I wake up in my own bed. I groan as I roll over and squint at the alarm clock placed by my bedside. The time reads 9:07. How long have I slept?

I slowly get out of bed, still groggy from sleep and walk into the bathroom. Ten minutes and a long shower later, I feel refreshed and rejuvenated. I spend most of my time thinking of Xavier and how we cuddled against each other yesterday, my head on his chest and his hands wrapped around me. I blush at the cute memory. Vaguely, I wonder where he is right now. It's already past nine, so he's probably gone to work, and since I am suspended, I can't go to school, so I am all alone in the big house, meaning that I can finally do what I've wanted to do for a long time – explore.

Quickly, I put on a big white t-shirt that stops at my knees which I find in my wardrobe and step out onto the landing. The house is so huge, but I know where I want to go first – Xavier's bedroom. And no, it's not creepy or stalkerish at all.

On the other side of the large hallway, I see a huge door, which I am certain leads me to the master bedroom, and I open it softly, gasping at the sight that meets me.

Xavier's bedroom is huge. There is a king sized bed, a wardrobe, a cabinet full of neatly arranged books, and a chandelier which gives the room a golden glow. Other than that, the room is empty – no Xavier. I jump on the king sized bed a bit, then go through the books on the shelf which are all advanced business books. One book though, stands out – the title is "Getting Over a Loved One – The Art of Moving On"

Interesting.

"Are you going to check my wardrobe too?"

I jump in shock, turning around quickly, my face totally red. Xavier is standing behind me, shirtless with a towel round his waist and wet hair which is plastered to his forehead.

I try to find words, but I fail hopelessly, and I don't know if it's because of my embarrassment at being caught creeping through his clothes, or how sexy he looks shirtless with wet hair.

"Aren't you supposed to be at work", I finally manage to say, though my voice is two octaves higher than normal.

Xavier cocks his head to one side, as if considering the question.

"Well", he says eventually, "one of the benefits of owning my own company is that I can take a day off if I want to"

And of course he would choose to take a day off when I was shamelessly ransacking his room.

"You look nice.", Xavier interrupts my thoughts. "Wearing my t-shirt suits you"

I notice for the first time that I am almost completely naked in front of Xavier, and I am mortified by the realization.

I mumble something and step and turn towards the door so that I can go back to my room, but Xavier grabs my hand, pulling me towards his chest so that I am facing him. I cannot resist the urge to run my hands over his abs which are just as hard as I imagined them to be.

"I'm sorry", he whispers, his hands running through my hair. "I always seem to mess things up with you."

My embarrassment melts away at the sweet sincerity of his apology. He is really changing.

I hug him. "I was just embarrassed.", I explain. "You caught me in an awkward position, but it isn't your fault."

Xavier pulls away, then places a kiss on my forehead.

"So why did you take a day off?", I ask, trying to ignore the monster butterflies fluttering in my stomach.

Xavier release me, using one hand to push his hair off his forehead.

"Well my parents are having a little fund-raising event at their place and they heard about you in the newspapers, so they wanted you to attend. So I thought that maybe we would have breakfast at the Cosmopolitan since Louis has been asking about you so much then do some shopping maybe."

"Xavier, you seriously took time off work for this?", I ask incredulously.

Xavier looks sheepish. "You don't have to go if you don't want to. It's just that my parents are anxious to meet you and I didn't think to warn you beforehand and – "

I interrupt him by pressing a kiss to his lips. Yes, I'm getting bold.

"I would love to meet your parents", I say with a smile.

Xavier holds my waist gently, and we remain in that comfortable position for a while, until I notice, once again, that he is completely naked except for the towel around his waist. He notices as well and pulls away.

"As much as I am enjoying this, we need to get dressed if we have any plans of leaving the house today."

I blush at his insinuation, and he laughs.

"I didn't mean it that way, now go get dressed."

***

"Miss Greene, it is so good to see you again.", Louis greets as he leads Xavier and I to a table.

"It's good to see you too, Louis", I say enthusiastically.

"What will you and your lady be eating today?", he asks Xavier in French.

"Surprise me".

Louis raises up his eyebrows, but makes no comment as he retreats to the kitchen.

"You look beautiful", Xavier says, using his finger to rub small circles on my palm. I blush. I am wearing a white long sleeved shirt with a black trousers and my brown hair is in a ponytail. It's nothing over the top, but I am happy that Xavier likes it.

Xavier and I make random small talk as we wait for our food. I tell him about finding out that Audrey posted the picture and my subsequent suspension from school. He isn't surprised that Audrey posted the picture, but he is pissed that I was suspended from school, even threatening to go and meet Mrs Brodie. I have to calm him down before Louis arrives with the food.

