Patreon LogoYour support makes Blue Moon possible (Patreon)

Look at Me [Dimitri x Plutonium]

dimitri-klyff

Super-Earth
Joined
Oct 12, 2013
Mike Romanov. Nobody in the 21st century who loved fashion didn't know who he was. In fact, if one's not exactly a fan of fashion, his face would still be familiar because he is everywhere on billboards, bus wraps, magazine covers, TV commercials and so much more. He already tapped all sorts of lines in the fashion industry and now his latest thing is underwear modeling. Oh, how he loved his body and took pride in it. He was a walking Adonis, a young mortal man that seemed to be sculpted to perfection by the gods. His jawline was greatly accented, his muscles toned to the last inch, his skin perpetually smooth as silk, and his voice... his voice was enough to hypnotize anyone. It was deep, husky, and accented with a mixture of Russian and British because of his parents. He was almost what one can call as perfection but no one is created perfect. Every outer appearance may be unflawed but inside lies all the flaws in the world.

Mike had vices. He drank a lot and smoked a lot especially when he's all alone in the comforts of his penthouse condominium unit in New York. He had many acquaintances but he considered none of them as his friends. He was arrogant and boasted so much about his success despite being only 20 years old. He loved the money and believed that the world revolved around it. He loved sex. Oh, god, how he loved sex. His manager is his number one fuck buddy because she'd remain silent about it since it would jeopardize both of their careers. That, and she loved being his fuck buddy. She was, after all, just ten years older than he is but looked too damn hot and had the body of Aphrodite to pass. She was his secretary, his assistant, his manager, and his number one partner in bed. In fact, he already made her do an abortion just because he wanted to go unprotected one night.

But no one from the outside world knew that. To them, Mike was the ultimate ideal guy. In front of the cameras and in front of the fans, he was the sweetest and most charming guy there is. Image is important, after all.

And just like any other teenager, Mike had to finish college. In fact he was already in his last year but he didn't feel the need for it anymore. He frequently absented himself in his classes and his agency ended up paying the school to not stain his records but at one point, things just went so bad.

"What do you mean they're already threatening to fail me? Don't they know who I am?!" Mike snapped at Alexandria, his manager, when she told him to start taking Literature class seriously. Just that one class, Alexandria begged. She could do something about the other classes but the professor in his Literature class could not be bribed.

"You're not doing your job well enough," He said as he ran his hand through his hair. He was pacing back and forth while Alexandria, in all her naked glory, watched him worriedly.

In the end, after a heated argument all night and countless anger-diverting sex, Mike agreed to take that Literature class seriously and agreed to have a private tutor on it. If he couldn't bribe the professor, he thought maybe he could bribe a student to do all his work for him.

A week after, it was set. Alexandria arranged a student who was the top of the Literature class to tutor Mike and she was paid greatly for it. Mike was to meet her in his condo first before he starts going back to school. Alexandria took her there to keep her away from prying eyes of paparazzis and fans.

While waiting, Mike breathed in and out to calm his nerves. He didn't want to show a negative side to this girl or else, he thought, it might reach the media.
 
Her dainty fingers played with the seat belt nervously. Big dark eyes stared out the window, watching as unfamiliar buildings passed behind the moving vehicle. She had never been anywhere near this part of the city, let alone visit the city all too often. It didn't offer her much. Maybe the occasional book store, but she knew where all the good ones were already. And if she wanted clothes, she could go shop at the mall by her grandparent's house. Places like clothing stores, restaurants, parks, they weren't places for teenagers, err- young adults, to frequent. Especially by themselves.

The fact she was now 18 and in college still hadn't set in, even after 3 months of classes. Her family sure didn't treat her like an adult. The only time they treated her like an adult was when her grandfather requested cigarettes when she was making a grocery run. Perhaps it was because she lived with her grandparents that her social life had always been limited. Being in their late 60's when they started raising her, the lifestyle she lived wasn't like those of her peers. Sleepovers? No. Parties? No way in hell. School dances? Over my dead body. Honestly, her grandparents could have invented the phrase 'kids these days.' The idea of her going out of the house and spending time with quote 'present day hooligans' was unheard of. So, while school mates went to dances and birthday parties, she stayed at home in her room, reading a good book or studying. Even with the forced lack of a social life, she had known for certain she was the embodiment of the term 'bookworm.'

This bookworm's name was Juliette Torres. And yes, she was named after the heroine in Shakespeare's tragic love story. Quite frankly, she felt she was a bit of a tragedy. Her mother, an immigrant from the Philippines, had fallen in love with American Literature as soon as she learned to read American. Juliette honestly would have changed a few things about herself if she was given the choice. She wished she was tall, like most Filipino women she grew to be on the short side: 5'3 to be exact. She wished she was skinny too. The bookworm/nerd agenda consisted of video games and watching Netflix during her downtime, while the rest of her time was spent studying and helping out around the house. Being cooped up all the time meant less time to exercise (not that she really wanted to run or go to the gym anyway.) Although she was a bit chubby, most of it was actually delicious curves most girls would dream of having.

Despite what she saw in the mirror, Juliette was an exotic beauty. Half Filipino and half Irish meant some pretty damn good genes. Her skin was a sheer olive and tanned flawlessly in the summer. Although hidden by a pair of 'librarian glasses,' her eyes were strikingly dark, decorated with long lashes. By far, her lips were her best facial feature: permanently fixed in an alluring pout. Behind those lips was a smile that could light up an entire room, or so her grandparents bragged. However she didn't show it to many people. Instead, she hid behind a pair of glasses and pages of a book. Since her grandparents allowed her to wear makeup, she wore it everyday. She adored makeup, even if it was only college classmates who would see her wearing some. In her opinion, it made her a lot more pleasant to look at, plus it allowed her to feel like she had something tiny in common with girls her age.

As for things her grandparents didn't allow: everything under the sun. Especially. Boys. They had watched Juliette's mother run off with a gambler only to have her come back a year later with mascara running down her cheeks and a child in her arms. After that, she disappeared. Promising to come back for her when she could support her child. Her grandparents didn't believe a word. It had been eighteen years and not a word. It didn't bother Juliette. If it did, she would never show it. The whole incident turned off her grandparents to allowing a boy ever to walk into Juliette's life. Which meant no dating, no flirting, no kissing...no sex. Despite the lack of a man in her life, one thing was for certain; Juliette loved sex. She had started masturbating early, perhaps from being socially deprived and having nothing better to do. She read erotica and couldn't get enough of it. Not to mention she watched a bit of porn here and there. Who knew such a quiet bookworm could be a bit of a nymphomaniac?

Her boring life suddenly took a turn not too long ago. Her professor approached her along with a what she thought was a business woman. Their request threw her for a loop: tutor the most well known male model in the country. Juliette thought she was dreaming. No, she wasn't a crazed fan, but she wouldn't deny that he was quite the looker. On the rare occurrence she picked up a fashion magazine, his face would be somewhere in it. His articles always piqued her interest for the mere fact the words described him like the dream boys in books. He was perfect, not a flaw to be heard of and most definitely not a flaw to be seen. Honestly she found it to be a bit suspicious, but the opportunity to meet America's heart throb and teach him her favorite subject? How could she refuse?

So here she was in one of the most expensive cars she had ever seen, let alone drive in. The only sound was the faint music coming from the car speakers. The atmosphere was heavy with nerves and silence. Usually Juliette didn't mind the silence, but the nervousness mixed in didn't help all that much. There was so much anxiety that she thought she would throw up. What was she going to say? And how the heck would she teach him literature? He obviously could read. But why was he failing then? No one gave her the details, just her assignment. While questions reeled in her head ten times over, she hadn't realized they had pulled into the penthouse parking. As soon as she stepped up, her eyes immediately traveled upwards. Her dark eyes widening behind her glasses at the sight of such a high end building. Before she knew it, she was standing in an elevator beside Alexandria: his manager. With each passing of the floors Juliette felt herself want to get off this elevator ride. Absently she took out her phone, checking her hair in it's usual messy up-do. It was the best it was gonna get because they had reached the top floor before she cold even put the phone down.

Walking behind Alexandria, her eyes floated to the intricate finishing o the walls and nearly bumped into her out of distraction. "I-I'm so sorry!" She stuttered standing up straight.

"Relax." Alexandria responded curtly before hitting the buzzer.

The moment Juliette set foot in the place, her eyes were drawn everywhere. She had never been in even a hotel this nice. What's more, when her eyes fell upon Mike, she realized she had never seen a man more physically pleasing to the eye. With a gulp, she stood there a bit star-struck before Alexandria cleared her throat.

"Oh, um." She began. "I'm Juliette Torres. It's...a pleasure." She chose her words carefully, allowing them to slowly roll off her lips. She wanted to make it sounds like she was excited to meet him, but not that excited. Her folded hands began to move as she stuck out her right hand in an awaited greeting. "Your home is, well, amazing." She admitted without really thinking about it, causing her to bite her lip.
 
Mike paced back and fort on his flat and took deep breaths as he did so. Theater people would call it an internalization of character which is, quite honestly and frankly, what he needed the most at that very moment. He swore to Alexandria that he won't do any further harm to jeopardize their careers any further and he'd seriously give this whole tutoring thing a chance. Mentally, he wished and hoped that whoever Alexandria got for him was not some sort of a strict smartass who'd just end up being a pain and a trigger to his bad sides.

When he heard the familiar beep of his door freeing itself from the shackles to let others in, he took one last deep breath before turning to face his new visitor. Alexandria was no longer around and just a few inches from the door stood a beautiful bodacious babe that almost instantly made his boy parts roar in excitement. Oh, I know this girl, he thought to himself. I've seen her in the corridors at school and damn she's hot. His formerly tensed shoulders relaxed at the lovely sight before him and his smile became a little more genuine that what he initially planned. Being friendly was, after all, not that hard a task.

'Nice to meet you, Juliette," He said with his arms extended for a formal handshake. "I uhh. I think introductions for my part aren't needed anymore, but uhh. I'm Mike Romanov." If there was one thing he learned about playing the nice guy, he needed to act all humble and slightly shy. He had to give off some sort of image that he knew he was a big star but he isn't letting the stardom get to him.

As if that were real.

"Thanks for the compliment, my home is my little sanctuary so I'd like to keep this place looking like a small palace." He faked a glance around his place before ushering the girl to follow him to one room that looked like a study room. The room was the simplest and modest part of the entire unit. It held nothing but plain walls, a table with an iMac on it, an office chair, a leather couch, and a couple of unknown stacks of papers. It was a pretty small room, actually.

"I'm so sorry, I'm not really used to having people inside here so we'd have to work on the couch for now," Mike said. He took his books that were necessary for his Literature class and brought it with him when he sat down on the couch. "I'll have Alexandria buy an extra chair for this room. I suck at this subject, so I'm guessing we'd be sticking around for quite a while. I hope you don't mind that."

