"Will ..."
I wish I didn't say his name super slow and provocative because he stopped sending fiery kisses up my neck and his mouth curled into a sexy smirk. I wanted to tell him that we needed to leave this single-stalled bathroom or else my chauffeur would seriously question how long it took for me to retrieve my forgotten "jacket" in one of my classrooms, but when he looked at me like that, my train of thought became loss in existance. He looked like heaven with his face soft and flustered, his mouth slightly curled at the corners, and his eyes glued to mines.
Although, I could always tell my chauffeur that I suddenly had some girl issues to take care of in the bathroom. One being that Will had snuck into this single-stalled bathroom near the school cafeteria with me and has now pinned me against the counter, making it unbearable to speak as he kissed me continuously.
He grabbed a piece of hair that had fallen out of my messy ponytail and pushed it behind my ears before he leaned in again for a small, but pleasurable peck on my lips. I knew he was resisting the urge to not fall into that trance we were just in ten minutes ago, but it didn't really help when his hands kept grazing the bare parts of my back underneath my uniform shirt.
"I should go." I whispered in his ear, but he had me caged in between his muscular arms that it was a little difficult to leave. He started trailing kisses around my neck and collar bone again before whispering in my ear. "I haven't seen you since the Polo tournament." He protested. "I'm not letting you go that easily."
I moaned when his lips covered mine again. Before, I had a sense that Will was always careful and cautious when he kissed me, but now everything seemed so natural and fulfilling that we just couldn't get enough of each other. A bit of pain struck my back as he pushed me deeper into the counter, trying to lessen the amount of space between us.
"But that was only three days ago." I said every time he would let me catch my breath.
"Three days is a long time."
I smiled in between our kisses. "Will. My chauffeur is going to start looking for me and when he finds me locked up in this bathroom, he's going to think I have really bad lady cramps or worst: diarrhea."
He sighed, finally pulling his lips back from mines. "Leave it to you to bring up diarrhea while we're making out." He shook his head. "This is a problem."
"I know." I shrugged my shoulders. "Diarrhea has affected so many people out there already-"
"No, Richelieu." He rolled his eyes. "This!" He frantically waved his hands everywhere and took a step back from me.
He exasperated a low groan before adding. "I get it that you being seen with me is risky and I've been patient enough to not ask you about anything, but this is just getting ridiculous." He came towards me again, locking me in between his arms. "I want to be able to kiss you without thinking that I'm stepping on pee."
"If it helps, we're at the girl's restroom so there probably won't be pee on the ground."
"Richelieu..." His voice trailed on as he glared at me.
"Okay. Okay, I'm sorry Will." I cupped his face in between my hands and his face eased up. He knew that there was something I was hiding and he finally respected that I needed to keep it a secret from him, but this really was getting ridiculous. We couldn't meet up every day, unless it was in this smelly restroom, we couldn't call, we couldn't visit eachother and I could tell he was finally getting tired of it.
I missed holding his hand in public and sharing subtle kisses with him when we were around our friends, but I couldn't do those things when I was labeled a Worthington and had Sylvia breathing down my neck with disappointment. Somehow, deep inside of him, even he knew that. It was bad enough that I couldn't stay away from him, but also risking to jeopardize his whole business by committing one single mistake was still something I couldn't do.
I was definitely at a crossroad.
His face suddenly turned serious and I knew what he was about to ask me. The same question he's been asking me since the moment we got in this bathroom.
Since Will's father was still in the process of healing, Will had to go up to San Francisco this weekend, by his father's asking, to attend a business meeting for him. Will agreed since his father and him had been off in good terms lately except for the whole Charlotte thing he told me about that still lingered in his mind.
Apparently, Charlotte had been trying to talk to Will ever since the incident at the hospital, but he had managed to ignore her completely. I was almost waiting for her to come up to me and threaten me since she was growing angrier with each day Will ignored her, but now that I was a Worthington, she didn't even try to look for me.
I guess that's one perk of being a Worthington.
"Richelieu, come away with me this weekend."
I sighed, like I always did. "I don't know, Will..."
He frowned, a pout forming played on his lips. "Say yes, Richelieu."
Of course I wanted to say yes to him, but by saying yes meant that I was also saying yes to the consequences I was not ready to face.
"But, you're going to be at a business meeting over there, anyways. I'd be a burden."
"You and I both know you won't be."
"But, I can't just go up North, people will notice a Worthington." I argued.
"Wear a blonde wig for all I care."
"But," I fought one last time, "wouldn't you much rather be doing business work over there without me."
A smug grin formed on his face. "Oh, I could think of one other thing I'd much rather be doing over there with you."
I bit back a laugh and he smiled when he caught the site of my cheeks reddening. It was like he had a comeback for everything I said.
