One Summer Day (BWWM)

CHAPTER 17

The constant ringing of my alarm is what woke me out of my slumber. I had attempted to get out of bed but I was stopped by a large arm tightening it's hold around me. I quickly open my eyes to find a mop of curls in front of me. "Rom get off, I gotta go to work," I groan out as I attempt to remove his arms from me but I ultimately fail due to the size difference,

"Stay," He grumbles out, squeezing even tighter than before, I sigh," As much as I would love to stay here, I have a job to get to," I try to shake him off but to no avail. Feeling like my attempts are futile I stop trying and pretend to give up. Roman loses his grip and I take this as an opportunity to escape. He tries to grab me again, but this time I make it without him getting me.

"Cléo, come on," He groans still reaching for me, "Come back to bed," And I can't help but chuckle. "Why are you being so clingy today Rom," I say and walk towards the bathroom to brush my teeth. A couple of minutes later I came back out to see Rom sitting on his bed with his hair sticking out in different places, zoned out. I smile softly and walk up to him. I get in front of him and step between his legs. He looks at me and smiles softly as well. "Hi," I whisper softly, and he responds," Hi." I can't help but laugh, which causes him to laugh as well, "This sh*t is so corny," He says and I can't help but agree. He leans his head on my shoulder and sighs deeply. I use my fingers to rake through his hair. 

"You okay ?" I softly ask. It's quiet for a while before he softly whispers. "My giagiá's funeral is this weekend," He pauses, "It's finally hitting me that she's gone," He chuckles hoarsely and I wrap my arms around him. I stay silent not knowing what to say, I've experienced losing a loved one before but I never really knew how to process the loss so I kind of just.. blocked it out. I squeeze him tightly and let go to look at him. My heart breaks to find his eyes lined red and tears streaming down his face. I carefully wipe his tears bring his head toward mine and kiss his forehead. I let my lips linger for a bit before I let go and caress his cheeks softly.

"Do you want me to go with you?" I ask softly. He nods without hesitation. "I was gonna ask Yon, Tako, and Yonhee to come, but I wanted to ask you first," He says and I nod in understanding. "Of course, anything you need Rom I'm here for you." And I hug him once again and squeeze him tighter. We both flinch when I hear my alarm go off again and I hesitantly let go of him. I look at my phone and realize it's my warning alarm.

"I gotta go now, but if you wanna hang out later, I'll leave a spare key under the doormat of my room if you need it, okay ?" I tell him and he nods. "Okay, I gotta go now Rom," I say and walk toward the door, I quickly turn around and send a wave at him before I walk out the door.

The first hour into my shift and I already missed my bed, more like Roman's bed. What? Thinking about last night I can't believe that Roman and I almost kissed. Thinking about it I couldn't help but blush. I mean what would have happened if Yon didn't call me? What would happen if we did kiss, would our relationship have changed? Rom told me earlier that he wasn't ready for a relationship, and I don't think I'm ready for one either, or so I thought. Lately, I've been feeling a lot of mixed emotions when it comes to my feelings, especially with Roman. Like of course I've had crushes here and there but they were more of passing crushes, but with Roman, I can't help but want more. Not wanting to think about it anymore, I decide to distract myself with work which I like to do best, and wipe around the store. 

The chiming of the doorbell indicates that a customer is in, which prompts me to walk to the front desk. I pause for what seems like forever when I find the most attractive man I've ever seen. I'm in utter and complete awe.

"Hello," He says and I swear I hear an accent.

"Hi," I breathe out, "Welcome to Retro Grooves," I smile at him, "How can I help you today," I ask.