Nina |18+|

11

I grinned and Theo's smile widened— his gaze quickly falling to his lap. Theo had a cute smile, one that showed his dimples and gave me an odd sense of comfort.

While his head was turned, the tattoo behind his ear was visible and practically begging for me to get a closer look. I didn't.

Instead, my hand opened the door and Theo followed suite. I felt his eyes on me, and I caught his gaze fixated on the ink down my spine. I loved wearing spaghetti strapped dresses for that reason.

My tattoos were my accessory, and I wanted him to look.

I wanted him to look at the tattoo he had given me, too.

Just to check if it was okay—of course.

I had been to Theo's place before, but I was a lot more nervous this time. I took a deep breath in, following next to Theo and all the way into the lobby. The entire time, his hand was dangerously close to mine. I looked down, yearning to grab his hand and hold it in my own. It looked so inviting, so big and just...there.

I don't know why I wanted to do that—I just did. But I couldn't bring myself to, so I let the sides of our arms gently graze each other as we walked.

"Did you have a good day?" I asked, observing the way he stuck his key into his apartment door. We had been talking about my day to the point I had completely forgotten to ask about his own.

Honestly, he seemed surprised that I did. A small smile played on his lips, and it warmed my heart that he liked that I asked him such a simple question.

"I did," Theo confirmed, holding the open door with the length of his arm. He stepped to the side, letting me pass through first before he shut it behind us.

"Thank you."

I looked around his apartment, thinking about the first time I was there and the delicious cup of coffee he made. Theo had a nice place, clean—open spaced and decorated with all sorts of art. I was envious of the interior, but I was quickly distracted by the delicious and warm aroma wafting through the kitchen.

"Is that..." I trailed off.

He nodded, chucking his keys on the counter. "Lasagne? Yes."

Fuck yes.

My smile stretched so far that it hurt my cheeks. I didn't know what to expect from Theo tonight, but him arranging my favourite dinner was not it. Besides that, I noticed the familiar unopened packaging of my favourite dessert.

How could he remember all those details when I had just briefly mentioned it?

There was an urge to throw myself into his arms and this time, I didn't ignore the urge. I wanted to hug him. I wanted to show him my appreciation, not only for the date he had planned but for his kindness the past few days.

Theo was kind, and it was a breath of fresh fucking air.

I mean, the guy left his motorcycle at school only because I hated driving my car. It was such simple acts that had me massively attracted to him, and I couldn't deny that I wanted to do more than just hug him right there.

But there was a little voice in my head saying don't scare him away, Nina.

However, I wondered if there was a side to him that wasn't as...kind.

Theo saw me coming and without another word, he opened up his arms for me.

"Thank you!" I said excitedly, feeling his hands venture down to my waist. He held me tightly, inhaling deeply as he buried his face in the crook of my neck.