30. Adrian
Nevaeh is moving to Monaco, and I’m fucking giddy.
I haven’t been able to get her out of my stupid head, especially since I’ve had her pressed against me. I’ve fucked my own hand more times than I should have thinking about Nevaeh grinding against me, but I was trying to make my dick tired so that when I see her today, it doesn’t jump to attention.
I can’t go back to high school where my cock got hard because a pretty girl smiled at me, no matter how beautiful Nevaeh looks when she smiles.
Then again, it’s been a long time since I’ve had sex, and as Nevaeh appears in the pick-up area of the airport, I swear on my life, I’ve never seen a woman look so sweet and sexy at the same time. Her hair is wavy and all over the place, the summer dress she’s wearing hugs her curves in a sinful way, and the look of concentration on her face is breathtaking.
She’sbreathtaking.
My dick seems to agree because holy fucking hell, it’s never this easily woken up.
I lean against a nearby pillar, holding the sign I made her over my crotch area, just in case. It reads “Ms. Nevaeh Fuchs.” The hood of my sweatshirt rests on the cap on my head to make sure no one around us will recognize me. I’ve also made sure to be at the very far back, out of everyone’s sight.
Everyone but Nevaeh’s.
Her eyes catch me faster than I expected her to, almost like my very presence calls to her and she would be able to spot me anywhere. Butterflies—fucking butterflies, can you believe it?—appear in my stomach as she starts smiling and running toward me. I straighten out my back, getting ready to catch her. My heart hammers in my chest as she finally flings her arms around my neck. She sighs into my throat, so I hold on tighter, running a comforting hand down her back.
“Shitty flight?” I ask, and she lets out a humorless laugh. Her scent, something sweet and fresh, fills my nose as I place my cheek against her temple. She always smells so good, it’s frustrating.
She’s irresistible in every single way imaginable.
“Shitty day,” she replies while I continue to rub her back. My hands eventually drop to her lower back so I can bring her body flush against mine.
“Did you eat something yet?” I ask, holding on as tightly as I can. She grabs my shirt like she doesn’t want to let go either.
“If airplane lunch counts as food, yes.” Her voice is full of emotion, and when I step back to cup her face and search for an answer, her eyes fill with tears. They spill down her cheeks, so I wipe them away with care. More follow, but I’m patient and wipe those away, too.
“What happened?” My question makes her shift in my hands, but she doesn’t step away. “You don’t have to tell me, but I will listen if you would like to share,” I offer.
Nevaeh takes a deep breath, her hands moving onto my abdomen. Her gaze glues itself to my chest.
“My mother called me selfish for wanting to move here. She took the entire trip to the airport to tell me what a horrible daughter I am because she isn’t ready for me to move out, but I’m leaving her anyway. I know she’s guilt-tripping me, but it doesn’t make it any easier,” she explains, her tears slowing.
When she looks up at me, the pain in her eyes makes a stabbing sensation appear in my chest.
“You’re twenty-one. You have every right to do with your life as you please. She doesn’t have the right to tell you when you’re allowed to move out. You have your own money, dreams, and career. This is your life. Not hers. You’re allowed to live it any way you want to live it,” I say, my grip on her face tightening slightly, only enough to make sure she’s really understanding me. Her eyes flutter shut at my touch, and I fight every instinct telling me to lean down and kiss her.
This is definitely not the right moment.
“I still feel horrible,” she admits, opening her eyes again.
“I know, but I have a solution for you,” I say, grabbing her chin between my thumb and index finger. Her eyes are full of hope. “Spend the day with me. I’m incredible. I’ll cheer you up in no time.” She bursts into laughter, never breaking eye contact with me, and my heart almost flies out of my chest and straight into hers.
Have you ever had someone laugh and look straight at you? When pure joy filters through their eyes and they direct it all at you? When the whole world disappears and all that’s left are you and the person you’re with? Because that’s exactly what Nevaeh is doing right now, and it’s the most wonderful thing I’ve ever witnessed.
“I can’t think of anything better than spending my day with you,” she says, so I wrap her up in another hug, pressing my lips to her forehead without thinking.
“I’m going to take you to get some proper food,” I say to stop myself from overthinking what I just did. I lean back, tugging a strand of hair behind her ear. “Does that sound good?” I ask, and she beams up at me.
Her happiness matters to me, but I’ve decided it’s just because we’re friends. That’s all it is.
“You need to stop being so damn close to perfect, Romana,” she warns, but the smiles remain on our faces.
