A gentle breeze made the hairs stand up on her unblemished skin and timely chills to shudder through her entire body. Shuffling back further into the plush leather seat, faint buzzing from the cars passing by filled the temporary serenity. The radio was turned down low; soft melodies mixing in with the quiet engine purr as the car pulled into a barren parking lot.
Putting the car into reverse, Silver placed an arm around the back of her headrest. He peered through the back window, concentrating hard with a clenched jaw and furrowed brows as he attempted to park. "I told you to wear my jacket for a reason you know." He declared openly, making a t'sking sound with his teeth.
Rainy tilted her head back, turning her face slightly so that she was facing the driver's seat. "Huh?" She uttered, barely listening to any of his words. She had too distracted by the goosebumps appearing on her skin when the warmth from his body forced her back to reality.
Cool, calm and collected. She had to remind herself to try and be all three.
Failing to stay still as another shiver ran down her spine, shaky hands shot up to rub at the sides of her exposed arms. The rubbing motion did hardly anything to warm her up.
All she could do was stare as he resituated himself settling back in his seat. The car engine switched off, and he unbuckled his seatbelt, shrugging the expensive jacket off. His messy hair looked darker in the dim lighting, his features a lot more striking.
She wondered if he could hear the fast tempo of her erratic heartbeat.
He took one glance at her and an expected frown sprouted. "You're shivering, baby. Take my jacket."
It wasn't said as a question this time.
She ran her tongue over her bottom lip, moistening it to saturate the dryness. Her almond eyes dragged over the valuable blazer folded in his arms, and hurriedly, she shook her head. "No!" forced cough, "ahem, I mean no thanks. It's fine, you don't have to do that. I don't want you to be cold because of me."
"I would not be offering you my jacket if that was the case," He reiterated, his smile fading as his interest flickered from her flustered face to her chest. "besides, I'm not the one wearing a dress."
The image of him in her little dress was enough to elicit a muffled laugh. Rainy reached over letting their fingers brush over each other and took his jacket gratefully. "Thank you." She said in a half-whisper.
He had been acting different for the whole car ride, and she wasn't sure what to make of it. This side of him had her mind doing backflips, but then he merged the sudden softness with his usual sarcasm, and she was left in further turmoil.
They had nothing to hide anymore, and yet all she wanted to do was to cower away.
As she unbuckled her seat belt and slid the jacket on, he unlocked the car door, pocketed his car keys and had already gotten out of the car. Rainy frowned, lifting her head up to look at him through the window. He walked from his side, in front of the car and all the way to her side with his head down.
She couldn't believe what she was witnessing.
He was opening the door for her.
She resisted the urge to laugh at the sudden politeness. He opened the door causing her to tilt her head to the side. "Professor Rivera being a gentleman? I never thought I'd live to see the day." She quipped.
He bit his lip to suppress his discomfort, luring brown eyes running over her funny-looking apparel, "You have five seconds before I shut the door in your face." He advised bluntly, unaffected by her mockery.
Did she say gentleman?
Scratch that, she meant asshole.
The cold air hit her bare legs first, her heels touched the gravelly ground and a steady clicking started as she stepped onward in order to be out of his footpath. The door shut behind them, and then he eventually turned to face her. His black shirt was tucked into his trousers, silver rings on and she imagined his chain was most likely beneath his shirt.
Silver quirked a brow at her inquisitive studying and seized the vision of her wrapped up in his jacket. It was awfully big for her; the shoulders pads making her look ridiculous as if she had wide bulky shoulders. He snorted, not saying another word. Nodding towards the familiar building, he gave the cue to walk on. And so they did, in complete utter silence. They made it into the building at an unhurried pace, both wincing as a bright white light poured into the space; overwhelming them. By now, he had taken lead, trekking towards the elevator when his own words broke apart their silence.
"Still up Angelo?"
Her eyes veered over to where the professor had ceased his steps. She didn't bother to look directly at who he was speaking with, rather choosing to carefully inspect the close details in the thirty-year-old. Both of his dark brows were put up in concern, a sturdy nose and deep brown eyes concentrated on the relaxed figure located by the reception desk.
