"You had sex," Troy said as soon as you answered his call.
"What? How did you–"
"I can sense it."
"How is that even possible?"
"I'm a witch."
"Did I accidentally tell you?"
"No, I'm kidding," he said. "I was looking at your snapchat location the other day and saw you were at Kylo's address all night. So, you've basically just confirmed my suspicions."
You sighed. "I hate you."
"Love you too," he said. "Where are you, by the way?"
"I'm at the supermarket," you said as you placed an item into your basket.
"Shouldn't you be at work?"
"This is work," you said, walking through the aisle. "They needed me to pick up a few things for them."
"They as in...?"
"Coraline and Ricky," you said quietly.
"Bestie, that's just simply not your job."
"Well, these are necessary items."
"What do they need?" Troy asked, clearly annoyed by your continuous lack of self worth.
"Snacks..."
"I'm gonna say this one time and one time only," he said sternly. "You should not be doing your coworkers' errands there are assistants for–"
You stopped listening as you saw a familiar face wave to you, hanging up on the phone after telling Troy you'll call him back. It was Edward. You hadn't seen or spoken to each other since before Paris. Granted, he did try to message you, but you were still in your starstruck Mr Ren phase that you weren't even bothered to respond back.
"Hey," you said timidly as he approached you.
"Hi," he said. "It's been a long time. How are you?"
"I'm doing pretty good," you said. "How are you?"
"I'm alright."
There was a moment of silence—a moment where the both of you realised you had nothing to say to each other, or rather, you felt uncomfortable having ghosted him and had no idea whether he resented you for it or not. You cleared your throat and from a complete second of impulsivity you felt the need to clarify, "I can't go out with you."
"Oh?"
"I'm sorry, I know it's random, but I just wanted to let you know why I didn't respond to your–"
"It's your boss isn't it?" He said, crossing his arms.
Your mouth was agape as you simply stared at him, unsure of how to respond. You didn't even know how he had reached that conclusion, but as the seconds passed by you realised that you should say something. Otherwise, it would appear that he was correct in his judgement and you could not do that to Kylo.
"I'm not sure what you mean by that," you said.
"I figured there was something going on between the both of you or at least with him because every time we planned a date, he seemed to always find a way to stop you from going."
You stayed quiet, unsure of what to say.
"It's fine. Really," he said. "I won't tell anyone either if that's what you're worried about."
"I–"
"No, it's okay. You don't have to say anything."
"Thank you," you whispered.
"But I do want something from you."
You furrowed your brows as you looked at him.
"I want you to get Kylo Ren to invest in my company," he said sternly, straightening his posture.
"Why would I do that?"
"Because I'll tell every news article about your relationship if you don't."
You scoffed, showing an expression of complete confusion. "So, you're blackmailing me?"
He nodded. "He's rejected my company twice now, but I know we'll thrive if we work together."
"You realise that if you end up releasing to the press that we're dating you'll have no chance of ever partnering with Ren Industries?"
"I know," he said, a malevolent smile plastered across his face. "but at least I would've ruined his and your reputation. I'll give you a month."
"That's so unnecessarily cruel."
"You should've thought about that before you decided to become a whore," he muttered, brushing past you and exiting the supermarket, leaving you completely speechless.
You handed everyone the items they requested for you to buy as you mindlessly made your way to your office. You couldn't think. Your coworkers would try to talk to you and ask for special treatment disguised as favours, but your brain was somewhere else. You sighed, holding your head in your hands as you contemplated what your best course of action would be. Your obvious thought was to stall it for as long as possible, only telling Kylo abruptly when you felt as though it was safe. Unfortunately, you couldn't focus on your plan because of how loud your colleagues were being. They were shouting and whining at you for a slight argument which the two of them had with one another. You groaned very loudly as you stood up from your seat. "Can you both leave my office?" You said sternly.
"But we have to settle this," Coraline said.
"No, we don't," you said angrily. "Because I don't care whose bag of chips it was. I don't care if you need extra time for a project because guess what it's your fucking job to finish it on time even if you want to go out for drinks with your friends. I don't care if you need me to buy you some things from the shop and most of all, I do not fucking care if you pretend like you can't come up with an idea or design for a project. I know you use it because you don't like the fact that I got the promotion and not one of the two of you, but guess what? That's life. It bites you in the ass. It's unfair. Now, will you please get back to work and stop bothering me with stupid issues that can be resolved within two seconds."
They looked at you in complete shock, followed by shame. You cocked your eyebrow as you looked at them, waiting for them to leave you alone. "Out," you yelled and they hastily left your office, completely terrified of you and your reaction. You leaned back in your chair, inhaling and exhaling to calm your nerves. This day was possibly one of the worst days you'd ever experienced. But then you suddenly realised, you had finally stood up for yourself. Even if it was unintentional, it was something and you were proud of yourself. You of course immediately thought of Kylo and his offer for you to stand your ground in return of his buying you whatever you wanted. You knew he meant something from a retail store or an online one, but you didn't want that. You thought of a loophole.
