Can the pdt open on my Nokia 210

Chapter Fifteen


  


  


  


“I am not letting you work in Walmart when you have a résumé made of gold!” Amy scowled, shutting my laptop with vicious force before I was able to submit my online job application on the website of one of the most well-known stores in America.


  


“But Ames, it’s been an entire month since I became jobless, and this is the only thing I can find!” I whined, pouting as I looked at her infuriated expression.


  


“That’s because you’re an idiot who quit working for a billion-dollar company that was paying you freaking perfectly!” she exclaimed, calling me an idiot for the 28th time this month ever since I informed her of my new jobless status. “You should’ve just left the room instead of quitting!”


  


“And let him have the satisfaction of pushing me around?” I pointed out, feeling my eyebrows knit together as the memory of Adrian’s lips against mine in California, along with all the crappy fallout that happened after, appeared in my mind. “No way! I stood up for myself – it was the right thing to do. Plus, I should’ve quit as soon as we kissed.”


  


“Ugh, Emily! He was freaking jealous of the fact that the dude in the meeting was hitting on you! That’s why he was so angry! You’re an idiot for quitting!” Amy scowled, glaring at my sloppy form from across the sofa. I matched her expression before replying. “I get it! I’m an idiot for quitting! You’ve made that pretty clear! But it’s done and there’s nothing I can do about it. Adrian probably has a new assistant by now – who he’s probably banging as we speak – and he’s definitely forgotten about me. What’s done is done.” I sighed in defeat. “Now, will you stop being a pain in my ass for like two seconds and help your best friend find a job that’ll help her continue to get through the expenses of rent and bills for the rest of her lonely life?”


  


Amy’s expression softened a little before she sank into the sofa miserably. “Fine.” She groaned. “I hope you thank God every day for having a friend like me,” she said, giving me a warning look.


  


“Every day.” I grinned slyly, sarcasm dripping from my tone. She gave me a glare. “And I need to remind you – just once more! You’re an idiot for quitting.”


  


“Duly noted. Can we find me a job now?” I pouted, passing the laptop over to her cautiously, afraid she might attack it once again.


  


“Yes. Let me work my magic on the World Wide Web.” She opened the silver electronic device that was occupying the space on her lap. “Anyway, how’s Allen?” she asked curiously. “Still hasn’t spoken to you since that mysterious and very vague text message he sent you two weeks ago?”


  


I sighed as Allen’s smiling face and short text flashed through my mind. Allen had texted me two weeks ago telling me he was sorry for what had happened with Adrian, and that it was his fault that I quit which it wasn’t. He also said that he couldn’t see or talk to me anymore, even though he really wanted to, because of certain promises he made with a certain asshole that I stopped working for a month ago.


  


“Still the same,” I finally replied, pulling myself out of my thoughts.


  


“I think Adrian is super jealous that you two get along so well, so he made Allen stop talking to you since he couldn’t make you do it. Allen must really value his friendship with Adrian for listening to him!” Amy raised her eyebrows at me, and asked, as if in challenge, “Would you do that for me?”


  


I glared before scoffing. “Of course not. I hate you.” I smirked as her expression transformed to a look of shock, making me laugh. “I’m kidding. And stop having the whole ‘Adrian is jealous because he likes you’ idea in your mind. It’s unhealthy.” I tried to stifle my laughter and give her a mocking grimace.


  


“FANTASIZING ABOUT A BOSS YOU KISSED THEN QUIT WORKING FOR IS UNHEALTHY!” Amy shouted back, throwing a pillow at my face. It hit me with an unexpected force, and I groaned as the pressure of the soft material hit my nose harder than anticipated.


  


I rubbed at it in pain before glaring at her, blushing slightly. “I do not fantasize about him!” I hissed, growing even more embarrassed once I saw her knowing look.


  


“And I don’t fantasize about Ian Somerhalder,” Amy said in a sing-song tone, smiling smugly. “All is right in the world once again!”


  


“Shut up.” I scowled.


  


She giggled before her fingers stopped moving the mouse. “I think I’ve found a job that you’ll be able to do very well and has good pay. Not as good as Adrian’s pay was – and you’re an idiot for quitting – but it’s good enough.” Amy handed the laptop over to me. “Want to go for it?”


  


I scanned the website for the small business briefly before groaning. “It’s a shipping business for underwear. Why – Oh, the pay does sound good. Okay, yeah, why not.” I pressed my lips together determinedly, the clicked ‘submit’ on the site, officially sending in my résumé. “I can’t do this anymore!” I exclaimed, tossing my tacky work hat carelessly on Amy’s tabletop before kicking off my flats angrily. “How can one person ‘accidently’ grope the same ass more than 6 times in two weeks?! I don’t care how much money they give me – I’m sick of Mr. Cooper’s wrinkly hands touching me every time we’re in the same room!” I shuddered, before throwing a panicked look in Amy’s direction.


  


She was giggling at me, and my look turned into a glare. “What the hell is so funny?!” I demanded with wide eyes, putting my hands on my hips.


  


“You’ve got some blue powder on you. Is that – no, it can’t be. Viagra? Did you and Mr. Cooper do something naughty today?” Amy responded, waggling her eyebrows before bursting into a fit of laughter at her own joke. I scowled before taking off my work shirt and throwing it at her. “That wasn’t even funny,” I snapped, releasing my hair from its tight ponytail and walking over to her room to put on a comfortable shirt.


  


“It actually was. You’re just not in the mood to laugh. But anyway, what did I tell you? You’re an idiot for quitting Kingston Corp. In all seriousness now,” fittingly, all laughter began to fade from her expression. ”I think you should quit this job. You hate it, you work really long hours, you have a perv of a boss that is older than my grandfather and you’re doing things that are way beneath your skills! I wouldn’t have let you choose this job if I knew it was going to make you this miserable.”


  


I sighed and shook my head. “I can’t do that. I need the money. I don’t care how bad it is. Sorry for blowing up at you about it all the time.”


  


Amy hit my arm lightly. “What the hell am I here for? We vent to each other all the time. It’s a part of the best friend job description.” She winked. “Come on, let’s make some dinner and watch a movie before you go home,” Amy suggested as I pulled my shirt on.


  


“Good idea. Will you get started? I just need to call my parents.”


  


Amy nodded and left me alone in the room just as I pressed the call button on my mom’s phone number – bracing myself for a scolding.


  


She picked up on the fourth ring. “I’m sorry, who is this? My daughter Emily? No, sorry, you must have the wrong number. I don’t have a daughter named Emily. Wait, maybe I do? I wouldn’t know because SHE HASN’T CALLED ME IN FOUR DAYS!” My mom screeched through the receiver of the phone, making me laugh in response.


  


“Hello to you too, mom.”


  


“Hello to me too?” she exclaimed. “That’s all you have to say? Is there a man in your life, Emily? Is that what keeps you from calling me? Do you know how worried I’ve been not hearing from you for four days? I thought you were kidnapped or- or- or dead!”


  


I rolled my eyes. “Mom, I’ve texted you every day.”


  


“How am I supposed to know that’s you and not some sick kidnapper who’s acting as you so that I don’t get suspicious and call the police?!” she responded skeptically.


  


I sighed and shook my head at her paranoia. “Would the kidnapper have known that Blake was coming down in two weeks and said yes I’m coming as well? Wait – don’t answer that. I’m fine. How are you and dad?” I asked, desperately trying to change the subject.


  


“We’re fine. How is your new job?” mom asked. She didn’t wait for a response, however, going right into things I didn’t really want to talk about. “Honey,” she said, “I still can’t believe you quit working for Kingston Corp. You know we got a call from Mr. Kingston himself the other day? Not Adrian Kingston – his father. He asked me if you lived here and when I said no, he told me to try and convince you to go back and work for Kingston Corp again. He told me you were one of the best people on the team, and really helped Adrian Kingston stay out of trouble and run the company well! So what happened? Why would you quit such an amazing job?”


  


I could practically feel the curiosity leaking out of the pores of her skin through the small device that was pressed up against my ear.


  


I sighed and bit my lip in thought, trying to think of a way to arrange my words carefully, before responding. “I just didn’t feel like that job was the right one for me,” I finally replied, awaiting her next scolding response.


  


“You’re an idiot,” mum commented after a short silence, making me almost drop my phone in shock.


  


‘What?!” I replied with wide eyes. “You’re an idiot for quitting,” she simply repeated, and I groaned at her words. “You sound exactly like Amy right now!” I mumbled.


  


“That’s because Amy is right, and clearly has much more sense in her brain than you do! That job had fantastic pay, and was comfortable! You would’ve eventually gotten used to it if you stayed in it for more than a month and a half!” she took a deep breath and calmed down a little. “It’s only been two months. I’m sure Adrian Kingston will take you back, he seems like a lovely young man.”


  


I groaned. “Mom. I have a job, and I am not going back there. Look, I’ve had this conversation a million times before and I know the drill, but honestly? I’m not going to crawl back and look pathetic. I need to go help Amy with dinner, I’ll call you tomorrow and we’ll talk longer since it’s my day off, okay? I love you.”


  


“But Emily, you can’t just avoid this conversation because-”


  


“BYE MOM!” I said loudly, ending the call. I smiled down at the blank screen of my phone before making my way over to the kitchen to help Amy.


  


“She called you an idiot, didn’t she?” Amy asked with an amused expression once I began peeling the potatoes.


  


“Shut up,” I mumbled moodily, hating the fact that she was right.


  


She laughed at my misery before she began to grill the chicken breast pieces. “She’s right, you know. Anyway, first thing Monday morning, you’re going to charge into that lovely underwear shipping office and leave that awful boss of yours – along with that awful job – behind. We’ll start searching for a new job as soon as you quit.”


  


I sighed and bit my lip at the thought of trying to be confident, but nodded in agreement. “Okay. Thank you so much, Ames. I honestly don’t know what I’d do without you,” I told her with full sincerity.


  


Amy just smiled in my direction before giving me a light pinch on the cheeks. “That’s what I’m here for! Anyway, what movie tonight? I was thinking between The Lion King or Now You See Me…” She trailed off in thought. My mind instantly flashed back to the night I stayed at Adrian’s apartment and we watched the movie together, and I began to tease him about Dave Franco being way more attractive than he was. Adrian’s look of disbelief was still imprinted in my mind clearly, and I found myself unconsciously smiling.


  


I shook myself out of the flashback with wide eyes as the smile on my face disappeared immediately. Why was I even thinking about that? Adrian was not a part of my life anymore. It’s been well over a month, if he wanted to be, he would’ve contacted me by now.


  


I pushed him out of my mind completely before shaking my head.


  


“Definitely The Lion King,” I finally responded after clearing my throat, giving her a quick smile and going back to peel the last of the potatoes.


  


“Yes!” Amy squealed excitedly, breaking into a little dance in her cramped kitchen. “I was chanting in my mind in hopes that you would pick it. I miss Simba!” “I’m really sorry sir, but this is really short notice! Calling me at 12AM is hardly professional, for one, and I’ve already made plans with my family tomorrow. I don’t think coming in to work alone with you is the best idea. I apologise, but I really can’t make it.” I lied smoothly as I unlocked the door to my apartment while struggling to hold my handbag and work clothes in my other hand.


  


“Are you sure? I could really use your pair of hands to my advantage,” Mr. Cooper responded, and I shuddered as the double meaning behind his creepy words sank into my skin in an unpleasant manner.


  


I cringed as I stepped into my apartment clumsily. “Absolutely sure. Sorry, Mr. Cooper. Have a nice night.” I tried to sound polite while desperately working to end the conversation. In reality, his heavy breathing coming though the phone was creeping me out more than usual, and I closed my door extra quietly, afraid that he was going to hear the fact that I was just returning home from Amy’s house.


  


“I guess that’s fine then. I will see you on Monday, yes?” he asked, voice strained. His heavy breathing began to ease.


  


I locked my door cautiously, looking at the brass lock with wide eyes before swallowing down my nerves. “Yes, Sir. Goodnight,” I tried again, sounding less enthusiastic than before.


  


“Is everything okay, Emily? Are you sure you don’t want to stay talking on the phone with me?” Mr. Cooper asked, making my eyes widen even more than before.


  


“Everything is fine. I’m sorry; I have to get some sleep. I have an early start to the family event that is on tomorrow. Goodbye.” I tried to emphasize again, discarding my work clothes on an abandoned chair in the corner of my living room while flicking on the lamp on the table.


  


“Very well. Until Monday. Goodnight, Emily.”


  


I hung up before he had the chance to add anything else, and threw my phone onto my sofa in panic, afraid that he’d pop out of the flat, glass screen any second.


  


I’m definitely quitting on Monday morning, I thought to myself as I took off my shoes beside the door. I would rather be homeless than work for someone that old and creepy, and Amy was right; they were making me do things that I learned in high school. I was better off somewhere where my qualifications actually mattered.


  


I cautiously picked up my phone after double checking that everything was locked and decided to type a quick text to Amy:


  


I’m home, and definitely quitting on Monday.
Creepy Cooper called me and asked me to come in and work with him tomorrow. Alone. Crazy man.
Anyway, thanks for the dinner, it’s at my place next time. Goodnight asshole


  


I sent the text message and picked up the book I was currently reading from the coffee table, before making my way to my room. I threw it on the bed and grabbed a random pair of clean underwear and a baggy shirt from my drawers. I was dying to take a long, relaxing shower before bed, to wash off all the fingerprints of my boss.


  


Once my skin felt raw from scrubbing, I stepped out of the shower and quickly slipped on my clothes before brushing my hair and making my way back to my bedroom. I jumped onto my bed and sighed in contentment once I engulfed myself in the familiar sheets. I wriggled in the soft material to get comfortable.


  


I checked my phone to see that I had received a text message from Amy telling me that Mr. Cooper was creepy and that I was an idiot. I rolled my eyes at her text and put my phone on the table beside my bed before reaching over and opening the book to the chapter I was up to.


  


I had only read three words before a loud banging noise erupted throughout my small apartment, making me freeze in fear. I quickly placed my pink bookmark back in between the pages of the thick book and set it aside cautiously, irrationally fearful that putting it down would set off something else in the house. I looked around my bedroom with wide eyes.


  


The banging noise began again and I jumped out of my bed and grabbed the only weapon I could find - a random shoe with a sharp heel that I had thrown on the floor of my room carelessly. Shoe in hand, I slowly crept out of my room.


  


The banging noise became louder as I entered the living room, and I realised the source of the noise was coming from the other side of my apartment entrance. I let out a short sigh of relief once I realised that I had locked the door.

“W-Who’s there?” I called out loudly, trying to mask the waver in my voice to hide my fear.


  


“Emmmmillllllly, hiiiiii…”


  


A deep, British accent slurred, making me freeze in my tracks once again as the voice sent an all too familiar shiver down my spine. My voice hitched in my throat as I looked over at my white, wooden door in shock, not believing my hearing skills at 1AM after a long day at work.


  


“Emilllllllly, can you pppppppppplease let me innnn? I alllllwayyyyys l-let youuuuu in…” The loud banging started up once again.


  


“HEY! WOULD YOU SHUT IT? SOME PEOPLE ARE TRYING TO GET SOME SLEEP HERE!” I heard someone else shout. Their voice sounded distant and muffled from inside my apartment, but it was enough to shake me back into reality.


  


I threw the heel onto the floor hastily before I ran over and unlocked my front door, just as Adrian’s face turned into his all too familiar scowl.


  


“YOUUUU SHUT IT!” he snapped back, before turning around slowly once he realised I had opened the door.


  


“What the hell are you doing here, Adrian?” I hissed, trying to cover up my surprise with anger. “It’s 1AM, and you’re drunk! Go home!”


  


He was slumped against the wall that connected to my apartment door, and my breath hitched in my throat once his eyes met mine. My conscience must have forgotten the kind of effect Adrian Kingston had on me in real life, because I froze in my doorway as I looked down at his tall seated figure, dark plump lips and strong hazel eyes that were slightly droopy. The smell of alcohol filled my nostrils sharply, the vile stench making me cough a little.


  


Adrian’s eyes never left my half naked, tired figure, and I sighed and bit my lip while shaking my head at what I was about to do. I moved forward and lifted his right arm to put it over my shoulders for support.


  


“Don’t make me do all the work,” I muttered at him as I pulled at his right arm in an attempt to get him off the floor. “You’re tall and made of muscle. Get up.”


  


“Do you know how much I’vvvvvve missed you, Emilyy?” Adrian grumbled as he exerted some effort to pull himself off the floor. “I’ll tell you. A lot.”


  


I tried to hide my blush from his drunken words as I put more of his body weight against me. “Let’s get you inside,” I murmured, dragging his tall, built frame into my tiny apartment with as much energy as I could muster.


  


“Didn’t you miss me?” he asked, pouting as he looked into my eyes again. I opened my mouth to respond but Adrian wasn’t done talking. “I hope you did. I thought about you a lot. Especially about our kiss in the beautiful sunnnnnnnshine state. I even called a girl in bed Emily because I was thinking of you. Whoops.” He chuckled to himself and abruptly stopped and frowned. “I don’t know why. You’re always just there. In my head, I mean. Not in real life. I tried to get you out of there, but you wouldn’t leave. You’re so annoying.”


  


He groaned, making me laugh slightly as I placed him onto my sofa.


  


“I’ll be right back,” I told him, going into the kitchen and pouring a cup of water for him. I didn’t have any medication that would cure a hangover; even though I had been meaning to invest in some thanks to Amy’s wild nights where she’d crash at my place because she was too lazy to go back home.


  


I re-entered the living room and handed him the clear glass silently, and watched his throat bob up and down as he gulped down the clear liquid in under 5 seconds.


  


“Good stuff,” he said with an approving nod. He regarded me with a curious look. “What is it?” “Water,” I stated with an amused smile.


  


“Oh. It tastes better than usual.” He studied the glass cup intensely. “Probably because it’s from you.” After a while, he asked again, “Did you miss me, Emily?” He looked at me hopefully, more vulnerable than I’ve ever seen him.


  


I bit my lip, unsure of how to respond. Did I miss him? He was constantly on my mind, and I found myself comparing everything I did to a moment I shared with him while I worked with him. Still, he was a jerk that didn’t deserve to be missed at all, and I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of letting him know that I had missed him. Then again he was drunk, and was slurring out nonsense. He probably wouldn’t even remember this night tomorrow morning. “I missed you, Adrian,” I finally replied, looking him straight in the eye.


  


He let out a loud sigh of relief, and I watched as his shoulder visibly relaxed underneath the material of his light blue shirt. “That’s good. I think I like you,” he stated, before looking around my apartment. “Your house is cute. Small, but niceeee.” He began to nod slowly and met my eyes again, but I was still staring at him in shock.


  


“What did you say?” I asked.


  


“Um,” he frowned hard, thinking. “Oh, I said your house is small but-”


  


“No, no,” I cut him off, “before that.”


  


“Oh. I said I like you. A lot.” He repeated it casually, even punctuating it with a yawn. “Where is the bed?” he asked, looking around my living room again.


  


“I- Um- Uh, how about I drive you home?” I stuttered, still trying to process his words.


  


“No. I want to sleep with you tonight. That’s why I caaaame hereee.”


  


I bit my lip as something new processed in my brain. “Hold on. How did you know which apartment was mine? You’ve only been outside my building once…” I trailed off, still frowning in thought.


  


“I’ve come here before to try and get you to come back and work for me, but you weren’t home. I want to sleep with you in your bed now.” Adrian began unzipping his pants. I let out a gasp – both from the fact that he was taking his pants off in front of me, and for the fact that he had come here to offer me another chance at the job which I ruined because I wasn’t home – before I shot up from my seat across from him and locking my apartment door.


  


Once I turned back around, Adrian had already taken off his dark jeans and was halfway done with unbuttoning his shirt. He looked down at his fumbling fingers with a frown etched onto his handsome features; the struggle to unbutton them while he was drunk was clearly evident in his expression.


  


I walked over to him and gently pulled his hands away from the shirt, before continuing to unbutton it for him myself and slowly pushing the shirt off his broad shoulders. “Come on,” I said, gently leading him down the short hallway and into my bedroom, “let’s get you to bed.”


  


We both got beneath the covers and he instantly wrapped his familiar, muscly arms around my waist. As I turned off the lamp on the table next to me, I heard him murmur.


  


“I like this. And you.”


  


Then I felt his breathing become even as he fell fast asleep.


  


I wasn’t sure why he was here or why I let him in not just through my door but into my bed. But there was one thing I knew for certain – this was not going to end well in the morning.

Chapter Sixteen


  


  


  


There are only three things that would force my body into doing any type of physical activity: (1) if I were doing it for charity, (2) if I was trying to prove myself to someone, or – and this was the reason that had my feet pounding onto the moldy pavements of New York City at 6AM – (3) if I was trying to avoid something that is fogging up each functioning brain cell within my mind and I’m trying to get away from it.


  


Or him, in this case.


  


I was kind of hoping going for an intense run at the break of dawn would somehow clear up the fogginess in my mind while also managing to make the whole Adrian-is-in-my-apartment-snoring scenario just a figment of my imagination.


  


Unfortunately, once I returned home from my run and walked into my bedroom to snatch a few items of clothing for my shower, Adrian was still sprawled out on my bed, looking peaceful as his torso slowly rose up and down from his steady breathing. My gaze lingered on his shirtless torso for a little while longer before I left my room and made my way to the shower.


  


I peeled off my sticky attire before jumping into the warm shower and began to wash the sticky sweat off my skin. How was I supposed to act when Adrian woke up? Did he even remember what he told me last night? While I was able to recite the entire scene word for word, Adrian was intoxicated. I highly doubted he would remember his ‘please come back and work for me because I really miss you’ speech, so I decided to stay silent about it until he brought it up.


  


I took longer than usual in the shower, savouring the way my muscles relaxed under the hot water, and was just about to turn it off when the bathroom door opened. My eyes grew wide with shock as Adrian casually strode into the bathroom and made his way over to the toilet in the corner. I opened my mouth to scream but chocked on my shock before I snatched the towel off the rack beside the shower.


  


The movement caught Adrian’s eye just before he pulled down his pants and I covered myself with the towel before my face went red with embarrassment. I turned off the water and turned to glare at him. “What the hell are you doing?!” I exclaimed, wrapping the towel tighter around my naked body.


  


Adrian snapped out of his shocked stare and groaned. “Don’t talk so loud,” he mumbled, before he began walking over to where my rigid figure stood. He stopped directly in front of me and smirked down at my flushed state. “Good morning,” he murmured as his eyes scanned my body hungrily.


  


I tried to cover my tomato face with my fiercest glare. “Get out of the bathroom.” I scowled, giving him a look of disbelief.


  


“No,” he replied, before going back to the toilet in the corner. He began to pull his pants down and I squeaked and turned away in shock. “Adrian! I’m in here, you know! Naked, might I add! That’s not something I want to see!” I screeched while avoiding looking at him and snatching the clothes I brought in with me, off the small shelf.


  


He chuckled. “I needed to use the toilet. Can’t you imagine this when we get married one day? You coming out of the shower – I would’ve joined you of course, which, by the way, I’m offended you didn’t invite me to join you in the first place.”


  


I groaned and opened the door. “Shut up and get cleaned up. I’m going to get dressed and make breakfast.” I tried to get rid of the blush that seemed permanently stuck to my face whenever he was around.


  


“Yes housewife, thank you housewife,” Adrian called out. I could practically feel his smirk before I slammed the door shut and made my way back to my room. By the time I had finished getting dressed and was putting the plates of breakfast down on the small island in my kitchen, Adrian had finished from the bathroom and walked into the kitchen in nothing but his boxers, making the spatula I was gripping fall out of my hand and land onto the floor with a loud clatter.


  


My eyes widened in shock and I quickly bent down to retrieve the utensil just as Adrian began smirking as he caught me looking at his bare torso.


  


“Smells good,” he commented once I threw the spatula into the sink. I nodded meekly and sat across from him just as he dug into his meal hungrily.


  


Adrian hadn’t brought up last night yet, and I was beginning to wonder if they were just drunken thoughts. Why would he come here, to my house? It had been over a month since we last spoke to each other, and it wasn’t on good terms either.


  


I looked down at my scrambled eggs with a small frown. I was hoping the job offer part of his drunken speech was true – I didn’t want to go back to that moldy underwear factory and have to put up with creepy Cooper again. This reminded me that I was going into work tomorrow and quit my job at that factory, and I cringed as I thought of being in the small office alone with the sleazy old man who was my boss.


  


“Emily?” Adrian’s voice sounded, pulling me out of my thoughts.


  


I looked up to meet his amused expression, frowning slightly. “Sorry, what?” I asked. “You tell me. You’re looking at your food as if it just twerked like Miley Cyrus did at the VMA’s.” Adrian chuckled at his own joke, looking proud of himself, and I fought the smile that was threatening to escape my lips.


  


“I was just thinking,” I replied, taking a bite of the loaf of bread on my plate.


  


“About my offer last night? You don’t have a choice in the matter. You’re coming back to work for me.”


  


I almost choked on the piece of bread that I was trying to swallow as he said those words, and I looked back up at his smirk with wide eyes. So he did remember.


  


“I… I’m pretty sure it’s my choice, not yours.” I glared at him in response. In reality, I wanted the job back more than I could describe – but he didn’t need to know that.


  


Adrian’s arrogant smirk practically melted away as the words left my lips, and his expression turned to one of desperation. “Shortcake, please.” I bit my lip and tried not to blush at the nickname he had assigned to me. I hadn’t heard it in a while.