Ha. Of course she won't mind that.

Mike decided to give this tutoring agenda a chance before offering a huge sum of money or even a date and all that just to have Juliette do all his papers. After all, he was confident he'd break her one of these days.
 
Juliette looked up at him shyly from under her eyelashes, afraid to look at his face straight on in fear of staring. Her empty hand was met with a sudden warmth, his hand. It almost startled her; the electricity that traveled up her arm from brushing his skin. It was faint, like a spark. She found her name just as pleasing as soon as it fell from his lips. What was wrong with her? Had a boy never even shook her hand before? Or even said her name? Was it because he was a celebrity? Juliette wasn't sure, but it made her even more nervous becoming aware of those strange sensations.

His introduction definitely wasn't needed. Everyone knew who he was, maybe even the world. Even her grandparents knew despite the rock they seemed to live under. They actually hated him, said he reminded them of the 'putang ina mo' that her mother ran off with. Juliette figured out what the phrase meant just through context clues. Her grandparents hated the entire generation it seemed like, especially the male population. When Juliette inquired why specifically they didn't like him, (since he seemed like such a nice guy) they said he was lying through his teeth. He was a charmer, just like her father had been. That's how he had become such a successful gambler. That's how he tricked her mother into bailing him out countless times. Juliette honestly didn't see it, but she did notice how perfect he was.

Almost too perfect.

At that moment though, she was much too preoccupied with nerves to notice the act he was putting on. She found it endearing that he was a bit shy, yet didn't understand how he could be. She guessed he was just as down to earth as the articles said.

Soon, she was following him though his 'small palace.' In terms of luxuries, Juliette would definitely have chosen that term. A few other words came to mind as well; lavish, high-end, luxurious. Her grade school teachers would call her a walking thesaurus. It was a small game she would play sometimes. Usually it was a game she played randomly out of boredom. In this particular situation, she used it as a distraction from her nerves. The idea was to find as many adjectives as possible to describe whatever she wanted really. At the moment, it was Mike's penthouse. By the time they reached the desired room, she had gotten 8 more adjectives. Juliette continued to stare in awe at every thing from the furniture down to the smallest details. This room was far nicer that her room at home, and it was quite plain compared to the rest of his rooms. The furniture alone probably costed half the mortgage of her grandparent's home.

".....We'd have....couch..." A few of Mike's words snapped her out of her awed state. Juliette hadn't heard everything he had said, but she got the general gist of it.

The couch? Together?

Something as simple as sitting down next to him on a couch. The thought alone made her suddenly weak in the knees. It was enough to be lab partners with a guy at school, but work that close together?! With a mega-hot model/celebrity? Swallowing, her eyes followed his form as he took a seat on the couch from behind her glasses. Almost rigidly, she took a seat next to him on the couch, her back straight as a board, leaving a considerable amount of room between them. Carefully, she slid off her sling bag and unzipped it, grabbing a student planner, a 'Sailor Moon' notebook, a literature textbook, and two copies of "Pygmalion," the current novel the class was reading. One copy had a bright pink sticky note with Mike's name on it. Upon hearing him admit he 'sucked' at the subject, she absently chuckled.

"No one sucks at literature. Unless you can't read, then we have a problem..." She teased catching his eyes and blushing furiously before reverting her gaze downwards. Her eyes immediately began scanning the notes she had written at school. What she would have him do for their first meeting was simple. He would be doing less than the other students would be doing, too. It would be a way of first getting him into the novel without pounding him with work. Simple and easy, for now. "Here." She handed him his copy. As soon as she began to speak, her nerves almost magically disappeared. "Pygmalion is a novel based on a Greek myth about a man who sculpts a beautiful statue of a woman. His work of art was flawless, perfect in every way. So perfect, that he ends up falling in love with it. In the end, the Goddess of Love and Beauty, Aphrodite, grants him his true wish of being with his 'love.' She gives the statue life." Clearly glowing with enthusiasm, she began to explain more. "The actual novel is centered around a bet. Two wealthy men, one a man fluent in Indian linguistics and the other a scientist in phonetics, make a bet that they can turn a cockney woman on the street into a duchess in the eyes of the public. In short, can they make her go from rags to riches and convince everyone she truly is a duchess."

She flipped to the next page of her notebook, a bunch of notes written in curly cursive on the page. Carefully, she tore the piece of notebook paper out and handed it to him. "I made your first assignment easy. You have to read the first 30 pages. I highlighted a bunch of sentences and phrases within those 30 pages. The assignment from Professor Douglas was to read and find examples of these themes-" She pointed to the paper, her writing read 'Appearance, society and class, language/linguistics.' "- and write down the page numbers." Next, she reached over and opened his book, scooting a bit closer without realizing it. "Since I highlighted where you find those examples, all you have to do is categorize each into their appropriate theme and write the page down. Easy!" She smiled brightly looking up and finally realizing how much closer she had moved to him. Her face grew hot again, and she scooted herself away from him.

....so I'm guessing we'd be sticking around for quite a while. I hope you don't mind that."


Crap, she was expected for dinner tonight at her grandparents house. Out of every day of the week, this was the one day she never had extra circulars on. Ironically enough, the one thing she couldn't tell her grandparents about happened today. Biting her lip, she opened her mouth to say something, but closed it. It would be rude of her to run out on their first session. Plus, if he needed help on this first assignment, then she would realize how much work she had ahead. "So...do you understand?" She asked warily.
 
Mike nodded his head mechanically but his thoughts were elsewhere. The words of the girl entered and exited his ear like some insignificant conversation instead of what he actually needed to do to pull his grades up. At some point, he even tried so hard to not yawn so he faked a cough instead. Reading was never his thing. The most he read were comic books back in his childhood days and tabloids that spread rumors about him. He was never fond of rumors but was never quite bothered by them. One rumor went something like he was caught making out with his manager but hey, they both can simply say it was some sort of twisted words although some of his fans shipped them both. Speaking of which, where was Alexandria.....

30 pages... assignment.... examples... themes....

None of it made sense but he was already such a professional at feigning an act of listening.

"Juliette," Mike said, almost breathing out his name as he intentionally scooted closer so that their thighs touched. He traced the page with his finger, also with the intention to let their hands brush. "I'm sorry, I really am, but... ah, well, a book-loving girl like you wouldn't understand, maybe, but I don't like reading. I find it hard to understand so many words, so many... uhh... imaginative things going on." He tilted his head sideways so that he was directly looking at her and he let the weight of his stare do all the pressuring.

And then, something hit him. Just the other day at school, he saw posters taped on pillars and being handed out by some students about some party one dude was having. If he remembered the overheard conversations correctly, it was the MVP of the football team who's hosting it and if you're the MVP of the football team, you're just one level down from the popular Mike Romanov.

Light bulb.

"Say uhh, Juliette?" Mike leaned in closer but made sure he wasn't too close for comfort. He kept a distance that was safe to let his breath reach the most sensitive part of her neck yet still enough to not make her call the police and report him for sexual harassment. Though if he did something crazy, he was confident that the girl wouldn't speak. Either she's too afraid or she'd like it. The thought made the model smirk. Of course she'd like it.

"There's this party next week. Have you heard of it? The one of Tristan Simon." At this point, he dared to tilt her chin up so that she'd face him before he took off the glasses that framed the upper half of her face. He also brushed away the bangs that got in his way to see her beauty. Such a lovely mix, she was. He must admit, the whole act was just to get her all jittery and fangirl-y but once he saw her without the glasses and without the hair covering her face, Mike nearly had to gulp. Goddamn it, her face was almost enough to trigger his boy parts. The memory of her curvy body wasn't helping, too.

Nope, no fucking can happen tonight.

Not yet, at least.

"With just a tad bit of color on the lips and some contact lens so that you won't have to wear your glasses, you're already model material," Mike said. "Can I ask you a favor? Can you please do just this one assignment for me, then maybe we can go to that party together? A model plus a model-material babe. It's gonna be great, right?"
 
It seemed like he was getting it, bringing Juliette a sense of pride. He hadn't spoke up otherwise. Maybe that meant she could leave early? An assignment like this could literally take someone 30 minutes if not less. Even if reading wasn't his subject. Grabbing her phone from her pocket she looked at the time. 3:03. Alright, her grandparents wanted her at 4:30. If she took a taxi back it wouldn't take her too long to get to the campus...

Another spark interrupted her train of thought.

Nearly dropping her phone out of surprise her head whipped up to meet Mike's somewhat intense gaze. In a split second she looked away, not wanting to stare at him despite the physical need to want to. Not only had their thighs touched his fingers brushed at her hand as he played with the page of his book. Almost teasingly. It was only when he heard his breathy tone of voice did her suspicion begin to act up. A book-worm like her, huh? It was one thing for her to call herself that, but the fact he was going right out there saying it was pretty bold. Not that other tutorees hadn't called her that in the past behind her back. She assumed they were giving negative connotation to it. Just because she liked being a bookworm, didn't mean she wanted to be in the eyes of others.

He was right though, she didn't understand how anyone couldn't like reading. In fact, the way he said it was sort of insulting. Imaginative things? That's what she liked about books. Reality was boring, her life was boring. Seriously, how could people not like books. The entire idea really got her going.

Juliette had begun to get just a tad worked up when he leaned in. As a reflex, she tried to lean in the other direction only to hit the arm of the couch. His breath on her neck. Oh gosh. An almost visible shiver ran down her spine, heat painting her cheeks as her fingers curled around her book. Her eyes, wide, moved to see where their thighs were touching. Her head had begun to spin at this point. This was enough stimulus to make her want to faint.

Upon hearing the word party, she instantly perked up. Juliette always heard about parties, but of course never attended one. After a while of never being allowed to go to parties in middle school and high school, people just stopped asking her. People basically didn't give her the time of day, aside from the people she tutored. They knew she was a let down, a prude. More like a forced let down. Although honestly the 'partying' that a lot of her peers didn't interest her. Rather, the activities they took part in. Drinking? Drugs? Nah, not for her. Sex, well...maybe. Depending on the person, and the circumstance. Although any sex with a guy would have been nice. What was she saying? Where was she going with this? Right. Parties. She couldn't go to them.

Juliette opened her mouth to decline, hoping her voice wouldn't come out shaky from how flustered she was getting. His fingers came up under her chin, tilting her head up to face him. Silently, she gasped, holding her breath at the sight of his face. Everything about him was almost unreal. Perhaps he was the story of Pygmalion. Physically perfect in every way. His eyes held a smolder she felt would melt her on the spot. Suddenly, her lips and mouth felt very dry. Although her mind was going incredibly blank, she couldn't help but wonder what the hell he was thinking? Why was he inviting a 'book-worm' to a football jock's party. Some things just didn't mix.

