.
Eventually, we pulled away, and he opened the door for me once again. I stepped inside, and he went over to the driver’s side.
“Where are we going?” I asked him as he started the ignition, and he shrugged.
“Somewhere, Princess...”
Stepping out of the elevator, I took a look around the penthouse, which took us about fifteen minutes to arrive at. Archer took my jacket and purse from me as he hung them up for me. I walked around the living room and ran my hand along the books that lined the shelves. He watched me from the foyer as he leaned against the wall.
“I come here when I want to be alone. Bought it about a year ago. Vivienne is the only other person who knows I live here.”
I looked over to him and tilted my head. “But you still live with your family?” I asked him, and he nodded.
“I do, but does my father care about my whereabouts when he doesn’t need me for something?” he muttered, and I could tell he wasn’t asking, knowing we both knew the answer.
I looked back at the books and noticed that there were some ancient books here.
“You’re a collector?” I asked him, noticing that many of them were first editions.
He smirked. “Who would’ve guessed the princess knew about books?”
I rolled my eyes and bit my lip, trying to hide my small smile. “My mother worked in a bookstore for the first few years of my life, and my grandfather now owns over five libraries. I’m not too clueless, Lockwood.”
He smirked, but he didn’t say anything else. I heard him move across the room as I continued to look around.
I flinched slightly when I listened to a tune being played on the piano. I looked over at him and watched as he skillfully ran his hands over the keys. I approached him slowly, and his face was contorted as he concentrated.
He was so focused and in control. As he got more intense, I could feel the tension in the room rise. The piano keys were at his mercy, and it was as if he had no sympathy for them.
I ended up sitting next to him as my head rested on his shoulder. The sound he was creating was beautiful. What he was doing was beautiful. I looked up at him slowly, and he looked over at me as well. He gradually ended the song without giving the sheet music even one more glance, and I took a deep breath for a moment.
“That was beautiful,” I whispered, and he placed his hand on the side of my face. The hands that were brutally pouring out emotions caressed my face tenderly.
“You’re beautiful,” he said softly and placed another kiss on my lips. It was passionate, different, and full of sentiment, and I felt my body tremble in response.