"What will I tell Jacquelyn Worthington? I can't just leave all of a sudden. I'm guarded like a hawk 24/7 over there and by the way, I'm pretty sure that as of right now my chauffeur is out looking for me since it's strangely taking me 30 minutes to fetch the jacket I left in my classroom."
"Um, I don't know. You can always tell her your visitng your parents and friends! You could stay with your parents on Friday and then I'll pick you up early on Saturday to head up North."
I sighed, admitting defeat. Of course, I wanted to go with him and I did want to see my parents, but Jacquelyn Worthington has been sick all month, Sylvia would never let me off the hook that easily. It wasn't like she was willing to ever listen to my opinions anyways. I've been working non-stop filling in for Jacquelyn Worthington that Sylvia wouldn't dare let me leave the mansion during the weekend even for a few minutes.
But, I guess it didn't hurt to ask. Although, I probably shouldn't mention the visiting friends part.
"I'll ask, but no promises." I finally said and he tightened his arms around me. His eyes gleamed. "It's going to be so fun, trust me Richelieu."
"Wish me luck?" I chimed in and we both laughed. Before I knew it, his eyes fluttered down to my lips again and we ended stayed in the bathroom for a couple more minutes.
Later that day, the Worthington mansion was eerily gloomy when I came out of my room. All the lights were dimmed and the woods creaked below me as I walked to the end of the hall where Jacquelyn Worthington's office was at. She had been getting a bit better this week so her normal work routine was finally easing it's way back into her life. In my opinion, she still looked fairly broken, but I didn't say anything nor did I ever bring up the topic of seeing her frail self on her bed that one time the doctor was in her room. Nobody in this house ever talked about Jacquelyn Worthington being sick especially Sylvia.
The last time I saw Sylvia was when she dragged me outside to learn more dining etiquette (like I didn't know enough already) and I knew she was probably right next to Jacquelyn Worthington like she always was.
"Shannon?"
A frail voice called out my name and I turned my head to the person who said it. There was a single couch near the end of the hallway and Jacquelyn Worthington was splayed across it. Her face was bare and finally, her figure finally suited her age. She was reading a book and I could tell she was having trouble with her glasses because her book was up to her face like she couldn't see a damn, clear word.
"Miss Worthington, hi." I approached her. Just the person I wanted to see.
The moonlight from the window above her cast a glow on her white night robe and she almost looked angelic for once. Except the fact that she looked particularly weak. She cringed when the woods creaked below me as I walked to her and I could tell she had just taken some medication from the the orange pill case on the side of the coffee table.
"You can call me Jacquelyn, we're not at some formal business meeting." She sighed. Right, it's not like I'd call her grandma?
She signaled me to sit beside her and I did as I was told. I wonder where Sylvia was; she was almost always with her.
"Sylvia is taking a break this weekend. She wanted me to tell you that."
"Oh, really?" My eyes widened. When did Sylvia ever take breaks?
"Yes." She said and she looked back at her book. I could tell she was trying to sit straighter in her seat, but her frail body wasn't allowing her too. I actually started to feel a little bit bad for her. Sure, she caused so much trouble in my life, but looking at her made me realize how much of a person she really was inside of her hard, poised exterior. She may be high and mighty in the business world, but even she couldn't sneak past sickness.
"Did you want to ask me something, Shannon?" She asked once she noticed me playing with my thumbs and fidgeting a lot in my seat.
"Oh, no. Why?" I said quickly and then I bit my tongue. I had to ask sooner or later, but she was just so intimadating.
There was a long silence before she said. "You act like him sometimes. When he was your age, of course."
"Like who?"
"Like my son." She looked up from her book and I was a bit shocked that she still called my father her son after everything he had said to her. But I guess for me it was the same thing too-I still called him my father even though I hated every bone in his body.
The conversation had taken a personal turn and she laid her book on the glass coffee table in front of her. Never had I thought she would ever bring up my father to me. It just seemed like a topic we were both trying to avoid since he was the only linkage that came between Jacquelyn Worthington and me.
"Do you miss him?"
She snorted. "No."
She turned her eyes towards me even though her whole body was oriented away from me. "Do you miss your bastard of a father?"
"I miss the idea of having a father." I said and then it occurred to me that Jacquelyn and I were actually holding a conversation together. When she talked to me before, it would always be brief and short, but tonight, it didn't seem like she cared that our conversation was going beyond its peak.
When the conversation grew quiet again, I was tempted to open my mouth to ask her if I could go home for the weekend, but of course, I couldn't bring myself to ask her. She must've noticed because she said, "Shannon, what do you want to ask me?"
I looked at her for a second. Her wrinkles were definitely deeper than before and she had almost too much perfume on even when it was minutes before bedtime. Her aura was inviting yet frightening, but somehow she knew when I wanted to ask her something.
"I-I was wondering if ..."