  


“Ever since you left… Well, I haven’t exactly been paying much attention to the business. My mind has been on you the entire time; I need you to come back in Emily. Please.” Adrian had gotten up during his talk to stand beside me.


  


I looked up at his eyes and inhaled sharply. The amount of vulnerability in Adrian’s expression caught me completely off guard, and my steady breathing hitched in my throat as I looked straight into his hazel eyes. Something hit me just then, and I realised just how much Adrian had an effect on me. I dragged my gaze away from his and looked down at my plate of food before letting out a sigh.


  


“Okay.”


  


“No, please, Emily. I need you – wait, what?” Adrian asked, cutting his begging short.


  


I laughed softly. “I said okay. I’ll come back, but there are going to be some rules,” I replied sternly, giving him a hard look.


  


“Anything. Okay, not anything. If I don’t like it, I’m not going to listen to the rule.” Adrian smirked, shrugging once I gave him a look of disbelief. “I’m still the boss,” he pointed out, making me blush again.


  


“Whatever,” I grumbled, trying to stop my blush from deepening. “Number one, no more mood swings. If you have a problem – business or personal related – you tell me straight away. I’m not going to tolerate your PMS Sessions where you’d give me the cold shoulder.”


  


“No mood swings. Got it.” Adrian nodded, grinning widely. I felt my own lips tug into a smile, catching his enthusiasm as my eyes took in every feature of his grinning face.


  


“Number two,” I continued, clearing my throat as I felt another blush crawl its way up my neck, “No more women while I’m working. Do it in your own time.” My voice became snippy at that point, and I tried to mask the sick feeling at the pit of my stomach at the thought of Adrian with another woman, before mentally scolding myself for thinking about that in the first place.


  


“No women. Got it.” He nodded, smirking at my flushed face.


  


“Shut up.” I scowled, making him chuckle. “Last rule,” I continued, glaring, “Business only. We’re not having a repeat of the last time I worked for you.”


  


“Nope. I don’t like the last rule, so I’m not listening to it. Now it’s my turn.” His grin widened. “Rule one: you’re sharing my office.”


  


I rolled my eyes. “Fine. Since you’re listening to my first two rules, it won’t be so bad,” I teased. He chuckled and his smirk turned into a stern glare. “Rule two; you have lunch with me, nobody else.” Like my second rule earlier, Adrian’s voice turned snappy while he said the rule to me, and I frowned.


  


“Is this so I don’t interact with Allen?” I asked, “ How is he, by the way? He broke all contact with me after I quit, and I don’t think he did it by choice.” I looked at Adrian pointedly and waited for an explanation.


  


“Yeah, it wasn’t by choice,” he conceded, but with a glare. “I made him.”


  


I frowned in response. “Why?! We got along really well!” I exclaimed, giving him a look of disbelief.


  


“Because you’re mine,” he snapped in reply as his glare hardened. “You’re mine and he was taking you away from me. I’ll let him talk to you when I think he can talk to you.”


  


“That’s not even fair! You can’t control your best friend!” I cried, still in shock.


  


“I can and I did,” he replied swiftly, making me huff in response.


  


“You’re impossible,” I grumbled. “Are there any other rules?” I asked, giving him a sarcastic smile.


  


“For now, no. You start tomorrow. Welcome back to Kingston Corp.,” Adrian smirked and placed a quick peck on my cheek, “Shortcake.”


  


My skin instantly tinged pink from the contact, and I looked away from his satisfied expression to hide the effect he had on me.


  


“I- I can’t start tomorrow. I need to go tell my old Boss that I quit first. He’s not going to let me leave easily, so it’ll take a while…” I cringed as a mental image of creepy Cooper smiling at me popped into my mind again, and I bit my lip to try and figure out a way that will make him let me quit without delaying the process any further.


  


“He?” Adrian asked, raising an eyebrow before narrowing his eyes. “I’ll come with you then,” he announced, and I watched his shoulders visibly tense.


  


“Relax, Adrian.” I laughed.


  


“Who is he?” Adrian pressed, “Has he touched you or hurt you in any way?” “Oh, he’s really handsome. One of the nicest men I’ve seen in my life so far. You should see him, he’s quite the catch. He has a memorable smile, too.” I tried not to laugh as Adrian’s expression darkened at my description of creepy Cooper, and I left my seat to clean the plates that we had wiped clean of food.


  


“I’m going to get my clothes for tomorrow and come back to your apartment,” Adrian declared, booking no argument. “Do not leave. I’m sleeping over again tonight.”


  


I gave him a confused look. “Why? You don’t-”


  


“Unless you want to come back to my place? My bed and television are bigger, after all.” He smirked, and I flicked some water onto his face, making him chuckle. “I’m fine, thank you. You can go home – and stay there. I’ll see you at work tomorrow.” I smiled, remembering the fact that I had my job back.


  


“No. I’m coming back. Or I could always make you ‘lose your keys’ again so you can stay at mine.” Adrian smirked.


  


I wiped my hands on the tea towel I had hanging near the sink before turning to face him with a frown. “What do you mean ‘you’ll make me lose my keys’?” I asked, narrowing my eyes suspiciously.


  


Adrian’s arrogant expression fell once again that morning, turning to a guilty one before he covered it up with a false look of confusion. “What? I didn’t say that,” he mumbled, running a hand through his messy hair. I tried to avert my eyes from his locks, before snapping out of it and glaring at him. “Adrian! That night when I lost my keys, you purposely hid them from me?!” I exclaimed, giving him a look of disbelief.


  


“Pft, of course not! Oh, would you look at the time! I need to go get my clothes and come back so we can watch movies and eat lunch together before-”


  


“Adrian!” I snapped, cutting him off.


  


He let out a defeated sigh before giving me a guilty smile. “Okay, yes. On the night of the business dinner, I took your keys out of your bag and put them in a pocket on my door so that you could come home with me. But it’s not my fault! You looked hot; I had to see more of you!” His poor but flattering defense made me blush while I glared at him. I shook my head and hit his bare shoulder, my blush deepening as my hand came in contact with his bare skin.


  


“You’re an idiot.” I tried to scowl, but it came out as more of a smile as he broke out into a goofy, lopsided grin.


  


“Only for you, Shortcake.” He smirked, sneaking another kiss on my cheek before leaving the kitchen. I bit my lip and sighed to myself as I felt his kiss linger on my cheek for longer than necessary, before following him out.

“Thank you for hiring me, Mr. Cooper,” I said for what must have been the nth time. “It was a pleasure working for you. It’s just… this job is more suited to my qualifications and I believe I can achieve more if I’m working there.” I finished with a smile that turned out more like a grimace.


  


“Oh, but Emily,” Mr. Cooper gave me a sad look, “It was so nice having you around. You really brightened up my day. Please stay…” his voice trailed off, and he seemed so sincere that I began to feel guilty. Maybe I could work two jobs…


  


“She’s coming with me,” Adrian snapped, coming up to stand beside me and pulling me into him protectively. “Now, unless you want me to put in a restraining order, I suggest you sign the papers so we can be on our merry way, old man.”


  


Mr. Cooper glanced at Adrian, then at me, and back again at Adrian’s intimidating figure. His wary gaze lingered there for a second longer before he sighed and pulled the forms closer towards him. I snuck a look up at Adrian, who was already looking down at me with a stern expression, and I bit my lip to stop a laugh from escaping from in between my lips.


  


Last night, Adrian had insisted that he come with me this morning to quit my job in case ‘Handsome Mr. Cooper gave me any trouble.’ When Adrian’s eyes landed on Mr. Cooper, his expression was beyond priceless, and he gave me a weird look before asking me if he was the type of man I was into. I nodded and told Adrian that Mr. Cooper was the reason I was never interested in Adrian.


  


He almost believed me; but I burst out in laughter shortly after my response, making him roll his eyes. “Done,” Mr. Cooper said as he handed me the papers to let me leave work. “I really hope to see you in the near future, Emily.”


  


“Uh… sure,” I smiled tightly. “Maybe one day.”


  


Beside me, Adrian stiffened and glared at Mr. Cooper, then led me out of the small, cramped office.


  


Once we were in the car and driving back to Kingston Corp., Adrian turned and gave me the same stern look he gave me in the office. “You were about to agree to work for him!” Adrian exclaimed.


  


I opened my mouth to deny his accusation and shut it once I realised he was right. “I felt really bad,” I said softly, thinking of the frail old man again. He may have been creepy, but he was still old and fragile. He needed all the help he could get.


  


Adrian’s angry expression instantly transformed into one that made my breath hitch in my throat. This was the same one he had given me on the beach in California, where his eyes were soft and his expression unreadable as he looked at me.


  


“Okay,” he mumbled, blinking out of his daze and looking away.


  


I frowned, but didn’t question his sudden understanding, and looked out the window just as we pulled up into Kingston Corp. I tried – and failed – to keep the excited grin off my face as Adrian and I stepped into the elevator that would take us up to my old workplace, and I let out a contented sigh once the elevator dinged open. Adrian looked down at me with an amused smirk, and chuckled once I beamed back at him.


  


“Go and surprise Suzie,” he told me, taking the box I was holding and nodding in the direction of Suzie’s office. “I’ll take care of your things. She didn’t think I could get you to come back.”


  


He gave me a wry, smug smile, clearly proud of himself. I was in too good a mood to snipe at his arrogance, so I just grinned before making my way over to Suzie’s office. I knocked softly, and opened it once I heard her familiar ‘Come in.’


  


“Suzie,” I opened with a very official tone, as if it was just another day at the office, “I was just wondering if you’ve received the paperwork Mr. Kingston placed on your desk from me in regards to how much I’ve missed you?” Suzie’s head snapped up from the papers in front of her with lightning speed. “Oh, Emily!” she squealed, getting out of her seat.


  


I broke out into a wide grin and walked over to meet her halfway. She pulled me into a bone-crushing hug, making me return the gesture. “You’re back! I didn’t think you’d come back after the way he treated you! But you’re back! I’m so happy!” She tightened her grip around my waist with every heartfelt line and mumbled into my shoulder, “I’ve missed you so much, dear!”


  


I grinned and pulled away. “I’m back! And I’ve missed you more! How is Richard?” I asked.


  


Suzie was still grinning as she took her seat again. “He’s well, dear. He’ll be delighted to hear that you’re back!”


  


I was just beginning to laugh when her phone started ringing, and she answered it instantly, “Kingston Corp.” She nodded at whoever was on the other end of the line, looked up at me knowingly, and broke out into another grin.


  


“Of course, Sir,” she said before hanging up the phone and turning her attention fully on me. “Emily, Mr. Kingston said sorry to cut our reunion short, but he needs you in the office.” She beamed brightly, and I nodded and waved before exiting her office.


  


As I walked down the long hallway, I recognised the familiar faces of the others that I used to work with. They all waved and grinned as I walked by, and I returned the gestures before I made it to Adrian’s office.


  


“You needed me?” I asked, shutting the door behind me.


  


“More than ever, Shortcake.” He smirked, and I squealed in shock once I realised he was right next to me. He chuckled before pulling me into his solid torso. “I’ve missed this,” he murmured into my hair, making me blush.


  


I opened my mouth to respond but was cut off by a sharp knock at the door. Adrian didn’t bother letting go of me – even though I tried to wriggle out of his solid grip.


  


“Enter,” he said as I squirmed.


  


The door opened and revealed another familiar face, Daniel, whom I’ve worked with before. He came in with a stack of folders and a USB drive in his hands. “Mr. Kingston, these just arrived from the Harrison Company, sir. They said it was urgent and – Emily? Is that you? Hey! You’re back!”


  


I grinned back at my colleague. “Hey Daniel! How have you been?”


  


“Yeah, yeah, great!” he replied excitedly, the smile on his face growing wider. “What about you? You’re back!”


  


I laughed and nodded, still aware that I was in Adrian’s arms – arms that had become noticeably tighter once Daniel and I began interacting. “Yes, I’m back, and great, thank you for asking.”


  


“That’s great! Hey, we should catch up tonight over drinks or something,” Daniel suggested.


  


I opened my mouth to reply but was cut off by Adrian pushing me behind his tall, broad figure. “Just give me the fucking files and leave,” he snarled at Daniel, who suddenly tensed in shock.


  


Daniel hurriedly passed the files and the USB stick over to Adrian in fright, before casting a brief look over in my direction and calmly walking out of the office.


  


“What was that?!” I exclaimed as Adrian slammed the large stack of files on the small coffee table that was close to our current position in the office.


  


“I’ve made another rule,” Adrian spoke out of nowhere, ignoring my question. He dragged his glare away from the space Daniel had occupied and focused his steely gaze on me.


  


“Um… Okay, what is it?” I asked, biting my lip curiously and temporarily forgetting his irrational behaviour towards Daniel.


  


Adrian smirked, before snaking his arm around my waist again. I tried not to shiver from the familiar and warm contact, before looking up at his satisfied expression for his answer.


  


“Rule three: you’re moving in with me. Tonight.”

I can't get enough of Adrian-Emily

Thanks for the update

Ann2012:
I can't get enough of Adrian-Emily
Thanks for the update

Just like you can't get enough of me baby.
Happy new month

Emex100:


Just like you can't get enough of me baby.

Lolz
Happy new month dear

Chapter Seventeen


  


  


  


I stared back at Adrian’s expression, blinking blankly for a few moments, before bursting into a fit of laughter. I had momentarily believed him, before it registered in my mind that he was just joking. I began to laugh at his ridiculous suggestion – then abruptly cut myself short once his serious expression didn’t change.


  


“You’re not serious,” I stated.


  


“As the plague,” he remarked, smirking slightly.


  


My expression turned skeptical. “No way! Not happening!” I exclaimed, giving him a look of disbelief.


  


His smirk instantly fell and was replaced with a frown. “Why not?”


  


“Because- Because- Just because! No! You’re my boss, its wrong.” I wasn’t going to lie, the thought of living with Adrian – waking up with him on a daily basis, watching movies together, having dinner together – had my stomach doing summersaults and my heart feeling like a feather; but I wasn’t going to tell him that. He was my boss.


  


“I don’t care. You’re moving in and-”


  


I cut him off. “Adrian. I can’t move in with you. I like my apartment! I worked my ass off to get it – it’s small, comfortable, and perfect to me! Plus, I have friends that like to see me every day and family who visit on occasion! And what about all the reporters that follow your every move? Moving in with you will send a wrong image out to everyone and-”


  


“And I don’t know how many times I have to say this to you, I don’t fucking care about how I look to the public. I care about you. So move in with me.” His tone was still commanding, and I had a feeling he wasn’t going to change his mind on the matter any time soon.


  


I sighed, before meeting his eyes. “Adrian…” I trailed off, not knowing what else to say to change his mind, before my phone began to ring, filling in the silence that settled in the office. “Hello?” I answered, not bothering to check the caller ID.


  


“Smelly Emily,” a deep voice answered, making a large grin instantly stretch across my face.


  


“Flaky Blakey!” I squealed in excitement at the recognition of my older sibling’s voice. “Have you come out of hibernation? Or come back from space? Because no other excuse will be accepted for not calling me for this long!” I grinned broadly. My eyes briefly flickered over to Adrian’s tall form, which was now leaning against his desk with his hands in his pockets and staring at me with an amused smirk.


  


“It was your turn, not mine!” he replied.


  


My grin instantly transformed to a shocked expression, and my eyes narrowed at the small coffee table that was in my line of vision. “It was not!” I argued, “Don’t you remember? I called you and you were at Michael’s house, and then you snuck out to the bathroom to talk to me and then you promised you’d take the double shift because you had to end my phone call short!”


  


Blake was silent for a moment, before I heard his tongue click in recognition. “That’s right, and my favourite pair of boxers ripped that day. That sad, sad day.”


  


I rolled my eyes and grinned at the same coffee table I was looking at earlier. “You’re such a dork.”


  


“That’s because I had to live with you for 17 years. You were bound to rub off on my amazing personality just to sabotage my-”


  


“Shut up, Blake!” I laughed, making Adrian’s smirk grow even wider as he watched. He began walking over to where I was, and pulled me into his torso from behind.


  


“Anyway, guess who’s coming over this Sunday, Smelly Emily?” Blake asked, oblivious to my physical position.


  


“W- Who?” I stuttered, suddenly feeling every hair on my body stand up from Adrian’s touch.


  


“Me, dufus!” Blake exclaimed. “And mom and dad; so you better make something nice for dinner!”


  


My mind momentarily stopped focusing on the feeling of Adrian’s arms around my waist and I focused my attention to the phone call with a small frown. “That’s… a surprise… Why?” I asked out of disbelief. “I mean, not that I don’t want you guys to, because I do! I miss you heaps! Well, you and our parents. No, wait, that didn’t sound very nice. What I meant was-”


  


Blake cut me off with a laugh, and I felt Adrian’s chest vibrate from a low chuckle behind me. “Smelly, chill! I know what you mean. Mom has been complaining to me that she hasn’t seen you for too long. So, I decided we’d pay you a visit. Sunday, we’ll be there at 4PM. See you then, Smelly Emily!”


  


I smiled and ended the phone call, before it registered in my mind that Blake couldn’t see me, and I gasped and turned around to Adrian. “I just accidentally hung up in his face!” I exclaimed with wide eyes, feeling panicky.


  


Adrian smirked down at our close proximity, and I instantly began blushing. “I’m coming over this Sunday,” he informed bluntly as his expression became serious. Accidentally hanging up on Blake suddenly didn’t seem like such a big deal, and I focused all my attention to my boss with a stern look. “No, you’re not. I have plans that I know you’re trying to interfere with. And just to be clear, Blake is my brother; no one you should be getting all possessive about the way you usually do,” I warned.


  


“I know that. I’ve read your profile. That still doesn’t change the fact that I’m coming over on Sunday.”


  


“No you’re not, Adrian!” I hissed, frowning up at him. “This is my family. If you show up, they’ll think there’s something going on between us!”


  


He studied my expression momentarily before shrugging. “Fine, but you’re moving in with me.”


  


I groaned. “Adrian! I am not moving in with you. Don’t make me list my reasons again.” I sighed, suddenly feeling tired of re-stating my argument.


  


“Don’t make me tell you my care factor about people’s opinion’s again,” he glared in response.


  


“Adrian-”


  


“I’ll give you time to think about it,” he cut me off, grudgingly. “Come on, we have a meeting.”


  


I bit my lip to stop myself from telling him that I didn’t need to think about it, and walked over to my desk, collecting all the necessary paperwork needed for the meeting. We began to walk out of the office when I felt Adrian bend down so his lips were in line with my ear. “I forgot to tell you how good your ass looks in that pantsuit today. You should wear them more often.” He pulled away and I looked up at him with an expression of disbelief, blushing furiously from his arrogant smirk.


  


“Shut up,” I mumbled, pushing him away from my body.


  


***


  


Sunday came sooner than I liked, and I found myself checking if everything was properly positioned double, even triple times, before my heart was able to relax slightly. Amy was going to arrive any minute now to calm me down and have dinner with us, and I found myself mentally thanking my best friend once again.


  


Knowing my parents – my entire apartment would be evaluated to make sure everything was cleaned and positioned to perfection. If there was anything out of place, I’d be forced to move back in with them because I’m ‘incapable’ of living on my own.


  


“I’M HERE BITCH! Oh shit, are your parents here yet? I SAID WITCH, NOT BITCH – JUST TO CLARIFY!” Amy’s voice echoed through my quiet apartment, making me jump in my position just as she slammed the door shut. I turned to her and rolled my eyes as she held up a bottle of wine and fresh bread rolls. “Have no fear, superwoman is here!” Amy sung out once she scanned the apartment for my family.


  


I shook my head and grinned at her behaviour before pulling her into a hug. “I owe you big time,” I declared while taking the things out of her hands.


  


“It’s fine. I’m going to get to tease Blake the entire night anyway; you being related to him is pretty much paying me back.” She winked.


  


I laughed while taking out the bread rolls. “That wouldn’t have anything to do with your crush on him, will it?” I winked back.


  


Amy’s eyes went wide and she instantly began to turn tomato red – a trait I loved to see on her. “I do not have a crush on Blake.”


  


“Yet you react like that every time I bring it up.” I smirked while setting down the plates around the island in my kitchen. Luckily, most of the food was already prepared. I just had to toss the salad together and I was done. Unfortunately, my parents had decided to be late the one day that I was 100% organised.


  


“It’s not like them to be late,” Amy murmured to herself, mirroring my thoughts. She looked up and met my eyes and I nodded in agreement with a small frown etched on my forehead.


  


“Maybe I should call th-” My voice was cut off by a firm knock sounding from the living room, and Amy’s eyes instantly widened.


  


“It’s like they could sense we were talking about them!” she hissed frantically, making me laugh and throw a carrot in her direction.


  


She dodged it neatly and glared at me as we went over to the front door together. As soon as I opened the front door, I was engulfed in a hug.


  


“Emily! Are you sure you’re okay to live on your own? It took you quite a while to get to the door… Maybe it’s best if we sell this apartment and you can come back and-”


  


“It’s great to see you too, mom,” I grumbled loud enough to cut her suggestion off.


  


She pulled away from me with a small smile on her face, and I instantly regretted the harshness of my tone. “I’ve missed you so much, honey. Talking on the phone and that time with the face app isn’t really the same as real life, you know?” She pouted, and I looked into her brown eyes with the same longing feeling. “I know mom,” I replied, placing a soft kiss on her cheek. “I’ve missed you too.”


  


“Stop hogging our daughter, Michelle,” a deep voice grumbled, and I instantly grinned as my dad held me up and spun me around in our traditional hug. “How are you, Kiddo?” My dad chuckled once I pulled him in for another hug.


  


“I’m great, how are you?” I asked with a huge grin.


  


“Great now that I’m looking at my little princess again. I don’t like this long distance thing you’ve got going on with us. I’m always having to fake lose against your mom in Mario Kart.” He gave me look of disappointment, and I began to giggle at his immaturity. “Hey! I win those games fair and square. Your ego does not need another boost, old man!” My mom whacked my father’s arm, who chuckled at her weak hit. A sense of déjà vu washed through me as I remembered the night I had fought with Adrian over the same thing – except our fight was based on UNO cards. Adrian had been nagging me all week about moving in with him – to the point where he even wrote a list of why it was one of his best ideas ever. The list had things like; I get to see Adrian shirtless, and if I’m ‘lucky’, naked all the time; the kitchen was huge and I had an unlimited supply of food due to the fact that his apartment was a hotel suite.


  


The list had a total of 64 reasons on it, and most of them involved either a naked Adrian or me being naked. That didn’t mean it wasn’t funny though. “SOMETHING SMELLS REALLY BAD IN HERE. OH, IT MUST BE SMELLY EMILY.” Blake shouted from behind our parents, pulling me out of my thoughts.


  


I laughed and attempted to glare at him with a grin, before he cracked a smile and pulled me into his buff torso. “I’ve missed you, little sis.” He laughed while ruffling my hair.


  


“I missed you too, Blakey Wakey.” I grinned while pinching his cheeks. He slapped my hands away, making us both laugh. “Why were you guys so late? You’re usually never late,” I pointed out with a small frown.


  


“Traffic,” Blake mumbled, looking a little worn out at the thought.


  


“Yet another reason why the long distance thing you have going on with us should end right – oh, hello Amy! I didn’t see you there.” My father brought up abruptly. We all turned to look at Amy, who was smiling in amusement at the exchange happening in front of her.


  


“Hello Liam, Michelle.” She nodded and waved at both my parents before turning over to Blake. I watched as her cheeks tinged a slight pink colour, but she covered it up by narrowing her eyes at Blake’s hair. “Is that… no… it couldn’t be, is Flakey Blakey back? I’m starting to see more white stuff appearing in that lovely jet black hair of yours, friend.” Amy smirked, making Blake glare back in response.


  


“It’s nice to see you too, Amy. Is that… Wait a minute; did you forget to take the wax off your upper lip again?” He asked with a smirk right back. Amy was absolutely mortified once Blake had walked in on her waxing her upper lip at my house in senior year. He hasn’t let it go since.


  


“Shut up.” She scowled, growing red in the face.


  


We all laughed at her lame retort before I turned to all four guests. “Let’s eat then, shall we?” I grinned, just as my stomach grumbled slightly. They all nodded their heads in agreement and we began to walk into the kitchen before another knock at my door sounded. I frowned and bit my lip curiously. I wasn’t expecting any more company.


  


“Amy, did you tell Molly and the other girls to come over?” I asked.


  


Amy shook her head, looking just as curious as I was. “I’m coming with you! I want to know who it is. It’s bound to be someone interesting because you have no friends!” Amy squealed in excitement, and I slapped her arm at her comment. “Ouch!”


  


“’Serves you right for calling my sister unpopular. You should be thankful she’s hanging out with someone like you wax face.” Blake teased Amy, looking down his nose at her short figure.


  


“Shut up, Flake,” she snapped back, glaring.


  


“Is it really necessary for all of you to follow me to answer my front door?” I asked with an exasperated sigh, looking at my family and best friend pointedly.


  


“Yes,” they all answered.


  


I rolled my eyes as I pulled the door open – and almost slammed it shut.

Adrian’s foot stopped me.


  


“Hello, Shortcake.” He smirked once his eyes met mine before stepping into my apartment. “I hope I’m not too late?” His expression changed to once of innocence as he wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me into his side while pressing his lips to my cheek.


  


“I- What are you doing here?” I asked slowly, keeping a phony smile plastered on my face while wanting to glare up at Adrian’s smirking one. I looked over to Amy who had suddenly paled and was staring up at Adrian with her jaw hung open. She’s no help, I thought to myself bitterly.


