The Don's Kitten | PAUSED

Four

"James!"

"What?" I chuckle at her expression.

"My lipstick is gonna smudge." She turns her attention back to the mirror and I roll my eyes but don't move my hand away from her.

When she's done and the lipstick is inside her purse, I grab her throat, making her gasp. I move her head to me and our lips collide in a desperate kiss. She responds to it immediately, opening her mouth to let my tongue in. I take the opportunity to nibble at her bottom lip, and when I bite down she gasps against my mouth.

"You're getting lipstick on you." She breathes between kisses. I only pull her closer.

"I don't care," I respond as I travel to her neck, peppering it with sloppy kisses and her head tilts back.

"If we don't— If we don't get inside we'll never make it to the dinner reservation." She states, the words coming out as a breathy moan.

"They can wait."

She chuckles, the vibrations from her throat going into my mouth and hand. Her hand lifts to push me away, but instead, she grasps onto my suit jacket in a way to desperately pull me closer.

"But we have a reservation." She sighs. "James."

I groan and pull back. "We'll continue this when we come back," I promise, giving her a last kiss before retreating completely back to my seat.

When she has applied another layer of lipstick, as the majority has come off onto my lips, she wipes it away from my mouth and her throat. I take a deep breath of fresh air when I step out and close the door to get to her side.

She steps out and flattens out her dress that reaches her upper knee, and then I lead her into the building, one hand on her lower back.

Every table is occupied with laughter and chatter when we arrive inside, and we barely get through the door before a server greets us.

"Good evening, Mr. De Luca. Your usual table, I presume?" The young man asks, giving us both a polite smile with his hands behind his back.

"Precisely."

He nods and leads us to the table in a corner, where you are surrounded by the windows that overlook the beach and ocean. I have several restaurants both across the country and in Los Angeles, but this one is most certainly one of my favorites.

When we are seated he hands us both menus, before asking which beverages we would like. Now that Ava is 21, she can legally order a glass of red wine which she does, but I order him to bring the entire bottle.

For her birthday, which was a few weeks ago, she told me that she didn't want to do anything huge, so we went to dinner and stayed at a hotel in Italy, where we spent most of our time doing anything but praying. After all, it's what we do best.

"I feel like you own the whole city with the number of restaurants we go to." She says as she leans her elbows on the table, a tiny smirk on her lips.

"What can I say, I'm a successful man," I say proudly, earning a chuckle.

Ava

While we wait for our beverages, we chat about how our day has been while being away from each other. We usually spend every woken second together — often as close as possible — and for the past week, it has been the opposite. For a man who has never had a relationship more than some random chick he picks up at some bar, he is just as clingy as I am. I know, it sounds as if both of us are co-dependent on the other for survival, but it's just how our relationship is and has always been.

"...and if he has to do that, Alesso would have to go away both weekends. I don't understand why he would make such a stupid decision," James says, fiddling with the ring wrapped around his ring finger. I might have gotten lost in my thoughts for a second...

"I'm sure that—" I start, but something behind James gathers my attention. The smile on my face fades and James seems to notice my sudden change in expression. He frowns at me and then follows my gaze to a couple who is just walking into the restaurant. It can't be, I think to myself. The man has his back to me, but his familiar frame and light-brown hair have their own hidden door in my memory. A door that has been locked for quite a while.

"Who is that?" James asks, and my eyes dart back to his confused face.

"Uhm, his name is Adrian. His family is close to mine and we dated for a year back in Spain." My voice is low, and I glance at his back as if I'm afraid he can hear. "But I'm not sure if it's—"

The second he turns his head my way, our eyes lock, and he looks just as surprised as I am. He hasn't changed much, perhaps a little more muscular body, more facial hair, that is shaved so that only the dark stubble shows.

His lips form a smile and he mutters something to his date before they both walk our way, the waiter strolling behind. Are they coming here? Shit. When they reach us he lets go of the fair-haired woman and gestures me in for a hug.

"Ava, ¡no te he visto en mucho tiempo!" He says cheerfully. I glance at a confused James and stand up to embrace him carefully, but just as I remember he tightens his arms around me before letting go. His hands move to mine and he kisses them politely, and instead of allowing me to sit down again, he keeps a light grip on them.

[Ava, I haven't seen you in forever.]

"You look as beautiful as the last time I saw you. In nothing other than a friendly way of course." He grins, his eyes dropping to my chest for a mere second. I don't even dare look at James.

"Thank you, Adrian. It's nice to see you again." I reply awkwardly.

"Oh, I almost forgot," He exclaims, letting go to wrap one arm around the woman next to him."This is Hannah."

I introduce myself to her with a handshake and turn my attention to James, who is ascending from his seat to do the same. I watch with my breath caught in my throat as he steps closer to the pair and. . .shakes their hands, with even a smile plastered on his face. Where is the man who would beat up anyone who looked at me wrong? And why do I miss him. . .When they have introduced each other the waiter comes and we are just about to say goodbye.

"It seems you know each other. This table is actually available in case you would rather want that?" The man, who has the name Tom on his nameplate, says and gestures towards the table right next to us. Yeah, because who wouldn't want to have dinner with your current boyfriend right next to your ex-boyfriend.

"That might be fun." James suggests. I stare at him in disbelief but he only grins with mischief. I have no idea where this sudden switch in attitude came from, but it's not like I can say no, that would just be rude. So they sit down, while I dread how this dinner will end.

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Sorry for being so late w the update!