"Wondering what?" She asked when I trailed along my words a second too long.
This is it. I had to tell her that I wanted to be home for the weekend or else I would never get the chance to tell her again without Sylvia snooping aronud.
"I was wondering if I could take a break and spend the weekend with my parents. I missed them so much and I know they just visited me a few days ago, but I haven't slept in my room for so long and I-"
"Go." She interrupted me. My eyes widened. Did I just hear that correctly?
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Are you sure?" I asked and then she glared at me giving me that don't make me take it back look.
She exhaled noisily before adding, "Shannon, you may be my heir and you did sign a contract for me, but that doesn't mean I'm going to hold you back from everyone you love..."
For a second, I thought she was about to hold onto my hand, but she didn't.
I wanted to say something in the realms of Sylvia is holding me back, but I thought it would be better if I didn't. It made me question something I didn't quite ask myself before: Did Jacquelyn even know that Sylvia was blackmailing me? It sometimes seemed like I was getting more pressure from Sylvia than from Jacquelyn, hands down, but why did it seem like Jacquelyn didn't know anything about Sylvia's dirty doings. I mean she is the shadow boss ... shouldn't Jacquelyn know about that?
"My parents held me back and I held back my son." she said, getting up from the sofa and tightening the robe around her body, "I fortunately won't be holding you back this time, dear."
There was a sense of happiness on the tip of her tongue like she was finally proud of something as she walked herself back to her room with a wave of good-bye. We definitely did not act the roles of our grandma and graddaughter situation, but somehow, I still felt like she cared about me just a little bit more now and it was strange.
"Sleep well, Shannon." She spoke once more before I heard the sound of her door closing down the hall and at that moment, I finally breathed.
That was the first time she ever said goodnight to me.
When I drove down Will's driveway a few mornings later, he was loading his luggage onto the back of his Mercedes Benz. I parked my Honda Civic near the side of his mansion so he couldn't see me ogling at the sight of him. The sun was barely even out, yet he wiped a sweat from his forehead and his forearm muscles rippled when he lifted it to his face.
It was refreshing when he wore regular clothes than suits all the time even though, goodness gracious, he looked absolutely breathtaking in suits. But there was something about the way he wore a white plain shirt with a single pocket and a pair of denim jeans that sent a pleasuring chill all over my body.
When he saw me approaching with my luggage rolling behind me, he smiled big that it crossed over his entire face. He instantly ran up to me and lifted me up for a hug, not even bother losing any second before pushing his lips against mine.
"I'm so glad you are here, Richelieu."
"I know, I am too." I smiled and he caressed my cheek with his hand. I could see my reflection in his eyes and his breath hitched when I happily sighed in his arms. How could this man still make my heart flip inside of me?
"I feel sort of bad for taking you away from precious time with your parents." He said and I laughed. Why did it seem like he really didn't feel sorry at all with me in his arms?
"All is forgiven. I spent one whole night watching the entire season of American Idol with them and I bothered them non-stop. They were practically pushing me out the door this morning."
He smiled. "I told you I'd pick you up this morning. What are you doing here?"
"I know you did, but I kind of wanted to see you already."
There was a sense of warmth that radiated off of him and he put me down just to plant a kiss on my forehead. "I always want to see you." He said before adding, "But if you play your Pride and Prejudice audio books on my stereo for our 8 hour drive, then I might just take back what I just said."
"Hey!" I hit him and he peeled his arms from me to put my luggage next to his. "We are at the best part."
"I kid, Richelieu" He chuckled, "But I just don't know if they would mind listening to the whole audio book."
At first, I didn't catch what he said until I looked over at him smirking. What did he mean by they?
"Wait-what?" I asked and he intertwined our hands and led me into his mansion. "I have a surprise for you."
Surprise? At this early in the morning, he better be leading me to a huge food buffet happening inside of his house.
"What..." I began, but then was suddenly attacked by a huge group hug that I was almost trampled onto the floor if it wasn't for Will holding me back.
"Oh my gosh, guys. I missed you all so much." I cried, just as the air from my windpipe was slowly diminishing from the tight hug given by Opaline, Derek, and Aiden (who I seriously didn't understand if he just always skipped school or just flew out on his jet here all the time). "B-But I can't breathe." I struggled and finally they all let go, but not before tightening their hug one last time. I swear I could've sworn Aiden crying, but I'm so sure if I called him out on it he would just make fun of the fact that I was crying my eyes out too.
I hadn't seen them in ages.
Opaline smiled and shooed the boys further away from me so she could give me another quick hug again. I hadn't seen Opaline since the encounter at the coffee shop and things weren't necessary resolved, but she still hugged me like I meant the world to her and I loved her for that.
She wiped a fallen tear from my eye. "Surprise Shan Shan! We all got invitations to go to San Francisco with you!"