  


“I couldn’t miss your family, Shortcake,” Adrian said it as if the answer were obvious, and I just blinked up at him blankly.


  


“Who… Who is this?” my mom asked cautiously, giving Adrian a nervous smile. I knew that smile all too well. I groaned internally; my mom was checking out my boss.


  


“Adrian Kingston, Ma’am. Emily’s boss and boyfriend. It’s very nice to finally meet you. I’ve heard a lot of great things about all of you.”


  


I choked on my own saliva – and so did Amy - as soon as the words left Adrian’s mouth. Boyfriend?!


  


“Boyfriend?” Blake asked, narrowing his eyes at Adrian suspiciously, mirroring my thoughts.


  


Adrian gave a swift nod before answering. “You must be Blake. The fun, older brother. Emily talks a lot about you and how you’re always calling her smelly.” Adrian chuckled before I felt his arm tighten around my waist. He stepped forward, completely ignoring Blake’s possessive glare, and turned over to my father. “Mr. Johnson. It’s an honour to finally meet you. I’ve heard what you have done for our country, and you’ve also brought the most beautiful woman to this planet – I can’t even begin with how much respect I have for you, Sir. I’ve also heard you’re quite a Mario Kart fan. I hope to verse you one day.” My head spun at his statement so fast that I thought I had whiplash.


  


How the hell does he know all of these things about my family?!


  


“Mom, Dad, Blake… Why don’t you all get yourselves seated at the dinner table?” I suggested through grit teeth. My phony smile was wobbling dangerously. “I need to have a few words with Adrian.”


  


“Of course, sweetie!” my mom gushed. “You take all the time you need with Adrian Kingston!” She looked up at him with a flustered expression. I gave her a look of disbelief and turned to my father for help. He began dragging her and a pissed-off looking Blake into the kitchen, leaving a still-in-shock Amy and an all-too-arrogant Adrian behind in the living room.


  


“Are you crazy?!” I whisper-shouted once I knew they were out of earshot.


  


“I believe I’ve already responded to that question before,” Adrian said good-naturedly, “but I’ll tell you my answer again just to refresh your memory. When it comes to you, yes, completely and utterly bonkers.”


  


My eyes widened with disbelief as I looked up at his amused expression. “Did you not get a single thing I said in the office on Monday?! Now what will I tell them once they find out you lied? And how the hell did you find out about all that stuff about my dad?!” I demanded.


  


“I looked him up.” He shrugged, before continuing. “Plus, I had to meet the parents soon enough, didn’t I? I mean, you’ve already met mine. It’s only fair-”


  


“It’s only fair that you leave and let me clean up after your mess with my family!” I hissed, glaring up at him.


  


“Mess? I don’t think I’ve made a mess. Your mother and father seem very fond of me already. Blake still needs a little more time, but he’ll get there as well, eventually. The only person I wasn’t aware of is the creepy girl that’s been staring at me with her mouth open in shock the entire time we’ve been speaking. Who is she?” He asked, casting an uneasy look in Amy’s direction.


  


I looked over at her and realised she was still in the same slack-jawed dropped, making me giggle.


  


“Amy, snap out of it! You’re finally going to meet the guy you fan-girl over. Adrian, this is my best friend Amy. Amy, you already know who Adrian is.” Amy instantly snapped out of her shocked state and looked up at Adrian with stars in her eyes, making me laugh. “You’re a loser, Ames,” I teased, making her turn to me with wide eyes. “Is that real or am I dreaming? Because there is no way he could get hotter than he is in photos. No, no way…” She trailed off, staring at him again. I laughed before clicking my fingers in her field of vision, making her snap out of her hazy state once again. Her eyes widened at the realisation of her actions and she cleared her throat. “S- Sorry. Hello, Amy am I. I mean, I Amy. Uh- Hi,” she finished lamely, going tomato red again.


  


Adrian chuckled at her caveman talk and I tried to stifle my own laughter, afraid of the death glare I’d receive if I let out my amusement. “Ames, I need you to go and distract my family while I try and get rid of-” I didn’t even get to finish my sentence because Adrian was already strolling into the kitchen, where the food was set.


  


“Sorry for making you all wait.” Adrian smiled – actually smiled this time, no smirk – before taking a seat near my father. Amy instantly took the seat in between my mother and Blake, and I glared at her once I realised she was trying to make me sit next to Adrian.


  


“That’s fine, honey. We put you all a plate of food anyway. So let’s dig in!” My mom exclaimed in excitement, still keeping an eye on Adrian. I threw a glare in her direction, and her gaze instantly met the food on her plate once she saw my expression.


  


“So, Adrian, how is the infamous Kingston Company going?” my father asked once everyone began to eat. I shoved a large piece of steak into my mouth, trying to eat away the fact that I was pissed off that Adrian had a friendly charisma that won over my usually over-protective dad way too quickly for my comfort. Adrian swallowed his salad before nodding briefly. “I’m not going to lie. The short period that I didn’t have Emily working for me was quite a large failure. I wasn’t able to concentrate without her by my side. But now that she’s back, I can happily say things are booming again, Sir.” Adrian smiled slightly, before placing his hand on top of my thigh.


  


I looked up to meet his amused expression and glared slightly, letting him know that I was still angry with him.


  


“Call me Liam, son.” My dad patted Adrian’s back briefly and gave him a smile. My eyes widened and I looked across the table to meet Blake’s eyes. He got the pat on the back! I mouthed in shock.


  


Blake stared at Adrian for a few moments, before his gaze fell back on mine and he nodded. If my father ever patted a boy’s back, it meant he approved of him. Adrian managed to get it in less than half an hour. That had to be a world record. Blake’s best friend, Michael, had to wait four months until he received his.


  


The rest of the dinner was eaten with comfortable small talk, and I was thankful that everyone was acting normal about the fact that I hadn’t told them I supposedly had a boyfriend. Once we finished eating, I placed all the plates into the dishwasher that was built into the kitchen before re-entering the living room where everyone else was seated except for my mom –who was no doubt, inspecting the apartment.


  


“I can take you down in Mario Kart any day man,” Blake laughed, throwing a pillow at Adrian. “Is that a challenge?” he asked, raising an eyebrow at my older brother.


  


“Oh, bring it on bro.” Blake smirked, and I watched as he flexed his muscles in front of Adrian to look more intimidating. Amy rolled her eyes and muttered something under her breath which earned a glare from Blake, making me laugh.


  


“Shortcake, come and sit by me,” Adrian said, shuffling over so he could make more room in between him and my father.


  


“Uh… I think I should just sit on the chair. It looks pretty tight over there already-”


  


“Oh nonsense, Kiddo. There’s plenty of room for you. Don’t feel embarrassed to sit beside your boyfriend in front of your family.” My dad smiled, and I almost choked again at the word ‘boyfriend.’ The word was beginning to hit too close to home, and I was trying to push back the alleged feelings I had for Adrian.


  


Adrian waggled his eyebrows at my dad’s words before patting the sofa beside him, making me sigh in defeat and take my seat in between the two tall men. Adrian instantly wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me into his body.


  


“At this rate,” he said, for my ears alone, “I could have sex with you on the table and they’d still approve of me. You’re welcome.”


  


I tried to push him away in disgust but it ended up looking playful in front of Blake and my father, making my cheeks flame up. Adrian chuckled and stole another kiss on my cheek before turning over to the movie on the screen. “Emily, honey. Your tap in the bathroom leaks!” my mom said as soon as she re-entered the living room. “See, I knew you weren’t fit enough to handle this whole apartment on your own just yet. We should sell it right away and you can come back home and live with us.”


  


Adrian stiffened at the mention of me moving away from here, and I watched as he clenched his jaw in anger. “She’s not moving away from me,” he stated, frowning slightly.


  


My mom looked over at Adrian sympathetically. “I’m sorry, Adrian. It’s just, well, if she can’t take care of a leaking tap then who knows-”


  


“Mom!” I exclaimed, turning around to face her fully while still managing to stay in Adrian’s hold. “The tap isn’t even leaking that much. Plus, I’ve already called someone to look at it and he’s going to be coming in within the next week. I know how to control an apartment.” I frowned in anger while giving her a warning look.


  


“Honey… We’re just concerned for your safety,” my dad said from beside me, making my eyes trail over to his concerned expression. “What if – and God forbid this ever happen to you – but a break in occurs? You live alone. There is no one to protect you and you may not be strong enough to take care of yourself in that situation, Kiddo.”


  


“That won’t be a problem,” Adrian spoke up, making my neck almost snap from turning so quickly for the second time tonight. “Because she’s moving in with me. Tonight.” He did not just drop that bombshell on my all-too-satisfied-looking family.

Ghen ghen! Adrian is at the door

Chapter Eighteen


  


  


  


I was plotting subtle ways to kill Adrian in his sleep without looking like I did it. It would be easier now, you know, since I lived with him. But I’d be the primary suspect, so I wasn’t going to act on anything just yet.


  


“Is that the last of them?” Adrian asked once he finished bringing up all my belongings from my old, trusty apartment. I ignored his question and continued folding my clothes and packing them on the shelf of Adrian’s walk-in wardrobe; another thing he insisted I use.


  


Adrian chuckled at my lack of response towards him, before I felt his familiar solid pair of arms wrap around my waist from behind while resting his chin on my shoulder. “Shortcake. We live together. The least you could do is show a little enthusiasm. And take your clothes off – just so you’re comfortable, of course, I will receive no benefit out of it whatsoever.” I felt his lips lift into a smirk.


  


I continued to ignore him.


  


“Come on,” he whined, “I already received the threatening warnings from your family and weird best friend. Cut me some slack; I just saved you from moving back in with your family!” he pointed out.


  


I stepped out of his hold and glared at him. “You only did that so I don’t move away from you,” I snapped, keeping my glare firm to emphasize my point. He smirked and shrugged. “Yeah, you’re right. Oh well, there’s nothing you can do about it now. I’ve promised your father that I’d take good care of you. That means I need to meet all your needs. So do you need anything from me? Food? Water? Sex?”


  


My eyes widened in shock at the last suggestion before I launched the sundress I was about to hang up in the closet straight at Adrian’s face. He caught it with ease while chuckling at my reaction, and I began blushing.


  


“Get out of my room,” I scowled.


  


“Our room,” he corrected with a lopsided grin, catching me off guard. I blinked back at him momentarily before turning away with a frown. “What is it?” Adrian asked, noticing the small notion. “Nothing,” I mumbled, turning back to my clothes.


  


“Let’s go watch a movie. You can pack your clothes later,” Adrian said, before I felt my body being lifted off of the ground and thrown over Adrian’s shoulder.


  


“Adrian!” I squealed, making him chuckle. “You need to stop doing that,” I huffed once he set me down onto the sofa in the living room. “I know how to walk.”


  


“I know you do. I watch you walk from behind every day.” He smirked, making me roll my eyes and blush. “What movie would you like to watch today, roomie? I’m ordering Chinese.”


  


I glared up at him and crossed my arms over my chest, ignoring him once again. Adrian needed to know that I was angry at him for forcing me out of my own home and into his – and in front of my family, as well. Moving in with him was not a step I wanted to take with him, especially considering the fact that we weren’t even a couple and I had unidentified feelings towards him. Living with him was not helping my current conflicted emotions, at the moment.


  


“Come on Shortcake, you can’t me mad at me forever.” Adrian pouted, suddenly appearing face to face with me.


  


I looked straight into his hazel irises and glared. “Yes I can,” I snapped, turning away from him angrily.


  


I heard a small sigh escape Adrian’s mouth before I felt myself – once again – being lifted out of my position against my will. Adrian sat in my previous position and placed me on his lap, trapping me there by circling his arms around my waist firmly.


  


“Look at me,” he said earnestly, “I don’t regret making you move in with me. I only regret not telling you before I told your family. To prove myself to you, I’ll do whatever you want for the rest of the day.” Adrian smirked then, and I instantly got the double meaning behind his words.


  


“Let go of me,” I demanded, still glaring down at him.


  


“Fine,” he grumbled after a moment of hesitation, retracting his arms from around my waist.


  


I tried to hide my smug smile as I got off his lap, blushing in the process before going back to our bedroom to continue packing my clothes.


  


Adrian stayed on my heel the entire time. “Do you want to watch the movie in here, then? That’s okay, I’ll go pick something out the-”


  


“No, Adrian. What I want is for you to leave me alone for the rest of the evening. Don’t talk to me, or be in the same room as me. Let my anger simmer down a little before we talk again. You need to understand that you do not control me and that you can’t throw a little anger tantrum and sleep with 500 women every time something doesn’t go your way. So for the time being, I want you to go away. Go do some work, read a book, take a shower – I don’t care. Just don’t talk or be in my presence.” I gave him a stern look while waiting for him to argue about my request. Adrian just stared back at me, not saying anything for a while, before nodding. “Okay.”


  


“Okay?” I repeated in confusion. He wasn’t going to fight me on this?


  


“Stop trying to flirt with me like Augustus Waters, Shortcake. I said okay.” He smirked, making me blush and roll my eyes at the comment. “But just before I go – I haven’t slept with a woman ever since the week you quit, Emily, because I don’t want anyone else anymore. I’ll leave you alone now.” Adrian closed the bedroom door behind him softly, and I stared at the white object for a long moment, processing his words. It was almost 1AM by the time I was done folding, hanging and packing my entire wardrobe the walk-in Adrian and I now shared. I had not seen nor heard from him since we talked last. I decided to throw on my favourite NYU shirt from college and a pair of yoga pants before heading to the living room.


  


I found Adrian shirtless, slumped in a chair with a laptop resting on the dining table in front of him and illuminating his features in the dim lighting. My mind went back to his previous words, and my heart fluttered involuntarily. He hadn’t slept with anyone else ever since I quit? My mind refused to believe it. This was Adrian Kingston – surely, I was misinterpreting his words. He didn’t want me; ‘anyone else’ could have been Adrianna or Anna.


  


I ignored my conscience momentarily and made my way towards him. He looked away from his laptop screen and his tired eyes met mine just as I stopped in front of him and shut the laptop softly.


  


“Come on,” I murmured as I squeezed his tense shoulders in a massaging manner. “Let’s get to bed.”


  


A loud yawn escaped from Adrian’s mouth as he got out of his seated position and stretched his limbs; making me blush and avert my gaze from his shirtless body.


  


“Did you finish packing your things?” he asked once we began walking back to the bedroom.


  


I nodded mutely, not bothering to formulate a verbal response. I was still angry with him, but I was also feeling a little sympathetic and guilty for kicking him out of his own room. “That’s good,” Adrian said, stifling another yawn. “You won’t have to do any of it when we come back from work tomorrow then.”


  


“I’m sorry for kicking you out,” I mumbled as more guilt rushed through my veins.


  


“You had a right to, you were angry.” Adrian shrugged, before abruptly pulling his pants off. I gasped and covered my eyes in shock while blushing deeply, making him chuckle at my reaction. “You’re still reacting like that after you’ve been in bed with me how many times now?” Adrian smirked just as he pulled my hands away from my field of vision, deepening my blush even further.


  


“Shut up,” I grumbled, not liking the fact that he knew how to make me squirm. He chuckled again before giving a pointed look. “What?” I asked curiously, frowning.


  


“It’s your turn.” He smirked, looking down at my yoga pants.


  


I pushed him away with a scowl. “Just get in bed. We have work tomorrow,” I pointed out, trying to cover up my blush.


  


“You only want me to get into the bed so you can take them off without me looking,” Adrian said knowingly, and I rolled my eyes in response.


  


“I’m glad you know me so well. Now, since you’re the one who brought it up, you can turn around now.” I smiled sarcastically and waited for him to do as he was told.


  


He shook his head. “If I remember correctly,” he began, still smirking, “I said that I’d do whatever you wanted for the rest of the day. It’s now 1:18AM, meaning that I no longer have to listen to you anymore.” His smirk transformed into a proud grin once I gave him a look of disbelief, and I threw the nearest object at him – which turned out to be one of his shirts.


  


“Turn around.” I scowled, blushing again.


  


“Okay, okay.” He laughed, putting his hands up in defense before slowly turning so that his back was facing me. I gave his figure a weary look before quickly shrugging off the pants and the bra underneath my shirt. I climbed into my side of the bed and covered up quickly.


  


Adrian turned back around as soon as he felt the bed dip, and his arms were around my waist faster than I was able to blink. “I’ve missed this,” he said, sneaking a small peck on my cheek. “For the record, my bed is way more comfortable than yours.”


  


The mention of my previous bed instantly spiked up the anger within me, and I glared at him. “For the record, I liked my bed – you know; the one you forced me to move away from?”


  


Adrian let out an exasperated sigh before glaring back at me. “Get over it. I saved you from moving back with your parents. It’s not like that little shitty apartment meant anything to you anymore than-”


  


“It didn’t mean anything to me?!” I snapped, enraged now. “I had to work three jobs throughout my entire senior year and college life just to save up for that ‘shitty little apartment’ that you were so adamant on ‘saving’ me from. Then, whatever money I had left over from all my hard work was put into my ‘uncomfortable’ bed and tiny sofa. So excuse me if those things are worthless to you because you had everything handed over to you wrapped in a pretty bow; but they were my hard work. They meant a lot to me; and you took me away from that.”


  


I was shaking, feeling my anger take over again. Suddenly, I didn’t feel guilty anymore. I turned away from his shirtless figure in disgust, shifting all the way to the other end of the bed as a tense silence filled the room.


  


I felt Adrian shift slightly before a small light illuminated the dark room – I didn’t have to look over to know that it was his phone. I closed my eyes in an attempt to sleep away my anger and get some rest before work tomorrow, but my phone vibrated on the small nightstand beside me. I picked it up to find a text from Adrian:


  


Hi


  


I ignored the text and locked my phone before placing it back onto the nightstand loudly to convey my anger.


  


My phone buzzed again:


  


I have a strong feeling that you’re ignoring my text.


  


I ignored it again just as another buzz erupted through the quiet room before I even had a chance to lock my phone again: I’m sorry. I didn’t know it was that important to you.
I’d offer the apartment back, but… I don’t want you to move out, so that’s not an option. What can I do to prove how sorry I am? Not talking to you today was hard enough. I can tell you another thing that’s pretty hard right now as well…


  


I let out a surprised choke at the end of the message, making Adrian explode in laughter beside me. I put my phone back down onto the table before turning around to glare at him.


  


“Say it to my face,” I demanded once his laughter died down.


  


“Say what to your face? That I have a hard-on for you? Well, you’re really sexy when you’re angry so I couldn’t really control-”


  


“Not that!” I exclaimed furiously. “Your apology. Apologise to my face, not through text. Then you’ll be forgiven for good.”


  


Adrian looked uncomfortable, and I smiled smugly at the fact that our roles were reversed.


  


“I’ve apologised to you already,” he mumbled.


  


My eyebrows shot up. “Oh really? And when was this?” I asked, feigning curiosity.


  


“You know… before… When you were on my lap in the living room and I told you I’d do whatever you want-”


  


“You didn’t apologise. You only explained that you don’t regret making me move in and offered me something I took advantage of. I want a full-fledged apology – no texts, no re-worded sentences – a proper apology.” I crossed my arms in an attempt to look serious, but ended up looking awkward due to my position lying down.


  


I watched as Adrian opened and shut his mouth multiple times before giving up and turning back to the other side of the bed so that my back was facing him. I wasn’t going to crack at his inability to apologise until he found the courage to own up to his actions.


  


I don’t know how many minutes passed as I began to find myself slowly drifting off to sleep. Just before the blackness fully consumed me, I felt Adrian’s familiar arms wrap around my waist and pull me into him again.

“I’m not good with these kinds of things… and this is the third time I’ve ever done it in my lifetime… so, I’m sorry for… I’m sorry for…” Adrian trailed off, and I watched as a deep frown of thought consumed his features in the dimly lit room. “I’m sorry for taking you away from something you worked so hard for, and I hope that you will find a place in your heart to forgive me.”


  


I stared back at him in shock for a moment before blinking rapidly and nodding in response while processing his words. He sounded genuinely sorry, and I accepted them quietly. “Okay,” I mumbled, smiling a little.


  


“There you go with the flirting again. This is getting out of hand, Shortcake, if you want me, all you have to do is ask.” Adrian smirked, making me roll my eyes in response once again while trying to hold back a smile. And just like that, Adrian was back.


  


“Let’s go to sleep for real this time,” I suggested while yawning.


  


“Okay,” he agreed, “after I get my kiss.”


  


“You’re an idiot,” I grumbled before placing a soft kiss on his cheek.


  


“No, no. Not there. I want it on my lips.”


  


I gave him a flat look in order to cover up my flaming cheeks. “Goodnight, Adrian.”


  


He chuckled before pulling me into the crook of his neck. “’Night, Shortcake.” “How are we even best friends?!” Amy cried in disbelief, her voice loud over the phone, “I can’t believe you still haven’t slept with him!”


  


“Amy, shut up! ‘She’ and I are sometimes in the same room and I can’t talk about that around ‘her.’” I tried to cover up subtly, briefly glancing over to Adrian to see if he heard Amy’s loud voice from his desk.


  


Amy laughed before responding. “All the more reason to jump him while you can, Em! Honestly Hun, you’re growing old, and sometimes, the muscles in between your legs need to-”


  


“THANK YOU FOR YOUR CALL, I WILL SPEAK WITH YOU LATER. GOOD BYE!” I ended the call abruptly while blushing deeply from her words. My eyes widened as I looked at the phone in horror before I looked up to meet Adrian’s amused gaze.


  


“Are you okay there, Shortcake?” he asked with a smile, obviously enjoying my flushed state.


  


“Yep, yep. I’m good. Just… you know… business-ing it out and all…” I let out a nervous laugh before growing redder at the realisation of how stupid my words sounded.


  


Adrian chuckled and got out of his seat, making his way towards my desk. “What did she say? Clearly, it involved me, because you’re refusing to make eye contact with me right now.” “You? Why would we talk about you? Amy was just telling me about her encounter with an ex-boyfr-”


  


“No, she wasn’t. You tried to cover up the fact that she was talking about me by saying ‘she’ instead of ‘he’ and looked at me once you finished the sentence and thought I wasn’t looking. I was.” He smirked before lifting me out of my seat and pressing me into his torso.


  


“I- What? N- No I wasn’t.” I stuttered as I felt my blush increase in colour.


  


“You’re a really bad liar, Shortcake.” He smirked down at me, and I watched as his eyes briefly flickered to my lips.


  


I didn’t respond as my own eyes moved down to his lips unconsciously, and I licked my own lips which were suddenly feeling dry.


  


Adrian let out a throaty growl before I felt his arm push close the space in between us even more than before as he looked down at my lips again.


  


A knock sounded at the door, breaking the haze Adrian and I were in, and I pushed him away gently, blushing again.


  


Adrian took a step back and cleared his throat before speaking up. “Come in,” he called out in a raspy voice. My eyes widened in shock when I looked down to his crotch area and found a bulge sticking out of his navy coloured pants.


  


I rushed and stood in front of him to cover the obvious body part that was sticking out just as Suzie entered the office. My hand accidentally brushed against his area and Adrian let out another groan, making my eyes widen even further.


  


“I’m not going to be able to do this much longer, Shortcake,” Adrian murmured into my ear before directing his attention back to Suzie. “What is it?”


  


“Good morning, Mr. Kingston, Emily.” She nodded and smiled in our direction and I smiled and waved in response. Adrian ignored her greeting completely. “Your father suggested that we host a charity gala dinner in order to raise money for our cancer foundation this Saturday. I have already begun the preparations and just need your approval…” She trailed off as she looked at Adrian, then myself, then back at Adrian again. “I’m so sorry if I’ve interrupted anything…”


  


“No, no!” I reassured her quickly, scrambling for a lie. “You haven’t interrupted anything, Suzie! Adrian and I were just discussing the final marketing plan developed for the hotels in the Australian region.”


  


Adrian cleared his throat. “Just place the papers on the table in front of you and I will send them back to your office later. Emily, you’re going to be my +1 for the Gala. Mrs. Brown, please make sure everybody knows that, and seat her in between Allen and myself. Is there anything else?”


  


Suzie looked back and forth between Adrian and me again with uncertainty on her features before clearing her throat. “Did you want the dinner to be themed in any way?”


  


“No. Just make sure everyone is dressed to a high standard. If that is all, you can leave now.”


  


“Adrian!” I exclaimed, turning around to him with a frown. “Stop being so rude,” I mumbled, looking up at him with a stern look. He ignored my glare completely, and focused his gaze on my lips again, making me blush.


  


“Okay, thank you sir,” Suzie called out softly, before we heard the door shut once again.


  


My blush deepened as I looked away from his intense gaze. “Why am I your +1 this time? Do I even have a choice in the matter?” I asked in an attempt to change the tension in the air.


  


“No, and because I want you to be,” Adrian snapped. “Anyway, you can’t complain. I’m putting Allen next to you. Having said that, I don’t want anything unnecessary happening between you two.”


  


I rolled my eyes at his sudden mood swing. “Okay Mr. Bi-Polar.”


  


“I mean it. And get your weird friend to pick out your dress this time. Rita will do your hair again and I don’t want you wearing a lot of makeup. You already attract too much attention as it is.”


  


“Yes, Boss,” I said sarcastically, mock-saluting him. “Is there anything else, Boss?”


  


“Don’t call me boss, Shortcake,” Adrian warned in a low voice, even as a mischievous light glinted in his eye, “or I will not hesitate to kiss you this time.” I looked up at him with wide eyes and my cheeks began to flame up again at his comment. I cleared my throat to compose myself. “S-Sorry,” I stuttered.


