《The Billionaire鈥檚 Games (The Billionaire鈥檚 Obsession 2)》


 Chapter 1-Nick鈥檚 Offer(1)

    Closing myptop screen I suppressed the urge to throw it out the window. For one I lived on the eleventh floor and I¡¯d hurt someone who was walking down the street, I didn¡¯t want to have that on my conscious. And the second reason was that I needed to pull myself together, finish my article and send it to the editor. She counted on me and I seriously needed that paycheck to keep living the way I did. I wasn¡¯t livingrge but I did love my apartment, clothes, make-up, and outings with friends. I couldn¡¯t imagine losing it all. If that made me one hell of a shallow person than so be it.


    Putting myptop on the coffee table I got off the couch and stretched a bit. Yawning, my eyesnded on my phone vibrating against the coffee table. I figured it was the editor asking me what the hell I was doing. Deadlines, deadlines, deadlines! Reaching for my phone I nearly dropped it seeing Nick¡¯s picture staring right back at me.


    It had been a while since Ist saw him. Nick was always busy, moving around town, going from meeting to meeting. Jumping on nes to fly to lively cities in the world to check on his properties. He made time for his friends, but I wasn¡¯t part of his inner circle. That didn¡¯t mean I didn¡¯t like spending time with him, I did. He was just too busy most of the time.


    ¡°Hey, Nick!¡±


    ¡°Zoey, it¡¯s been a while.¡±


    It definitely had been a while, I knew Nick was busy most of the time, but I could have reached out. I didn¡¯t because like him life got in the way. Moving into a new apartment, getting new writing jobs and of course spending time with my best friends. It wouldn¡¯t have been too much of an effort to pick up the phone and send a lousy text, but I didn¡¯t do it.


    ¡°It has, I¡¯m sorry I should have contacted you sooner.¡±


    ¡°Never mind that. We¡¯ve been busy, that doesn¡¯t mean our friendship is suddenly over.¡±


    ¡°I still feel bad though. I know you¡¯ve been through a lot.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m fine, my girl is fine so don¡¯t worry about it, okay?¡± He sounded happy so I assumed he wasn¡¯t lying about it, ¡°Besides it works both ways, doesn¡¯t it?¡±


    It does and I was d Nick was intelligent enough to figure that out. He handled the situation calmly and always searched for a way to end it on a good note. I loved him for it.


    ¡°So how is your girl doing?¡± I asked, wondering about the girl I had seen pictures of online, they had been the talk of the city for quite some time, ¡°She looked lovely in her silver dress.¡±


    Nick chuckled, ¡°I¡¯ll tell her you said that-¡±


    ¡°She doesn¡¯t even know me, she¡¯ll be confused.¡±


    ¡°Emily is cool.¡± I could tell by the tone of his voice how much he cherished her, ¡°We should definitely meet up soon so I can introduce you to her.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help but smirk as I realized where Nick was going with this. I was working for a fashion magazine and gossip was nothing new to me. I knew his girl, Emily, was surrounded by guys. Hot guys. Nick wasn¡¯t someone who doubted himself, but as a confident alpha billionaire, he¡¯d feel better if Emily had at least one female friend in her life.


    ¡°Sounds good to me.¡± I took a seat on myfy worn out grey couch again, putting my feet up upon my coffee table, ¡°So why the sudden call?¡±Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org.


    He was silent for a minute, I heard some movement in the background so I figured Mr. billionaire was on the move once again. Smiling I listened closely, having to suppress a giggle when I heard him curse one of his friends and close business partners Chris. Then I heard a door close, probably a car door and it waspletely silent again.


    ¡°Sorry, I was getting in my car.¡± He apologized, ¡°So yeah there is a reason I called you, but I prefer to discuss it in person. Do you have time today?¡±


    ¡°I actually don¡¯t have time right now.¡± I red at myptop sitting peacefully on my coffee table, ¡°I¡¯m working on an article.¡±


    ¡°Okay, how about tomorrow? Lunch?¡±


    ¡°Sounds good to me.¡± I pulled my feet down and reached for myptop, holding it carefully in one hand as I moved to my home office, ¡°Where do you want to meet?¡±


    Moving into my home office which was decorated in white, blue and silver I took a seat behind my desk and ced myptop on the desktop.


    ¡°My office, eleven-thirty?¡±


    ncing at my opened nner on my desk I quickly scanned the date, ¡°Yeah, I can do that.¡± I had nothing scheduled then so it worked out perfectly, ¡°I¡¯ll be there.¡±


    ¡°Great. I have a few things to take care of so I¡¯ll see you tomorrow and we¡¯ll catch up.¡±


    ¡°Right.¡±


    ¡°Later.¡±


    I smiled, ¡°Later Nick.¡±


    Ending the call I ced my cell phone on my desk and stared at myptop for a minute. It was great talking to Nick again. Him wanting to meet me at his office meant business though and I was intrigued. Doing business with Nick meant you were more or less set for life. Nick had things figured out and only a bit of publicity with him made sure people knew who you were. Reaching for my pen I quickly scribbled down the meeting time and ce in my nner. I was a nner girl and I loved looking back at it. It was more like my diary, great memories were scribbled down in it, along with brightly colored stickers. Putting the pen down I opened myptop again and went back to work. I had to finish that article so I didn¡¯t have anything to stress about when I was meeting Nick tomorrow.

 Chapter 2-Nick鈥檚 Offer(2)

    ***


    Running my fingers through my hair I made the curls loose and wavy. I had done a smoky grey look on my eyes with a nude pink lip. Pulling down my sweater, grey dress I straightened it. Doing a swirl I nodded at myself, liking the way my look turned out. Slipping into my ck ts I grabbed my bag and phone and walked out of my bedroom, leaving the door ajar. I texted Nick as I left my apartment letting him know I was leaving the house. He didn¡¯t reply back to me, but I knew he appreciated it so he could wrap up whatever he was doing. I didn¡¯t want to waste his time even though he¡¯d tell me I was an idiot for even thinking that.


    Getting in my cab I told the driver the directions for the office and checked all my messages and emails while we passed the busy streets. It always amazed me to see how lively it was, the city was gorgeous and I wouldn¡¯t trade it for the world.


    Arriving at the office I headed straight up, being impressed by how polite the staff was. Reaching Nick¡¯s office I was greeted by a male assistant which surprised me. I didn¡¯tment on it in front of the nervous looking blonde guy, but when I entered Nick¡¯s office and the door was closed behind me I pointed behind me with my thumb, confused by this change.


    ¡°Where is the bitch on heels?¡±


    ¡°Language.¡± Nick warned me as he got out of his chair, walked around the desk and pulled me in for a hug, ¡°I had to let Giselle go for being inappropriate toward my girl and being way too nosy about me. My personal life has nothing to do with her.¡± He let me go and gestured to the chair in front of his big, wooden desk.


    I took a seat like he suggested not being able to stop smirking, putting my bag on the empty chair beside me I met Nick¡¯s icy cold gaze. He was famous for it, it didn¡¯t scare me away though. I knew a lot of people did find his look too intimidating, I was just one of those people who dared to cross him and not give a shit about it. He liked that about me so he kept me in his life.


    ¡°d you got rid of her, never liked her, to begin with.¡±Content from N?velDr(a)ma.Org.


    Nick smirked, ¡°She was a bitch.¡±


    ¡°Total bitch!¡±


    He threw his head back and chuckled. Man, Emily was the luckiest girl alive since she managed to melt his icy heart and make himmit. He wasn¡¯t like that, not when I met him. He was different than the people he hung out with, but that didn¡¯t mean he didn¡¯t y as hard as them. A different girl on his arm every week. That reminded me of his close friend Mr. Evan ck.


    ¡°How is Evan doing?¡±


    Nick¡¯s eyes sparkled amusingly, ¡°Don¡¯t sound so excited when you talk about him.¡± He leaned back against his chair, ¡°You can ask him when he gets here.¡±


    That¡¯s when my mood dropped, ¡°You invited him as well?¡±


    It wasn¡¯t that I disliked Evan, I just didn¡¯t like his lifestyle. He was fun to hang out with, but there was something about him that didn¡¯t sit right with me. I never told him that or tried to show it, but somehow Nick still got it.


    ¡°What I want to discuss with you also affects him, so I¡¯d like him to be here as well.¡±


    ¡°Nick.¡±


    ¡°Just hear me out, Zoey, and if you still don¡¯t like the idea we¡¯ll try and find another solution.¡±


    Taking a deep breath I crossed my legs and gotfortable in my chair, ¡°Fine.¡±


    We talked about my new job at the magazine and the way Nick listened and questioned me about it told me what the offer entailed. I was smart enough to put one and one together, especially since he made it clear it was business why he approached me in the first ce. I didn¡¯t hold back, being honest about everything is the way I had always been with him and he didn¡¯t seem to mind. He listened, actually listened to me.


    ¡°I get that.¡± Nick nodded, ¡°Competition is hard these days. Especially in fashion magazines. Do you still enjoy it?¡±


    ¡°Honestly? Not so much anymore. It¡¯s just that the women in the office are mostly like Giselle. Only a few really have your back. Most of them are nice in your face but stab you in the back the minute you turn around. I don¡¯t love it, but it pays for my lifestyle, you know.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I know.¡± He reached for his phone when it vibrated, tapped a few times and then looked back at me, ¡°So you should really think about what I¡¯m going to ask of you. I know you won¡¯t like coborating with Evan, but he¡¯ll always have your back no matter what. It will pay well and I think you¡¯re going to love your job again and isn¡¯t that what matters the most?¡±


    It was. I always had this conversation with friends and family. They couldn¡¯t understand what I was doing since a job as a writer for a fashion magazine wasn¡¯t a traditional job. They didn¡¯t even acknowledge it as a real job. They assumed I was hopping from runway show to another, always partying and having a good time when in reality my life wasn¡¯t that morous at all. If I did attend a party it was only to write a good story about it, exaggerating things to get the most out of it. Most of the article being fake to either sell products or praisepanies to strengthen their image. In the end, it was all about money and good rtionships with sponsors. I hated the game.


    ¡°It matters the most.¡± I agreed, ¡°I¡¯ll be open to it.¡± I promised Nick, ¡°Despite thepany.¡±


    Nick smiled, ¡°Evan isn¡¯t that bad.¡±


    I narrowed my eyes on him, ¡°There was a time those words would have made you want to stab yourself for daring to say it out loud.¡±


    ¡°Emily made me realize Evan had my back no matter what.¡±


    ¡°I need to meet this Emily,¡± I told him straight out.


    ¡°You¡¯ll meet her.¡± He promised me.


    We discussed movies, TV-shows and the clubs Nick was running. It was fun and we were having a great time reconnecting when suddenly the door burst open and Evan loudly announced his presence to us.


    ¡°Nick!¡± Evan closed the door behind him and closed in on us, I quickly took my bag off the chair and ced it on myp, ¡°What the hell man? You texted me ten minutes ago to get my ass at your office or else? You can¡¯t text me shit like that because you know I¡¯ll worry. I blew off a meeting for you and you¡¯re here sweet talking this girl.¡± He pointed at me.


    ¡°Excuse me?¡±


    Nick sighed, ¡°Evan take a seat.¡±


    Evan did take a seat, his eyes lingering on me. Then it hit him who I was and his coldness faded away like snow before the sun. I, however, wasn¡¯t that pleased to see him. Not after his entrance. The way he said ¡®this¡¯ girl made me feel like a two dor stripper who was trying to lure Nick away from a good girl. Like hell, I¡¯d warm up to him after that.


    ¡°Zoey?¡±


    ¡°Evan.¡± I greeted not even bothering to look at him.


    I felt his eyes taking me in, scanning me as if he couldn¡¯t quite understand I was the same girl he met a few years ago, ¡°You¡¯ve changed a lot. I mean I didn¡¯t even recognize you when I walked in.¡±


    ¡°More like barged in.¡± I corrected him, ¡°And I figured since you so nicely referred to me as ¡®this¡¯ girl.¡±


    He didn¡¯t seem affected by my words though, probably because he was still in shock after realizing I was ¡®Zoey¡¯ the girl he had met a few years ago.


    ¡°You look great, Zoey.¡±


    I finally looked at him, taking him in as well, ¡°You haven¡¯t changed Evan.¡± I told him.


    ¡°That wasn¡¯t apliment.¡± Evan¡¯s surprise quickly faded and he caught onto my mood, ¡°But I¡¯ll take it seeing I did barge in and said things in a rude manner.¡±


    I narrowed my eyes on him, ¡°d you at least recognized that.¡±


    ¡°It is very nice to see you again, Zo.¡±


    I didn¡¯t say it back and he also caught onto that. It was very nice to see Nick again, I was undecided about Evan mainly because of his behavior. He wasn¡¯t rude, he never was. He just wasn¡¯t serious about life when I was. We always collided, at least in my mind we did.


    ¡°So there is a reason why I asked both of you to meet me here.¡± Nick started, ¡°I¡¯m sure you both know Chris and I partnered up for a club in Tokyo and things are going well. However, I promised Chris I¡¯d do what I can on my end to improve sales and that¡¯s where you twoe in.¡±


    ¡°Nick.¡± I started but he quickly cut me off.


    ¡°I know you hate being dishonest and that¡¯s not what I¡¯m asking of you. What I want is for you two to be seen together at the club a few times hanging out with friends. I know Evan can easily arrange that. After the parties, I¡¯d like you to write about it, but never being dishonest about it. I want you to share your story the way you want.¡±


    ¡°What if it¡¯s not in your favor, Nick?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t care about that. Evan being seen there will do a lot already, but it always helps to have some word out. Even bad publicity-¡±


    ¡°Is still publicity.¡±


    ¡°It will affect your current job, mainly because you have to move to Tokyo for a few months. So that¡¯s why I questioned you.¡±


    I realized that I called it the minute Nick started to be very curious about my thoughts about the magazine. I knew he cared as a friend, but the way he asked told me he didn¡¯t just ask as a friend.


    ¡°I probably have to quit my job.¡±


    Nick nodded, ¡°I won¡¯t let you take that risk without a good offer, Zoey.¡± He pushed a contract toward me which had bonuses written down along with a generous amount which would be paid if Ipleted the job, ¡°You¡¯re a friend first and I know what I¡¯m asking of you is huge.¡±


    ¡°Life changing,¡± I whispered.


    ¡°Yeah, so sleep on it and let me know your answer by the end of the week.¡±


    I grabbed the contract, my eyes lingering on the amount which was insane for a stupid publicity stunt, ¡°Nick. This is way too much. My blog doesn¡¯t have that many followers.¡±


    ¡°Trust me when you¡¯re on Evan¡¯s arm going to parties at the club night after night it will affect your blog. I¡¯m being generous because like you said when you take this offer it will change your life as you know it.¡±


    I raised my eyebrow at him, ¡°So it¡¯s more or less payment to ease your mind because you¡¯re pimping me out to Evan?¡¯


    Evan beside me burst out inughter, boyishughter which resonated through my whole body. He might be the kind of man who yed too much he was still cute. I could understand why women would take the risk with him knowing it would always end badly. They didn¡¯t care when they could be on this handsome guy¡¯s arm and in his bed. I¡¯m sure he knew what he was doing when he did take you to his bed. I hated myself for going there, but I was definitely going there with my thoughts and when I looked up to meet Evan¡¯s gaze I knew he noticed.


    ¡°I forgot how freely you spoke your mind.¡± Nick sighed, ¡°You¡¯d think I¡¯d be used it seeing Emily has no filter at all. But you still surprise me, Zoey.¡±


    Evan smirked at me, ¡°It¡¯s because she has a filthy mouth. Unlike Emily, she swears a lot.¡±


    I got defensive when he said that, but he was right. I did swear a lot, probably a lot more than Nick¡¯s girlfriend, but I wouldn¡¯t apologize for that. I couldn¡¯t help it but calling women like Giselle bitches.


    ¡°Is that a problem to you?¡± I waved the contract in front of his face, ¡°Because if I ept this we¡¯ll be spending an awful lot of time together. You think you can handle words like ¡®fuck¡¯ and ¡®bitch¡¯ oh and ¡®asshole¡¯? Thest one I might not say out loud but I assure you that I will be thinking it.¡±


    Heughed again while Nick¡¯s eyes glittered amusingly, I was sure the side of his lips twitched as well, but he wasn¡¯t going to encourage me. Folding the paper up in half I stuffed it in my bag and got up.


    ¡°I¡¯m going to think about it, we¡¯ll reschedule lunch. Maybe you can introduce Emily to me when we meet again?¡±


    Nick got up and rounded his desk, cing his hand on my lower back as he led me to the door, ¡°I¡¯ll be right back, Evan. I¡¯ll lead Zoey out. Don¡¯t try anything, I¡¯ll kick your ass and then tell Emily about it and she¡¯ll kick your ass too.¡±


    Evan held up his hands, ¡°I wouldn¡¯t dare, Nick.¡±


    Nick opened the door and led me to the elevator bank. Nick turned to me when I pushed the button and waited for the elevator to arrive.


    ¡°Really think this through, okay?¡±


    ¡°I will,¡± I promised him.


    ¡°If you do ept a lot has to be dealt with, it will go full speed. Be prepared, Zoey.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± I turned when the elevator ding echoed through the hallway, ¡°I¡¯m taking this seriously, Nick.¡± Stepping inside the elevator I gave him a small wave, ¡°Talk to you soon.¡±


    Taking a cab back home I ordered Pizza, settled on my couch and went through all the magazines I had an article published in. If I was going to think this through I¡¯d really think about the pros and cons, making sure I didn¡¯t make a decision half-heartedly. It took me all night to make a decision, but when I made my mind I knew I did it because I knew what I wanted. At six AM I texted Nick to let him know I epted his offer. What surprised me was that he actually texted me back. I had till the end of the week, but I figured things out before the time limit, he appreciated that. Things were going to change full speed, but I had no regrets.

 Chapter 3-Evan鈥檚 Late Night Visit(1)

    Tomorrow I was leaving my life in New York to stay for three months in Japan. It was odd leaving the life I loved so much to start an adventure together with a man I didn¡¯t like that much. I was still doing it though. I must have lost my mind when I made that decision, but I told myself I didn¡¯t regret anything, and I honestly still didn¡¯t. It would be a step forward in my career, making me like my job again.


    I was leaving the cab, entering the restaurant where I was meeting Nick and his girlfriend Emily. The famous Emily who melted his heart and made Evan and Nick rekindle their brothery love. Smiling I reached their table and held my hand out to the dark-haired girl looking very pregnant.


    ¡°Hi Emily, I¡¯m Zoey.¡± I told her when she shook my hand, ¡°Nice to finally meet you.¡±


    ¡°Nice to meet you, Zoey.¡±


    We both took a seat, I felt Emily take me in as she pretended to go over the menu Nick handed her. I didn¡¯t mind it though, I knew I¡¯d do the same if I was dating a guy like Nick. A girl needed to make sure the women in her man¡¯s life weren¡¯t a threat like Anna had been. So I let her do her scan of me while I also went through my menu.


    ¡°So when is the baby due?¡± I asked, curious to know when Nick would be a dad and his free time would bepletely gone.


    Nick smiled as he nced at his girl, ¡°In four months.¡± He answered without hesitation, ¡°Evan has to be here since he said he wouldn¡¯t miss the birth of his namesake. So I think we nned things right.¡±


    I nearly dropped my menu when he said that so cheerfully, ¡°You¡¯re naming your baby after Evan?¡± I asked him as if he lost his mind, ¡°You serious about that?¡±


    Emilyughed closing her menu, her eyes warming up to me, ¡°We¡¯re together because of Evan.¡± She told me, ¡°We owe a lot to him.¡±


    ¡°Yeah?¡± I wasn¡¯t convinced though, ¡°Isn¡¯t it confusing to have two Evans around?¡± I also closed my menu since made my decision for lunch, ¡°Besides one is clearly enough.¡± I muttered, yet Emily and Nick still heard me, both grinning at me.


    ¡°Evan made a bad impression,¡± Nick informed his girl.


    She met his gaze, ¡°I can tell.¡± She whispered back.


    Nick nced back at me, ¡°Our boy will be called Matthew Evan Woods, so it¡¯s not that confusing.¡±


    Emily wasn¡¯t letting my dislike toward Evan go, ¡°So what happened between you and Evan?¡± She asked curiously.


    We paused our conversation when the waiter approached our table to take our order. After we ced our order and the waiter left the table we continued our conversation. Emily¡¯s eyes sparkling, letting me know she wouldn¡¯t drop the conversation until I told her everything.


    ¡°Nothing much.¡±


    Emily narrowed her eyes on me, ¡°I¡¯m sure you wouldn¡¯t dislike Evan for no reason. Something must have happened.¡±


    Nick reached for his water, ¡°One night at the club Zoey witnessed something she wasn¡¯t supposed to, I assume it cut her deep.¡± He sipped from his water, pretending he didn¡¯t say anything at all.


    Emily¡¯s face lit up as she leaned forward, ¡°What did you witness?¡±Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org.


    My cheeks heat up as I remembered the scene from two years ago.


    The music was loud, people having a good time on the dance floor and me sitting in a booth together with Nick and a few other friends in the VIP section. I got up with my clutch in hand to head to the bathroom. Walking through the dark hallway I reached thedies room and entered, the room waspletely empty at least I thought it was. As I stood by the sink to freshen up I dropped my lipstick when erotic sounds echoed through the room. Turning around I nced down to see ck leather shoes which obviously didn¡¯t belong to a woman. Then I heard a woman moaning Evan¡¯s name, but she wasn¡¯t alone. Not being able to grasp how three people could fit into a stall so small I spun around, washed my hands, the sounds rming the people in the stall. I heard female giggles and Evan¡¯s chuckle. I would have let it go if he left it at that, but cheeky Evan left the stall, his hands fumbling with his belt as his gaze met mine. His eyes were clouded, lipstick smeared across his lips. It made my heart drop to my stomach seeing him disheveled like that by women who had no self-respect at all.


    ¡°It¡¯s just Zoey.¡± He told the girls in the stall behind him.


    He was about to approach me, the intent clear in his eyes which made me hold up my hands in defense, ¡°Don¡¯t you dare Evan.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t be such a prude, Zo.¡± He chuckled.


    His words stung, I didn¡¯t know why it got to me, but it did. I red at the man who was clearly still high from the orgasms the girls probably gave him.


    ¡°You¡¯re disgusting, Evan,¡± I told him, grabbing my clutch and leaving the bathroom in a rush.


    How could I forget about that scene? I still wondered how they fit into a stall with three people. I always thought a stall was not even big enough for one.


    ¡°Evan being disgusting,¡± I mumbled, also reaching for my water to use it as a shield so I didn¡¯t have to keep talking.


    Nick¡¯s lips curled up, ¡°Evan was having a good time in a bathroom stall.¡±


    ¡°With two girls in one stall, Nick.¡± I reminded him in a hiss.


    Emily looked as surprised as I was when I witnessed Evan at his best, ¡°How?¡±


    ¡°I still wonder about that one.¡±


    ¡°I get that you were surprised at the time, but you can¡¯t hold it against him forever.¡± Nick told me, ¡°It wasn¡¯t like he was in a rtionship. If he wants to have threesomes in bathroom stalls it¡¯s his right. Who are we to judge?¡±


    Emily gave him an ¡®oh really¡¯ look which made me wonder what that was all about. They didn¡¯t borate though, so I figured that was something personal.


    ¡°I would have let it go if he didn¡¯t try to pull me into his messy bathroom affair.¡± Emily looked disgusted, her expressions all the same as mine two years ago, ¡°And why am I always ¡®just¡¯ Zoey and ¡®this¡¯ girl. It¡¯s in rude.¡±


    Nick sighed, ¡°He was drunk, Zoey, he didn¡¯t mean it.¡±


    I red at Nick trying to talk things right, ¡°Then he should have apologized, but he didn¡¯t.¡± I turned to look at Emily, ¡°So that¡¯s why Evan¡¯s on my ¡®I only tolerate your presence because we have mutual friends¡¯ list.¡±


    ¡°I get it.¡± Emily told me, ¡°He should have apologized.¡±


    ¡°Emily,¡± Nick warned her.


    She wasn¡¯t having it though, ¡°You know I love Evan, but it is rude. He shouldn¡¯t have done that.¡±


    Emily was cool, just like Nick told me the other day. I wouldn¡¯t mind spending more time with her. She was reasonable and even though she was close with people like Evan she could also listen to people like me who had bad experiences with her inner circle. Nick met a great girl and I was d he knew that.

 Chapter 4-Evan鈥檚 Late Night Visit(2)

    I was on the phone with my father as I packed my suitcase for Tokyo. I had made a list a few days ago and I was now going over it to make sure I had everything I needed. I couldn¡¯t focus with my father screaming in my ear though. He didn¡¯t like the fact that he wasn¡¯t making his point so now he was raising his voice thinking his message woulde across that way. It wasn¡¯t changing my mind like he thought it would, it only annoyed me and made me want to end the call.


    ¡°It¡¯s my life so it¡¯s my decision to make.¡±


    He didn¡¯t like that one, ¡°You¡¯re not thinking, Zoey. You never think things through. Taking a job at some teen magazine and moving across the country. You had a life here and the job Mr. Powers offered you-¡±


    Yes, the amazing Mr. Powers who was dad¡¯s partner at the office. I couldn¡¯t care less for the man, but my parents worshipped the ground the man walked on. I didn¡¯t understand it and I would never understand it.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t want a job at his office.¡± I told my father once again, I think that¡¯s something I would keep telling him my whole life because he wasn¡¯t letting it go, ¡°I¡¯m doing fine, dad. I¡¯m doing better than I would have done at Powers¡¯ office.¡±


    ¡°Zoey!¡±C¨°ntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org


    ¡°You¡¯re not listening to me, you are listening but only to argue with me. I¡¯m tired and I need to finish up a few things. We¡¯ll talk soon.¡±


    He didn¡¯t sound happy when he let me go, but I wasn¡¯t going to stop doing what I loved only to fit into the box my father wanted me to fit into. It hurt knowing my parents didn¡¯t understand what I liked to do, but it wouldn¡¯t make me stop living either. The offer Nick made was great and Tokyo was a new adventure I¡¯d take on proudly.


    I was going through the list one more time when my doorbell suddenly rang, startling me. I wasn¡¯t expecting anyone but it could be one of my girlfriends, Laurel and Sasha, maybe even both. Smiling I went to the door to open it, dropping my phone when it was Evan¡¯srge frame standing right in front of me. Cursing I picked up my phone to check if it was still alive. Thank god it was! Evan raised an eyebrow at me when I red at him.


    ¡°You can¡¯t me me for that.¡± He told me as he walked past me.


    ¡°I can.¡± I told him as I closed the door behind me and spun around to look at him, ¡°You are thest person I expected to visit me thiste at night. Nick told you my address?¡±


    Evan nodded, his hands stuffed in his pants pockets, ¡°Yeah.¡± He didn¡¯t borate on it, ¡°Emily told me about your lunch date and she more or less scolded me. I feel like we should discuss things before we move to Tokyo together.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not actually moving together,¡± I told him, not wanting to have another huge discussion since my father¡¯s voice was still echoing through my mind.


    He rolled his eyes at me, ¡°You know what I mean. We shouldn¡¯t have this between us. I want us to move past it so we can actually do good things for Nick.¡±


    I folded my arms across my chest, ¡°You really care about them, don¡¯t you?¡±


    He didn¡¯t hesitate when he responded, ¡°They¡¯re my family.¡±


    I hated it to admit it, but I really liked that about him. He might not give a fuck about his messy affairs, he always gave in to his lust without thinking about the consequences but when it came to his friends he really had their back.


    ¡°What?¡± He asked me, probably catching onto the change in me.