You: I did it.
Old Man: Did what?
You: Stood my ground.
Old Man: Good. So, what do you want me to buy you?
You: I'll send you the address. Be there at eight tonight.
You waited at a specific area of The New York Harbour. One which you had visited quite often. You wore a headscarf and sunglasses in case any paparazzi were around to take pictures of Kylo. You didn't want him to be seen with you in public just as much as you didn't want yourself to be seen with him. You crossed your arms, humming as you looked around, searching for Kylo. And then you found him. It seemed like forever since you'd seen him dressed in something other than a suit. Albeit, you loved the way his suits would accentuate his broad, and tall frame. It was actually nice to see him look normal. He glanced your way, squinting his eyes as he saw you. He clearly wasn't sure who you are because of your disguise, so you waved at him as you shouted his name, only to say the last syllable of it quietly, realising some people may look your way.
"You look nice," You said as he approached you.
He smiled. "What's with the sunglasses?"
"I don't want people to recognise me in case there are any photographers."
He nodded as he cleared his throat. "So, what is there to buy at The New York Harbour?"
"Oh," you said excitedly. "That's a surprise." You stepped closer to him, standing right next to him. "Shall we?"
"You know you don't have to give me anything," he said as you began to walk together. "I'm the one who promised you a present."
"I know," you said as the back of yours and Kylo's hands accidentally brushed against each other. "I just wanted to spend some time with you."
He held your hand and you looked at him, startled. His head was tilted to the night sky, savouring the moment. You watched how peaceful he seemed. He was always so stressed and busy even outside of work, that you felt as if you were looking at a stranger. You were both silent, enjoying the atmosphere around you.
"I'm proud of you," he said, breaking the silence.
"Thank you," you said with a smile. "I actually ended up doing it for myself. It kind of slipped out." Your smile faded away as you thought of your run-in with Edward. You had one month to tell him. One month.
"What's wrong?" Kylo said, noticing your frown.
"Oh, nothing," you said, stammering to think of a lie. "My dad had to go to the doctor today, so it's kind of stressed me out." It was true, but it wasn't really the thing that put you in a bad spot.
"Is he okay?"
You nodded. "Yeah, it's a regular thing that happens, but it always just gets me thinking about the cafe and my mom and the house–" You sighed. "So, yeah, it's just a stressful situation."
"If you need anything, let me know. Whatever it may be." He looked at you as he said that and you pressed your lips together, nodding.
"But anyway, enough about me and my super exciting life," you said sarcastically, hooking your arm around his. "We're here."
Kylo paused as you stood in front of the food stand. "A corndog place?"
"Not just any corndogs," you said. "Korean corndogs."
"What's the difference?"
"You'll see," you said as you walked to the counter. "They're the only shop I've found in New York."
"Yes, what would you like?" The shop owner said.
"Two potato corndogs," you said enthusiastically as you took your sunglasses off.
"Ooh, I love your energy," she said.
"Thanks," you said. "I'm excited because... it's his first time." Kylo rolled his eyes as you whispered the last part.
"I see," she said. "Then we'll have to put extra effort into these corndogs."
"Yes," you said. "He gets grumpy very easily, so it's much appreciated."
"Why do I get the feeling that the two of you know each other?"
"Because we do," you said. "This is Maya. Maya, this is my bos–" You paused as you looked at Kylo. "This is my boyfriend, Kylo."
"It's nice to meet you, Kylo," Maya said.
"You too."
"I assume you're newly dating since she comes here often and you've never been with her," Maya said.
"We are," you said. "You'll be seeing him a lot more often."
"I'm glad," she said enthusiastically. "More business for us."
"Maya knows me because I'm a regular," you clarified.
He nodded as he crossed his arms, stifling a laugh.
"What's funny?" You said.
"Of all places, you chose a corndog stand," he said. "You could've asked me to buy you anything."
"I told you, I just wanted to hang out with you," you said. "I feel like we barely get to spend time with each other."
He wrapped his arm around your shoulder as he planted a kiss on your head. "I'm glad."
"I think it's helpful for you to know that there are other foods besides caviar," you joked.
He placed his hand on your head, messing up your head scarf and hair as he rubbed it teasingly. "What am I going to do with you?" He stopped as you punched his chest lightly.
"I can think of one thing."
Kylo hummed as he furrowed his brows, looking at you.
You stood up on your tiptoes as you leaned in to whisper into his ear. "You can fuck me."
He paused. "You are going to be the death of me, doll."
"That wasn't a no," you said excitedly.