  


Another event. I did not have a good feeling about this one.

Chapter Nineteen


  


  


  


Dress shopping was probably the worst thing that was ever assigned to the job description of being a girl. Especially when it’s with your psychotic best friend who refuses to let you see the dress that you’re going to be wearing.


  


“Ames, I didn’t come all the way down here just to watch you glare at your laptop,” I said, growing more and more nervous by the second. “Let me see!”


  


“I’ve already bought it so it can come on time, so you can’t say anything! I actually love it, wow!” Amy grinned to herself, making me laugh. “May I see it, your royal highness?” I asked sarcastically.


  


Amy rolled her eyes before passing the laptop over to me. “You’re such a dork. I can’t believe Adrian didn’t let me come over, that’s so unfair! I mean, I know you don’t have a lot of friends, but does he have to reject my amazingness?” Amy exclaimed in disbelief.


  


“Shut up! And he’s very strict of the whole ‘no human being apart from you and Maria are allowed in my apartment’ thing. Hey, he did offer us a vacant room in the hotel; you just rejected it! Plus, I’m pretty sure that if you were in the same room as him, all you’d be doing is ogling at him like the creep you are.” I grinned, before using the laptop as a defense mechanism against her violent act. “It’s not my fault he’s hot.” She scowled. I laughed and shook my head before focusing my attention on the screen in front of me – and almost choked on my own saliva.


  


Amy noticed the barely audible sound and gave me a look of disbelief. “What the hell?! Don’t you dare complain to me, you stupid cow, it’s not tight or revealing and it’s long as Bleep! Listen up, you little---”


  


“It’s perfect,” I murmured, cutting off her insult. It was. For the first time, I actually liked a dress.


  


“What?” Amy asked, giving me a look of confusion. “Wait, wait. Are you sure you’re looking at the right thing? You’re looking at a dress, right? And you know it’s a dress?” she asked cautiously. I looked away from the blood red garment with a wide grin on my face. “Yes, I know it’s a dress. It’s amazing. I absolutely love it…” I trailed off, looking back at the laptop screen.


  


Amy suddenly squealed beside me, making me snap out of the haze I was in. “You’re becoming a girl! Finally! I thought you were going to go through menopause before this moment would come!” Amy squealed again, before I felt myself being pulled into a suffocating hug.


  


I laughed into her shoulder and hugged her back. “Thank you so much, Ames.”


  


“Do you know how you can thank me? Convince Adrian to let me into the apartment. It’s yours now too, you know,” she pointed out, before a wry smile made its way to her face. “I know exactly how you can convince him as well! It only needs a bed. That’s it. No clothing, no utensils – oh, unless you’re into that kind of stuff. Kinky-”


  


“AMY, SHUT UP!” I groaned loudly, flushing in mortification.


  


Amy erupted into a fit of giggles just as I threw a pillow in her direction, making the volume of her laughter increase dramatically.


  


“I’m leaving,” I glared at her, instantly making her sober up from her laughter. “I’ve already had enough of you and your insults to Chase Crawford and your sex comments that involve Adrian and me.”


  


“Are you sure you don’t want to use the sex comments in bed? It’s called dirty talk, maybe he’s into that kind of-”


  


I ran out her apartment and slammed the door before she could finish her sentence. Even from behind it, I could hear the muffled sound of her musical laughter. It echoed in my head even as I walked away and headed back home.
“Adrian, where will Rita do my hair today if you don’t let anyone in our apartment?” I asked curiously as I pressed print on one of the files on my laptop.


  


“Our apartment. I love the way you say that.” Adrian smirked, making me blush before he answered, “She’ll do it in a vacant room or here in the office.”


  


“A room. I want to get ready in your apartment,” I emphasized, trying to cover my blush.


  


Adrian shrugged. “Whatever you want, Shortcake. I’ll cater to your needs; and your weird friend emailed me and told me that we should have sex. I just thought I’d let you know.”


  


“WHAT?!” I exclaimed, my eyes growing wide as his words registered in my mind fully.


  


Adrian began chuckling at my discomfort, and I glared at his lame attempt at joking before turning around and snatching the recently printed files out of the printing plate.


  


A loud banging noise suddenly erupted through the quiet office, and my head snapped over to Adrian’s direction with wide eyes. “What is wrong with you?!”  I exclaimed in shock.


  


“It’s not working!” Adrian snapped, glaring at me while pointing at the computer screen on his desk.


  


“Okay, okay! No need to get your panties all bunched up in a twist! Here, let me have a look at it.” I got out of my seat and walked over to where he was standing by his desk. I pressed the power button on the screen before letting out an impatient sigh and turning my head around to meet Adrian’s eyes. “Will you give me some space?” I laughed, pushing him gently into his desk chair.


  


Adrian smirked. “That was hot. I like it rough.”


  


“Adrian!” I exclaimed as I felt my face flush in embarrassment at the thought. He chuckled at my response and I threw a pen at him before turning back to the electrical device. I began to inspect the chords thoroughly, before frowning. “Hmm.”


  


“Hmm indeed. I like this view a lot,” Adrian interjected, making me turn around and glare at him with another red face. He smirked in my direction before indicating for me to continue. I turned back to the computer with an amused grin, before frowning again at the lifeless piece of technology.


  


Deciding that the monitor and keyboard were fine, I bent down to inspect the hard drive of the device. The chords were all in their correct places, and I bent even further in order to follow the electricity line. “Is it even turned on?” I murmured to myself, trying to find the electric switch. “Probably not, but I am,” Adrian mumbled, making me squeal in shock and bump my head underneath the desk from his words.


  


My face began to heat up in embarrassment once again before I found the electric switch and flipped it on before crawling out of my position under the desk. I turned to Adrian with a smug smile but instantly began to blush once I noticed his lustful gaze.


  


“Shut up,” I mumbled, walking away from him.


  


Adrian made this impossible however, because I suddenly felt myself being pulled against my will and stumbling onto his lap. “Adrian!” I hissed, casting an anxious look over to the door. “Someone might walk in and get the wrong idea!” Adrian shrugged before placing a kiss on my cheeks. “Let them. It won’t be ‘the wrong idea’ for long anyway.” He smirked, noticing my increased flushed state from the kiss.


  


“What do you mean by that?” I asked curiously, biting my lip.


  


Adrian’s eyes travelled down to the small gesture, and he stared at my mouth absentmindedly before looking back up to meet my eyes. “You’ll find out tonight.” He smirked, before I felt him squeeze my backside. “Now get back to work. On me.”


  


I let out a small gasp in response and Adrian waggled his eyebrows. “You just did the gasp thing again!” Adrian grinned proudly, making me hit his chest lightly. “Shut up,” I snapped, trying to get off his lap.


  


“And where exactly do you think you’re going?” Adrian asked, securing his grip around my waist by tightening his arms. “I told you; you’re working on me.”


  


“How am I going to work on you, Adrian?” I asked with an exasperated sigh, smiling slightly in amusement.


  


“Well, you can work on me and do the work for the company or you can work on me,” Adrian said, raising an eyebrow suggestively before giving a pointed look in his crotch area.


  


I frowned, trying to get his reference before gasping in shock. “Adrian!” I exclaimed, hitting his chest again. He chuckled before placing another unexpected peck on my cheek.


  


“I love the way you scream my name, Shortcake.” He winked, completely oblivious to my mortification.

“The nerve he has to make us do your hair in an insignificant room in the hotel,” Rita huffed as she sprayed at my hair to fix it into position. “ After all I’ve done for that man!”


  


I laughed at her anger towards Adrian, just as Amy came to mind. “You’re not the only one unhappy about that, I can assure you.”


  


“Yes, well. He’s an idiot. And an asshole. And doesn’t deserve you because you’re perfect, and so is the job I’m doing on your hair so far!” Rita grinned, winking at me in the reflection of the mirror.


  


I laughed awkwardly before looking down at my lap. “He’s actually not as bad as everyone thinks he is. He’s actually very nice if you sit down and have a conversation with him that doesn’t regard business. He’s caring too; and protective…” I trailed off absentmindedly, before realising that I was standing up for Adrian.


  


I looked back up at the mirror with wide eyes to see Rita smiling at my reflection knowingly, making me flush in embarrassment. “I think someone has developed a very deep liking towards their boss. You’re a very naughty girl, Emily.” Rita giggled with a wink before she began working on the volume needed for my hair. “What? N-No I haven’t.” I began blushing even more once her smile grew, and decided to text Adrian:


  


What time are we leaving?


  


Rita was almost done with my hair, and I still needed to do my makeup and put my dress on before we could leave. The dress had arrived a few days ago, and I had a mental break down when I noticed the large slit that ran down the almost the entire length of the dress. Amy, of course, told me that this was a good thing because I had the legs to show off in it.


  


My phone buzzed in my hands, pulling me out of my thoughts.


  


In an hour. What are you up to?
I think I should help you with putting your dress on.You know, just so it doesn’t rip or anything.


  


I rolled my eyes and grinned at the screen before typing my reply:


  


Almost finished my hair and still need to do my makeup. I think I will need help with that dress though…


  


Adrian’s reply came through so fast that I had to stifle a giggle:


  


Are you serious? I don’t care how your hair looks.


Get up here right now.


  


“Great, sexting in my presence. I’m glad to know how much you enjoy my company.” Rita pouted, making me look up with wide eyes as my face flushed. “What? I’m not sexting him!” I squeaked in embarrassment. “I was just asking when we were leaving and then he asked me what we were up to and then-”


  


Rita cut me off with a laugh. “I was joking, Emily! Although, from the way you reacted…” She trailed off, smirking at my reflection.


  


I looked back in panic before I realised that she had finished my hair. “Oh my god… It looks amazing.” I breathed, leaning forward in order to inspect it more thoroughly. 


  


Rita smiled smugly. “I know. The fact that it’s on your head though, makes the style all the better.” She smiled as she began to pack her products. I laughed and flushed slightly before pulling her into a hug.


  


“Thank you so much.”


  


“How many times do I need to tell you? You don’t need to thank me, it’s my job!” Rita laughed as she slung the bag of products onto her shoulder. “Anyway, I’m going to run off and let you get ready. You tell Adrian I am absolutely disappointed in him for not letting me come to your apartment, and try not to have too much fun with him when you get up there, okay? I don’t want you to ruin your hair.” She winked, and instantly began laughing once my eyes turned wide with shock. “I’m kidding. Love you!” she called out, before walking down the hall to the lobby of the hotel.


  


I admired her work once more before I stepped into the elevators and made me way up to the penthouse apartment, completely forgetting about where I left the text messages with Adrian. I gave him a look of confusion once I found him waiting for me at the door. “What is it?” I asked with concern.


  


Adrian smirked. “You can’t begin a game and not finish it, Shortcake, it’s the unspoken rule. You said you need help with the dress, and I’m here to offer my services.”


  


I rolled my eyes and pushed passed him. “It was a joke. But, maybe if you’re a good boy today, I’ll let you help me out of the dress when we get back.” I winked, grinning.


  


“Don’t test my patience with that kind of stuff, Emily,” Adrian growled, looking over at me with the same lustful expression as the one he had in the office. “I can’t take it any longer.”


  


I put on an innocent face. “Who said I was bluffing?” I asked, cocking my head to the side a little to make the act more believable. Adrian groaned before taking a step towards me, and I placed my hand on his broad chest and pushed him back.


  


“I just did my hair and you’ll ruin it. I’m going to do my makeup now. I’ll see you when I’m done; get dressed!” I ordered, before disappearing into the ensuite of the bedroom.


  


My makeup was done in 20 minutes, and it had taken another 10 minutes to put the dress on carefully without wrecking my hair in any way possible. Adrian was nowhere to be found in the bedroom, so I assumed he was already dressed and waiting for me in the living room. I slipped on my nude heels as I walked out of the bedroom clumsily, and almost fell on my face in shock once I found Adrian sprawled across the sofa, asleep, wearing his pants and shoes, as well as a fully unbuttoned shirt and a tie hanging loosely around his neck.


  


“Adrian, get up!” I exclaimed, slapping his exposed cheek a few times. He groaned and shifted his position before falling silent again.


  


I sighed before bending down to be at eyelevel with him. “Adrian, you need to get up. We need to leave in 15 minutes!” I tried again, shaking his body.


  


“I don’t want to go,” I heard his muffled voice mumble, before his breathing steadied again.


  


I let out a frustrated sigh before another method came to mind. “Adrian… I’m naked and need your help with the dress…” I trailed off in a low whisper, trying to sound seductive. In reality, I probably sounded like I had smoker’s cough and was trying to muffle it.


  


Thankfully, Adrian didn’t think so, because he was sitting upright milliseconds after the words left my mouth. His eyes landed on my form and any grogginess or lust instantly disappeared from his expression and he stared back at me with an unreadable expression.


  


I flushed in embarrassment under the intense gaze, and began to button up his shirt. “We have to leave soon,” I murmured, trying to distract him from looking at me in the way that he was.


  


“Emily…” He trailed off, making me look up at him. His expression was still glazed as he studied my facial features and hair before his eyes landed on my dress again. My flushed face deepened in colour as I continued buttoning up his shirt, and began working on his tie.


  


Once I was done, I stood up from my crouched position and looked down at my shoes.


  


“Come on,” I urged him, still feeling self-conscious under his intense gaze. “Grab your suit jacket and let’s go.”


  


He snapped out of his haze-like stare once I looked up to meet his eyes again, and he blinked blankly. “You look… nice,” he muttered, looking away from suddenly.


  


I frowned at his unusual behaviour before clearing my throat. “Thank you.”


  


“Let’s go,” he ordered, slipping on his suit jacket before grabbing my hand and pulling me out the door.


  


“You’re suddenly eager to get there. You were sleeping less than 5 minutes ago,” I pointed out in amusement.


  


“That’s because I can’t wait any longer,” Adrian stated as we stepped into the elevator.


  


“For what?” I asked, biting my lip curiously again.


  


“You’ll see when we get there,” he replied flatly.


  


I frowned, both from curiosity and his sudden mood change just as we stepped out of the hotel into the black car that was waiting for us. Once we got in, Adrian turned to me. “There are going to be quite a few people from the press there. We need them to promote the charity so we’re going to have to answer most of their questions. Just let me do all the talking, you don’t need to worry about a thing, okay?”


  


My eyes turned wide with shock at the mention of the press, but I swallowed and nodded in response. “Is that the thing you can’t wait any longer for?” I asked, hoping to get a response.


  


“No, but that will be during that time.” He didn’t elaborate after that, and I found myself burning with curiosity for the rest of the trip.
Once we arrived at the reception, my heart began to beat rapidly against my chest. The beating was so intense that I could hear it in my eardrums, and I looked over at Adrian with desperation. “Just go in alone. Can’t you do that? What if they ask me questions because I’m next to you? Adrian, please-”


  


“Shortcake, breathe,” Adrian said, cutting off my panicked rambling. “I’ll take care of it, okay? Just trust me.” He hooked his thumb around my chin and lifted my face up to meet his gaze.


  


I stared back into his hazel irises for a few moments before nodding slowly, letting myself trust him. “Let’s go,” he said after a moment of silence, grabbing my hand.


  


“Thank you for driving us!” I called out to the driver before getting yanked out of the car by Adrian.


  


Flashes of bright light instantly blinded my field of vision, and I felt Adrian chuckle and pull me closer. “Always the nice one,” he murmured into my ear, making me momentarily forget about the blinding lights and blush.


  


“Mr. Kingston! Mr. Kingston! Over here! How much are you planning to raise for the charity in tonight’s gala?” someone asked, making everyone turn quiet as the flashes continued to erupt from random corners of the crowd. “As much as I can,” Adrian replied with a ghost of a smirk on his lips.


  


“Mr. Kingston! How many people are attending the event?” another person asked, and I looked over to find a woman with bright orange hair holding out a recording devise.


  


“There are over 350 people here today, including myself,” he answered as he dragged me along the long walkway that was set up.


  


“What do you plan to do with the money raised tonight, sir?” another woman asked, smiling at the both of us.


  


“Cassandra, lovely to see you again. All the money that will be raised tonight will go towards any families in need of the money as well as funding towards the research that will be conducted in regards to cancer,” Adrian explained, before checking his watch. “I’m sorry, that’s all I have time for. We will take more questions at the end if you are willing to wait. Thank you for joining us.” He gave them all a brief wave.


  


The cameras instantly began to go off again with bright flashes, and I decided to speak my thoughts aloud. “Why do they continue to take photos of the same people? I don’t get it,” I mumbled to him with a frown on my face.


  


Adrian chuckled and pulled me closer. “They can’t get enough of how sexy you look. Now put me next to you? It’s a picture worth a billion dollars.” He smirked down at me, making my cheeks turn the same colour of my dress. “Ms. Emily Johnson, are you more than just an assistant to Mr. Kingston?” A man asked, making my eyes widen in shock once I realised the question was directed at me and turning the entire place quiet again.


  


I didn’t even get the chance to look up at Adrian for help, because he already began answering the question on my behalf. “I’m glad you asked that question, Joseph.”


  


I frowned in confusion from his response and looked up at him, waiting for an elaboration.


  


Adrian looked down at me and smirked. “Remember the thing I couldn’t wait any longer for?” he asked. I nodded slowly, still unsure of what he was getting at, before he continued talking. “This is it,” he declared, before I felt him pull me into his torso as his lips crashed onto mine eagerly; making me forget about the flashing lights and murmurs that instantly burst into life as soon as the contact was made.


  


I began kissing him back just as eagerly, completely forgetting the fact that there were over 50 paparazzi here taking photos and recording the event. I realised after a moment that I was kissing Adrian – my boss – and pulled away in shock while trying to catch my breath. Adrian kept an iron grip around my waist, preventing me from moving away from being pressed against his body, before he turned back to Joseph.


  


“Emily is, in fact, more than my assistant. She is my girlfriend. Have a nice night.”

Chapter Twenty


  


She doesn’t say ‘I love you’ like a normal person.
Instead, she’ll laugh, shake her head, give you a little smile, and say, ‘You’re an idiot. If she tells you you’re an idiot, you’re a lucky man.


  


~^o^~How I Met Your Mother~^o^~


  


  


Girlfriend.


  


It took a while for the word to register in my mind. In fact, I’m pretty sure I looked like a deer caught in headlights for the entire first hour of the event while sitting next to an extremely satisfied looking Adrian and a slightly worried looking Allen. When the shock did wore off, however, anger overcame my entire being; and boy was I pissed.


  


I ended up glaring at the silverware in front of me every time Adrian decided to even shift in his seat, and gnashed my teeth together once he spoke up and replied to someone who spoke to him. I’d feel his eyes on me every once and a while, smirking – which pissed me off even more.


  


“Allen!” I finally spoke up, squealing in delight as I turned in my seat to face Allen fully and ignore Adrian’s now-shocked expression.


  


“Well, well, well, if it isn’t my girlfriend,” Allen winked, pulling me into a tight hug. “I’ll bet that corner booth is missing your bright smile and my hilarious humour,” he joked, pulling away slightly. I beamed before slapping his shoulder playfully. “Please. The only humorous thing about you is your face,” I teased, grinning.


  


“Get your hands off her,” Adrian growled suddenly, glaring at Allen. “She’s mine now.”


  


Allen looked up at Adrian with a sceptic look before shaking his head and giving me a brief smile. “I guess we should wait for the event to start,” he murmured, before pulling away from our embrace completely.


  


“Hey Allen, do you know what I’ve noticed about you?” I spoke up again, ignoring Adrian’s anger.


  


I watched as Allen cast a look of surprise in my direction, then wariness in Adrian’s over my shoulder, before he settled a smug smile at me. “What have you noticed, Emily?” Allen asked, catching on with the fact that I was trying to ignore Adrian all together.


  


“You look a lot like Dave Franco. Practically twins. Has anyone ever told you that?” I asked curiously, smirking slightly once Adrian cleared his throat from behind me.


  


Allen nodded. “I get that a lot, actually. Is that a good thing, or a bad thing?”


  


“Oh, a good thing for sure,” I reassured him. “He’s really hot.”


  


Allen laughed before waggling his eyebrows in my direction. “So you think I’m hot as well, then?” He grinned. I rolled my eyes to attempt to cover my blush before pushing him away slightly. “Stupid head,” I grumbled, trying to fight my own grin from escaping.


  


Adrian cleared his throat again before I felt a familiar arm wrap itself around my waist. “Shortcake, what is your favourite colour?”


  


I raised an eyebrow at Allen while ignoring Adrian’s random question and Allen spoke up. “Shouldn’t you know that? You know, since she’s your girlfriend, and all?”


  


“Shut up,” Adrian growled, making me turn to him with a look of disbelief. He was glaring at Allen just as his grip around my waist tightened. I squirmed to wriggle out of it angrily, catching him off guard. “Are you hungry, Shortcake? Let’s skip this dinner and go get some takeout,” Adrian suggested with a grimace once he noticed my glare.


  


I let out an angry huff and was about to reply when I was cut off by an all too familiar chuckle. “If this is how I’m going to see my son every time we meet Emily, I must force you into marrying him. You’ve made him your bitch!”


  


I turned around to find Mason Kingston grinning down at his son and me. “Well?” he demanded with a fake frown, “Where’s my hug?”


  


I laughed, temporarily forgetting my anger towards Adrian as I got out of my seat and was forcefully pulled into a suffocating hug by Mason, who lifted me off the floor and spun me around. I let out a squeak of surprise before Mason chuckled and set me back onto the solid floor, laughing. “As light as a feather. Even with those big boobs attached. It’s nice to see you again.” Mason smirked, making my eyes grow wide in mortification as a blush spread through my cheeks.


  


“It’s… uh… nice to see you again too, sir,” I mumbled, still embarrassed from his previous remark.


  


“Come on, Emily. You should know to call me Mason by now. How is my son? Is he still being a little slut? It looked like he was your bitch just then, so I’m hoping you’ve changed the idiot’s ways with women.”


  


Adrian groaned from beside me, darkening my mood once again. “I’m right here, dad.”


  


Mason smirked down at me for a few more moments before slowly pulling his gaze away and looking at Adrian. His expression turned to one of surprise, like he hadn’t noticed his son standing there before. “Well, if it isn’t Emily’s bitch in the flesh!” Mason cheered, making a few people who were sitting within earshot turn to look at the reunion.


  


Adrian glared at his father before shaking his head and pulling him into a hug. “Hello to you too, dad,” Adrian grumbled once he pulled away.


  


Mason waggled his eyebrows. “Did you get some from the lovely lady yet?”


  


Adrian sighed and shook his head. “It’s killing me, but it’s her decision in the end,” he replied, making me frown. Both men chose to turn their heads over in my direction just then, and I flushed from the unwanted attention.


  


Mason grinned at my reaction before lazily placing one arm over my shoulders and shaking me lightly. “Keep him on his toes. I want to see how long he lasts. He’s never done this before, you know. He usually would’ve given up on a challenge a long time ago. My son must really like you if he’s stayed this long.”


  


I frowned and opened my mouth to respond when an ice cold voice beat me too it with a dissatisfied grunt. “I’m sure he does.” All three heads turned to the direction where Katherine Kingston was standing, glaring icily in my direction.


  


I looked over to Adrian out of habit, and found him glaring at his mother with the same coldness she was currently aiming at me. “Funny you should mention that, father,” Adrian began slowly, tearing his gaze away from his mother. He pulled me out of his father’s grip and into his own, making me flush as mental images of the kiss we shared earlier came to my mind. “I’ve forgotten to tell you. Emily and I are now a couple, we’ve just made it public. Oh, and, she’s moved in with me.” He looked at Katherine as he said the last part, and her gaze – if possible – grew colder.


  


Mason, oblivious to the tension between his wife and son, lit up like a Christmas tree. “That’s wonderful news! I’m so happy for the two of you! Now you play sex games in the security of your own four walls without any of our workers walking in on you two.” He winked, before bursting into a fit of laughter at his own joke. Adrian gave his father a flat look before shaking his head and looking back at his mother, who was still staring at me with a cold glare. “Aren’t you happy for me, mother?” Adrian asked, sarcasm lacing his question.


  


“Of course I am, honey,” Katherine replied, smiling tightly at the both of us. “You couldn’t be with a more suitable woman.”


  


“Katherine,” Mason said, making me turn to him in shock. This was the first time I’ve heard Mason Kingston be serious, and boy did he sound scary. “I don’t know what you have against Emily, but you’re taking it too far now. Adrian has chosen her - accept it.” He gave her a strict look.


  


Katherine’s gaze sliced through me as she went to look at her husband, before tightly nodding her head. “Of course,” she replied in a crisp tone, before taking her seat on our table. Adrian’s stiff posture relaxed slightly against my own, just as we returned to our own seats.


  


I turned around to start another conversation with Allen before I felt a warm breath on my ear.


  


“I’m starting to regret seating you next to Allen, Shortcake,” Adrian murmured.


  


I pushed him away before turning back to Allen. “How’s Lisa?” I asked, remembering the bubbly teenager who made surprisingly good coffee.


  


Allen rolled his eyes before his expression turned desperate. “Help me, Emily. She doesn’t shut up about that boy band. I don’t know what to do!” Allengripped both my arms tightly and shook me, making me laugh.


  


“One Direction? Allen, she’s a teenager, what do you expect? Plus, they’re pretty cute. Especially the one with the curly hair… what’s his name again?” I asked, biting my lip curiously.


