Alex's POV

After standing in the hallway dumbstruck like a teenager for a few minutes. I go to the cafeteria area to get myself something to drink. "Hi can I just get a water and you can put that on Brian's tab. Thank you"

The guy behind the counter just nods and gives me my water. No questions asked. I go out onto the wooden deck. This was always my favourite place to be when I came here. It's a bit cloudy today so it's actually really nice outside. I sit down in one of the chairs looking over the busy streets of New York. The studio is literally in the middle of New York.

I get my phone out and call my mom. She has some explaining to do.

"Alex, before you start objecting. I think this will be great for you honey. You need joy in your life. I know you miss Brian and Ron. I know you don't want to dance and you don't have to. But you need your New York friends honey. And Naya is in New York, I can see you miss her Lex. There is nothing holding you here. You need the big city and all its glory."

"Hello to you too mother" I laugh.

"Hi honey." She laughs too. "Alex this is totally your choice but please just think about it. I know it's scary but I know you will thrive there. You always have. There are so many people there who want you. Brian and Ron will always look out for you I absolutely know that with my whole heart."

"What about you?"

"Lexi honey. I will be fine. You will only be four hours away. We will get you a two bedroom apartment because I am definitely coming to visit you every chance I get."

"Mom whoah. I haven't even decided yet" I laugh.

"Yeah I know. Have you talked to Naya?"

"No not yet. I actually saw her. She was here at the studio. What are the fucking chances?" I laugh still not believing it.

"Well are you really surprised. Your whole relationship started with crazy coincidences"

"That is very true. But we are having dinner tonight if she doesn't have to work and then I will talk to her about it."

"I think she will be happy for you honey. And this way you will see each other more"

"Yeah I know but this is kinda her space. And I don't want to move to fast in our relationship and everything that goes with it. She has her own life here with her friends. The paparazzi and rumours going around. There are a lot of things to consider. I just don't want her to feel smothered by me moving here."

"I understand that Lex so just talk to her. You guys can just put down some rules or something you know."

"Yeah I will talk to her" i sigh looking up and my eye catches Ronald walking up to me. "Ok mom I have to go. I will call you tomorrow. I love you"

"Give Naya a big hug from me. I miss her too you know"

"Ok I will"

"Love you Lex"

I hang up the phone just as he sits across from me. "My mom sends her love" i smile.

He leans back in his chair and stares at me with a big smile.

"Don't start" i blush in nervous laughter.

"I didn't say anything" he smirks. "But now I know the answer to my question"

I roll my eyes because I knew this would happen and I walked right into his trap.

"You never cease to amaze me Woods. I mean you as a person is just amazing and now you have the most beautiful woman on your arm? How lucky are you?"

"Some days I have to slap myself thinking I am dreaming and it still feels like it. But it's all very new and nobody knows so can you please just keep your mouth shut."

"Of course Lex. I would never. You know I always have your back. I am so happy for you. And I am so proud of you. I spoke with your mother and I am sorry you went through all of that. We wanted to come visit but your mom said it's better to give you some space"

"I am glad you didn't come. I was not in a good place but I am ok now. I am happy and feeling like myself again" i smile

"I can see that. You look great babe. I can't wait to see you back in the water. Listen I know Brian already gave you his speech so I am not going to because we have the same meaning. Whatever you decide I will always be there for you. This is not for business Alex please know that. This is just a way to get you back out there. We have this new Nike shoot coming up and that will be great for sponsorships for you. We just want to help you Lex. This is how we can do it and also we know you miss us"

"Of course" I laugh. "I really appreciate the opportunity Ron. I just have to talk to Naya about it and I will let you know ok"

"All good babe. Take you time" he winks at me. "Ok so now that's out the way. I have a new boy toy" he smiles.

Oh my gosh he loves to gossip even if it's his own life. You would never know he is gay. He is a muscular man with a beard.

"Oh yeah. How long?"

"Three weeks now. Let me show you" he smiles and shows my pictures of him.

"Ahh Roni I am so happy for you" I pout at his cuteness.

"Thank you." He gets a message on his phone. "Aah shit my next session is starting. If you are bored I am in studio 11." He stands up.

"I am never bored. I can sit here for hours" i smile.