"Pain du chocolat with orange juice and French toast with bacon", Louis says, placing down a tray full of mouthwatering goodies on the table.

Xavier and I dig in.

Within ten minutes, all the food is gone.

As Louis comes to pack up the plates, he looks at Xavier.

"Your parents are having a fundraiser tonight. Will you be there?"

"Yes, I will.", Xavier responds as he stands up, and I follow suit. "My parents are interested in meeting my girl.", he says, putting his arm round my waist. Louis looks pleasantly surprised, and so am I.

As we drive off towards the dress store, I put my hand on Xavier's lap, and he smiles.

"No distracting the driver", he smirks.

"How am I distracting you?", I ask teasingly.

He gives me a grin. "You always distract me."

And just like that, my heart stops functioning.

We stop at Regal Palace boutique which is one of the biggest most known boutiques in the whole world. Xavier opens the door for me as we step out of the car and into the huge store.

"Let's head into the formal section", Xavier says, and I comply. I have to stare in wonder at every place that we pass. The rugs are all royal purple, thick and very plush. There are hanging chandeliers everywhere casting a blue glow all over the place. And then of course, there are the clothes. Beautiful and chic outfits for every occasion. As we pass the swimsuit aisle, I glimpse a gorgeous red bikini, and I take it off the rack, but I spot the price on the price tag and quickly drop it back.

That looks like someone's salary.

Finally, we make it to the formal section, and I am astounded. There are so many dresses and suits.

"Pick whatever you want", Xavier says to me.

I gasp. Everything is so expensive. How will I manage to pay for it?

Xavier seems to read my thoughts. "I'm paying of course."

I shake my head. As much as I know that I can't afford anything in here, I also can't allow Xavier to pay for me.

Xavier frowns, then places a hand on my shoulder. "You're mine, remember? That means that I get to spoil you if I want to. And I want to. So no more complaining. Go and pick something."

I look at his face, and I see that there is no point in arguing, so I start to look through the aisles. I am just picking a dress when someone bumps into me from behind.

"I am so sorry- ", the person started to say, but I squealed with recognition.

"OMG Jordan?!", I yell, flinging myself at him.

Jordan stares at me, first in shock, then in delight.

We hug tightly. I had forgotten how much I missed him.

"Where have you been?", he asks anxiously as he pulls away from me. "I've been trying to reach your line, but you weren't picking up and your parents weren't saying anything."

"What do you mean?", I say, bringing out my phone to check for missed calls.

Jordan stares in surprise. "When did you get an iPhone?", he questions.

Oh. Jordan wasn't calling me on this line. He was calling my other phone which I forgot at my parents' house.

"What's going on Candy? I saw the picture of you and the Reyes guy kissing, and I was worried. You didn't call or say anything."

I feel guilty. Here I was worrying about my 'relationship' issues, yet I forgot all about Jordan.

I start to tell him all that happened since we last met. When I tell him that Audrey posted the picture, he is totally pissed. Then I tell him about the suspension and how I was shopping for clothes for a fundraiser where I would be meeting Xavier's parents, and that makes him ask how me and Xavier are, so I give him all the details.

"You two are literally so cute", he fake squeals while fanning himself with his hand, and I laugh bitterly.

"Not quite", I say, as I try to quiet him down. "There's something else that you should know".

Quickly and quietly, I narrate what happened between me and Asher – the kiss. I also tell him about Vera. He stays quiet for a while then sighs.

"I thought that my romance life was difficult but girl, you have got some issues of your own."

I remember that he and Linda are sort of dating, so I ask about it but he simply waves me off.

"We're not talking about me now. We're talking about you."

I roll my eyes. This boy is such a sucker for drama.

"So what are you going to do about Xavier?", he prods.

"Well, I'm going to meet his parents, and hopefully, they'll like me. This is good right? It shows that we're serious."

"Well yeah, but I was asking if you were going to tell him that you kissed his brother?", Jordan questions with a smirk and I nearly faint.

"No, I am not going to tell him", I respond sharply, and Jordan looks disappointed.

"well, it's your decision", he says. "Anyway, where is your lover boy?"

"He's looking for an outfit. I think we should go and meet him".

Jordan nods, so we start to head back to where I left him. As we approach, I see Xavier talking with a blond, who has her back to me so that I can't see her face. She says something and he laughs while she touches his arm lightly.

Fuming, I march up to Xavier and take his hand. He looks down at me, and smiles, wrapping his arm round my waist.

"Hey babe", he smiles, kissing me on my cheek. "Look who I bumped into".

I glare at the pretty blonde face in front of me.

It's Beatrice.

A/N: I had to split this chapter into two or else it would have been very long. sorry to leave you all on a cliff hanger. Will post soon. 💋💋