    ¡°I¡¯ll let things go.¡± I told him, ¡°Just know that if you ever pull a stunt like that again we won¡¯t be able to go back. I won¡¯t let it go, ever.¡±


    He sighed in relief, ¡°You¡¯re cool, Zo.¡±


    My lips curled up at hearing that, ¡°You sure you don¡¯t want to call me ¡®this¡¯ girl or ¡®just¡¯ Zoey?¡± I asked teasingly, giggling when he rolled his eyes at me.


    I stepped back when he suddenly stepped into my space, towering over me with his height, ¡°You do mean something to me, Zo, and I apologize if I ever made you feel less.¡± He sounded so serious which made me regret teasing him after he tried to be mature and talk things over, ¡°That was never my intention. I assure you that.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t do anything but stare at him as he hovered over me. He wasn¡¯t having that though.


    ¡°Tell me you get me, Zo.¡±


    I nodded, but that wasn¡¯t good enough for him either. He raised an eyebrow at me, an expectant look in his eyes as he awaited my response.


    ¡°I get you,¡± I whispered.


    His lips curled up to a smile, his face lightening up as he pulled away from me, ¡°So what were you up to?¡±


    He changed moods so fast I had no idea what just hit me, ¡°Going through my list.¡± I shrugged, ¡°I want to make sure I have everything for tomorrow, you know.¡±


    He smirked at me, ¡°I forgot you¡¯re little Miss control freak.¡± He sounded amused by it, but it certainly didn¡¯t humor me, ¡°Let me help you, I¡¯m sure it will go a lot faster.¡±


    Without my permission, he strolled right through the hallway going straight for my bedroom. It wasn¡¯t hard to find considering I had music ying there along with the light shining through. Following after him I smiled seeing him shrug his jacket off, kicking off his shoes and gettingfortable while he grabbed my list and scanned it.


    ¡°Thanks.¡±


    He looked up from the list and grinned at me, ¡°No need to thank me. I have nothing better to do anyway. Emily and Nick need their privacy so I¡¯m just bothering you now.¡±


    I still appreciated it though. Taking a seat on the edge of my messy bed filled with clothes and other things I smiled up at him.


    ¡°Still appreciate it.¡±


    Together we went through my stuff and Evan helped me prioritize things. I actually had a funidback night with him which I never would have imagined. If Nick always had this side of Evan I could understand why he hung out with him.

 Chapter 5-First Night in Tokyo(1)

    Not once in my life did I fly first ss, I always thought it was ridiculous. Why waste money on such a luxury? Today I had no choice though, Nick was the one who prepared my flight and it was first ss. Beige leather seats in their own cubicle with a nice HD screen across it to watch movies. My cubicle was right next to Evan¡¯s, but there was a small white screen between us, not hiding much but giving us enough privacy to feel like you were alone. Taking a seat in my cubicle I nced aside, meeting Evan¡¯s huge grin. He was wearing fitted charcoal gray cks with a lighter gray dress shirt, no tie, and no jacket. The first buttons of his shirt were undone, showing off his skin. I couldn¡¯t help but stare and he noticed. Thankfully he didn¡¯tment on it, I suppose he was used to it. Instead, his grin got bigger while he took a seat in his cubicle, gettingfortable. Unlike me, he was used to this.


    ¡°I advise you to getfortable, it¡¯s a long fight.¡±


    I kicked off my ts, untied my hair making it fall down to my back. Running my fingers through my hair I made sure all the knots were out of it and shook it a few times. Like Evan, I also ditched my jacket and reached for my bag to get myptop out.


    Evanughed at that, ¡°So you gettingfortable is letting your hair down, kicking off your shoes and get back to work?¡±


    I nced aside, responding with a grin of my own, ¡°I love to write and I do need to let my followers know that I¡¯m off to Tokyo for three months.¡± I put myptop beside me, making sure it was safe on the small table and got on my knees on my seat to look over the small white screen, holding onto it as I peeked inside Evan¡¯s cubicle, ¡°Want to take a picture with me?¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡±


    Putting my ts back on I walked around and got a seat on Evan¡¯sp. He wasn¡¯t ufortable with it so I assumed I wasn¡¯t crossing any lines here. I was about to take a picture of us when he stopped a flight attendant and asked her to take the picture for us instead. She smiled brightly, something in her eyes making me feel embarrassed. When I nced over my shoulder I noticed that Evan returned her look. I was the minute the picture was taken those two would disappear for the rest of the flight. I was well aware Evan could make things work in small spaces. Trying to brush it off I looked back at the woman and smiled as she took our picture. She handed me back my phone, throwing another flirty look over her shoulder as she disappeared to the hall which led to the bathrooms. Quickly getting off Evan¡¯sp I pretended not to see anything. Taking a seat in my cubicle I focused on getting the picture online even though the WIFI was crap. ncing up from my phone I noticed Evan following into the direction of the flight attendant. I wouldn¡¯t see him in a while. I hated that knowing Evan was fucking a random flight attendant in a bathroom stall made my heart squeeze painfully. It shouldn¡¯t matter to me, he was single like Nick mentioned before. Evan could do whatever he wanted. Turning my phone off I put it in my bag and reached for myptop to finish up writing my first blog post about Tokyo. What surprised me was when I was about to finish up the third sentence, Evan walked back to his seat and gotfortable again.


    ¡°No fun in a small stall?¡± I asked him, not being able to shut down my curiosity.


    Evan chuckled, ¡°Didn¡¯t feel like leaving you alone.¡± He admitted to me, ¡°I got her number though, maybe we can work things out when wend.¡±


    I rolled my eyes at him, ¡°I¡¯ll be fine on my own, Evan. It¡¯s not me you should worry about.¡± I nced around.


    He smirked, ¡°It¡¯s fine, so how is your blog posting along?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ve only finished a few sentences.¡± I nced back at my screen, ¡°It¡¯s fine though.¡±


    While I finished up my post-Evan talked about his friendship with Emily and Nick. I loved hearing him talk about it because he was actually happy, his eyes warming up every time he mentioned either one of them. He was excited about the baby, his namesake.


    ¡°You and Emily get along?¡±C¨°ntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org


    ¡°Didn¡¯t she tell you?¡± He asked me, not waiting for my response though, ¡°I was the one who pushed them to be together. I¡¯m also her partner in crime. If she wants to do something Nick disapproves of, she gives me a call.¡±


    ¡°So you¡¯re basically causing trouble for Nick all the time?¡±


    Heughed at that, ¡°Yeah, basically.¡±


    The flight didn¡¯t feel that long with Evan beside me. He entertained me, telling me about the people he cared about. He also informed me about Chris, the guy who stayed in Tokyo for the time being to get the club off the ground. He was doing a great job so far. I knew the guy though, I¡¯m sure everyone who kept up with thetest gossip knew about his crazy wife. She was engaged to an up anding actor and was all over the tabloids. I didn¡¯t know Chris personally, but I felt sorry for him. First, he had to deal with a wife who threw him aside without notice, appearing everywhere stating she wanted to get back together with Nics Woods. When that didn¡¯t work out she went after Chase Patterson and got exactly what she wanted. I didn¡¯t know them personally so I didn¡¯t think too much about it. It was probably a good thing Chris wasn¡¯t married to a woman like that anymore. He was better off now, he would find someone who actually did care about him.

 Chapter 6-First Night in Tokyo(2)

    Entering the apartment building which was located right in Tokyo central I nearly slipped and fell seeing how fancy the ce was. ck marble tiles, a big front desk with two attendants. The women both bowed in greeting as we entered. Evan told me to stay put as he headed to the front desk. He came with two keys, handing me my key. We took the elevator to the fifteenth floor, our apartments at the end of the hall located right across each other. When I opened the door to mine Evan barged right in which startled me.


    ¡°Go ahead, make yourself at home.¡±


    ¡°Chris said he got things ready. I¡¯m just making sure.¡± He told me as he turned on the TV, ¡°That works.¡± He around the coffee table and held up a card, ¡°And the password to your WIFI, you¡¯re good to go.¡± He walked past me, heading toward the door, ¡°Get some rest, we¡¯ll meet tomorrow morning to have breakfast together with Chris.¡±


    As he closed the door behind him I let out a relieved sigh, it was good to have a ce of my own for the next three months. Nick was generous and I wouldn¡¯t let him down. I told him I¡¯d be honest about my experience here, but that didn¡¯t mean I would try hard to get as much material online as possible. Pictures and blog posts, everything I could do on my end, maybe even a vlog for the website. Going over the list of things I could do for Nick I turned my phone back on, startled by how many messages I had. A few from my girlfriends, but most of my parents asking me about the guy I had a picture with. Sighing I called my dad even though it was around eight in the morning. I¡¯m sure he was already up and at work, but I didn¡¯t care. I needed to set some things straight, not liking the messages he left me.


    ¡°Dad.¡± I said once he answered his phone, ¡°I do not appreciate the things you messaged me.¡±


    ¡°Then it¡¯s not true? You didn¡¯t drop everything just to hook up with some guy in Tokyo?¡±


    Hearing him speak that way to me made the tears well up, but I refused to cry. I was allowed to live my life the way I wanted to. They had no right to make me feel inferior.


    ¡°I¡¯m doing my job, I didn¡¯t drop everything to hook up with some random guy. But even if I did, it would still be my life, you have no right to judge me for it.¡±


    Again he wasn¡¯t actually listening to me. Just ready to pick a fight with me because I didn¡¯t choose the path he wanted me to take. Now he was hating on everything I did. I didn¡¯t even understand how he saw that picture. Probably my mother showed him. She had no opinion of her own, always siding with him. I didn¡¯t understand why I even tried to stay in touch with them. All we ever did was fight and end the conversation on a bad note.


    ¡°Then who is the guy?¡±


    ¡°A friend.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re that friendly with all your male friends?¡±


    ¡°Dad, I¡¯m hanging up now. This isn¡¯t going anywhere. I¡¯m here in Tokyo together with my friend and we¡¯re going to attend a party and a whole lot of pictures are going to show up. Just to let you know. Now I¡¯m going to catch some sleep. Bye.¡±


    Hanging up I silenced my phone, put it on the bedside table and put my suitcase on top of my bed. Opening it I searched for somefy clothes, clean underwear, and my make-up bag. I had two, one filled with make-up and the other filled with hair and face products. Iid the clothes out on my bed, grabbed a towel and headed into the bathroom to freshen up. I would deal with everything tomorrow. I was in a bad mood and wanted to watch a movie in bed. I wouldn¡¯t understand it, but I didn¡¯t care. It would help me forget about the horrible messages and awful conversation with my dad. I would drift away and pretend that never happened.N?velDrama.Org is the owner.

 Chapter 7-Amazing Evan(1)

    Yesterday had been eventful, I had a lot of fun with Evan on the ne even though for a second I believed he ditched me to hook up with a flight attendant in the bathroom because apparently, that was his thing. Instead, he ditched the woman and kept mepany. I could honestly say that Evan was a good friend, he cared about me. He showed me he cared when he made sure I was all set up before he left so I could rest. Then my parents interfered, bringing me down and I curled up in a ball and watched a Japanese drama which I actually loved. I didn¡¯t have any subtitles so I didn¡¯t have a clue what was going on, but it still brought a smile upon my face. Maybe in a few weeks, I would pick up some words and actually understand thenguage a little better, then I could fully enjoy my Japanese dramas.


    After getting my hair done and polishing up my makeup I texted Evan to let him know I was ready to have breakfast. A few minutester a loud knock echoed through my apartment, letting me know Evan was here to pick me up. Opening the door I greeted him with a big smile.


    ¡°Morning.¡±


    Evan looked surprised to see me in a good mood which made me wonder if he heard my conversationst night. He couldn¡¯t have, I wasn¡¯t screaming at my parents. The walls weren¡¯t paper thin.


    ¡°Morning.¡± He greeted back which felt like an eternity, ¡°We¡¯ll go to the little coffee shop around the corner. Chris will meet us there, he¡¯s running a bitte, but I¡¯m sure we can entertain ourselves for a bit.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure we can.¡±


    Locking my door I ced my keys in my bag and followed after Evan who headed toward the elevator. As he walked I observed his back. Evan was tall, I think the same height as Nick. He was six foot something with broad shoulders and biceps. His suits always made him look powerful, intimidating and unapproachable. But then he¡¯d sh you his cheeky grin and you¡¯d wonder about the possibilities. Evan pushed the elevator button and stepped aside to let me stand beside him, his eyes searching mine as I quietly stood beside him.


    ¡°Something on your mind?¡±


    ¡°What¡¯s your height?¡±


    His eyebrows drew together as I asked that random out of the blue question, ¡°Six foot and three inches, why?¡±


    ¡°Nick the same height?¡±


    ¡°I think he is a bit taller, I never asked.¡± Evan sounded amused, ¡°What¡¯s with the random questions?¡±


    ¡°I just wondered.¡± I admitted to him, ¡°You¡¯re a lot taller than I am.¡±


    Evan chuckled, ¡°The height difference won¡¯t be an issue though if you¡¯re wondering.¡±


    I felt stupid for not knowing what he was referring to until the question left my mouth, then I pieced it together and blushed like a tomato, ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    Thankfully the elevator arrived and we both had to step inside. Evan pushed the button to the ground floor and stepped back, standing with me close to the wall, leaving enough space for other people if they were to take the elevator. Since our apartment was on the fifteenth floor it took a few minutes for us to arrive at the ground floor due to people entering the elevator. Once the door opened Evan ced his hand on my lower back and gently led me out of the building. Then he stepped away from me and walked in front of me to lead the way and like before I followed after him. It gave me time to observe him quietly, but that also messed with my head. I couldn¡¯t help but to think that Evan was a handsome guy and if he wasn¡¯t so adventurous with his women I would have liked him a lot more, I would have probably made my move. But Evan didn¡¯t do rtionships and he didn¡¯t do normal. He liked his weird sexual experiences.


    ¡°Youing or what?¡± He asked as he nced over his shoulder to make sure I was still following him.


    I quickened my pace to walk beside him. Reaching the coffee shop he held the door open for me and let me step inside first, being a real gentleman. He closed the door behind him and headed to an empty table by the window. He reached inside his jacket, taking out his wallet.


    ¡°I forgot to mention this earlier but it¡¯s better to pay cash here. We¡¯ll go find you an ATMter.¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    ¡°So what do you want?¡±


    ¡°Definitely a coffee.¡± I nced over at the menu, d they also had small pictures of some of the pastries they were serving, ¡°Oh and this bread filled with red bean paste, or whatever.¡±


    He smiled, ¡°Got it, I¡¯ll be right back.¡±


    I turned on my phone while Evan ordered us breakfast. My parents blew up my phone with messages, I knew my father would never ept the fact that I ended the call like that. I was upset though, I needed to figure out what to tell them to ease their minds. In the back of my mind, I knew he¡¯d only be at rest when I went back home and took the job Mr. Powers had offered me. I would never leave New York just like that though. I loved my ce and I loved spending time with my friends. Cocktails with my girlfriends, lunches with Nick and now his girlfriend Emily and I even liked spending casual nights in with Evan. He was only bored when he decided to stay, but I still enjoyed that night. He helped me withoutint and actually humored me with his wild stories about his nights out.


    ¡°He¡¯ll bring the coffee in a minute.¡± Evan sat down and ced my red bean pastry in front of me, ¡°I also got some French toast, it looked good. We can share-¡±


    Evan got interrupted by the beeping of my phone, message after message being left.


    ¡°Sorry.¡± I reached for my phone and turned it on silent, ¡°It¡¯s just my dad being silly.¡±


    He narrowed his eyes on me, ¡°You okay?¡±


    ncing up from my phone I shed him a small smile, knowing I was crap at keeping a straight face. Especially when it came to my controlling dad and opinionless mom.


    ¡°My dad doesn¡¯t approve of my job and he definitely didn¡¯t like the fact that I quit my job and epted this one. When he saw our picture together he thought it was the perfect opportunity to make me feel less about myself.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re an adult, you make your own choices about your life.¡±


    I smiled, putting a pack of brown sugar in my coffee, ¡°I¡¯ve told him that many times, it doesn¡¯t get through his thick skull though.¡±Content from N?velDr(a)ma.Org.


    Evan shrugged a shoulder, ¡°Then you keep saying it till it finally gets through. You pay your own rent and bills, right?¡±


    I nodded, ¡°I do.¡±


    ¡°Then he has nothing to worry about. You should do what you love, not a lot of people are that happy with their job so when you find a job you¡¯re happy with you should embrace it rather than dismiss it because people don¡¯t approve.¡±


    My small, forceful smile turned to a happy bright one, ¡°You¡¯re easy to talk to.¡±


    ¡°Hey!¡± He grinned at me, his eyes dancing with amusement, ¡°I¡¯m not that easy.¡±


    Giggling I shook my head at him, ¡°That doesn¡¯t even make sense.¡±


    ¡°Shut up.¡±

 Chapter 8-Amazing Evan(2)

    We talked about my job at the magazine, I didn¡¯t like the fact that I had to sell out at times, but I enjoyed it better than the office job my father wanted me to have. I worked from home, writing and editing my own pieces, it was amazing. This job Nick offered was even better, but it was for a short period of time. It could potentially be something big since I was meeting the right people thanks to Chris and Evan. I just needed to put a lot of effort into my blog. I was certain I could make it though.


    ¡°There you are.¡± I titled my head back to see a blonde haired guy with the most alluring smile ever hover over us, ¡°Hey Zoey, nice to officially meet you.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help myself, I blurted the words out before I realized how embarrassing it actually was, ¡°My God, that ent.¡± I whispered.


    Evan across me snorted, but that didn¡¯t snap my attention away from the Australian god. Chris didn¡¯t seem to mind that I ogled him, his grin only widened as he took a seat next to Evan, sharing a man hug with him.


    ¡°How was the flight?¡± Chris directed his attention to me, so I assumed it was me he was asking.


    ¡°Amazing. Nick spoiled us.¡±


    ¡°Nick is an amazing guy.¡± Chris leaned back in his chair and shifted his gaze to Evan, ¡°I left myptop at your cest night. If you could bring it to the clubter I¡¯d owe you for life.¡±


    Evan grinned at that, ¡°I like the sound of that.¡±


    ¡°You were at Evan¡¯s cest night?¡± I asked.


    Both Chris and Evan shifted their gazes to me. It was Evan who answered me first, ¡°Chris lives next door, he was homete and decided to pop up.¡±


    We had some small talk, talking about Chris¡¯ stay in Japan. I never saw pictures of him with a woman before but apparently, he met someone and they were bing more serious about their rtionship. He was telling Evan he was thinking about moving in together with her. She worked at the hotel he stayed in when he was finalizing things with Nick. A Japanese girl who was apparently the total opposite of Anna. He didn¡¯t go into detail about her and shifted the conversation.


    ¡°So I have a big night nned, a famous DJ is ying. A few actors are popping up as well so you guys will have an eventful introduction to the club.¡± Chris shifted his vibrant blue eyes to me, ¡°They¡¯re Japanese actors, but I¡¯m sure it¡¯s a start for your blog.¡±


    ¡°It definitely is.¡± I agreed, ¡°I¡¯m curious about the DJ.¡±


    ¡°The guys areing over next week, Ryan is having his bachelor party here.¡±


    ¡°The game dev?¡±


    ¡°No, the marketing guy.¡±


    Chris shrugged a shoulder, ¡°Can¡¯t remember him, but I¡¯m sure I¡¯ve met him before.¡±


    ¡°You have.¡± Evan confirmed, ¡°His best man made an exception for Zoey, says she can join because she is fucking hot.¡± Evan smirked at me, ¡°His words, not mine.¡±


    I narrowed my eyes on Evan, ¡°So you¡¯re saying you don¡¯t think I¡¯m fucking hot?¡±


    Chris chuckled, ¡°You walked right into that one, mate.¡±Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org.


    Evan groaned, ¡°That¡¯s not what I meant, Zo. You are definitely easy on the eyes, but I didn¡¯t want to offend you.¡±


    Chris got up, ¡°Things just got weird, I¡¯m getting a coffee while you two figure this out.¡±


    When Chris returned we talked about the club some more. Evan and I were only going to check the club out tonight, trying to get a feel of it. I was curious about the DJ, apparently, he was an up anding young guy who was very ambitious, getting offers to y at big clubs like Chris¡¯ and Nick¡¯s. I didn¡¯t speak Japanese so I couldn¡¯t interact with the actors who were alsoing over to party at the club, but Chris assured me he¡¯d have someone present who could trante so I could interview them and post a few things on my blog.


    After our meeting, Chris left to head to the club while Evan walked me back to the apartment building. He had to bring Chris hisptop so he was heading out right away, but he¡¯d be back home in time so we could head to the club together tonight. I was looking forward to it.


    ¡°I¡¯m getting back in time with food so we can have dinner before we head to the club.¡±


    I totally forgot about dinner, being grateful Evan didn¡¯t forget, ¡°Thanks, you¡¯re awesome.¡±


    He grinned at me, ¡°I know. I¡¯m heading out, see you in a few.¡±


    While Evan headed to the club I prepared myself for our night out together. I didn¡¯t want to admit it, but I was putting a lot more effort into getting ready because I knew this was the only night Evan and I would have at the club without anyone else present. I wanted to catch his attention and make him say I was fucking hot.

 Chapter 9-Quality over Quantity(1)

    Standing at the stove while preparing pancakes shes ofst night flooded back to me, making a stupid big grin spread across my face. Humming softly I flipped a very thick, tiny pancake around. It was an open kitchen n so the delicious, sweet scent traveled to the living room, making my whole apartment smell nice. The fact that I was in a good mood had nothing to do with the pancakes though. I had a great night at the club, taking pictures left and right, dancing like I just didn¡¯t give a fuck together with Evan and drinking cocktails. It had been a while since I let go like that, I only ever did it together with my girlfriends, but it had been a while since we went out. I never thought I¡¯d feel asfortable around Evan as I felt around my girls, but he proved me I was wrong about everything when it came to him. He wasn¡¯t just a rich selfish bastard who banged girls and tossed time aside like they meant absolutely nothing to him. Turning off the stove I collected my te with pancakes, I had made a ton since I wasn¡¯t good with measurements and I figured Evan would show up any second now and also crave something to eat. Walking into the living room I ced the te down on the table and was about to head to the kitchen to collect tes for us when the doorbell rang, announcing his presence. Smiling I wiped my hands on my apron and headed to the door, opening it thinking it was Evan.


    ¡°Good¡­ morning.¡±


    Chris raised an eyebrow at her, ¡°Good morning to you as well, Zoey.¡± He nced over her shoulder, ¡°You mind if Ie in? Evan is on the phone with Emily and Nick so that¡¯s going to take a while.¡±


    I stepped aside, ¡°Of course I don¡¯t mind.¡± I quickly told him, trying to get my good mood back, ¡°I was about to eat breakfast, you want to join me?¡±


    Chris was already seated on the couch, his eyes shifting to the te of pancakes, ¡°Yeah, it smells good in here.¡±


    ¡°I can¡¯t promise if it also tastes good, they don¡¯t have the exact same products as back home.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure it¡¯s fine.¡±


    Smiling I entered the living room cing a stack of tes on the table along with some utensils and a stic bottle with syrup. Chris shrugged his jacket off, tossed it aside and slid down the couch to sit at the table together with me. We both filled our tes up with pancakes and ate together while talking aboutst night. Chris showed us around when we first entered the club, Evan had already seen it, but he apanied us anyway. When people started showing up and the club filled up we saw less and less of Chris, he was working behind the scenes, making sure everything ran smoothly.


    ¡°These are amazing, Zoey.¡± Chris told me, ¡°I don¡¯t mind having breakfast with your more often.¡±


    He was a charmer and when he said those things in his voice with that ent a girl couldn¡¯t help but melt like butter in his hands.C¨°ntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org


    ¡°You sound like this syrup which sweetened up my pancakes.¡±


    Christ threw his head back andughed, ¡°God, Zoey, that sounded fucking dirty.¡±


    I blushed, realizing he was right, ¡°Yeah, I guess so.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re highly entertaining.¡±


    I shot him a yful re, ¡°I¡¯m d me embarrassing myself is entertaining you.¡±


    ¡°Highly entertaining me.¡± He corrected me, which made me giggle.


    Finishing up myst pancake I ced the utensils down, ced my palms down on the ground and leaned back on it. My eyes lingering on Chris who leaned back against the couch for back support, lookingfortable around me. I was d he felt like he could be himself around me. We were going to see each other a lot for three months straight so I was d he was making an effort to get along with me. I was going to make an effort too, Chris seemed reliable and kind, I liked having people like him around.


    ¡°Do Emily and Nick check in with Evan often?¡±


    ¡°They do, Evan and Nick are like brothers and when Evan found out about Nick¡¯s feelings toward Emily he pushed them to be together. He and Emily got along instantly, they always joke how Emily and Nick are like his parents. I think in a way they do fill up the void.¡±


    ¡°Evan has no family?¡±


    Chris frowned, ¡°Well, his mom died a few years ago. I do believe his dad is still alive, but he rarely talks about him.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re estranged?


    ¡°His parents got divorced and his father has a new family, you know, those things happen.¡±


    I nodded, ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°Evan has Emily and Nick, they¡¯re always there for him, so you don¡¯t have to worry about him. He¡¯s going to be fine.¡± She could hear the smile in Chris¡¯ voice.


    Family issues reminded me of my messed up one so I didn¡¯t want to talk about it anymore. I had a feeling Chris didn¡¯t want to share Evan¡¯s past with me either, so it was better if we changed the subject.


    ¡°So when am I going to meet the girlfriend?¡±


    Chris¡¯s smile was adorable, it softened his face and warmed his eyes. He didn¡¯t talk much about his girlfriend, I knew she worked at a hotel and she was Japanese, but that was about it. I think he was going to move in together with her, but I wasn¡¯t sure if I heard it right. I had the opportunity to question him about it now. He didn¡¯t know I knew the gossip about his ex-wife and was still keeping up with it until I moved to Tokyo. I wasn¡¯t going to tell him that though, it would ruin the friendship we were building up.


    ¡°You¡¯ll meet her Friday night at the club. She has an early shift then so I can introduce you to her and let her meet Evan in person.¡±


    ¡°Can she speak English?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, not fluent, but she understands it.¡±


    ¡°Do you understand Japanese?¡±


    Chris nodded, ¡°I¡¯m not fluent, but I picked up a few things since I moved to Tokyo to set things up for the club. I¡¯ve been flying back and forth and Hikari sometimes speaks Japanese to me without realizing it.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s awesome,¡± I told him, ncing up when I heard a firm knock against the door.


    Chris followed my gaze, ¡°That¡¯s Evan.¡± He got up, stretching a bit while I headed to the door.


    Opening the door I indeed faced Evan who grinned at me, ¡°Morning, Zoey.¡± He nced at his phone, ¡°Yeah, it¡¯s still morning.¡± He walked past me and nced at Chris who looked ready to leave, ¡°You leaving?¡±


    ¡°I need to check on a few things back at the club and then head out to have lunch with Hiraki. It¡¯s a busy day for me.¡±


    ¡°Guess the girlfriend hasn¡¯t seen you in a while.¡± Evan nodded, ¡°Go and spend time with her.¡±


    Chris smiled and walked past his friend, leaning down to kiss my cheek before he left. I couldn¡¯t help but sigh as I closed the door behind me.


    ¡°Chris is freaking amazing.¡± I shared with Evan.