"Maybe later," he said, pulling you closer to him and making you laugh.
"Here you go, that'll be seven dollars," Maya said as she placed the two corndogs on the counter.
"Thank you," you said as Kylo paid. You took the both of them as the two of you began to walk.
You took a bite out of your corndog, gasping at how delicious it was. You hadn't had one in around two months and it tasted heavenly. You looked at Kylo, expecting him to have taken a bite already, but he hadn't.
"What's wrong?" You said.
"I don't have enough hands," he said and you laughed.
"Just take your arm away from around me."
"I don't really want to."
You smiled. "You're so cute," you said as you took his corndog and fed it to him. You watched his expression, expecting to see a surprised and pleased reaction, but he didn't react at all. He just ate it. That was it.
"So?" You said and he stared at you blankly. "How is it?"
"It's good."
"That's it?" You exclaimed. "This is the best corndog place in New York."
"It's good," he said, taking another bite.
You sighed. "I don't think I can be with someone who doesn't appreciate corndogs as much as I do."
"Hey," he said as he stopped you, stepping in front of you so he could face you. "This corndog is the greatest thing I've ever eaten in my entire life. Nothing can beat it. It's incredible uh—I don't think I'll ever eat anything as good as this corndog."
You snorted. "You kinda oversold it."
He smiled. "Shut up."
"Make me," you said.
Without any hesitation, his hand gripped the back of your neck as he leaned in to kiss you. You giggled as your lips brushed against his. You know that would be his reaction to your sentence, which was why you had phrased it that way. You almost dropped your food on the floor as his hand gripped your ass, making a low moan escape your mouth. And as he pulled away, you found yourself completely speechless, eyes closed, waiting for him to kiss you again, but he didn't. He managed to make you shut up. You fluttered your eyes open, smiling, but that smile quickly dropped as you saw from the corner of your eye a familiar person. Coraline.
"Shit," you said. Luckily, she didn't see you. So, you hastily put your headscarf and sunglasses back on as you held Kylo's hand, leading him to a place where you could both hide and not be caught.
"What's happening?" He said as you both ducked down behind a bush.
"That's Coraline," you said. "My coworker."
"Oh, fuck," he whispered.
You peaked up from the bush, trying to see where your colleague was. She was close by, but she appeared to be talking to someone. Perhaps she was also on a date. You were thankful. That meant she would be distracted by something and lowered the risk of her finding out about your relationship. Kylo tried to speak, but you shushed him by placing your index finger on his lips, watching Coraline as she and the man she was with walked away in the opposite direction of where you and Kylo had come from. You let out a sigh of relief as you knelt back down to look at Kylo.
"She's gone," you said, taking your hand away from his face.
"Maybe we should go somewhere else," he said and you nodded.
You brought your knees up to your chest as you stared up at the sky. Kylo had brought down the hood of his car, allowing you to sit comfortably in the leaned back passenger seat as you gazed upon the stars. You turned to your left, looking at Kylo as you bit your lip, smiling. You were at the top of a hill in a secluded area.
"I have a question."
"What is it?" He said.
"How do you do this?"
"Do what?"
"How do you work all day with a busy schedule and what I assume are annoying people, then talk to me and you're not even angry or frustrated, you're just—nice."
"Do you want me to be angry?" He said and laughed.
"No," you said. "I guess I'm just surprised that you like me."
He let out a soft snort. "I think you're great."
"Great?" You said. "I wanna know when you knew you liked me."
"Oh," he said and furrowed his brows. "Really?"
"Yep." You nodded.
He paused. "I think I questioned my feelings towards you that night when we bumped into each other at work, when you were working after hours. I liked how seriously you take your job and your work ethic. But I definitely developed something for you after our kiss."
"Mm," you said, grinning.
"What about you?" He said, making you blush out of shame.
"I—uh," you stuttered. "It's embarrassing."
"Come on," he said as he held your hand, turning to look at you.
"Remember that time when I didn't want to go on that fake date with you and you didn't know why?" You said.
"Yes."
"Well, I had a sex dream about you and it confused things for me. A lot."
He laughed, leaning his head back on the seat.
"It's not funny. It was very stressful avoiding you all the time."
"I'm sorry, honey," he said. "It all just makes sense now."
"Paris confirmed my crush, though," you said as his laughter began to die down. "Then I couldn't stop thinking about you."
He nodded. "I'm curious, what did we do in your dream?"
"Are you kidding me?" You exclaimed, laughing.
"Come on," he urged you.
You contemplated it. "I'll just tell you, we've already done what happened in my dream."
"I see," he said with a mischievous smirk on his face.
"You wipe that smile off your face, I swear to god."
He laughed and ultimately made you break your cold exterior as you watched how happy he was. And for a bliss moment it was just the two of you, enjoying each other's company.