Trust me, I can take you there.

 

 

I lifted my gaze up from the writing on my page, watching as Dom walked into his apartment and kicked off his shoes. He wiped the sweat off his brow and my eyes dropped down to his wet t-shirt before he peeled it off and tossed it over the couch. "Good morning to you too," I said with my book still in my hand, Dom already making his way into the kitchen and grabbing a bottle of water.

"Christ." He exclaimed, "Why are you so quiet?"

Take my breath and never let it go.

"Merry Christmas baby," My voice broke the silence as I wrapped my arms around Seb's waist and he jumped, not having heard me make my way into the kitchen where he was. Ever since we'd arrived in London we'd fallen into such a routine, Seb waking up before me then we'd make breakfast together before I had to leave for work. Since this was our first Christmas together as husband and wife, I had the day off and planned on spending every minute of it with my man. 

Never could be sweeter than with you.

Slipping into the dressing room, I closed the door behind me and walked quietly over to where Ben was standing, papers in his hands and a serious expression on his face. I leaned my body into his and wrapped my arms around him, sliding one under the fabric of the robe and touching his hard chest while I pressed my lips against his earlobe, "I've heard that you have a thing for makeup artists."

He looked in the mirror to lock eyes with me, shaking his head, "I've moved on to gallery owners, but I still have a weak spot for makeup artists if they play their cards right."

Lifes a tour, I'm so sure.

I walked into the coffee shop, scanning the empty tables before finding Ben sitting by the window, a silly ass grin on his face with his hands cradling his phone. "Thinking about the perfect sext message to send me?" I joked and slipped into the seat across from him, reaching for the full cup of coffee he'd ordered me. 

"No." He laughed and shook his head, making the screen on his iPhone go black before setting it down, "Cami was texting me."

Tell me there's some hope for me, I don't wanna be lonely.

From: Eva
Sent: November 12th, 2014. 10:38 AM
To: Nolan
Subject: Sleepyhead

Tell me something that'll save me.

(flashback)

"Mr. Vega?" 

All eyes flew to the back row where Kolton blinked at the teacher. "What's up?" He shot a killer smile and reveled in the way the rest of the classmates laughed. I wasn't going to lie, half of the girls were probably swooning. There was something about a smart bad boy and one that was hot? He was like a triple threat. 

"If you wouldn't mind getting your head out of the clouds and solve for x on the board please?"

Conventional methods of makin' love kinda bore me.

My lips quirked into a smile as I watched Seb who had his head resting against his palm, his eyes closed and I was more than certain he'd fallen asleep. I stopped packing, feeling like I'd been packing for the entire last year of my life, and walked over to where my husband had dozed off, his laptop still open to a page with the apartment we'd both agreed on. It felt surreal that he was coming to London with me, like everything in both my personal and professional life was going perfect and for once? I had no complaints. "Seb," I whispered and he didn't move, not even budging the slightest when I pressed my lips softly against his ear. "Baby?"

He groaned in response but kept his eyes closed, tired because he still wasn't sleeping well. He had too much on his mind always, never taking a break from life. 

My head is animal.

I stood back up and set the souffles on the top of the stove,  closing the oven and dusting my apron off when two strong arms wrapped around my waist. "I love when you smell like cake," He said and brushed his lips against my neck, my whole body feeling him when he did that. 

"Souffles," I corrected him and tilted my head to grin at my man. 

Everything I touch turns to gold, oh sugar.

"Hey," I grinned as Chloe opened the door, leaning in to kiss her. 

"Hi," She whispered against my lips. "I just got home, I didn't have time to cook." 

"Oh so you can't really do it all.....I think this might be a deal breaker for me," I said, clearly trying not to smirk as she narrowed her eyes at me.

"Careful Williams, more talk like that and I won't be putting out tonight." She rethought that and then shrugged. "Or I'll only put out once tonight."

"Such awful threats. I think maybe we could order some food what do you think?" 

I confess you are the best thing in my life.

I stared at the wall in front of me, a little tired but mostly happy. The gallery was coming together and instead of paying for someone to come in and decorate, I had decided to take care of everything on my own. Except for my boys, I hadn't asked for anyone's help and even though it was a lot to take on? I had no regrets. I had wanted this for so long, I didn't want to miss even a moment. 

"Do you need something else?" Ben asked, breaking me from my daze as he kissed my cheek.

"Keep working and don't get distracted," I grinned at him as I pulled my hair up in a messy bun, ready to get back to painting.

And I can't stop 'til the whole world knows my name.

My office door opened slowly, Eva's head peeking in as she smiled wide at me. My serious expression changed as soon as my eyes meet hers. "May I come in?" She asked, keeping her eyes on me. When I nodded, she stepped inside the room and closed the door behind her. Then locked it, making me raise a brow at her. "I have something for you and I need some privacy," She added innocently as if answering to my questioning gaze.

When I wake up I’m afraid, somebody else might take my place.

"Hey," I grinned as Chloe opened the door, biting down on her lip as she shamelessly checked me out. I returned the favor and let my eyes travel down her tight body, wanting to groan for how perfect it was and how long it had been since I'd seen her naked. Too fucking long. 