 Chapter 10-Quality over Quantity(2)

    ¡°He like totally is.¡± Evan agreed with me in a mocking tone which caused me tough, ¡°Did you save some for me?¡± Evan sat down on the floor and like Chris, he leaned back against the couch for back support while grabbing a te, ¡°I think you¡¯re the one who is freaking amazing here, Zo.¡±


    I swayed a little, the stupid big grining back to me, ¡°I love it when youpliment me, please don¡¯t stop.¡±


    That made him chuckle, ¡°You¡¯re a good cook and fucking hot which is a perfectbination in my book.¡± He suddenly got a serious look on his face, ¡°And I suppose my friends will feel the same way so when they fly over this weekend, please don¡¯t mind them. I apologize for their behavior beforehand.¡±


    I grabbed the dirty tes and put them away in the sink, ¡°They can¡¯t be that bad.¡±


    ¡°They¡¯re not that bad.¡± Evan agreed with me, ¡°But it¡¯s a bachelor party so the guys are going to be drunk and stupid so you¡¯ve been warned. You know how things go on these kinds of parties.¡±


    I joined him back in the living room, sitting down beside him on the floor while I reached for the remote control to turn on the TV, ¡°I got it. I won¡¯t hold it against you.¡± I promised him.


    Evan¡¯s gaze was fixed on the TV, watching the news program together with me, ¡°Emily and Nick areing over on Monday. They¡¯ll stay for a few days.¡±


    ¡°After the bachelor party?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, the guys will leave Monday morning while Emily and Nick arrive Monday night.¡±


    I observed his face for a bit, ¡°You seem more excited about Emily and Nicking over than the bachelor party.¡±


    Evan met my gaze, ¡°I do love to have a good time, but ever since Emily and Nick got together I found out I also don¡¯t mind spending quiet time-¡± He gestured between us, ¡°Like this. I think I prefer this more, you know, getting to know people. Only having a few good friends instead of a hundred acquaintances who only befriend you to get ahead in life.¡±C¨°ntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org


    Ipletely understood where he wasing from. It was the same for me. The closest friends I had were Laurel and Sasha, I shared everything with them. I hadn¡¯t talked to them about Evan yet, but we would talk about it when I had the time. They had my back, always. Evan had that with Emily and Nick, and I figured also with Chris. He knew that only those people would never stab him in the back and would be there for him when life wasn¡¯t going well.


    ¡°Quality over quantity.¡±


    Evan chuckled, ¡°Exactly.¡±


    When Evan finished up breakfast we went grocery shopping together. I figured he had better things to do, but he assured me that wasn¡¯t the case. I had his full attention. After walking around town for hours we had dinner at a sushi restaurant, it was small and secluded. Evan told me because it was more expensive than the usual sushi restaurant, but he wanted to treat me. I protested at first, but he wasn¡¯t listening so I just agreed. We had a great time together, eating delicious food and drinking sake. We didn¡¯t have many sses since we still needed to walk back to the apartment. I took a few pictures of our food and also a few together with Evan. I posted them without thinking about the consequences. I wouldn¡¯t even care if my parents hated it. I had a great time and I wanted everyone to know. It was also part of my job so it was a win-win situation. We walked home after we finished dinner, Evan carrying my grocery bags while I walked closely beside him. Once we were back inside my apartment he helped me put away everything and then excused himself, needing to catch up with emails and whatnot he told me. When he left the apartment I couldn¡¯t keep things to myself anymore. I texted Laurel if she could talk, the girl texted me back instantly letting me know she could face cam with me. I settled on my bed and talked with Laurel, telling her all about Evan. When I told her everything she told me something I didn¡¯t want to think about. She told me I had feelings for him. It hit home because I knew that was true. I¡¯m pretty sure those feelings didn¡¯t start in Tokyo either, it happened way before that. I was just too stubborn and proud to admit that.


    ¡°Just face it, Zoey, it started way back when Nics introduced you to him. That¡¯s why it upset you so much when you saw him with other women.¡±


    I knew it was true, but I still wasn¡¯t going to admit it.


    ¡°Tell you what, I¡¯ll try and get some days off toe to visit you. I feel like we have a lot to talk about.¡±


    I nodded, ¡°We do.¡±


    Laurel smiled at me, ¡°Okay, honey, I gotta go. We¡¯ll talk soon.¡±


    ¡°Love you.¡±


    ¡°Love you too.¡±


    Laurel wasing over soon which would definitely help with getting my feelings straight. I knew why Evan was always on my mind, but I¡¯d explore that after I had a talk with Laurel face to face. I didn¡¯t want to take any risks, life was already tooplicated for me right now. Thest thing I wanted was to ruin my friendship with the guy.

 Chapter 11-Sexy Black Dress(1)

    Evan¡¯s friends had arrived this morning, he was having breakfast with them at the hotel while I had breakfast with Chris. It was odd that Chris picked me over the guys, but something told me Chris was the type of guy who looked more peaceful scenes. I didn¡¯t mind at all, because I enjoyed hispany. We were seated on the floor, sipping miso soup.


    ¡°You all set for tonight?¡±


    Grabbing my chopsticks I popped a piece of fried tofu in my mouth and stirred my rice around, ¡°Yes, I guess. I mean all I have to do is be around, take pictures and write about it.¡± I finished my soup and focused on my rice and tofu, ¡°I¡¯m sure Nick will give me feedback when he arrives Monday.¡±


    ¡°Maybe.¡± Chris leaned against the couch, ¡°I know feedback is always good to improve, but I think you¡¯re doing great so far, so don¡¯t doubt yourself too much.¡±


    I smiled, ¡°Thanks, I love the positivity. It will definitely help me prepare for meeting the guys.¡±


    Chris¡¯ lips curled up to a smirk, ¡°Bunch of drunk guys wanting to have a good time, yeah I think you need to prepare yourself for that. I made sure the VIP room is set only for the party. They can do whatever the hell they want in there without ruining my club¡¯s image.¡±


    ¡°You think they¡¯ll be that wild?¡±


    Chris raised an eyebrow at me, ¡°You have no idea. Evan is a nice guy and all and he has mellowed down ever since Emily and Nick became a serious thing, but every once in a while he lets loose. That means tons of shots, women, and mistakes.¡±


    I tried not to show it, but hearing about Evan¡¯s ns for tonight made my heart drop to my stomach. Evan didn¡¯t give women much attention since we settled in, but I guess tonight he was going to let go and have a good time. It made me want to think of an excuse not to go so I didn¡¯t have to witness it again. Last time it cut me deep, I didn¡¯t know why then, but I know now. Clearing my throat I focused on my breakfast instead. Trying to shake off the bad thoughts, hoping Chris didn¡¯t catch my ¡®someone ran over my cat¡¯ expression. I did feel his eyes on my face, but he didn¡¯tment on it. If he did catch on he was being a gentleman about it and keeping his mouth shut.


    ¡°Hikari will be there too so I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll be alright.¡± Chris continued, changing the subject easily, ¡°You know if hanging out with the guys get too much you can always chill with her in my office.¡±


    Chris was a good guy, I really hoped that this girl would appreciate him. Anna was a fool for leaving a guy like him.


    ¡°Thanks, I¡¯ll keep that in mind.¡±


    Chris headed to the club after breakfast while I took a minute to myself. Laying down on my bed, I closed my eyes and tried to talk myself into being positive tonight. I wouldn¡¯t show anyone my disappointment in Evan when he banged women in bathroom stalls again. He didn¡¯t belong to me, he had every right to have a good time tonight. If I disapproved of his lifestyle I¡¯d be just like my dad who criticized me because he didn¡¯t understand. Things that didn¡¯t fit into the boxed he created in his mind was bad. I didn¡¯t want to be like that. Exhaling deeply I opened my eyes and sat up, I could do this. I wouldn¡¯t even pay attention to Evan. I would have a good time, letting the guys run wild while I did my own thing. If things got too much I¡¯d keep Chris and Hikaripany in the office and everything would be fine. No one¡¯s night would be ruined. I could definitely do that.


    ***


    sping my strappy heels, I got up from my bed and nced at myself in the mirror. I was wearing a long ck strappy dress which split at the side, showing a lot of leg. So much it was way too daring, but I didn¡¯t care. I told myself I wouldn¡¯t mind Evan trolling around, but this dress was actually my shield. I knew I would look good even if my face would scrunch up in disgust, a lot.N?velDrama.Org is the owner.


    My hair fell down in loose waves, reaching my waist. I didn¡¯t go all out with my makeup since my dress was enough. I magically became good at doing a wing, so I went for a big wing with heavy coats of mascara and a berry colored lip. Running my fingers through my waves I nced over my shoulder when I heard the doorbell ring. It was probably Evan letting me know we had to move. Reaching for my clutch I checked to make sure I had everything with me. Closing it I walked to the front door and opened it, liking the look of utter surprise on Evan¡¯s face. His eyes trailed down my body, lingering on my bare leg before he trailed his eyes up again, meeting my gaze.


    ¡°Damn Zoey, you want all out tonight.¡±


    ¡°I felt like it.¡± I tried to brush it off, ¡°Ready to go?¡±


    ¡°Zo, I really like the dress, but I¡¯m not sure if you should be wearing it tonight.¡±


    Evan was still staring, I had to bite my lip to make sure I wouldn¡¯t smirk. I had to pretend I didn¡¯t notice and y it off. It was good for my ego though, Evan definitely appreciated the view and I could appreciate him being all up in my space because his caveman instincts started to kick in.


    ¡°It¡¯s just a dress.¡± I walked past him and closed the door behind me, turning around to lock it.


    I felt Evan¡¯s eyes burning holes in my back, my cheeks heating up when I knew his eyes were definitely trailing down, I could feel his gaze on me. Inhaling deeply I tried to calm my chaotic mind and forced a bright smile upon my face, spinning around to face the guy who seemed at loss just because of a simple dress.


    ¡°It¡¯s not just a dress.¡± Evan muttered, ¡°If you knew where my mind was going seeing your leg like that.¡± My breathing hitched in my throat when I felt his fingertips brush gently over my leg, heading up and up until he reached my bare thigh, ¡°I¡¯m not the only one who¡¯ll be imagining it.¡± He pulled away, his voice firmer and all the warmth leaving his eyes, ¡°You don¡¯t want that kind of attention of a bunch of drunk guys who don¡¯t give a shit tonight, Zo.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m wearing the dress, Evan.¡±


    It would be easy to slip out of it and wear something a bit less revealing, but I loved how protective Evan was being. I guess I wasn¡¯t just wearing my dress as a shield, as a way to feel better about myself. I was wearing it to mess with Evan, maybe that was even the real reason why I pulled out the dress I hadn¡¯t been so sure of when I packed it.


    ¡°Fine.¡±


    His muttered ¡®fine¡¯ made me think we got past that little hurdle, but we didn¡¯t. Evan wrapped his arm around my waist, pulled me closer to him as he led me to the elevator. As I nced up to look at his face I saw him actually clenching his jaw. He was pissed. He didn¡¯t push me to change, but he wasn¡¯t letting it go either. He was dealing with it in his own way, being all possessive and I liked it. I wouldn¡¯tment on it, because I knew then he¡¯d pull back.


    ¡°Are the guys already at the club?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    He wasn¡¯t talking to me, he was muttering words in response instead. I felt his fingers on my hip tighten as he spun me to face him, his eyes burning into mine. yful Evan was gone. He was being bossy and intimidating and I liked it.


    Evan leaned in, ¡°Don¡¯t leave my side tonight.¡±


    Oh, I definitely achieved more than keeping my dignity tonight. If Evan was keeping his word he¡¯d be staying with me all night. Not trying to show how victorious I felt I nodded, trailing my eyes away from him to eye the elevator door.


    ¡°I won¡¯t,¡± I promised him.


    ¡°Good.¡±

 Chapter 12-Sexy Black Dress(2)

    We took a car to the club, Evan made sure to keep his arm tight around my waist as we entered the club. The music was sting, a song which I liked booming through the room. I felt the beat throughout my whole body, but Evan wasn¡¯t letting me enjoy the little moment. He tightened his fingers on me again, probably leaving a bruise on my hip as he led me to the stairs, his eyes trailing down to my strappy heels.


    ¡°You¡¯re killing me, Zoey.¡±Content from N?velDr(a)ma.Org.


    I nced down at my heels, ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll give you the dress. I know it¡¯s revealing, but the heels?¡± I shifted my gaze back to his, ¡°Really? What¡¯s wrong with my shoes? I love them!¡±


    Dropping his arm, Evan reached for my hand instead, holding it firmly in his. We walked up the stairs together, slowly as if he was afraid I¡¯d fall and break my neck. It was nice of him to be careful, but I¡¯d be alright. Entering the VIP room I took in the sight of five hot men all dressed very nicely sitting in a booth while doing shots. They were loud, their faces bright with grins spread across their faces. A brown haired guy sitting at the end of the table looked our way, his eyes going from Evan to me before he cursed and got out of his seat.


    ¡°Evan!¡± He reached us, his eyes lingering on our hands before he trailed his eyes up to Evan¡¯s face, ¡°Fuck you. You don¡¯t y fair, do you? I asked you if she was single and you told me to go right ahead. You were just fucking with me, weren¡¯t you?¡± He didn¡¯t sound upset though, if anything he looked rather amused as he leaned in and pulled Evan in a big manly hug, ¡°Come on, you guys need to join us. We¡¯re on our third round. So you have some catching up to do.¡±


    The guy turned his attention to me, ¡°Nice to officially meet you, Zoey.¡± He held his hand out to me.


    Smiling I reached for his hand, surprised when he gripped it firmly and pulled me forward, away from Evan¡¯s side and leaned in. His lips were pressed firmly against mine as he kissed me, straight on the mouth without warning. I heard Evan growl and step in, grabbing me by the shoulder and pulling me back to him. He wrapped his arm firmly around my waist again, crushing me against his firm body.


    ¡°The fuck, Daniel? You do that again and I¡¯ll punch you.¡±


    The amusement never left Daniel¡¯s gaze, ¡°So worth it.¡± He told Evan who growled in response.


    Chuckling Daniel spun on his heels and headed to the table where the four other guys were staring at us, all having massive shit-eating grins spread across their faces. Something was going on, but I had no idea what. The guys loved messing with Evan tonight so I had to brace myself. I¡¯m sure Daniel wasn¡¯t the only one who¡¯d try something. As much as I liked looking at those guys, I didn¡¯t need all of them to kiss me. That was just a bit too much. We carefully approached the table, the guys all holding their sses up to us as they cheered.


    ¡°To Evan and Zoey.¡± Daniel cheered making me match Evan¡¯s groan.


    I reached for the shot ss which dark-haired man bun with massive beard ced in front of me, ¡°Don¡¯t you mean to Ryan?¡± I asked and tossed the shot ss back while Evan did the same.


    ¡°To Ryan.¡± He agreed, both of us mming our sses down on the table.


    Man-bun smirked at us, ¡°This is going to be fun.¡±


    I¡¯m sure it was going to be fun for them, but I think Evan was going to lose it all because I didn¡¯t change my dress. The guys all scooted up, making room for Evan and me. Evan got in first, making sure I was at the end of the table so no one was close to me. I made sure to snuggle to him while we joined their crazy drinking games. They were having fun and made a lot of jokes about Ryan being wrapped around his bride¡¯s finger and Evan finally being off the market so they didn¡¯t have to worry about that fucker getting all the hot girls. It was allughs and jokes and the night didn¡¯t end badly at all. Evan and I shared a dance together, mainly because he wanted me away from the drunk idiots as he referred to them. We met Hikari who was a very nice girl, theplete opposite of Anna in looks and personality. I assumed. I never met Anna personally, but I knew she was the type of girl who only befriended people who could help her move forward in her career and only dated men who did the same. That type of woman I hated. She wasn¡¯t sincere at all, everything about her was fake. I didn¡¯t get that feeling when I conversed with Hikari, the best I could. The three shots I had got to me, making me sway on my feet. Evan made sure I stayed on my feet though, cursing my heels to hell. When the night ended we were heading back to the hotel, me all giggly in the backseat pressed up against Evan.


    ¡°I had fun.¡±


    ¡°d you enjoyed yourself.¡±


    I giggled, brushing my hand over his chest which made him raise an eyebrow at me, ¡°I haven¡¯t enjoyed myself yet.¡± I couldn¡¯t stop the giggle and pouted my lips as I tried to concentrate, ¡°I will when you get me out of this dress.¡±


    That made the moody Evan get out of his slump, ¡°Cute.¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡±


    ¡°You being smashed is cute.¡± He told me, ¡°We¡¯re almost home, Zo. I¡¯ll make sure you don¡¯t break your neck and put you to bed.¡±


    Like promised Evan walked me to my room, he let me wander around the apartment while he threw my clutch on the coffee table, his eyes following me. Smiling he reached for my arm and gently pulled me with him to my bedroom.


    ¡°Careful.¡± He warned me.


    I stumbled into my room and took a seat on the edge of my bed, raising my foot which reached Evan¡¯s crotch. I saw his eyes widen for a split second before he reached for my ankle and tightly grasped it in his hand, pulling it away from his crotch.


    ¡°Zoey.¡± He warned


    I noticed how his eyes were not on mine, his eyes were trailing down which made me follow his gaze. A whole lot of skin was showing, leaving nothing to Evan¡¯s imagination. I felt his fingers tighten around my ankle as an animalistic growl left his lips.


    ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡±


    He narrowed his eyes on me, his fingers slowly trailing up which made my breathing pick up. I bit my lip when he grabbed my hips in his hands and pushed me up the bed, my heels tearing into my sheets. Evan grabbed onto my leg and wrapped it around his waist, settling in while he brushed my hair out of my face. His eyes searched mine for what felt like an eternity. He slowly leaned in and brushed his lips against mine, letting me have a taste. My fingers itched to touch him, so I did. I grabbed onto his shirt, wed the material as I deepened the kiss, slipping my tongue inside his mouth. I felt his smirk, but I didn¡¯t give a damn, all I wanted was to end the night by chasing an orgasm with the guy I wanted for a very long time.

 Chapter 13-The Morning After

    Rolling to my side, my eyes snapped open when my hand touched heated skin. I let my eyes travel over Evan¡¯s naked skin. My breathing hitching in my throat when I noticed the red marks across his bare chest. I couldn¡¯t remember it getting so wildst night, but as I shifted I noticed the ache between my legs. A soft whine left my lips causing Evan to stir. He rolled to his back, his eyes still closed, his breathing still even and deep. I was still safe, I could observe him a little longer. I let my eyes travel down his visible arm, noticing scratch marks running down the length. My god, I did a number on himst night and I couldn¡¯t remember most of it. If there were no marks nor the dull ache between my legs I would have assumed it was just a dream I had. Rolling away from Evan I scanned the room. The room was light so I figured I slept through the morning. I didn¡¯t know if Evan had ns, but if he did he was probably missing out on them. I didn¡¯t have the heart to wake him so I quietly sneaked out of bed, reached for Evan¡¯s dress shirt and walked into the bathroom, closing the door quietly behind me. As I approached the mirror I took a minute to observe myself. I hadn¡¯t buttoned up the shirt so I could see all the red marks Evan left all over my neck and chest. Thankfully I brought my concealer and foundation so I could cover those up. My hair was a bloody mess, it was tangled and all over the ce. As I scanned my face I noticed how tired I looked, my make-up could cover that up as well. There was nothing I could do about my swollen lips, we just had to deal with that. Turning around I adjusted the water to the right temperature and let Evan¡¯s shirt drop to the floor. I shampooed and conditioned my hair and got out of the shower once I was all cleaned up. Drying my body I wrapped myself up in a white fluffy towel and pinned my wet hair up. Leaving the bathroom I quietly entered the bedroom to see Evan sitting on the edge of the bed, only wearing his boxers.


    ¡°Morning.¡± He greeted.


    ¡°Morning.¡± I greeted back, unsure of how to approach him.


    The embarrassment slowly crept up on me, making me cross my arms in front of my chest as I somehow tried to cover up. I didn¡¯t know what Evan remembered, but I¡¯m sure he saw it all. When I narrowed my eyes on him I could tell he looked rather amused, he remembered it all, alright.


    ¡°I have to get ready.¡± He told me.


    ¡°Okay?¡±


    He got up and scanned the room for his clothes, ¡°I¡¯m having breakfast with the guys this morning.¡± He found his pants and headed the bathroom, knowing I used his shirt, ¡°You should join us.¡±


    Spinning around I faced Evan who had his pants on but unzipped and opened. His shirt was also unbuttoned and opened, he was showing a lot of skin. It wasn¡¯t like he had a long way to go, his apartment was right across mine. The full hit of seeing him with my marks did weird things to my body. I wanted to reach over, push my hand in his boxers and get him ready to have another go. The intent must have been clear in my eyes because he licked his lips, running a hand down his chest. He was tempted, I could tell. My breathing picked up when he stepped closer to me, his hand resting upon my shoulder as he leaned in, brushing his lips lightly against mine.


    ¡°You joining us?¡¯


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°Good.¡±


    He kissed me more firmly and released me, letting his fingers brush over my marks across my chest. The heath in his eyes intense as he bit his lower lip. He definitely wanted to stay but he couldn¡¯t. So instead of giving in I slightly pushed him away, my eyes dancing with amusement.


    ¡°We¡¯ll have to get ready.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡±


    ¡°When are you meeting the guys?¡±


    ¡°In half an hour at the hotel.¡±


    That worried me, ¡°Okay, I need to get ready like now!¡± Rushing past Evan I opened the closet and started putting together an outfit, ¡°I need to cover up some marks and dry my hair. Get my makeup done-¡±


    ¡°Okay, I¡¯ll grab a quick shower.¡±


    While Evan took a quick shower at his apartment I got ready as fast as possible. I dressed in a in white t-shirt, skinny jeans, and ck ts. I blow dried my hair as fast as I could, leaving it slightly damped. Collecting my make-up I headed into the bathroom and covered the marks up as best as I could. I brightened the dark circles under my eyes and looked a lot better. Grabbing my purse I made sure I had everything I needed and ced it on the coffee table while I cleaned up my room. Things looked slightly better when Evan strode in.


    ¡°Ready?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    We met his friends at the restaurant of the hotel they were staying in and joined them. Their eyes wandered from Evan to me. They were all bright enough to put one and one together. They didn¡¯tment on it but I noticed the mischievous glistering in their eyes. Daniel especially.


    ¡°Have you seen the response you got on your blog?¡± Daniel asked, pulling me into the conversation, ¡°It¡¯s intense and people are blowing it up. I feel like a real celeb now.¡±


    ¡°I didn¡¯t have time to analyze things.¡± I reached for my phone but frowned when I noticed the missed calls and texts I had.


    Most of them from my parents, but the one that interests me was Laurel¡¯s. I quickly checked her text, smiling as I realized she was going to pay me a visit very soon, like next Friday soon. I had to prepare things. I wanted her to stay with me at the apartment, I had space.


    ¡°You look awfully happy,¡± Daniel remarked.


    ¡°Oh, I¡¯m just catching up with a friend. I didn¡¯t check the blog, but seeing the amount of missed calls I have from my father things might not be so good.¡±Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org.


    I felt Evan¡¯s gaze on me, he knew how I felt about my father and how my father felt about this whole Japan situation. He wasn¡¯t happy and he always contacted me whenever a picture got uploaded on the blog and my social media.


    ¡°You checked them?¡± He asked me quietly.


    I shook my head, ¡°I don¡¯t think I should, it will only make me feel bad about myself.¡±


    He held his hand out, ¡°Let me check.¡±


    Handing Evan my phone I let him scan the messages, as long as I didn¡¯t read them I wouldn¡¯t get hurt. Evan would protect me, I didn¡¯t know where we were standing right now, but I did know he cared about me. While Evan went through my messages the guys entertained me with their stories about our wild night outst night. Ryan had an amazing time which was what mattered. They were having a quiet night in today. Roaming around the city after breakfast and then dinner at the sushi ce Evan took me to a few days ago. The guys needed their quality time so I declined their offer.


    ¡°I have a lot of cleaning to do and I also want to nap a bit.¡±


    Daniel¡¯s lips curled up to a smirk, ¡°Our boy tired you outst night?¡±


    ¡°Daniel,¡± Ryan warned him.


    Evan didn¡¯t respond at all his eyes fixed on my screen, his jaw clenched while he scrolled through the messages. Whatever my father messaged me was something he didn¡¯t like to see.


    ¡°What? Am I wrong, Zoey?¡± Daniel asked me, snapping my attention back to him.


    I could pretend nothing happened and let them talk about it behind my back or be open about it, Evan beside me didn¡¯t say a thing so I assumed he didn¡¯t care either way. If he did care he¡¯d let me know, he¡¯d all of us know so I took my chances.


    ¡°You¡¯re not wrong.¡±


    The guys quietened down letting their eyes go back and forth between Evan and I. Evan looked up from my phone and handed it back to me, ¡°When we¡¯re home we¡¯ll talk about it.¡± He told me and faced the boys again, ¡°Zoey and I had a fun night together, we¡¯re not going to talk about it with you guys. It¡¯s personal. So yeah we fucked and no we¡¯re not talking about.¡±


    Straight to the point, everyone seemed to appreciate it. Breakfast after that went by so fast. I liked Evan¡¯s friends, they were kind and seemed to really like me too. They either patted my shoulder or gave me a hug as they left the hotel to roam around the city. Evan was thest one to leave, saying goodbye to me first.


    ¡°Tomorrow morning we¡¯ll discuss how to handle your dad.¡± He nced over his shoulder, ¡°I have to hang around with the boys today.¡±


    ¡°I understand.¡± I told him, not feeling offended at all, ¡°Have fun.¡±


    Smiling Evan leaned in and gave me a quick kiss, ¡°See you tomorrow morning.¡±


    Evan left the hotel together with his boys while I took a cab back to the apartment. At home, I made myself lunch and sat down on the floor and watched a movie. I didn¡¯t understand much of it, but it was enough to distract me. I didn¡¯t wonder about my rtionship with Evan and my dad wasn¡¯t on my mind either. Today I was taking a break from all the bullshit, tomorrow morning I¡¯d be facing everything. Evan would tell me about my father¡¯s messages and I was sure Emily and Nick would arrive, I couldn¡¯t wait to meet them. I was sure Evan felt the same way.

 Chapter 14-Rose Tea(1)

    Emily and Nick were arriving in a few hours, I was finishing off breakfast with Evan. Trying to get our stories straight. We hadn¡¯t discussed our rtionship yet, but what we couldn¡¯t deny was the fact that we were into each other. Physically. We couldn¡¯t be like that in front of our friends, because they¡¯d ask questions which we couldn¡¯t answer. We had to figure out what we wanted till we exined ourselves so for now, we¡¯d keep our attraction for each other to ourselves.


    ¡°When is your friending over?¡± Evan asked, getting to his feet to clean up our dishes.


    I got up as well and walked over to the sink, ready to wash our dishes while Evan did the drying, ¡°This Friday. She¡¯ll fly back to the states Wednesday.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s not staying long.¡± Evan was drying everything and putting them back to where they belonged, ¡°Doesn¡¯t she want to explore Tokyo?¡±


    ¡°No.¡±


    ¡°Girl talk, I got it.¡±


    I didn¡¯t want him to get it, he wasn¡¯t supposed to know Laurel wasing over to talk about him.


    ¡°No, she¡¯s just paying me a visit. Make sure I¡¯m okay.¡±


    He wasn¡¯t buying it, his eyes were alight with amusement, ¡°Right. Of course, she is.¡±


    ¡°She really is!¡±


    He held up his hands, a massive grin spread across his face, ¡°Okay, I believe you. No need to get so defensive.¡±


    I narrowed my eyes on him, his cheerful smug look making me scrunch my nose. He didn¡¯t believe me at all and he shouldn¡¯t because I was obviously making things up. But to respect my wishes he could at least not gloat.


    ¡°You¡¯re not getting any tonight,¡± I whispered, pushing him aside while I dried my hands.


    That made the smile drop from his face. He leaned with his hip against the counter, while his eyes pierced mine, ¡°I was gettingid tonight?¡± He asked, suddenly sounding very serious.