  


Allen gave me a flat look. “Harry Edward Styles. Born on the 1st of February, 1994,” he recited in a deadpan voice, making the volume of my laughter increase dramatically. Allen glared at me in an attempt to shut me up, but ended up laughing with me once I didn’t stop.


  


A loud bang erupted from beside me, abruptly cutting our laughter short.


  


“We’re leaving,” Adrian scowled, glaring down at me as he got up from his seated position.


  


“What? Why? This is your event!” Allen pointed out with a confused frown.


  


“No, this is an event to raise money for the cancer foundation in the company’s name. It was his idea anyway,” Adrian snapped, briefly inclining his head in Mason Kingston’s direction, “So he can say the speech. We’re leaving,” he repeated, looking down at me.


  


“No, we’re not,” I responded, glaring in response.


  


“Emily,” Adrian growled.


  


“No, Adrian,” I retorted. “You dragged me here; so we’re staying until the event is over. End of discussion.” I kept my gaze firm.

Adrian stared back at me for a few moments, before his jaw clenched in defeat. “Fine, but get up. I want to talk to you in private.” I raised an eyebrow at his blunt tone and he sighed in frustration. “Please,” he added in a half-mocking tone, making me roll my eyes at his immature display.


  


He led us to a secluded corner in the wide reception room, and I crossed my arms once we stopped moving. “What.”


  


“Why aren’t you talking to me, Shortcake?” Adrian whined, pouting.


  


I tried to mask my surprise with a look of disbelief. “Are you kidding me right now?”


  


Adrian shook his head with a smirk, before he changed his expression back to the pout. “You’ve been talking to Allen all evening, and ignoring me!”


  


“I’m going to point out a few things to you as to why that is the case. For one, you made Allen cut all contact with me ever since that day you found us having lunch in the diner together-”


  


“That’s because you liked him more than a friend,” Adrian interrupted with a stern look.


  


I opened my mouth to respond then closed it once the words registered in my mind. “No I didn’t! I liked him as a friend, and that was all! Anyway, let me continue, number two; you’re way too controlling and demanding all the time-”


  


“Amy told me you like dominant guys, so I’m perfect for you,” Adrian smirked, cutting me off again. “That means sexually as well, if you want me to be.” He winked, making me choke in mortification.


  


“Just- Stop!” I squeaked, flushing the colour of my dress. I had told Amy that before; and now my best friend’s murder was going to be on my hands.


  


Adrian chuckled at my reaction to his comment, making me glare in return. “Number three,” I continued, ignoring his sexual indications, “You just announced to the entire population of paparazzi out there, that you and I are dating, when we’re not! You’ve said it to my parents, and now to yours as well; but did you ever stop and think to ask me?!” I asked, huffing slightly from anger.


  


“I love when you’re angry,” Adrian said, taking a step closer towards me.


  


“Answer my question.” My voice was supposed to come out firm, but I ended up sounding like I was answering my parents after being scolded for doing something wrong.


  


Adrian sighed before taking another step towards me and wrapping his arms around my waist. “Shortcake,” he began, looking straight into my eyes with a serious expression. “It would give me great honour…” He trailed off.


  


“Yes?” I murmured, waiting for him to continue.


  


“If you would…” he continued.


  


“Mhm?” I urged, looking into his hazel irises. “Shut up and be my girlfriend.” He smirked, snapping me out of my daze. “Please?” He pouted, before grinning cheekily.


  


“Asshole.” I scowled, glaring up at his grinning countenance.


  


“Hey, I asked you!” Adrian said defensively. “Isn’t that what you wanted?”


  


“You told me to shut up and be your girlfriend!” I exclaimed in disbelief. “In what way is that asking me?”


  


“I said please!” he replied, as if the answer was obvious.


  


I gave him another look of disbelief, and he broke out into an amused smirk; breaking my expression. “You’re an idiot,” I mumbled, grinning slightly as I shook my head.


  


“Can you kiss this idiot?” Adrian asked with a hopeful expression.


  


“No,” I responded flatly, trying to fight he blush that was slowly making its way to my cheeks.


  


“Fine.” He sighed, pulling me in closer. “I guess I’ll have to do all the idiot kissing tonight,” Adrian announced, before I felt his lips on mine for the second time that evening.


  


My fingers automatically tangled themselves in his hair before I realised I was kissing Adrian, and pulled away instantly. “D- Don’t do that,” I stuttered weakly, blushing. Adrian smirked before stealing another peck on my lips. “Why not, girlfriend?” He grinned.


  


I shook my head at his beaming expression before his previous words registered in my mind. “You just insulted me!” I exclaimed, frowning.


  


“By calling you girlfriend?” Adrian asked, raising an eyebrow.


  


“That’s an insult as well now that I think about it…” I trailed off, before grinning at his skeptical look. “But no, you called me an idiot before kissing me!”


  


“You wouldn’t kiss me! So I had to think of a smooth comeback.” Adrian shrugged.


  


“By calling me an idiot?” I responded slyly. I crossed my arms over my chest. “Real smooth, idiot.”


  


“I’m your idiot now,” Adrian grinned, stealing another quick kiss on the lips.


  


“Adrian!” I protested.


  


“You may as well get used to it, Shortcake. Now that you’re officially mine, I’m going to be kissing you a lot,” Adrian pointed out with a smirk, placing another kiss on my nose.


  


“Yay for me,” I cheered sarcastically, trying to fight another grin.


  


“We should just ditch this stupid thing and go home. We’ll watch a movie and order some pizza or something,” Adrian suggested with a determined expression. “No, Adrian! We’re here for a good cause. Go and sit back down. I’m going to use the restrooms.”


  


Adrian groaned. “Come on! It’s so boring.”


  


“It’s your event!” I laughed. “Go make it fun.”


  


Adrian pulled me into his torso again, catching me off guard and making me squeak in surprise. “I can think of a couple of ways to make it fun. It involves me taking off that beautiful, beautiful dress of yours.” He smirked, before his gaze trailed down to the blood red garment.


  


My face began to turn the same colour as the dress before I pushed him away. “Go away you idiot,” I mumbled. He chuckled before placing a lingering kiss on my forehead. “Okay, okay. Don’t be too long, and when you get back, I want you to talk to me. Not Allen,” he demanded sternly, with a glare.


  


I shook my head. “Okay! Let a woman use the restroom in peace!”


  


He grinned before turning to walk back to our tables, just as I slipped out of the reception room in search for the restrooms.


  


I walked out of the large space absent minded while fixing the front of my dress before I ran into something warm. I instantly dropped the heavy material and looked up at the person. “I’m so sorry! I didn’t see you – Oh, M- Mr. Walter. I didn’t know you’d be here tonight,” I stuttered as fear began to overcome me. David Walter smiled slowly, revealing each bleached tooth in the process. “Emily Johnson. It’s been a while.”


  


I nodded slowly, forcing out a smile. “Yes… It has. I’m so sorry, I’m afraid I’m going to have to cut this short. Adrian is waiting-”


  


“Ah yes, Adrian. Your new ‘boyfriend’. How is that going, by the way? He hasn’t cheated on you yet?” David asked, lifting a bushy eyebrow in question.


  


I glared slightly. “No, he has not. If you’ll excuse me-”


  


“Come on Emily,” David spoke up, grabbing a hold of my upper arm firmly. “Surely you don’t trust a man like Adrian Kingston enough to be in a relationship with him. Tell me, is he paying you extra money? Are you sleeping with him?” he asked, pulling me closer towards him.


  


My frowned deepened as I tried to wrestle my arm out of his strong grip. “Let go of me.”


  


“Is he threatening you with something?” David continued, ignoring my request.


  


“Mr. Walter, I don’t know what you’ve heard, but Adrian and I are a happy couple together; there is no blackmailing or extra background money in this relationship. Please let go of my arm,” I said through clenched teeth, glaring at his smug smirk.


“I’m glad to hear that. We should catch up, Emily. Just you and me. How about we go and get some dinner together?” David asked, pulling me into him even more than before. “David, let go of me,” I ordered again, trying to wriggle out of his grasp.


  


“Come on, Emily, why are you so against being with me? I don’t bite… too hard.” David chuckled, almost making me gag in response.


  


I tried to wrench myself out of his grip again when I heard Adrian’s voice. “Shortcake? I don’t even think a number 2 takes that long. Are you - Get your fucking hands off my girlfriend, you prick!” Adrian’s voice boomed through the quiet lobby area of the reception, making the few straddlers that were scattered throughout the area look over to us in shock.


  


“Ah, Mr. Kingston,” David leered at him, slowly unclasping his hand from my arm. “How nice of you to join us. I was just congratulating Emily on your newly publicized relationship. I’m so happy for you, really. The notorious playboy has finally decided to settle down. And with his assistant, no less!”


  


Adrian pulled me into his torso protectively as soon as David Walter’s grip was off my arm completely, and I watched as Adrian’s towering figure looked down at David. “Why are you here,” he growled menacingly.


  


“I told you, I just wanted to offer my congratulations to the beautiful lady.” David smiled, before his gaze travelled back to my face. “I was just in the middle of asking her to dinner when you came out, so I didn’t really get to hear her answer. What do you say, Emily?”


  


“There’s no way in hell she’s going with you. You weren’t invited to this dinner for a reason, Walter. So get the Bleep out.” Adrian made the harsh demand with an intimidating step forward. “And if I ever see you come near her again, you’re going to wish you listened to my warning the first time I told you she’s not interested in talking to you.”


  


“My, my. If looks could kill… You two are a match made in heaven. We have the beauty, which kills men with her physical beauty, and the beast; who snaps his fingers and suddenly everyone around him is at his beck and call. Don’t worry, Emily, we’ll be seeing more of each other in the near future. You know, when your lion over here doesn’t have his claws out and isn’t around you. Until then.” He smiled, before turning away slowly and whistling a casual tune.


  


Adrian watched him go with a fierce glare the entire time, before his gaze travelled down to me. “Are you okay?” he asked, inspecting every inch of my face for any sign of injury.


  


“I’m fine, don’t worry,” I assured him. “Just a little shaken up. That guy is weird.” I moved the arm David was gripping onto earlier and winced.


  


Adrian noticed the small gesture, and instantly began inspecting my arm. “Son of a bitch,” he swore, clenching his jaw as he observed the red finger marks that were beginning to turn purple on my arm. “That son of a bitch,” he said again, glaring at the main doors of the lobby, where David Walter had exited moments ago.


  


“It’s nothing, Adrian,” I assured him with a small smile. “Let’s just go back inside and enjoy the rest of the night. We can deal with this later.”


  


“No,” Adrian growled, taking a step in the direction David took. “I’m going after that fucking prick now.”


  


“No! Adrian!” I tried, before my mind thought of a distraction I knew would work. “Hold on,” I called out to him. Adrian turned back with an impatient glare as I caught up to his tall figure. I let out a nervous breath before placing the palm of my hand on the back of his neck and pulling him down for a kiss.


  


My lips met his eagerly, and I kissed him long enough to make him forget about what he was going after. Only when I felt him relax did I pull away, slightly out of breath.


  


“Wow,” Adrian breathed, looking down at me with wide eyes.


  


I began blushing furiously under his gaze, before taking his hand in mine. “Let’s go back to the dinner,” I tried again in a soft voice.


  


“Kiss me like that again and I’ll sleep in a dumpster if you wanted me to,” Adrian mumbled, running his fingers through his hair. I laughed at his comment before letting out a small sigh of relief at the fact that he wasn’t going to go after David Walter.


  


“Don’t think I haven’t forgotten about that son of a bitch,” Adrian said, just as we re-entered the reception area.


  


I sighed and squeezed his arm. “I know, thank you,” I murmured, placing another kiss on his cheek before we arrived at our table.


  


At least he wasn’t going to go after David Walter tonight.

Emily now has a boyfriend . Thank you op for the update but I won't mind if you post more....lol

thanks for the update abeg drop more

wow very interesting....thanks for the long update OP....FOLLOWING

Thanks for the lengthy update

Chapter Twenty One


  


  


  


“If I do recall correctly, Shortcake, you said I’d be allowed to help you out of your dress once we got home. Well, we’re home, and your dress is still on your body…”


  


Adrian gave a pointed look at the bright red garment that was currently making it hard to walk without high heels on.


  


“I said if you were a good boy,” I reminded him. “And you weren’t, so sorry sweetheart.” I smiled sarcastically, before sending a wink in his direction.


  


Adrian gave me a look of disbelief. “What did I do wrong?! I let you sit next to Allen, and I listened to you throughout the entire night! This is rubbish.” He glared at me.


  


I grinned widely before lifting up my dress. “I’m going to take a shower then go to bed,” I announced, leaving him alone in the living room.


  


“Yeah, well, you’re not going to have the honours of taking a shower with me this time! I hope you know that!” he called out after me, making me laugh in response.


  


Once I felt squeaky clean to my satisfaction, I slipped on my underwear and wrapped myself with the towel before exiting the bathroom. I stopped in front of the bedroom door and peeked through the small gap that lit up the dim hallway from the door being open. I heard the shower running in the en suite and decided it was safe to walk into the room without Adrian seeing me half naked.


  


“Adrian, I’m going to wear one of your shirts tonight. Is that okay?” I called out, biting my lip as I waited for his response.


  


“Yes, Shortcake,” he replied, and I could mentally picture his infamous smirk. “You don’t have to ask. Wear The Rolling Stones shirt, you look sexy in that.”


  


“Shut up,” I mumbled, more to myself as I took out Adrian’s shirt and slipped it on. I walked out of the wardrobe and squealed in shock before the palm of my hand flew up to cover my eyes. “ADRIAN!” I shrieked, dropping the towel in surprise. Adrian was standing in the middle of bedroom. Naked.


  


“What?” he asked innocently, as I moved one finger to see if he covered had himself. I squeaked and covered my eyes once again, realizing he was still stark naked and smirking in my direction.


  


“Put- Put that away!” I stuttered while flushing in embarrassment.


  


Adrian chuckled before I heard shuffling around the room. “Oh come on, Shortcake, you may as well get used to it. You know, since it’s going to be the primary thing needed for us to make babies in the future.”


  


“Oh my God. Adrian Kingston if you don’t get dressed right this second, I will tell the entire human race that you own boxers with ‘The Wiggles’ logo on them!” I squeaked, walking backwards in the process.


  


Adrian let out a fake gasp. “You wouldn’t!” he exclaimed in a girly voice. I removed one finger from in front of my eyes to find him smirking in my direction, and my hand fell to my hip as I glared in response while trying to keep to keep my gaze from travelling to his lower region.


  


“Fine, fine,” he said as he slipped on a pair of black boxers. “But this means you have to give me an extra-long good night kiss in bed.”


  


I rolled my eyes once he grinned in my direction while trying to fight a smile of my own. “You’re a big idiot, did you know that?” I asked while throwing the towel I had around me into the dirty laundry basket.


  


“Careful Shortcake, this idiot knows your weaknesses. Actually, this idiot is one of your weaknesses,” he announced, smirking arrogantly. “Actually, this idiot is not one of my weaknesses,” I corrected him, feeling smug as his cocky expression turned into one of anger and disbelief. “Dave Franco is. Oh! And chocolate.”


  


“I’m way better looking than some 20-year-old actor with no life,” Adrian scoffed, glaring in my direction as I slipped into the bed.


  


“Hmm. Not really. Have you seen that man’s lips? And don’t even get me started on his jawline and smile.”


  


“One day, I’m going to track this guy down and make sure he never acts again,” Adrian growled under his breath as he jumped into the other side of the bed.


  


I laughed softly before I felt him drag me closer to him. I could still smell the strong apple scented body wash he kept in the en suite and looked up at him once we were both comfortable.


  


“You know I’m only kidding, right?”


  


“I know, I just don’t take you and other men well,” Adrian grumbled, still glaring down at me from the thought.


  


“Really? I hadn’t noticed!” I said sarcastically, giving him an amused look.


  


“Stop enjoying this. Anyway, I think it’s my turn to get inner satisfaction. I put on pants, now I get my good night kiss.” Adrian pulled me up into a position that let me access his lips easier.


  


“No.” I blushed, glaring. His eyebrows shot up. “Really? That’s fine. I like sleeping naked-” He began to pull his boxers down and I let out a shocked shriek before crashing my lips onto his. Adrian laughed against my lips before pulling me into his shirtless torso and wrapping his arms around my waist while deepening the kiss.


  


Unconsciously, I climbed onto his lap while wrapping my arms around his neck and deepening the kiss even more. Adrian groaned before I felt him shift so that our entire bodies were pressed up against each other, and I chose to pull away then before we both got carried away.


  


“You need to stop being so amazing, Shortcake,” Adrian declared with a smirk, giving a pointed look down at the bulge in his boxers. “It’s really not healthy for my mini-me.” I raised an eyebrow before meeting his eyes again. “Mini it is.” I smirked, making him give me another look of disbelief.


  


“Need I remind you of how big it is, Shortcake?” Adrian asked, raising an eyebrow in challenge as his hands flew down to the waistband of his boxers.


  


“No! No, I don’t need reminding. It’s pretty much engraved into my memory now.” I cringed.


  


“I’m sure you do.” He smirked, before pulling me into his torso once again.


  


I let out a yawn. “Thank God we have a day off tomorrow,” I mumbled tiredly, getting comfortable in my position pressed up against him. “I know. That means I get to kiss you all day. And maybe even more than kiss.”


  


I rolled my eyes and lightly punched his chest. “Stop being a perv.” I scowled playfully.


  


He chuckled before placing a kiss on my forehead. “In all seriousness now, we’re going to have our first date tomorrow. Just so we can get to know each other better and I can finally find out your favourite colour.” Adrian winked, making me laugh.


  


“Okay, whatever you want,” I yawned. “Goodnight, Adrian.”


  


“’Night, Shortcake. No need to dream about me, because I’m right here in the flesh. Just remember that.”


  


“Shut up you idiot,” I mumbled, before everything went black.
“Really Adrian, a carnival?” I asked skeptically as we pulled into a parking space.


  


“What, don’t you like them?” Adrian asked, casting me a weird look.


  


“No it’s not that, it’s just… well, I didn’t think you’d be into this kind of stuff,” I finally said, frowning slightly.


  


“I’m not always fancy dinners and million-dollar events, Shortcake, especially not with people I’m comfortable with.” Adrian frowned, before wrapping an arm around my waist. My heart fluttered at his last words. “Oh” was all I managed to reply.


  


“So what do you want to do first? I was thinking- Hey! Don’t look at her,” Adrian snapped suddenly, and I looked up to find him glaring at a man, probably within our age range, who was staring up at Adrian in shock.


  


“S-Sorry, man,” the flustered stranger muttered, before walking away in a slightly quicker speed than normal.


  


I sighed. “Adrian, if you’re going to be like this all night then we may as well go home.”


  


“He was looking at you!” Adrian exclaimed angrily, like it was a good thing that he snapped at a random stranger. “Yes, I understand. But he only looked, and you don’t even know if it was on purpose. Now, if he – or any other man for that matter – tried to flirt with me, then I give you full permission to be your usual possessive self. For now, let’s just enjoy our time here as much as we can.” I finished calmly, giving him a stern look.


  


Adrian studied my expression for a few moments, before sighing. “Fine,” he grumbled, dragging me over to a ride that spun a lot. “Two tickets,” he demanded as he placed a $20 bill onto the table.


  


“Please,” I added, glaring at Adrian.


  


“What- Oh come on! It’s their job! I don’t need to be nice to them,” he exclaimed with a glare.


  


“Yes, you do!” I responded, glaring in return.


  


“Whatever,” Adrian grumbled, before snatching the two tickets from the salesman.


  


“Thank you!” I called out pathetically before Adrian could drag me away. “You need to work on your social skills,” I huffed angrily once we stood in the line.


  


“I don’t care for other people so I don’t need to learn how to make them happy. The only person I have to do that with is you. And my dad. Occasionally. And maybe Maria when I wanted her to make me her famous apple pie.” Adrian shrugged.


  


I gave him a look of disbelief at the fact that he said something sweet before shaking out of it. “I’m saying it for your own good!” Before I had a chance to move away, Adrian pressed his lips against mine. “You know when I kiss you? That’s for my own good. I don’t need anything else.” He stole another kiss before I could recover.


  


I pulled away while blushing. “You’re moody when we’re in public,” I observed, biting my lip curiously as I watched him glare at a random woman who walked past.


  


“I don’t like people,” he responded with a shrug, before looking down at me. “Well, not all people.” He smirked, before stealing yet another quick kiss from my lips.


  


I flushed from the public displays of affection Adrian was currently making before I noticed we were at the front of the line. Adrian handed the man the two tickets he bought and the man led us into the ride.


  


“Now, all you have to do is stay standing with your back on the wall,” the man said, giving both Adrian and me a smile. “Try your best to stay on the wall throughout the entire ride and you should be fine.”


  


“Okay, thank you.” I smiled back and gave him a small nod, before taking my place next to Adrian on the ride.


  


The man locked Adrian’s chain in place before moving over to do mine. “Is he your boyfriend?” he asked me, looking over at Adrian. My gaze briefly flickered over to Adrian’s now stiff-posture just as he began to glare at the man.


  


“Yes, he is,” I replied, giving him a tight smile. “He’s a lucky guy,” the man responded, causing me to flush in response.


  


“You’ll be a lucky man if you get away from her in 5 seconds,” Adrian growled, glaring at the man fiercely. The worker locked my chain in place before he nervously scurried off to help another random family that was getting onto the ride.


  


“Adrian!” I scolded. “He was being nice.”


  


“He was flirting with you!” Adrian exclaimed, giving me a look of disbelief.


  


“No, he wasn’t!”


  


“Yes he was,” Adrian snapped. “Anyway, we’re going home after this ride,” he grumbled, before sending another cold glare in the worker’s direction. I rolled my eyes in response and waited for the ride to begin, not bothering to argue.
“You’re angry,” Adrian observed once we re-entered our apartment.


  


“I’m not angry,” I replied evenly while placing my handbag onto the sofa.


  


“Yes, you are. You’re doing that thing with your fingers where you unconsciously tap them on the side of your thighs three times. You only do that when you’re angry or when you’re waiting for something to print,” Adrian explained, giving me a pointed look.


  


“How… How did you even notice that?” I asked, my anger temporarily being pushed aside and replaced with shock.


  


“I like to watch you when you’re in your own little bubble, Shortcake,” he answered. “Just like I know that you frown and bite your lip when you’re curious or trying to find something out, or that you blush every time I kiss you and pull away. This was another thing I figured out.”


  


“Well, I’m happy for you,” I mumbled, going back to tapping my fingers on the sides of my thighs.


  


“Come on, what did I do this time?” Adrian asked in a whiney tone.


  


“Are you seriously asking that right now? Adrian, you made us come home from a carnival because a man told me that you’re a lucky guy. How, in any way, was he flirting with me in order for you to react like that?” I asked angrily.


  


“Shortcake, I’m a man-”


  


“Yes Adrian, I’ve noticed that,” I interrupted dryly.


  


He glared before continuing. “I know men well enough to know that even though they may look like they’re not flirting with you, they’re still looking you up and down and probably thinking about you naked because, let’s face it, you’re hot. I mean, I sure as hell did that when I first met you.”


  


I gave him a skeptical look. “You’re not normal,” I grumbled, making my way to our bedroom while peeling off my cardigan.


  


“Okay, I won’t ever do it again, happy? Come on, Shortcake. Tonight was meant to be about you and me, and the only thing I’ve found out about you is that you’re good with people, you don’t like your steak well done, you used to have a kitten named Hitler because it looked like he had a small moustache, you wanted to be a farmer when you were younger and that your favourite shirt is my Rolling Stones shirt. I didn’t even get enough time to guess your favourite colour!”


  


“Maybe that’s because you were too busy telling off the waiter and random men for looking at me!” I frowned.


  


Adrian sighed before nodding. “I admit that I am a little protective when it comes to you-”


  


“A little?!” I laughed, giving him a look of disbelief. “But,” he continued, glaring at me for interrupting once again, “I do it because I like you and don’t want to lose you to anyone else. You’ve seen my moody and controlling sides, and what if you don’t want to put up with them one day and leave me for the waiter or that random man on the street? God, I sound like a fucking slowpoke right now. Ignore me, I don’t know why I’ve suddenly become a slice of cheese.” Adrian grumbled, avoiding my gaze.


  


I couldn’t fight the smile that began to force its way onto my lips as I noticed a slight pink tint take over Adrian’s usually tanned cheeks before I walked over to his tall frame. “I won’t walk away from you for anyone unless you give me a reason to, Adrian. You just have to trust me,” I mumbled, making him meet my gaze.


  


He stared straight into my eyes for a few moments before I felt him relax in my arms as he nodded in understanding. “I do. Now… how about I do you?” He smirked.


  


I rolled my eyes and pushed him away from me just as he began to chuckle, and I shook my head in response. “I knew that wouldn’t last long.”


  


Adrian was suddenly in front of me again, and I felt him press his lips against mine desperately as he lifted me up and wrapped his arms around my waist. Once he pulled away, I gave him a questioning look and he shrugged.


  


“You’re a great kisser, Shortcake, did you know that?”


  


“You’re just saying that in hopes of getting more,” I responded flatly. “Of course I am,” he agreed, smirking. “Anyway, our date isn’t over. What do you want to do?” he asked, looking over at me for a response.


  


I bit my lip and frowned in thought before grinning. “I have an idea.”


  


“I could physically see the bulb light up in that pretty little brain of yours, Shortcake. Please, enlighten me.” Adrian smirked, causing me to smack his arm in response.