An accented voice followed shortly after. "Afraid so Rivera."
With that, she shifted to find an aged man staring at the couple, his hair was thin and greying. Sat behind a computer with his arms crossed over his broad chest, sharp hazel eyes focused in on her before a friendly grin flashed her way.
She merely returned the grin, shyly shoving her head back around and waited for the two men to finish their conversation.
"Che bella!" The stranger exclaimed in an animated way. "Dove ti sei nascosta, finora?"
Silver drew in a breath, "Buona notte Angelo," he countered with a dry laugh. He leaned over to press the elevator button, bringing the brief conversation to an end.
Whilst they waited, she pursed her lips and looked ahead at the steel doors. One constant thought dominated the rest and dwelled Rainy's psyche, taunting her. "If you had explained to me that we'd be going to your apartment, I would never have gotten out my seat for you." She lowered her voice, feeling like an idiot for even letting him convince her to come all this way. "I thought I told you I didn't want to do this again."
Her voice sounded almost unrecognisable, it was raw and full of firmness.
She refused to be that girl, and she needed him to understand that.
The bell pinged loudly, and the doors jerked open. Her heels thumping against the ground filled the tense air, ushering him to follow in suit.
"Rainy... I didn't bring you here so we could have sex." Silver clarified, sensing what she was anxious about from her expression alone. The doors shut behind them leaving them in the tightly enclosed space together. She merely scoffed, giving him a look of scepticism when he reached over to press the top floor button.
She ignored his actions, challenging him further. "What am I doing here then Silver?" Purposely, drawing out full emphasis on his name.
He didn't have a chance to respond as the elevator arrived at the top-floor within a second.
Situated by the very back of the elevator, she pushed her back against the mirrored walls and studied him. She was growing impatient with the discreetness. "This isn't even your floor," Rainy pointed out sharply, slender arms crossed over her chest.
"I—I know," His voice broke, clearing his throat so he could diminish any evidence of explosive nerves. "I know it isn't, but I told you I wanted to show you something, didn't I? Let me do that, please — I swear I didn't bring you here to take you up to mine."
It was extremely rare for the man stutter and stagger on his words like he was currently doing. She couldn't lie and say she wasn't entertained by the scene unfolding in front her when in fact she was. Highly.
Well, he does sound like he's telling the truth Rain, she thought—trying to justify the current situation taking place.
Allowing him to walk on and stand out in the hallway, Rainy pushed herself up from her position and huffed, "Fine, but only because you said please again, " she taunted, "and I'm enjoying seeing you sweat so much."
She wondered how much pride was being pushed aside for him to speaking so politely to her. Well aware of the fact that she was giving him a hard time, she bit back the smile that dared to edge onto her lips; catching him flinching as her body skimmed his arm on the way out. The hallway generated enough warmth to allow the goosebumps on her skin to settle down slightly.
Oh, he was sweating alright.
"Don't be ridiculous, I'm not sweating." Silver spoke, coming up next to her. He shoved his hands deep into his pockets making her snicker, reminding her much of a schoolboy talking to his crush for the first time. She peeked over at him and nudged him with her shoulder playfully.
"Hm, I don't know about that Rivera. You seem a little on edge, is everything alright?" She gave him a coy smile.
He grunted at her touch, clenching his jaw. He looked down at her; it was so brief that she would've missed it had she not already been starting at up him.
"Everything's peachy. Now open the door."
They stopped in front of a tall white door, which she instantly recognised to be the exit to the rooftop.
Not wanting to prolong the situation out, Rainy took in a noiseless breath and held up a well-manicured hand. Feeling his heavy eyes on her, she pushed the door open and walked out into the cold air once again.
"It really wouldn't hurt you to be nic— oh wow."
The breath she was holding came out in a lengthy gasp.
She had never been the type of woman to be impressed by expensive gifts or excessive fine dining, it was more so the memories she cared deeply for. Although he had a comfortable income; from the model of his costly car to even where his apartment in Manhatten was located, he didn't make a show of his fortune. He could have easily flaunted his assets but he chose not to. And she loved that about him.
She now understood why he had been so hellbent on taking her here. It was better than anything money could possibly buy.