That was when slowly things began to click into place.

She had been so distracted from his charms that she hadn't noticed her glasses had been removed. What he didn't realize is how blind she was without them. Her vision was terrible all around, even up close he looked like some sort of blur. It woke her up. She couldn't see his face anymore, only hear the sound of his voice...which was hypnotizing just by itself. No longer distracted by his face, she could actually concentrate on what he was saying-

And boy was he saying all of the wrong things.

Favor? Oh nuh-uh. Not this again. She had dealt with tutorees like him. Girl students in the past that would bat their eyelashes, promising her to hang out and take her places if she would do one assignment. Just one. I promise. She had believed them, wanting to be cool maybe. Wanting to be anything but secluded to her room. And she had done the assignment. But one had turned to two, and two to four. Even some in different subjects. On top of her own honors and AP courses, she thought she would break. Finally one sleepless day, she snapped. She did their assignments, but ended up getting them all awful grades, as well as reporting them to the teacher. Yes, she got punished as well for giving into peer pressure, but it was worth it to finally get those girls to do their own work. After that, she took a break from tutoring until her senior year. Sitting here and listening to Mike's literal bullshit made her realize why she took that break.

It wasn't just him asking for a favor though, no. He had the tenacity to comment on her appearance? She wasn't much one for taking back-handed compliments. As sweet as his words sounded floating into her ear, she blocked out the 'positive' sounding word.

Now she realized what her grandparents meant. Was her mother really stupid enough to fall for something like this? As much as she wanted to believe a male model wanted to attend a party with her, she wouldn't believe this. Not only was he a model, it seemed like he was an actor. What he didn't know was that she wasn't just good at reading books, she had become quite good at reading people like him. Liars. Oh, two could play at this game.

With a bat of her eye lashes, she feigned ignorance of his words, acting as though she was nervous and bit the inside of her cheek. "I-I don't know. Parties aren't really my thing." It was funny how the nerves she had before were being override by anger. "I mean...I wouldn't want to ruin your model image." Trailing off, she sounded dejected. "After all, who wouldn't want to go to a party with the handsomest, most charming male model in the country?" At this point, her words were becoming more of an attack than her sweet sounding act. Her hand instantly came up and slapped his hand away from her chin before standing up, eyebrow raised.

"First of all, I hadn't realized you were an actor too. You had me going for a little while there. Especially when I first showed up. Trying to charm me with your devilish good looks and silvery voice. You really were a distraction." She then walked over and plucked her glasses from his hand. "Maybe if my glasses were still on, your face would have distracted me longer. Your mistake. Don't get me wrong, you are..." She slipped her glasses on, taking a glance at his face and suddenly wanting to hide. He really was handsome. Enough to make her feel small all of a sudden. She honestly was not used to asserting herself. But then she remembered exactly why she was asserting herself. In order to keep herself from seeing his face, she took her glasses off. "..e-extremely good looking." Quickly, she cleared her throat. "But, seriously? Bribing me? That's pretty low for someone who gets the best publicity on the face of the earth." She had never read a bad thing about him. If there were rumors, they were dispelled and forgotten by the public in a blink of an eye.

"Your manager made a mistake if you wanted someone who would do your work for you. I've dealt with people like you." Her hands, placed firmly on her hips, had begun squeezing at her flesh hard out of anger, her knuckles nearly turning white. Juliette felt like she might cry just remembering how much of a sucker she had been, and how low those people had went to manipulate her. "I wouldn't want to go to a party with someone who has 'pointers' about my appearance anyway." Now, she wasn't really keeping track of what was coming out of her mouth. She hadn't been this worked up in a long time. What if she was wrong? What if he really was a nice guy, and was actually asking her to a party. No. No. A 'nice guy' wouldn't ask for a favor in exchange for going to a party. "Go ahead and get a new tutor, but believe me, I'll warn them. So good luck finding someone who will actually help you pass rather than having it handed to you like probably everything else." She huffed before grabbing her backpack and her own book, hugging it to her chest. She actually could not believe what had come out of her mouth. Did she actually have confidence buried somewhere behind all that quiet book-worm exterior? The more she dwell on what she just said, the more she wanted to take it back. She could only imagine what he was going to say. Glasses in hand, she slipped them back on while refusing to look at him. She honestly didn't have anymore nerve, not even enough to give him one last smart regard. All she wanted was to leave. "...If you actually decide to do that work. Let me know. I'll check it for you." She murmured before beginning to leave.
 
In showbiz, there's a saying that goes, "never piss off a celebrity." One can add "bratty" prior to "celebrity", especially teen models who think they're all that. Right now, that's how Mike felt. He was pissed off and somehow his facade was slowly breaking as the girl continued speaking and thinking that she was a lot, lot, lot better than him. He scuffed, smirked, and raised his eyebrows at various points of her speech. On the other hand, this was one of the rare instances that someone else's words actually penetrated him. It felt different - a good different - that someone was actually fighting him and dissolving into a pile of goo. It was only at that very moment that Mike found those kinds of girls boring and annoying. Juliette, on the other hand, was fairly interesting. It was especially cute how she looked all guilty and shy after her fit. That was enough to lessen the irritation he felt.

"So you're done?" He said. Mike rose from the couch and crossed his arms with one eyebrow raised at her. "Look. My management is paying you handsomely for this. I'm sure you aren't tutoring out of volunteer service? Or maybe you are, because they told you who you'll be tutoring?" No more Mr. Nice Guy for her. If she spreads some sort of negative rumor, Mike and Alex can take care of it so he wasn't particularly worried about what the girl might say to the public. She'd just be another hater. And who would believe her if she says "I know because I tutor him!"?

With his arms still crossed, Mike walked towards the door of his study room and held it open for her. There was still a smile on his face but the smile now is cold, distant, and taunting. It was the kind of smile mixed with a smirk. "I can always find someone else to do that for me. I can always bring another girl to the party. It's not hard, you know, especially for me. So if you're so bitchy and confident, go ahead and leave this room. I can call up the school tomorrow and tell them," his smirk widened. He spoke with scoffs at the ends of his sentences. "You gave up so easily. Not so much of a good-girl-all-A's student now, are you, Juliette?"

He didn't wait for a response. Mike took his phone from the pocket of his pants and headed to the living room. He paced back and forth again as he waited for Alexandria to pick up. His blood was boiling both because of feeling so furious and feeling overwhelmed. He wasn't used to being treated as a normal person but, somehow, it was a feeling he didn't fully resent.

(OOC: I'm on mobile now, sorry for the shorter response)
 
Even if she lost a bit of her nerve, her blood was still boiling. The way he had scoffed at her during her entire tangent made her want to burst. Her words were probably getting nowhere close to that massive head of his. The girls she had tutored never acted this high and mighty, then again, they weren't thirsty for attention underwear models with giant egos.

Hugging her books closer to her chest, she watched as he got up. It was then she began to feel smaller. Why was she such a wimp? Where did all that talk from earlier go? Was it the fact he was a celebrity that scared her? Or was it because she had never really went off at someone like that before. She wasn't sure what sort of reaction she would expect. From the way he had been reacting to her fit, she was guessing a smart-ass sort of reaction.

She was right.

Did he really think she as doing this for money? Seriously? Sure, the money was nice, but she had truthfully wanted to teach him. Heck, she would have wanted to teach anyone. Little kids preferably, they didn't have this much of an attitude problem. There was hope inside of her that one day she would open someones eyes to literature, but clearly that was not going to happen here. When he mentioned that she agreed to it just because it was him, she had to laugh. A spark of her nerve had come back at his delusional ego coming out. Sure, it did pique her interest to tutor a celebrity. Not to mention one of the hottest male models ever. But it was a change from her norm, something that would perhaps liven up her life at least a little. Tutoring someone who is a celebrity? Not many people get to say that. Deep down, under all of that anger and aggravation that was piling up, she had been a bit more excited to tutor him then she let on. But she would never admit it, especially to him. Her excitement was nowhere near what he was imagining though.

The way he asked her if she was done...that tone of voice. Yep, it was working her up again. He was challenging her. Tipping her chin up a bit she began to remove herself from the room. "You're delusional." She spat and walked to the living room, still speaking , her fingers curling tighter around her books. "By all means, find another girl for that egotistical frat party of 'Tristan Simon's.' I don't do parties anyway. Give her back handed compliments while you are at it. Unless you were lying about that too." She almost felt her voice crack. She would have loved to believe that he thought she was pretty. He was the first boy to ever say something like that. But if it was all part of his seduction scheme, she didn't want to hear a word.

You gave up so easily.

At that instant she stopped in her tracks before whirling around. "The only one giving up here is you. Hell, you never even tried." She pointed a finger at him. "Refusing to do someone else's work isn't giving up. Especially if it's an assignment a middle school-er could do. Call school if you want to tell them. But who is Professor going to believe? His 'good-girl-all-A's student, or some pretty boy who probably hasn't taken one college class seriously in his life?" Juliette hissed. It sounded like she was blackmailing him. In a way, she wished she could, just to see him squirm. But he had more power than she did, even if it was anywhere but their literature class. He probably didn't even hear her since he was dialing someone on his phone. Probably his manager. Was he going to tattle on her? The thought made her stomach lurch. Something about Alexandria's icy glare made her uneasy. Just from the look on his face, Juliette could tell he was just as worked up as she was. Good. Splendid. Marvelous.

He honestly did not realize that she had the upper hand on him when it came to the one person that matter most. The professor. She was his top student, never turned an assignment in late once. Even if he were to call her out on backing out of the tutoring deal, the Professor would ask her why. And boy, would she tell them. "I know you realize that the Professor can't be bought. So what's gonna happen when he questions me on why I backed out?" She was sure Mike was smart enough to put two and two together. The professor would believe her in a heart beat. And Juliette wouldn't feel guilty about a thing, because she was telling the truth. "Call Alexandria and request a new tutor. But I don't think the Professor will allow you a new one." With a cock of her head, she began to approach him. "Either you stick with me and do the work. Or you risk not getting any help at all." Being considerably shorter than him, she could only look up to his face. If she stood on her toes, the distance between them would be gone.

Where the hell was this nerve coming from. This was spunk and sass she never knew she had. Her grandmother always said she had a bit of sass as a child. Her mother had too. This was far beyond anything Juliette could imagine. And all it took was being triggered by some pretty boy. Despite how high and mighty her persona looked, her insides were a mess. Her heart racing a mile a minute, her head filled with questions, screaming at her to back off. Her body...actually a bit turned on, which was a bit scary. That cocky look on his face, the way he talked to her all teasing like. Seeing him get a bit worked up....did she....like it?

Oh gosh.

Her face felt hot coming to the realization, but she didn't say a word. Only continued to glare at him, ignoring the way her body was reacting.

