*Sephie*
We all made a pit stop, with Adrik waiting outside the restroom for me. As I was washing my hands, one of the girls walked into the bathroom. She spoke to me in Italian, but I shook my head no.
“English?” I asked.
She continued in English, “how do you have so many attractive men with you?”
Without even thinking, I looked at her as seriously as I could, “I’m a movie star. They’re my bodyguards. I can’t believe you don’t recognize me.” I smiled to myself as I left her stunned in the bathroom. I was still smiling when I walked out of the bathroom. Adrik looked at me, smiling back at me, looking especially handsome in his leather jacket.
“Why are you smiling so big, solnishko?” he asked as he wrapped his arm around my waist to help me walk back to the bikes. The more I walked, the easier it got, but I was still grateful for the help.
“I’m now a movie star and you guys are my bodyguards.”
“Remind me to get your autograph later.” He kissed the top of my head, chuckling.
Before we left, the car full of girls pulled out ahead of us, turning in the same direction we were going. I was sure we were going to catch up to them quickly. I put my helmet on and Misha was there to pick me up, putting me on the bike once again. I wrapped my arms around Adrik’s waist.
We’re going to need to do this more often when we get home.
It didn’t take very long, and we caught up to the car full of girls. Viktor and Ivan pulled beside them, both waving at the girls. Adrik and Misha doing the same. I looked back and Andrei and Stephen had done the same. The girls were so embarrassed that they could hardly look as we passed.
“They’re going to remember this day for the rest of their lives, gentlemen. You guys just shaped their future love interests,” I laughed as we sped away from them. I heard laughter from everyone in my helmet.
“We should be coming into Rome in the next few minutes,” Ivan said. “We’re making better time than I thought we would be. You’re a fucking beast, princess.”
“I don’t know about all that. I’m literally just sitting here hanging on to the man I love. This doesn’t feel like a lot of effort on my part.”
Adrik reached back and grabbed my leg, pulling me closer to him. I squeezed his waist a little tighter.
Traffic got heavier as we got closer to Rome, forcing us to slow down. We could split the lane with cars, allowing us to jump ahead of slower traffic. I’ve never seen so many cars in the same place. Driving through Rome was chaos, yet everyone seemed to stay out of the way of other cars. I found myself gasping a few times thinking that one of us was going to be hit, but it never happened. Each time I would flinch, Adrik would squeeze my hand or would talk to me, assuring me it would be okay.
The other guys figured out I was nervous and started talking to me as well, telling me stories to take my mind off the traffic or telling me how much longer we had until we were through the city. I could feel the anxiety coming on. I didn’t think I would be able to ignore it.
“Once we get through this clusterfuck, I’m gonna need a minute, if that’s okay,” I said. I could feel my legs starting to shake a little.
Ivan asked, “do you need to stop now? We can pull over right now if you need it.”
“No, no. I want to get out of this place first. It’s making me anxious.”
“You got it, princess,” he said as he accelerated through traffic.
Andrei said, “close your eyes, spider monkey. It’s easier for you and we can get you out of here faster.”
I gave him the thumbs up sign, as he was right behind us. I shut my eyes tight and held onto Adrik. I felt his hand on my leg again briefly. He put both hands back on the bike as we started to weave through traffic faster. My breaths were coming faster, as my body started to shake a little more with each jerk of the bike.
“Three minutes, princess.”
That three minutes took forever. My legs were shaking, and I felt like I couldn’t catch my breath. We stopped and Misha was pulling me off the bike immediately. Adrik ripped his helmet off as he climbed off the bike, he pulled my helmet off and crushed me to him. His hands running up and down my back, trying to calm my panic.
“Shhh…it’s okay now. We’re out of the city now. It’ll be smooth from here.”
I nodded, my head against his chest. “I’m okay. I just need a minute.”
I heard Ivan say behind me, “you can have as long as you need, princess. Nobody likes driving through Rome.”
Adrik’s hands continued to rub my back, occasionally running over my hair. The longer I stood in his embrace, breathing in his scent, the more relaxed I got. I didn’t know what it was about his touch that could calm me down, but I hoped it never went away. I took a deep breath in.
“Better?” he asked, stepping back to look at me, his face full of concern.
I nodded my head. “Sorry. I don’t know what came over me.”
“It doesn’t matter. You’ve been through a lot lately. Rome is…a lot, even for someone who hasn’t been through even a fraction of what you have,” he said, tucking a stray curl behind my ear.
I leaned against him again, resting my head on his chest. His arms felt so nice around me that I didn’t want to give up that moment just yet. I had a memory of the coldness of the void. Cold that penetrated down to my bones, down to my very soul. I closed my eyes, thinking about how his voice brought warmth back. A small smile came to my lips, thinking about how much I needed him. How he was always ready to do anything I needed. How they all were. I really was the luckiest girl.
“Okay, I’m ready. We can go again. I don’t want to make us late.”
“You’re sure? We can stay here a little longer,” Adrik said, looking in my eyes, searching.
“I’m positive. I’m okay. Promise.” I stood on my toes and kissed him gently.
He nodded, putting his helmet back on. He climbed on the bike. Ivan was next to me, as I was putting my helmet on. He caught my elbow as I raised the helmet to put it on. He looked me in the eyes, seriously, “You did good. You tell me if it comes back, okay? We’ll stop again. We’re well ahead of schedule. We can afford to stop as much as you need.”
I pulled the helmet over my head and tapped it. He chuckled as he lifted me onto the bike.