  


“We can play a game like Never Have I Ever, except instead of saying ‘Never have I ever…’, we’ll ask each other ‘yes’ or ‘no’ questions and we’ll use lollies as a substitute for alcohol if the answer is a yes, sound good?” I asked with a hopeful expression. Adrian stared back at me for a few moments, looking blank, before he shook his head. “I can’t say no to you when you make that face. Fine, let’s do it. I prefer the alcohol though; just letting you know.”


  


“I don’t trust my drunken self around you. So sugar rush it is!” I grinned, before jumping out of his arms and running to the kitchen. A packet of party lollies stood alone in one of the cupboards, and I grabbed it in a rush before hurriedly getting back to our bedroom.


  


I found Adrian seated on the bed with his shirt off, smirking in my direction. “I have never seen a 24-year-old so excited to eat lollies in my entire lifetime.”


  


“Are you kidding me?” I exclaimed as I jumped into bed and sat across from him. “Lollies are the best invention on Earth since they made sewage systems!”


  


Adrian smirked in amusement as he watched me chew on a lolly. “That’s… well that’s a rather unique thing to find ‘the best’ invention.”


  


“Stop being so British.” I frowned, before throwing a lolly in his direction.


  


Adrian chuckled and snatched the bag of lollies out of my hands, making me gasp. “I think high on sugar Emily is going to be much more entertaining than drunken Emily. I’ll start with the questions. Have you ever thought about me naked, Shortcake?” He smirked, before passing the bag of lollies over to me.


  


A sudden wave of courage overcame my usually shy demeanour and I reached into the bag of lollies and placed a piece into my mouth, blushing slightly.


  


Adrian’s eyebrows shot up in shock, before he broke out into a full-fledged smirk. “This is going to be fun,” he announced, rubbing his hands together before taking the bag of lollies out of my hands again. “Your turn, Shortcake.”

“Have you ever thought about me naked?” I questioned, raising an eyebrow as a grin took its form on my lips.


  


Adrian chuckled before taking a lolly from the bag and placing it into his mouth. “More times than I can count, Shortcake.”


  


I gasped, throwing a pillow at him. “Perv!” I scowled.


  


He chuckled. “My turn again. What’s your favourite colour?”


  


I laughed. “That’s not allowed!” He pouted before his shoulders sagged in defeat. “Fine, is your favourite colour black?”


  


I shook my head, grinning at his look transformed to one of disbelief. “What? How isn’t it black? Your entire side of the wardrobe is mostly black!” he exclaimed.


  


“I like wearing black. It’s not my favourite colour though. My turn! Have you ever had a pet before?” I asked curiously.


  


He took another lolly and ate it. “Really? Was it a dog?” I asked.


  


He shook his head. “Cat. I called him snuffles.” He smirked.


  


I laughed before taking the bag of lollies from him. “My turn,” he said. “How often do you think about me naked, Shortcake?” His signature smirk reappeared on his lips.


  


I blushed. “That’s not an acceptable question!”


  


“You blushed! It’s a lot, isn’t it?” He waggled his eyebrows, before moving closer to me. “How often? Come on, just tell me.” He persisted, smirking.


  


“Shut up and ask a question, idiot,” I mumbled, avoiding his gaze as my cheeks deepened in colour.


  


I looked back up to find him still smirking at me, his face closer than before. We stayed like that for a few moments, before he leaned back to his original position with his hands up in defense. “Fine, I won’t ask again. New question. Do you have dirty dreams about me, Shortcake? I know I do about you. All the time. When I’m asleep and awake.”


  


I glared at him before throwing another lolly at his face, and he chuckled while avoiding the hit. “I’m not answering that. Why are your questions so dirty? Ask questions like did you have a childhood best friend or do you like sports!” I complained, pouting.


  


“And miss out on making you squirm? No way. Come on, answer the question truthfully.” He waited for my answer.


  


I glared at him again in an attempt to cover up the crimson colouring of my cheeks as my hand dug into the bag of lollies and I slowly put one into my mouth.Adrian’s jaw dropped to the floor for a few moments before the widest grin I had ever seen on him appeared on his face. “Looks like my innocent little Shortcake isn’t so innocent, after all,” he said, reaching for my waist and pulling me over towards him.


  


I let out a squeak of surprise as I clumsily landed on top of his shirtless body, my face growing more heated by the second. “I don’t want to play this game anymore,” I mumbled childishly, still avoiding his gaze.


  


“Okay, we’ll play 20 questions,” he said quickly. He hooked his thumb around my chin and made our gazes meet. “Here’s my first question to you. What exactly happens in these dreams of yours?”


  


“You die by my hands,” I replied with a glare while placing my palms flat on his chest to try and push myself off his body and out of this situation.


  


Adrian chuckled at my response and failed attempt to escape from his grip, before I felt his lips on mine. “I love it when you talk dirty to me.” He smirked once he pulled away from the kiss, making a smile escape.


  


“Shut up idiot,” I mumbled, even as I placed another peck on his lips.


  


“Come on, let’s go to bed. Do you need help with stripping?” Adrian asked with a false look of innocence.


  


I rolled my eyes and pushed myself off him before taking my jeans off in front of him; making his eyes widen. “No thank you, I’m good.” I smirked, before getting into the bed.


  


“I like this side of you a lot, Shortcake,” Adrian announced as he pulled me over to his body and wrapped his arms around my waist.


  


“So do I,” I murmured, pulling him in for another kiss.“So I thought about it, and I think navy would be the best option for the bridesmaids dresses. Only because it won’t clash too much with Molly’s hair and navy looks really good on me.”


  


I gave Amy a look of confusion, waiting for her to elaborate. “For your wedding?” she replied with a ‘duh’ tone, rolling her eyes.


  


“And… who am I marrying and when?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.


  


“Mr. Sexy pants, of course!” She gave me a look of exasperation before she shook her head. “Honestly, Em, you need to keep up with your life.”


  


“Amy,” I told her with an amused expression, “we’re not getting married.”


  


“Of course we’re not! I was talking about you and Adrian!” she exclaimed, before taking another sip of her drink.


  


“I think you’ve had too much alcohol,” I said wryly. “We should get home.” I looked around the club for Adrian and Allen. Adrian refused to let this night happen if he didn’t tag along, and as my eyes met his, I knew he was watching us carefully to see if any guys came near us.


  


Amy huffed, before gulping the rest of her drink down in one go. “Fine, party pooper. Only because Adrian’s hot friend is here tonight.”


  


I smirked. “The hot friend you haven’t looked at more than once because you’re too busy fawning over my brother?” I asked with raised eyebrows.


  


“Shut up!” Amy whined, pushing me off the bar stool lightly. I laughed and helped her stand straight, before looking over at Adrian and nodding towards the exit.


  


Adrian got the message instantly, and he and Allen were by our sides in a flash. “Ready to go?”


  


“Yep,” I laughed as my eyes landed on Amy, who was intently concentrating on her fingernails. “This one has had a little too much to drink tonight.”


  


“Emily?” a new voice slurred, making all four heads turn around.


  


My eyes widened in shock as I recognized my ex-boyfriend from college. I gave him a tight smile. “Hey, Trevor! How have you been?” I asked politely.


  


“Me? Oh, great. Just great,” he slurred as he took a step closer. “You look so hot! I think we should get back together, Emily. I miss you a lot.”


  


I opened my mouth to reply when I felt an arm snake itself around my waist, and I was pulled into Adrian’s torso. “Get away from her, asshole.” He glared down at Trevor. “She’s with me now.”


  


“Who the hell is this jerk? She’s my girlfriend-”


  


“She’s your ex-girlfriend, slowpoke,” Adrian growled as he took a step forward and shielded me from Trevor with his body. “Get away from her before I make you.”


  


I maneuvered around Adrian and stepped between them in a rush. “Hey, cut it out. Let’s just go home, Adrian.” To my ex-boyfriend, I said, “Trevor, it was really nice to see you but I’ve moved on. I’m sorry.” I tried to look sympathetic, but the reality of the situation was I couldn’t care less. Trevor had slept with me then we broke up two weeks later because I didn’t want to do it again.


  


“What? Come on Emily, I loved you!” Trevor exclaimed, his voice growing louder.


  


“Yes, loved. Now Bleep off, you little shit!” Amy snapped, making me stifle a laugh.


  


“No, I refuse to let you leave until I get you back,” he slurred, stumbling closer towards me. I took a step back in annoyance, making Trevor look up at Adrian in anger. “She’s doing this because of you! I challenge you to a fight! Whoever wins gets the girl.” Trevor’s gaze narrowed as he puffed his chest out at Adrian, and I rolled my eyes.


  


“You’re kidding me,” Adrian said with a blank face. He looked down at Trevor with annoyance. “No, I am not! I love her! I deserve a chance,” Trevor insisted, raising a fist.


  


“He’s so drunk,” Amy mumbled under her breath.


  


“I mean, really mate. Are you going to do this right now? Declare your love for her and then fight me to the death? It’s all very Shakespeare if you ask me. There’s no need for the melodramatics; we’ll just let the woman decide for herself. Emily?”


  


Both men turned to me, and I looked at them both incredulously. Adrian smirked once he noticed my expression, making me glare in his direction.


  


“This is s-” I began.


  


“Ha! She has chosen me!” Trevor shouted, catching the attention of a few more onlookers who were observing the confrontation.


  


“No I didn’t!” I exclaimed, giving Trevor another annoyed glare.


  


Trevor’s jaw hung open, before he glared back. “I don’t care. I saw you first, so you’re coming with me.” He reached out and grabbed my upper arm before pulling me over towards him.


  


This, apparently, did not sit well with Adrian. Before I knew it, Adrian’s fist was flying in the direction of Trevor’s face, and a sickening crack sounded at the skin-to-skin contact. I squeaked before returning back to my original position behind Adrian just as Trevor let out a muffled groan and covered his nose with his hand. “What the hell is wrong with you man?” he shouted. “That hurt!”


  


“Really? I was going for a gentle caress on the cheek!” Adrian exclaimed sarcastically, before raising his fist for another punch.


  


“Adrian!” I exclaimed, making him turn towards me. “Don’t. Let’s just leave,” I ordered sternly, keeping my gaze firm.


  


Adrian sighed before looking down at his suit jacket and groaning in disgust. “I’ve got his blood all over the jacket. This was a new one too,” he mumbled while shrugging it off. He tossed the jacket aside carelessly before rolling the sleeves of his button up shirt to his shoulders. I felt my eyes bulge out of their sockets at the sight and noticed Amy smirking from the corner of my eye. She knew men in button up shirts with rolled up sleeves was my weakness, and here Adrian was, doing it casually.


  


“Honestly Shortcake,” Adrian began, completely oblivious to my gawking state as he began rolling up his other sleeve, “I think I’m going to need to invest in a mask to cover up that pretty little face of yours. You’re attracting men from every single angle of this room.”


  


“Sorry,” I mumbled, looking down at my shoes.


  


He chuckled before pulling me in for a kiss. “Come on, let’s go,” he announced, leading me towards the exit of the club.


  


“I just think Blake should be here at times like this to really comfort me,” Amy pouted in a drunken state.I smirked as Allen gave me a questioning look. “He’s my older brother that she’s been crushing on since she met him,” I explained with a laugh once I noticed Amy glaring.


  


“I don’t lllllike him,” she slurred, before leaning on Allen for support.


  


“Of course you don’t sweetie,” I reassured her.


  


“I just think navy is the best option,” she mumbled again before nodding.


  


This time, both Allen and Adrian gave me questioning looks, and I sighed. “She thinks Adrian and I are getting married and wants the bridesmaids dresses to be navy,” I explained. Allen began laughing at my explanation just as Adrian pulled me closer. “Amy thinks really well sometimes.”


  


“What?” I asked, giving him a look of confusion.


  


“She thinks we’re getting married,” Adrian smirked. “We are.”


  


I shook my head and hit his chest lightly. “Adrian, we’ve only been dating for a month.”


  


“Yeah, and I still haven’t gotten any! Marriage is the best option. But no kids,” Adrian added, before a traumatized cringe took over his arrogant expression.


  


“No kids? Why not?” I frowned. Adrian gave me a look of disbelief just as we reached the car. “Are you kidding me? Have you seen one of those things in real life? They’re scary. They scream and bite and create nuclear bombs out of their excrement.” He shuddered from his own words, before opening the door for me to get into the car.


  


“They’re not all bad, Adrian.”


  


“Okay fine. We can have kids. Just not right away,” Adrian announced, before telling the driver to take us home. Amy and Allen were in a separate car, and Allen agreed on taking her home on his own.


  


“I want a lot of children,” I stated, looking down at my lap.


  


“You do?” I looked back up to find Adrian looking down at me with surprise. I nodded, clearing my throat. “I’ve always wanted a big family…” I trailed off. “Just forget about it,” I mumbled, feeling awkward.


  


“I mean, I guess we could-” Adrian was interrupted by the shrill ringing of my phone, and I answered it instantly. “Hello?”


  


“Smelly Emily!” Blake greeted cheerfully.


  


“Hey Blake,” I replied.


  


“What’s wrong? You don’t sound happy. What happened? Did that douchebag do something to hurt you? I swear-”


  


“No Blake, everything is fine!” I cut him off. “Hmm. You don’t sound fine.”


  


“I am. What’s up?” I asked curiously.


  


“Well, mom and dad told me to call you and invite you over to our family barbeque tomorrow. I know you work on Saturdays, will you be able to make it? We’ll start it at dinner time for you if you like. Oh, and mom said bring Adrian along. Aunt Veronica is going to be there and so is Sienna. Sienna’s pregnant again! Did you know that?” Blake asked all at once, making me laugh.


  


“Slow down, Flakey! I’ll ask Adrian if we can leave a little early and text you the answer. But is Sienna really pregnant again? That’s her 4th child in 3 years!” I exclaimed in happiness. Sienna got married to her college boyfriend and fell pregnant with twins instantly, catching both her husband and herself off guard. Since then, they’ve been the golden parents within the family.


  


“I know! I hope it’s a girl, she loves boys but I’m pretty sure it’s her husband’s turn to get the satisfaction after three boys,” Blake pointed out.


  


I laughed along with him just as a thought came into my mind. Sienna’s children would be at the barbeque dinner tomorrow. This would be my chance to show Adrian that not all children were bad. Sienna’s boys were pretty tame kids. They were cheeky, but behaved well when they were told.


  


“Okay,” I told Blake. “I’m going to have a chat with Adrian and I’ll get back to you with our answer. Say hi to mom and dad for me.”


  


“Okay, I’ll see you soon – hopefully. Bye.”


  


I ended the call after that, and turned to Adrian with the hopeful expression I knew he always cracked under. “My parents are having a family dinner with my aunt and cousin tomorrow and want us to come over. Is there any way we can leave work early to get there on time tomorrow? That’s if you want to go. I mean, I understand if you don’t because it’s your-”


  


“Shortcake,” Adrian said, cutting off my rambling. I looked over to him again and found him looking at me with the ghost of a smile on his lips. I bit my lip and gave him an apologetic look once I realised I was rambling, and he ushered me over to him before pulling me in for a kiss. “Of course we can go,” he said. “It’ll be great to see them again.”


  


I nodded absentmindedly, too distracted by the way Adrian had his shirt on, before pulling him in for another kiss. It lasted longer and was rougher, more heated, and it was Adrian who pulled away this time.


  


“Wow. What was that for?” he asked with a smirk.


  


I blushed once I realised my actions and sat back in my seat. “I- you had something on your lips,” I lied lamely, turning an even deeper shade of red.


  


Adrian chuckled before raising an eyebrow. “Well, I’m glad you managed to get it off my lips and let me get to second base.” “I’m texting Blake,” I muttered in response, too embarrassed to reply to his observation.


  


“You’re sharing the wonderful news of getting to second base? I’m sure he doesn’t want to hear about that, Shortcake.” Adrian smirked.


  


I glared in his direction before getting back to my phone. “I’m telling him we’re coming!”


  


“I don’t think he wants to know that detail either,” Adrian laughed.


  


“Why not? He’s the one who called me and asked if you and I were – oh my God, Adrian! Not that- oh my God. You’re impossible.” I blabbed, turning red again once I realised Adrian’s joke. He chuckled and pulled me into him again before placing a kiss on my forehead. “You are, hands down, the best girl I have ever met,” he muttered with a smile on his face.


  


I temporarily forgot about the text for a moment and looked up to meet his hazel eyes, matching his expression.
“Emily!”


  


“Sienna!”


  


“Blake!” Both Sienna and I turned our heads towards my brother, who was waving his arms around like a girl.


  


“What? I was feeling left out.” He shrugged, making us both laugh.


  


“I’ve missed you so much!” Sienna squealed, averting her attention back to me.


  


“Me too! Congratulations on the new baby, by the way! I’m so happy for you!” I grinned, pulling her in for another hug.


  


Once she pulled away, she sighed. “We’re over the moon. I hope it’s a boy again.” She frowned slightly with a look of determination in her expression, making me laugh.


  


“Sienna, you’ve had twin boys, as well as an individual one! Aren’t they enough for you?” I asked in between laughs. As if the 3 boys knew they were being talked about, all three came running towards us, the youngest of the three falling behind slightly due to the newly discovered speed his older brothers were going at.


  


“Michael, George and Adam!” I squealed, engulfing the three into a hug. All three boys laughed and hugged back before shouting random words and sounds, making their mother come up beside me.


  


“Boys, enough!” she ordered sharply, shutting all three boys up. “Go to daddy.”


  


The children froze in their position before climbing off of me and running back in the opposite direction. Sienna shook her head with a smile before turning back to me. "So where is this boyfriend of – holy shit.” Sienna’s jaw practically dropped to the gravel-filled pathway in my parent’s backyard as she froze, her cup or orange juice held absently in her hands. “Uh…Sienna? Are you okay?” I asked worriedly, getting ready to turn around to look at the object that struck her speechless.


  


Before the gesture could be made, however, I felt Adrian’s familiar arm wrap itself around my waist just as his scent filled my nostrils. “Shortcake, it was cruel to leave me back there with your father interrogating me. Honestly, do you know how hard it was to try and convince him that the love bite on my neck was just a mosquito bite and that we hadn’t gone beyond kissing yet?”


  


I began to laugh as my gaze landed on Adrian’s pained expression, making him morph it to a smirk. “Sorry, Adri-poo, but there are some things in life that you have to learn to get out of yourself.” I winked, before remembering my still-frozen cousin. “Oh, by the way. Adrian, this is my cousin Sienna. Sienna, this is Adrian Kingston, my boyfriend.” I smiled before turning to face her, and realised she was still looking at Adrian with the same expression Amy did the first time she had seen him in person.

“Hot,” Sienna managed to squeak out before blinking rapidly in his direction. I burst into a fit of laughter once her eyes widened in mortification and realised what she had said. I nudged Adrian to do something.


  


“Ah, Sienna. A beautiful name for a beautiful woman. You’re definitely Emily’s cousin then.” He reached out and kissed her knuckles, still smirking, before dropping her hand gently.


  


Sienna choked on something in her throat as she tried to voice a reply, making my laughter come out even louder at my cousin’s shock.


  


“A- Adrian Kingston.” She nodded, before stiffly walking back in her husband’s direction.


  


My laughter began to die down as I stifled giggles from escaping my lips, and looked over at a confused-looking Adrian. “Well… that went brilliantly. What… What exactly just happened?” he asked with a confused frown.


  


“You happened,” I replied. “Stop being so handsome and charming, you’re making women speechless.”


  


“I didn’t make you speechless when we first met,” he pointed out with a smirk.


  


“No, instead, you thought it would better to seduce me into wanting you,” I commented wryly.


  


“I had to see if you were serious about the job,” Adrian pointed out.


  


“I was the only girl there with a resume! Obviously, I was serious about the job.” I glared, whacking his bicep.


  


“And I’m glad that you were,” Adrian replied, smiling down at me. He began to sniff the air, frowning slightly. “Do you smell cheese?” He smirked.


  


I frowned, before sniffing the air myself. “No. I don’t think they’ve made anything with cheese today.”


  


Adrian chuckled before shaking his head. “I was talking about my comment, not literally,” he explained as the smirk reappeared on his lips. “Oh… Shut up,” I mumbled, blushing.


  


“Emily, Sienna and Blake! I need help taking out the food!” My mom called out from the house, making the three of us turn around to the door.


  


“Just go sit at the table or something until we’re done,” I told Adrian, before following my family into the house.


  


“Emily, what is that mark on Adrian’s neck, dear?” my mom asked with a concerned expression once we were all in the kitchen.


  


Damn you Adrian, now it’s my turn.


  


“Oh… He, uh, he got in a fight for me at a club last night,” I improvised quickly. “This guy was giving me trouble and the guy got him in the neck. He’s fine now though.” I grabbed the bowl of salad on the table.


  


“Oh, that’s awful!” My mom gushed, looking out the window in Adrian’s direction sympathetically.


  


“Yeah…. I’m going to put these outside now,” I announced awkwardly, avoiding Sienna and Blake’s knowing looks.


  


Sienna came out after me, holding a tray of meat. “Harry!” she called out to her husband as she handed the tray of meat over to my dad. “Will you go to the car and grab Adam’s high chair? I don’t want him running around and making a mess when we’re eating.”


  


“Of course. Adrian, I’m sorry, would you mind the kids for now?” Harry asked Adrian, who looked up from his phone with annoyance. “I won’t be long,” he reassured him.


  


By the time the words sank in to Adrian’s mind, Harry was gone, and he looked at me with a panicked look before looking over at the children like they were aliens. “Emily! Maybe you should stay out here with them and I’ll bring out the food,” Adrian tried, giving me a look of pure desperation.


  


I tried to fight a grin from escaping onto my lips as I shook my head. “Sorry honey, I really need to do this myself. I’m sure you’ll be fine! Just talk to them like you’d talk to one of us!” I called out, before disappearing into the house and laughing to myself.


  


“You, my dear sister, are cruel,” Blake smirked once I entered the kitchen. I shrugged innocently. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Blake.” I cocked my head to the side, pretending to be curious, before grabbing the sauces and taking them out to put onto the table.


  


“Shortcake, please!” Adrian whispered desperately once I neared him on the dinner table. “They’re looking at me.”


  


I laughed. “Adrian! They’re not going to bite. Just talk to them!” I pushed him towards the three other males that were looking at Adrian curiously, before going back into the kitchen. “Is Aunt Veronica running late or something?”


  


“Oh, we forgot to tell you! Aunt Veronica won’t able to make it tonight. She has an art show on and apparently there are going to be some very important people there tonight.” My mom explained once I picked up the bowl of mashed potatoes.


  


“Oh! That’s a shame, I haven’t seen her in a while.” I pouted, before hearing my name being called from outside by a frantic sounding Adrian. All four of us ran out to the narrow gap of the doorway just as Adrian came with a crying Adam in his hands. He was holding him from underneath his arms, and held him as far away as possible from his torso while Adam’s legs dangled helplessly.


  


“It’s crying.” He cringed once he realised we were all waiting for an explanation.


  


We all stayed silent for a moment, the only thing making noise was Adam’s wailing, before Adrian pushed him towards us. Instantly, Sienna, Blake and my mom burst into a fit of howling laughter, and I joined them shortly, making Adrian give us a glare of frustration before he looked at Adam with caution again. “Take it and make it stop! Maybe it’s hurt, or hungry or something.” He tried again in a strained voice, making us laugh even harder.


  


I sobered up after a few moments, feeling sorry for Adrian, as the rest of my family continued to laugh at him. I stepped towards him and pushed Adam into his arms gently. Adrian stiffened as the child came closer towards him, and he looked over at me with the same panicked expression as before.


  


“Shortcake, what are you doing?”


  


“Adrian, relax. Just hold him like this,” I began to explain, altering Adrian’s grip on Adam to the proper way of holding a toddler. “See? Look, he’s already stopped crying. Now, rub his back gently and smile at him,” I coached. Adrian hesitated before slowly placing the palm of his hand on Adam’s back, and gently began to stroke it in a comforting motion.


  


“Smile,” I reminded him with a grin of my own as I watched the interaction occur between the two boys. Adrian glared down at me, before looking into Adam’s and grinning widely; showing every pearly white tooth in his mouth.


  


I laughed as Adam began to sob again, making Adrian stiffen in his position. “Too much teeth! Smile like you smile when you look at me.”


  


“I can’t,” Adrian snapped, looking over at me again.


  


“Why not?” I replied, raising an eyebrow.


  


“Because I like you. I don’t like him,” he grumbled, cringing at Adam.


  


I blushed at the comment before speaking up again. “Adrian, just smile! Don’t show your teeth, just look into his eyes and smile. Pretend he’s me.”


  


“That would be a very wrong thing to do considering the thing’s I’d be doing to you right now if we were in this position,” Adrian grumbled.


  


“Adrian, smile!” I snapped.


  


Adrian dropped his frown and smiled falsely at Adam, and the toddler instantly stopped sobbing as he noticed Adrian’s expression. Adrian noticed this too, and wonder overtook his expression momentarily before another grin – a real one this time – replaced the awed look. “He likes me!” Adrian exclaimed happily, looking over at me with a wide grin. I looked at the sight of Adrian with a child in his arms with pure admiration, soaking up every single detail of the image in front of me and smiling at the pair.


  


Adam began laughing in Adrian’s arms, before he shoved a small finger into one of Adrian’s nostrils with a grin. “Hey! Wrong hole, kid. That goes in a woman’s vagi-”


  


“Stop!” I squeaked in horror, before snatching Adam out of his arms. “Don’t say that to children!”


  


“Why? It’s good to teach them from now,” Adrian nodded, smirking.