[[ooc: no worries! totally understand c:]]
 
Gibberish. As Mike waited for Alexandria to pick up, that's all he heard. He could hear her talking, yes, but her words sounded so foreign as if she was speaking in some other language. Mentally, he was cursing Alexandria for not picking up at the time he needed her to do so the most. There were some words that registered, though. He understood how the girl why threatening him as if she was her final hope at everything and told him all sorts of scare tactics for him to turn his heels and ask for an apology for his rude actions. The thought only made him scoff to himself. He received death threats for goodness sake and none of it mattered. His management was far too strong for that. And if he can't find someone else in school to do his work for him, he could find anyone else. It was simple, really. Alexandria can contact his agency and launch some sort of contest about winning a date with Mike Romanov in exchange for you to do his work. He was confident that many fangirls (and fan-gays, even) would bite into that so as she spoke all of his threats, it meant nothing to him.

One thing struck him, though. It was how she doubted his words about her looks. Yes, Mike admitted it was a slightly hyperbolic statement but that didn't mean it held no partial truth in it. He ended the call and set his phone back inside his pocket. He didn't turn to her but when he spoke, it was the sincerest he had ever been since the night began. "My comments about how you look held no lies," He said. He didn't sound angry, he didn't sound like he was about to explode, and most importantly, he didn't sound exaggeratedly nice. For the first time, his voice held at least a tiny bit of sincerity in it. He kept his eyes inside his pockets and kept his gaze fixed on the night scene outside his window. "I mean it. When you, at the very least, tuck the hair covering your face, some other guy would come up to you and..." he remembered her comment about parties as social gatherings she seemed to detest, so he paused for a moment. "...and uhh, I don't know. Take you to some bookstore or something."

The thing about magazines is that they only show the good side. They show stories of great success, of good deeds, sometimes of rumors, sometimes of love stories. What magazines fail to tell sometimes is the weakness of the people in front of the camera. One of which is Mike's fascination with the night sceneries. Though he lived in the cities and the most that his view gifted him with are tops of buildings and light pollution. Still, he found it quite relaxing. It was then and only then that he actually speaks without any facade. Sometimes without any filter, of course, but none of the exaggerated nice guy facade.

Mike scratched the back of his head and pulled himself away from his reverie. Still, he refused to meet the girl's eyes primarily because he didn't want to snap anymore. She was getting on his nerves, actually, and he both liked and detested it. It was annoying - as in, really annoying - but it was a good kind of annoying, if there was such a thing. It felt so different to be treated as some regular human being and not some billboard god.

The model poured himself a glass of wine and took a sip before speaking again. "I think I've got a better plan. I don't like to do all those shit school stuff you're throwing on my face and you're obviously not the type of girl I thought you were," he tipped his glass slightly to her in a cheers manner. "So let's meet halfway. Make me actually want to do that shit." He took another sip. Once in a while he'd pucker his lips out of habit while his eyes looked around the room. It was an unconscious habit not a lot of fans know about because he usually does this only when he's alone or deep in thought.

"Ah," He said after a while before setting down his empty glass on the counter. "Let me put it this way," He began. "If I ask Alexandria to bring in some clothes that would fit you and have some of her makeup artist friends come over for you to do a model strut right her, right now, I'm pretty sure you wouldn't. Why? Because it isn't your thing, right?" He leaned his lower back against the counter and crossed his arms as he spoke to her. "So, in a similar way, I won't do some shitty homework and read parts of some book and note down its themes and blablabla without some sort, what... guidance? Push? Because it's not my thing."

Mike extended out his hand. "Make me love your books, make me want to do that stuff you do, and then I'll be the one to do it. Until then, Alexandria gets to do my work. Do we have a deal?"

Of course he'd have to deal with Alexandria's fit about this later on but Mike was sure it wasn't something a little sexy time wouldn't fix.
 
To her disappointment he didn't really seem all too worried about the professor. If she were on his end, she would have been terrified. Then again, she would never be someone who would push her own work onto someone else. Seriously, what kind of person had that mindset? Certainly not someone she would get along with. Especially considering those she dealt with in high school with the same mindset.

She honestly had no more reason to be here. She would go straight to school tomorrow and explain to the professor that they just hadn't clicked and that there was nothing more to it. Sure, he would probably extremely disappointed, or baffled by the fact she called if off so quickly, but what was she to do? Clearly, he was not willing to do the work, and obviously they already got off to a bad start. It would be hard to tutor someone she butt heads with. Not to mention that she understood he did have power. She was sure what he could do with it in terms of effecting her. After all she didn't have a social life, honestly she was mostly under the radar. If he spread the word about her, she probably could go on without anyone noticing. She didn't stick out that much after all.

Not wanting to interrupt him as he tattled on her, she began to turn without a word toward the door. It only took a few steps before his tone of voice stopped her. She nearly froze listening to his words. He was beating around the bush, but he wasn't lying. Or rather, he hadn't been lying. He actually had thought...she was pretty. Her fingers slowly curled around her book, her heart speeding up despite how she wished she wouldn't. It wasn't exactly how she would picture getting a compliment, but it was the first time a guy had really ever said anything. It was at his sincere tone of voice she began to feel a bit of her frustrations fade, but only a little. His comment about the library had brought a chime like laugh from her lips. She moved her hand quickly to hide both the sound and her small smile. Her back still to him. When she was sure the warmth in her face had died down, she slowly turned to look at him.

Instead of meeting his gaze, she found him looking off toward the window. It had sounded like his voice was far away, perhaps he was distracted. Turning her own gaze toward the window, she couldn't help but admire the emerging city lights. The cold weather meant it got darker quicker in the city. Who knew the lights from so high up could make such a large city look so welcoming.

"Well, the moment some guy 'takes me to some bookstore.' she began quietly and shrugged. "I suppose I will have to thank you for the advice." The sound of her voice was barely audible, unsure if she should say thank you for the compliment or not. She wasn't used to it. And after hissing and barking at him she wasn't too sure how to talk to him. In fact, what was she still doing there?

While stuck in her thoughts, Mike had managed to just up and pour himself a glass of wine. It was an odd turn of events as they suddenly became somewhat civil toward each other. Juliette couldn't help but raise an eyebrow and smirk at his description of her. 'Not the kind of girl I thought you were.' She took pride in being able to break the typical sterotype of girls he dealt with. Especially if he assumed she would melt like putty in his hands, even if she was a fan.

Her smirk disappeared when he started on about comparing scenarios to his dislike of literature to her apparent shyness. She wouldn't lie; the idea of 'strutting around' was a bit intimidating, but it would definitely be fun. "Actually, even if it wasn't my thing. Which you are right, it probably isn't," She admitted before continuing on with her point. "But that doesn't mean I wouldn't be willing to try it." Hopefully he could see what she was getting at. No matter how 'shitty' the work he was getting was, no one died from reading one chapter of a book. "...Motivation." She added an adjective out of reflex, quickly closing her mouth and trying not to become embarrassed. "You need some kind of motivation, huh?" She thought about it. For someone who had it all, except for grades obviously, what could motivate him?

While she pondered that, he struck up a deal. Her eyebrows knitted together carefully. He really just didn't want to do the work. First her, now his manager? She felt more awful thinking of his manager having to do it. But it would be against her job as a tutor to do the work herself, no matter how guilty she would feel about it. But his challenge to her: make him want to read. Now that. That was a challenge she would be more than willing to take. Cocking her head to the side, her eyes glanced at the ceiling, as if she were searching her head for an answer.

"...Alright. Fine." Her legs moved over to him, sticking out her hand as she had when she first met him, but this time without faltering over words or being shy. "If I can't get you to read at least one book. For the class or for fun, then you can find a new tutor, and I won't say a word." She glanced at the clock on his stove. Oh gosh. 4:45.

"Wow, um." The flustered tone of her voice came back as she pressed her books harder to her chest out of nervousness. "Yeah, I need to go, or at least call them, oh gosh they are going to kill me." Talking to herself was something she did from time to time. Especially when reading. If she showed up late to this dinner, they were going to ask questions. Of course she could tell them she was tutoring, but then they would go further into it. Who is this person? What age? What subject are they having trouble in? Were they getting their work done? It would never end. What was she going to do? She could call a cab. "I guess I'll have to call them, and then a cab." She sighed heavily, running her fingers through her hair as she moved her bangs away from her forehead, it was a habit of her's to fidget. She was just quirky in general. "I'm sorry...I'll be our of your hair soon. Actually, I'll just leave and call them from the hall." She maneuvered her books under her arm before fishing out her phone.

Oh no. It was dead.

Her mouth became a thin line. She didn't want to ask to use his phone. This was embarrassing and just her luck. Instead of asking, she just stayed silent, letting the panic rise in her. Her grandparents were going to be so mad. Asian grandparents. They were tyrants.
 
Mike was about to say that if she was willing to give a few struts a go, he'd really call up his people and have them fix her up. She was being so high and mighty about herself that Mike was sllightly getting annoyed by her confidence but then again, after a careful thought, he realized how alike they were, in a way. So much pride in oneself that they're not willing to let anyone trample them down. How interesting. The thought almost pulled the sides of his lips if only the girl didn't suddenly go on hysterics about the time. Who the hell panics at 4:45pm? It was too early for anything exciting to actually happen.

At first he was unaware of what to do. He never really entertained other people here before, and especially not one who treated him like a regular human being. She was panicking, that was for sure, and her panic rose after a few scavenges from her bag. Mike pulled himself away from the counter and looked closer.

"Is umm... everything alright?" He asked. He awkwardly glanced left and right before scratching the back of his head because, hey, what was he to do? Juliette's panic was mysteriously seeping out of her body and into his and now there was a feeling of responsibility inside him, like, if something were to happen to this girl, he would be blamed. The last thing he wanted to see on tabloids is him having a girl grounded because of his inability to help in an obviously crucial situation.

When his brain decided to work again, Mike took his phone from his pocket and handed it to her. There was no act on his face. Instead, there was concern and panic written all over it. "Go ahead," he said. "Call whoever it is you have to call. Don't worry about getting a cab. I'll have the driver prepare the car." The last statement seemed to have flowed out of his lips without the pure intention to say it that even he was surprised about what he just said. What surprised him the most is how genuinely concerned he was. It was a sensation he hadn't felt in a long, long time.

"Take it already," Mike insisted. He took Juliette's hand and forced the phone on it before walking to the intercomm system to have his driver do the necessary preparations. He kept his free hand inside his pocket and his fingers opened and closed in on his palm.

Juliette was supposed to be a tutor.

He was supposed to act nice and not be actually nice.

But there was something about how she treated him that made him feel like he was Mike Romanov, a regular graduating student, not an internationally renowned model whose masks have already defined who he was.