    Putting the towel away I moved to the living room, taking a seat on my nice rug, putting myptop back on the table to check my blog and other important messages.


    ¡°You¡¯re not getting any now.¡± I sang to him.


    He followed me to the living room, taking a seat right beside me. It was hard not to smile, knowing my tactic to get back at him for gloating worked. There was no way I could deny him if he tried to woo me. I had to be honest with myself and just admit it already, I longed for him. After our night together I definitely couldn¡¯t deny him.


    ¡°I think we should revisit and revise.¡±


    I titled my head to the side and pouted my lips, pretending like I was thinking about it, ¡°Should we?¡±


    His eyes scanned my face, he was taking his time before he answered me. I was pretty sure he was analyzing the situation, going back to the first time I mentioned he wasn¡¯t getting any tonight. I think I was right to assume that because his lips curled up to a smirk while he leaned closer to me. Gently he ced his lips against my neck, giving me a soft kiss there and slowly trailing his lips up till he reached my ear. His lips brushed against my ear, his breath giving me shivers.


    ¡°I think you¡¯re messing with me, Zo.¡± He whispered to me.


    I couldn¡¯t answer him because he was right, I was indeed messing with him. He ced his hand on my cheek and turned my head, making me look at him. He looked anything but smug or amused. His eyes were burning with dark promises. Without thinking I leaned in, pressing my lips against his. Evan kissed me back, but slow and soft. It was like he was savoring it. Like he¡¯d never kiss me again. The thought made me desperate. Wrapping my arms around his neck I pulled him closer, trying to deepen the kiss. It made him chuckle. He gently pulled away, his nose brushing against mine before he looked me in the eyes.


    ¡°We¡¯ll save it for tonight.¡±


    My eyes traveled to his lips, ¡°Why not now?¡±


    He brushed his thumb over my lower lip, ¡°Because we have to take care of so many things. If we end up in bed now, I know I wouldn¡¯t want to leave it.¡±


    He was right about that. If we ended up there I¡¯d want to take my time. With Evan, it just felt right, like we fit together perfectly. I knew he had a bit more experience so it might not be as amazing for him as it was for me, but I was sure I¡¯d get addicted to him. I really needed Laurel right now. She needed to talk some sense into me.


    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± I told him, pulling awaypletely to get away from temptation, ¡°We do have a lot to take care of.¡±C¨°ntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org


    ¡°How are things going.¡± His eyes traveled to myptop sitting in front of me, ¡°You having any problems?¡± He lowered his voice, ¡°Are your parents giving you a hard time again?¡±


    I sighed, ¡°No, they¡¯re leaving me alone.¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t like the way your father talks to you.¡± Evan let me know, ¡°It¡¯s like he¡¯s treating you like you don¡¯t have a mind of your own. Like your own wishes don¡¯t matter.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡±


    ¡°I want to talk about it.¡± Evan told me, ¡°But when we have more time.¡±


    ¡°There is a lot we need to talk about.¡± I reminded him.


    He reached for his phone, his eyes scanning through some message he received while he answered me, ¡°True, we should definitely sit down and talk about things.¡± He looked up, his eyes full of guilt, ¡°I hate to do this, but I need to run. I do believe we need to talk, I¡¯m not joking about that.¡±


    I smiled at him, ¡°I never thought you were joking.¡± I told him, ¡°We¡¯ll talk when things settle down. I know today is your Emily and Nick day. Maybe we can talk tomorrow?¡±


    ¡°Yes.¡± He got to his feet, his phone still glued to his hand, ¡°We¡¯ll definitely do that. You staying over at my ce tonight?¡±


    ¡°How about youe over to my ce after you¡¯re done?¡±


    ¡°Sounds good to me.¡±


    He left in a rush, probably meeting Chris to prepare things for Emily and Nick. Their visit was out of the blue, but Evan told me Emily wanted to see him. I didn¡¯t want to snoop, but I was kind of curious to know why she suddenly had to urge to see him. I knew she¡¯d never betray Nick, they were crazy about each other. I knew something happened and I couldn¡¯t help but wonder about that.

 Chapter 15-Rose Tea(2)

    While Evan was entertaining Emily and Nick I got some work done. Writing for my blog, editing pictures and uploading some to let my viewers see more of my trip to Tokyo. I loved to explore and I did a lot of that together with Evan and sometimes with Chris. I loved to share those experiences with other people and it turned out my readers liked it a lot. I had so much fun, doing what I liked.


    I was making myself a rose tea, the soft taste helping me calm my mind. Pouring boiling water into my cup I nced at the door when the doorbell echoed through my apartment. Carefully cing the teapot down I headed to the door to open it. Surprised when Evan suddenly leaned in and kissed me, passionately and wet. I tried to return the kiss back but he didn¡¯t give me time to adjust. He pushed me inside, his lips still attached to mine while he kicked the door closed behind him. He cupped my face in his hands and deepened the kiss. He tasted of sake and something sweet. He pulled away only so we could both catch our breaths.


    ¡°My tea.¡± I breathed when Evan grabbed my hand and led me to my bedroom.


    He squeezed my hand, ¡°We¡¯ll drink tea after.¡±


    Last time it was me who didn¡¯t give him time to think, it was a pleasant surprise that he was taking the lead this time. Entering the bedroom Evan pushed me down on the bed and crawled on top of me, his eyes searching mine.


    ¡°Emily says hi.¡±


    Iughed, ¡°I¡¯m not sure you should talk about our friends when we¡¯re about to, you know.¡±


    His eyes lit up, ¡°Have intercourse?¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help but smile, ¡°Well, aren¡¯t you a very decent guy.¡±


    ¡°Should I have said fuck instead?¡±


    I covered his mouth with my hand, shaking my head at him, ¡°I rather liked the word intercourse. It¡¯s less, rude, I suppose.¡±


    When I pulled my hand away I revealed his smirk, ¡°What we¡¯re about to do is anything but nice and proper.¡±


    He made meugh even when the situation was anything but funny. Softly stroking his hair I took in every detail of his face. His eyes were alight with amusement and something else. I think it was desire. The thought of him wanting me so much heated my skin and made my heart race faster. His lips curled to a smile which could make even the most saddest person consider smiling back. Evan was perfect in so many ways.


    ¡°I¡¯d like to take it nice a slow,¡± I whispered.N?velDrama.Org is the owner.


    He leaned into my touch, my hand trailing down to cup his cheek, ¡°You want to make love?¡±


    My breathing hitched in my throat as he asked me that. It was something I wanted, but I was afraid I¡¯d make him reconsider. His eyes gave nothing away though nor did his bodynguage. It didn¡¯t feel like he was about to pull away from me so I figured I could be honest with him.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    Leaning more into my touch, he kissed my wrist. He shifted his gaze back at me as he answered me, ¡°I want that too.¡±


    Without hesitating he leaned back in and kissed me. It was slow and gentle like the kiss he gave me that morning. We took it slow, exploring each other¡¯s bodies and trying to find out what we liked. The first time we slept together it had been fast, both of us chasing our orgasm. Tonight it was all about exploring each other. It had been just as good. As we both reached our orgasm Evanid on his back and pulled me close to him, my head resting upon his bare chest while he stroked my hair.


    ¡°I still want my rose tea,¡± I whispered, trying not to break the peaceful moment we had.


    A soft chuckle left his lips, ¡°I did promise we¡¯d have tea afterward.¡±


    I groaned, closing my eyes as I snuggled closer to him, ¡°I¡¯m too tired to get up though.¡±


    He brushed his lips against my hair, ¡°I¡¯ll make you your tea.¡± He pulled away from me and got to his feet,pletely naked.


    Enjoying the view I watched him slip on his boxers while he tossed me his shirt so I could cover up. He winked at me when he noticed the appreciative look on my face and walked out the bedroom. Tonight was perfect. Evan was definitely on the same page with me when it came to our rtionship and he was gentle and considerate. Making me rose tea because he was keeping his promise. How could I not fall for him?

 Chapter 16-Making Things Official

    Emily and Nick were on their way, Evan and Chris were going to wee them in the hotel. Evan was getting ready to head out while I waszing around in bed. I giggled when he grabbed my ankle and pulled me across the bed. Clutching the sheets I tried to hide my naked body from his view. His lips curled up to a smirk when he noticed what I was trying to do. He reached for the sheets, teasingly trying to pull them away.


    ¡°Evan!¡±


    He chuckled, ¡°What are you trying to hide? I¡¯ve seen it all.¡±


    I yfully red at him, ¡°Doesn¡¯t matter. I¡¯m notying around naked, waiting for you toe back and continue things.¡±


    That sparked his interest, ¡°You want to continue things when I get back?¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you?¡±Content from N?velDr(a)ma.Org.


    He held my gaze for a while, his teeth biting down on his lower lip. He was on the same page as me.


    ¡°Keep the bed warm for me, Zo.¡± He whispered and leaned in, pressing a kiss to my lips, ¡°See youter.¡±


    ¡°Later,¡± I called after him as he left the apartment.


    Not wanting toy around while Evan had taken a shower and dressed up to meet his friends, I also got up, reached down for Evan¡¯s shirt and slipped it on. I didn¡¯t do up the buttons, I was alone in my apartment anyway. Stepping into the bathroom I nced in the mirror, running my fingers over the marks Evan left over my neck and chest, a smile spreading across my face. While Evan was away I took a shower and dressed into afy tee and joggers. Cleaning up the bedroom I ced Evan¡¯s clothes upon the bed and headed into the living room, making myself a tea. While waiting for Evan I was catching up on my dramas.


    ¡­


    The next morning we had breakfast together with our friends. The guys eventually left to do their thing while I went to explore the city together with Emily. She was nearly six months pregnant so I knew not to wander off. It was a good thing we split up in groups because we all needed a break after the awkwardment Nick had made.


    Nick was always someone who never bothered with other¡¯s people life. He never meddled nor did hement on things. He minded his own business and didn¡¯t give a fuck about what other people thought of him. It was why people liked to flock around him, he was a cool guy. Things changed though. Not only did I notice it when Emily told me about her family. Nick is the one who persuaded her to fix things, but also when he made the dreadedment during breakfast.


    ¡°Nick and Evan are like brothers,¡± Emily told me.


    ¡°Sorry?¡±


    She smiled at me, ¡°You¡¯ve known them for a long time, but they weren¡¯t always as close. Nick told me they became tighter since he started dating me. Now they¡¯re inseparable.¡±


    ¡°The Nick I knew from way back never would have said anything.¡±


    ¡°I know. You prefer that Nick?¡± She asked me curiously.


    ¡°No, it just took me off guard.¡± I admitted to her, ¡°Evan and I weren¡¯t prepared to talk about it yet. We know what we want, but we haven¡¯t made things official yet.¡±


    ¡°So what are you waiting for?¡± She asked me confused, ¡°If you both know what you want, isn¡¯t it the most logical thing to do? You know, to stop waiting time and explore things.¡±


    We continued our exploration of the city, but her words never left me. She was right, I was waiting for Evan to make the first move because I was the one who asked him to make love to me that night. I wanted him to make the next move, but why would I be embarrassed about what I wanted? Evan wouldn¡¯t judge me. He wanted the same thing. When we were alone again tonight I¡¯d tell him that I wanted things to be official between us. I wanted to call him my boyfriend and I wanted him to call me his girlfriend. No more wasting time. I knew Laurel would call me crazy when she arrived Friday, but I¡¯d deal with her. It mattered most what I wanted and I wanted to be with Evan.


    ¡­


    ¡°Zo?¡±


    ¡°Bedroom!¡± I called hearing Evan¡¯s voice travel through the hallway.


    A few secondster Evan appeared, closing the door behind him while he watched me. I was propped against the headboard with myptop sitting on myp. I closed the screen seeing the serious look in his eyes. He approached me, kicking his shoes off while tossing his jacket aside. He crawled in beside me in bed, looking like he had aged ten years.


    ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I asked him, worry seeping through.


    He gently brushed his knuckles over my cheek, ¡°I don¡¯t want to waste any time.¡±


    That was odd. He was saying what I had been thinking when I talked to Emily. Guess people were right when they said that married people eventually became like one person. Emily and Nick weren¡¯t married yet, but they were sure as hell heading that way.


    ¡°Me neither.¡± I confessed to him, ¡°I want things to be official between us.¡±


    Evan held my gaze for a long while before he burst out inughter, ¡°Emily and Nick.¡± He whispered.


    I smiled, ¡°Yeah.¡±


    ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter.¡± Reached for his tie, he undid it and tossed it aside as well. Unbuttoning the first three buttons of his white shirt, as he got asfortable as possible, ¡°We were heading that way anyway. Let¡¯s do this.¡±


    ¡°Have sex?¡±


    Heughed again, hisughter so boyish and cheerful. It made me grin widely in response. I loved seeing him like that, I loved the idea of me being the person who made himugh like that.


    ¡°No, well I don¡¯t mind that either. But the rtionship thing.¡± He wasying on his side while he smiled at me, ¡°Let¡¯s do the whole boyfriend and girlfriend thing.¡±


    Leaning closer to him, I brushed my lips against his, ¡°I¡¯d love that.¡±


    He grabbed my wrist, pulling me on top of him. I straddled hisp while I hovered over him, our eyes locking. The darkening of his eyes told me what he was thinking. Smirking I pressed my palms against his chest and sat up.


    ¡°How about some tea before bed?¡± I asked him.


    He grabbed my hips tightly and shifted us, making mend on my back while he hovered over me, ¡°Tea and a movie?¡± He asked.


    ¡°Yes!¡±


    It was the first night we casually hung out as we did before. No sex, just us enjoying each other¡¯spany and it wasn¡¯t boring at all. I had a lot of fun, snuggling with my boyfriend on the couch while watching a Japanese horror film. It was so scary I made Evan promise me to even apany to the bathroom if I was too scared. He¡¯d have to guard the door. He didn¡¯t mind though, he promised me he¡¯d do that. I was d Emily and Nick suddenly decided to pay us a visit because if Nick hadn¡¯t made that embarrassingment us we wouldn¡¯t be here. We would have gone around in circles, hoping the other one made the first move. We owed Emily and Nick.

 Chapter 17-Meeting Laurel(1)

    Emily and Nick visited us for a few days and we were waving them off the morning they were departing. After we said goodbye to Emily and Nick who were going back to New York, Evan and I decided to have an early lunch at a family restaurant. Stepping out of the crowded airport Evan reached for my hand and held it in his, ncing down at me with a smile.


    ¡°Figured we try out being an actual couple.¡±


    I squeezed his hand, ¡°Holding hands and going out on dates?¡±


    His lips twitched, ¡°Exactly.¡±


    Entering the restaurant we sat in a booth and ordered our food. We both ordered a lot since we skipped out on breakfast. Sitting across each other we shared our dishes, talking about how amazing Emily and Nick were.


    ¡°She is naming him after me.¡±


    ¡°The baby?¡± I asked surprised.


    ¡°Yeah.¡± He grinned, happiness gleaming in his eyes as his whole face lit up, ¡°Said she was grateful I pushed them to be together. I told her I only advised them, they were the one who decided to make a move. But Emily, once she has made up her mind no one can change it.¡±


    ¡°Nick can.¡±


    Reaching for my matcha tea I sipped it, feeling like I was in heaven. It was iced with a dash of whipped cream. I didn¡¯t care if it wasn¡¯t the healthy option, it was freaking delicious.


    ¡°Yeah, Nick can.¡± Evan agreed, still smiling.


    ¡°I¡¯m d things worked out for them.¡±


    Evan leaned closer, ¡°Me too.¡± He told me quietly and narrowed his eyes on me, ¡°So next thing we need to take care of is your girl, Laurel.¡± I couldn¡¯t help but to be surprised he remembered her, ¡°Don¡¯t look so surprised, I do listen to you, Zoey.¡±


    ¡°I know that.¡± I leaned back in my seat and ced my ss back on the table in front of me, ¡°But since we¡¯ve been busy I figured it slipped your mind.¡± I nced aside not being able to meet his gaze, ¡°Laurel is not the problem. She¡¯ll like you. I¡¯m more concerned about my parents.¡±


    ¡°That they won¡¯t like me?¡±


    I flickered my eyes back at him, ¡°Is that weird?¡± I asked him, ¡°We¡¯re not at a good ce right now and they¡¯ve seen the pictures of us together. I¡¯ve told them we were just friends because when they saw the pictures and called me for an exnation we were just friends. Things changed.¡±


    He reached for me, running his knuckles lightly down my cheek tofort me.


    ¡°We¡¯ll figure it out together.¡± He promised me.


    He leaned back and finished off his drink, ¡°So what is Laurel like?¡±


    ¡°Very present, always. Loud and cheerful but loyal.¡±


    ¡°So a good friend?¡±


    I nodded, ¡°Yeah, like Nick is to you.¡±


    He seemed to understand what Laurel meant to then, ¡°I understand.¡±


    We nned the days, wanting to give Laurel a tour around and town and doing fun stuff with her. I didn¡¯t have to talk to her about my feelings for Evan anymore. I talked to Evan about it and here we were. Doing the couple thing and it made me fucking happy and I¡¯m sure it was the same for him.


    ¡­Content from N?velDr(a)ma.Org.


    We had nned everything for Laurel¡¯s arrival and when she did arrive a few dayster we weed her together. Evan convinced me it was better to meet her right away, not giving her time to get excited ande up with tons of questions or lots of squealing and jumping up and down because she was happy for me. And I wasn¡¯t going to lie and say she wouldn¡¯t do that, because Laurel was that kind of girl. She loved everything about romance and she believed in finding the one. Since she figured out I had a thing for Evan and she convinced me I was in denial she¡¯d do a lot of squealing and jumping up and down.


    When she approached us she stopped and stared for a minute. Her eyes widened as she met Evan¡¯s gaze. He smiled at her and met her halfway to take her suitcase. She wanted to protest but Evan didn¡¯t give her time to.


    ¡°I got this, Laurel.¡± He told her with that charming smile which made many panties drop, ¡°You go say hi to Zoey.¡±


    While she kept staring at Evan, probably not believing her eyes because he looked even hotter, in reality, she approached me and wrapped her arms around me.


    ¡°He looks like a wet dream.¡± She whispered to me, making meugh.


    ¡°He is pretty hot,¡± I whispered back, meeting Evan¡¯s gaze.


    He looked rather smug so he probably heard us.

 Chapter 18-Meeting Laurel(2)

    ¡°I don¡¯t know what to say.¡± She continued and pulled away, turning around to look at him. She waved at him awkwardly, ¡°Nice to meet you. Thank you for taking care of that.¡± She gestured to her suitcase.


    Unlike Laurel he wasn¡¯t taken back by meeting her, ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± He told her, ¡°We should head to your hotel so you can settle in.¡± He nced at his phone and flickered his eyes to me, ¡°How about you head to the hotel together with Laurel, have your girl talk moment while I take care of reservations for dinner tonight.¡± He nced at Laurel again who looked ready to faint, ¡°Do you want a quiet night in or would you like to go out after dinner?¡±


    ¡°A quiet night in.¡± She told him in a small voice which made me shake my head at her.


    ¡°Okay, we¡¯ll take care of it.¡± He promised her.


    Evan waved us off while Laurel and I settled in a cab, heading to her hotel. Once we were alone Laurel turned to me, finally looking like her usual self.


    ¡°My god, Zoey!¡± She squealed, ¡°That boy is hotter in person!¡±


    I hushed her, apologizing to the driver, ¡°Tone it down a bit.¡± I whispered to her, ¡°People are usually not that loud here.¡±


    ¡°Sorry.¡± She apologized, brushing me off like I said nothing of importance at all, ¡°But he looks like that and he is actually a nice person. Do you know how rare that is? You¡¯ve found a unicorn who also shits rainbows.¡±


    There was the Laurel I knew. I wished Evan had met this girl instead. He didn¡¯t need another groupie who fawned over him, nodding their head whenever he talked. Even if it made no sense whatsoever.


    ¡°I told you, he was very¡­ free when it came to his love life.¡±


    She rolled her eyes at me, ¡°Because he didn¡¯t know he had an in with you. You pretended like he had the gue or something. And when someone, boy or girl whatever, looks like that can you me them for ying the field and finding someone who actually interests them not only physically but also mentally?¡±


    Seriously, this sassy side of Laurel was why I asked her toe over. I hoped she¡¯d feelfortable enough around Evanter tonight so he could also meet this girl. I wanted him to like my friends because I sure as hell liked his. I wanted them to get along because who knows if we had a future together, we¡¯d all spend an awful lot of time together.


    ¡°Come on, Laurel!¡± I didn¡¯t mean to raise my voice, but I wanted to be right even though I knew I wasn¡¯t, ¡°A threesome in a tiny bathroom stall.¡±


    She snorted, ¡°No need to unt his mad skills to me.¡±


    I knew she was joking. I wanted to give her back a smart retort, instead, Iughed.


    ¡°Please tell me that boy is at least average in bed. That you¡¯ve had better.¡±


    I shook my head at her which told her enough. She looked exasperated and sighed.


    ¡°Okay, fine. Then just tell me he has hot, single friends.¡±


    ¡°Nick is getting married and bing a father soon. Chris is dating a nice Japanese girl and moving in together with her. So, no.¡± I told her and then I realized he still had other friends aside from his usual circle, ¡°Oh, there is Mr. man bun, but he is no Evan or Nick.¡±


    ¡°So no.¡±


    ¡°Sorry.¡±


    Laurel sighed, ¡°Girl, I need an Evan in my life.¡±


    Leaning back against the seat, I tilted my head to the side and smiled at her, ¡°I¡¯ve found a good guy, Laurel.¡±


    She smiled back at me, this time a genuine, warm smile, ¡°I think you¡¯ve found a good guy.¡± She agreed, ¡°But I¡¯ll be cautious. I¡¯ll give you a full report after my trip is over.¡±


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    She reached for my hand andced our fingers together, ¡°Anything for you.¡±


    ¡­


    Like promised Laurel was carefully taking Evan in when we met up for dinnerter that night. The initial shock of meeting him in person wore off and she was behaving like her usual self. Evan found her hrious and they got along well. I was grateful for it because Laurel was important to me. Next thing we needed to tackle was my parents, but we still had time to get ready for that. After dinner, we waved Laurel off. She brushed us off when we wanted to walk her back to the hotel. She was taking a cab and getting some sleep because the trip had exhausted her.


    Evan and I walked back to our apartment building, hand in hand. We were both smiling, our bellies full of food and our bodies tired because of constantughter. We had a great time and I didn¡¯t want the night to end.


    ¡°So what¡¯s the verdict?¡±


    ¡°Laurel is giving me a full report when the trip is over.¡±


    ¡°Guess I have to be on my best behavior then.¡±


    I snorted, ¡°You know very well you¡¯ve charmed that girl with only a smile.¡±Content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Looks isn¡¯t everything.¡±


    He was right, it wasn¡¯t. It wasn¡¯t what would keep a rtionship together. You could only be entertained for so long before a person would bore or annoy you to death.


    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡±


    He squeezed my hand, ¡°You let me know what she thinks of me?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m sure you¡¯ll pass,¡± I assured him.


    He smiled, ¡°I still want to know if she likes me or not.¡± We entered the building and headed straight for the elevator, ¡°Yours or mine?¡±


    I leaned back against the mirrored wall and sighed, ¡°Mine? I¡¯m getting my period either tonight or tomorrow morning.¡±


    ¡°Are you testing me?¡± He asked, probably reading me like a book, ¡°Zo, it¡¯s part of life. It doesn¡¯t scare me at all. So we¡¯ll just cuddle for a few days, I¡¯m okay with that too.¡±


    I definitely found a good guy this time, he was a keeper.


    ¡°Laurel won¡¯t like you.¡± I told him, smiling when I noticed his look dropping, ¡°She¡¯ll love you.¡±


    He chuckled and leaned in, pressing a kiss to my temple, ¡°Tease.¡±


    Leaning closer to him, I wrapped my arms around his waist. Things were great between us and I hoped that one day we¡¯d be like Emily and Nick. It would take a lot of work, but I was certain we could get there.

 Chapter 19-Suspicious Text(1)

    A week went by fast and even though I was sad my time with Laurel was going to end, I also liked that time was just flying by. It meant that Evan and I could go home soon. Emily was going to give birth soon, I knew Evan didn¡¯t want to miss that. And there was also my parents who we needed to deal with. Dad wasn¡¯t going to be happy about the fact that Evan and I were dating. I wanted to tell him off, but Evan told me we were going to deal with it together. That it would be alright. He didn¡¯t know my parents, but I wanted to believe him. I wanted to believe we could have our happily ever after where everything was perfect.


    ¡°Zoey, are you even listening to me?¡±


    ¡°Hm?¡±


    Laurel shook her head at me, ¡°Of course you¡¯re not listening to me.¡± She muttered.


    ¡°I¡¯m sorry, there were some things on my mind.¡± I reached for my cup and sipped from my green tea, ¡°What were you saying?¡±


    ¡°I was saying that I saw that text and I couldn¡¯t ignore it!¡± Laurel sounded exasperated which caught my attention, ¡°I mean how was I going to ignore that? I didn¡¯t question him about it, but I think he didn¡¯t realize I saw it in the first ce. I did kind of sneak a peek, you know.¡±


    I wasn¡¯t understanding a word she was saying. She was talking fast, so fast I think she didn¡¯t even catch her breath. She was making big hand gestures, obviously upset about whatever text she saw. She also referred to a ¡®him¡¯, so I was going to assume she was talking about Evan. I needed to calm her down so she could tell me exactly what about my boyfriend upset her like that.


    ¡°Laurel, take a deep breath, please.¡± She pushed Laurel¡¯s ss of water toward her, ¡°And take a sip. You need to calm down because you¡¯re making no sense at all. You¡¯re worrying me and I¡¯d like to know what I¡¯m worried about.¡±


    Laurel did take a deep breath and reached for her water. Gulping it down, she ced the ss back down and let out a tired, long sigh.


    ¡°Okay, the other day when we were having dinner at your apartment, Evan left his phone on the table while he helped you do the dishes. He didn¡¯t realize he left the screen unlocked and I couldn¡¯t help myself. He left a text open which was from a girl named Prisci. I couldn¡¯t read all of it, but I did read the words I miss you so much and I wish you were here, love you lots.¡± Laurel shook her head, ¡°Sounds like some teenager who has an obsession with him. Anyway, a girl was texting him crap like that!¡±


    I didn¡¯t want to use Evan of anything, Evan was very social, it could be a text from a friend. He was close to Emily and I knew he¡¯d never go there. He was faithful, yet the little doubt I had was making me lose my mind just like Laurel had a second ago.


    ¡°You shouldn¡¯t have gone through his phone,¡± I muttered, clenching my fist, trying to keep my emotions at bay.


    ¡°I didn¡¯t even touch his phone, I more or less hovered over it to read the text.¡±


    I smirked at Laurel who tried to make it sound like she did nothing wrong. I knew she only did it because she was my girl, wanting to make sure my boyfriend didn¡¯t do anything wrong. But I had to be rational about it. She did invade his privacy.


    ¡°Laurel.¡±


    ¡°I know.¡± She rolled her eyes at me, ¡°It wasn¡¯t right, but screw that! Who is the girl?¡± Laurel asked me, a question I couldn¡¯t answer, because I had no freaking clue, ¡°Don¡¯t you want to know?¡±


    I did want to know, but I wasn¡¯t going to invade his privacy and go through his texts. I had to be grown-up about it and face Evan. Ask him straight out who the girl was. And also apologize for the fact that my girl read his text.


    ¡°I¡¯ll ask him,¡± I told Laurel.


    She slumped back in her chair, ¡°You will?¡±


    I nodded, ¡°Yeah, I want us to work.¡± I admitted to Laurel, but she already knew that. It was why she came to see me in the first ce. She was my moral support, talking some sense into me if Evan wasn¡¯t right for me.