  


“And suddenly you’re the expert?” I asked with a raised eyebrow, smiling.


  


“Hey, aren’t you the one who told me to talk to them like they’re one of you? That’s what I did!” he exclaimed incredulously.


  


“You talk to each other like that?” Blake spoke up in amusement. “No wonder he has a love bite on his neck. I wonder what else you two say to each other when you’re alone.”


  


“A LOVE BITE?!” My mom and dad exclaimed at the same time, glaring at both Adrian and me.


  


“I thought he got into a fight for you?” my mom brought up, raising an eyebrow at me.


  


“I thought it was a mosquito bite,” my dad added, glaring at Adrian. “Blake,” I growled, glaring at my older brother, who was now grinning cheekily.


  


“Whoops?” He shrugged, before using a chair to shield himself from me.


  


“I think we should all sit at the dinner table, the food looks almost ready!” Sienna brought up, trying to change the subject.


  


I gave her a grateful look before I felt my phone buzz in my pocket. “You guys go ahead, I need to get this,” I announced, pointing at my vibrating phone.


  


“Don’t be long,” my mom warned. I nodded and answered the phone while walking away from the group, making my way around the house.


  


“Hello?” “Emily Johnson,” a low voice greeted, making the blood in my veins freeze in its path.


  


“Mr. David Walter. I- I didn’t know you had my number,” I stuttered, swallowing nervously.


  


“I didn’t. I got it off a… friend. That aside, how are you, Emily? That short encounter we had at the charity gala a month ago didn’t go the way I wanted it to. I was hoping we could talk.”


  


I frowned at his words before speaking up. “I’m really sorry, sir. I’m actually with my family at the moment. Maybe another time-”


  


“No, I’m sure now is a great time, Emily,” David insisted coldly. “I want to have lunch with you. Alone. You don’t tell anyone, not even your precious little boss.”


  


I shivered unconsciously, before clearing my throat. “With all due respect sir, I don’t think that’s going to happen.”


  


“Your friend Amy is a lovely girl. She’s a teacher, correct? She takes the same route to work every day. It’d be shame if someone noticed that and did something to her.”


  


I froze at the mention of my best friend’s name, growing angry. “Are you blackmailing me?” I snapped.


  


“Why Emily, I would never do that to you. Am I blackmailing Amy? Well that’s new territory we haven’t crossed yet. So I guess that’s a yes to the private lunch? I’ll text you the details. Goodbye, Emily. It’s been lovely, hearing your voice.” The line went dead after that, just as I heard my name being called out by Adrian. “Shortcake? Are you okay? You’ve been on the phone for a while.” Adrian rounded the corner just as I slipped my phone back into my pocket, feeling it vibrate again just as a text message came through.


  


“Sorry, it was Amy. She’s having a meltdown about a dress she can’t find.” I tried to force out a laugh, but settled with a smile instead.


  


Adrian studied me closely, and his eyes narrowed in suspicion. “I don’t believe you,” he growled with a fierce glare.


  


“Hey, Lovebirds! Are you two going to eat with us tonight or not?!” Blake called from the dinner table. “We’ll talk about it later,” I murmured, before stepping back into the view of my family. “Sorry,” I announced, smiling.


  


Blake began to make sloppy kissing noises and motions, but stopped once Sienna threw a napkin at his face. I briefly looked back at Adrian, who was already glaring at me, before my gaze made its way down to my feet. This was going to be one hell of a secret to cover up.

Chapter Twenty-three


  


  


  


I managed to keep the truth from Adrian. I ended up telling him it was an old friend that I didn’t expect to call, which is why I was so shocked, and that I was meeting up with them on Monday during my lunch break. After countlessly reassuring him that it was a girl, Adrian finally let the subject drop.


  


And now, here I was, waiting for a man I couldn’t stand to be near. I nervously checked my phone again, waiting for Amy to reply to the text message I randomly sent her. I had to know she was okay, and didn’t trust David Walter and his snake-like personality when it came to Amy’s safety. I looked away from my phone just as David Walter appeared across from my seated position. “Emily.” He nodded, as a smile curled its way onto his lips.


  


“Mr. Walter. I hope we can make this short. My break ends soon and I need to get back to work. Take a seat.” I tried to stay calm, amd motioned toward the chair that he was standing behind.


  


His smile grew slowly, as he pulled out his chair. “Emily. I’m sure you know that I’m the one pulling the strings in this situation by now. This lunch ends when I want it to end.” His voice was firm as he called over a waitress in the restaurant.


  


“What can I get you guys?” she asked cheerfully, oblivious to the tension in between us. “I’ll just have a glass of water and a caramel doughnut, please.” I smiled tightly. This was going to be my only lunch break for the day, and I couldn’t even stomach anything because of the man sitting across from me.


  


“I’ll have the chicken wrap,” David muttered, staring at me. The waitress nodded with a smile before turning to leave, and I briefly glanced at my phone again before focusing my attention on David.


  


“So, why am I here?” I asked while tracing a pattern on the wooden table.


  


“Well, since you’re so adamant on getting to the point, I’ll tell you. I want you to date me, Emily,” David announced.


  


I choked on my own salvia just as the words left his mouth, before giving him a look of disbelief. “Are you kidding me?!”


  


“I don’t ‘kid’, Emily. You’re a very beautiful woman; both physically and emotionally. I would like to have you as my own. I’m sure I can treat you way better than that man LovePeddler of yours-”


  


“Okay, stop right there. Insulting Adrian isn’t going to help you in this already inexplicable request that you have going on right now. I actually like Adrian. A lot. He may not be the perfect guy that has only had two girlfriends in his life and likes to buy me flowers and chocolates. But you know what? I actually like him for the fact that he goes out of his way to make me squirm, or the fact that he gets jealous of a guy that walks past us in the street and briefly looks my way. He may not be like you, Mr. Walter – a deceiving snake that has to blackmail the women he wants to have a simple lunch with them – but he’s a good guy. One that I will never stop seeing just because you tell me to.” My anger was visibly showing by now. I could feel my face heating up and I was breathing heavily.


  


David’s expression was a look of pure shock, before he leaned back into his chair and let out a heavy breath. “Well. I didn’t think you were that passionate about your relationship with your boss.”


  


I glared, not knowing where he was going with this conversation just as the waitress returned with our orders. “Here you go! Enjoy your meals!” She grinned, before walking away.


  


“I don’t think you understand what I am capable of, Emily. Amy is not the only person I can ruin. How are your parents doing? That little house they’re currently paying off is cute. It’d be a shame if an extra amount of money was put on top of their mortgage for them to pay off. And what about Blake? Such a good looking fellow. I don’t think-”


  


“I get it. You’re good at making threats. What do you want to achieve out of this?”  I snapped with a glare.


  


“I want you to leave Adrian – just for one night! To go on a date with me.”


  


“No.” I shook my head instantly, not even bothering to think twice about the request. “You may be a powerful man, Mr. Walter. But I am certain that Adrian is much more powerful than you. One word to him and-”


  


“And how do you think he’s going to react to the fact that you – most probably, seeing as he actually let you come alone today – lied to him about meeting with me?” David asked, raising an eyebrow smugly.


  


My next response died in my throat before I could use it, and I frowned and bit my lip at the thought. “I’m sure once I explain to him why I did it, he’ll understand. I was thinking about Amy’s safety. That’s the only reason why I’m here,” I emphasized, glaring at him.


  


“Yes, yes. Of course he will,” David replied, smiling.


  


I frowned in confusion at his calm demeanour, just as my phone began vibrating on the table. Adrian’s name blinked back at me in bold letters, and I answered it instantly. “Shortcake. How are things going with your friend?”


  


“Not so good. She turned out to be a conniving bitch with nothing better to do with her life other than taunt me.” I looked at David as I spoke those words, before getting out of my seat. “I’m heading back now. Do you need me to do anything for you before I go back to the office?” I asked, before placing a $10 bill on the table.


  


“So, remind me how this friend of yours looks again?” Adrian spoke up. I frowned at the same time I noticed the fact that the tone of his voice wasn’t his usual, playful one. It was cold, guarded.


  


I swallowed as my eyes went wide. “She has-” “David Walter is a she, now? Wow. This is some very interesting news. Even more interesting than the fact that my girlfriend lied to me to meet up with him,” Adrian growled.


  


“I-”


  


“What could you possibly say to cover this up, Emily? Get back to the office now. We’ll talk about this then.” Adrian snapped, before the phone call ended.


  


I looked at the phone helplessly before looking over at David Walter.


  


“Trouble in paradise? I wonder who would be cruel enough to tell him your location.” David shook his head, before a smug smile appeared on his lips. “Have a great day, Emily. Think about my offer. I’ll be seeing you soon.” He took a sip from my glass of water before walking away, the smug expression never leaving his face.
“WHAT, WERE YOU THINKING?” Adrian roared once I entered the office.


  


My attempt to be silent failed miserably thanks to Adrian’s temper, and I frowned before shutting the door completely. “Will you calm down for 5 minutes and let me explain?” I demanded.


  


“I knew you were lying to me the second I saw your face at your parents’ house. Then you went ahead and made up that story about an ‘old friend’. Come on Shortcake, you told me yourself that the only friends you’ve ever made were the ones you’re still friends with now!” Adrian pointed out with a glare.


  


“Adrian-”


  


“So, naturally, I thought I’d agree to your little request just so I didn’t look like I was trying to control your life. Then, I get a phone call telling me you’re with David Walter, of all people!” he snapped.


  


“Adrian,” I tried again, getting angry at the fact that he wasn’t stopping to listen to me.


  


“Why him, Emily? The man is sick in the head? What could have possessed you to even agree to go near him, let alone have lunch? What else did you do with him? Did he touch you? Did you touch him? I-”


  


“ADRIAN! SHUT UP FOR 5 SECONDS!” I finally snapped, glaring up at him.


  


Adrian’s mouth stayed open for a few seconds just as he registered my words, before he snapped it shut and glared in my direction. “Go ahead then. Explain,” he muttered, sitting in his desk chair with his jaw clenched.


  


“The day at my parent’s house. David called me-”


  


“How the Bleep did he get your number? Did you give it to him?” Adrian asked in a demanding tone.


  


“Will you be quiet and let me finish the story?!” I exclaimed. His jaw clenched again before ne nodded for me to continue. I sighed before starting again. “When he called, he asked me to have lunch with him. I refused, obviously, and that’s when he blackmailed me by threatening Amy. Adrian, she’s my best friend. You know how much she means to me. So I agreed, just for her safety. He told me not to tell you or he’d find out and do whatever he had planned to her anyway. That’s why I didn’t tell you; I wanted to, but I couldn’t.” I looked down at my feet after that, too ashamed to look at Adrian after I realised how stupid I sounded.


  


I heard Adrian shift in his position and looked up from my feet just as he stood in front of me, catching me off guard. I yelped before my feet tangled themselves and I fell onto the plush carpet of the office. Adrian instantly began chuckling at my act of clumsiness before he scooped me into his arms and held me bridal style.


  


“Wow, you’ve really fallen for me, haven’t you?” he smirked, looking straight into my eyes. “Shut up,” I mumbled, flushing.


  


His smirk grew before he placed a quick kiss on my lips. “I’m not taking back anything I said. But I understand why you did what you did. You’re forgiven.” Adrian nodded.


  


“Oh gee, thanks Adrian. That’s what I was waiting to hear,” I scowled.


  


“This doesn’t mean that fucking old prick is going to get away with this,” Adrian growled in a low voice, ignoring my comment.


  


“What do you mean by that? Don’t hurt him Adrian,” I warned, giving him a stern look. He looked down at my face again before smiling. “Of course not, Shortcake. Not physically, at least.” Av evil glint shined in his eyes, and I narrowed my eyes suspiciously. “Did he ask you to go on another lunch date?” he asked.


  


I nodded. “A date, not exactly a lunch date though.”


  


“Excellent. Text him and say you accept the offer. Act the way you acted today, we don’t want him getting suspicious,” Adrian told me, shifting into a position where I was straddling him.


  


I wrapped my arms around his neck for support before frowning curiously. “What are you planning?” I asked, biting my lip.


  


“Don’t worry your beautiful head about it, Shortcake. Leave David Walter to me.” He smirked and pulled me in for a kiss.

“I hope you all enjoy your time here at Kingston Corporation. If you need anything in your new assigned area, just ask the head of the department and they should help you out. Have a lovely day.” I smiled at the small group of new employees before I began gathering their files and résumé’s off the desk in front of me.


  


The small group began to leave the room just after someone cleared their throat. I looked up to find Anna looking down at me. Her face didn’t wear the usual scowl I always saw on her lately due to the relationship between Adrian and me, and I instantly narrowed my eyes in suspicion.


  


“Hi,” she murmured in a low tone, avoiding my suspicious gaze.


  


“Um, hello.” The greeting came out as more of a question, and I bit my lip as I waited for her to reply.


  


“Look, I just really want to apologise for how I’ve acted towards you for the past few months. I was just jealous that Adrian was paying so much attention to you. I can see how much he likes you now, so… I’ve kind of gotten over it. I’m really sorry. I’m not saying we have to become best friends or bum chums or whatever. I just don’t want any bad blood between us…” She trailed off, picking at her maroon coloured manicure before looking me in the eye.


  


I frowned, surprised by the sudden apology but willing to accept it. I nodded at her. “Of course. It’s fine.” I smiled, deciding to forgive her. “What?” Her eyes widened in shock, before she spoke up again. “Are you being sarcastic? Because I heard you’re a bit of a queen when it comes to that.” Her eyes narrowed at me, warily.


  


I laughed before shaking my head. “No, I’m being genuine. There is no point in having bad blood between us, like you said.”


  


“Oh my God! Thank you so much! You’re really the nicest girl I know, Emily. Adrian is really lucky to have you,” Anna gushed, pulling me in for a hug.


  


I laughed again and hugged her back. “Thank you, Anna.”


  


“No problem! Okay, so I know I just said we don’t have to be bum chums or anything but I was thinking we should grab coffee or lunch or something on our breaks tomorrow! We have it at the same time, I see you walk out of here every day and come back the same time as I do! That sounds really creepy… I mean, I don’t do it on purpose. It’s just something I’ve noticed, you know?” Anna grimaced once she finished rambling and looked over at me.


  


I stifled another laugh and nodded. “I understand you completely. Lunch sounds great. I’ll meet you outside the building tomorrow and we can have a chat.”


  


“Oh, that’s really great! Thank you so much!” Anna squealed, pulling me in for another quick hug and dashing out of the small conference room.


  


I walked back to the office with a slight frown on my face. Adrian noticed it instantly, and was by my side before I was able to blink. “What happened? Are you okay?” he asked.


  


I looked up and smiled at him. “Yeah, I’m fine. Anna… Anna just apologised to me.”


  


Adrian stared back at me blankly, before he slightly raised an eyebrow. “… Who is Anna?”


  


“I… Anna? Don’t you remember? The woman from marketing department that you… well, you know,” I finished, avoiding his gaze.


  


“Honestly Shortcake, I don’t remember anyone since you came along.”


He smirked. I began blushing at the comment before playfully pushing him away. “You’re an idiot,” I mumbled with a smile.


  


“A very lovable idiot,” Adrian said while waggling his eyebrows.


  


“A very egotistical idiot,” I corrected, smirking smugly.


  


“Did you say testicle?” Adrian faked gasped. “Shortcake, that’s positively scandalous!” He gushed, widening his eyes as they landed on me.


  


“What- Adrian, where did you even come up with that?!” I laughed, before placing the new employee files on his desk.


  


He shrugged with a grin, before speaking up again. “My father has invited us over for dinner this weekend. Are you up for it? He was jealous that I went to my future in-laws’ house and you haven’t seen yours yet.” He shook his head at his father’s behaviour, before looking over at me for an answer.


  


I took a seat at my desk before raising an eyebrow. “‘Future in-laws’?” I asked.


  


Adrian nodded eagerly. “I may as well get used to calling them that since we’ll be getting married soon.” He shrugged.


  


“How are you so sure that I’m going to say yes?” I asked in amusement.


  


“Well, you can’t say no,” Adrian glared, clenching his jaw.


  


I was taken aback by his sudden anger towards the subject. “Um… Why?” I asked slowly, afraid of how he’d react. “That’s not important,” he muttered, avoiding my gaze. “Are you going to accept my father’s offer or not?” he asked, steering back the subject. “I need to let him know.”


  


“Yes, of course I’ll go. Now tell me why I can’t say no,” I demanded, bringing up the previous topic.


  


“Just forget about it, Emily. It’s not important.” Adrian sighed, avoiding my stern gaze.


  


“Clearly it is, since you got angry over it and won’t tell me what the reason is! Come on, did someone blackmail you into marrying me? Is that why you’re with me?” I pressed, frowning slightly.


  


“What? No! I don’t have to tell you anything. You didn’t tell me about David Walter. I think it’s even now,” he reminded me.


  


“You know why I didn’t tell you about David Walter! It concerned my best friend’s safety! Does this concern my safety? Are you being forced into marrying me because someone is threatening my life?” I asked with wide eyes.


  


“No! Who said I’m being forced into marrying you in the first place? I’m Adrian Kingston; I do whatever the Bleep I want,” he snapped.


  


“What is it then?” I asked again. I knew I was becoming annoying. Hell, I was annoying myself. But curiosity was like a bug I couldn’t get rid of.


  


“Forget about it, Emily,” Adrian repeated through gnashed teeth with a clenched jaw.


  


I glared. “If you were in my position, you would’ve made me tell you.”


  


“Well, I’m in my own position so I don’t have to tell you anything,” he replied with a glare.


  


I could tell he was about to burst. His eyes were narrowed to slits and his jaw was clenched to the point where there was a circular bone popping out of his jawline. “Fine. If it’s that important to you, I’ll just leave it. I’m sleeping at Amy’s house tonight,” I announced, looking away from him and turning to the computer screen.


  


“No, you’re not,” Adrian snarled, making me focus on him again. I glared. “Yes I am. You can keep whatever the hell you’re hiding away from me, but you can’t keep me from sleeping at my best friend’s house.”


  


“Jesus, just drop it, will you? It’s nothing!” he exclaimed angrily, throwing his arms up in defeat.


  


“I have dropped it!” I snapped.


  


“No you haven’t! You’re angry, so you want to sleep at Amy’s to avoid me!”


  


“That wouldn’t be happening if you would just be open with me like I was with you with the David Walter situation,” I retorted angrily.


  


“You were only open about that because I caught you having lunch with him!” “Oh, so you want me to hire someone to stalk you so I can find out what it is so you can be open about it, is that it?” I asked with eyebrows raised.


  


“No! It’s nothing like that.” He growled in a low voice, inching closer towards me in anger.


  


“Well, I guess you don’t mind if I sleep at Amy’s tonight then.”


  


“Dammit, Emily, just drop the subject and forget about it,” Adrian commanded in a cold tone.


  


“Fine. I guess next time, I should just keep everything to myself as well,” I muttered, looking back at the computer screen. ”Because clearly the trust thing is only happening one way.” “Shortcake, you know I trust you. I trust you more than I trust Allen; and I’ve known the guy since High School. Just please drop this, I don’t think you’re ready to hear it just yet. You’ll freak out and I’ll lose you,” Adrian mumbled, no longer looking angered by my persistent behaviour.


  


I sighed. “I’m not weak, Adrian. I can handle it. Especially if it’s something concerning me. Do you know how unfair that is? I have a right to know!”


  


“Not with this you don’t,” he replied, his voice becoming cold again.


  


I let out a frustrated growl. “I can handle it, A-”


  


“Fine! I’m in love with you, Emily!” Adrian yelled. “Are you happy now?!” I could only stare back at him after that. Everything went silent; even the usual murmurs we would be able to hear from the offices outside fell quiet. I’m pretty sure Adrian yelled loud enough for the entire top floor to hear him. He was breathing slightly heavier than usual as he looked straight into my eyes before he looked away.


  


“I knew this was going to happen,” he mumbled, before shaking his head in disappointment and disappearing into the mysterious glass door across from my position.

Chapter Twenty Four


  


  


  


A few questions ran through my mind just as the glass door clicked shut.


  


Did Adrian Kingston, arrogant playboy sex symbol of New York, just profess his love to me?


  


What was behind that goddamn glass door?


  


Why was I still sitting at my desk, when I should be in there, telling him how I feel about him?


  


But most importantly, why didn’t I eat that doughnut? Snapping out of my mental state, I made my way over to the mysterious glass door and let out a nervous sigh before knocking softly. “Adrian?”


  


“What?” came his dull reply. I heard shuffling within the room, and I took his reply as an indication to open the door.


  


My shoulders sagged in disappointment once my eyes landed on the décor within the small room. There was a queen sized bed fitted with plain back sheets, a small flat screen television across from that, a cupboard that was small enough to fit in the corner of the room, and a small replica of a kitchen sink in the farthest corner from my position.


  


Adrian was standing in that corner, holding a square shaped cup with a light brown liquid inside it. “Scotch?” I asked softly, afraid of his reaction.


  


“Brandy,” he replied, before taking a huge gulp of the alcoholic substance.


  


I nodded meekly before stepping further into the small room. The tension hung thick in the air, and I decided to sit on the edge of the bed while Adrian poured himself another glass.


  


I looked around the room again, searching for anything to focus on in order to take my mind off the man standing in front of me. It occurred to me then that Adrian still didn’t know my favourite colour, and the urge to inform him overpowered the awkward state I was currently in.


  


“Pink,” I mumbled, looking down at my lap.


  


Adrian’s reply never came after that, and I looked up to find him looking at me in confusion. “My favourite colour,” I added, blushing slightly. “It’s pink.” I sounded like an idiot. A random idiot.


  


“That was going to be my next guess,” Adrian replied. The corners of his mouth twitched slightly in my direction, before his expression turned hard again.


  


I sighed before speaking up, “Adrian-”


  


“No, Emily. If you’re going to lie to my face. I’d prefer that you didn’t say anything at all. In fact, I’ll do you one better. Let’s forget this entire thing happened. We can go back to being-”


  


“I’m in love with you, Adrian,” I said, cutting his suggestion short.


  


His expression morphed into one of pure surprise as his gaze fell on me again. He glared. “You’re lying. You wouldn’t love someone like me.” He shook his head, before gulping his entire glass of brandy. His knuckles began to turn pale, giving me an indication of just how tight he was gripping onto the glass.


  


“What gave you that idea?!” I exclaimed angrily.


  


“Come on, Emily.” He laughed bitterly, before placing his cup down onto the table in front of him. “I’ve seen the way you associate with other men. You’re freer, you smile all the time. You don’t need to worry that they’ll suddenly have a mood swing or that they’ve had a bad past with women. You know I will, so naturally, you’re going to want to walk away from me. I told you not to lie-”


  


“I’m not lying!” I snapped, jumping out of my seated position on the bed and making my way towards him. “I’m not lying. I can’t lie about something like this. You- You waltzed into my life without a care in the world! I don’t know how you did it, but somehow, you’ve made me fall for you harder than I can describe. You’ve made come to accept, and even like the fact that you’re jealous, possessive, moody and arrogant. You also love to make me squirm in any way possible, you’re a pervert, you’re stubborn as hell, but you know what? I love that about you; because underneath all of that, Adrian, you’re also kind, caring, funny, and – although you’ve had a rocky past which made it hard for me to do this – you’ve even made me trust you. So, if you still don’t believe me, let me know, because this trust thing? It’s becoming clearer that it’s only a one-way thing happening here.” I was huffing from anger by the end of my speech, and I glared up at Adrian, waiting for his response.


  


He just kissed me.


  


Not a single word was uttered out of his mouth. Just a small, simple kiss that had enough heat infused into it to take my breath away. My hands instantly found their way into his hair, and I began kissing him back in an eager way that had him lifting me up to rest on his waist while I wrapped my legs around his hips.


  


Adrian gripped my thighs firmly as I felt my fingers slip out of his hair and begin to fumble with the buttons of his shirt, all while keeping the kiss in motion.


  


Adrian began walking, and my back made contact with the cool texture of the wall.


  


“We can’t,” I murmured in between kisses as Adrian began to slip off my work blazer.


  


“Yes we can,” he grumbled as he trailed kisses down my neck.


  


I sighed and tilted my head for easier access just as Adrian began to unbutton my own shirt.


  


“Adrian, we have a meeting in 20 minutes,” I tried again, trying to gain some control over my hormones.


  


Adrian let out a frustrated sigh and held me up against the wall as he pulled out his phone from his pocket. I waited there awkwardly, clad in my navy coloured lace bra and business skirt just as Adrian put the phone to his ear. “Suzie, push back everything we have scheduled for the next hour,” he ordered, before his gaze looked over my upper torso. “Make that the next two hours.”


  


He hung up before Suzie could utter a reply. He threw the phone onto the small table beside us and brought his lips back to my neck. “Adrian.” I sighed, gripping the back of his neck tightly. “The office door-”


  


“Emily. Mention one more thing about work, and I’ll take you right here. On this wall.” He growled, detaching his lips from my neck to look me straight in the eye.


  


My eyes widened before I nodded. “S-Sorry,” I stuttered.


  


His dark expression morphed into his usual arrogant smirk, before I felt the zipper of my skirt being tugged at. Within a flash, my skirt was on the floor, and Adrian led me to the bed.
“YOU FINALLY HAD SEX?!” Amy yelled in the small café, a huge grin plastering itself onto her features.


  


The murmur of the café instantly died down as everyone turned to look at our table, and my eyes widened in mortification before I covered my face with the small napkin that was set in front of me.


