Because of Rhys we'd not seen his family on the day we got to Paris, instead we went to our hotel room and he'd told Luxe to act like i'd been sleeping in her room with her if anyone asked, which i'd doubt anyone actually cared.
I'd spent majority of my time admiring the hotel room, which was actually more like a two story loft that looked like it costed the same amount as a damn house since it looked like one.
We'd went up to bed, ordered food and spent majority of our time eating and talking till we eventually fell asleep, something we often did.
Now the day after I was slipping my clothes on as he waited for me downstairs and I stared at my hair as pulled it out from beneath my white and blue jersey.
I really wanted to dye it again, which was not gonna happen since I dyed my hair like two weeks ago already and honestly I didn't want to damage it more.
But, I also loved dying my hair.
I was in a predicament.
With that thought I walked downstairs and over to Rhys who was leaning on the counter, eating a granola bar and I poked his chest, he looked to me and I opened my mouth, taking a bite of the bar, liking the taste of the layer of milk chocolate at the bottom.
"I wanna dye my hair." I said after chewing and swallowing and he nodded twirling a piece of my hair that i'd left out and curled after putting the rest into a sleek low bun.
"What color?"
"I was thinking light brown." I intertwined my hands with his, taking another bite of the bar, chewing and swallow before I spoke, "Would you like it?"
He rolled his eyes. "I like you with any color hair Calli, do whatever you want to baby."
I cocked my head to the side. "So you don't like this color more than the others?" I ask cheekily and he raises a brow, "Meaning?"
"Meaning i've noticed how you play with my hair a lot more now."
His lips twitch up at the ends and he shrugs, "It's sexy, I did like it the most but you can do whatever with your hair and i'll still think you look beautiful."
I blush and I grinned widely, tapping my lips and he leaned down, kissing my mouth softly, "So sweet, are you buttering me up Blackburn?"
"Not at all." He says, turning me around and sliding his hand into mine as we make our way to the door and it only makes my smile grow that he say's nice things to me not for the purpose of getting something in return, but he says it just because he wants me to know I'm always beautiful to him.
He rubs my hand with his thumb as we get out the elevator, kissing my hand randomly and it makes my stomach churn.
He's so sweet and sexy, I think I'm gonna die.
As soon as we got downstairs we see his family come to sight, the few of them lounging on chairs and we let our hands go making me clench my fingers into a fist, unclenching and clenching again, hating the loss of contact.
He must notice because he speaks, "You miss it don't you?" He asks me as we walk closer and closer to them and I looked to him on my side. "What?"
"You want me to hold your hand, don't you?"
I did. Of course I did.
"What are you on about?" I ask instead, cocking my head to the side a little bit.
"I want to be able hold your hand you in public too, just think about that over the week." He says, his words vague and seemingly open to interpretation but I know exactly what he means.
I nibble on my bottom lip in thought as he briefly brushes our hands over, even the slightest of touches making me yearn to hold his hand.
"I would never hurt you Calli." Was the last thing he said to me before walking ahead and I stared at his back, coming to a stop for a second.
Did he know that was what I was afraid of? Getting hurt again, especially by him who i've fallen so damn hard for that I'm pretty sure I was on the verge of falling freaking in love with him.
And i've never been in love before. All my twenty one years and i've never once had a first love. I've always liked, never had the chance to be in love when I got cheated by everyone who I cared about.
Till now.
With a soft sigh I followed him over to his family and smiled at Luxe who gave me the widest grin humanly possible back. "Hey you." She says, tapping the seat beside her as a way to gesture me to come over and so I did, I walked over and I sat there next to her, taking a large inhale of breathe before I speak.
"How're you?" I ask her, giving her a quick hug and she shrugs. "Almost as good as you are." She speaks almost suggestively as she looks between me and someone else.
And I know exactly who.
I rolled my eyes at what she meant, turning back and my eyes trail over to my boyfriend who sat beside his brothers, he runs a hand down his jaw before cracking his knuckles and I almost sigh at the sight of him.
"If you think our family won't like you, don't, we all like you you."
I'd rather her think thats the problem than that I have severe trust issues, but I did know that her family liked me, it's just Hugo who for some reason held some weird hostility towards me.
I turned back around and sent her a small reassuring smile. "I understand, but I just need some time." I reply with a short nod and she made a hum like sound at the back of her throat. "Okay, I understand."
"So where's everyone else?" I change the subject, noticing that only Luxe, Bolt and Adair were down here besides for Rhys and I.
"Florence and her husband are probably boning, Lila hooked up with a french boy, Frankie a French girl that I'm now pretty sure is siblings with Lila's boy, Hugo with a waitress and Adair's soon to be fiancé is gonna be here in a few minutes."
Basically everyone was having sex except for all of us seated here and Adair's fiancè.
"Fun." I said and she snorted, shaking her head.
"Where's your father?" I as quietly and she sighs softly. "I think he's only coming when we go to their engagement dinner tomorrow."
I just nodded, pushing my hair back and away from my face. "Whats her name?"
"Maxima."