    ¡°Me too.¡± She told me quietly, ¡°That¡¯s why I¡¯m so upset. I mean he seemed so perfect. Always so kind to you and treating your friends right. I was thinking he is the one, you know.¡±


    ¡°The one?¡± I asked confused.


    Laurel smirked at me, ¡°The one who you¡¯ll settle with.¡±


    She was talking marriage which was definitely not something I was thinking of right now. That was way too soon. We were just starting out, getting to know each other and each other¡¯s friends and family. Frowning I realized I didn¡¯t know much about his family either. I knew Nick and I spend a lot of time with Emily as well. Evan loved them, saw them as his family. But they weren¡¯t actually his family.


    ¡°I don¡¯t know anything about him,¡± I whispered, causing Laurel to frown as well.


    ¡°What?¡±


    ¡°I mean I know what he does for a living and I know his friends. I know where he lives.¡± I reached for my tea and gulped it down, it was hot and burned my throat, but I needed the heat to calm me down a bit, ¡°But what about his family? Nick and Emily are not his family. I mean he keeps referring to them as his family, but they¡¯re not.¡±


    ¡°Some people don¡¯t stay in touch with their family.¡± Laurel pointed out, ¡°Bad memories and shit.¡±


    ¡°He has a past like that?¡± I asked quietly, afraid someone would hear us.


    Laurel leaned closer to me, ¡°You don¡¯t have to whisper, I¡¯m sure that no one around here understood a word of what we¡¯re saying. And if they do, they don¡¯t know us or your boyfriend.¡±


    I rolled my eyes at her, ¡°That¡¯s not the point. Don¡¯t you think that if we are serious Evan should tell me things like that? If he has bad memories he should share them with me, right?¡±


    Laurel sighed, ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have said anything.¡± She muttered, ¡°Listen, Zoey, maybe he didn¡¯t tell you anything yet because it¡¯s sensitive. You just started dating and sharing bad memories like that is amitment. Don¡¯t confront him about his past yet. Just ask him about the text. If he shares his past with you, it¡¯s a plus, if not then let him pick his own pace. If he is serious about you, he¡¯ll tell you eventually.¡±C¨°ntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org

 Chapter 20-Suspicious Text(2)

    We finished our girl talk at the small restaurant and parted ways. Laurel was going to pack her suitcase, ready to leave Tokyo tomorrow morning. I went back to the apartment, trying to think of a way to talk to Evan. He was currently meeting with Chris at the club, going through their weekly update. Things were going fine for Chris and Nick. The club was doing okay, they always hit their target. Evan and I didn¡¯t have to do much anymore. It made Evan restless since he was used to working hard, always having something to do. So instead of waiting around, he decided to ease the workload on Chris.


    I was going through tonight¡¯s dinner, wanting something simple yet filling. I knew Laurel didn¡¯t mind, she wasn¡¯t a picky eater and neither was Evan. Since it was thest dinner we¡¯d have together with Tokyo I wanted Laurel to have a good time. It wasn¡¯t going to be easy since I knew she was suspicious of Evan. She tried to y it off at the restaurant because I was losing my mind over his issues. Maybe he didn¡¯t even have issues, but I knew she tried to calm me down.


    ¡°Zoey?¡±


    Hearing his voice made my heart race. Taking a deep breath I spun around and met up with him in my living room, ¡°What¡¯s up?¡±


    ¡°You preparing dinner?¡±


    ¡°I was just going through my stuff, thinking what I should make.¡±


    ¡°I know you wanted a quiet night in, but Chris and his girlfriend have some free time tonight. So I was thinking we could do dinner with them and Laurel. You know, your friends meeting my friends. When we¡¯re back in New York she can also meet Nick and Emily. I¡¯m sure they¡¯ll get along.¡±


    I nodded, ¡°Sounds good. I¡¯ll text Laurel our change of ns.¡±


    Evan smiled, ¡°Great, I¡¯ll tell Chris to make the reservations.¡±


    ¡°Oh, there is also something I want to talk to you about.¡±


    Evan nced up from his phone, meeting my gaze, ¡°Sure.¡± He sounded unsure, but his face didn¡¯t give it away. He was good at hiding his emotions when he wanted, having the perfect poker face.


    We both informed our friends about tonight and then settled on the living room couch. I pulled my feet under me and faced Evan, who was patiently waiting for me to tell him what was on my mind.


    ¡°Okay, don¡¯t freak out-¡±


    He chuckled at me, ¡°You do realize that people usually start to freak out when you tell them not to freak out, right?¡±


    I smiled, d he was trying to lighten the mood between us. It made it easier for me to speak up, ¡°The other night Laurel saw a part of your text when you left your phone on the table.¡±


    ¡°Okay?¡± He sounded even more uncertain than a minute ago.


    ¡°She saw that it was from a girl who was being overly familiar with you.¡±


    Now he just looked confused, ¡°Excuse me?¡±


    I buried my face in my hands and took a deep breath, pulling my hands away I stared straight in his confused eyes, ¡°She saw that some girl told you she missed you and wished you were together. She was worried and now I¡¯m worried.¡±


    Evan¡¯s look told me he had no fucking clue what I was talking about. Reaching into his jacket pocket he grabbed his phone and scanned through his messages. He apparently found the text I was talking about because he burst out inughter.


    ¡°Okay, I shouldn¡¯tugh, because I understand it would appear to be bad.¡± Evan told me, ¡°It¡¯s a text from my sister.¡±


    Now I was just blown away, not knowing how to react or what to say. So I said the first thing that came to mind, ¡°You have a sister?!¡±


    ¡°Yeah, a little sister, Prisci.¡± He showed me a picture of them together, ¡°She travels the world. She¡¯s currently staying in Thand, being irresponsible.¡± He shook his head at that, his eyes told me he didn¡¯t find it that awful though, ¡°She lives off my money, but you know, I can actually miss it.¡±


    ¡°But don¡¯t you think that as her older brother you should teach her to be more responsible?¡±


    ¡°Maybe I should.¡± He pocketed his phone again and leaned back against the couch, staring up at the ceiling, ¡°But since we didn¡¯t have a happy childhood I figured she deserves a little fun in life now. Since I can afford it I don¡¯t mind letting her do whatever she wants.¡± He trailed his eyes to me, ¡°She is rarely around though. I¡¯m sure she¡¯ll be there for the wedding. She does love Nick. She¡¯ll also be there for the baby.¡±


    I reached for his arm and held onto his bicep, ¡°You have a sister.¡±


    He smiled at me, ¡°I have a sister.¡±


    ¡°Who is exploring the world, living off your bank ount.¡±


    He nodded, ¡°Basically.¡±


    ¡°And you¡¯re notining because of something that happened in your childhood.¡±


    He pulled away from me and got to his feet, looking restless as he paced the living room. It was cute seeing him behaving out of character. Evan always seemed so put together. Like nothing could get to him at all. Him showing me his weakness meant something to me. I just wouldn¡¯t admit it to him yet.


    ¡°I¡¯m not ready to talk about that yet.¡± He told me as he kept pacing back and forth, ¡°Prisci and I only have each other. But we¡¯re fine now.¡±


    ¡°Whenever you¡¯re ready, I¡¯m here.¡± I told him quietly, ¡°I¡¯ll listen.¡±


    He stopped pacing and faced me. He looked at me like I just told him unicorns were actually a thing.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    Without warning he walked around the table and pushed me down on the couch, hovering over me to kiss me. When the kiss got too intense and he was ready to undress me, I pushed against his shoulder to stop him.


    ¡°We can¡¯t! We need to get ready.¡± I reminded him.


    He didn¡¯t look happy about that, but he did pull away from me. He got to his feet and held his hand out to me. Smiling I took his hand and let him pull me to my feet as well. He surprised me by wrapping his arms around me and pulling me in for a hug. He tightly held onto me as he buried his nose in my hair.Content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°You don¡¯t know how much you mean to me, Zo.¡±


    Warmth spread across my body, making it hard for me to breath. He couldn¡¯t say the words yet, but I knew what he meant. I felt the same way. He didn¡¯t know how much he meant to me either.


    ¡°Evan-¡±


    ¡°Be patient with me, okay?¡± He asked me quietly, ¡°We¡¯ll get there eventually, I promise. Just don¡¯t give up on me yet.¡±


    I tightly held onto him as well, my heart hurt for him. Whatever happened to him broke something in him. I could tell by the pain in his voice. He didn¡¯t want to go there yet, because he mentally wasn¡¯t ready. I wouldn¡¯t push him. Laurel was right, he¡¯d tell me eventually.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it.¡± I told him, ¡°We¡¯ll be okay.¡±

 Chapter 21-Casual Confessions(1)

    Holding onto Evan¡¯s hand tightly, I let him lead me through the crowd. The club was crowded, people were having a great time. The music was sting through the speakers and the lightening freaking awesome. I had no time to observe it though, I think Evan wasn¡¯t in the mood to dance the night away. We reached the management office and pretty quickly the security men let us in, separating us from the rest of the world. Once the door was closed there was no sound at all, I needed a minute to get used to that. Evan squeezed my hand making me snap my attention back to him.


    ¡°You okay?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    He held my gaze, ¡°Chris will be here in a second.¡±


    He let go of my hand and walked around the desk, heading straight for the mini fridge, ¡°You want something to drink?¡± He asked me, grabbing himself a beer.


    ¡°No, I¡¯m good.¡±


    He nced over his shoulder, ¡°You can have a drink, Zo. I¡¯ll make sure you won¡¯t miss your flight.¡±


    I yfully red at him, ¡°I¡¯m not worried about missing our flight.¡± I mumbled.


    His look told me he didn¡¯t quite believe me, ¡°Sure.¡± He muttered and then closed the fridge, taking a seat behind Chris¡¯ desk, ¡°I can¡¯t wait to go back home.¡±


    I couldn¡¯t agree more, ¡°Excited to see Nick and Emily again?¡±


    He grinned at me, ¡°Damn right.¡± He took a sip from his beer, ¡°But there are also a few things we need to take care of. Like going to see your parents and me introducing you to Prisci.¡±


    ¡°Sheing back home too then?¡± I asked curiously, wondering what his sister was like.


    He showed me a picture of her, but pictures weren¡¯t everything. Some people lookedpletely different in real life. It also said nothing about her personality. Was she the same as Evan? Did she love life the same way he did? Or was she some spoiled brat who partied away, living off his money. Because right now everything I knew about her made me think of her of a spoiled brat. I didn¡¯t voice that out to Evan because he insisted that she deserved it. I didn¡¯t know what happened in his past and I didn¡¯t want to push him either. But it must be bad if he let his sister behave so irresponsible.


    ¡°She¡¯ll stop by if I tell her I want her to meet my girlfriend.¡± He told me, ¡°Maybe she¡¯ll stay a bit longer than usual too.¡±


    I narrowed my eyes on him, catching the sadness in his tone, ¡°You want her to stay.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, but I can¡¯t exactly ask her to stay if she wants to travel. She should do what makes her happy.¡±


    I knew he probably didn¡¯t like hearing it, but I had to say it. I¡¯m sure there weren¡¯t many people around him who dared to voice their opinion. Nick and Emily weren¡¯t here to be his voice of reason. So I had to step in.


    ¡°What about your happiness, Evan?¡± I stepped closer to the desk and took a seat on the one-seat in front of it, ¡°You¡¯ve done everything you can to make her happy, don¡¯t you think you have the right to request something back?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to force her to do anything she doesn¡¯t want.¡±


    ¡°Have you at least talked to her about your feelings?¡±


    His look told me he never told her how he felt. If Prisci didn¡¯t know her brother wanted her close she couldn¡¯t change her ways. I couldn¡¯t ask her for her number and take the lead yet. But if Evan wasn¡¯t going, to be honest with his sister I¡¯d do it for him. He would dislike it, but I think she¡¯d understand.


    ¡°Sorry to make you wait.¡± We both snapped our attention to Chris who walked through the door, quickly closing the door behind him, ¡°I needed to deal with some VIP visitors.¡±


    ¡°Everything okay?¡± Evan asked, looking relieved that Chris came in to change the subject. I wasn¡¯t forgetting about our conversation though, Evan was always giving and never asking anything in return. I wanted him to be happy too.


    ¡°Yeah, everything is fine.¡± Chris reassured him, ¡°You good too, Zoey?¡± He took a seat beside me, not bothered by the fact that Evan took his desk and didn¡¯t look like he was leaving it anytime soon.


    ¡°I¡¯m good.¡± I smiled at him.


    He got up and walked up to the coatrack, grabbing his jacket and shrugging it on, ¡°I¡¯ve got everything, we can leave.¡±


    Evan got to his feet, ¡°You sure?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡±


    Walking around the desk Evan reached for my hand again and helped me to my feet as well. We were having ate dinner with Chris, saying goodbye for now. Chris would also eventually stop by in New York. It was Nick and Emily who tied us all together.Published by N?v''elD/rama.Org.


    ***


    It had been a long flight, it seemed tost forever since I was so tired yet couldn¡¯t fall asleep properly. I think there were too many things on my mind which made me restless. I was yawning beside Evan in a yellow cab, trying hard not to fall asleep then and there. My boyfriend found it hrious, chuckling when I leaned forward, struggling once more not to let my eyes close.


    ¡°You should have slept on the ne, Zo.¡± He was scrolling to his messages, the bright light of his screen ring at me, hurting my eyes, ¡°Nick is upset we didn¡¯t take the car he sent for us.¡±


    ¡°He didn¡¯t tell us about the car.¡± I yawned, ¡°It was a nice gesture.¡± Ignoring my boyfriend¡¯s amusement I leaned closer to him and let my head rest upon his shoulder, ¡°I¡¯ll tell him personally and apologize.¡± I told Evan quietly, ¡°Now be a good boyfriend and just get me home safe while I try not to slip into aa.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry.¡± He nced at me, I could feel his gaze upon my face yet my eyes felt too heavy to open them, ¡°I¡¯ll get you home safe.¡± He promised me.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    When we arrived at my apartment Evan helped me out of the cab and took care of our luggage and paid the driver while I waited at the elevator. Holding the elevator while Evan made his way over to me, he quickly rolled both our suitcases in and chuckled when we were safely inside the car, traveling up to my floor. He was staying the night, which I didn¡¯t mind at all. We spent so much time together in Tokyo, switching apartments often that it already felt like Evan and I more or less lived together. I think us living in separate apartments now would be something we both had to get used to. Arriving at my floor I headed straight for my apartment at the end of the hallway, unlocking the door and holding it open while Evan rolled our suitcases in, leaving them by the door while he instantly gotfortable. Smiling and suppressing another yawn I did the same. Kicking off my shoes, leaving them by the door and entering the living room, letting Evan do his thing while I made my way to my bedroom.


    ¡°You want something to eat or drink?¡± He called after me.


    ¡°I¡¯m heading straight to bed,¡± I called back.


    ¡°Okay, night, Zo.¡±


    ¡°Night Evan.¡±

 Chapter 22-Casual Confessions(2)

    Slipping out of my jeans and jacket I left them on the floor, not bothering with cleaning up the ce. Crawling into bed in my undies and tees I drifted away the minute my head hit the pillow. I was so tired I didn¡¯t even hear it when Evan moved around the apartment, cleaning up after me. When I woke up the next day I noticed though and it embarrassed me, but at the same time made me feel really lucky. I was dating a guy who cared, a lot.


    ¡°Evan?!¡± I called, unsure if he was still around.


    ¡°In the kitchen.¡± He called back, ¡°You getting ready to have some lunch? You missed three meals.¡±N?velDrama.Org is the owner.


    That I did and thinking about food made my stomach purr to life, letting me know that I indeed needed to eat something right now.


    ¡°I¡¯ll get ready!¡± I called back and slipped out of bed.


    Brushing my teeth and grabbing a quick shower I slipped into a pair of tight jeans and shrugged on a hoodie. Pulling my hair up in a bun I made my way over to the kitchen, ready to greet the man who organized my life. Made me rest while he took care of everything. I couldn¡¯t help but love him for it. It was too soon feeling that way, but I couldn¡¯t stop my heart from reaching out to him. Just thinking about him heated my face, making my heart race. I wanted to see his grin and hearing hisughter. Quickening my pace I entered the kitchen and was met with his back. He was pouring coffee into a mug while he talked to Nick on the phone. I knew it was his other half since the way he was messing around. Those two couldn¡¯t live without each other. It was cute, really.


    ¡°Gotta go, I¡¯m having lunch with Zoey.¡± He told Nick and then turned to look at me, ¡°I¡¯ll be taking some time off to take care of some things with her. When things are settled I¡¯ll focus on Emily. I hate that she is feeling this way.¡±


    Something was wrong with Emily, I wanted to ask him about it, but he was focused on Nick. Evan nodded his head, making me smile. Nick couldn¡¯t see that Evan was agreeing with everything he was saying. Yet he probably thought his friend had magic powers and knew about it somehow. Taking a seat at the bar I reached for the cup Evan showed toward me and sipped it. It was perfect. It had the right amount of milk and sugar. He knew how I took my coffee, he didn¡¯t forget. Another thing I loved about him. I watched him move around, feeling quite at home while he finished his call.


    ¡°Call me if you need anything.¡± Evan told his friend, ¡°I don¡¯t care about the time or ce, just call.¡±


    Another plus in my book. When Evan cared, he cared.


    ¡°Okay, now I really gotta go. I need to get some food in Zoey.¡± He chuckled when I raised an eyebrow at him, ¡°Bye.¡±


    ¡°Emily okay?¡± I asked once Evan put his phone down and handed me a te.


    He took a seat beside me and sipped his coffee as well, ¡°The pregnancy is getting ufortable. She isn¡¯t feeling welltely.¡±


    ¡°Do you want to pay them a visit after lunch?¡±


    Evan shook his head, ¡°I want to focus on us first.¡± He told me, ¡°How about you give your parents a call after lunch, ask them when we can pay them a visit.¡±


    My heart raced, but not for the right reasons. I felt anxious, the tight feeling in my stomach making me lose my appetite. Evan and I were in a good ce right now, but they¡¯d ruin that. My father in particr. He wanted me to follow the path he designed for me. Taking a job at his partner¡¯s firm, living close to the family house. Marrying a man of his choosing. My father was cold and he didn¡¯t care much for living life only to enjoy it. He¡¯d dislike Evan the minute heid his eyes upon him.


    ¡°Tell me why you look like I just told you your pet died.¡±


    I turned to look at my boyfriend, ¡°My family will make you run.¡± I told him, reaching for his hand and holding it tightly in mine, afraid he¡¯d disappear from my sight, ¡°I can¡¯t, I can¡¯t go through that. I love you, I don¡¯t want them to ruin us.¡±


    Evan squeezed my hand in his, a smile spreading across his face. It wasn¡¯t the time for him to be joking around. He released my hand and cupped my face when he noticed my confusion.


    ¡°I love you too, Zo.¡±


    My eyes widened, realizing what I said to him without thinking. The words just left my lips because of the fear I felt. It wasn¡¯t a lie though, it was how I felt about him. I just didn¡¯t want to tell him too soon. Now, however, there was no turning back. He knew and he wasn¡¯t running away, thinking I lost my mind.


    ¡°Okay, that¡¯s good, but meeting my family might make you hate me and I don¡¯t want to risk that.¡± Heughed which made me frown, I was being serious here, yet he was only joking around. At least it felt that way to me because I was mentally freaking out, ¡°Could you stopughing at me. I¡¯m being serious.¡±


    ¡°I know you are being serious.¡± He leaned in and kissed me, taking away some of the tension I was feeling, ¡°That¡¯s why it¡¯s hrious how you¡¯re handling the situation. You¡¯re confessing to me like it¡¯s no big deal whatsoever then you brush it off when I tell you I feel the same way. Only wanting to get your worries off your chest.¡± He smiled at me, ¡°It¡¯s hrious listening to you.¡±


    ¡°Evan!¡±


    He pulled away from me, ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that, okay? I¡¯m not going anywhere. No matter what your parents will say or do, they won¡¯t make me love you less. I want them to know I¡¯m serious about their daughter. If things work out, they work out. If they don¡¯t, then no hard feelings right? We¡¯ll both go our separate ways.¡±


    I nodded, agreeing with everything he was saying, ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Okay, then go grab your phone and make the call.¡±


    Slipping away to grab my phone I turned it on while heading back to the kitchen. Evan was quietly eating his lunch, his eyes meeting mine when I took a seat beside him again. He ced his free hand upon my thigh and nodded encouragingly at me. With a deep breath, I dialed my dad¡¯s number and waited patiently till he answered.


    ¡°Hey, dad, it¡¯s me.¡±

 Chapter 23-Praising Him(1)

    We just got back from Tokyo and didn¡¯t even have time to settle in and meet up with friends again. Evan never even left my apartment to drop his suitcase off to his, he stayed with me while we arranged a trip to my parents¡¯ house. I didn¡¯t want to pay them a visit that fast, but Evan assured me that it was time. I had been putting it off for too long, which was true. But things changed since thest time I spoke to them. Last time I assured my father Evan was just a friend and now he wasing along with me, as my boyfriend. I dreaded meeting them, but as I nced aside at my calm looking boyfriend I could tell he didn¡¯t mind this trip at all. He looked excited about it. It hurt seeing him like that. He was going to get disappointed. Reaching for his hand I gently held it and leaned in, pressing a kiss to his jaw.


    ¡°Whatever happens, just know that I love you no matter what. I don¡¯t care about anyone¡¯s opinion about us.¡±


    Evan wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me to his side, never slowing down his pace. We were walking to our gate, needing to check in. He kissed my head and then pulled away, ready to check in. He helped me check in as well and then rushed with me onto the ne.


    ¡°I don¡¯t care about what people think of us being together either.¡± He told me, ¡°But we owe it to your parents to at least tell them in person and if they disagree, that¡¯s fine. At least we showed them the respect they deserve.¡±


    ¡°How can you be so perfect but wed at the same time?¡±


    Evan raised a sharp dark eyebrow at me, ¡°You think I¡¯m wed?¡± He asked amused.


    We found our seats in first ss which wasn¡¯t that hard since everyone seemed eager to help. Evan let me sit down first and then followed. I leaned back in thefy chair and pulled my scarf away, using it as a nket and I got asfortable as possible. Maybe I could squeeze in a nap. I needed to be wide awake when we met up with my parents.


    ¡°You are.¡± I told him without hesitation, ¡°But so am I. We¡¯re humans, we¡¯re anything but perfect. I¡¯m sure you can name tons of things about me which annoys you. My weaknesses and things I need to work on. And I can name one thing about you which absolutely annoys me, but I also understand why you¡¯re behaving like that.¡±


    He sighed, knowing exactly what I was talking about, ¡°Prisci.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just saying that I get why you¡¯re behaving the way you are, but I also don¡¯t get it. Just tell her you miss her and you want to see her more often. Why can¡¯t you even tell her? What are you afraid of?¡± I asked him, speaking quietly because I knew it was a sensitive subject, ¡°I really want to know. But if it has a deeper meaning going way back into your childhood, I also know that you¡¯re not ready to talk.¡± I leaned closer to him, leaning my elbow against the armrest and leaning my chin against my palm while looking into his eyes, ¡°Would you be upset if I contacted her? Asking her toe over when she can so I can introduce myself to her, personally?¡±


    ¡°I told you she¡¯ll being over sooner orter for Emily and Nick-¡±


    ¡°I want her toe over for you.¡± I told him firmly, ¡°I love Emily and Nick, but you¡¯re more important.¡±


    He leaned his head back against his chair and closed his eyes, a very long, tired sigh leaving his lips, ¡°Fine, you can contact her. Just don¡¯t tell her to do anything. Just let her know you want to meet with her, that¡¯s it. If shees over, shees over. If not then we¡¯ll wait for her.¡±


    That was at least something. I thought he¡¯d get upset with me being so forward, I guess I was wrong. Evan understood why I wasn¡¯t letting go of the subject. He knew I only pressed him because I wanted what was best for him. The same he was doing to me right now. Pressing me to see my parents because he knew I needed to have some closure. We would help each other, we¡¯d grow stronger together. Smiling I leaned in once more and pressed a kiss to his pulse, causing him to snap his eyes open and stare at me in shock.


    His shocksted only a second, fading into mischievousness, ¡°Youing onto me, Zo?¡±C¨°ntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org


    I smirked, ¡°I have no idea what you¡¯re talking about. I just wanted to kiss my boyfriend¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s not an appropriate ce to kiss while we¡¯re in public.¡± He smirked.


    I feigned shock, ¡°Is it not? Why? Because it makes you squirm in your seat?¡±


    His smirk widened, ¡°You know it.¡± He ced his hand on the back of my head and kept me in ce as he leaned in, pressing his lips against my temple and then slowly trailing them down, whispering in my ear, ¡°You want to y with me?¡±


    Laughing I pushed against his shoulder, effectively making him let go of me, ¡°Unfortunately for you I¡¯m not that adventurous as your previous girls.¡±


    His eyes gleamed yfully, ¡°Don¡¯t you want to try it?¡± He asked, running his fingers through my locks, ¡°It¡¯s adventurous, true. Exciting, also very true.¡± He leaned closer and brushed his lips against my ear, ¡°But it should really help with the tension. I think we both need it.¡±


    So very true.


    ¡°I do want to take a nap.¡±


    It was Evan¡¯s turn tough, his body was shaking withughter. He pulled away from me and grinned, ¡°I¡¯m ttered you¡¯d use my body.¡±


    I mirrored his grin, ¡°So no bathroom sex for us then?¡±


    His eyes got serious again, ¡°Oh baby, I¡¯m up for it. I was just messing around, knowing you¡¯re not up for it.¡±


    Getting out of my seat I walked past Evan, ¡°Come, find me.¡± I told him quietly.


    It was something I would have never done, but it sounded fun, exciting and a little bit dangerous. Entering the bathroom, I locked it and faced myself in the mirror. My eyes looked wide, my cheeks pink because of what I was about to do. Running my fingers through my hair I tried to fix it, it would probably get messed up again, but I wanted to look attractive enough for Evan. I held my breath when I heard a knock. Taking a deep breath I faced the door and opened it, meeting Evan¡¯s intense gaze. He stepped inside, closed and locked the door behind him and then wrapped me up in his arms, covering my mouth with his. This was the first time I did something as crazy as this and I¡¯d be lying if I said I wasn¡¯t getting excited by it.

 Chapter 24-Praising Him(2)

    Fixing my hair as I sat beside Evan in the cab, I ignored his permanent smirk. Someone had a great time on the ne and not just because of our adventurous bathroom sex. He helped me take a nap on the ne and I was sure he had a nap too. We were fully rested and sated and meeting my parents now didn¡¯t feel as awful as a minute ago.


    I reached for my makeup bag and tried to fix myself. I managed to look decent enough and spritzed on some perfume. Evan didn¡¯t need to do anything, he looked great. I was kind of jealous he looked that great without any effort. It was unfair, really.


    ¡°I think I shouldn¡¯t have pushed you for it,¡± Evan muttered, the smirk fading from his face.


    I frowned, ¡°W-What?¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re meeting your parents right away.¡± He muttered, ¡°I shouldn¡¯t have touched you.¡± He whispered thest part, trying to hide our conversation from the driver, ¡°It¡¯s like shoving in their faces that we¡¯re together and apparently up to no good.¡±


    cing my hand on his knee I nced out the window, trying to hide my smile from him, ¡°I get it. There is no going back now though. We¡¯ve done it and I tried to fix it, if we just keep this conversation light we¡¯ll get away with it.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not supposed to keep this conversation light, Zoey. We need to talk about our feelings, at least, you need to talk about your feelings. Letting them know it¡¯s your life and you value their opinion but in the end, it¡¯s still about what is making you happy and not them.¡±


    I turned my head, holding his gaze, ¡°You mind if I use your words? I mean that¡¯s what I was trying to say to them for years, but I could never express myself with the right words. You just gave me a none bullshit summary of what we¡¯re here to do.¡±


    His smirk came back to his face, making his whole face light up, ¡°Sure, Zo. That¡¯s why I¡¯m here in the first ce, right? Moral support?¡±


    He ced his hand on top of mine and held it tightly. We could do this, we could face them without embarrassing ourselves or them.