"Julio, prepare the car. I'll have my friend head down there in a while. Take her to wherever it is she needs to be and pick up Alexandria, wherever the hell she is."
 
If there was one thing her Lola couldn't stand, it was being late. Being late to dinner was about the same as sinning in her eyes. Eating together was an extremely important value to her and Juliette's Lolo. Ever since she started college, it became even more of a valued tradition since sometimes she was so busy after school until late. Leaving a home cooked meal to go to waste while it was hot, that would send the woman flying off the handle. So would the fact that Juliette's phone died. There was no reason for her not to be there today according to Juliette's schedule. And her lola knew that schedule inside out, back and around. Acapella practices were every Tuesday and Thursdays. On Wednesdays and late Friday nights, she worked at the college library as a librarian. It was a pretty fitting job, especially with the glasses. Some days her professors asked her for help, mostly the literature professor, Professor Calouhan. Even then, he gave her warning ahead of time.

Her had squeezed tighter around her dead phone. What was she going to do? Lying was not an option. Well it was, but she had never been good at it. In fact, she had never done it. Even the thought of lying brought on an extreme sense of guilt. Her only options were to flag down a cab and get to the subway or the university. If she found a payphone, she could try to call them. But then they would ask why she was in the city. What if she just came clean and told them she was tutoring? No, then they would give her a lecture about what had happened the last time she tutored. Not that they weren't right, sine Mister Model himself just tried to pull the exact same stunt. If there as a subway nearby, she could just maneuver through the lines until she found the one nearest their flat. That would take up too much time. And what if she got lost? Well...she could always get back the university and take her car. The very thought made her shutter. Juliette hated her car. Her driving anxiety was through the roof, especially at the thought of city traffic. Living in New York meant city traffic EVERYWHERE. It seemed like that would be the only option, and she would have to come up with excuse or come clean about tutoring.

Juliette hadn't realized the look of panic that had painted her face. Her thoughts were racing a mile a minute, dreading the reaction she would get along with the storm of questions from her grandparents. She hadn't even realized Mike had asked her if everything was status quo. Clearly it was not. Biting her lip, she slid her phone back into her pocket. Opening her mouth, she went to apologize for not having left yet, when she was cut off. Her head had been looking down at her pocket where her phone protruded before lifting slowly. Her large eyes widened a bit at his tone of voice. It was a bit shocking to say the least. His cocky, 'I don't care about anyone' attitude had disappeared, and in its place was concern that took her off guard. Her lips parted as he held out his phone, her eyes moving from his face to the very expensive looking device in his hand. Juliette was at a loss for words, which was rare, even with being shy. Almost as if it never happened, his demanding tone woke her from her daze, and flustered she nodded quickly. Letting him touch her hand and press the phone into her palm. As he turned away, she felt herself steam up. It was nothing more than a touch of the hand. A rather aggressive gesture, and yet, she couldn't help her heart speeding up.

Phone secure between her two hands, she stood there, opening and closing her mouth time and time again. Wanting to thank him, but not knowing how. Finally, she lifted his cell and began to call her grandparent's home, the feeling of dread building with every dial tone ring.

"Hello?" Asked a rather annoyed tone of voice.

"...Lola?" Juliette began cautiously. The next few sentences consisted of Juliette trying to talk over a very loud voice that could be heard clearly even without speaker. Juliette closed her eyes, sighing silently as she pulled the phone away from her ear. She was going to lose her hearing if this kept up. "Lola, listen I'm sorry..." She swallowed, time to write up a story of her own. "I guess the group wanted to schedule an extra practice. Our show is in two weeks and we have been having trouble with harmonies so-"

"Your group never springs practices randomly like this. Your group is always so good anyway, why need a practice? Why didn't you call me sooner? Why aren't you answering your phone? Whose number is this?"

"This is one of the group member's phone. Mine died on me. Listen, I'm really sorry. It will be faster for me to drive in my car rather than take all those stops to your house. So. Just wait, I promise I'll be there. I'm so sorry." She began to apologize profusely. She hated it when her grandparent's got upset with her. Perhaps it was because she knew how much her mother had hurt her Lola, she didn't want to disappoint her in the same way.

"Juliette, you hate driving your car..." Her grandmother's tone softened a bit. "...I rather you be late than panic driving. Just get here when you can." She sighed. "Just, don't let this happen again. You need to keep your phone on at all times. We were worried sick."

"I know..I know. Listen I gotta go. She needs her phone back. I'll be there soon. Love you, just put my dinner in the fridge." With that, she hung up, pursing her lips and staring at the ground. It was a bit embarrassing knowing her probably heard her getting scolded like some sort of child. Shaking it off, she walked back over to him and took his hand, putting the phone gently within his grasp like he had to her earlier. As she did so, she couldn't look him in the eyes, so instead glanced to the side. "I...I really appreciate it." Without another word, she slid her backpack back onto her one shoulder and moved toward the door. "I guess I'll see you next Monday." She would probably pass him in the halls, but the probability of him actually noticing/talking to her was little to none. "Just, don't work your manager too hard. Oh, and make sure she doesn't do that great of a job. Professor would be suspicious if his worse student somehow miraculously seemed to put effort into one of his papers." Her voice was teasing, but her eyes were soft as she glanced over her shoulders. She wasn't sure what else there was to say. With that, she quietly slipped out the door, closing it behind her.

In the solitude of the lavish hallway she suddenly released a breath she had been apparently holding in with a huff. That was...incredibly confusing. As she walked toward the elevator, she couldn't help but find it both amusing and completely annoying what had happened. It was odd however as she slipped into his driver's car, that she found herself looking forward to next Monday. She pushed it back, almost denying it, burying it deep within herself as she stared out the window until making it back to the university's closest subway. As soon as she got home, she kept up her story with her grandmother. Eating her warmed up dinner with a smile as she sat down at the table with her grandparents, feeling guilty for keeping them waiting and lying to them. It wasn't even that big of a lie, but she couldn't help it. She was just a wimp, too good of a child.

After washing the dishes as punishment, she walked to her room, getting out her homework and starting on reading ahead as she always seemed to do. It was almost like a reflex. In the back of her mind, as she read over 'Pygmalion's' developing character, she chuckled. The character's had a bet of their own going on. Perhaps it was because of that small glimpse of another Mike Romanov that maybe didn't even really exist. Or maybe it was her pride. But, without a doubt, she had a glimmer of hope that she would win. She wouldn't let him get the best of her.
 
There was a small and annoying ache in his chest when he overheard the first few sentences of the conversation before shutting his ears and his mind to it. It was rude to eavesdrop, yes, but he didn't divert his attention from the conversation because of that. He shut his ears and his mind to it because it painfully reminded him of what once was. It reminded him of the good ol' peaceful days when, well, everything seemed normal. It had been so, so long since he was reminded of that life and, quite frankly, it had been too long since he missed it. But now, hearing how Juliette spoke to whoever it was on the phone, it gave him a strong sense of pain that, right now, no one worried about him like that. People only cared about his career but other than that, no one would furiously call on his phone and ask him where the hell he was because he was late for a family dinner. Nope, that doesn't happen anymore. Managers and other bosses will only get mad at him for being late because it might break a deal or something but other than that, they didn't really care. They only cared about the kind of money and popularity he was giving them.

And it sucked a little too much to only have that kind of signifance.

Goddamn it, the conversation was giving him too much of an emotional turmoil. He groaned softly and poured himself another glass of wine and proceeded to distract himself with the view of the city again.

When she spoke about her final reminders, Mike simply raised his glass to her with his back still turned. He waited until she was out of his condominium unit before succumbing to the pain brought about by the emotional wave Juliette's phone call conversation brought. Alexandria came in not so long after but when she saw Mike's shoulders discreetly rising and falling and when she heard the silent yet sharp intakes of breaths, she decided to let him be.

---

The following morning, Mike was back to normal. He managed to shut away the unnecessary emotions after getting drunk that night. Alexandria dropped by again and the first thing he did was to strip her off of her corporate attire and fuck her right then and there just a few inches after the door. She almost scolded him for taking her by surprise like that but upon remembering the sight she encountered the previous night, she decided to let the issue drop. Poor kid's got love issues, after all. Afterwards, he instructed her about the homework he was supposed to do. Another argument came along because of it, primarily because it was a little frustrating how Mike didn't want to take his studies seriously, but Alex didn't fight for it too much. Mike' weekend was a little too jampacked. He had photoshoots and fanmeets to do across the country. Alex excused herself from that to work on the homework and other necessary paperwork to do so some other personal assistant accompanied Mike. It felt odd for him, yes, but as long as his homework can be done, he didn't mind at all.

Mike was back in his own unit during Sunday night. Alex tried to seduce him that night, thinking that he was tired and wanted to do some fun things in bed but Mike simply kissed her lips and collapsed on the soft cushions almost instantly. Alex dismissed this and left the homework on his desk with a small note attached to it, telling Mike to "take it easy."

---

The following Monday, Mike was late for class, as usual. He woke up late because of the fatigue he experienced over the weekend and because of how he is constantly blocked by students (freshmen, mostly) to take photos with him. When he finally arrived at the classroom for his literature class, Mike headed to his usual spot near the window. As he walked, he wondered where Juliette sat and asked himself why the hell did he not notice such a babe before. He never noticed anyone in class, really, but seeing Juliette for the first time gave him the impression that she was someone he'd definitely notice. His pride got the best of him so he decided to not ask anyone about her seat. It might give the wrong impression too, and impressions are always important to him. The last thing he needed was involving a potential saint to some sort of nationwide (or even worldwide) scandal.

Mike too his earphones out and blasted it on full volume as he read through the homework Alex did for him. It looked pretty simple, judging how short her answers were, but he found himself squinting his eyes and raising his eyebrows in confusion and partial disgust at some parts of the report. He didn't understand why people found love in books so he just shrugged and tucked the report neatly away.

Just as he was about to get lost in his thoughts again, Douglas McCains came inside the classroom and started handing out the invites to his party. He also asked right then and there who would be attending and, as expected, everyone raised their hands.

Everyone except Mike.

"Come on, bro!" Douglas said. Some people gasped softly at how casual Douglas talked to him. Not that Mike minded, of course. A small part of him still appreciated the tiny bit of his whole being that remained normal. "I know you've got like, a gazillion social parties but this'll be awesome! College parties are still the best, y'know."

Mike shrugged.

Although when he saw Juliette entering, he took it as his chance to prove himself. No, he didn't do it for the free homework; he did it for pride and for the sake of crushing her assumptions that someone like him wouldn't take someone like her to some college party.

"Doug, I'm only attending your party if she's attending." He pointed to Juliette with a smirk."
 