My hands drop from her neck to her shoulders, squeezing a little because I really can’t help myself. I love touching her. It’s like a guilty pleasure I can’t get enough of, that I don’t want to get enough of.
“I have more than enough flaws, Fuchs,” I assure her, watching her grin at the way I pronounce her last name perfectly. “You know, I looked up your last name and found out it means ‘fox’ in English. I read that foxes are quite playful,” I state, and she cocks a brow.
Her hands drop from my body, but I wrap my fingers around her wrists to lift them. I inspect her nails for a moment.
“They can also retract their claws and extend them at will. That sounds like something you do, too,” I tease with a smirk. Nevaeh returns it, but as I take a step closer, and bring my mouth toward hers, her breathing hitches. “I’m your prey, aren’t I?” I ask, making her let out a shaky laugh.
She clears her throat, looking away from me as she fights another laugh.
“If you were, my claws would have already left marks on your back,” she says with a wink, stepping back and breaking the contact between us.
I shake my head, letting it fall backward to look at the ceiling. I question whoever is up there why they brought Nevaeh Fuchs into my life if I’m not allowed to let her mark me as much as she would like.
“You’re a tease, mon ange, and I told you how I feel about getting teased,” I reply, grabbing her luggage and making my way to the parking lot.
If we don’t put some distance between us, I might throw all of my rules out of the fucking window.
All this is between us is a flirty exchange, something I used to have with lots of other women, but there is something so special about Nevaeh for me, it doesn’t feel the same. It feels like it means more, like I’m flirting with someone I want more than one night with, and that’s fucking terrifying.
She just… she brightens up my life.
She makes me feel so much, all at once, and I don’t ever want to let go of that.
“Why ‘angel’ out of all the things to call me?” she asks as we sit down in my Velocità Rossa.
I chose the Velocità Rossa 93 Web recently when I was looking for a new car. My grandfather has a whole collection, but I didn’t take any of them with me when I moved out and into Gabriel’s old apartment.
So, I went and bought myself this one instead. It’s a matte black with a single orange stripe running over the hood of it.
Nevaeh’s fingers trail over the smooth interior, tracing the door handle while she studies the car with an expression of awe. Over the last few months of us spending a lot of time together, I’ve come to realize just how expressive her face is. Whether she likes it or not, her features give everything away. If something displeases her, she wrinkles her nose. If something excites her, she grins with her whole face. If something fascinates her, her eyes sparkle with awe and curiosity.
If she’s happy, her features start shining brighter than any star in the sky.
“Oof, I’m afraid that’s my secret to keep,” I reply, smiling at her one last time before putting the car into Drive.
Her head falls back against the headrest as she watches me maneuver out of the parking garage, so I do it a little more smoothly, more effortlessly.
We might be just friends, but I still want to impress her.
“You’re boring,” she complains when I don’t give her an answer that satisfies her.
She’s as beautiful as I imagine angels to be, so I call her “mon ange.”
She feels like heaven to me, so I call her “mon paradis.”
We drive for a while as she stares out of her window, taking in the road that leads to her new home country. Once we’re in Monaco, she sits up a little straighter, studying everything. The buildings I’ve been around my entire life. The luxurious sight of it is simultaneously antique. Monaco is expensive, without a doubt, and it doesn’t just look that way through all the rich people driving Lamborghinis, Velocità Rossas, Maseratis, and every other luxury brand you can think of.
It also feels that way.
“Are you okay?” I ask when I notice the corners of her mouth are downturned. Man, why is she still so beautiful when she’s frowning?
“Yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” She turns her head to look at me.
“I don’t know, you just look serious,” I say, poking her cheek and making her chuckle.
“I was thinking. You know what that is, right?” she teases.
I tilt my head to look at her for a brief moment before focusing on the road again. She’s grinning like she knows exactly what she just did.
“Stop playing on my weakness, Nevaeh,” I say, glancing at her once more to show her my smile.
Silence fills the car again, but when she looks out of her window, she’s smiling. I made her smile.
See, there’s a reason why I keep claiming I’m awesome. I make the people around me smile, and that’s arguably one of the best traits a person can have.
“When am I going to see Val?” Nevaeh asks a while later, clearly remembering my sister was the one who was supposed to pick her up. Which Val wanted to do, but I had Gabriel steal all of her car keys so I could go to the airport instead.
“She had some things come up, but I will be joining you for your appointments,” I promise.
“Oh no. If you’re coming, every apartment is going to seem small. Your ego is going to take up all the space,” she says, and I swear, I almost hear my heart screaming: she’s the one!
