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Axel let go of my hand, walked to the center table, and picked up the broken rose. He walked back to me, a soft smile on his face as he slipped the rose into my hair, stepping back with his hands on his hips to admire his work.
“There. It’splete now.”
“What’s your obsession with roses anyway?” I asked, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.
He held my hand again, interlocking our fingers and we left the house.
“They remind me of someone,” he finally answered as we walked over to his apartment. “Someone beautiful, a little dangerous, and impossible to forget.”
He brought out his car keys, unlocking the car.
I looked over at him. “How am I dangerous?<b>” </b>
He gave me a teasing look. “I never said it was you.”
I rolled my eyes. He held the car door open for me, and as I entered, I couldn’t help but think about the beginning, how I was against him holding the door open for me, but now it just felt so normal.
He closed the door when I was in, bending down so we were eye level.
“And because they’re delicate,” he answered, still on the topic of roses, “but they’ve got thorns. Just like
someone I know.”
He walked around and got into the car, but I still stared at where he had just stood.
Delicate but with thorns<b>… </b>
“Is that how you see me<b>?</b><b>” </b><b>I </b>asked softly, still looking out the window.
He started the car, pulling away from the driveway. “I see you exactly as you are. And I still can’t look away.” A beat of silence, the engine’s hum filling the space between us. <b>“</b><b>I </b>see the real you, Rosette–the one no one else gets to see. And every time I do… I catch more than you’d ever want me to.”
Something in my chest tightened, like he’d peeled back my skin and pressed his hand right over my heart. I wanted tough it off, say something teasing, but my throat was locked.
Because the worst–or best–part was that he wasn’t wrong.
He did see more than I’d ever want him to, and like when this whole thing started between us, I was afraid and
thrilled.
“Stop thinking.” Axel’s soft voice dragged me out of my trance. I looked over at him, but his eyes were fixed on the <b>road</b>. “Be here. With me.”
<b>12:09 </b><b>Thu</b>, Sep <b>11 </b>
“I’m here,” I said softly.
“Good. Let it remain that way.”
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With one hand on the steering wheel, he held my hand, interlocking our fingers.
I looked down at our joined hands, my chest tight.
How could I not be here with him when I felt him everywhere? The breath he drew in, his soothing, yet spicy scent, the rough stubble beneath his jawline.
How could I not be here?
What… was this feeling? It was confusing, and still, I wanted to explore it.
***
Axel decided to take me on a boat ride.
“Seriously?” I asked him with a bored look as he parked his car at the edge of the small marina, the scent of salt and sun already drifting in on the breeze.
He killed the engine, turning to me with an infuriating half–smile. “It just happened. But you won’t regret it. Trust me.”
He paid for a boat, and we were led to it. He got in first, and without warning, lifted me by the waist. I yelped in surprise, hitting his chest when he dropped me.
“Warn me next time!”
He smirked. <b>“</b><b>I </b>shall not.”
<b>I </b>gave him a look as <b>I </b><b>sat</b><b>, </b>the boat rocking gently on the water. He took off his jacket, wrapping it around my shoulders without a word, as he sat opposite me, grabbing the oars,
I wrapped the jacket tighter around me, trying hard not to inhale like a fool. The rope holding the boat <b>was </b>untied and it rocked forward.
I grabbed onto the edge of the boat, inhaling.
“It’ll pass,” Axel said gently. “Don’t get sea sick on me.”
The wooden oars creaked as Axel pushed them through the water, slow and steady, like he had all the time in the world. Sunlight scattered across theke’s surface, rippling gold every time the boat moved.
“You know<i>,</i>” I said, leaning back with my arm draped over the side, my fingers trailing in the water, “I could
row too.”
Axel didn’t even nce at me. “You could,” he said, his voicezy with amusement. “But then I wouldn’t have the excuse to watch you stare at the water with that.. blissful look on your face.”
<b>12:09 </b>Thu<b>, </b><b>Sep </b><b>11 </b>
My fingers continued trailing the water. “I don’t have any blissful looks.<b>” </b>
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“You sure do,” he countered, finally flicking his eyes to mine, his grin deepening when I rolled my eyes.
He angled the boat towards the center of theke, every moment of his shoulders pulling against the fabric of his shirt, the muscles in his forearms taut.
The sunlight shone, reflecting off his dark hair, and giving it a glow. Now and then, the sunlight touched his eyes, making them look even bluer, making him look… ethereal.
“You have that look on your face again,” he said, his expression serious.
I looked away, my cheeks heating, embarrassed that I was caught staring.
“Don’t stop.” I looked back at him with an eyebrow raised. His expression was serious, his eyebrows pulled tight, his lips pursed. “I like that look on your face. I like how you look at me like I… like I mean something to you. It makes my chest tight with hope.”
“You do mean something to me,” I breathed, so softly, that I thought the wind would blow the words away before they got to his ears. But he heard.
He swallowed, the heat in his gaze intensifying. “You’re cruel, Rosette.”
I frowned, a shot of pain passing through my chest. “How?”
“Your words leave me standing between two walls, one gentle enough to cradle me, the other brutal enough to crush me, and I can’t tell which one will reach me first.”
I stared at him, my mouth moving but no words came. “What do you mean?”
“Let’s go for a swim,” he said suddenly, dropping the oars and getting on his feet, his expression changing like thest ten seconds never happened.
“W–what?<b>” </b><b>I </b>stammered, looking up at him like he was insane. “Now?”
“Now<i>, </i>Rosette,” he answered with a grin, already taking off his shirt.
AD