    ***


    Leaving our luggage in the hallway we followed the housekeeper to the living room where my parents were waiting. I held tightly onto Evan¡¯s hand as we entered the room, my parents were seated on the couch next to each other while we slowly approached them. I noticed instantly how my father looked at me then moved his eyes to our hands and then moved his eyes back to me, looking disappointed. Yeah, this was going to be a fun afternoon.


    ¡°Zoey, it¡¯s good to see you.¡± My mother got to her feet and stepped to me, wrapping me up in her arms as she pulled me in for an awkward hug, ¡°We didn¡¯t know you were taking your friend with you.¡±


    I released Evan¡¯s hand and pulled out of the awkward hug, narrowing my eyes on my mother, ¡°I did tell you I wasing to see you together with my boyfriend.¡± I turned to Evan and gestured to him, ¡°My boyfriend Evan ck.¡± I then gestured to my mother and father, ¡°Emma and Bradley.¡±


    ¡°Nice to meet you,¡± Evan told them firmly.


    ¡°Nice to meet you.¡± I noticed how the hostility left my mother as she gawked at Evan, that was what she was doing and there was no denying it, ¡°I¡¯m sorry, but we were expecting to have a private conversation with Zoey-¡±


    ¡°This is about us.¡± I told them, ¡°About my future which includes Evan so of course, he¡¯s here.¡±


    My mother nodded, ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± She agreed her eyes never leaving Evan, ¡°Take a seat, please.¡±


    We took a seat across them, my father still hadn¡¯t said a word. But he was watching and forming his opinion about us. His look told us he wasn¡¯t happy at all.


    ¡°I thought you told me you weren¡¯t dating this boy.¡± Her father said, refusing to call Evan by his name, ¡°What else did you lie about, your new choice of career too?¡±


    ¡°When you called Evan and I wasn¡¯t dating yet.¡± I told him, ¡°But I don¡¯t appreciate the tone you use whenever you talk about my boyfriend. I¡¯m serious about him and Evan is a good guy. Making his own living and kind to his friends and family. It¡¯s fine that you¡¯re upset with me, but he doesn¡¯t deserve your anger.¡±


    ¡°How can I not be angry with him as well when he is part of the reason you¡¯re throwing your life away.¡±


    I sighed, ¡°Dad, I¡¯m not throwing my life away. I¡¯m doing what I like and making a living out of it.¡±


    ¡°We had a n, Zoey, you were going to graduate and take the job at Mr. Powers office. Marry-¡±


    ¡°Excuse me?¡± Zoey interrupted him, not liking where the conversation was headed, ¡°I graduated and took a job which had my interest. I moved to New York and started living my life. If I get married it¡¯s to a guy of my choice.¡± I flickered my eyes to Evan who didn¡¯t look too happy to be here right now either, ¡°You have no say in that matter whatsoever.¡±


    ¡°Zoey, we¡¯re only looking out for you.¡± Her mother told her, trying to calm everyone down.


    ¡°You¡¯re not looking out for me.¡± I was getting pissed and it could be heard since my voice was getting higher and higher, ¡°You want me to follow a n you made up, but that¡¯s not going to happen. I follow my own n and live my own life. What you¡¯re not getting is that I pay my own rent and bills. You can give me advice but in the end, I make my own decisions.¡±


    ¡°Mr. Powers son is-¡±


    I titled my head to the side, ¡°Yeah, that¡¯s not going to happen, dad.¡± I told him firmly. I reached for Evan¡¯s hand again and firmly held it in mine, ¡°If I¡¯m marrying anyone anytime soon it would be Evan. You either ept that or hold your tongue, because it doesn¡¯t matter what you think about it.¡± I got up and tried to pull Evan up as well, ¡°And by the way, if this is about money and being well taken care of, you can rest assured, Evan¡¯s a billionaire.¡± I told them, ¡°He just doesn¡¯t unt it around. Needing to show his money off to feel good about himself.¡±


    Evan got up on his own and gently rubbed his thumb over the back of my hand, trying to calm me down, ¡°I didn¡¯te along to witness this conversation going south. But I hope you can understand why Zoey is this upset right now. She is doing great, has a lot of friends who¡¯d do anything for her to make her happy. I¡¯d do anything to make her happy. You not seeing this is upsetting to her. We¡¯ll be staying for two more days if you want to meet up again and talk things over. We¡¯ve time. I don¡¯t want toe between family, but backing off isn¡¯t an option to me either. I won¡¯t give her up.¡±


    I noticed the shocked looks on their faces and knew it was low of me, but I was just so pissed I wanted them to be upset too.


    ¡°That¡¯s right, I¡¯m not dating just a pretty face here. Evan actually hasyers.¡± I turned to Evan, ¡°Can we go now. I need some fresh air, maybe we can head into town for dinner.¡±


    Evan met my gaze, ¡°So we¡¯re still in town for two days, you can contact Zoey anytime.¡±


    With that we left the house, taking our luggage with us. We didn¡¯t have a car waiting but I didn¡¯t care. I rather wait outside for a car than spending another minute with them. Hand in hand we walked away from the porch and waited at the gate. Evan called a cab, his eyes never leaving mine. Once he hung up he pocketed his phone and reached for me, running his knuckles lightly over my cheek.


    ¡°You okay?¡±


    ¡°Hm.¡±


    ¡°Still upset?¡± He sounded amused.


    ¡°Really upset.¡±


    ¡°That might not have been the right time to talk about my pretty face and my billions.¡±


    I red at my boyfriend who wasn¡¯tpletely taking my side here, ¡°It was the best time considering he mentioned something about marriage. Like hell, I¡¯m marrying some dude he thinks is right for me because he has a job which he sees as appropriate. Now he knows he made fun of a guy who is actually better than Mr. Powers¡¯ son.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m a great guy.¡± Evan nodded, still sounded amused.


    He wanted to lighten the mood and it worked. Iughed and gave him a yful shove.


    ¡°Your arrogance knows no boundaries.¡±


    ¡°You did praise me quite a lot in front of your parents, I think I¡¯m allowed to be a little arrogant right now.¡±


    Smiling I leaned in and wrapped my arms around his waist, resting my head against his chest. It didn¡¯t go well, but I knew from the beginning things wouldn¡¯t go well. They needed to ept that I wasn¡¯t going to follow whatever n they had for me. I was going to live my life the way I wanted. Once they epted that we could move forward.Content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°You feeling a little better?¡± Evan asked, wrapping his arms around me as well and kissing my head.


    ¡°Hm, better already.¡± I told him quietly, ¡°I¡¯m d you¡¯re here. You handled that better.¡±


    ¡°You got emotional, that¡¯s okay.¡±


    ¡°I just want to get away from here.¡± I murmured.


    ¡°I¡¯m sure things will work out, Zo. Everyone just needs to calm down and let things sink in. We¡¯re here another two days. I¡¯m sure either your mom or dad will contact you.¡±


    I sighed, ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter either way. I said what I wanted to get off my chest.¡± Pulling away from Evan I smiled at him, ¡°After this, we deal with Prisci.¡±


    He rolled his eyes at me, ¡°I knew you were going there.¡± He then looked at me again and smiled, ¡°That was the deal, so yeah, we¡¯ll deal with Prisci after this trip.¡±


    We took a cab to the hotel to drop our luggage and then headed into town together. It was a nice change, helping me get my mind off things. Evan made sure to entertain me, trying to make meugh. He didn¡¯t need to put much effort into it though. Everyone liked hanging out with Evan since he was easy to get along with. He never left my side and made sure I could lean on him when I felt down. I was definitely going to marry this guy.

 Chapter 25-Noah Powers(1)

    Evan and I had been wandering around town and enjoying great food, having an amazing time, but I couldn¡¯t pretend anymore. It hurt knowing neither my father or mother called, asking to meet up. They weren¡¯t ready to let go of their hopes and dreams for me, they weren¡¯t ready to let me live my own life the way I wanted to. It hurt knowing they weren¡¯t open for change. Evan noticed and he tried to keep the mood light between us. Every time I looked at him I kept wondering what the hell he saw in me.


    He didn¡¯tck offers, he could date some submissive girl who¡¯d do anything for him, worship the ground he walked on. Yet he wanted to be with a girl whose personal life was messy and who kept pushing him. He said he didn¡¯t mind because he knew I was doing it for him, but I wondered if he was honest about his feelings. All of that, all those worries were driving me insane.


    Right about now I wished we were back in New York, meeting up with Emily and Nick and focusing on their wedding and uing child. That sounded a lot more fun.


    ¡°Zoey!¡±


    ncing at Evan he shook his head at me, his eyes trailing to someone behind me. Turning around I faced someone I currently wanted to avoid.


    ¡°Noah.¡± I greeted back, upset at how unsure I sounded.


    He approached us slowly, his eyes trailing to Evan, ¡°Hello, Noah Powers-¡± He held his hand out to Evan who shook hands with him, ¡°Nice to meet you.¡± Noah then looked back at me and smiled, ¡°Dad mentioned you wereing back soon, how have you been?¡±


    I smiled at him, he didn¡¯t do anything wrong, he didn¡¯t deserve to be treated rudely. It was my father who came up with this insane n to marry me off to Mr. Powers¡¯ his son.


    ¡°Great.¡± I told him honestly, ¡°Change of career, things are more challenging, but I love what I do.¡± I told him and then gestured to Evan who now stood beside me, looking quite at ease, ¡°This is my boyfriend Evan ck. We¡¯re in town, paying my parents a visit.¡± I didn¡¯t want to talk much about them, since that was quite a sensitive subject to all of us, ¡°How have you been, taking over your dad¡¯s office soon?¡± I hoped he would, that would settle things for sure.


    Noahughed, ¡°Right, that¡¯s not going to happen.¡± He told me which had my full attention, ¡°Told my dad I¡¯m not interested in taking over. I¡¯m actually nning to take a year off and travel the world. Find something I actually enjoy doing, because I¡¯m currently in a slump.¡± His face lit up as he grinned at her, reminding her that Noah was quite an attractive guy, he just wasn¡¯t Evan who was dark and dangerous, ¡°But you know how it is. You had a career change yourself.¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I know how it is.¡± I told him honestly, ¡°Is your dad okay with your ns?¡±


    ¡°He wasn¡¯t at first, but he only wants me to be happy. So he came to terms with my decision.¡± He then nced at his watch, ¡°I actually need to run. I¡¯m meeting someone in ten. Are you two staying in town for a little while? Maybe we can meet up for dinner and catch up.¡±


    I shook my head, ¡°Evan and I are leaving tonight.¡±


    ¡°Seriously?¡± Noah then trailed his eyes back to Evan, ¡°Then it was nice meeting you. Treat this girl right, she mighte off as a tough girl, but trust me, she is still a girly girl inside. Sensitive and caring. Also gets pretty hotheaded at times which gets her in trouble.¡±


    ¡°We¡¯re not in high school anymore.¡± I told him, shing him a yful re, ¡°I¡¯ve changed.¡±


    Beside me, Evan chuckled, ¡°I know what you mean.¡± He told Noah, ¡°She is quite a hotheaded girl, but nothing I can¡¯t handle. I also know from experience what it¡¯s like to have family travel the world for a long period of time. Don¡¯t forget to check in with your family every once in a while. It will give them peace of mind.¡±


    I leaned into Evan and ced my hand against his chest, ¡°He knows what he¡¯s talking about. His little sister has been gone for a while now. So I would take his advice.¡±N?velDrama.Org is the owner.


    ¡°Your sister is traveling?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, has been for a while now.¡±


    ¡°I really wish we could catch up.¡± Noah smiled at us, ¡°It was nice running into you guys.¡±


    We watched as Noah walked away, in a rush to meet someone. I figured it was a girl, but I didn¡¯t say it out loud. He was doing okay which gave me some piece of mind. Things might not have worked out for my parents and me, but at least people from my past were doing fine. At least now it felt we didn¡¯t waste timeing to my hometown.


    ¡°He is a nice guy,¡± Evan told me.


    ¡°He is.¡± I agreed.


    Evan then turned to look at me, cing his hand on top of mine which was still resting against his chest, ¡°Shall we head back to the hotel and start packing? We need to leave in four hours.¡±


    ¡°Yeah let¡¯s head back.¡±


    We went back to the hotel and started packing our things. We didn¡¯t make much of a mess so when we finished packing our luggage we still had three hours left. We decided to head to the airport early and have a drink there. Taking things at a slow pace so we didn¡¯t feel rushed and stressed out.

 Chapter 26-Noah Powers(2)

    ***


    I was sitting at the bar beside Evan while sipping a white wine. He was telling me about his evil n to make Nick jealous so he¡¯d admit to himself he liked Emily. I wasughing loudly, enjoying every second of his story. It sounded like fun when Emily and Nick started dating. Lots of drama and jealous women, also interference of besties who never admitted to themselves they were in love with their friend. I was d things worked out for them. I couldn¡¯t imagine Nick without Emily. They were the kind of people who were meant to be together. Theyplemented each other. I wondered if it was the same for Evan and I. If we helped each other grow.


    ¡°Zoey?¡±


    I looked up meeting his confused gaze, ¡°Hm?¡±


    ¡°Your phone is ringing.¡± Evan told me, reaching for the device which wasid out in front of me, ¡°You should answer it. It¡¯s your mother.¡±


    Completely in shock, I just stared at the ringing device. Not sure why my mother would call now. We were about to leave. I think I was taking too long to decide whether I should answer it or not so Evan answered it for me.


    ¡°Hello Emma, how are you?¡±


    I stared at Evan, shocked he answered the phone for me. He held my gaze as he talked to my mother.


    ¡°We¡¯re at the airport, we¡¯re leaving in an hour.¡± He then trailed his eyes to his ss and reached for it, taking a sip while he obviously listened to my mother talk, ¡°Thank you, Emma, that¡¯s really nice of you, I appreciate it.¡± He then held the phone to me, ¡°Your mother wants to talk to you.¡±


    His eyes told me that it was okay, that this phone call wouldn¡¯t upset me. So I took it without hesitation then.Content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°Mom?¡±


    ¡°Zoey, I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t call you sooner.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s okay, you needed time to think about things.¡±


    I wasn¡¯t actually okay with it, but it wasn¡¯t the time to pick a fight with my mother. She reached out to me so I needed to be grown up about it and let things go.


    ¡°Evan seems like a really nice guy. He has been very patient and understanding.¡± She told me, ¡°I¡¯m d you met someone like that.¡±


    I nced at Evan, ¡°I agree, I¡¯m d I met him.¡±


    ¡°Noah told us he ran into you. He said a few kind words about Evan to your father, but unfortunately, Bradley isn¡¯t ready to let go yet.¡±


    ¡°Noah already made ns, mom. Does dad know? Noah is going to quit his job at thepany and travel the world. I¡¯m also sure he has someone special in his life.¡±


    ¡°We know about that now. Noah told us.¡±


    ¡°So why is dad still upset then?¡±


    ¡°Things aren¡¯t going the way he had nned, he needs time.¡± She told me quietly, ¡°I understand though and I didn¡¯t want you to leave without knowing that. I¡¯m sorry it took me a while, honey. You made the first move. I promise you we¡¯ll visit you soon, make things right between us.¡±


    ¡°That¡¯s all I want.¡±


    ¡°Me too.¡± My mother told me, ¡°Have a safe flight, honey, we¡¯ll talk soon.¡±


    ¡°Bye, mom.¡±


    Ending the call I ced the phone back down and reached for my ss, knocking the remaining content of my drink down.


    ¡°Told you things were going to work out.¡±


    I red at Evan, ¡°Now is not the time to give yourself a pat on the back.¡±


    He chuckled, ¡°It seems like the perfect time. You met your friend who seems to be doing okay, you made things right with your mother and I¡¯m sure soon you¡¯ll have the opportunity to make things right with your father as well.¡± His eyes gleamed as he leaned closer to me and pressed his lips against my jaw, ¡°And I have a feeling when we board the ne I¡¯m going to get lucky again.¡±


    Arrogant. That man was so full of himself.


    ¡°You¡¯re forgetting about Prisci, Evan.¡±


    He nuzzled my neck, cing a soft kiss against my pulse and then sat straight again, ¡°I didn¡¯t forget. Since you seem like a weight has lifted from your shoulders and you look even more content than before, I¡¯m thinking it¡¯s not so bad to face your fears.¡±


    That surprised me.


    ¡°You¡¯re ready to tell your sister the truth?¡±


    He nodded, ¡°I¡¯m ready to talk to Prisci.¡±


    Smiling I reached for him wrapping my hands around his bicep and leaning close to him, ¡°The future seems bright for us, Evan. Before you know it we¡¯re the new Emily and Nick.¡±


    Heughed at me, pressing a kiss to my head, ¡°And it feels damn good, doesn¡¯t it?¡±


    I nodded, ¡°Yeah, it does.¡±


    He knocked down his drink, cing the empty ss before him, ¡°I¡¯m also d I¡¯ve met you, Zoey.¡±


    A few hours ago I felt like this day couldn¡¯t get any worse, now it felt like a really good day. We didn¡¯t make huge progress, but I felt like things weren¡¯t so dark anymore. We were going to be okay. I was sure that if Prisci wasn¡¯t okay with Evan asking her to stay, he¡¯d still be okay. He had me and Emily and Nick who were never going to leave his side. With us, beside him, Evan would be okay.

 Chapter 27-His Dirty Girl(1)

    Back in New York, we settled down in our own apartments, putting our luggage away and cleaning up. Well, I cleaned up my own apartment I didn¡¯t know if Evan hired someone to do it. To me, he seemed like the type of guy who¡¯d do it himself though. In Tokyo, he always took care of his own stuff too. The mundane things like that had me curious. I knew for a fact that Evan could cook, he didn¡¯t make the mostplicated things, but the dishes he could make were good. He also loved to take care of the people around him and ording to Nick before Evan and I started dating he¡¯d always hang out at their ce, keeping Emilypany. Reaching for my phone I called my boyfriend, knowing even though he was probably getting some work done he¡¯d still answer.


    ¡°Hey, you,¡± I said once he answered the phone.


    ¡°Hey, Zo.¡± He called back, sounding amused with me, ¡°What¡¯s up?¡±


    ¡°You busy?¡±


    I heard movement and background noises which told me he was probably outside, heading somewhere.


    ¡°I just finished a meeting with Nick, I¡¯m heading to your apartment actually.¡±


    I smiled spread across my face, liking the fact that Evan couldn¡¯t stay away from me. I wanted him near too, liking hispany very much. It probably wasn¡¯t healthy wanting to spend so much time with only one person. We needed to let other people in too.


    ¡°How about we head to Emily¡¯s?¡±


    ¡°I should probably call her to make sure she¡¯s at home.¡±


    ¡°You do that while I bake something. I think I should bring a cake.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll be at your apartment in twenty,¡± Evan told me and then ended the call.


    cing my phone down on the coffee table I headed to the kitchen and started grabbing the products I needed. Instead of baking a cake which would take a bit too long for my liking, I decided to bake sugar cookies instead. They were easy to make and still delicious over a hot beverage. ording to Evan Emily had a tea obsession, so I was sure she¡¯d appreciate the effort.


    While the cookies were in the oven I cleaned the kitchen and vacuumed the apartment. Evan arrived a few minutester and grinned at me as he entered the apartment.


    ¡°Smells good in here, Zoey.¡±


    ¡°I baked cookies instead.¡± I told him, taking my hair out of the bun and running my fingers through it, ¡°They¡¯ll be done in a few minutes. What did Emily say?¡±N?velDrama.Org is the owner.


    ¡°She¡¯s at home, can¡¯t wait for us toe over. Said we should stay for dinner.¡±


    ¡°She¡¯s cooking?¡±


    Evan shook his head, ¡°Too ufortable. They¡¯ll order in.¡±


    Settling on the couch Evan took hisptop out and tried to get some work done while I watched TV. ncing at my boyfriend I watched him type away, his eyes focused on his screen and nothing else. I was annoyed with myself feeling hot and bothered just by looking at Evan being in work mode. I didn¡¯t want to bother him, yet I couldn¡¯t stay away from him either. I wanted to touch him, kiss him and do other things to him. I think he felt the change in me because he looked up and narrowed his eyes on me.


    ¡°Zoey?¡±


    ¡°Are you busy?¡±


    He chuckled, his eyes gleaming amusingly, ¡°You¡¯ve asked me that question as well when you called me. It¡¯s okay to tell me what¡¯s on your mind.¡±


    I reached for him, cing my hand against his chest, ¡°What¡¯s on my mind is a bit time-consuming.¡±


    He knew exactly what I wanted, ¡°What about your cookies?¡±


    ¡°The rm will go off when they¡¯re ready.¡±


    He ced hisptop aside and grabbed onto my hand which was ced against his chest. With a tug, he pulled me to him and covered my mouth with his. He kissed me gently at first, teasing me, wanting to drive me inside. When a whining sound left my lips he deepened the kiss and slipped his tongue in, brushing his tongue against mine. Crawling on top of him I ced my hands on his shoulders and started grinding against him, feeling him getting into it. His hands cupped my ass while he held me tightly to him, letting me nip against his neck, kissing away.


    ¡°I called Prisci this morning.¡±


    I pulled away from him, staring at his face as he told me this important news while I was trying to get my boyfriend inside me. He ruined the moment.


    ¡°This was not the right time to tell me, Evan.¡± I muttered, cing a soft kiss to his lips, ¡°What did you say to her?¡±


    ¡°That I wanted to talk to her personally, that there were things on my mind which I couldn¡¯t tell her over the phone.¡±


    That was a huge step for him. Evan would never say something like to his sister, not wanting to force anything upon her. He wanted her to be happy, always, not knowing any hardships in life. It was a fantasy because the hardships in life are what made people grow stronger.


    ¡°What did she say?¡±


    A small smile spread across Evan¡¯s face, but he looked unsure about it, ¡°She¡¯ll take the first ne back to New York.¡±


    I cupped his face, not understanding why he looked so unsure about this. It meant that Prisci loved her brother more than anything else. She¡¯d drop everything toe to see him because she knew he was struggling. It made me hope she¡¯d listen and give Evan what he wanted. It would be the first time he¡¯d request something from her. I¡¯m sure it would also shock Prisci when he¡¯d talk to her about his honest feelings.


    ¡°She¡¯s a good girl, isn¡¯t she.¡±


    Evan smirked at me, ¡°Don¡¯t get fooled, she¡¯s still my little, annoying sister.¡±


    ¡°She dropped everything toe to see you, she probably heard your voice and knew something was wrong. In my book that makes her a great little sister.¡±


    Evan trailed his hands over my side, making me shiver at the feel of his soft stroke. He ced his hands upon my breasts and squeezed them lightly, his eyes darkening.


    ¡°Enough about that, how about you let me inside you now?¡±


    I pushed against his shoulder, ¡°I¡¯m not in the mood anymore.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll get you there.¡± He promised me.


    He leaned in to kiss me but stopped midway when the rm went off, letting me know my cookies were done. I quickly leaned in, pecked him on the lips and then got off hisp.


    ¡°We¡¯ll continue things tonight.¡± I promised him, ¡°I¡¯ll let you do whatever you want to me.¡± I called over my shoulder as I headed into the kitchen.


    I heard Evan¡¯s chuckle, making me grin, ¡°You¡¯ll regret saying that.¡± He warned me.


    ¡°Why?¡± I called back, ¡°You want to defile me?¡±

 Chapter 28-His Dirty Girl(2)

    I shiver ran down my spine when I heard how close Evan was as he answered my question, ¡°Most definitely. I want to make you flush all over.¡± He wrapped an arm around my waist as I carefully ced the cookies one by one on a te, his lips pressing against my neck, ¡°Do dirty things to you which you can¡¯t repeat to anyone else.¡±


    I leaned into him, my ass pressed against his erection, ¡°Here I thought the most exciting thing I had done sexually is doing you in a bathroom on a ne.¡± I titled my head back and stared up, seeing his lips curl up to a smirk, ¡°What else do you have in mind?¡±


    ¡°Maybe a different position, ease you into it.¡±


    Iughed and turned around, wrapping my arms around his neck, ¡°I¡¯m game.¡±


    ¡°Seriously?¡±


    ¡°Yeah.¡± I took his bottom lip between my teeth and softly bit him, ¡°I love you.¡±


    He entangled his fingers in my hair, brushing his lips against mine, ¡°I tell you I want to do dirty things to you and you tell me you love me.¡± He chuckled as he pulled away and let go of me, letting me get back to wrapping up the cookies to take them with us to Emily, ¡°I love you too.¡± He told me and then moved, ¡°I need a minute or two to calm down though.¡± He told me, making meugh.


    ¡°You want me to take care of it?¡±


    He considered it but then brushed it off, ¡°No, then it will lead to other things. I don¡¯t want to keep Emily waiting.¡±


    While Evan took a minute in the living room I headed to the bedroom and redid my make-up and hair. Shrugging on afy sweater and grabbing my bag, tossing things in which I needed. When I got back in the living room Evan was ready to go, calling a car over to take us to Emily and Nick.


    ***


    Nick and Evan were having one of their usual teasing conversations, trying to insult each other while expressing their love for each other. By now Emily and I were used to it. We were in the kitchen sipping tea while Emily told me about the wedding. Nick hired a wedding nner to take care of things. They¡¯d get married after Matthew was born. My eyes trailed to her swollen stomach, she was due any day now. She looked big and ufortable, it¡¯s why Evan offered to watch over her from time to time. I knew it stilled some of the fear Nick was feeling.


    ¡°I¡¯ve met her once.¡± Emily told me, ¡°I can¡¯t really say if she was a nice person or not, but she¡¯s Evan¡¯s sister and considering what happened to them I think that she¡¯ll be an angel.¡±


    Emily knew what happened to Evan, of course, she did. Evan adored the girl.


    ¡°Evan wants her close,¡± I told Emily, trying not to be too curious and ask Emily what she knew about Evan.


    Evan had to tell me himself, he¡¯d tell me when he was ready. I just had to be patient.


    ¡°It¡¯s about time Evan get more selfish, he always considers everyone else¡¯s feeling, never does he stop to think about what he wants.¡±


    ¡°What does Nick think of her?¡±


    Emily smiled, sipping from her tea as she considered the question, ¡°He said she¡¯s just another annoying little sister. But the smile on his face told me he didn¡¯t mean it. I¡¯m guessing those two are overprotective when ites to her.¡±


    ¡°But then again Evan does let her travel by herself.¡±


    Emily raised an eyebrow at me, a chuckle leaving her lips, ¡°Do you really believe that?¡±


    She was right if Evan was an overprotective brother he wouldn¡¯t let his sister travel by herself. He wouldn¡¯t feelfortable with it.


    ¡°He has someone trailing her?¡±


    Emily nodded, ¡°Just to make sure she¡¯s safe, you know.¡±


    We headed back to the living room, Emily settled on the couch beside Evan while I sat on the floor together with Nick, clutching my cup of tea while he turned the movie on. It was a horror movie which was Emily¡¯s favorite genre. I had no issues with that, but I¡¯d be lying if I said the movie didn¡¯t get to me because it did and it made Nick make fun of me. It was fun having a quiet night in with them. I wanted to do it more often and I could tell when Evan nced at me that he was happy I was enjoying myself, maybe even relieved.