"I know. We actually wanted to take this down but we know you like it so much." He smiles and gives me a hug.

"Awwhh. Oh you paid for my water by the way. So thank you" i say as he walks away.

"Get something to eat as well. Chicken breast salad is to die for" he says kissing the tips of his fingers. "Love you" he yells from across the deck.

"Love you too" i yell back. The people around me just stare at me but I don't care.

Sitting there for a few minutes and enjoying my water. I scroll through my social media and catch up while I have the time. A few minutes later my phone rings and my face lits up.

"Cinderella" I answer with a smile.

"Hey" she laughs "I saw all your messages and 500 missed calls. I am sorry Alex"

"Stop it's ok."

"It's not ok but I will make it up to you."

"Oohh careful Rivera. I will hold you to that"

She laughs that beautiful laugh that makes my heart swell. "Anything for you. Listen uhmm so I have good news and bad news."

"Ok?"

"Uhmm so the good news is that I have the rest of the weekend off which means we can have a nice dinner tonight. But the bad news is we have to go to set for a quick wardrobe fitting."

"Ok where is the bad news?" I smile.

"Well in my head I wanted to jump in your car and spend the whole afternoon and evening with you. I am so fucking tired. I just want to relax. So it was kinda bad news for me"

"I get to see you tonight, so in my head I was worried that you have to work tonight and I might not even get to call you tonight and I really want to talk to you about something. So that is fantastic news for me."

"It sounds really serious are you ok? Now I'm a bit nervous"

"It is kinda serious but we can talk tonight. Uhmm do you have a place in mind?"

"No not really. Nothing fancy please, I don't want to dress up. Maybe just a place with nice wine. I can eat hotdogs but I need good wine"

"Ok I will look around and send you the location then we can meet there? Or what do want to do?"

"Yes it's fine. I will meet you there. 7 o'clock?"

"I can't wait" i smile.

"You have no idea"  and I can hear that need in her voice.

"Ok go do your thing. Only four hours then you can relax"

"Ok I will see you soon. I miss you already"

"I miss you too. See you soon" i smile and hang up the phone.

Only four more hours Woods. You can wait four more hours.

...

Four hours, a shower, a change of clothes and a fight with Brian and Ronald later. I am sitting in the restaurant waiting for my girlfriend.

Brian and Ronald booked a very expensive room for the whole weekend. I told them it wasn't necessary but they wouldn't give in. I didn't actually plan so stay the whole weekend. I don't have enough clothes but they insisted. So here I am on a Thursday night in a quiet little restaurant sitting in a booth waiting for Naya. I figured it's better if nobody sees us walking in together. I don't mind but I would much rather she announces it herself than the paparazzi.

"Here is your table miss" a waiter shakes me from my thoughts and I look up to Naya standing in front of me looking beautiful in jeans, sneakers and a white jacket.

"Thank you" she smiles and a normal person would sit across the table but no, not my Naya. She motions for me to move over in the booth and I certainly do not object. I would much rather her sitting next to me.

She sits down and gives me her hand bag for me to place is safely next to me. "Hey" she smiles as i turn back to her.

"Hey beautiful" I return the smile and she rests her head against the booth blushing with a cute chuckle. She places her hand in my lap and I immediately lace our fingers. I missed her touch much. "As much as I like this are you sure it's ok?" I ask looking around for wondering eyes.

"Alex" she calls for me. "Look at me" and so I do. "I don't give a fuck but just to make you feel better. People are not allowed to take pictures in here so can you please kiss me"

"Sorry. I am just worried about you" I admit.

"I know and I really appreciate it and I actually want to have that conversation again about going public" she whispers rubbing her other hand over my arm. "If that's ok with you?"

I turn my body towards her and place both of my hands on her thigh. Actually very high if I might add but it feels natural. "You know I don't mind Naya. If you are ready for that then we can go public."

"We know what the truth is Alex." She smiles.

"Yes we do" I squeeze her thigh a bit.

"So can I?" She asks excited.

"Yes you can" I laugh. "But not now"

"Ok" she squeals and I lean in to give her a few soft kisses. I missed her lips so much. "Mmm" she moans softly against my lips and we both smile.

The waiter comes over with our bottle of wine that I ordered and pours for us.