"Really?!" I awed.
"Yes, can you believe that your boyfriend actually invited us?" Aiden leaned closer to me even though he spoke rather loudly. "Now let me tell you, he was completely sexually frustrated when you were all MIA and he would not stop moping about-"
"Aiden." Will glared at him. "Watch it."
"- you all day. I'm surprised he actually invited us along instead of being a pervert with you alone. Who knows what he could have done to you-Ouch!" Because at that point, Will had socked him on the shoulder ... really hard.
Derek laughed an put an arm around Opaline. "So Miss Worthington ... when we were you going to tell us, hm?"
I sighed. I knew I should've told them earlier and now I was in a hole too far for me to climb up on. I was so happy to see them, but I was also so scared that this may be the last time I'd ever get to hang out with them again. How many times would Jacquelyn Worthington, or better yet Sylvia, let me out of the mansion? Plus, I couldn't even be seen with them during this trip and I didn't want to be noticed. Hence, the wide-rimmed glasses I brought for a disguise.
I was about to open my mouth to say something when someone standing near the corner away from everyone else walked forward. I already knew who it was by the sound of her 5-inch heels clicking on the wooden floors.
Soph must've read my mind because she crossed her arms together and smiled. "Don't call her that this weekend. She's not a Worthington when she's with us; she's our Richelieu."
Somehow everyone seemed to step back a little bit to watch the scene unfold amongst them. And as they did that, I took one step forward. Soph kept her smile plastered on her face, but she didn't move an inch which led to me approaching her like the small, timid mouse I was.
"Hi." I said. I hadn't seen her since the party nor had I talked to her since we both were practically avoiding each other. Opaline had told me she was angry at me and I didn't blame her. At least, I finally get to tell her what I've wanted to tell her for a long time. "Soph, I'm sorry-"
"Shan." She stopped me almost immediately. "Don't apologize. It's okay."
"Soph...." I cried and almost instantly she pulled me in for a bear hug. She let out a long breath before laughing to finally break the ice between us. "Oh great now there's a puddle of tears on my dress." She joked and then she whispered something so noiseless into my ear. "I missed you Shan."
"Me too." I wailed.
I was abou to hug her again when Opaline started bursting into tears and trying to pry herself into our hug. Soph rubbed both our arms like a mom. "Ah my darlings, don't you cry."
"I say we all make a notion for Shan." Soph said. "For this weekend, we avoid the Worthington conversation and just enjoy ourselves. This could be like our pre-graduation present."
"I second that motion!" Derek said and we all started laughing.
"Thanks Soph." I said and then her eyes fell onto the wide-rimmed glasses lodged into my pocket. She seemed to guess what I was going to use them for already. "So I'm guessing you brought a disguise with you, right? Mrs. Worthington would kill you if you were seen frolicking around with a bunch of your rich employees at San Francisco." She kidded, but it hardly seemed like it sometimes. I lifted a finger at everyone hoping for patience as I pulled out the wide-rimmed glasses from my pocket and placed it on my face. I turned their way to display it when the room enveloped itself into laughter. Even Will couldn't suppress his laughter any longer.
"Really Shannon?" Aiden laughed. "I don't think that makes a difference?"
I whined. "Ugh, come on you guys! You're just saying that because you know me so well ."
"Shannon, I hate to break it to you, but even my little brother, who has only seen pictures of you in a magazine, could probably notice you." Derek said. I groaned.
"See, I knew this would happen and that's why I brought you this too." She placed a blonde wig on top of my head and Opaline helped me adjust it so none of my natural, brown hair showed through. The blonde wig was long and wavy and it almost made me look like one of those surfer girls? Weird.
I looked at the mirror hanging around the wall and patted my blonde wig down. This was weird. I kept my wide-rimmed glasses on just in case the blonde wig didn't do any justice even though it clearly did. Soph leaned in to whisper something in my ear. "Will had mentioned to me that you needed a blonde wig."
She laughed wehn I tried adjusting the blonde hair. "I look so weird ..."
"Actually, you kind of look like Hannah Montana." Aiden joked.
I still couldn't get over my wig and Will must've noticed the same thing because he trailed behind me, pulling a brown strand of my real hair and placing it under the wig. "Well, I usually go for brunettes, but ..."
I laughed.
"Gross. Get a room!" Aiden yelled, but Soph punched him on the stomach. He laughed, but grabbed her hand as they both walked out. Whoa, when did that happen? Soph turned her head at me and winked. Okay, I definitely missed a whole lot of stuff.
"So ride details!" Opaline perched up when everyone walked out. "Since we're only going to take two cars. I call Soph's car with the girls."
She grabbed onto our arms so we couldn't leave and all the boys protested against her. By the look of Will's face, he was in no way up for that decision.