    ***


    I buried my face in my pillow, clutching the sheets as tightly as I could, loud sounds leaving my lips. Evan gripped my hips and quickened his pace, knowing I was almost there. I didn¡¯t have any strength left in my body so he kept me upright, one of his hands slipping between my legs to get me there faster as he rubbed my sensitive spot. I lost it then, almost screaming my pleasure out as I reached my euphoric high. I settled tiredly in my pillow, my body shaking as Evan kept going, chasing his own orgasm. I reached behind me gripping his thigh, feeling it clenching as his sounds got louder. He was almost there, I could feel it. Smiling in my pillow I pushed myself up and with the strength I had I pulled away, losing contact with him. He didn¡¯t like it, but the loss of contact would onlyst a second. Turning around I pushed against his chest and let him fall on his back, straddling him I got on top of him and lowered myself back on him, biting my lip as he slipped inside my sensitive folds.


    ¡°Zoey!¡±


    ¡°I want to watch you.¡±


    He closed his eyes, his hands reaching for my breasts while he let me ride him. I didn¡¯t want to tease him knowing he was close. So I kept a quick pace, wanting to watch hime apart beneath me.


    I ced my hand against his chest, feeling his quick heartbeat, ¡°You almost there, baby?¡± I asked him quietly.


    He only groaned in response, letting me know he was almost there. Cupping his face I watched hime apart as he reached his orgasm. When he finished he opened his eyes, his chest rising up and down fast while he tried to even his breathing. Smiling I leaned in and pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth.


    ¡°That was fun,¡± I whispered to him.Content ? N?velDrama.Org.


    He tiredly chuckled, tangling his fingers in my hair while he let me kiss him all over, ¡°I bet you had fun.¡± He muttered, ¡°I¡¯m surprised you could still ride me like that.¡±


    I covered his mouth with my hand, ¡°I¡¯m tired.¡± I admitted to him, ¡°But I wanted to watch you.¡±


    He took my hand away from his mouth and showed me his sexy smirk, ¡°You¡¯re a dirty girl.¡±


    ¡°If I am it¡¯s because of you.¡±


    He sat up, kissed me on the mouth once and then helped me settle between the sheets. He got up cleaned up our clothes and walked into his closet. When he walked out again he was wearing gray joggers and held a ck tee in his hand. He walked up to me, helped me slip it on and then walked away again. I settled on my side and listened to him move around the apartment, locking things up and turning off the lights. He walked back into the room, settled beside me and turned off the light on his bedside table. Wrapping an arm around my waist he pulled me close to him and kissed my temple.


    ¡°Night.¡±


    Smiling I closed my eyes, ¡°Night.¡±

 Chapter 29-Innocent Crush(1)

    Typing away at myptop, I tried getting as much work done as possible. Evan¡¯s sister was going to arrive this afternoon and he was picking her up from the airport together with Nick. They were familiar to her, the guys in her life who treated her like a princess who needed to be kept locked away in an ivory tower. ncing at my phone whichid beside myptop I annoyed myself, Evan would call or text me when she¡¯d arrive. Yet I couldn¡¯t help but t wonder about him. I was too into him, always thinking about him. It was driving me nuts.


    I nearly jumped out of my chair when the device started ringing, inhaling deeply I tried to calm my racing heart down and reached for my phone. The disy told me it was Laurel and not Evan. Trying to hide the disappointment I answered the phone.


    ¡°Hey, Laurel.¡±


    ¡°Hey, girl. You busy today?¡±C¨°ntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org


    I nced at my screen, I still needed to respond to a few emails and upload another article. I was quite busy, but like Evan always told me, you needed to make time for the people who you cared about.


    ¡°I¡¯m working right now, but if it¡¯s urgent I can free some time to meet up.¡±


    ¡°No, that¡¯s okay.¡± She told me, her voice telling me she actually meant it, ¡°I had some free time so I figured we could meet up for lunch.¡± I could hear Laurel moving around the city, probably heading to a restaurant to grab some lunch, ¡°How is Evan doing?¡±


    I didn¡¯t tell Laurel about the girl yet, when we got back from Tokyo we had been working on so many personal issues together. I didn¡¯t have the time to pick up the phone and have a girl talk with Laurel. Now I felt guilty, I had relied on her yet I didn¡¯t take the time to ease her worries as well.


    ¡°I totally forgot.¡± I told Lauren, ¡°Evan is fine by the way.¡± I told her with a smile, ¡°The girl who texted him is actually his little sister, Prisci. She¡¯sing over today, staying for a few weeks or so.¡±


    ¡°Seriously.¡± Laurel let out a sigh of relief, making me smile, ¡°I¡¯m d because you know, that boy is fine. I liked the way he took care of me even though he didn¡¯t even know me. He just did it because he knew I¡¯m important to you. A boy like that is marriage material, Zoey.¡±


    I was well aware of that. I knew there wouldn¡¯t be another guy out there for me who¡¯dpare to Evan.


    ¡°He definitely is.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re aware of this?¡± Laurel sounded excited, getting worked up by something which wasn¡¯t within reach yet, they just started dating, ¡°Should I start dress shopping?¡±


    ¡°No. We just started dating, marriage is thest thing we need to think about right now.¡± I rolled away from my desk and stared out the window, ¡°We¡¯re working on some personal matters. We talked to my parents and today we¡¯re dealing with Evan¡¯s little sister.¡±


    ¡°You talked to your parents?!¡± Laurel must have made people around her stop and stare because she was being loud without holding back, ¡°That¡¯s something else, Zoey. You¡¯ve been avoiding that issue for months, afraid to face them. Why did you decide to talk to them now?¡± Laurel was silent for a minute and then broke the silence with a chuckle, ¡°Right, it¡¯s Evan, isn¡¯t it?¡±


    I couldn¡¯t deny that. He was the one who pushed me to see my parents and open up to them. I was grateful to him for pushing me like that. Things weren¡¯t as strained as they used to be. My mother was finally supporting me, it was my father who still needed to let go of his fantasies about me and my future. I hoped that he¡¯d eventually see that I was doing okay on my own and that Evan wasn¡¯t some boy who I was having fun with. He was my future.


    ¡°So what¡¯s wrong with his sister?¡± Laurel continued, not giving me time to respond, ¡°She trouble?¡±


    ¡°No. She¡¯s never around, but Evan wants her to be around, yet he¡¯s afraid to tell her that.¡±


    ¡°I see.¡± I could hear the smile in Lauren¡¯s voice, ¡°I¡¯ve decided to start looking for a dress.¡±


    Groaning I covered my eyes with my hand, trying to ease the frustration I felt with Laurel bringing up marriage again. I couldn¡¯t let myself fantasize about that yet, it would crush me if Evan wasn¡¯t on the same page as me. I couldn¡¯t let Laurel nt that idea in my head, I needed to let it go.


    ¡°Stop it.¡± I told her quietly, ¡°Let us figure things out first, then we¡¯ll talk about marriage.¡±


    ¡°Sure.¡± Laurel didn¡¯t sound like she listened to me at all, ¡°But just so you know, I think that Evan is thinking marriage too. Why else would he be focusing on fixing things which could potentially be an issue in your future?¡±


    ¡°I don¡¯t want to get my hopes up, Laurel.¡± I told her quietly, gripping my phone tighter in my hand, ¡°I¡¯ll admit that Evan is definitely not the guy I thought he was. He¡¯s amazing and yes I do love him. But he was the kind of guy who didn¡¯t do rtionships, only casual sex. So I don¡¯t want to get in his space and push him, things need toe naturally to us.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re right.¡± Laurel agreed, ¡°There is just one more thing I¡¯m going to say and then I¡¯ll drop it, okay?¡±


    ¡°Okay.¡±


    ¡°Don¡¯t you think that he was sleeping around like that because he was searching for something, or better yet someone who made him feel something deeper than lust?¡±


    ¡°Laurel¡­¡±


    ¡°Just think about that. Gotta go, I¡¯m going all out and eat sushi for lunch.¡±


    Iughed, shaking my head at my crazy girl, ¡°Thanks, enjoy your lunch.¡±


    ¡°Bye girl, good luck.¡±


    Ending the call I rolled back to my desk and ced the phone down beside myptop again. After that call, I couldn¡¯t focus anymore. Laurel¡¯s words were floating around in my head, making me wonder about Evan. I knew he was never serious about any of his women, simply because they didn¡¯t interest them. Yet he never stopped sleeping around. Was he actually searching for someone who he felt something more than just lust or was it something else? I couldn¡¯t help but to think about his past which he told me nothing about, I wondered if the problem was much moreplex. I could be wondering about those things all afternoon, but that would only be a waste of time. Instead, I got up went to the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee and powered through my work, getting shit done. It felt good turning my mind off and focus on nothing at all, just working on auto-pilot. I kept repeating to myself to be patient and let things flow naturally. Eventually, we¡¯d get there.

 Chapter 30-Innocent Crush(2)

    It was odd, but I was actually nervous about meeting Prisci. I knew for a fact that she was everything to Evan. If the girl didn¡¯t like me I had a feeling things would be strained between Evan and I. I promised myself to be patient and let things flow naturally, but asionally my mind did wander to wedding bells and white dresses. Prisci needed to at least get along with me. I had to keep my thoughts to myself and let Evan figure things out on his own, only being there for him and giving him support when he needed it. Pushing through the door, I closed it behind me and entered the living room. I was greeted by the sight of Evan sitting on the couch with a petite blonde girl at his side, quietly talking to him about the cities she visited. She was dressed smart, looking like she was going to the office and attend some board meetings. Brother and sister nced at me when they noticed they weren¡¯t alone anymore, Evan pushed himself off the couch and stepped to me, pressing a kiss to my cheek.


    ¡°You okay?¡±


    I smiled at him, ¡°Yes.¡± My eyes trailed to the blonde girl who was eying me up and down, ¡°Hey, I¡¯m Zoey, nice to finally meet you.¡± I told her, stepping away from my boyfriend to extend my hand to his little sister.


    Prisci shook my hand and smiled, ¡°Nice to meet you too.¡± She told me quietly.


    Returning her smile I turned to look at Evan, ¡°I thought Nick was going to stay?¡±


    ¡°He had to return home to Emily.¡± He told me.


    Something about his look didn¡¯t sit well with me. He never got that look in his eyes whenever he talked about Nick. It was dark and closed off, telling everyone around him to back off. I didn¡¯t ask him about it though, we¡¯d talk about that privately.


    ¡°How was your flight?¡± I asked Prisci, taking a seat beside her.


    ¡°Tiring.¡± She admitted, ¡°I¡¯m d I¡¯m home.¡±


    ¡°I can imagine.¡± I told her, my eyes trailing back to Evan who was still standing, ¡°What are we going to do about dinner?¡± I asked him and then shifted my gaze to his sister, ¡°Do you want to eat in or out?¡±


    ¡°In.¡± She told me quickly, ¡°I feel like staying in and catch up with you guys.¡±


    She wasn¡¯t writing me off yet, she wanted to get to know me before she formed her opinion. That was good, it meant that we might actually get along.


    ¡°I¡¯ll leave you two to it and order us dinner,¡± Evan told us, reaching for his phone and leaving the room.


    He was giving me time alone with his sister to get to know her. He probably knew we weren¡¯t going to have an open conversation with him present. As always he was very thoughtful.


    ¡°How did you and Evan met?¡± Prisci asked me curiously.


    She didn¡¯t say more but I could tell by the look in her eyes that she was genuinely curious about it, probably wondering why I was different from the other girls he slept with before. He probably never introduced them to her either.


    ¡°We met through Nick a few years back. We were merely acquaintances, sometimes going to the same parties together with Nick.¡±


    ¡°Really?¡± Her voice sounded more lively, ¡°Then what changed, what made you two decide to start dating?¡±


    ¡°Evan who kept insisting that we would work together and I do have to admit that I always felt something more for him than friendship.¡± I smiled as I remembered how Nick outed us, making us face reality because we were both too stubborn to make the first move, ¡°I¡¯m d we took that step though, we actually do work well together.¡±


    ¡°Evan sounded genuinely happy when he mentioned you to me.¡±


    ¡°Evan talked about me?¡±


    Prisci chuckled, ¡°Of course he did. You are his girlfriend and you do have a key to his apartment. That says enough doesn¡¯t it?¡±


    I suppose it did say enough. You wouldn¡¯t give away a key to some random girl you weren¡¯t serious about.N?velDrama.Org is the owner.


    ¡°Are you settled in?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m staying in the guest room for a few weeks.¡± Prisci told me and then nced up, grinning at Evan who sauntered in, ¡°But I promise you won¡¯t even notice I¡¯m here. You two don¡¯t have to mind my presence.¡±


    I smiled at her, she was cute, not wanting to be in her brother¡¯s way.


    ¡°Don¡¯t worry about that, you should let your presence known.¡± I told her, ¡°Spend some time with Evan and catch up. I bet you have some awesome stories to tell him.¡± I then focused on my boyfriend, ¡°You ordered in?¡±


    ¡°Dinner will arrive in forty minutes.¡± He stepped to his sister and ced his hand on her head, ¡°You can go freshen up.¡±


    She got up and wrapped her arms around his waist, giving him a hug. When he kissed her head she released him, shed me a smile and walked out of the room. Once she was out of sight Evan took a seat beside me and pulled me to his side, holding me while he closed his eyes and let out a tired sigh.


    ¡°My sister had a crush on Nick.¡± He muttered tiredly, ¡°How didn¡¯t I see that before?¡±


    I couldn¡¯t help but to grin, ¡°Isn¡¯t that normal?¡± I asked, which made him tighten his grip around me, ¡°You know, developing an innocent crush on your brother¡¯s best friend because you think he is more mature than the boys around you.¡±


    ¡°I must have been blind then.¡±


    ¡°Or she was good at hiding it.¡±


    ¡°She thought I knew because she mentioned it in the car. It made things awkward for all of us.¡± He told me quietly, ¡°I know she was only joking about it, wanting to tease Nick a bit. But I got upset and behaved like a girl, giving him the cold shoulder and ignoring him.¡±


    I pped his shoulder,ughing at his insult. I knew it was true though, girls could be cold and distant when their feelings were hurt.


    ¡°Nick knows you¡¯re not going to stay away from him forever. He knows you need time to process things.¡±


    ¡°Prisci is no different from all the other girls, falling in love with her brother¡¯s best friend.¡± He sounded upset again, looking like a pouty little toddler, ¡°I¡¯m just d Nick never gave her an in. Can you imagine how fucked up things would be right now?¡±


    Seeing how upset Evan was about something which wasn¡¯t even an issue, I could definitely imagine things being messed up if something did happen between Nick and his sister. Prisci joking about her crush told me she was long over it.


    ¡°Nick would never go there. You¡¯re too important to him.¡±


    Evan nodded, ¡°I know.¡±


    I patted him gently on the chest and then pulled away, getting to my feet, ¡°I¡¯ll grab us something to drink. I¡¯m thinking white wine or do you want something stronger?¡±¡®


    ¡°I¡¯ll have whatever you¡¯re having.¡±


    Smiling I walked away, ¡°Things will be okay, Evan. It sounds like your sister is a lovely girl. I promise you that it will all work out.¡±


    While getting us a ss of wine I tried to get rid of my smile. I had nothing to worry about when it came to Prisci. Evan wasn¡¯t pulling away from me either. It made me dare to think about wedding bells and white dresses.

 Chapter 31-Needy Boy(1)

    A week went by while Evan¡¯s sister was getting settled in, trying to get back to her old life. Not once did Evan mention to her how he felt about her traveling and not being there for him. I wanted to push him, but I knew it wouldn¡¯t help anyone. I needed to let him handle things on his own. I was baking a cake together with Laurel at my own apartment, gossiping about the things I knew about Evan¡¯s sister. I was horrible, I know, but you know, sometimes you couldn¡¯t help but spill sensitive information to your best girl. Those things just slipped out.


    ¡°You¡¯re kidding,¡± Laurel told me as she dumped a bit too much sugar into the bowl.


    ¡°You¡¯re not following the recipe.¡± I told her and pulled back when she pped my hand away when I reached for the tablet which was right in front of her on the counter, ¡°Seriously?¡¯


    ¡°Sometimes you need to follow your instincts.¡±


    ¡°You can do that when you¡¯re cooking, baking is much more precise.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s not.¡±


    ¡°It is!¡± I told her, ¡°Trust me if you use too much of one ingredient the whole thing will be ruined.¡±


    Lauren didn¡¯t look so sure anymore, ¡°You bake more often than I do.¡±


    Reaching for the tablet I reyed the video, wanting to go over it one more time to make sure the cake wouldn¡¯t bepletely ruined because Laurel was following her instinct rather than a recipe.


    ¡°Is Evan still mad at his friend?¡±


    ¡°Isn¡¯t mad that Nick, they can neverst without each other.¡±


    That made herugh, ¡°So the one you should be jealous of is Nick. He can steal your boyfriend away.¡±


    I nced up from my tablet and met Laurel¡¯s amused gaze, ¡°Yeah, Emily and I shouldn¡¯t be surprised when those two run away with each other one day.¡±


    Laughing Laurel shook her head at me, ¡°But I get it. You know it¡¯s an overprotective brother thing. They never think anyone is good enough to be with their sister. Even if it¡¯s Nick he doesn¡¯t want him to get close to her.¡±


    ¡°Nick would never cross that line, he is a good guy.¡±


    ¡°I know he is.¡± Laurel muttered, ¡°Too bad Emily got to him first.¡±


    I shook my spoon at her, ¡°No, Nick got to her first. He chased her.¡±


    ¡°Nick chased a girl?¡± Laurel didn¡¯t sound like she believed me, but it was the truth.


    ¡°Yes.¡±


    ¡°Then there must be something special about that girl.¡± Laurel narrowed her eyes on me, as she tried to make me spill the beans, but there wasn¡¯t anything to tell, ¡°She must be highly intelligent or did she model for thetest magazines? Maybe an inte celebrity?¡±


    Iughed at that, ¡°No, Emily was a college student when they met, working at one of his clubs. She is a smart girl, but I wouldn¡¯t say she is a genius. She is pretty, but not a supermodel.¡±


    ¡°Then why did he chase her?¡±


    I smiled at that, knowing exactly why Nick chased her, ¡°It¡¯s a feeling you get one you meet that one person who makes you think of nothing else but them. Who bes your world, the one person you want to see the first thing in the morning.¡±


    ¡°Yet you haven¡¯t spent any time together with Evan ever since his sister got back.¡± Laurel reminded me.


    ¡°They need some alone time together.¡±


    ¡°Well, I suppose I can¡¯t say anything bad about her since she¡¯s not around much. They must have a lot to discuss.¡±


    ¡°Evan and I are good.¡± I reassured her, ¡°Nothing to worry about.¡±


    ¡°But don¡¯t you ever get jealous? I mean now he is spending all his time with Prisci and Emily. I mean I know that you guys are sure about each other, but if it were me I¡¯d still be unsure. Especially when my boyfriend would ignore me for a few days to spend all his free time with other women.¡±


    ¡°You need to work on trusting people more.¡± I told her, ¡°Emily is like a sister to him, he¡¯d never go there. And like I said before Prisci has no ill intentions, she isn¡¯t trying to make us break-up or something. Also, Evan isn¡¯t ignoring me. We¡¯re talking every day.¡±


    ¡°It¡¯s a good thing you¡¯re not the jealous type.¡±


    She should have known how angry I got whenever I saw Evan messing around with other women. But he wasn¡¯t mine so I couldn¡¯t say anything about it. Nick noticed my difort, but he nevermented on it either. Things were different now though. I knew for a fact that Evan would never cheat on me. If he wanted to mess around with someone else he¡¯d break-up with me first. I didn¡¯t want to say it would never happen because we were solid. You never knew what life had in store for you. But right now, I had no doubts about him at all.


    ¡°Let¡¯s put this cake in the oven and settle on the couch.¡±


    Laurel agreed with me and settled on the couch with me once we cleaned up the kitchen and put the cake in the oven. We watched a movie together while discussing her ns for the weekend. She was going out with our other friend, Sasha. I knew things could get pretty wild when I wasn¡¯t there. So I suggested they would visit one of Nick¡¯s clubs. At least I wouldn¡¯t be so worried knowing Nick would make sure my friends wouldn¡¯t get hurt when they were out clubbing at his ce.


    ***


    After taking a long bath I wrapped a towel around me, covering up my body and reached for the moisturizer. I finished up moisturizing my entire body when I heard the door creak, making me spin around and drop the tube when I faced Evan. He looked amused, leaning against the doorway while he took me in. His look told me he liked what he saw.This is from N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°What are you doing here?¡±


    ¡°Prisci is heading into town and Nick is already home, taking care of Emily. So I figured I needed to see my girl since I¡¯ve been neglecting her.¡±


    I smiled at him, liking that he still thought about me while he was taking care of others who needed him more.


    ¡°I told you I¡¯d be alright.¡± I reminded him.


    ¡°I know, but it¡¯s more my selfish needs.¡± I told me as he slowly approached me, looking like a predator who was closing in on its prey, ¡°I couldn¡¯t think of anything else but being inside of you.¡± He grabbed onto my towel and undid it, letting it drop to my feet, while he grabbed onto my hips and pulled me closer to him, his nose brushing against my jaw, ¡°God, you smell so good.¡±


    I smiled as I buried my head against his chest, focusing on the feel of his hands traveling all over my naked body, ¡°You only have one thing on your mind.¡± I whispered yfully to him.


    ¡°When ites to you, definitely.¡± He told me without hesitation, one of his hands traveled down my stomach, cupping me between my thighs, ¡°You¡¯re enjoying it.¡± He told me, sounding rather cocky about it.


    ¡°So you only came over to have sex with me?¡±

 Chapter 32-Needy Boy(2)

    He chuckled into my neck, cing a gentle kiss on my shoulder, ¡°That and I really just wanted to hold you while we snuggled in bed.¡±


    I wrapped my arms around his neck, biting my lip when he slipped two fingers inside me and started to move them, trying to get me there faster. I inhaled sharply trying to breathe through the pleasure and brushed my lips against his. He kissed me back, nipping at my bottom lip, teasing me while his thumb started to rub over my sensitive bundle.


    ¡°The sounds you make are really hot.¡± He told me quietly, sinking his teeth into my bottom lip.


    I held onto him with everything I had, feeling weak in my knees as the friction got too much. I could do nothing else but hold on and letting the pleasure wash over me. Evan pushed his fingers in deeper and got me there, making me explode in his arms. He let me ride out my orgasm and then wrapped me up in his arms, carrying me to the bed and carefully cing me down. His hands spread my legs apart while he kicked off his shoes and crawled on top of me.


    ¡°I can¡¯t wait to get inside of you.¡±


    I reached for his belt and pulled him even closer to me, ¡°Then hurry up.¡±


    ¡°I might be a dirty boy, but you match well with me, don¡¯t you?¡±


    I undid his belt and reached for the zipper, not being able to take it much longer. His voice was caressing me all over, making me tingle between my legs. I was afraid I might just have another orgasm just listening to him talk. He gave me what I wanted, pushing his pants down his thighs and freeing himself from his boxers. He didn¡¯t undress, not even getting rid of his jacket and it turned me on even more. He pushed inside of me and gave us both what we wanted. While wrapping me up in his arms he moved his hips at a slow pace, staring into my eyes the entire time. It felt too intimate like we were staring into each other¡¯s souls. I couldn¡¯t look away though. Instead, I reached for his hands andced our fingers together, wanting to feel even closer to him. I reached my second orgasm of the night, clutching onto him while I rode it out. He stopped moving, knowing I¡¯d be too sensitive if he continued. Once I calmed down, my body feeling sluggish he chased his own orgasm. Opening my eyes I cupped his face and pressed my lips against his, taking in his groans and sounds of pleasure. I felt his body tense up and knew he was close. Pulling out of the kiss he buried his head in the pillow beside my head, letting out the sounds of pleasure while he came inside of me. Gently rubbing his back we both tried to calm down, not moving just staying in the position we were in. Once Evan regained his strength he pulled away from me, tucked me in and then locked up the apartment like he always did. He got out of his clothes, only leaving his boxers on and crawled in beside me.


    ¡°Let me hold you.¡± He told me, pulling me closer to him and letting me snuggle in his side, ¡°I missed this.¡±


    ¡°Me too,¡± I admitted to him, letting my hand rest upon his chest, feeling his heart beating beneath my palm. It was soothing and made me slowly drift away.


    ¡°I love you, Zo.¡± He told me, I was too tired to open my eyes and respond, but I loved hearing it. I wondered if he could tell by just looking at me.


    ***


    Groaning I crawled up into a ball and tried to move away from the hand which was shaking me, ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± I mumbled, too tired to move or open my eyes for that matter.


    ¡°Wake up, Zo,¡± Evan whispered to me.


    ¡°Just five more minutes,¡± I muttered back, thinking it was morning and he was about to leave, wanting to say goodbye to me.


    He kept shaking me though, wanting me to move.


    ¡°Emily is inbor, her brother just called, letting me know that Nick and Emily want us there.¡±


    I shot up, staring wide-eyed at my amused looking boyfriend, ¡°Emily is inbor?¡±N?velDrama.Org is the owner.


    ¡°Yeah, so why don¡¯t you get ready so we can head to the hospital.¡±


    Pushing the sheets away, I shivered, realizing was naked. I felt Evan¡¯s eyes trail over my body, that boy would definitely make mepletely useless, only thinking about how to get in his pants. It wasn¡¯t that healthy, it couldn¡¯t be. I praised him mentally when he did move away and headed to the closet, grabbing my robe and tossing it to me.


    ¡°I¡¯ll make us some coffee.¡± He told me, walking out of the bedroom to give me some privacy.


    I got ready as fast as I could. Taking a quick shower to wash Evan off me and smell flowery again. Getting dressed in a dress shirt, I pulled on some ck tights and ck boots. I grabbed a denim jacket shrugging it on and pulled my hair up in a messy bun, pinning it to my head so it wouldn¡¯t move around. Grabbing my bag I met up with Evan in the living room and took the coffee mug from him, needing to feel more alive since it was only three in the morning. After we had our coffee we headed to the hospital, going there to be our friends¡¯ moral support. I knew for a fact that Evan couldn¡¯t wait to meet Matthew Evan, his namesake because Emily was grateful to Evan for pushing her and Nick to be together. He gave them the push they gave us back in Tokyo, I guess we weren¡¯t so different from each other at all.

 Chapter 33-Finding Happiness(1)

    Wandering to the department store I took in the sight of Prisci skipping around, showing me pieces of clothing which would look cute on Matthew. The little had been with us for a week and was already getting rotten spoiled. I couldn¡¯t deny the fact that I was one of the people spoiling him. He looked cute, smelled amazing and was soft to the touch, I loved that baby boy. Evan though waspletely taken over by him. He spent all his free time with Matthew, giving Emily and Nick some time to themselves.


    ¡°How about this one?¡± Prisci asked holding up a onesie which would make Matthew look like a panda, ¡°Wouldn¡¯t he look adorable in it?¡± She then spun around and collected a few more onesies, ¡°And this one too.¡±


    Smiling at seeing how excited she got over animal onesies I joined her. Buying our baby boy too many clothing which he didn¡¯t need. It was necessary though. He was the first baby we weed to our little group of friends.


    ¡°I can¡¯t wait till I get to shop for you and Evan.¡±


    The paper bags slipped through my fingers, realizing what Prisci was suggesting. Giggling she bend down and picked up the bags, scolding me for being so careless.


    ¡°Didn¡¯t think you¡¯d be so surprised about that. I mean you and Evan are pretty serious, right?¡±


    I couldn¡¯t deny that.