Morning came too quickly, as it always seemed to do. Juliette had a habit for staying up late either reading, or well...other things. It was reading last night however. Although, she probably could have used it after the stress of meeting Mr. Ego Mc'Model. Rising from her slumber, she stretched, raising her arm toward the ceiling, the other stretching behind toward her opposite shoulder. It felt like she was just drained of energy. Her eyes instinctively looked toward the digital clock on her end table. 6:48. That meant class started in about 2 and a half hours. It usually didn't take her long to get to class in general, but she was always completely paranoid that the subway would be late or something good students worry about. Tardiness was a big N-O. Moving from the warmth of her fuzzy Disney themed blanket, her bare legs were hit with the chill of the air. Almost immediately she grabbed at her robe that hang on the post at the end of her bed. It was a norm for her to sleep without pants. Panties, yes. But no pants. It had been like that for a long time. It had always made her feel too hot and almost constricted, especially if she had blankets. Maybe it was a habit from taking them off at night to let off some steam. It was habitual now.

With a loose knot, she tied her robe closed and moved toward the bathroom. Despite being just a pair older immigrants, her grandparents were quite wealthy. They were a wealthy family in the Philippines and even brought some of their fortune over. At the time, currency exchange wasn't really possible, but after many years, their currency could be exchanged. It wasn't as much as truly had back in their homeland due to obvious conversion reasons, and the economy becoming just awful. However, it was enough to get there dream off the ground. A Filipino restaurant. Their cooking had been largely appreciated back in the Philippines, but it was even more so now. There wasn't a Filipino eatery for miles in the city. Not only did Filipinos flock there, but foodies with a taste for foreign food as well. Their restaurant was even featured in a 'Food Network' program once. The restaurant flooded even more after that, and it was needless to say that her grandparents made a good amount of money. Enough to have a really nice apartment in fact and send her to school. Juliette was very fortunate to have them when her mother could probably care less about her.

Quickly, she stripped herself of her long, loose fitting tee-shirt and hopped into the shower. It was a daily routine of hers to do thinking in the shower. Mostly about her schedule for the day. Tuesday, that meant Acapella practice. Speaking of which, she had gotten the solo for one of their numbers last week. Actually, it was the main solo. Their group did songs that mostly featured one or two singers each, and the rest would be backup. There were auditions, but the solos usually were well rounded between all the group members, everyone at some point would get one. Only recently had she decided to try out for the bigger one. And to her surprised, it was her audition the director liked best. Juliette found it odd that someone quiet and usually to herself could truly enjoy singing solos for an audience. Despite how competitive solos were in the group, it helped that there were members that really did support her and congratulate her, even if they didn't really talk to her all that much to begin with. She had solos in songs here and there, mostly in middle school, but this would be her first entire song solo. The thought made her want to sit down on the shower floor and curl into a ball. Perhaps the fiery confidence that appeared out of her yesterday would make a comeback. Or maybe that only happened when she was angry. All she knew was that they were going to do a run through of their set today.

The rest of her morning, like usual, went in a routine. Clothes first, she rarely wore frumpy clothes to class unless she was sick. Even then, she refused to wear sweatpants at school, she felt like it may seem disrespectful, or make her seem lazy. Today it was a pair of tight fitting black jeans, a nude colored camisole and over that a dark violet cardigan. Since it was cold, she put on a pair of dark brown lace-ups. All her shoes lacked any real heel, too high of heels were deemed 'trashy' by her grandmother. Juliette didn't mind it too much since she was a klutz enough as it was. After that was makeup, as usual mascara, a incredibly subtle pink blush, and wing-ed eyeliner. Her eye makeup could never be intricate since she wore glasses. After drying her hair ,she pulled it back into a high, tight pony tail, allowing a few ringlettes of curls to drop toward her ears. Armed with nothing but a granola bar, she set off to the subway. She never woke up her grandparents since they deserved to sleep in. Mondays they closed early so they could sleep in, since weekends were the busiest. Getting extra sleep would never hurt them.

---

The school clocks all over campus read 7:50. Class started at 8:20. Once she figured that out, she made a beeline towards Starbucks. As constantly tired as she was, she didn't get Starbucks all that often, usually she drank tea. Today just felt like a Starbucks day. Maybe it would be a treat for somehow getting through her first tutoring meeting with no bumps. Okay, that was a lie, but she still got through it. The line wasn't too bad since most people didn't choose morning classes. Her's didn't take too long either since it was a frappe. She never liked drinking hot coffee. The next beeline she took was to the classroom. Of all students, she was always the earliest, and it was always her first priority to ask the professor if he needed anything to be done. Like usual, he needed to get rubrics and note sheets copied. With a enthusiastic nod, she took the papers and quickly made her way to the staff copy room. While she stood there, counting the familiar beeps of the copy machine, teachers she saw daily greeted her. In return she gave a polite smile and a 'have a good day' as they walked out. With a rather giant stack of papers in both hands, she took of toward the lecture hall. Turning down the hallway, she spotted a rather large crowd blocking a different corridor. With a raised eyebrow, her curiosity got the best of her and she quietly got closer.

Oh what a surprise.

There was pretty boy with a bunch of fawning girls. Probably freshman. From what it seemed like, he was milking it for all it was worth. Did he ever get annoyed by girls just stopping him? Probably not since he probably never wanted to step foot in the lecture hall anyway. He must just love that attention. Before she knew it, he had finally seemed to break through the wall of fangirls. Shaking her head, she continued back to the lecture hall, pushing through annoying people who stood right in the middle of the stairs while saying quiet 'excuse me's' and keeping her head down. When she reached the teacher, she silently placed the large stack down as carefully as possible. There had been times she tripped or dropped them on the desk and they fell, just awfully embarrassing things that didn't help her reputation of being a klutz book room at all.

Finally she was able to sit down in peace. Sipping her coffee quietly, she opened her notes and recorded everything she underlined in the book. Her brain naturally drowned people out, especially people like Douglas McCains. Her ears were so used to the sound of idle talk between girl friends and uneducated frat boys that the sudden silence was what drew her eyes from the book. Looking up, she noticed Douglas standing over her uncomfortably close. First, her eyes glanced left and then right. Everyone was looking at her, staring her down. Why? Was she in the way? This was her seat, it had always been the seat. Front row near the middle so she could take notes and hear easily. Why would someone like Douglas want her seat? Juliette began to feel incredibly vulnerable. These were looks she hadn't gotten before. Looks of awe, surprise, even those that looked like contempt.

"Uh..yes?" she asked sheepishly, pushing her glasses up to see Douglas better.

"I have been specifically asked to invite you to the party by Mr. Romanov over there. He insists that you go." He said with a shrug, as if he didn't understand why. Juliette didn't understand why either.

Her dark eyes slowly widened and she felt a fire that rose to her cheeks. What was he trying to pull? In a flash, her head whirled to look at him. Her eyes knitting together in a glare. There he was, sitting all smug just like yesterday. Was this another challenge? Was he making fun of her? Trying to make her reject him in public and make people think of her as even more of a prude? Although her entire body threatened to shake due to anxiety, she returned his smirk. That sudden confidence coursing through her like adrenaline. Slowly, almost involuntarily, her head began to nod.

"...I would love to. Thank you Douglas." She said almost too nicely. Her voice icy but her smile warm. As soon as she was handed the invitation, her stomach began to drop. Oh gosh. What had she been thinking? How would she ever pull something like this off. There was a yearning to go to a party, just to see what it was like. It would be awful since she didn't drink or do drugs, or sex (unfortunately.) But...she just wanted to see what it was like. There was no way she could possibly sneak this by her grandparents. For the first time, she felt completely distracted during class. Not that she needed to pay attention, she had read ahead anyway. The homework wouldn't be an issue either.

After class, she asked the teacher if he could tell Mike to meet her outside of the corridor. It took a good few minutes, but he finally showed up without his girly entourage.

"What...What even was that? Are you making fun of me?" She asked with a cross of her arm, her voice a rather heated whisper. After thinking about what to say, she admitted to herself she couldn't hide it. "Listen. Even if you actually really wanted me to go to that party. I couldn't. I can't do anything." Her voice got quiet, embarrassed by how much of a baby she was treated like. "A-And besides. I'm not a party-er. And you knew that with one look at. So..don't make try to make a fool of me in front of the entire class." Despite trying to hide it, she was disappointed. She would have loved to live a little. "You'll have to find another date." Fingers curling, she let out a sigh and turned to walk away.

It wasn't fair.

"I'll sneak out."

The words fell from her mouth before she could even truly register it. "I'll be there." Although completely unsure, her smile and eyes were filled with determination. She had all the talk, now, she needed a plan.

[[We can skip to the night of the party if you want. I'll explain the plan in the next post. Sorry if it's everywhere at once haha.]]
 
With a towel wrapped around his waist and droplets of water tickling down from the tips of his hair, Mike stared at his closet and wondered about what to wear for the college party. Like Juliette, he wanted the chance to live another life, one that he isn't entirely used to. There was a constant conflict between going all out or toning down in terms of what to wear. It was either he wow-ed everyone including, hopefully, Juliette or he'd somehow blend in with her and perhaps the rest of the crowd. Juliette was right, she looked like the typical socially-isolated girl who didn't do parties and any other gatherings that involved the YOLO hashtags. As he eyed the clothes in his closet, Monday's conversation flashed in his mind. First, she threatened him about not going. She scolded him for what on earth he was trying to show and to prove but eventually, she said she'll sneak out and she'll be there. The thought made him smile, chuckle, and smirk at the same time. Thankfully, no homework was given that week meaning they didn't have to busy themselves with all that boring stuff. Needless to say, they barely spoke a word to one another throughout the week.

On the other hand, word spread like wildfire. A lot of students obviously heard about Mike's invite to Juliette and how he'd only go to the biggest college house party of the year if Juliette would be his date. Once in a while, he'd notice how other students (especially girls) would murmur from afar while they eyed her a little too much. There was a small pang of guilt inside him for having to put her through this, but oh well, he figured. Everyone's going to have fun, at least. And he was sure he'd give her a night to remember. Somehow, there was still a tiny hope that she'd let him off the hook with the whole "do your homework" thing, but then again, they had a deal about it.

Mike shook his head to erase those thoughts. Tonight was a night of fun times.

In the end, he chose something pretty casual to wear. A white v-neck shirt that hugged his torso perfectly and clung on to him like second skin, a pair of denim black pants, and a pair of dark grey vans. He felt naked with what he wore because he was so used to heading out extravagantly but for now, he needed to blend in with the normal kids. Tonight, he was a normal kid. At that note, he gave Alex a call and told her to silence all media about the party. No one was to cover it, and no one was to say he was there. Mike craved for the chance to be normal, or at least, the closest to being normal as possible.

