The Girl Next Door (18+)

04. Blank Canvas

(Edited) Word Count; 3134

So, I lost the translations to some of the sentences due to a minor error, and I can't remember what I wrote 😬 seeing as I write this two months ago.
I apologize for that and I'll work on getting it back.

Also I'll try to update more these days, it's just between work and writing, I don't have a lot of time on my hands.

Thanks for reading.😊

****

Adonis grinned broadly, spotting the full white hair of a man he'd come to regard as his grandfather figure and best friend. Pulling up his shoulder bag he quickened his footsteps as he drew nearer bridging the space that separated them.

Laughing, he threw his arms around him feeling a sense of familiarity and warmth ease his tense frame as the gesture was returned. Gyles pulled away to hold Adonis at arm length as he took him in. Laughing, he pulled him into a hug again, joy etched on his aging face. "égines psilóteros!" (You got taller!)

He smiled brightly at his exclamation. "I hope so, it's been four years, Gyles."

Gyles pulled away again, looking fondly at Adonis. "Four years, seven months, and sixteen days."

"How have you been, Gyles?"

Gyles sighing, gestured to a brown haired boy who ran up to them in a chauffeur's uniform. "Your mother is trying to drive me to an early grave. The entire villa hasn't slept in preparation for your birthday.

Adonis groaned. "I told her I didn't want anything elaborate."

"Take this to the car, Giorgos." He handed Adonis' bag to the red cheeked boy who nodded furiously and ran off again, towing the bag. They began walking, Gyles holding onto Adonis tightly, a habit he'd formed over the years. He seemed to always forget he was a twenty-one-year-old adult and not an eight year old prone to household incidents. "You know your mother. Tell her simple and she'd invite the Queen of England."

True, his mother did seem to misunderstand the concept of simplicity. "So," he exhaled harshly. "...what torture awaits me?"

Gyles chuckled. "It's a party, I heard its just for close friends and business partners," He snapped his fingers. "And apparently there's a special guest attending."

His eyebrow arched suspiciously. "Did she tell you that?"

Gyles shook his head, taking out a pair of sunglasses from his shirt pocket. "No, but she did ask that the André-Charles Boulle be put up."

Oh, she meant business. The chandelier was one of his mother's most prized possession. A wedding anniversary gift from his father which cost a little of 1.50 million dollars, she only brought out the Boulle for special occasions. And its only been used once in the past five years she's had it. The day Marie-Chantal Miller had paid her a visit to thank her for her donations to a certain charity organization she was involved in.

Now he was nervous. He really didn't feel like smiling and waving at the camera all day. This wasn't the weekend he had looked forward to.

They came to a stop in the parking lot where a limousine was parked, Giorgos holding the door open already. His shoulders dropped and the knot in his stomach tightened. "A limo? Really?"

Gyles shrugged. "She insisted."

Sighing he got in, squirming on the leather seats. Laying his head back, he gazed out the window at the beautiful landscape Santorini had to offer. He may have been scared of his mother's elaborate party planning, but this would always remind him why he should come home.