    ¡°We are.¡±


    ¡°Then isn¡¯t wedding bells and cribs the next logical step?¡±


    It was and I had been fantasizing about wedding bells, the cribs though, my mind never wondered to that. It was terrifying thinking about a big responsibility like that. A child needed more than just adorable onesies and cute toys. From what I could tell from Emily and Nick it was tiring, sucking the life out of you because it needed so much care. They loved doing it, but I wondered if it would be the same for me. I didn¡¯t want to strain my rtionship with Evan.


    ¡°What if I don¡¯t make a great mother? I mean it¡¯s different taking care of Matthew because at the end of the day his parents do all the hard work. Feeding him, changing his diapers, almost never getting any sleep. I don¡¯t know if I¡¯m strong enough to go through that and still love Evan the same way.¡±


    ¡°Zoey, I think you¡¯re underestimating yourself. Putting the fear in yourself because you¡¯re afraid. You know it isn¡¯t that hard to take care of a little being who you¡¯ll love more than life. You¡¯ll do it without any regret and you know, you don¡¯t have to do it on your own because Evan is right there. Always taking care of the people who he loves most.¡±


    We headed to the awaiting car and got into the backseat after loading the trunk with our many bags. We continued our conversation about the future while the driver took us to Emily¡¯s.


    ***


    Emily put away the clothing we bought for Matthew, shaking her head at seeing how many onesies we bought along with the necessary items like diapers and cotton onesies which Matthew could wear underneath his everyday clothing. I smiled as I watched Evan hold onto the boy while kissing his head. My boyfriend didn¡¯t notice anyone else in the room, it could make a girl jealous, but instead, I loved seeing that smile upon his face. He was happy and Matthew seemed to like where he was too. Making gentle sounds while he kicked his little feet from time to time.


    ¡°It¡¯s a cute picture isn¡¯t it?¡±


    I nced over my shoulder watching as Emily walked toward me, handing me a cup of hot cocoa, ¡°Evan looks hot holding a baby like that, looking like the happiest man alive.¡±


    I smiled, not even bothered by the fact that Emily called Evan hot, because it was the truth. Evan was hot and charming. He could win anyone over, man or woman just by smiling at them. Prisci walked past us and took a seat next to her brother, cing his cup of tea in front of him on the table. She listened as Evan talked to her about his day, also telling her about the time he spent with Matthew.


    ¡°I won¡¯t be able to get this picture out of my head,¡± I admitted to Emily.


    Emilyughed, ¡°It gets me whenever I see Nick like that, especially since we can¡¯t do anything about this tension between us.¡±


    I nced at her, ¡°It would kill me.¡± I whispered to her, ¡°Especially since Evan and I always do something about it, you know.¡±


    Emily nodded, ¡°It¡¯s hard, but then I remember the pain I feel and know my body isn¡¯t ready.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯ll just have to enjoy the sight of Nick being an overprotective daddy.¡±N?velDrama.Org is the owner.


    ¡°That he is.¡± Emily sighed, ¡°Never leaving Matthew out of sight whenever he is home.¡±


    We joined Evan and Prisci on the couch, enjoying casual chatter and sipping from our hot beverages. Later that night Nick joined us, having dinner on the couch and watching a movie. It was like nothing had changed, yet the mood was totally different. Everyone seemed even happier, more radiant. We were all having a great time until Emily fell asleep. We took it as our cue to leave, giving the couple some space. Evan dropped me off at my apartment first and then headed home together with his sister. I didn¡¯t mind having some space to myself because I needed to clear my head. The things Prisci and Emily told me today were haunting my mind, making me fantasize about things which weren¡¯t even within my reach yet. Damn those girls for putting those thoughts in my head.

 Chapter 34-Finding Happiness(2)

    Snuggling with Evan on his living room couch, I turned my face away when he tried to kiss me. Teasing him, wanting to make him work for it. He ced his hand on my cheek and tilted my head toward him, leaning in to kiss me. Giving him what he wanted I kissed him back, smiling when he nipped on my lower lip, teasing me this time.


    ¡°Tell me why you¡¯ve been evading me.¡±C¨°ntens bel0ngs to N?(v)elDr/a/ma.Org


    His hand trailed down my side, the soft touch making my body shudder. He felt it, taking the opportunity to push me down the couch and hover over me, not giving me space or the chance to run away from him. He wanted to talk about it, yet I didn¡¯t have the courage to talk to him about what haunted my mind for thest couple of days. I feared his reaction, not wanting to ruin things between us. Things were good.


    ¡°I¡¯ve not been evading you.¡±


    His lips pressed against my throat, making me bite my lower lip to keep myself from making any sound. I gripped onto his shirt, wrinkling the pristine white dress shirt. By the looks of it, Evan didn¡¯t care.


    ¡°Liar.¡±


    I closed my eyes focusing on the hot trail of kisses he left along my throat, trying to coax me into speaking up, telling him the truth.


    ¡°Just tell me.¡± He whispered.


    I loosened my grip on his shirt and gently pressed my palms against his firm chest instead, feeling his heart beating beneath my palm. It was calm and not matching my own heartbeat at all. He knew what he wanted and he wouldn¡¯t stop until he got what he wanted. Evan being that determined turned me on. I wondered if there was anything about him which didn¡¯t turn me on, because so far nothing about him had the opposite effect on me.


    ¡°It¡¯s not important.¡±


    He pulled away from me to look into my eyes and cupped my face instead, ¡°It is important considering I haven¡¯t seen you in a while. I basically had to beg you toe over tonight.¡±


    ¡°I was busy.¡±


    ¡°Liar.¡±


    I looked away from him, not being able to look him in the eyes as I told him what was on my mind the entire time I¡¯ve been by myself, not wanting to meet up with him.


    ¡°Do you want to have kids with me?¡±


    ¡°Eventually, yes.¡±


    I didn¡¯t think he¡¯d respond that quickly or firmly for that matter.


    ¡°I¡¯ve been wondering if I¡¯d make a good mother, but so far I can¡¯t think of any positive points about myself which would indicate that a child would be happy in my care. That I would be able to raise them properly, giving them everything they need.¡±


    Evan pulled away from me, grabbing onto my wrist and pulled me up to sit straight as well. He pulled me to him, letting me snuggle into his side while he wrapped his arms around me. He didn¡¯t think I was crazy nor did he pull away from me because I had those kinds of thoughts. I was an idiot for not speaking up to him sooner. He would have calmed my chaotic mind down for sure.


    ¡°Emily and Nick didn¡¯t n to have Matthew, that just happened.¡± He told me, ¡°But now that he¡¯s here they can¡¯t imagine their life without him. Neither one of them had any experience and they¡¯re probably making a few mistakes. But what they¡¯re doing right is handling him with care, giving him the love he deserves.¡± He tightened his grip on me as his voice trailed off, ¡°To a child a parents¡¯ love is everything, material things don¡¯t matter.¡±


    Something in his voice rmed me. I had a feeling what he was telling me had a deeper meaning, the thing was he didn¡¯t continue on the subject. Instead, he kissed my temple, holding me close to him as if he needed my warmth tofort him. Not asking questions, because I didn¡¯t know where his mind was at I wrapped my arms around him instead. Holding him because I felt like he needed it.


    ¡°Evan, can I talk to you for a second?¡±


    ¡°Jesus, you scared me.¡± Evan pulled away from me and turned to look at his smirking sister, ¡°What do you want to talk about?¡±


    Prisci took a seat on the couch and ced her hands in herp,cing her fingers together while she lowered her gaze, not being able to look her brother in the face. I feared for the worst, thinking something bad happened to the girl. Instead, she told him something which surprised both of us.


    ¡°Could you talk to Nick about letting me work for him? I mean he has so many projects going on, I¡¯m sure he can find me a job at one of his properties.¡±


    ¡°Do you need money?¡± Evan asked, leaning forward, trying to look his sister in the eyes, ¡°Because all you need to do is ask, I can-¡±


    ¡°It isn¡¯t about the money.¡± She told him, interrupting him midsentence, ¡°I¡¯m thinking about settling. Finding myself a ce in the city and sticking around for a while.¡±


    Evan reached for my hand and gripped it tightly in his, ¡°You want to stay?¡±


    She looked up meeting his gaze, ¡°Are you dissatisfied with that?¡±


    ¡°Of course not!¡± He told her quickly, ¡°I¡¯m actually happy to hear you say that.¡± He admitted to her, letting go of my hand and taking a seat beside his sister instead, pulling her to him while he hugged her, ¡°It¡¯s all I ever wanted, having my sister around again.¡±


    She buried her face in his chest and let him hug her, ¡°You should have told me.¡± She whispered to him.


    Giving them a moment to themselves, I headed to the kitchen and made myself of cup coffee. Once the beverage was done and had plenty of milk and sugar in it I settled in Evan¡¯s bedroom, deciding I was going to stay the night. Without Evan having an actual conversation with his sister Prisci decided to stay in New York. I had a feeling seeing how happy Emily and Nick were and spending time with Matthew changed her mind. She wanted all that in her life. I was on the same page as Prisci. I wanted all of that too.

 Chapter 35-Casual Proposal

    Evan glided his hands over my silk dress, his front pressed against my back while he felt me up. His look which I could see in the mirror told me he rather liked touching me while I wore my long, silk dress. I leaned my head back, letting it rest against his shoulder while he cupped my breasts, leaving kisses on my neck.


    ¡°If I wasn¡¯t the best man I¡¯d take my time to explore you.¡±


    ¡°But you are the best man.¡± I smiled, opening my eyes and meeting his heated gaze in the mirror, ¡°So you should stop fondling me and make sure we have everything before we leave. It¡¯s almost ten. I bet Nick is going to bite off your head if you¡¯rete.¡±


    Evan pressed a kiss to my shoulder and then pulled away, ¡°It¡¯s a shame, we¡¯ll be taking Matthew with us so I can¡¯t even do anything about it tonight.¡± He pouted like a little boy as he walked away from me, heading to the living room.


    I grabbed my scarf and clutch and followed after Evan. He called up the driver and met my gaze, nodding at me. We were ready to head out and give Emily and Nick the moral support they needed. Evan was Nick¡¯s best man and Emily had her best friend Brandon be her maid of honor, or should I say the man of honor. She did ask of me to watch over Matthew during the ceremony, so I¡¯d do that. Heading out of the apartment Evan followed after me and locked up. Grabbing my hand as he led me out of the building and to the awaiting car. It took a bit of effort to get in the car with my long dress restricting my leg movement, but Evan helped me, chuckling the entire time.


    ¡°Guess that dress only looks good, it¡¯s not convenient at all.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll admit it¡¯s hard getting in and out of vehicles.¡±


    Evan put up the privacy screen and faced me, ¡°I suppose you¡¯re not going to let me have my way with you now?¡±


    Iughed, giving his shoulder a shove, ¡°Seriously? You can¡¯t, it took a lot of effort to make myself look this good. I can¡¯t have you mess up my hair and make-up.¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re beautiful even when you¡¯re undone.¡±


    I shook my head at him, ¡°No, definitely not today.¡±


    ¡°Zoey, we¡¯re taking Matthew with us tonight.¡±


    I was nearly crying ofughter, listening to Evan trying to convince me. I wasn¡¯t having it though, it took me about an hour and a half to do my hair and make-up, I wouldn¡¯t let him mess that up because we were both frustrated and needed to have an orgasm or two.


    ¡°You know we can have our way after Matthew falls asleep.¡±


    Evan looked at me as if I just told him I¡¯m actually from Mars and would soon take over the world, ¡°I¡¯m not going to let this opportunity pass me by. It took a lot of convincing to make Nick agree to his honeymoon. I think this is the one time he¡¯ll let Matthew stay with us for a week. I should spend all my free time together with that boy.¡±


    ¡°The boy needs to sleep, you know that right? A baby needs as much sleep as possible.¡± I turned to look at him and ced my hand against his cheek, ¡°Or are you going to be a creeper and watch him sleep the entire night? I mean you can, but then I¡¯ll just get myself off.¡±


    He narrowed his eyes on me, ¡°You trying to tease me?¡±


    ¡°Not at all, just informing you.¡±


    He pouted once more, making me lose itpletely. I cupped his face in my hands, making him look at me and leaned in, pressing a firm kiss to his lips. He seemed surprised by that, I could feel him tense up and then let go, kissing me back. Smiling in the kiss I pulled away and brushed my thumb over his lips.


    ¡°You¡¯re so cute when you pout like that.¡±


    He rolled his eyes at me and pulled away, ¡°I don¡¯t pout.¡±


    ¡°You do, whenever things don¡¯t go your way you pout.¡±


    He nced at me, his eyes turning icy cold, ¡°I do not pout.¡± He told me firmer this time.


    I looked ahead again, a smile stered to my face, ¡°Whatever you say.¡±


    Grabbing me by the waist Evan pulled me closer to him, raised the skirt of my dress up my thighs and made me straddle him. He didn¡¯t give me time to respond and sunk his teeth into my bottom lip, punishing me for making fun of him. He ced his hands on my butt and pressed me up against his groin.


    ¡°I won¡¯t let you get away with that so easily.¡± He told me quietly.


    cing my hands upon his shoulders I brushed my nose against his, ¡°I¡¯m not letting you have your way with me.¡± I responded.


    ¡°We¡¯ll see about that.¡±


    In the end, Evan got what he wanted and even though I was against it at first because I didn¡¯t want to look like a hot mess during the ceremony, I also got what I wanted and more.


    After the ceremony and the reception, Evan and I headed to his apartment together with Matthew. He lookedfortable in his chair while Evan carried him with ease. I unlocked the apartment and let Evan head in first. He took care of Matthew while he told me to getfortable. It gave me a preview of how things would be when it was our time and I liked it. I got rid of my make-up and took a shower, feeling more refreshing as I dressed infy clothes and met up with Evan and Matthew in the guestroom.


    The guestroom belonged to Prisci for a long while, but she recently got her own apartment together with a close friend. She was enjoying her stay in the city so far, working as a receptionist at one of the hotels Nick owned. She needed to start at the bottom, but he promised her he¡¯d give her plenty of opportunities to improve herself, to work herself up thetter. If she worked hard she¡¯d achieve more. Prisci wasn¡¯t against it at all, it made me realize that the girl wasn¡¯t a spoiled brat at all. Evan just never opened up to her to let her know how he felt about things, so she figured he was okay with how things were.


    ¡°You enjoy staring at us?¡±


    ¡°I have to admit that you look hot holding Matthew like that.¡±


    Evan smirked at me, ¡°So who is being a creeper now?¡±N?velDrama.Org is the owner.


    I leaned against the doorpost and smiled, ¡°I suppose I¡¯m the creeper in this scenario.¡± Walking toward the boys I gave Matthew a kiss to his cheek, ¡°Night sweetheart.¡±


    The little boy stirred in Evan¡¯s arms and then settled once more. Evan ced him in his crib which we bought when Nick agreed to let Matthew stay over. Matthew pulled up his hands, clenching them into little fists while he made a soft noise.


    ¡°Someone has settled already.¡±


    Evan smiled and gently ran his finger over the boy¡¯s cheek, ¡°I can¡¯t wait till we have one of our own.¡±


    I nced at him, ¡°Firstes marriage thenes the baby in the baby carriage.¡±


    Evan chuckled, causing Matthew the stir, ¡°You seriously just quoted a children¡¯s song to me?¡±


    ¡°I¡¯m just stating how it is,¡± I told him and then moved away, walking out of the guest room and heading toward the bedroom.


    Evan followed, tossing his jacket on the one-seat by the window and undoing his shirt, ¡°If it¡¯s my decision I¡¯d say we get married right away. But you don¡¯t want that.¡±


    I spun around and faced him, ¡°I actually don¡¯t care for a big wedding, just the two of us and our witnesses.¡±


    ¡°Seriously?¡± Evan didn¡¯t look convinced, ¡°Didn¡¯t Emily give you the contact information of her wedding nner. I thought you were really impressed by her.¡±


    ¡°I was.¡± I confirmed, ¡°But you know in the end it only matters that we love each other and feel secure enough to make that official. It¡¯s only a ring and a piece of paper. What matters is what we feel in here.¡± I pressed a hand against my chest to make my point.


    Evan approached me, grabbing onto my hands and holding them gently in his, ¡°We¡¯ll do a wedding because I want you to feel like a princess. Also, I think that your father will forever hate me if we elope. He just got over the fact that things didn¡¯t work out the way he nned, we shouldn¡¯t push it. We¡¯ll invite your parents, my sister and a few close friends. Nothing big, just small and intimate.¡±


    ¡°Sounds good.¡±


    ¡°Then you agree to marry me?¡±


    Iughed, amused by how casual we were about getting married, ¡°I agree.¡± I told him professionally, trying not tough or to smile for that matter, ¡°I also agree to have a baby with you once we get married since that was your end game, right?¡±


    He released my hands and wrapped an arm around my waist, pressing me up against his body while with his free hand he gave me a p on the butt.


    ¡°No need to mock me.¡±


    ¡°We were talking about it like we were discussing the stock market, of course, I couldn¡¯t let the opportunity pass.¡±


    ¡°I¡¯ll get you a ring and do this properly.¡± He promised me, ¡°I¡¯ll give you what you deserve.¡±


    Leaning in I pressed a kiss to his lips, ¡°Love you.¡± I nced over my shoulder, hearing a piercing cry echo through the apartment, ¡°It¡¯s your chance to spend some more time with Matthew.¡± I told him and pulled away, ¡°I¡¯m heading to bed.¡±


    He watched me as I crawled into bed and rolled to my side, ¡°Seriously?¡±


    I was only messing with him, I¡¯d be there if he needed me. But I knew Evan got this and he¡¯d have suggested it anyway.


    ¡°You don¡¯t need me right?¡±


    ¡°Yeah, right.¡± He walked over to me and kissed my head, ¡°Night, Zo. Love you too.¡±


    Smiling I closed my eyes, ¡°Call me if you do need me.¡± I called after him as Evan left the room.


    ¡°I got this!¡± He called back.


    I knew he got it. He was my personal superman and soon he¡¯d only belong to me.

 Chapter 36-Content with Life(1)

    Evan grabbed onto my hand, his hand was big and warm, giving me thefort I needed. Gently he slipped the white gold ring around my finger. The minute it was set in ce, he looked at me, meeting my gaze and smiling from ear to ear. His eyes were warm pools of happiness, drawing me in. At that moment I forgot I had a task to do as well, causing a few people in the room to snicker. Snapping out of my daze I grabbed onto his hand and also slipped a white gold ring around his finger, a sign of him belonging to me. We were announced husband and wife to our friends and family which made them cheer, letting us know they were as excited about this as we were.


    ***


    Laurel sat down beside me, a grin spread across her face as she leaned in.


    ¡°I need to tell you something.¡±


    Her giddy mood was contagious or it was the fact I had a few sses of champagne, either way, I was getting as excited as her about the subject and I didn¡¯t even have a freaking clue what she wanted to tell me.


    ¡°Tell me, tell me.¡±


    She scanned the room as if she was afraid she¡¯d be spilling ssified information which could potentially harm her. She leaned in to whisper to me.This is from N?velDrama.Org.


    ¡°I¡¯ve met someone.¡± She told me thinking she was being quiet, but I was sure she announced it to our table which made Emily and Nick shake their heads and try hard not tough at the drunk Laurel. I was on the same page as them.


    ¡°Laurel.¡± I whispered back, actually lowering my voice, ¡°You¡¯re not being quiet at all.¡± I let her know and giggled when she looked surprised and scanned the room again, her cheeks flushed when she realized I was right, ¡°So who did you meet?¡± I asked her curiously, ¡°There aren¡¯t many people around. So he must be close to Evan.¡±


    ¡°Daniel.¡±


    Memories flooded back to me as I remembered the brown haired male who kissed me straight on the mouth only to mess with Evan. He was ying around, the kind of guy who was still figuring out what he wanted in life and along the way, he broke a few hearts. I didn¡¯t want Laurel to fall into the broken heart category. She looked excited though, her eyes telling me she was happy right now. I couldn¡¯t take that away from her. Instead of telling her the truth I smiled, pretending to be perfectly okay with it. I¡¯d have a talk with Evanter so he could do something about it. I knew guys sometimes had that kind of conversation when it concerned a woman they cared about.


    ¡°Daniel, is fun to be around with, right?¡± I asked, trying to pry without t out asking questions about what they were up to.


    ¡°He is.¡± Laurel agreed, ¡°We did shots a few seconds ago and he¡¯s amazing on the dance floor.¡± Lauren reached for my hand and dragged me out of my chair with her, ¡°Speaking of which we should hit the dance floor and dance like we just don¡¯t give a fuck.¡±


    I let Laurel drag me onto the dance floor and tried to let go, having fun with my girl and not caring about what other people would think of us. My wedding dress restricted my movement but I still had a great time. Evan who was also on the dance floor, goofing around with Prisci and his friends grabbed onto my waist and dipped me low, pressing his lips to mine which made the people on the dance floor cheer. He helped me stand up straight and smiled at me, his smile mischievously hot. It promised me things which I couldn¡¯t repeat out loud. What I did know was that I wanted to get the fuck out of there and have some privacy with my husband. He knew what I was thinking, the dark flickering in his eyes telling me he was right there with me. Unfortunately, our friends wouldn¡¯t let us go, they imed us, dancing the night away.


    ***


    Evan trailed his hands over my legs, slowly moving them up toward my thighs. The feeling of his hands leaving a hot trail and his lips pressing up against my neck was causing me to lose my mind. My hands were clenched around the back of his shirt, ripping the material out of his pants while I moved frantically to find his belt buckle to undo it. Evan chuckled, the sound deep, vibrating through my entire body.


    ¡°In a rush?¡± He whispered to me.


    ¡°You¡¯re driving me insane,¡± I whispered to him.


    Sitting up on his knees between my legs he undid his belt while his eyes never left mine. He let it drop to the floor whichnded with a loud thud and then unbuttoned and unzipped his pants. All the sounds which told me what wasing were making my heart race and my breathing pick up. I was anticipating the promise of getting an orgasm or two. Evan left his pants unzipped which showed off his boxers and then moved to his shirt, slowly undoing the buttons which revealed his chest and abdomen to me. I reached for him, pressing my hand against his firm chest and slowly trailed it down, I felt his body shudder with my touch and smirked. Not giving me time to gloat he wrapped an arm around my waist and spun me around so he could unzip my dress. He carefully pulled the material away from my skin, making sure not to ruin the silk fabric. Unlike his own clothes which he carelessly tossed aside he got off the bed and ced my wedding dress on the one-seat not wanting to ruin it. Seeing him handle it with such care made me explode with happiness. This man was mine, all mine and I had no idea what I did to deserve him, but what I knew for sure was that I wasn¡¯t going to let him slip away from me.


    ¡°Before I forget.¡± I told him as Iid on my back again and watched him crawl on top of me, ¡°We need to discuss Daniel and his intentions toward Laurel.¡±


    Evan spread my legs and made me wrap them around his waist, ¡°Daniel and Laurel?¡± He asked, his face telling me he had no idea about his friend making a move on my girl.


    ¡°Yeah, Laurel was over the moon.¡±


    ¡°Seriously?¡± Evan leaned in and pressed his lips once more against my neck, ¡°I¡¯ll talk to him.¡±


    I let my hands wander over his back, enjoying the feel of his muscles and heated skin, ¡°Just let him know not to mess with her. Unlike him, she is looking formitment. I don¡¯t want her to get her heart broken.¡±


    Evan pulled away from me and hovered over me, cupping my face in his hands, ¡°I got it. I¡¯ll talk to him.¡± He promised me.


    ¡°Thank you.¡±


    He trailed my panties down my legs, ¡°Can I have my way with you now?¡± He asked, smirking when I giggled in response, ¡°I take that as a yes.¡±


    Evan tossed the filmy material aside and then reached into his boxers, nning on having me without fully undressing. I found it hot and it excited me even more. Not being able to wait I pushed against his shoulder and made himy down on his back, getting on top of him.


    ¡°You getting impatient?¡±


    ¡°You¡¯re ying too much,¡± I told him.


    I guided him inside me and then ced my hands against his chest, keeping him in ce while I took what I wanted. An intense orgasm without the constant teasing. It humored my husband, but his face told me he had noints. He was having a good time too.

 Chapter 37-Content with Life(2)

    Evan was holding onto Matthew, the baby boy observing Evan¡¯s face while he touched it with his little fingers. Matthew giggled when Evan leaned in pretending to bite his fingers, the baby found it hrious. He was at a stage of exploring, wanting to discover new things every day. Emily told me it drove her nuts because she couldn¡¯t look away once.


    ¡°So when are you two nning on having your first one?¡±


    Emily took a seat next to me on the couch and handed me a cup of hot cocoa with whipped cream, ¡°We¡¯re enjoying our married life first. I mean we¡¯ve talked about it and we do n on having children, but just not right now.¡±


    ¡°I understand.¡± Emily trailed her eyes to Evan and Matthew, a small smile spread across her face, ¡°I would have waited too. But since Matthew is here we¡¯re just rearranging our ns. Making new ones which include him too.¡±


    ¡°How is your dad doing?¡± I asked, knowing he had health issues and wanted to spend as much time as possible with his family before he passed. It was heartbreaking knowing someone was trying to squeeze in so many things to experience life before it would all end, I couldn¡¯t imagine it.


    ¡°He is struggling.¡± Emily admitted, ¡°Nothing we didn¡¯t know, but it still hurts.¡±N?vel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner.


    ¡°I know.¡±


    ¡°At least he was there for the wedding and he got to spend a bit of time together with Matthew.¡±


    ¡°You think Max will be okay?¡±


    We both knew Max was a daddy¡¯s boy, it would probably make him feel empty inside when his father wasn¡¯t there anymore. I didn¡¯t know much about his personal life, we did meet up a few times when Emily and Nick were on their honeymoon because of Matthew. It was also the reason I knew Emily¡¯s dad wasn¡¯t doing okay. He was theplete opposite of my dad, but he did make me rethink things. I didn¡¯t want to have any regrets either so I¡¯d try and be as kind to my parents as possible.


    Emily smirked, ¡°I think he¡¯ll manage. He¡¯ll focus on his business and maybe trying to settle down and have a family of his own.¡±


    ¡°It would have been better if Laurel met him instead.¡± I sighed.


    Emily narrowed her eyes on me, ¡°What do you mean?¡±


    ¡°Laurel is dazzled by some man-whore, who by some reason is a friend of Evan.¡±


    ¡°He is not like that.¡± Evan called back, shing her a yful re, ¡°Is not attached to anyone, so he doesn¡¯t have to take responsibility.¡±


    ¡°He is not right for Laurel.¡±


    Emily ced her hand on my knee, trying to calm me down, ¡°You need to let her figure things out herself. Trust me when I say that even if you tell her not to see him anymore because he isn¡¯t right for her, she¡¯ll still see him because she is dazzled. It will only hurt you in the end, because you¡¯ll question your friendship.¡±


    I took a sip from the sweet, warm beverage needing it tofort me because their words didn¡¯tfort me at all.


    ¡°So I just stand by and watch her get hurt?¡±


    Emily didn¡¯t respond to that, instead, she patted me on the knee, ¡°All you can do is be there for her when she needs you.¡±


    We continued to discuss the reasons why I couldn¡¯t interfere with Laurel¡¯s love life and ordered in when Nick joined us. Evan had tucked Matthew in at our guest room where we still had the crib out for him. We didn¡¯t think of putting it away because we knew the boy would be over frequently. Then my husband joined us in the living room and we put on a movie. I was sitting on the floor together with Nick, like thest time we watched a movie together. Evan settled on the couch with Emily. Our night in was quiet, but filled with joy. I was d Nick returned the favor to Evan and pushed us to make a move because now I was content with my marriage and the people in my life. I knew in the future things would only get better because we were surrounded by good people who cared as much about us as we cared about them.


    The Novel will be updated first on this website. Come back and


    continue reading tomorrow, everyone!