"Thank you" we both say and she leaves with a smile on her face.

"So Alex Woods you have some explaining to do" she smiles. I laugh because I knew this was coming.

"Uuhmm I actually don't know where to start"

"How do you know Brian and Ron?" She asks.

"When I was younger I use to train here in New York. My coach Casey knew Brian and Ron so she introduced us actually and then I did some productions with them" i smile.

"Wait" she puts her glass down and turns her body to me. "When you mean productions? Like as in dancing?"

"Yes. I use to dance for their company"

"Wait" she scratches her head. "You dance?"

"No I don't dance. I only helped them out a bit. I can dance yes but I don't really like it. I love to dive"

"Ok wait" she says again and we both laugh because she is in a bit of shock. "But why are you here. Because clearly it wasn't for me because you were just as shocked as I was when we saw each other."

"Uhmm that's what I want to talk to you about" i say a bit nervously.

"Ok?" She frowns a bit.

I take a deep breath and she just looks more concerned. "Alex what is wrong?" She says holding my hand.

"Ok uhhmm I want to ask you something and I really need you to be honest please"

"Ok I will but you are scaring me a bit"

"No you don't have to be. Just be honest"

"Ok"

I take a few more breaths. "How would you feel if I move to New York?"

She covers her mouth in a small gasp not really knowing what to say. "Are you serious?" She smiles widely after a few seconds of silence.

"Yeah" I can't help but smile with her. She looks really happy and excited.

She rubs her face trying to process this information. I assume she wasn't expecting that.

"Alex" she breathes out. "That would be so great. I can't even explain it" she says covering a very big smile on her face. She looks down at her lap for a few seconds and then she covers her eyes. I see her wipe her eye and immediately I grab her hands.

"Hey" i say in a whisper lifting her chin to look at me. Tears are rolling down her cheeks from her still closed eyes. "What's wrong?"

I wipe the tears from her cheeks and she places her hands in my lap. "Sorry" she slightly chuckles. "Uhmm I am just really emotional the last couple of days. It was a tough week" she breathes out.

"Why? What happened?" I frown already planning to kill whoever made her week hell.

"I was just really busy this week and I am sorry about that and earlier in the week I was just so excited for the weekend to come because then I could actually talk to you about your week and everything that happened in our lives. And then I got really sad because I wanted to see you. I needed to see you. I know it's really early but I missed you so much. I can't tell you how happy I am that you are here." She smiles and rubs up and down my arms to make sure I am here.

"And just hearing that you might move here just kind of open the floodgates. Sorry" she chuckles again.

"No, please don't be sorry. Are you ok? I am sorry you had a tough week and I missed you too. So much. It's not too early, don't ever try to justify what you are feeling. If you miss me, you miss me. That's the truth."

She nods and smiles at me. "Ok, sorry. But continue, uuhmm but why would you move here? Not that I am complaining."

I take her hands in mine and rubs my thumbs on the back and of her hands. She has the most beautiful hands. "Uhmm Brian and Ron offered me a contract. Not to dance but apparently they do other things as well but it's mostly to keep me busy while I train. And it's a great way to get sponsorships for when I get back in the pool"

"Oh my gosh Alex that is amazing. That is a great opportunity. I am so happy for you." She smiles leaning in to kiss me.

"I haven't really decided yet because I wanted to talk to you first because this is a really big decision and there is only really one thing I have to consider"

"And what is that?"

"You"

"What do mean?" She frowns.

"Will you be ok with that? With me being here?"

She frowns almost looking offended.

"Our relationship is really new Naya and me being here might complicate things. I don't want you to feel smothered by me or anything like that. I know New York is a big place but somehow we always find each other without looking" i smile but she just stares at me.

"You have your own life here. I don't want you to feel obligated to make me part of it. Look I just don't want to move to fast and then fuck everything up. So if me moving here has even the slightest chance of that happening. Then I won't do it. I would rather drive up here every two weeks to see you till we get to that stage where we are ready. Then I will move here."

"Alex" she says in a stern voice staring at me. "Why do you want to move here?"

"What do you mean? I love New York" i smile.

"It's a simple question Alex. Why do you want to move here?" She asks again with no emotion on her face.

