AllFreeNovel
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He takes a moment, the slight breeze tousling his hair, making the ambient light catch the strands. "Lily, when I first got involved in Nocté and the Upper Tier, it was purely business. I never expected to get involved emotionally with anyone who walked through its doors. I never expected to—” He exhales a jagged breath. “But then, you happened. Your presence, your enthusiasm, the way you're so fiercely dedicated to everything you do. It’s magnetic. It always has been. Participating the way we did, it’s given me a new perspective on what it is we do here, oddly enough. But for us, I just don’t want you to think …” His eyebrows tug in and a slight frown forms on his lips.
I reach out, placing my hand along his jaw, silently urging him to continue.
His gaze is fierce when he locks it with my own. “Don’t—I don’teverwant you to think sex is all I want. Because,” he pauses, his eyelashes fluttering against his cheeks.
A surprised laugh bubbles past my lips, startling him. I cover my mouth with my fingertips.
“London,” I whisper, trying to convey with my eyes how silly that thought is. “I have never, for a single moment, thought that. If anything, I should have been worried you thought that ofme. I was the one who started everything.” I lift my eyes to the starlit sky. “We’re ridiculous.”
A grin graces his lips and he glances around the space. He still hasn’t explained it, but I’m beginning to understand.
His thumb brushes my cheek gently. “I want you to know, I’m not insecure aboutus, about what we have. I'mcautiousbecause I don't want to lose you by moving too quickly and not cherishing every moment. But I also realize that by hesitating, I risk pushing you away. So,this”—He raises his hands to suggest the space around us—“is my way of showing you how much you mean to me. How much you’vealwaysmeant to me.”
Once again, I glance around, smiling at the amount of effort it must have taken to get this place set up. There are drinks and food on a small table to the side. The ambiance is so …
“Oh,” I breathe, realization slapping me across the face. “This is what you’ve been doing.”
A boyish grin flits across his face and it reminds me of all those little surprises he’d pull when we were kids. He was always up to something. Always trying to make me smile.
“This, Lily, is to help erase all the years we spent apart,” he says, guiding me to the air mattress.
As I slip off my shoes and take a seat, I turn to face him. “What do you mean?”
He mimics my movement, taking off his shoes and settling in beside me. “You’ll see.”
I narrow my gaze, but a sideways grin floats to my face.
However, rather than answer beyond his cryptic response, he simply reaches for a couple of glasses on a table beside the mattress.
“Your drink, milady,” London says, passing one of the signature drinks from tonight’s event over to me. “So, you can celebrate your accomplishment of an incredible event and feel like you’re still a part of what’s going on downstairs.”
I take the drink and swivel my wrist to get a better look. It’s garnished with the strawberry, just like Cal had recommended downstairs. I can’t help but wonder who inspired whom.
Then, instead of the tiny umbrella, there’s a …
“Is this …?” I say, plucking the stir stick from the glass and spinning it in the low light. “It is. It’s a dick stick.” I turn to him with a smirk on my face.
His eyes twinkle and he shrugs. “Well, Myles won’t use them.”
I throw my head back and laugh. Like, full-on laugh. And it feelssogood.
London laughs along with me and as it gradually subsides, I find myself wiping tears from the corners of my eyes, the emotional intensity of the evening making every reaction feel exaggerated.
The light-hearted moment lingers between us, a shared melody in the now silent night, and a stark contrast to the earlier tension.
London’s gaze softens, the twinkle in his eyes illuminated by the moonlight and candles surrounding us. We share a quiet moment, and in his eyes, I see the reflection of years passed, of a connection that neither time nor distance could sever.
“This”—I wave the quirky stir stick in my hand, the laughter still tingling on my lips—“is soyou. Even in a moment like this, you find a way to make me laugh.”
“And that,” he replies, reaching out to tuck a loose strand of hair behind my ear, his touch lingering on my skin, “is one of the million things I’ve missed about you, Lily. Your laughter is the best fucking sound in the world. It always has been.”
Silence envelops us again, but this time, it’s comforting.
The city’s distant sounds create a soft symphony, and above us, the stars sparkle, each one telling tales of timeless existence.
London clears his throat, drawing my attention back to him. His fingers intertwine with mine again and he tightens their grip.
Inhaling sharply, I sense something profound is about to unfold.