---

Mike arrived Douglas' mansion-like house at half past 9:00pm. Almost in an instant, he was swarmed with fans again whom he generously entertained. He had small talks with almost everyone but he excused himself not too long after because, well, small talks were a little annoying and he was afraid his temper might get the best of him and everyone might witness something unnecessary. He couldn't see Douglas anywhere but he already saw a lot of drunk girls and boys, some girls even walking around with nothing but their underwears and tops on.

The thought of Juliette in an oversized shirt and a pair of t-backs flashed in his mind which he instantly shook away. He must admit, that would be such a sight to see.

Pouring himself a cup of ice-cold beer, Mike sat down on one of the benches near the pool and watched as the party happened before him. Everyone was having a great time and he even found himself slightly headbanging to the deafening beat coming from the speakers. His schoolmates were having a blast in the pool, some boys even fondling some girls' breasts under their bikini tops, and some were just chilling out with their own drinks. So this is what a normal party felt like. It was nice.

He glanced around, hoping to spot his date.

(( Sure, I skipped it to that already. I'm not really sure what you want to happen yet so I just wrote about basic stuff. I hope this response is fine ))
 
Saturday came extremely slowly. Probably from the eating fear that her plan would go wrong. Actually, she didn't come up with the plan by herself. It basically walked up to her conveniently. The moment she went to Acapella practice, the girls in the group swarmed her.

"Juliette! I wouldn't have expected you to be a party girl."

"Exactly! Why didn't you tell us you wanted to go to the party. We would have brought you. The Acapella group always performs at parties...We always figured you never wanted to go."

Juliette looked around at the girls of the group. They had always seemed like nice girls. She had known they all partied a bit, but they all seemed so smart and well-rounded. They never spoke to her, probably because of her exterior. In the group she had always been more work than play. It was more of an instinct. Maybe as a defense even. She knew full well that being 'friends' with them would end with them getting tired of her. They wouldn't be able to hang out with them outside. So there was never any point. It was a bit overwhelming to have them all talking to her at once.

"I mean, you have to go, since you have a date. Not just any date, even." A senior member wriggled her eyebrows. "How did someone so quiet like you score the superstar Mike Romanov?" Juliette pursed her lips. Oh gosh, they had the wrong idea. Did people seriously think they were dating? Funny joke. There was no way he would go for someone like her. Maria was exactly right. No, that wasn't even the point. Why would she date someone with an ego bigger than his brain. Why did she feel disappointed thinking about something like this?

"O-Oh. Well I usually don't go to parties. I'm not exactly allowed to..." She grew quiet, keeping her eyes away from them, knowing full well they were going to laugh or snicker.

But it didn't happen.

"Wow, yeah I get it. I sneak out to these things all the time. I'm surprised I lasted this long. It's probably because I live on campus. My folks don't know a thing." Maria scoffed. Juliette looked up instantly.

"That really sucks. No wonder you have your head in the books all the time. You must be bored out of your mind." Jackie looked between Amelia and Maria and they shared a smile. "It's official. We are going to make sure you get to that party. Besides, you can't just stand up Mike Romanov. What's he like anyway?"

Juliette couldn't believe her ears. She honestly felt something well up in her chest, something that made her want to cry. Happiness, relief, joy. Were they really going to help her? Why were they being so nice. For the first time, she couldn't help but laugh. It must have been surprising, since all three girls looked at her with awe. Mouths handing open.

"He's...something else." She scoffed a bit. "I don't know how I'm gonna do it...But I really appreciate it." She got quiet and shy. "Thank you."

--

So they set it up. Maria, the captain of the group, would call Juliette's phone and leave a message. The idea was to fake a last minute acapella practice. If Juliette's Lola was suspicious, Juliette would let her hear the message. From there, she would take the subway to the campus and go to Maria's dorm with the girls.

To her surprise, when she got there. A makeover was waiting for her. She was ambushed. Sat down on the bed and attacked with a curling iron and somehow, a pair of clean contact lenses.

"I have a set, and they aren't anything crazy perscription. They are a once a day sorta thing. It won't make your vision as great as your glasses, but you will be able to see. Besides." Amelia reached and gently slid Juliette's glasses off. "You shouldn't hide such a pretty face behind these."

Before she knew it, her hair was curled, pulling into a half up, half down look, her bangs bobby pinned back and out of her face. Next was her makeup. Juliette put her hand up, taking the palette from Amelia and the others.

"I think I can do this part." And that she knew she could do. Mascara, neutral eye shadow, a dark pink blush and pale rose lipstick. Near the edges of her eyes, she used black to give her that smokey look she liked. Her eyeliner was winged as always, but a little bit more dramatic. The more she stared in the mirror, the more excited and empowered she got. She was excited and terrified. From the mirror, she saw Maria rampaging through her wardrobe. What she pulled out for her was something she had never even thought of wearing. It wasn't something skimpy, but...really cute. It was a casual cocktail dress, dark purple, with a creme colored bow belt around the waist and a frilly scoop neckline. The length wasn't too bad either, it came just above her knees. To complete it was and a simple gold chain around her neck and a pair of black kitten heels.

"I don't even recognize you." Amelia clapped. "Why don't you dress like this all the time. The dress fits your curves perfectly. I bet Mike won't even know who you are." The thought made Juliette blush as she tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. She wondered what he would think now that she sorta followed his advice. The four of them warmed up, and Juliette was informed they would perform her number if she really wanted. Her 'debut.' The thought didn't sit well with her. But, there was no time like the present to practice. The boys in the group would meet them there.

---

The scene in front of her was unlike anything she could ever imagined. It was like a different world. There was the calmer more casual side of the party, like people drinking and mingling, even dancing (although a bit risque.) And then there were the people with little to no clothes on, making out and getting a bit frisky out in the open. The girls in the acapella group walked through the house like it was nothing. But Juliette almost turned right around. The anxiety making her want to throw up. Not to mention the people making out were bringing all too familiar feelings out. She couldn't help but watch in fascination, but also look out for Mike. Soon the host: Douglas, had found them, getting excited and grabbing a mic for the performance as the group gathered around on the other end of the pool where the DJ was playing. Maria had a pitch pipe.

A somewhat intoxicated Douglas grabbed the mic.

"Alright you guys. As promised, we got some entertainment tonight. Our contest winning college aca-thing group with their next concert piece. Featuring the lovely soloist...Who are you?"

Amelia rolled her eyes. "This is Juliette."

"Oh...Okay! The lovely Julia! So without farther a-doooooo. Here's Project Fortissimo" Juliette gawked at him, how did he get that wrong? Shaking her head, everything got a bit quieter, not much though. The sound of laughter was still loud in her ears. The more she heard it, the more she thought everyone was laughing at her. Maria blew the pitch pipe, but Juliette could barely hear it. She was frightened, scared, terrified. But then she looked over and saw Mike near the pool. He wasn't looking at her. She felt that familiar pumping of adrenline.

She wanted him to look at her.

Taking a deep breath, she nodded, taking the mic from Douglas and smiling softly at the girls. This party was gonna get a show. In no time, her friends had started. Harmonies and vocal percussion filling the air. At first, Juliette had sung quietly, but she had seen how people were getting into it, despite how quiet she was being. Her voice grew gradually louder, watching the smiles of her group members egging her on to really go all out. There was something wonderful about being dressed like a new person. It also helped that her vision wasn't all too great right now. But it was enough to see people having fun. It was like some serendipitous moment when Mike looked up at her with the mic in her hand, taking a deep breath and singing the chorus in a somehow melodious powerhouse voice. It was during that loud and upbeat chorus people had begun to cheer and actually dance. The song didn't have an electronic beat of any kind, yet, people were getting into it. Juliette didn't know that putting herself out there like this could be so invigorating, so eye opening. She hadn't realized she had come out of her shell somehow during the course of the song. The harmonies truly music to her ears as she felt part of the group, for once.

The more she thought of the lyrics, she more she realized that perhaps she had been drawn to this song for a reason. 'Ain't it fun.' It was a song about freedom and actually living. And that was what she was doing. She was being a teenager, even if out of place in the whole spectrum of things, she was having fun, she was being loud. Before she knew it, the song had ended, and somehow she had gotten so into it. Her chest heaved as she slowly lowered the microphone, cheers loud in her ears. She looked around to the other members. They were clapping too, smiling and laughing at the look on her face. Juliette was completely breathless as she stepped back into the concave formation of the group and they all bowed. When all the cheering died down, the three girls crowded around Juliette, giving words of congratulations and flipping out at how much she seemed like a different person. The fawning of attention as well as the applause she had gotten, and not to mention putting herself in the spotlight had overwhelmed her. She felt shy and couldn't help but rub her arm nervously, thanking them over and over again for bringing her to the party and helping her out. Maria seemed to suddenly be distracted by something, her lips slowly turning into a Cheshire smirk.

"Amelia, Jackie. Let's go get a drink." She winked at Juliette, confusing the worn out girl as she watched them walk out. Juliette turned toward the direction in which Maria had looked, and realized exactly why she had smirked. There was Mike Romanov sitting by the pool. Juliette sucked in a giant breath. That's right, she had just made eye contact with him during the song. He saw her...out of her shell. It was incredibly embarrassing, and she thought about walking out then and there. Not to mention, she didn't even know if he recognized her. Frozen in her place, she kept her eyes on him carefully, folding her hands as she listened to the commotion of the party, finally, she worked up her courage. Walking over to him and standing there as bravely as she could. Unfortunately, she couldn't look him in the eyes.

"Hey there...so I made it." she said awkwardly, wanting to curse herself for reverting back. She wondered what he had thought about her in general. Her outfit, her performance. "So...did you like the performance...?" Her voice grew a bit high pitched near the end of her question. Her eyes moved to look at him sheepishly through her eyelashes. Perhaps it was his opinion that made her feel so vulnerable all of a sudden.

There was another question she had. What was she supposed to do at this party? She didn't drink, or dance. Well dancing was questionable. She didn't want to dance with Mike, though. Too close for comfort and a situation just asking her to trip and fall.
 
It completely slipped off his mind that Juliette was part of the school's acapella group who already won various competitions. The only reason why he turned to the stage when the group started with Paramore's "Ain't it Fun?" was because it reminded him of the time he met Hayley at an awards night. They only shared a small talk but he was such a big fan of hers that even the simplest conversations they shared meant so much to him. He was suddenly reminded and humbled by the feeling of being a fan. It's been so long since he was on the other side of fame - the side of the thousands of people who put him where he is in the first place. He shook away the weird emotions again. These flashbacks recurred a little too much lately.

