Snowflakes sit in his perfectly curly hair, and I get lost in how gorgeous he is for a second too long. All chiseled facial features and yet he has the softest of smiles. He catches me, and I swiftly bring my gaze to the steering wheel to pretend I wasn’t ogling him. It’s obviously hopeless, but pretending makes me feel less embarrassed.
“Where are we going?” I ask, and Adrian leans his head against the headrest to study me.
“I don’t care about the where, as long as—” I have to cut him off then.
“Please don’t say ‘as long as I’m with you,’” I say with a laugh. He joins me, shaking his head as the sweetest laugh escapes him
“I was going to say ‘as long as we get food,’” he clarifies.
I cover my face with my hands and let out a breath of embarrassment. Adrian’s fingers wrap around my wrists to pull my hands off my face.
“You don’t have to be embarrassed. If this were a date, I would have taken a page out of Gabriel Biancheri’s best-cheesy-lines book and said it.”
And I wouldn’t have minded it one bit. Yet, here we are, in this shitty situation.
The electricity his skin on mine creates disappears as soon as he removes his fingers.
“Well, this is my day off from everything work-related, so, if you’re down, I’m in the mood for a burger and fries.”
A smile spreads across my face before it’s ripped off again by the memories of what it was like to train professionally for a sport. The strict meal plan. The long workout hours. The constant aching somewhere in my body that I grew to love because it always made me feel stronger afterward.
My face falls at the memory of the tear ripping my dreams apart.
“What did I say?” Adrian asks, concern crossing his face.
“Nothing, sorry. I was just thinking about when I was training to be a professional tennis player, but a rotator cuff injury ruined my career. What you said reminded me of those times,” I try to explain, and his lips part in a way that tells me he would never want to feel that pain.
His hand reaches out to touch mine, and I watch as his thumb caresses my skin. More tingles of electricity spark.
Something inside of me compels me to remove my jacket and pull down the top of my dress to show him my scar.
His eyes go wide before the tips of his fingers brush over the long and bumpy mark.
“It’s ugly,” I say before a nervous laugh escapes me. Adrian shakes his head and brings his eyes to mine.
“It’s your battle scar, a part of you and your journey. It’s a reminder of your strength and determination to make it through the pain of losing your dream. There is nothing ugly about it, Nevaeh, not a thing.”
His words are sincere and full of emotion, and I can’t help but shiver a little as his thumb trails over my scar so gently, it almost makes me sigh.
“Let’s go get something to eat,” I say to break the tension. Adrian clears his throat and chuckles, removing his hand from me and looking straight out of the window.
“You think it will satisfy our hunger for each other?” The Monegasque rubs his hands over his thighs, shooting me a flirty smirk as he brings back the casualness and lightness I’ve grown to expect whenever we spend a moment together.
“Nope, but there is nothing we can do about it, so food it is,” I reply and let the engine roar to life.
A thrill washes through me, and I wiggle in the seat.
“This is fucking awesome!”
Adrian laughs whole-heartedly before telling me to go as slowly as I need to be comfortable and get used to the car. Fortunately for him, my father has let me drive cars like this since I was sixteen, and I’m a better driver than most people.
It would be even better if Adrian’s eyes stayed on the road instead of me the entire ride.
Chapter 16
Nevaeh
Everythinginsideofmefeels light as Adrian and I jump from one conversation topic to the next. We talk to each other like we’ve been friends for ages, with no awkward or uncomfortable silences because one of us continues to find new questions to ask or a comment to make that the other laughs about.
