I placed my bowl from breakfast in the sink, grabbing my cup of tea on the way to the living room, wanting to drink it before it went from perfectly warm to freezing and gross. An unknown number popped up on my phone screen. I had a feeling I knew exactly who this was. "Hello?"

"Nicole." Andreas' voice sounded both relieved and tentative on the other end of the line. It was odd to hear him after days of silence between us.

I wasn't sure if it had been his intention, or just a lucky coincidence, but the space had given me some time to collect my thoughts after our little misunderstanding. "When did you get my number?"

I could almost hear him wince. "Shortly after we landed the other day."

Is this family just completely against asking nicely? "Blatantly expressing your creep tendancies now?"

He sighed. "What would be the point in lying?"

"Hmm." We sat there in silence for a moment. "Is there a reason you called?"

"Oh, yes. I wanted to see if you were free to come over to my place tonight." He was uncharacteristically nervous.

My eyes widened. "Woah there cowboy. I thought I made it very clear on the plane that I am not a booty call."

"You know I didn't mean it that way."

I put him on speaker, squinting down at the phone. "Didn't you?"

"That really wasn't my intention Nicole, I just wanted to extend an olive branch, if you would allow it."

His pleading tone made him impossible to deny, and my stupid hormones responded before my logical mind could. "Alright." Damn it Nicole!

"Great! I'll have the driver pick you up at 7:30." The excitement in his voice coerced just a little more of my heart over to this man.

"See you." I hung up, my phone screen already reading 6:30 pm. Despite knowing that I was meant to be the exact opposite about tonight, I was nervous and excited to see Andreas again. It's only been a couple days, thirsty much? I took a quick shower before deciding on a deep green, midi wrap dress as my outfit for tonight.

I applied some concealer under my eyes, brushed some bronzer on my eyelids as eyeshadow and curled my lashes before applying mascara. A light stroke of blusher over my cheeks and a coat of ligloss later, my makeup look was complete. I looked myself in the eye in the mirror. You are losing control over this situation Nicole. As much as that terrified me I had no idea how to halt this downward spiral, my thoughts focused completely on that as I locked my makeup look in with some setting spray before getting dressed.

I accented the dress with a dainty pair of dangly, gold earrings, a delicate necklace and a pair of strappy gold heels. The top part of my hair was up in a small bun, the rest of my auburn locks curling over my shoulders. Just as I fastened my last shoe, my alarm for 7:20 pm rang. I slipped into a tan trenchcoat before grabbing my small, black crossbody bag on my way to the door. Why can't I just not like him?!

When I arrived at the lobby, a dark sedan was already awaiting me.

***

It came as no surprise to me when the car turned into an expensive neighbourhood, stopping before one of of the tallest, most lavish looking buildings' on the street. The driver promptly helped me out before informing me of where to go. I thanked him, feeling like I was walking into the belly of a beast as the imposing structure loomed before me, a myriad of scenarios of how tonight could go whipping through my mind. No matter what, don't be stupid.

At the mention of my hosts' name this evening, I was quickly ushered up to the penthouse, the staff regarding me with unabashed curiosity. As I stepped off of the elevator into a tastefully designed entryway, I only needed to knock once before one of the tall double front doors was pulled open, with Andreas smiling at me from the doorway.

Though muted, I couldn't help but respond with a grin of my own as he stepped aside to let me in. He took my coat, placing it in a closet by the door. I noticed his attention shift to my dress as I took in his apartment.

It was a masterpiece of metal and glass, the walls and furnishings in varying monochromatic shades. Everything in this space oozed masculinity and luxury, from the large seating area before me to the fully stocked kitchen beyond it. A partial second floor, visible through glass panelling, overlooked the entire downstairs area, making up a bedroom. The lights of the city twinkled below, visible through the entirely glass walls by the kitchen and accompanying dining area. Modern light fixtures placed strategically throughout the space cast a golden glow over everything.

I looked his way. "Nice place." Andreas looked as he always did, immaculate in a fitted linen shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and a pair of dark brown chinos. Damn him.

He gave me his signature crooked grin. "Nice dress." He tiled his head to one side, his smile widening slightly as he regarded my expression. "Did you dress up just for me, Babydoll?"

I scoffed, playing it cool despite the concerning rate at which my heart was beating. "You aren't that lucky."

He chuckled. "We'll see about that."

I returned his challenging look, following him as he walked over to the dining area. An array of intricate dishes sat upon the long glass dining table. Like everything else with this man, dinner looked like perfection. I picked up the closest glass of water, taking a sip. "Aw, you did all this for me?" I teased.

He shrugged. "It's nothing, barely took the staff an hour." Hm, and here I thought maybe he could cook. Ç'est la vie.

Andreas seemed to be taking note of my expression, pulling my chair out for me. "And what is it exactly, that we'll be having today?"

He took his seat across from me. "Cuisine française." He made quick work of pouring us each a glass of wine. "I hope it's to your liking."

I graciously took the glass he held out to me. "Merci monsieur."

***

The meal was as delicious as it was beautiful, and dinner went by better than expected, with Andreas and I being able to go through some small talk without being at each others' throats the entire time. As I took my last bite of dessert, he inquired as to what my plans were for the next couple of days. I smiled over the rim of my water glass. "What? Are you raring for the next date already?"

He grinned in return. "Well I can't in the spirit of honesty, deny that." He surprised me as he stood to clear the dishes. I reached to help him but he insisted I not, sending me off to the living room with our wine glasses, as well as the rest of the bottle. "I've got this. It's the least I can do." He said over his shoulder.