"Uh, sorry Opaline, but I haven't seen my girlfriend in forever." Will pulled me aside and placed an arm over my waist signifying that he wasn't letting me go.
"I should've just taken my private jet." Aiden shook his head.
We all ignored Aiden as Opaline grabbed my arm again. I was surprised that Derek didn't even protest against her. He knew her way too well.
"And you'll see her at the rest stop." She smiled and we made our way to Soph's car before any of the guys could say something.
"B-But ..."
"Have fun boys." Soph waved at them and I mouthed a sorry at Will before taking the back seat of her car. She sped out of the driveway before the boys could fight and already I was clutching onto the seat belt for my life. I almost forgot how crazy she drove.
"So ... you and Aiden?" I asked once Soph reached the freeway and she turned around at me and smirked. We were done laughing about the most randomness stuff and I missed them so much that it hurt to think how I was going back to reality after this weekend was over.
"Oh, that's a long story." She smiled. "Do you really want to hear about it?"
"Yes, of course she does!" Opaline answered for me and then Soph looked at me over the rearview mirror. "I'll tell you after you tell me about you and Will..."
I was taken aback a little bit. "What-?"
"Like how he was really hot and out of breath when he met up with us after school the other day."
"Oh, yeah didn't he say he just needed to use the bathroom?" Opaline asked. "He made us wait for like 30 minutes. Ugh, wait ... what does Shan Shan have to do with it?" She peered over at me and I was caught by my severely flustered face.
"Why don't you ask her yourself?" Soph winked at me and then Opaline hit me on my arm like she was disappointed in me.
"Um, it's such a long story too... I don't think you guys want to sit through it-"
"Don't worry Shan." Soph smiled again. "We have four hours until rest stop."
I gulped. They laughed.
It wasn't until Soph pulled into a gas station that we all realized that four hours quickly passed by us in such a hurry.
We saw Will's car already parked by the convenience store when Soph pulled up to to fill up her car. Opaline went to go to the bathroom and I walked inside the store to go find some snacks to eat. I didn't realize how much I've been starving until I was seriously day dreaming about floating cupcakes on the road. It didn't help that the clouds were shaped like cupcakes in the sky? Or maybe that was just my subconscious mind shaping them and trying to signal my mind that I was hungry. Who knows.
Will was next to Aiden when I made my way inside. They were both looking over at the food aisle and it looked like they were contemplating about what to eat. Actually, now that I think about it, they looked like they were contemplating on what not to eat since Aiden's arms were filled with all kinds of food packages.
"You look hard in thought, Prescott." I chuckled and stood behind him. He leaned into me and I could feel his heart skip a beat when my arms wrapped behind his back.
"I'm trying to decide which one you would like the most so I could persuade you to ride with me for the rest of the trip."
"Oh, that's a tough one. I hope you guess well."
"Hm, if I guess well. Will I get a prize?"
"Depends what prize you're asking for?"
He leaned down to look at me because he was taller than me. "I think you know what prize I'm looking for." He smirked until Aiden gagged beside us. "Really guys? Does this really need this to happen while I'm here?"
I rolled my eyes and thought that he was never going to guess that I wanted chocolate chip cookies when he leaned in to grab it from the rack. Aiden saw my face turn red and he burst out laughing. "Oh my gosh, he was right, wasn't he? You're in trouble now, Shan."
"H-How?" I questioned, but he turned around to face me. "Because this was the first thing you looked at the moment you walked up to us. Your eyes tend to give you away. I've noticed."
My mouth was gaped open and Aiden looked impressed. "Impressive."
"Um, best 2 out of 3?" I laughed and Will raised an eyebrow. "If you want to do that, you'd owe me a lot of prizes in the end."
I snorted and he smiled knowing that he won. After he paid for it, we waked outside to join everybody else. Opaline was practically falling asleep on the table and Derek was sipping on his hot mocha latte next to her.
"Are we ready to hit the road?" Soph came up to us and after we all agreed, Will led me to his car. "Yes and I'm going to steal my girlfriend for the rest of the trip because she lost in our game."
"Fine, with me." Aiden scoffed. "Ugh, it sucks being in a car with guys who aren't single. No one wants to talk about boobs!"
Soph gave him an are you serious look and he just rose his hands up defensively. "Well, you better find your own ride then." She walked off until he begged her to let her ride with him. She threw the keys at him when he told her he needed to drive for masculinity problems, but I'm pretty sure he just cared enough to let Soph sleep the rest of the ride there.
Derek and Opaline decided to ride with us since Derek left all his stuff in the car so Soph and Aiden drove off right away and he drove just as reckless as Soph. Goodness gracious.
Derek was cleaning up his stuff in the passenger seat when I walked to the back seat. "Hey Shan, you don't want to sit up front?"
"Oh, um. It's cool if you have your stuff all there."
