ARIS' POV

✲

The entire journey home I kept touching my lips. I know that we've been a little flirty over the weeks but I never expected him to kiss me–especially not like that. He held me like my lips were the last he was ever going to devour.

Oh my fuck. I drag a hand down my face as I sit outside my flat and compose myself.

Sure, I had a crush on Nick since I met him because he's handsome and smells even better up close. But never in a million years did I think we'd be tasting each other's mouths like I don't work for him. I was more than happy to let my silly attraction simmer and fizzle out when I realised that we'd never stand a chance of being together. The flirting felt fun because I knew I was definitely punching above my weight with this one but... what the fuck was that?

My head aches. It was a good kiss. A phenomenal kiss. Although I'm slightly confused.

I undo my seatbelt with a sigh and drag myself up to the second floor so I can tumble straight through the front door. My keys jam into the lock and I twist, before I get a look of the living space I turn and shut the door. I rest my forehead against the cool wood and close my eyes.

"Uhhh, oh," Luca's voice from behind welcomes me home. "What's happened now?"

My jaw tenses at the memories of his firm kisses. We didn't quite touch tongues but he certainly made me feel a little breathless and hot under the collar. I'm sure I whimpered. Fuck. I whimpered. Someone bury me under the floorboards.

A pained sound escapes my throat as I drop my head. "Spill it. Now!" Luca demands, louder this time.

"I kissed Nick."

There is no holding back. I come straight out with it. What's the point in stalling? It's not going to change the past, it might just help me come to terms with what the fuck happened. I'm still trying to let my mind catch up but it's lagging.

When I twist around to the living space, I jump out of my skin when I find two sets of eyes staring at me like I've just said I committed a murder. I groan silently and scratch the back of my neck, keys still between my fingers. "Oh, shit." I mumble under my breath. "Uh. Hi, Declan."

"You kissed Nick?" He repeats.

I cringe internally. I'm certain my face is wincing too. This is painful. "No," I mumble but it's not convincing.

Luca scoots to the edge of the sofa, arms pressed onto his knees. "Oh my God," he shakes his head. "Wait. Oh my God. You kissed him?!"

My lids shut once more as I take off my jacket and kick off my shoes. "Okay, let's permanently ban that word in this house please. Thank you. Forget I said anything."

I walk towards the kitchen to grab some water for my incredibly dry mouth. Luca follows me and then Declan. Fuck my life. "No way. You need to spill every last detail right now."

Declan's arms fold over his chest as he stares back at me with clear curiosity. "Yeah, please do share how you swapped saliva with my brother?"

Amusement plays at his lips, Luca swats his arm to tell him to play nice. "Please, I'd rather not do this. Nick will probably tell you."

"Unlikely," Declan snorts. "He keeps his personal life private. Very private. Like he'd tell me what he was up to, who he was fucking, or even kissing."

Luca leans on the counter beside me and dips his head to study my face up close and personal. "You kissed him or he kissed you? Or was it a case of doing it at the same time?"

I press a hand to my forehead. "He kissed me."

"Holy fuck. Hell has just frozen over. I can't fucking believe it!" Luca jumps up like an excited golden retriever. "Did you like it? Did you want him to kiss you? What happened when you left?"

My head pounds with the thought of answering those questions, especially in front of Delcan. It doesn't feel appropriate and quite frankly I have no idea what to take from the situation. We were caught up in the moment, he was having a bad day. Right?

"Can we talk about this another time?" I chew on my lip. "I'm tired and no offence Declan, I feel bad talking about this in front of you."

He holds up his hands in defence. "You're right. I don't really wanna hear what my brother gets up to anyway. No offence to you either."

"None taken," I respond before pouring a glass of water and downing the entire thing.

Luca stares me down as I place the cup in the dishwasher. "This conversation isn't over."

"I don't doubt it, Luca. I need to get my head together first."

His expression falls and he grabs my shoulder. "Are you okay?"

"I think so."

"You think so?"

