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I have no idea what I’m doing, and I’m so scared I’m making the wrong choices, scared I’ll lose another dream, turn my parents against me, and ruin my reputation as a reporter.
Adrian’s fingers wrap around my wrist to remove my hands and reveal my tear-stained face. Confusion and panic decorate his gorgeous features, and I feel my knees give in a little. Adrian shouldn’t be dragged along while I figure my shit out, it’s not fair.
“I can’t give you what you want,” I say, but he merely smiles at me.
“You’re so stubborn. Have you ever asked me what I want?” he asks and moves me from side to side to cheer me up, but it doesn’t help.
“It doesn’t matter. I can’t give you anything,” I reply.
“I want to be friends, Nevaeh. Do you know when the last time was that I had as much fun as today?” he says, and I bring my gaze to him, waiting for him to tell me. “It was three years ago when I beat James’ ass in table tennis while he was drunk. He could barely stand, and I took advantage of it, aiming for his body every time I hit the ball,” he explains, and I start laughing. “Like you said, all we can be right now is friends, and I’d much rather be your friend than a stranger you fuck once. Don’t make assumptions, and for the love of God, please don’t push me away because of them.”
He lets out a deep breath, his eyes drifting to the mirror on the wall behind him. Adrian sticks his ass out and frowns.
“You know, since you laughed at me for having a flat butt, Daniel’s been helping me build muscle.”
For some reason, a roar of laughter escapes me, and I have to sit down on the ground to catch my breath.
“No, you haven’t,” I blurt out, but my words are barely audible.
“Yes, I have been, but I don’t see progress yet,” he complains, and I have to concentrate really hard not to pee myself. This man is unbelievable.
Finally, I manage to calm down enough to see he’s settled down in front of me.
“Oh my God, Adrian, you have a great ass, please don’t be insecure,” I say and wipe the tears of laughter away.
“Fine, but only if you watch a movie with me,” he replies and stands up, holding out his hands to help me get up, too. I take them, but, this time, he doesn’t linger. “Actually, come with me, I’m going to show you something else first.”
Adrian grabs my hand to lead me to the room next to his bedroom. I assumed it was for guests, but in it stands a piano. The white, upright instrument rests against the wall, but apart from a bookshelf on the opposite side and a couch to the right, the room is empty.
“When I was younger, I used to take piano lessons, but I stopped for a while. I’ve been practicing again since I moved into this apartment. This is the only thing I have that no one really knows about,” he explains. “People tend to make things about themselves or blow it out of proportion or start expecting things I don’t want to give them like writing my own music or some shit. So, I kept this a secret, wanted this to be just mine,” he adds while walking toward his piano and carefully pushing me onto the bench in front of it.
“Why are you sharing this with me?” I ask and watch him as he settles down next to me.
“Because in a moment, you will look at me with that smile of awe that makes your eyes glow, and I’d give anything to see it as often as possible,” Adrian says, his fingers running over the keys as he hesitates. “I also know that I can trust you, and I haven’t trusted a woman apart from Val since my mom left,” he goes on, his eyes shifting to my face.
Pain is written all over his features, which makes some shoot through my chest. I run my fingers over his cheek and study the way his eyes close in response.
“Your trust is safe with me. I’ll keep it in my heart and fight off anyone that comes close to it,” I promise, and he opens his eyes again to look at me, giving me a warm smile.
Adrian feels the keys for another moment before running his fingers over them, creating a soft melody that instantly warms my insides. He’s precise about every single note, but I’ve never heard this song before. I pay close attention, feeling that expression of awe that he was talking about spreading over my entire face until the smile settles deep within my chest. I see one spreading over his face when he looks at me.
A few minutes pass of him playing, but I almost complain when he comes to an end. I could listen to him forever.
“That was beautiful,” I say, but he takes a deep breath, looking uncertain and a little like he’s in pain.
“Let’s go watch a movie.” I can sense sharing even one song with me took him stepping out of his comfort zone by a mile, so I nod and stand up, following him out of his private room.
We walk into his bedroom where everything is neat and in its proper place, as if no one lived in here. There isn’t a sock anywhere where it shouldn’t be.
I place my fists on my hips and tilt my head his way.
“Did you know I was coming and cleaned up?” I ask, but he brushes it off by blowing out a breath like that’s the most ridiculous sentence he’s ever heard.
“You really think you’rethatspecial?” He imitates my position by putting his hands on his hips as well. I laugh again.
“We both know I am, and we both know you cleaned up in case we went to your apartment.” I cock a challenging brow, and he chuckles at my words.
“I’ll have you know, I’m a very clean person in general,” he says.