  


“Whoops,” Amy whispered, before taking her seat with a weak smile. The few customers at the café stared for a few moments longer before restarting their conversations. “Amy!” I exclaimed with a groan.


  


“I’m sorry, but do you know how long I’ve been waiting for this moment to happen?!” she asked, before aggressively opening a sugar sachet and pouring it into her coffee mug.


  


“Yes, as a matter of fact, I do,” I responded flatly, before taking a sip of my own drink.


  


“Well, I’m just glad you’ve finally gotten some. I must admit, Adrian is a pretty good looking man.” Rita winked from beside me, before picking up her own mug.


  


“She didn’t only get some. She got some twice!” Amy squealed with a grin.


  


I glared in an attempt to cover up my flushed cheeks, before throwing a sugar sachet in her direction.


  


“And then again at night,” Amy added, getting ready to duck as I picked up another sachet.


  


“Can we change the subject please?” I whined.


  


“So what are you going to do about David Walter?” Rita asked with a worried frown.


  


The mention of David Walter instantly darkened my mood, and I glared at the dark brown surface of the table before answering. “Adrian has something planned, but he won’t tell me what it is. All I know for now, is that I have to go to dinner with him next week and act like I usually would, and then it’s going to be settled from there.” I frowned at the sound of Adrian’s plan; it didn’t sound promising, and I didn’t think we were going to get far with it.


  


Rita nodded in understanding, before taking another sip from her mug. “I hope it all works out. That man is a creep,” she announced with a shudder.


  


“Tell me about it. Now, back to the sex! How good was he? Who broke first? How did it go down?!” Amy asked frantically, raising her voice again and attracting the attention of the people sitting closest to us.


  


“Amy, put your voice down!” I repeated desperately while looking around.


  


It dawned on me just then that I had forgotten to mention the fact that Adrian had confessed his love for me, and that I returned the same gesture. I smiled weakly in her direction, and her bright blue eyes instantly narrowed in suspense.


  


“You left out something, didn’t you?!” she said in a low voice, glaring daggers.


  


“It’s not-”


  


“Don’t even think about telling me it’s not important. Need I remind you of the speech I first recited to you multiple times when you first took this job?” Amy pressed, giving me a menacing look.


  


“No! No, I’m fine. It’s pretty much drilled into my memory.” I cringed, recalling the ‘breathing is important’ speech from 6 months ago.


  


“Well?!” Amy urged. “Oh, right.” I laughed awkwardly. “Well. He and I got into a fight and then he told me that he was in love with me and I was in shock so-”


  


“WHAT THE Bleep?!” Amy screeched, casting a silent blanket over the café once again.


  


My eyes widened at the attention, before I got up from my seat. “Maybe we should talk about this somewhere else…” I trailed off uncomfortably, looking around.


  


Rita’s rigid form was the only thing revealing her complete shock over the news, and she stayed quiet throughout the suggestion.


  


“No, no! I’m sorry!” Amy said quickly. “I won’t say another word until you finish explaining. In detail,” she added with a warning look.


  


I sighed before sitting back down. “He told me he was in love with me, and then said he knew this was going to happen and disappeared through that glass door I always used to talk about. Do you remember that? I mean, I thought it was going to be like a secret laboratory or something that would show me Adrian’s true alter ego. It turned out to be a small room with a bed, kitchen, bathroom, and a small closet.” I grumbled in disappointment.


  


“Continue!” Amy stressed.


  


“Right, so I went after him and told him that I was in love with him as well and that he didn’t trust me even though I trust him. He kissed me after that, and then we… well, you know.” I mumbled, flushing in embarrassment.


  


“Yes, I do know.” Amy grinned, waggling her eyebrows.


  


I rolled my eyes and shook my head at her perverted mind before continuing. “We had it twice there. Then, after work, we had dinner and it just happened again. I don’t even remember how.” I frowned as I recalled the memory of last night just as my phone buzzed against the polished wooden table.


  


Adrian’s name popped up on the screen, and I answered it instantaneously. “Adrian? Is everything okay?”


  


“Shortcake, we have a problem on our hands,” he announced in a stone cold tone. My eyes widened. “What is it? What’s happened?” I asked frantically, already beginning to grab my handbag from the side of my chair.


  


Adrian spoke up just as I slung the bag onto my shoulders. “Here I am, sitting at my desk, signing a new contract for the next hotel being built close to here; then I remember how sexy you are. Now I have a boner staring up at me, waiting for your lovely-”


  


“Adrian. You seriously cannot be calling me because of that,” I responded flatly, cutting him off.


  


“This is a serious matter! Plus, you weren’t exactly complaining last night when it was inside-”


  


I cut him off again. “Don’t! Don’t even finish that sentence. I’ll be back at the office soon,” I mumbled, blushing furiously as my eyes met Amy’s and Rita’s.


  


Adrian cheered through the speaker of my phone, before he spoke up. “You’re the best girlfriend ever.”


  


“Don’t think that I’m coming for you!” I snapped as the blush in my cheeks increased.


  


“You were coming for me last night,” Adrian responded smugly.


  


I groaned in mortification before shaking my head. “You’re impossible.”


  


“You love me,” he replied in a singsong voice.

I smiled at this. “I’m starting to re-think my feelings towards you,” I joked.


  


“You can’t because I love you,” Adrian responded. The small smile on my face grew as the words reached my ears. It still felt weird to hear them coming from Adrian, but the sound of it made my stomach perform summersaults.


  


“Hurry up and get here,” he spoke up suddenly, and the line went dead.


  


I looked down at the blank screen of my phone in disbelief, before looking up at Amy and Rita. “I have to get back,” I announced.


  


Amy grinned slowly as she waggled her eyebrows. “That’s fine. Use protection!” she reminded me, grinning even wider than before. I rolled my eyes and hugged them both, before exiting the café.
“Adrian! We were meant to be on the road 15 minutes ago!” I exclaimed, trying to pull him off the sofa. “ We’re going to be late!”


  


“It’d my dad. He won’t care if we’re a little late,” Adrian mumbled, trying to fall asleep again.


  


“A little?! At this rate, we’re going to arrive there at midnight!” I stressed, before pulling at his arm again.


  


A sudden pull of my own arm made me squeal as I stumbled and landed on top of Adrian’s sleeping figure, and Adrian looked up and grinned. “Let’s ditch the dinner and do something here,” he suggested, grinning wickedly.


  


I raised an eyebrow as a smile made its way onto my lips. “What did you have in mind?” I asked.


  


“Well, I did say to do something. That something will be you.” Adrian pulled me closer towards him and placed a kiss on my nose, before waggling his eyebrows at the suggestion.


  


“That sounds very nice, honey, but your parents are waiting,” I reminded him. But knowing something else would be much more effective, I added, “So if you don’t get up right this second, you’re not getting any for a week.” I narrowed my eyes slightly to make the threat more believable. The threat worked, because Adrian had lifted me off of him and was at the door faster than I could blink. “Let’s go!” he snapped, frowning at my frozen state at the sofa.


  


“Okay, okay! No need to get your panties in a bunch.” I mumbled, rushing over to his side.


  


“The only panties that are going to be in a bunch by the end of tonight will be yours, Shortcake.” Adrian smirked as he slammed the door shut.


  


I rolled my eyes before stepping into the elevator, blushing slightly at the thought.


  


“EMILY!” Mason’s cheerful voice echoed through the modern-day mansion. I turned around to follow the direction of the voice in confusion just as I was engulfed in a bone-crushing hug by the man. He pulled away after a while and smirked down at my deep purple dress. “Still can’t hide those killer curves, even with a dress made for church.” Mason winked.


  


“Hello Mason.” I smiled in amusement.


  


“Why are you always greeting her first, Dad?” Adrian grumbled from beside me.


  


Mason’s amused gaze lingered on mine for a few seconds longer, before he turned to his son. “Oh, it’s Emily’s bitch,” he stated in a bored tone, no longer looking amused.


  


Adrian glared down at his father. “It’s not like that in bed, trust me.” He brought up coolly, casting a sideways smirk in my direction just as my jaw dropped to the Mason’s eyes widened as he looked at both of us, before a wide grin broke out. “About fucking time, mate! I’ve been waiting for this moment for quite a while, you know,” Mason declared, pulling us both into a group hug.


  


“You didn’t answer my question.” Adrian frowned in realisation once Mason pulled away.


  


He began walking into the dining room, and replied to Adrian as we followed him. “What question?”


  


“Why you always greet your daughter-in-law before you greet your son,” Adrian reminded him. I tried not to react to the fact that Adrian referred to me as Mason’s daughter-in-law, and decided to look down at my flats to avoid any eye contact. “Come on son, don’t you know the old saying? Ladies first,” Mason answered lazily, before pouring a glass of water.


  


My eyes widened in shock as my head snapped up at the saying, and I found Adrian smirking down at me knowingly. “Yeah, I’m pretty familiar with it,” he responded, still keeping his gaze on me.


  


I glared up at him in an attempt to cover up the fact that I remembered his rule in the bedroom, and decided to look around the room to avoid any more of his perceptive gazes.


  


“Adrian dear, it’s so lovely to see you,” a cool voice spoke up, making me look away from the enormous painting I was examining. Katherine Kingston smiled at her son with open arms, waiting for him to step into them for a hug. I looked over at Adrian to find him looking at her open arms with narrowed eyes.


Sighing, I cleared my throat to get Adrian’s attention. His head snapped towards me, and I tilted my head in his mother’s direction as encouragement to hug her. I didn’t want any more bad blood in between the pair, and hoped he would accept the gesture. He glared at me for a while, before looking back at his mother.


  


“Adrian,” I warned in a low voice.


  


Adrian clenched his jaw before stiffly walking into his mother’s arms. The entire exchange looked awkward and out of place as he rigidly encircled his arms around her waist and she did the same. “Hello mum,” he managed to respond tautly once he pulled away.


  


Katherine looked momentarily surprised, before her gaze trailed over to where I was uncomfortably standing. She briefly nodded in acknowledgement. “Emily.”


  


“Hello Mrs. Kingston,” I replied softly, smiling.


  


Her gaze lingered on my attire for a few moments before she looked back at Adrian. “Are you hungry? Mary said dinner should be ready in about 5 minutes,” she said in an even tone.


  


Adrian looked over to me. “Are you hungry?” he asked, ignoring his mother’s question. I sighed before walking over to him. “Can we talk?” I murmured, looking up at his glare.


  


“We’ll be back.” Adrian informed his parents, before dragging me out of the room. “What’s wrong, Shortcake?” he asked with a worried expression.


  


“Adrian,” I told him softly, afraid that his parents may hear. “I want you to talk to your mom normally. Just forget about how she treated me. I don’t want any issues in between you two anymore.”


  


Adrian gave me a look of disbelief. “Are you kidding me? Emily, she barely acknowledged your existence in there! How the Bleep do you expect me to stand in there and watch her treat the girl I’m in love with like the shit she finds on the sole of her shoes?!” he raged, glaring down at me angrily.


  


“She didn’t.” I shook my head. “It may have looked that way to you because you’ve known her all your life. But she was actually nice in there. She usually doesn’t even look my way unless she has a glare on her face,” I explained, trying to reason with him.


  


“It’s not good enough,” he snapped.


  


“Adrian, please. Just for tonight. Be nice,” I requested, looking into his eyes while squeezing his hand reassuringly. “Please?” I added after his glare didn’t flinch.


  


He sighed after a while. “Fine. But if she does or says one thing that’s out of line, we’re leaving.” He stated firmly, glaring down at me. I smiled slightly before placing a lingering kiss on his lips. “Thank you,” I murmured, before dragging him back into the room.


  


“Adrian! I’m getting old. Will you go and fetch me my newspaper from the living room?” Mason whined once we entered the room again.


  


“Okay,” Adrian said warily, before grabbing a hold of my hand again to pull me out with him.


  


Adrian’s mother cleared her throat just as Adrian began to drag me along. “Emily. If it is okay with you, I would like to have a word,” she spoke up, making my eyes widen in shock.


  


Adrian’s jaw clenched as his grip tightened around my hand. “No.”


  


“Adrian, its fine,” I mumbled softly, trying to sound reassuring.


  


I began to pull out of his grip and make my way over to where Katherine was standing. “Let me show you around the house while we wait for dinner,” she suggested stiffly.


  


“Darling, if you’re going to compare bra sizes, I’m sorry to say; but I think Emily will overpower you in that department.” Mason looked at his wife sympathetically. “Plus, I’d very much like to be there when you are comparing them! So wait until after dinner so I can join you.”


  


“Mason,” Katherine said flatly, humorlessly. “We’re not comparing bra sizes.” She linked her arm with mine, surprising both Adrian and I. We exited the room and began making our way up a grand flight of stairs. It was quiet; Katherine still hadn’t spoken up, making the silence between us slightly awkward.


  


“You have a lovely home,” I spoke up after a while.


  


“Thank you,” Katherine replied frostily. “Mason and I designed most of it ourselves.”


  


I nodded in response just as silence fell upon us once again.


  


Katherine led me into a small room near the stairs and shut the door behind us. “Sit down, Emily,” she said, motioning toward one of the vintage-styled chairs in the room. I took the seat closest to the door, and began straightening my dress out in order to avoid any awkward eye contact with the woman sitting across from me.


  


“I’m sure you know how much my son means to me by now,” she began, making me look up from the deep purple material to meet her eyes. “I only want what is best for him. A successful career, a wealthy background, a comfortable space to live in, a suitable wife. You were not a part of that plan,” she declared bluntly.


  


I frowned slightly and opened my mouth to respond before she raised a hand in a gesture to stop me from talking. “That is why I have acted the way I have towards you. I thought you were another one of my son’s ‘catch of the day’ girls. I’ve kept up with how many women he’s been with and trust me, I’m not proud of his behaviour. But, I’ve noticed a change in him ever since you came along – a good change. He focuses on the business with a more mature mindset, for one, and isn’t always out partying with multiple women all the time anymore. I know I have you to thank for that.” She nodded in my direction as an act of acknowledgment, and I instantly began blushing.


  


“I had a girl from London in mind for him to marry, but that clearly won’t happen now. I see the way he looks at you. My son is in love, and you are the object his world revolves around now. I’ve brought you up here to apologise for acting the way I have towards you for the past four months. I hoped that, once Adrian saw my disapproval of you, he’d let you go. He clearly likes you too much to do that.” She smiled at me, and I had to try and control my face from turning into one of shock.


  


“What you also did tonight – making him hug me – also showed me how kind hearted you are,” she continued. “You were the mature one out of us both, even though it should have been me. I want to thank you for that. But Emily, I am warning you from now. My actions will not be kind ones if you break my son’s heart. You’re clearly not using him for money because you have a job. But if I find out that you do have an ulterior motive for being with my son, I will not hesitate to ruin your life.” She ended her warning in a stone cold tone.


  


“Mrs. Kingston-”


  


“Katherine,” she corrected, smiling slightly.


  


I smiled in return before starting again. “Katherine. I am in love with Adrian just as much as he is with me. I have no ulterior motives with your son; I can assure you that from now. I do want to thank you for this talk. It may not seem like it, but your approval really meant a lot to me,” I mumbled, blushing slightly.


  


“I’ve always wanted a daughter-in-law,” Katherine said. She was grinning broadly at me now, and got out of her seat once my eyes met hers. “Come.” She smiled, opening her arms for a hug.


  


I stepped into them happily, just as the door burst open.


  


“Mother, I swear to- Wait, what? What the hell is happening here?!” Adrian demanded, looking at the hug in utter confusion.


  


Katherine and I began to laugh at Adrian’s confused state, before we pulled away from each other. “I think dinner is ready by now, how about we go and eat?” Katherine suggested, looking down at me.


  


“Sound’s good! Adrian?” I called out, looking over at him.


  


He was still watching the interaction between his mother and me with a guarded expression. “Who are you and what did you do to my disapproving mother?” he asked Katherine suspiciously, before wrapping an arm around my waist.


  


I laughed and placed a kiss on his cheek. “Your disapproving mother is actually quite approving when she needs to be,” I informed him with a grin as we made our way back down the flight of stairs.


  


Adrian continued to wear a confused expression. “I better get some sex tonight,” he grumbled, rubbing his temple and making me laugh again.

Adeshina12, they finally had sex so now they are good to go. can we rest well now

Ak86:
Adeshina12, they finally had sex so now they are good to go. can we rest well now

Not until they get married and have kids...yaaay . Thank you op

My body dey hot oooo

Thanks for the update

Chapter Twenty-five


  


  


  


“ADRIAN!” I tripped over my own footing and clumsily grabbed onto the doorknob to keep myself upright before opening the door in one swift motion.


  


“What? What happened? Is that pigeon back again?! I knew it’d be back.” Adrian shuddered as he reached our bedroom, and I momentarily forgot what I was going to tell him and gave him a look. “You know what, Shortcake? You weren’t there to see it happen. I feel it watching me all the time.” His eyes widened as his voice dropped to a low whisper, and I wacked him across the head. “You’re an idiot! Telling off a pigeon and throwing a pebble at it – and missing, need I remind you – is not going to make a bird stalk you all the way back home and observe your every move, ready to strike.” I gave him a pointed look and he glared in response.


  


“You weren’t there,” he repeated stubbornly. “Anyway, why did you call me? I mean, you’ve already made it pretty clear that you don’t want me to get you pregnant, so I see no other reason for us to interact. Unless… are you finally letting me put a mini-me inside you?!” Adrian asked excitedly. I watched as his entire face lit up with a grinned, and I fought the urge to grin back at his hopeful expression.


  


Ever since we watched The Back-Up Plan together, Adrian has been begging for a child – which was ironic, considering the fact that he could barely stand the thought of holding one two months ago.


  


“Adrian. I’m not getting pregnant. We’re not even married!” I exclaimed.


  


“Fine. Marry me.” He shrugged.


  


“What?!” I shrieked with wide eyes.


  


“Ma-rry m-e,” he said slowly, smirking once he noticed my flat expression.


  


“You’re crazy,” I mumbled, shaking my head.


  


“Is that a yes? I have my grandmother’s ring is ready for us to-”


  


“What?!” I repeated in shock.


  


“What?” Adrian replied, giving me an innocent look.


  


“I can’t tell if you’re being serious or not,” I grumbled, glaring up at him.


  


“Of course I am,” he responded while wrapping an arm around my waist. “I can’t tell whether you’re rejecting the proposal of the man who loves you or not.”


  


“I am,” I answered.


  


“Why?” Adrian growled, frowning down at me. “We’ve been dating for over 6 months; we live with each other and are both in love with each other. What is there that’s stopping you?”


  


I sighed. “Can we not do this right now?” I asked tiredly. Adrian kept his glare firm for a few moments before his expression softened. “Fine. I’ll do you in exchange.” He smirked.


  


I scowled before slapping his chest. “Shut up,” I mumbled, blushing slightly.


  


Adrian chuckled at my reaction before placing a soft kiss on my forehead. “So why did you call me over to you again?” he asked in amusement.


  


My original thought came back to my mind. “Oh yeah! David texted me the next location of those stupid ‘secret’ dinners he blackmails me with. It’s tomorrow night at the Chinese restaurant you hate.” I pouted before unlocking my iPhone and showing him the next message. David’s contact name was under ‘devil’ and Adrian laughed every time he saw it. Except for tonight. “That’s it. I’m not taking his fucking shit anymore. We’re doing my plan tomorrow night,” Adrian growled, snatching the phone out of my fingers and gripping onto it angrily as he looked over the blue bubble again.


  


I blinked in surprise before frowning slightly. “The plan you still haven’t told me about? I need to know it, Adrian! Or else, how am I supposed to know how to act?” I asked frantically, placing my free hand over the one he was gripping my phone in, in an attempt to calm him down.


  


Adrian shook his head before clenching his jaw. “No, you can’t know about it. You have to act normal the entire time. Don’t even think about it. He’ll get suspicious and know something is up.”


  


I frowned in thought before nodding in agreement. “You’re right. I’ll just act how I usually do. Say nothing but what I order and glare at him all night until it’s time to leave.”


  


Adrian chuckled before placing a lingering kiss on my lips. “I am so in love with you it hurts. Right here.” He pointed to his chest and pecked my cheek before smirking. “And here most of the time when you leave me hanging.” He pointed to his crotch area, and my eyes widened in shock as my face heated up.


  


“Adrian!” I exclaimed.


  


“What? It’s true! Anyway are you ready for that stupid meeting tomorrow?” Adrian asked as we began to make our way to the living room.


  


“Yes I am, and so would you be if you read everything I gave you! The company needs this, Adrian,” I reminded him. “Be nice.” He rolled his eyes at me but nodded. I considered that as a win and moved on to another concern. “What do you want for dinner?”


  


“I wouldn’t mind having you,” Adrian smirked before plopping himself onto the sofa.


  


“Ew. Cannibal.” I scrunched my face in disgust before breaking out into a grin at his shocked expression. “I told you to stop making that joke every time I ask you what you want to eat or I’ll think of something even more disgusting,” I reminded him, giving him a pointed look.


  


“That won’t stop me.” Adrian smirked again, quickly recovering. I glared in his direction before opening up a cupboard. “I’m going to make pasta since you won’t answer me.”


  


“Are you fucking shitting me?” Adrian exclaimed angrily.


  


I frowned in confusion and began turning around to face him. “Yes? Don’t you like-”


  


“Would I Lie To You? began 15 minutes early today!” Adrian threw a pillow at the television before turning around to look at me angrily while pointing at the television schedule on the screen. “We’ve practically missed the entire fucking show!”


  


I mockingly gasped and placed a hand on my chest. “The nerve they have!”


  


“Don’t comment, you immortal Hybrid-loving loser,” Adrian glared in reply at my sarcasm.


  


“Technically, you’re the loser for remembering what Klaus is even though you claim not to watch the show when you’re sitting beside me,” I pointed out in amusement.


  


Adrian stared back at me for a moment, and I watched as the realisation settled in his expression physically. “Shut up and make the food. I’m hungry,” he demanded, ignoring my comment.


  


I laughed to myself before placing a pot on the stove to begin making the sauce for the pasta when I noticed the suite went way too quiet. I turned around out to look at Adrian out of curiosity and found the sofa that he was occupying a few minutes ago empty. I turned around with a bored look before I began mixing the sauce again. He was going to do it again.


  


Moments before Adrian was able to shout in an attempt to frighten me, I turned around and raised an eyebrow. “Really? You’re trying to scare me again? You do this every time I’m cooking dinner. I know your routine by now, Adrian,” I stated smugly.


  


He gave me a look of disbelief. “I was quiet this time!”


  


“I know you were, sweetie. Next time, okay?” I responded while fighting the urge to smile at his flat expression.


  


“Stop cooking, we’re going out,” he stated suddenly, before turning around and walking out of the kitchen. “You have 10 minutes to be ready.” I stared at the kitchen entrance blankly for a few moments before turning the stove off in a rush. “Wait, what?! What do you mean we’re going out?” I called out, hurrying after him.


  


Adrian smirked over his shoulder before entering our bedroom. “Well, Shortcake. When one says ‘we’re going out,’ it usually means that two or more people participate in moving from one place to another-”


  


“Adrian,” I growled, glaring at his back. “Where are we going? Aren’t you hungry?” I asked.


  


He pulled off his shirt and tossed it on the floor before answering. “We’re going on a date.”


  


I gave him a confused look. “Why?” “Come on Shortcake, can’t I take my girlfriend out on a date?” He smirked before pulling his sweatpants down.


  


I squeaked in shock and covered my eyes with my hands before replying. “Yes but… where are we going?”


  


“You’ll see. Just get dressed. And hurry up. You have 8 minutes,” he informed me, before exiting the bedroom.
“Seriously, a fair? Again?”


  


"Attempt two?" Adrian tried, grinning cheekily.


  


I rolled my eyes and shoved him slightly. "You could've told me that before I wore heels and a dress," I whined, pouting.


  


"Sorry Shortcake, I didn't want to ruin the surprise. Plus, you only had 2 minutes to spare. I promise to behave this time. Come on, I want to go on the Ferris wheel with you." He dragged me along in the direction of the ride.


  


"Wait, Adrian! I- I don't think that's a good idea," I stuttered, looking over at the colourful wheel nervously.


  


Adrian frowned. "Why not?"


  


I cleared my throat and looked down at my heels. "Because, I... Uh... Because I'm wearing heels and a dress! I think it'll be inappropriate," I lied. The reality of the situation was that I was not a big fan of heights. Especially in something that moved. "Who cares? We're in a separate carriage and there are seats inside it. No one will see anything. Excluding me." He smirked, wrapping an arm around my waist.


  


We got to the line faster than I liked, and Adrian shoved past the people waiting patiently with me stumbling in tow, before he flashed a card at the man in charge of the ride.


  


The man nodded in recognition before he pressed a button for the next empty carriage to appear in front of us. "Here you go, Mr. Kingston." The man smiled, before opening the door for the both of us.


  


"Adrian, please," I mumbled, giving him a desperate look.


  


"Come on Shortcake, it'll be fun!" Adrian exclaimed, pulling me into the carriage with him.


  


I sat across from him and gripped onto the seat tightly as the carriage moved up a spot. "I hate you." I scowled, glaring in his direction.


  


"No you don't," Adrian replied, smirking smugly.


  


The Ferris wheel moved up another two spots higher, and I squeezed my eyes shut.


  


"Emily? Are you o- oh. I get it now. You're afraid of heights!" Adrian burst out in a fit of deep laughs, slightly shaking the carriage we were sitting in while it moved up another level.


  


We were almost at the top now, and I gave Adrian another desperate look.