My eyes flick to Declan who steps away and walks towards the living room. "Yeah," I rasp. "It's fine. I'm just a bit confused. I think I need to actually talk to him about it because there will be a huge elephant in the room otherwise."

"Mm," he murmurs. "Yeah, I think that will be the wisest choice."

I offer him a smile. "Goodnight."

"Night," he says as I walk past him and wave to Declan before collapsing onto my bed.

✲

I'm waiting at the school gates to collect Elodie. I've been nervous all day to see Nick later but at least this little bundle of sunshine will distract me for the time being. I need to get to the bottom of this because surely he wouldn't kiss me unless he was attracted to me.

I never thought someone like Nick would ever fancy someone like me. We're from two completely different spectrums of life and they do not match up whatsoever. But then I think of Luca and Declan, they couldn't be more perfect for each other and they're not in the same social class.

God. I don't even know what I'm thinking. I'm making shit up. Self-sabotaging.

"Aris, hey." A voice from beside me startles me and I turn to find Emily grinning back at me with the widest smile and pink glossy lips. "How are you?"

I clear my throat and nod. "Yeah, good. You?"

"Yeah, I'm perfect," she steps closer and I pull back slightly. "So I wanted to ask if Elodie is coming to Faye's birthday party in a few weeks time?"

My brows slam together at her question. Unsure if she's playing around like her daughter. "Faye's party?"

"Yeah," she nods simply with fluttering lashes. "I hope Nick will be there."

I snort internally. Ah. That's why she wants Elodie there so she can flirt with her dad, even though she's... married? Shock.

"Actually Faye told Elodie that she's not allowed to come to her birthday party in front of everyone and upset her," I state with a quirk of my brow. I'm not going to let this go, not when I was the one wiping away Elodie's tears.

Emily's face warps into a look of confusion. "What? No. Elodie was always invited."

"Mm," I fold my arms over my chest as I stare down at her with an unimpressed expression. "Well she didn't get that impression whilst Faye made fun of her."

Her head shakes, blonde hair flinging in every direction. "There must be a mix up because Elodie is definitely invited. I'll have a word with Faye and sort everything out later."

"Don't worry," I flash her a fake smile. "We've got other plans anyway."

"Other plans?" Her face falls and I enjoy it far too much.

Tough luck, lady. Nick is mine. I scoff at my own thoughts. I'm such an idiot.

I nod and shove my hands into my pockets. "Yeah, sorry. Can't change the date you see."

She blinks at me and settles into her wedged shoes. "Oh," her voice is deflated. "That's such a shame. Give Nick my love, it would be good to see him soon but I always miss him in the mornings when he drops Elodie off."

"Okay," I murmur.

The kids come flooding out of the school which save me from this woman that couldn't give a shit about Elodie and only the company of Nick. Emily lingers for a moment before disappearing to her mother's club. I roll my eyes and wait for Elodie who comes running over to me. I take her hand and we walk to my car.

"Hey," I say as we pull up outside their house and I look at her in the rearview mirror in her car seat. "So I had an idea."

"Yeah?"

"Well, you know next weekend?" I say carefully and watch as her face stalls for a split second. "I was thinking that we should go and do something fun. For exclusive people only. What do you think?"

Elodie tilts her head slowly. "Something fun?"

I nod eagerly. "Yeah. Bowling, arcades, delicious food. What do you think?"

"Yesssss!" She throws her arms in the air. "Yes. Yes. Yes. With daddy too?"

My throat clears. The thought of seeing him later slams right into the centre of my chest. "Sure, but we should run it by him first. We don't need Faye's party to have fun. We can have so much more fun by ourselves. What do you think of that?"

Her hands start clapping, grinning ear to ear. I melt at the sight. "I'm going to be the best, ever! I love bowling."

"Yeah right," I say playfully. "I'm better."

When she gasps dramatically it makes me laugh. "No. You'll be rubbish. I bet you can't even pick up the ball. I'm so strong."

"Are you calling me weak?"

"Yes."

I flash her a grin over my shoulder. "You'll regret that."