And now I kind of want to jump out of a moving train.
Nevaeh and I have looked at three different apartments, stopped for food, and laughed so much, I’m sure I will be sore tomorrow. None of the places we went to fit her needs, especially because of how expensive they were.
We have one last appointment for an apartment that Nevaeh told me is the cheapest out of all the ones she wanted to look at today. The landlord of the building greets us at the front desk, his eyes going wide when he sees me approaching.
“Mr. Romana, it is an honor to meet you,” the short, balding man says in French and extends his hand for me to shake.
“It’s a pleasure, but we’re here for the lovely woman beside me, so if it’s possible for us to speak in English so my friend understands, too, I would greatly appreciate it,” I reply in French as I shake his hand, smiling with my usual level of charm.
“Of course, monsieur. Please, follow me.” Nevaeh furrows her brows, asking me what that was all about with a single look, but I merely hold out my arm for her to take. She grins at me before lacing hers through mine, letting me lead her toward the apartment.
It’s a small, two-room place with a large window at the far back. The bathroom is tiny, with a shower on the left followed by a sink and a toilet on the right. The hardwood floor in the room itself is light, just like the walls.
It’s so small, I feel like throwing Nevaeh over my shoulder and carrying her out of the apartment and straight to mine.
But then I notice her spinning around once, smiling like she’s never seen a more beautiful place to live. Compared to the rest of the apartments we saw, this one is a lot nicer and cheaper, so I get why Nevaeh looks at it with hearts in her eyes. Even though it’s only two tiny rooms, she’s in love with it.
“This apartment screams independence to me. It’s close to work, in my price range, and I can picture how I would set up the space already,” she mumbles, and I’m not quite sure if she’s talking to me or herself.
“You could put your bed here,” I reply anyway, and she turns to look at where I’m pointing.
“Yes, that’s exactly where I’d put it, too,” she says.
“Have a closet here and a shelf over there,” I go on, pointing all over the apartment. She takes a step toward me, closing the distance between us until I can smell her intoxicating perfume again.
“Put a tall mirror next to the closet,” she says, her eyes glued to my lips where I run my tongue over my bottom one.
“I’d place it in front of the bed,” I say, smirking at her before clearing my throat to get the landlord”s attention. “How much lower can you go on the rent?” I ask in French, and he shakes his head, not impressed by my question.
“I already went as low as I could, Mr. Romana. I cannot lower it more,” he replies, but I turn on my charm again and within a minute, we’re shaking hands once more.
“Alright, I managed to convince him to lower the rent by two hundred euros, but that’s as far as he will go,” I tell Nevaeh once the landlord leaves to get her a contract.
“What? Are you serious?” I nod.
Nevaeh covers her mouth with her hand, looking around the room again like she can’t quite believe this is all happening. That it’s real.
I know that look.
It’s how I look at her.
The landlord, Nevaeh, and I go over a few more details before she signs the contract and he tells her she’ll get the keys as soon as she makes her first rent payment. He leaves moments later to give us another few minutes to look around while Nevaeh moves toward the window, looking down at the people strolling by. I step toward her, keeping my distance even though wrapping my arms around her from behind is more than a little appealing.
She turns around, running straight into my chest. Okay, maybe I was standing a bit closer than I thought, but she’s laughing, the sound light and happy. My arms are finally back around her so I can drag her against my chest again.
“Thank you,” she mumbles, and I rub her back. “For coming with me and helping me get this apartment,” she adds.
“You’re very welcome.” I pull her impossibly closer. “To be honest, this was also a very selfish move because now you’re here, and I get to see you more often,” I admit, making her step out of the embrace to nudge me. “Hey,” I complain, my fingers poking her sides to make her giggle.
She attempts to walk away, but I grab her wrist gently, guiding her back against my chest. Our laughter fills the empty apartment, but when she lifts her chin so her mouth is closer to mine, I can’t help but lower my lips. My nose brushes over hers, our breaths becoming one as I fight with myself.
“If I kiss you, would you hate me for it?” I find myself voicing the question without even thinking the words.
Nevaeh’s breath trembles as it hits my lips, but she doesn’t pull away. No. She takes a subtle step into me, lips almost brushing.
“I think it would do something more opposite, Adrian, so you really can’t kiss me,” she says, and yet, she still doesn’t move away.
Not until another breathless moment passes and we both realize nothing can happen, not right now.
“We better hurry. Knowing my sister, she made dinner as a bribe for us to get back as soon as possible.”