"Thats cool." I told her and she nodded in agreement just as we got up and walked over to the guys.
I took Rhys's hand into mine as I sat down, listening in to the conversation between him and Adair with my head on his shoulder till I noticed the doors open not too far away from us and a woman with short lush blonde tendrils of curly hair walk in, her lipstick matching the pale pink dress color and a denim jacket over the long dress.
"Theres Max!"
"She's really pretty." I said over to Adair who nodded in agreement as she grinned over at him, waving her fingers at her boyfriend, soon to be fiancé, "I know."
I smiled.
I looked over to Rhys, and i'd wondered if he noticed just how beautiful she was too- but he was looking at me.
I blinked, cocking my head to the side. "Is there a problem Emrhys?"
"You look sad."
I smiled with a shake of my head. "Im just thinking, thats all."
He rubbed a few soothing circles over my hand in his before raising it to his lips and kissing it again, a gesture i've started to like, "Don't be, stop worrying, okay?"
I nod as he put my hand down.
We stood up when Max was done hugging her boyfriend- soon to be fiancé, which made me smile when they kissed and she looked to us.
"You don't look like a sibling." She acknowledges me and I giggled, liking the atmosphere she brought over with her. "Im not."
"You're new." She rose an amused brow at Rhys beside me who then rose a questioning brow back at her and I almost laughed at the exchange.
"Blackburn?"
"Do you have something to say Maxima?"
She looks between Rhys and I. "Uh... well do you?"
"I don't read between lines."
She scoffs softly, "Of course you don't." She mumbles as she walked over to me, surprising me a little when she hugs me, mostly because I was usually the person to initiate hugs.
I hugged her back quickly and she smiled when she moved away to get a better look at me, "Im Calliope, everyone calls me by my middle name, Dylan." I told her and she nodded. "Noted Dylan, its very nice to meet you, I'm Max." She said and I smiled, not bothering to tell her that I'd already been told what her name was.
"Noted, you too Max."
She then went over to Luxe and they talked a little till slowly everyone began coming downstairs and by the end of ten full minutes we were all ready to leave the hotel premises.
"One car?"
"Calliope drives like she has nine lives." Rhys spoke as he grabbed my hand in his own, pulling me to the car and I gasped, "I do not!" I defended myself as I noted everyone get into the other cars, no one coming with us and I glared at him as he smirked.
Even he knew that wasn't exactly true, I wasn't reckless, he just didn't want anyone else with us.
"There's literally only two seats anyway genius."
He shrugged and I shook my head.
He took the car keys from me, slipping his hand into my back jean pocket and I pouted, he quickly kissed my pout and my eyes widened as I moved back and from him, walking over to the passenger side of the car instead. "Rhys!"
"Its obvious Calli, even Max noticed." He told me honestly as we both get into the car at the same time.
"We'll go back to whatever you want us to be when we leave Paris, but can we just be us here?" He asked me as we buckled our seatbelts and I sighed thoughtfully.
"I told you I wont hurt you."
"I know." I mumbled as I leaned back, noting that there was a possibility that he was getting a little restless with this secret thing.
And honestly, I was too. "Lets just go."
✶ ✶ ✶
The car ride was filled with some tension but lunch was fun, laughing and talking with everyone was fun, even if there was still something awkward lingering between both Hugo and I, and he'd occasionally look at me with this look that said he was trying to unpack me.
It made no sense.
And Rhys could sense my discomfort and swapped seats with me so I was no longer seated in front of him.
And the for the rest of the lunch I just let it be and talked to everyone else but him, but now we were walking out the café and I looked to the Eiffel Tower not too far from sight, admiring just how beautiful it actually was.
Pictures were nice but seeing something for yourself was the real deal. Literally.
"It's gorgeous." I told Rhys who nodded before kissing my cheek. "We're gonna be in there."
I looked to him. "What?"
"He booked the entire restaurant for the engagement."
My eyes widened a fraction as I looked to Rhys. "That man is in love."
He snorted and I giggled as he took my hand in his own, letting me swing it back and forth as we walked, "What am I gonna wear?"
"That's where we're going."
I raise a brow over at him. "What?"
"I thought every women wants to go shopping in Paris at least once?"
My lips parted and he shrugged. "I was wr-"
"Oh my goodness I'm gonna be shopping in Paris!" I screeched as I wrapped my arms around him, practically wrapping myself around him and he hummed shaking his head lightly, "Unless you don't want to?" He asks me, his own arms wrapping around my shoulders and I glared up at him.
"Oh shut up."
He smirked lightly before kissing the top of my head which made me smile, "Did you live in Paris?" I asked him, making him walk whilst holding me.
He nodded. "Till I was around nine, and then my father was granted custody."
My lips parted. "What, how?" Its not like he was much of a good father.
"Money."
I looked to him. "Seriously?"
He nodded. "He is much more financially stable than my mother, she's not in the worst position but he's just in a better one." I nodded in understanding, hating his next few words, "Also he could pay his way through and I don't put it past him to use money to get what he wants."
