29. Lovers
**Bianca**
My brows furrowed in confusion. “That's not what I’m doing, Avery.”
He sighed. “Maybe. Actually, I don’t know.” Avery threw the duvet off him and got out of bed. “I have no problem when you call and ask if you can come over here. I love it when you do. But every time you stay over I don’t see you again the next morning. And when we text it’s barely mentioned. If I knew it would be like this I wouldn’t have slept with you in the first place. This isn’t what I want, Bianca. The feelings that I have for you aren’t just ‘horny’. There are so many more things I want to experience with you rather than staying under the sheets.”
I felt like someone reached into my chest and squeezed my heart. I cupped his face, causing him to look at me. Then I kissed him. This time it was a tender kiss on the lips that would hopefully relay my intentions to him.
He wrapped his arms around my waist and matched my tempo. After I was done kissing him, I gave him several pecks on the cheek. It made him smile.
“Avery, please believe it was never my intention to make you feel that way. I didn’t come here just to have sex. You’re an important person to me. I value your company and not just your body.”
His eyes were filled with sadness. "But I don't know what to do to get you to look at me as your lover."
"Is that what you've been feeling these past few days? Avery, I already see you as someone I can't replace. No matter how much I've tried to resist, you've always been on my mind and taken over my heart."
That’s when his expression lit up.
“Does that mean..?”
I nodded with a smile. “I have feelings for you too. So let me ask, will you go on a date with me?”
It was as if the sun had risen in his gaze. His hold around me tightened and he buried his face into my neck. “Shit, you have no idea how happy I am. I never thought I’d want something this badly. A date sounds great but how about we skip to the part where you’re my girlfriend already? I want the whole world to know you’re mine.”
I chuckled and sunk into his touch. At first I went back and forth with myself. I was undecided as to whether something like this was what I wanted to pursue. It hasn’t been that long since I involuntarily let go of a serious relationship. But after seeing Avery’s reactions and taking note of how he treats me, all my desires to resist went out of the window. The only thing I wanted to listen to were the desires endlessly growing inside me. As long as Avery’s willing to water this blossoming relationship between us, then I am more than willing. But there is one last thing to consider.
“Avery.” I pulled my head back so he could look at me. “Are you sure you want this? Conroy won’t be very happy once he finds out we’re together.”
Avery blinked in realization. “Oh. That. I’m sure he won’t pay much attention to it. I mean, it’s not like either of you are together anymore and he’s too preoccupied with Cinderella and work.”
I raised my eyebrow. He sweated nervously. Both of us knew that was a bunch of bullshit.
“How about we keep it between us until later?” I suggested.
He quickly nodded in agreement. “That sounds good. Let’s make it public after we expose Cinderella.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
After that conversation ended, the tension in the room dissipated. Once we were done with a few more happy kisses, I wore Avery’s hoodie in place of my shirt. For such a wealthy and proud guy like Avery, I expected his house to be bigger. But to my delightful surprise, it was more of a comfortable villa with a touch of natural decor. Neutral save for the rooms that were painted in a bold color, like the black walls of his bedroom.
The upstairs was set up like an apartment, with its own kitchen and everything. Avery searched the kitchen for snacks while I strode to where the couches were. I found the remote and turned the TV on.
“Cheesy or salty?” He called out.
“All of the above. Is that an option?” I asked with a smile. The movie on the screen didn’t seem all that interesting so I changed the channel and took a seat on the white sofa.
The new channel displayed the back of a woman with short black hair and a man leading her away. He almost looked like someone I knew. They were surrounded by people with cameras and mikes. I was about to change the channel when a reporter in white blocked my view of the view.
"As you just saw," she said. "The eldest Middleton child suddenly reappeared several years after the death of her parents and youngest brother, proving that she is indeed not dead. Jasmine Middleton claimed to have had amnesia all this time and forgotten her identity. The one who was thought to be the last surviving family member, Conroy Middleton, happily embraced his sister and led her away in tears. This is the tale of a miracle and a dream coming true all at once. This is Roberta Morris. Back to you, Chase."
The remote slipped from my grasp. Avery heard it from the kitchen. “Is everything alright?”
I shook my head, my body shivering. “I-I… No. No, something is very wrong.”
He strode over while drying his hands. “Why? What’s going on.”
I couldn’t talk so I pointed. Avery read the headlines.
“Middleton eldest child…” As he trailed off, his eyes widened. “No way. Is this some kind of joke? Jasmine is dead. It looks like that video was taken during the daytime. If it’s true, then Conroy would have told me.”
“I don’t think this is a false new report. She didn’t die.”
He and I stared at the screen. What should have been a happy moment filled the air with so much tension. We knew that we should have been happy, but neither of us could ignore the sick feeling that a hurricane was coming, and it was closer than we thought.