I was inclined to admit to myself that his shoulders looked magnificent in that shirt of his, the alcohol in my system reassuring me that it was a good idea to stare. The rational part of my brain, that remembered we were meant to be staying away from such thoughts pulled me out of my lust/wine-induced stupor just in time as he rinsed his hands and turned to walk back over to me. I did my best impression of a person transfixed on the buildings below.

I put my glass on the table, deciding that it was probably in my best interest to slow down. I moved to retrieve a glass of water instead, though once again Andreas insisted on doing that for me, not helping my efforts to deny my attraction to him. If he could just go back to being a dick, that'd be fantastic.

Once we'd settled into the couch, he turned to face me. "So, what are you up to this week?"

I tilted my head up at him. "Ah, the second date plans."

He chuckled. "Exactly."

I took a sip of water. "Nothing much really, I have an interview on Wednesday and I may or may not be meeting up with my father for dinner at the end of the week, depending on his schedule."

He raised a brow. "Interview?"

I nodded. "Yeah, with Femme Magazine. I applied for an internship position a while back." I couldn't contain my excitement at the prospect of working with them. "They're a huge established company in the industry. It's honestly insane getting this interview. Hopefully it'll be good news."

His smile was genuine as he took my hand. "That's amazing Nicole. I'm happy for you." His gaze met mine, as though he wanted to convey how strong his conviction was through that look, as he spoke next. "If the past couple of days are any indication, I'm sure you'll dominate that interview." Please don't do this to me.

His earnest expression, coupled with the firm grasp he had on my hand, had my heart speeding up once more. "Thank you."

He squeezed my hand. "If there's anything I can do, just let me know."

I smiled. "I appreciate that, but I think I've got this."

He curled a finger under my chin. "I don't doubt that for a second." It was just then that I realised how close we were. Why does he even smell amazing? In that moment, I couldn't seem to remember why I was resisting the urge to close the space between us and just kiss him. His gaze darted down to my lips for a second, and despite my best efforts I couldn't help but looks down at his.

As his gaze remained fixated on my face, my breaths started to go shallow, his hand tugging me closer. Yes. Andreas began to lean forward. When we were but a hair away, he seemed to catch himself, dropping his hand as he released mine. That seemed to bring my reasoning back into focus, as I leaned back, my cheeks aflame at how I had responded just from his looking at me. We both sat there fixated on literally anything else, as we collected ourselves. If it wasn't for his self control...

Without thinking, I took a huge gulp of wine in an attempt to calm down, practically jumping a whole seat away from him. He cleared his throat. "Well, at least let me send you a driver." I could barely recollect what we had been talking about before. "For your interview, I mean."

My embarassment kept me from looking him directly in the eye. "That would actually be great, thanks." I finished the rest of my glass. Get it together, come on.

"Anytime." His gaze darted about as he searched for a change in topic. "You said you'll be meeting your father for dinner? Anything significant?"

I nervously chuckled, pouring another glass. "He's just a little overbearing is all. It's been very different for him not having me at home. Since he'd be around, thought it would be nice to catch up, give him some peace of mind."

"So you're your father's daughter?"

My laugh was much more relaxed this time, calmed by the thoughts of my family. Another glass then, seemed a good idea. I don't remember finishing my second one. The logical voice in my head suggested that maybe it was more than just thoughts of dad that had me relaxing, though she was getting increasingly harder to hear. "Definitely." I turned to him. "What about you?"

"I don't think I have a favourite to be honest." He shrugged. "I just seem to have conflicting views with the both of them."

The wine seemed to be working a treat, my earlier nervousness falling away as I gave him a teasing smile. "Really? I hadn't noticed."

He gave me a smirk of his own as he moved to rest his arm over the back of the sofa behind me. "Is that right?"

I did my best to look dramatically insincere as I nodded. "Oh, yeah." He laughed, the sound, wrapping around me and sending my stomach to my feet. Why does everything about him need to be so damn attractive. A part of me wanted to shift my thoughts away from that danger zone, but how could I when the man sat before me all gorgeous and flirty. "What about you? Anything big going on this week?"

He moved a little closer to me. "Well that depends on you." He regarded me as if he was doing his best not to mess up a momentous announcement. "You still haven't given me an answer about our second date."

I gave him a teasing look. "With you?"

He chuckled. "Yes Babydoll, with me."

I pressed a hand to my chest, pretending to dab at imaginary tears as my other hand grabbed at his knee. "Oh I just don't know what to say!"

He sat there bemused at my theatrics, unconsciously resting a hand over mine on his leg. My gaze went down to our connected hands, the wine really beginning to hit as my attention was drawn to his tattoos once more. Before I could stop myself, my hand ascended from beneath his, my forefinger trailing the lines of his tattoo right up to his sleeve at his elbow.

I pulled his arm over to my lap, looking to find the details I had missed the other night. He seemed helpless to deny me, bending to my will as he moved over to my side. His eyes went heavy as I continued to trace the patterns on his skin. "This piece is insane. It must have taken forever to complete." He just hummed in response, his gaze transfixed on my hand.

Before I actually thought about what I was doing, my hand moved up to his shoulder. That got his attention, his eyes snapping open as I pulled him closer. I placed his hand on my waist, as I moved forward. His other hand grasped my nape hard, keeping us from getting any closer together. "Nicole." The warning tone in his voice only served to make me want this more. "How much did you have to drink?"

Why are we still talking? I licked my lips. "Just enough to admit what I want." I could see the conflict in his eyes, warring with his building lust. "Andre." He began to relax, his resolve wavering. Just a little more. I held my arms out to him. "Come here." As though bewitched, he did.