Lights twinkled from different buildings, the night sky wrapped in stars. But it wasn't the city skyline that took her breath away, no, it was the makeshift picnic set out. There was a black and white checkered blanket spread out on the floor with a wooden basket and a projector of sorts faced towards the blank white wall aimed at the side of the building.
He flashed a bashful grin at her genuine reaction, shutting the door with a thud and nearing her. "I know we just had dinner but I hope you made room for some dessert."
Silver stopped walking when he reached the picnic area and sat down legs spread out on the blanket; facing away from the view and at the blank wall. Swivelling to the side, he held his hand out for her. "Sit with me."
Wordlessly, she grabbed ahold of his hand, and took a seat next to him. She perched herself on her bottom, her knees bent and legs at the side. Smoothening down her dress, the sleeves of her jacket hid her petite hands. Letting go of her hand, she silently followed his hands where they gripped the basket and opened it. He started to take out some familiar looking desserts one by one, setting them out.
She was certain she had stopped breathing.
"Silver..." exhaled the startled Rainy, unable to keep her eyes away from the heartwarming sight. "You did this all yourself?"
She was gazing at the arrangement of delights.
"Angelo helped," His husky voice said, still taking the never ending treats out of the baskets, "he refused to go to sleep until he saw the 'lucky lady' as he so nicely put it."
The confession made her laugh, and she pursed her lips to stop herself from bursting of joy right then and there.
"These are Iranian sweets." She said out loud to no one in particular as he slowly nodded.
"Yeah," Scratching the back of his neck the moment he finished displaying them out, he emptied his throat again by clearing it nervously. "You do like all of these right? I wasn't sure what exactly you preferred."
The gentle wind nipped at her skin, regardless, the passing chills were becoming far less noticeable.
"You brought me Iranian sweets and set out a picnic for me on your rooftop." She echoed. It was hard to imagine the professor planning any of this.
His face softened, the anxiety pooling in. "You don't like it." He speculated, "this was stupid of me, I knew I should've taken you somewhere else. I don't why I thought you'd like this. I'm sorry." Rambling on as he went to close the basket with his left hand and making her yelp loudly. Her hand came into contact with his, electrifying currents sparking off each other.
"No!" The bewildered student stared ahead point-blank, trying to find the best way to explain her current state of mind. "It's not that... I just, I can't believe you would do something like this for me. These all my favourite desserts." Leaning over, her eyes connected with the particular pastry and her delicate fingers picked it out of the box. She lifted it up to her mouth and took a generous bite.
"Ghotab," She mumbled the name of the delicious dessert, devouring the taste lingering on her tastebuds.
Once she finished, she moved her hand and repositioned herself so that her hand was in his line of vision. Catching a glimpse of her holding the pastry up to his mouth, he parted his lips and let her feed him. She giggled as he ate the rest in one swallow, and tugged her lower lip with her teeth out of habit.
"You like it?" Her tone was hopeful.
He didn't take his eyes off her, "It's good." He rasped, wanting to see the sweet dimples appear in her cheeks. They did, not even a full second later.
Rainy dropped her hand back down onto her lap, moving closer to him. "Are you only saying that because you don't want to hurt my feelings Professor?" She asked cheekily.
"No, seriously. I like it."
She perked up at his honesty as the edges of her lips turned up into a smile that reflected in her eyes.
She wasn't sure why but she needed to get closer to him and so she surprised both of them by getting up swiftly and moving into his lap. She sat down in the space between his open legs, her back coming against his chest. Hesitantly, his muscular arms wrapped around her middle. Then he pulled her in close with one hand and moved her curls to the side so he could rest his chin on top of her shoulder.
"Cold?" He guessed, chest vibrating slightly as he spoke. She tried to ignore the intense thumping of her heart.
She wanted to tell him the truth, though, she was far too embarrassed and murmured a quiet 'yeah.'
Being able to hold her calmed him down immensely, he had been so worried that she would be turned off by his attempts, therefore, he was pleased that she wasn't. The fact that she wanted to touch him was enough to regain some of his confidence.
"Look at the wall, I want you to watch something I put together." His breath hitting the side of her neck, sending jolts of emotion through her body.