"Hi," She breathed out finally, stepping aside. "Come in." 

Let 'em talk 'cause we're dancing in this world alone.

 "Seb." I said softly and gently, breaking the silence in our hotel room as my hand landed on his shoulder, the bed flexing underneath me as I crawled onto the bed.

"Are you awake?" I asked as I eased myself behind him, resting on my knees.

"Yeah," He muttered under his breath, his voice still groggy as he kept his gaze in front of him.

My body adjusted against his, my chest pressing against his bare back as my arm wrapped around his waist and my nose nuzzled his neck. "What's wrong?"

He reached for my hand and pressed a kiss on it's back before closing it in his as he leaned them both against his heart. Silence weighed on us while I waited for him to speak, to tell me what had been on his mind for a while now. "I had a nightmare, I think," He said eventually, giving me the simplest answer.

"What was it about?" I asked as I squeezed his hand and placed soft soothing kisses up his neck.

He shook his head, tugging at my arm to keep me closer to him, "I don't even remember anymore." He said honestly before changing the topic, "Why weren't you in bed?"

"I was packing...did you forget we're leaving today?" I asked back with a hint of amusement in my tone.

"I wish," He muttered under his breath, closing his eyes and exhaling loudly.

Your heartbeat of solid gold.

"Where do you want the bed Miss Duchannes?" One of the movers asked as he walked up to where I was standing, furniture everywhere and quickly filling up our new house.

I smiled, "In the bedroom, up against the far wall."

"It's a big bed for such a tiny thing like you," He ran his hand down my arm and I smirked as I noticed Dean who grabbed the guys arm and twisted it behind his back. 

"She shares it with me," He said darkly.

I'm from a little city with expensive taste.

I closed the door behind us and stared at Chloe, trying to gauge her reaction but she looked lost. Her eyes took in the space, the way the whole room lit up simply by the daylight. Turning to me, she frowned, "Are we having a picnic? I thought we were going to try that new bistro a few doors down."

I laughed and shook my head, "Lunch can wait. I wanted to show you this place first."

First things first, get what you deserve.

I made my way to my front door, not bothering to hide the shock on my face when I found Ben standing there. Before I could say anything, he lifted a bottle of wine he had in one hand then lifted the other which had a bottle of whiskey. "I didn't know what your mood would be," My best friend said as he offered a grin to break the ice, looking happy to see me and god only knew that I was happy he was here. 

I grinned back at him, feeling relieved for a moment as I opened the door further, "I'm not sure either."

I was born sick, but I love it.

I could practically hear Dominic tapping his foot in the other room, my eyes scanning the clock on my phone to see that I wasn't running behind of schedule. Not too far behind at least. “OLIVIA!!!” He yelled out, his voice echoing through the loft as I peeled the fourth dress I'd tried on off my body and grabbed something simple instead, plain and boring, covering all of my best assets. I stepped into lucky number five and zipped it up by myself, examining myself in the mirror before running my fingers through my hair to give it some volume. 

“Jeez, relax Mr. Boss-Man. I’m coming," I said back as I left my room, heels clacking against the floor as I walked towards Dom and Carl. 

God only knows where love vacations.

I walked up behind Seb and wrapped my arms around his body before kissing his cheek, his eyes narrowed on something and when I followed them I wanted to groan because he was looking straight at my father. "I love you," I whispered in his ear, an almost sickeningly sweet tone. His gaze didn't shift and my own eyes started narrowing, but on my husband instead. "Seb," I said loud enough for him not to miss.

He broke out of his daze and looked at me, an innocent expression on his handsome face, "What did you say?"

Gave you a minute when you needed an hour.

Eva's mom laughed at my joke and her dad's mouth even quirked up into a smile, that stubborn man still trying to pretend he disliked me when I could tell he was slowly starting to fall for my charm. Eva on the other hand? She looked uncomfortable after hearing the word 'clitoris' coming out of her moms mouth and like she wanted to leave hours ago. "Alright," I slid the Cards of Humanity deck over to her and wrapped my arm around her waist. "Your turn."

She faked a yawn and stretched, "I think we're done for the night."

Her mom pouted, a little more than buzzed from the few glasses of wine she'd consumed, "But I'm doing so good! I'm winning."

I go crazy 'cause here isn't where I wanna be. And satisfaction feels like a distant memory.

I walked into my flat and dropped the keys on the table by the door, fumbling for the light switch while wondering why I drank so much. I felt sick, like my hangover was coming on strong and I felt alone, almost regretting not bringing the blonde who had been trying all night back home with me. She looked too much like Chloe though. No, that wasn't right. The hair color was right, but everything beyond that? She paled in comparison. Locking the door behind me, I wandered over to the couch and peeled my shirt off before flopping down on it, reaching for the controlled and turning the TV on. Nothing interesting, but too much on my mind anyways. Slipping my phone out of my pocket, I pulled up the text Chloe had sent days ago that I never replied to. I stared at the phone, contemplating calling her before these random words nearly wrote themselves: "I have an up and coming designer interested in you for a campaign. Interested?"