That's so sad
"Thats just wrong." I mumble, looking down to my shoes before I felt a kiss being pressed to the side of my head.
"Did you want to leave?" I ask.
"Not really no."
I frowned.
"Its fine."
"Its not." Not really.
"I wouldn't have met you if I didn't move to Miami." He told me, tipping my chin back, "So it doesn't matter, okay?"
I rolled my eyes but smiled as I looked back to the side of me, looking around just to see a french lingerie store that made me smirk.
I tilted my head back over to my boyfriend who was eyeing some boy that had smeared probably mint or pistachio ice cream all around their mouth, but Rhys was the one who'd grimaced, not the kids mother.
I flicked his cheek, pulling his jaw down before he looked to me, with a raise of his brow.
I made a gesture of my eyes to the store behind me and he looked to it and blinked, "Wanna watch me try on lingerie?"
"Oh fuck yeah."
✶ ✶ ✶
After heavily making out in a lingerie store's changing room we'd left because we had to go and get other stuff, including my dress for tomorrow evening,
I was admittedly extremely hot and bothered the entire time, even after shopping, thinking about all of the kissing and touching.
The way he kissed down my neck and touched me in the little material, the hot words he murmured into my mouth, telling me how badly he wanted me out of them yet how badly he wanted to see me in more too.
Perfect. He was perfect.
When i'd got to the checkout with almost everything in the store the girl at the cash register giggled at me knowingly and I smiled sheepishly when Rhys left before me after taking my card and sliding his card into my back jean pocket.
He'd only left so I didn't somehow convince him to let me pay with my own money.
Idiot.
As soon as he left she told me my boyfriend must love me, and in all honesty, I understood why she thought so, because the price looked freaking illegal.
Five thousand dollars.
Just for lingerie, cute nighties and some pretty everyday bra's and panties?
And he didn't even mind.
Which wasn't surprising since he was a millionaire but I on the other hand was not, so I most definitely just stared at those numbers for awhile.
But after some research of the stores brand i'd seen that it was a luxury lingerie brand, which made me want to slap myself over the head but I didn't.
I had no idea what to say to the girl since we'd technically never ever said the L word, so I just giggled in response.
Now heat hit my cheeks at the thought of earlier as we played chess, which I was definitely cheating in but he ignored it. Of course.
"Rhys."
He hums, looking to me and away from the board between us and I tilt my head to the side, "Why doesn't your mom visit?" I finally ask the million dollar question.
But he doesn't expect the question, because he plays with the pieces not moving any and not saying anything for a moment till he sighs and speaks. "She doesn't like Miami, bad memories I guess, Jack wasn't abusive in the physical sense but mentally he was a deranged cheating asshole."
Jack sounded like one of my stupid exes.
I almost snorted at the description of his fathers he'd given me but restrained it, bringing my knees up to my chest, propping my chin up on it before he continued speaking, "My mom thought it would be better to keep distance then, so Bolt, Frankie and I just visited her here instead, its easier that way too."
I nodded, swallowing harshly, "You're okay with it?"
He seems to think about it for a second before he nods, "Can't really do anything about it, so I don't think about it." He looks to me and noticed my unconvinced stare, "Is it weird that it doesn't bother me?"
I almost feel bad that theres a possibility that he thinks its weird that he has come to terms with his life. It's not weird. People handle things differently, some better and some worse.
He just seemed to have handled this well.
And its not weird at all.
I shrug, "It just seems like you were close to your mom when you were young."
"I still am, but my life is in Miami now and my mom's is here, people move away all the time."
I nod in understanding.
"Do you miss her?" I ask him, and he shrugs, "Sometimes, but I don't want her to feel like its her fault, like she should've been in Miami but thats not the problem, so I don't tell her, but I do miss her."
I know what he means and so I nod.
"My parents marriage was really good from what little I remember." I say softly, clearing my throat as I move a piece on the chess board, "Sometimes when I let my mind stray away, I start to miss them."
I look to him and he's staring at me with a softness in his eyes, like he wants nothing more than to grab me and hold me but he isn't sure if that's what I need right now.
I swallow and tell myself to keep talking.
He told me so much and I know it must've been hard, so let me tell him too, "My mom used to be my best friend before she died, my dad too, but her more and when it happened I just, blocked it out in some way, it's like every morning I bury that thought and at the night dig it out again and it made me so sad for so long." I say, "I know its not healthy, but it's easier than admitting I miss them."
He knows what I'm trying to say, I'm trying to tell him that my parents are gone and I miss them and his mom is here, she's on Earth.
Alive, happy, breathing.
He needs to come here more often if he misses her.
I yawn loudly, rubbing my fist over my eye and he pushes his chair back, walking around the table before he picks me up from beneath my armpits.
I wrap my arms around his neck the way i'd wrapped my legs around his waist, laying my head on his shoulder.
"You're the best thing that's ever happened to me Calli." He says softly into my ear, only for me to hear, like he's saying it directly to my heart.
My heart feels full as I succumb to sleep, knowing he's the best thing that's ever happened to me too, by a long shot.