He laughed. "Look, your boyfriend is in need of some of your girly presence. He missed you so much he almost tried holding my hand at one point."
I laughed even though I knew he was joking and made my way to the passenger seat where Will was adjusting something on his car.
Opaline was dead asleep in the back already once Will pulled away from the gas station. Talking must've exhausted her completely and trust me, we talked a whole lot. I was actually a little bit tired too.
"Hey, you okay?" Will finally asked me when he got to the freeway. He placed his hand near my thighs and I looked down at this hand that caused a surge of electricity inside of me. Maybe Derek was right after all.
"U-Um, no I'm just tired." I said and I tucked my hand underneath his and intertwined them. Everything seemed so natural with us now. It was something worth adjusting to. I looked over at him for a quick second and I saw him smiling goofily in his seat. What a dork.
"You want me to drive bro?" Derek smirked in the back seat. "You seem a little distracted."
He shot him a killer look through the rearview mirror and we laughed. I was etching towards sleep, but I knew I couldn't sleep with this ridiculous wig and glasses. I took them out with my free hand and laid my head on the leathery seat with my eyes closed and Will's hand in mine.
*
"Aw crap, my toothbrush dropped on the floor." Soph cried, bending over the sink of the bathroom to retrieve the now hairy toothbrush. She walked to the door frame of the bedroom. "You guys don't happen to have two tooth brushes right?"
We were finally back at the Prescott Hotel after a long day of eating and doing tourist crap that Opaline insisted we had to do and while Soph was getting ready for her date, Opaline and I were getting ready for bed. Will left right when we got here for the business meeting and I hadn't seen him since. It sucked and especially since it forced me to become the fifth wheel in our little group.
It also meant that I was the photographer for the day since they all wanted to take their cute, little couple pictures with each other. Great ...
Opaline lifted up her finger as if to tell her to wait and opened up her duffel bag. "Don't worry Soph, I brought like 10." She displayed her multi-colored toothbrushes all around and Soph and I gave each other the she's crazy look.
"What!" Opaline rolled her eyes. "I'm always prepared."
"Prepared for what?" Soph grabbed a toothbrush from Opaline's duffel bag. "To make sure that each of your tooth gets their own toothbrush?"
Opaline glared at me as I supressed my laughter.
"Laugh now, but just wait when your toothbrush falls on the floor and you don't have a tooth brush to use." She smirked at me.
"I'll take my chances."
"Ah!" Soph immediately closed the bathroom door when someone knocked on our hotel room. She called out from inside. "If it's Aiden, tell him to give me 5."
"Where are you guys going?" I jumped up from my bed to get the door since Opaline was rearranging her perfumes on the night stand. She did know that we were only staying here for 2 days right?
"Oh, you know..." She said. "We're just going for a ride."
"Oh, what kind of ride?" Opaline squealed. This whole day she was all about the touristy crap things that she made us go to all the hot spots in San Francisco even though she had been to all of them already.
Soph opened the door a little bit and smirked at Opaline. "Oh, I don't know. Just a ride." She winked and then shut the door again leaving a very flustered Opaline sitting on the bed.
I tried voicing out Opaline's voice when she started yelling back at Soph for putting a very mental, disgusting picture in her head and yanked the door open. Just from his smell, I already knew who he was and my smile widened and I wrapped my arms around the nape of his neck.
"Took you long enough." I smiled and then he lowered the bouquet of flowers and smirked. Except, when I looked up to kiss him, the smirk was not the familiar smirk I was used too and I instantly let him go. My eyes widened and I almost threw up the soda I drank earlier with the girls.
"Tsk Tsk Tsk. Hugging another man." Aiden laughed. "I'm going to tell your boyfriend."
"I think I'm going to throw up." I wobbled back inside and he started laughing. I almost freaking kissed Aiden. On the lips. Gross. I turned his way and Opaline got up to join us. "Are you using Will's cologne?" I turned back to him.
"The real question is why do you smell Will?" He raised an eyebrow and I shook my head like he was insane. He closed the door behind him and Soph came out in a gorgeous red dress. She crossed her arms together when she saw the flowers. "Flowers, really?"
He looked at her instantly and he ran a hand over his jaw to contain the smile hidden under it. "W-Wow, Soph." He said and we all waited for him to say something flirty like "let's just bang" but surprisingly he took off his jacket and placed it on her.
"What?" Soph interjected.
"Just don't want the other guys staring at my woman." He smirked and then for a second, I almost saw a hint of blush past through Soph's face. Wow. What was happening.
He grabbed a hold of her hand and they waved goodbye to us. Opaline and I were so shocked that we walked out the door to see them off. They actually weren't fighting with each other. We exchanged glances before realizing that the door had closed shut behind us.
"Did we just-?"
"Yup." I shook my head in disappointment.