"There's more?" Her eyes darted to him in disbelief.
He leaned back and pressed a button on the projector; it roared to life. The hazy image started to get clearer and faint familiar voice could be heard causing Rainy to snap her head over to the wall.
"I wanted to apologise properly," Silver started to explain, he didn't bother to look at the video playing. "You were right about me treating you like shit. I've been nothing but a dick to you and it's because I was scared. I'm not scared anymore. I didn't know how else to do this but to show you. Show you that I do care."
Lecturer style, he didn't add.
The first image that popped up on the wall was a video of a small chubby boy. He was eating a half eaten spiderman cake, and dressed in a spiderman costume with a birthday hat on.
"Oh my gosh," She blurted out, a wholehearted laugh escaping her as she directed her attention onto the projection. "Is that you?"
"Mhm, " a pause, "aged five. I stayed chubby until eleven."
The image switched from the small boy to an older version. The chubby boy was now tucked into the side of a brown couch, short black curls appearing, readings glasses on and a thick book in his hands. Next to him were two figures, she recognised them to be his older sisters, both asleep.
"I must've been about nine there when I first started to get into reading. I asked my parents for Homer's Iliad that year, that's when they realised there was something wrong with their son. Most little boys were playing outside but I was interested in other things." Her body quivered as he held her tight, not wanting to let go. The scent of her perfume wafted under his nose, distracting him from his storytelling.
She realised that he was showing her who he was, he was letting her in.
Rainy wanted to be upset. She had meant every word she said, she refused to be treated like a rag-doll. But it was difficult to be upset when he was acting this way.
"Ah, so you've always been this boring?"
Silver rolled his eyes, before he could even bite back, the screen flashed a different era of his life. It was the same boy, less chubby and standing next to a man and a woman. They were dressed up in smart wear, the boys wearing a suit and the woman in a flowy pale pink dress.
He was spitting image of the woman, who had curly black hair, and warm brown eyes. She was clutching onto his hand with a firm grip.
"Those are my parents, Camila and Marco Rivera. This was taken the day before my eleventh birthday. If I'd known that would be my last picture with them I would've smiled bigger." He laughed, his the skin around his eyes creased at the memory.
She swallowed, keeping her eyes on the picture. She could see parts of him in both of them. "You don't have tell me if you're not ready." Her whisper was shaky, full of ache.
Silver hummed, placing a gentle kiss on the side of her neck. "I want to."
The kiss sent a shiver of tingles, blinding her with desire.
He continued on, "I was sensitive and a big mamma's boy." He admitted, looking up as the glint in his eyes spread.
Her eyebrows shot up in surprise.
"Really?"
Nodding, his lips grazed her skin again. "She would've loved you, she was always putting me in place when I said something too awful to my sisters. They passed away in a car crash."
The video went on to show a lot more pictures, she found herself smiling, laughing, frowning. The different stories he told were bringing her a lot closer to him, she was beginning to understand what kind of person he was.
And then when she saw a picture of him and a leggy blonde with a car in the background, she couldn't help but scan every last detail. Eighteen. His tall frame next to the equally tall girl, wearing jeans and a t-shirt and the girl in a short dress.
"That was on the way to my first date, it was to this greasy chicken shop downtown. But I had saved up from my summer job for a car, even though it was a shitty old thing, it was all I could afford at the time, and I remember being so proud."
Rainy giggled, the car was old and battered. It was a ugly shade of bright green and had scratches all over the sides. "And what about the girl? Proud of her too?"
He cringed, "I should've cropped her out." He groaned under her breath.
"I'm kidding, she's really pretty."
"Uh-huh, and I'm not falling for this trick. Oh, look, the next slide."
The next slide was a much older him, almost identical to what he looked like now. The only thing different was the lack of stubble, he was dressed in a graduation robe. After the mini-story, the video finally came to an end.
All that was now left was them, under the glimmer of the city lights.
She assumed he had stopped talking and went to turn her head to ask him something but his voice cut her off.
"That brings me onto now, even though I have nothing to show for this part. I can tell you exactly how it goes. I met this girl." He inched closer, mischievous brown eyes and a sheepish grin on show.