"My diving coach is here and they have great facilities here" i say.

"You are not ready to get in the pool yet? So you can train back home?"

"Yes I can?" I ask confused as fuck right now.

"Ok you don't want to dance and you don't need to train with Casey right now. You have a perfect pool back home. So stop lying to me anf yourself. Why do you want to move here?"

Wow ok. Did she just turn this whole conversation back onto me? Is she right? I can train back home. She is right about not actually ready to train with Casey and yes I don't want to dance. I smile realising what she already knows.

I look at her smiling and the at the wine glass spinning between my fingers.

"Say it" she whispers with a small smile.

I laugh and look out the window into the dark street. "The hotdogs" I sigh and she burst out in laughter. I can't help but laugh with her. It's obviously a joke we both know the real answer

I grab both of her hands and pull them into my lap. I take a deep breath and looks into her eyes. "Because of you" I whisper and she has a small smile on her lips.

"Stop trying to justify your feelings Alex. I know you are scared. Stop looking for other reasons. The reason is us. That's all it has to be. I know in my heart that you will excel here. And yes we have the best facilities and yes your coach is here. But I am here. You need me just as much as I need you. I can feel it Alex. I can hear the sadness in your voice when we say goodnight on the phone. I can see the excitement in your good morning texts..... I want nothing more than to make you apart of my life. The fact that you asked if it was ok with me tells me everything I want to know. And right now I would love to be smothered by you. I want to feel you next to me 24/7 but Alex if you are here and we both have our things to do. It will be the exact same as what we have been doing. The only difference is that when I have a bad day or you have a bad day, you call me and say 'I need some attention' then I jump in my car and come give that to you. Or maybe you just want a midnight booty call and I am happy to oblige"

We both laugh but I can feel a tear running down my cheek. She quickly wipes it away though. "Stop being scared to make me your first choice. I know that sounds a little bit selfish but I know you. I know you are scared, this is a very big decision yes but you don't have to be because I am right here. We are in this together. Ok?"

I smile and let my head drop onto her shoulder. Her one hand moves to the back of my neck and she plays with the little baby hairs on my neck. "You make me so happy Alex and being near you makes me calm. Everything about you makes me smile. Your body makes my knees a bit weak but that's ok" she laughs and my one hand finds her neck.

I lift my head slightly to be close to her ear. "I am falling so hard for your Naya"

"Right back at you Woods" she whispers back into my ear.

We here a throat clear next to us and we both look up to see a very shy but also disappointed waiter. "Can I get you something to eat?"

"Just give us 5 more minutes sorry" Naya smiles and takes the menu of the table. The waiter leaves and Naya laughs.

"Yep, she wants to kill me"

"She really does, it's cute." She smiles.

"She will not be the only one" i scoff and take a menu myself.

The waiter comes back and we order our food. She was very friendly to Naya maybe a bit too friendly and didn't even bother to look at me. Bitch. Naya thinks it's hilarious but she also didn't help the situation. She had her hand really high up on my thigh and the waiter definitely saw it before she walks away.

"You are not helping" I laugh placing my hand over hers.

"I don't care." She smiles taking a sip of her now second glass of wine. "But listen we are not done talking. Are you going to move here or not?" She asks in a very serious tone.

I smile and decide to tease her a bit. "I don't know, it gets kind of cold here." I say looking out the window.

I turn back to a very disappointed but also angry Naya glaring at me. "Are you fucking serious right now?" She yells in a whisper. "You are contemplating about the weather"

I wide smile appears on my face. "Yes but I will have a very 'hot' body to keep me warm" i smirk.

She blushes a bit and tries to hide her excitement. "Is that a yes?"

"Are you proposing?" I touch my heart in a dramatic way with a slight gasp.

"Alex!" She yells in laughter. Oh wow I love it when she calls me like that. I could just melt right there.

I smile and take her hand in mine. "Yes" I whisper looking deep in her eyes.

She bites her lower lip in a wide smile before she covers her face and let's her head fall against my chest. I feel her take a deep breath and my hand rub up and down her arm.

She lifts her head and wipes the tears from her eyes and I immediately pull her in for a hug.

"Sorry" she whispers in laughter but I just hug her tighter. "I am just really happy"

"Me too" I smile.