"Oh no. Help! Help!" She cried out and I calmed her down. "Opaline. Don't worry we'll just go downstairs and ask for another card."
"Ah, crap!" I yelled. I was wearing some tight yoga shorts and a loose white top, my blonde wig was tossed into this weird-looking bun/ponytail which I'm so sure my natural, brown hair was popping out of, and I was not ready to walk around San Francisco looking like a stripper/hobo. "Dammit, I look like a hobo."
"Shannon." She shook me so hard that she looked like a mad person. "I forgot my toothbrushes on the bed. My babies will all get infected ... What am I going to do?!"
"Opaline." I peeled her hands off of me. "Calm down. We'll buy you new toothbrushes."
"What's this about toothbrushes?"
Opaline and I were going crazy without our stuff that we didn't even notice Will coming from the elevator. I didn't think he was coming back until the morning so my eyes gleamed with happiness when he caught site of me. He immediately went towards me like there was this invisible string that tied us together and wrapped an arm around my waist. Aw, he didn't even mention how disgusting I looked. Score one point for Will being the best boyfriend.
He looked over at me and pulled out his phone. "And why is Aiden spam texting me that my girlfriend was about to rape him with a kiss?"
"Damn." I murmured. "I'm going to kill him."
"What's going on?" Will lifted an eyebrow and Opaline sighed. "Will, is there a way you can get in our rooms?"
"I don't have a card to your guys' room?" He questioned and then he looked at us like we're crazy. "Did you guys get locked out?"
"Kind of, but not exactly?" I answered.
"Where's Soph at? Isn't she in there?" He was about to knock on the door when Opaline stopped him. "Nope. She left with Aiden."
"You ladies can just stay in our room. Will got us a huge ass hotel room so we have like two bedrooms in there. It looks exactly like your guys except with two bedrooms and a couch." Derek chimed in, walking towards us, from the hotel room he shared with the boys.
Opaline cheered and made her way with Derek. We had been walking all day so they were both dead tired already.
"Actually, have you had dinner yet?" Will turned me around to face him and I melted at the sight of him. I shook my head and then he grabbed my hand and led me to the elevator. Using the mirror of the elevator, I had managed to somewhat fix the blonde wig so none of my natural hair was showing and then adjusted my wide-rimmed glasses so it wasn't crooked.
"You want to eat at a buffet?" He smirked. He knew I was hungry for some food.
"Honestly, anywhere that doesn't have windows ... or maybe even lights."
He raised an eyebrow.
I continued. "Will, I look like a hobo right now."
He took out his blazer and put it over me, keeping his hands around me for a few seconds longer. "And now I look like a professional hobo, thanks." I laughed and then I could feel him smiling behind me. "You look beautiful, Richelieu." He said. The chill running down my neck.
"So, McDonalds it is then?" He laughed when I blushed.
It wasn't until we were done eating our McDonalds and walking back into the hotel room when I felt something strange. "What's wrong, Richelieu?" He asked when I stopped all of a sudden. Everyone in the hotel busted around us and Will looked at me strange, but I knew I felt something (or better yet, someone).
"Oh..." I looked around everywhere, but I guess I was just seeing things. I almost thought I could feel someone looking at us, but I decided not to scare Will. "Sorry, I felt lightheaded for a second."
"You okay?" He suddenly pulled me into his arms and felt my forehead with his palm. "Are you feeling hot?"
"It's fine Will. I think I'm just overreacting."
"Are you sure?" He asked and I nodded.
He asked me a couple more time, looking concerned as ever, but he finally led us back to our rooms flashing a smile at the workers in the front desk who greeted them.
I could've sworn that someone was following us, but maybe it was just me. I mean who would be following us anyways? With the blonde wig and the glasses, I didn't really look like myself. Maybe, they were following Will?
I was just about to knock on my hotel room when Will coughed behind me.
"I wouldn't go in there if I were you." Will said. His hands were in his pockets and he leaned back onto the wall of the hotel hallway waiting to see everything unfold in front of him. I was inches away from knocking on my door when I heaved a sigh. "What are you talking about?"
A grin played on his face. "Let's just say Aiden tends to get lucky with Soph after treating her for dinner?"
"What?" My eyes widened and I almost felt like barfing again.
"B-But where am I going to sleep tonight?" I asked.
I stared over at him, but quickly shook my glance away so he couldn't see the fluorescent redness now covering my cheeks. He must've noticed my rise of nervousness because he put an arm around my shoulder and scooted me away from my hotel door. "With Opaline in one of the bedrooms in my hotel room." He said beside my ear. "Derek is probably sleeping in the other room anyways."
He ran his card through the hotel door and walked in. Our hands were still intertwined when he led me into a dark room. The light flickered open when he found the light switch and one of the rooms were lit still.