Once we get upstairs and I prepare dinner, I keep checking my phone every five seconds to see if there is a text from Nick to say when he'll be home. But instead I'm riddled with anxiety and anticipation.

After we eat dinner, Elodie sits and plays with her dolls. At some point I'm being drawn in and I'm pretending to be the role of a woman who just ran over her ex-husband because he stole her high heels. I have no idea where she comes up with this stuff but I play along because I have to admit, it's entertaining.

I start taking the role a bit too seriously and Elodie falls onto her back in fits of laughter. "No, Aris. You can't do that!"

"Says who?"

"Says me!"

My mouth twists into a smile. "Oh come on, she deserved it."

Elodie sits up and pushes away her dark hair, catching her breath. "Yeah, she did."

I glance at the time and start getting her ready for bed. Still no response from Nick. Oh God. The nerves are really kicking in now but I've got to face this head on otherwise it'll remain awkward.

Last night his lips were on mine. And I liked it.

He's not the first boy I've kissed and he certainly won't be the last. Although I don't know if I can say those things about him. I know nothing about him and yet we've shared DNA. Ugh. The thought makes me crazy.

When the front door opens, I feel my blood turn cold. I'm sitting on the sofa as I glance over my shoulder to find Nick walking into the kitchen. "Hey," I call out to him.

He avoids my eyes at all costs and keeps his head down. "Hi."

Dear God. This is going to be painful. I clear my throat and stand up, wiping my hands down my thighs as I approach him. Maybe I shouldn't just spring last night on him when he's just come home from work.

"So," I say as I press my hand onto the counter, Nick's back is facing me. "I have something I need to ask."

His head bows and he releases a tortured sigh. I furrow my brows as he finally meets my gaze. I suck in a breath because he's so damn beautiful. I take a quick peek at those lips, memories coming flooding back.

"Look, Aris," he leans back into the counter. "I know what you're going to say. That kiss was stupid. You work for me and we need to be more professional, especially in case Elodie ever caught us. It's not fair to confuse her. It was a mistake and I don't know what came over me."

Holy fuck. He might as well have just shot me in the chest. A mistake. I want to laugh at myself. Of course it was a fucking mistake to him. I'm nobody special. It's comical at this rate.

"Uhhh," I raise my hand to scratch my head but it never quite makes it there. "That's not what I was going to say."

Nick's eyes look pained as he drags them over my face. I wince at the ache in my chest. "Oh?"

"I need a day off next month to attend an appointment that's important. I can't change it and I thought I should let you know before the date got too close. I wanted to keep you in the loop as soon as possible." I state even though my voice grows weaker.

His brows lift, lips part. "Oh, right. Yeah, sure. Just text me the information so I can update my calendar."

We keep our eyes on one another for a long moment. God, I'm stupid. Of course he thought it was a mistake. Nick doesn't go for people like me. I bet he was overwhelmed and didn't know what he was thinking.

"Right," I nod, dragging my tongue across my lips slowly. "I should go then."

My thumb throws over my shoulder and when he says nothing more, I practically deflate down to my bones. I press my mouth together into a firm line. I turn my back, grab my things and head out the door without saying another word.

I slide into the driver seat of my car and throw my skull back against the headrest. "Stupid, stupid, stupid." I murmur to myself over and over. "He'd never want anyone like you, idiot."

It was obvious that he needed some comfort from the mood that he was in. He clearly went about it in the wrong way and now my heart is racing inside my chest, making it skip beats every so often and I know that's not good for my health.

Note to self: NEVER kiss your boss.

✲

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Author's Note

Thank you for all the love on the last chapter! It makes me so happy to know you're enjoying so much!🥹❤️

Yikes, who knew Nick would react like this??? UGHHH😫

Also YES to Aris for telling Emily that they're too busy to go to Faye's party and it's so obvious she only wants to see Nick there😳

What did you guys think of this chapterrrr?

Guys this book is a slow burn and I know it causes so much agony but it's going to be SO FUCKING WORTH IT. I promise🥰

Love Savanna x

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