His lips touched the side of her neck as his arms tightened around her. She pressed her back against his chest feeling the affection. Twisting her head, she frowned waiting for the rest.
"What happened?" Rainy squinted.
She knew what happened next but she wanted to hear him say it.
His feathery kisses were scarcely caressing her skin, his stubble prickly at the touch. "That tickles," She protested, elbowing him in the stomach.
Silver glanced down at her, quitting as soon as it started. He grunted unexpectedly. "She's cute, sassy, a little annoying. But she let me fuck her in the ass, and I haven't stopped thinking about her ever since." He couldn't help but add in a sarcastic remark.
She blushed, shaking her head. "Asshole."
"Yeah, that's right. It was in the assho—"
"Silver!"
Another elbow to the gut made him shut his mouth, he chuckled.
The buzzing from the cars faded into background noise. Tuning in to the curiosity in her stomach that rose quickly.
"I don't know how to do this, any of this. But the entire time we spent in Palm Springs together I couldn't stop thinking about how different you are." Silver let go of her waist, snaking his hand up to her chin where he moved her face to his.
He started with a kiss to her chin, "Hm, I fucking love your curls." kiss on the left cheek, "Your eyes," kiss on her right cheek, "That cute little nose," kiss on her nose. Rainy jerked, eyes brimming with emotion at his gentleness, she went to push at his chest.
"Don't... Don't say all of this if you don't mean it." She pleaded as he landed a soft kiss on the corner of his mouth. "Silver, please."
His thumb traced over her rosy lips, parting them. And then he did it. He kissed her tenderly, so loving that he was afraid of break her. Little did he know, she was already falling apart. His tongue grazed her bottom lip, silently asking for entrance.
She had turned so that it was easier for him to gain access to her mouth. He slipped his tongue inside, passionately exploring inside; their tongues dancing together.
When he pulled back, tiny gasps from her and her reddened face came into view. He brushed her hair out of her face with one hand, the other holding her hip. Bringing his forehead against hers, he pecked her lips once more.
"I fucked up the last time I said this, so let me redo it. I love you. I'm in love with you Rainy Love. I don't care if you don't feel the same way, I just need you to know that you're it for me. You're all I need." He sighed. The cheesy words would usually have made her squirm and gag, but from him, they sounded anything but cheesy. "It wouldn't be right if I didn't say it the way you taught me to with all this Persian food around us. Dooset daram."
If the fireworks hadn't already exploded within her, they definitely did when she heard the last sentence.
Rainy let out a loud squeal, "What did you just say!"
He gave her a confused look, "Did I say it wrong? I tried google translating it for fuck's sake." He scolded himself making her squeal even louder.
She smacked his chest, and bounced up in her seat. "Silver! You idiot. You big fucking idiot!"
Gripping onto his shirt, she crashed their lips together in a needy, lustful kiss. The embrace didn't last long, though long enough to cloud his mind.
"I love you! I love you. I love you." She spoke through the kisses, peppering his entire face. He stayed still, unmoving as she showered him in love. "I know I said I didn't want to see your apartment, but I take it back." She breathed out. "I take it fucking back, we're going to your bedroom right now."
Hearing the three little words slip out of her mouth wasn't like anything he had imagined. He managed to pull her off him, and held her shoulders.
"Say it again, but this time less horny."
With a scowl, she repeated herself, "I love you."
Silver shrugged, once he was somewhat satisfied by her sincerity, he leaned back into her. "That's works. Now my room you were saying?"
Before they could rejoice in a feverish embrace, she smiled one last time.
It wasn't said out loud, but it was clear to them. This was the start of a new beginning. They were starting again, and this time as two people in love. With each other.
This time he wasn't her professor or her boyfriend's uncle.
This time she wasn't his student or his nephew's girlfriend.
"I have a surprise of my own to show you." Rainy mumbled against his lips.
He rolled his eyes, beating her to it. "You have your nipples pierced, I noticed them through your dress in the car." He drifted off, causing her to pout. "Hey — I didn't say I don't want to see them. I do. A fucking lot..."
This time they were Rainy and Silver — unapologetically in love.