"Where's Opaline-"
"Found her." Will called out after he walked into the other room on the left side. I heaved a sigh of relief until I heard Will closing a t.v. and shutting the door. "What are you doing?" I asked.
"She's sleeping."
"And unfortunately, I'm not a vampire, so I have to sleep too." I went to walk over, but Will took a hold of my arm. "I won't stop you, but you might be a little bit squished in between Derek and Opaline."
"They fell asleep together watching a movie, didn't they?" I asked and his nod said it all. Great what now? I am not going to share a bed with Will. He may be my boyfriend, but no way. I could barely even sleep with my teddy bears on my bed without pushing them off.
"Well, I guess I'll just sleep on the floor." I nervously laughed when we entered the other room. I eyed him as he shut the door and I tried my best to make myself comfortable on the floor. He shook his head, holding in a laugh. "Richelieu, you're not serious? Are you?"
"What. It's comfy-"
I didn't get to finish, because he grabbed me from the floor and tossed me onto the bed. He quickly went on top of me, captivating me in between his arms. My blonde wig toppled to the floor and my glasses rolled off my face as he tipped my chin up. "What Richelieu? Are you scared that I might do something to you?" He purred.
I gulped.
"Don't you trust me?" He ran his finger down my arm and I seriously forgot how to breathe for a second.
"U-Uh..."
"I thought I won a prize from you today?" He grinned.
"Will ..."
He leaned in almost as if he was about to kiss me. "If you keep saying my name like that, it's going to be harder for me to stop myself."
"Will!"
All of a sudden, he burst into laughter and he rolled from on top of me and landed on the spot next to me. "R-Richelieu, y-you're so cute when your nervous." He continued laughing and I got up from the bed and folded my arms together. "W-Will ... this is not funny!" I stomped my foot and when he didn't stop laughing, I ran into the bathroom, leaving him on the bed alone.
"R-Richelieu, I-I'm sorry." He said in between his laughs. He was now knocking on the bathroom door because I had locked it. "Please come out."
"No!" I yelled, trying to make myself comfy on this fancy bathtub. Jeez, you could fit an elephant in this bathtub. Okay, not really, but it was pretty big. "You are unbelievable. I'm sleeping in the tub."
"Richelieu, don't be ridiculous."
"Goodnight Will."
"Come sleep with me, I promise I won't do anything to you." He said and for a second, I was more scared for myself. As in, what limit of self-control I had within myself.
"No." I yelled and then I murmured low enough that he could still hear me. "I'm embarrassed."
"Embarrassed about what?"
"Because you are clearly making my fun of me and I'm scared I won't be able to handle myself."
"Handle yourself?" He knocked again. "Richelieu, come on. Open the door. I was joking, alright? I'm sorry."
I mean this is normal, right?
Sleeping with your boyfriend is normal.
I meant sleeping, as in, just sleeping and nothing else.
"Hey," He called out to me again just as I finally found a comfy spot on the tub. "You know I wouldn't do anything to you, right Richelieu?"
"W-What? Yeah of course. I know that." I huffed, but then he sighed. "So then why does it seem like you really don't trust me."
I finally sighed and I knew he heard me. I got up from the tub and walked over to the door contemplating whether I should open it or not. Already, I felt myself breaking down the glass of my self-control as I turned the knob to unlock it.
One of his arms was leaning towards the door frame and the other was casually at his side. He smiled when I peeked through the door, only letting a little bit of myself seen.
"I trust you." I said when he leaned down closer to me, smiling his victory smile. "I don't trust myself."
A laugh hindered in him and he pushed himself in and settled into the huge tub that I was just staying in. "W-What..."
"Look if this is where you want to spend the night, then this is where I want to spend my night." He smiled as he pat the space beside him.
"You're crazy, Will."
"Crazy about you." He pulled me into the tub and I toppled on top of him between his legs. We sat looking at each other laughing until we became silent and he planted a kiss on my lip. He pulled back and let out a sigh I've never heard him let out before. It was like a combination of relief and happiness.
"What's with the sigh, Prescott?" I joked. He pulled me in closer to his chest.
"I-I'm just really happy right now Richelieu." I could feel him smiling behind my head. "I'm so happy that I'm scared that something bad is going to happen."
I bit my lip and looked up at him, "Will, I love you."
He kissed my forehead and he smiled at me like I was the only person in the world. The feeling flew through my body and I couldn't keep my hands off of him. He laughed. "I love you too, Shan."
And then he held me tight for a moment after he kissed me again and whispered in my ear. "I'm done, Richelieu. You're it for me. There's no one else I ever think about more than I even think about you." His hug tightened around me and I could almost feel myself holding back a tear. "If you'd let me stay by your side, I promise I'll be standing right there forever."
A/N: Teaser --- I sense wedding bells approaching.
Happy Reading <3