Mike focused on the performance instead. It was only during the second verse that his good eyesight actually told him that it was Juliette singing oh so confidently up the stage. Oh, how he wanted to join the crowd. How he wanted to get up from the stupid bench and join the people who were dancing to the tune of their performance. Everything was acapella and although Mike was never really fond of the whole Pitch Perfect peg, there was something about the way Juliette carried the song, the crowd, and the energy that made him completely drawn to the entire thing. He ended up smiling to himself and even tapping his feet slightly to the beat. From afar, he took note of her new image - her confident image. It was a Juliette he'd definitely love to see more often. In the end, he figured, he was right as always. Taking the glasses off and tucking her hair away from her face could make a huge difference on her overall appearance but then again, it wasn't the only thing that drew his attention to her. It was how confident she was and how people loved her so much. She was an instant celebrity - a celebrity who didn't even have to exert too much effort. She was simply doing what she loved the most. Alright, he mentally admitted that she indeed made a point already. She can transform into something she was perhaps not into in just a blink of an eye. So much for the entire argument about reading.

When the performance ended and her group went down the stage, Mike looked away and pretended that his attention was all on her almost throughout the entire song. From the corner of his eye, he saw her approaching yet he pretended to be distracted with his crowd-watchiing.

It was only when she was so close to him and speaking to him in her usual shy demeanor that he felt a stronger attraction towards her. Her cocktail dress revealed so much of her skin that was usually covered a little too much and a cleavage peeping out on her chest was enough to drive him crazy. Goddamn it, he already guested on a Victoria's Secret Fashion Show last year and all VS angels were all around him but none of them attracted him as strong as this one.

There were crazy thoughts in his mind again which he instantaneously shook away.

A naked Juliette on the bed, asking him to come and take her. It was a maddening thought.

"Aren't you going to thank me or something?" Mike said. There was a teasing tone in his voice but, for some odd reasons, he ended up chuckling softly and a friendly smile replaced the teasing one on his face as he scooted to the right to make room for her to sit. He averted his gaze from her to stop more of the unwanted thoughts from invading his peaceful mind.

"First of all, if you could only show that kind of confidence every single day of your life, then I'm pretty sure everyone would know your name." He was counting with his fingers as he spoke. "Second, I've got to remind people that I am actually your date tonight because some guys here think that you're on your own so you could go tell them to fuck off or something and third," he raised his third finger for a moment but he clenched his fist all of a sudden and looked down as he scratched the back of his neck. He was silent for an eerily long time.

After a while, he chuckled again and looked up at his date with a playful smile on his face in the same way an older brother would to a younger sister. "Third, I'd have to start preparing for the possibility that you will be some sort of female counterpart of me because--" he trailed off again, suddenly unsure if he should say it. But then again, she did take the time to rebel and be here tonight, so she deserved what he was about to say. His smile turned from playful to sincere. "Because you're absolutely stunning tonight and, I know you're already too fed up with my ego but uhh... you deserve a male top model as a date anytime, anywhere." There was a soft laugh. "It doesn't have to be me, of course, but you get my point."

He nodded with a smile before standing up. He needed to step away for a while if he wanted to keep himself calm and not take her to his place to do something crazy. "Anyway, I'll go get us some drinks, alright? I'll be back."

Mike headed to the bar with his hands buried inside the pocket of his pants. Once in a while, people would still ask for photos but mostly, everyone enjoyed the night's party instead of thinking that an international celebrity was amidst them. The freshmen, of course, were still going crazy over that fact so most of the girls asking for photos were freshmen. One even dared to ask him if she could be his date in the next party in which Mike politely declined with the reason that he'd be graduating soon and would focus more on his career. To make up for it, he allowed an embrace photo with him.

As he waited for their drinks to be finished (he made sure to get something mild for Juliette because he was next to a hundred percent sure that she never had a drop of alcohol before), a spotlight rested on him which made him squint his eyes. Another spotlight, he noticed, rested on Juliette while the drunken host of the party slurred his words on the microphone.

"And tonight's most talked about couple is up for an hour locked in room! No 7 minutes here, guys. We have one whole fucking hour! No pun intended." The crowd cheered and chuckled while they cheered him and Juliette on. He was completely caught off-guard by this sudden twist of events but he found himself in a situation which he cannot get out from. Douglas' teammates captured him with handcuffs which they also did to Juliette and forced them both back inside the house. Mike protested almost all throughout the entire walk but he made sure his protests weren't too whiney or too bratty. The teammates pushed them both inside the room before unlocking the handcuffs and shutting the door after telling them to enjoy. When Mike opened the lights, he found a skimpy lingerie on the bed and bottles of brandy, vodka, wine, and beer on one side table. He scratched the back of his neck again before turning to face Juliette who, he figured, could've already passed out because of internal panics and whatnots.

"College parties are crazy," he simply remarked. He took the bottle of wine and two glasses, one he gave to his companion before pouring them both an adequate amount. "Come on, drink up. It won't kill you or get you drunk or anything."

His eyes, on the other hand, lingered from the walls to the lingerie on the bed. His mind tortured him again.

He decided to start with some sort of casual conversation to ease up the awkward air in the room and he sat down on the couch instead of the bed. The bed suddenly seemed toxic.

"If you were asked to model that lingerie, will you?" He said with a shrug. "I was just reminded of our conversation back at home last week and how you'd give modeling a chance if needed be." He eyed her from the top of her head down to the tips of her toes. "Right now, you're completely model material. So if I was some sort of talent scout and asked you to model that lingerie for me," he tipped the glass towards the direction of the bed. "Would you?"

He shrugged again. "Not that I'd make you do that, of course. It was just a question out of curiosity."
 
The first words out of his mouth she probably should have expected. Although he was just obviously teasing her. Juliette rolled her eyes dramatically before taking a seat. It felt weird to sit in a dress, so she brought her legs together as close as possible, almost painfully so. Before she could open her mouth to very teasingly herself say 'thank you' she was interrupted by a few people. Excited freshman from how much they were spazzing and obviously intoxicated. Drawling on how great her performance was while at the same time sneaking peaks at Mike. Juliette wasn't too used to taking compliments, or being around drunk people. Even her grandparents didn't drink that much. Only during family parties. She had been struggling with finding the words to give gratitude when some guys pulled them away to God knows where. Wow. Parties clearly had no rules or regulations. She kept her eyes peeled onto her bare legs instead of looking at Mike.

Although acting like she was ignoring him, she couldn't help but giggle quietly under her breath. Yeah, it would be nice if people actually got her name right. He was right. Confidence was important in the long run. She just never knew it was hiding. Right now, it felt like it was disappearing as she sat there next to him. His 'second' caused her to look up and stare with him, eyes full of inquisition that melted into a coy look. Was he feigning jealousy to be funny? "I don't know. I mean you probably scare them away, being a big bad model and all." Her voice poked fun at him, but her eyes were soft. Her heard cocked to the side curiously when he stopped talking? It was then she was met with a look she hadn't really expected out of him. Like his words...it was very sweet. Although being compared to him should have felt like an insult since his first impression wasn't all that great- she ignored the negative undertone she had immediately gone to, and concentrated on the sudden change in his expression. It was more genuine than she ever thought he could be, and it scared her a bit. Her stomach did nervous flips, and she felt like turning away. It felt easier to face him with his cocky attitude.

That was when he told her she was stunning.

Immediately her mind played the word over again. 'Stunning,' there were so many words that went along with that. Beautiful, gorgeous, dazzling, lovely. He didn't even sound smug about it or impressed with her. He was being honest. It was a word she never really thought she would hear from anyone else besides her grandparents. Without realizing, her lips curled into a giddy smile, warm and bright. "Thank you." And she really meant it, but she couldn't help but get a tease in. "Well, I don't think I could handle another male model's 'ego.' Yours is enough for me." It meant to come out as just a tease, but the end of her statement had sounded much softer than she intended. Quickly she cleared her throat, not wanting to succumb the overwhelming joy that came from his words. She didn't want to look at his smile either, in fear that he would pull her into his trance like he had the first day they met. This time, of course she wouldn't admit it, she probably....wouldn't have minded.

As quickly as their little moment happened, it was gone. He stood up, causing her to look up from her daze. Oh, drinks. That's right this was a party. The idea of drinking made her bite her lip. It wasn't she hadn't drank before, she just hadn't become even close to intoxicated. Here she was with people drunk and nearly passing out around her, and what was she? A sitting duck. Getting drunk like that didn't appeal to her. While watching the drunks of the party with wary eyes, she opened her mouth to tell him she was perfectly fine, but with a blink of her eyes, he was gone. Maybe he would realize how polar opposite she was to the rest of the attendees.

While she waited, she clicked her heels together as if she were fidgeting. Honestly, this was the first time she was worried about words. What would they talk about? This wasn't a real date, so what was there to worry about? Here she was all in a fluster because of him simply saying she was stunning. Not to mention his sudden change in personality that threw her totally off guard.

But not as much as what happened next.

Out of nowhere, everything went white. Her eyes grew as big as the moon as she quickly shield her eyes. Was the police here or something? Was there a fugitive on the loose? Did they need to duck and cover? What the heck was going on? That was when the speakers began to blare with the sound of Douglas' voice. She registered nearly nothing except for 'couple' and 'seven minutes.' It was only when she was suddenly playfully handcuffed by the cheerleaders did her brain put two and two together. These people had the absolute wrong idea. Oh gosh, this wasn't something she wanted AT ALL. Despite her quiet pleads and somewhat of struggles, there were just too many of them. To the point of claustrophobia. In a dizzy whirl, she was literally pushed into a room, and locked in it. Not to mention, she was with Mike, and from what Douglas had announced, and the scene of the bed and lingerie in front of her, the party goers were expected the impossible.

The panic had become almost crippling the more she eyed the bed up. At one point she had to look away. Her face was absolutely burning and she wanted to hide herself in the corner of the room or something. "Oh my god." She finally whispered. "What the hell are they thinking?" She sighed heavily and crossed her arms over her chest, she had begun to pace. "We are locked in for sure. There's no windows in here. I don't know how to pick locks. People out there are drunk, their judgement clearly clouded." She was angry, panicked, overwhelmed, all of the above. It was Mike's very plain statement about parties that stopped her in her tracks. Crazy didn't even cut it. Something like this should have been illegal or something. With the lingerie on the bed, and Mike sitting on the couch, she wasn't sure where to look. Even if he didn't want to do anything, everything about the room pointed to sex. And the fact he surely knew that too made it hard to look him in the eye. She wanted curse herself for clearly being nervous. How come she couldn't brush it off? How come she had to be panicking? Couldn't she just have a good time? Couldn't she just not be locked in a room with her 'date.'

"How come you aren't freaking out? Isn't this bad for your image?" She turned to him, her eyebrows knitted together in clear distress. Even more so when she spotted the wine. "No...no I can't drink." She declined, still eyeing the wine curiously. Wine had never been that bad. But she only had sips here and there. Maybe a quarter of a glass. That was about half. Maybe it wouldn't be so ba-no. It was too risky. What if she blacked out or something or did something crazy? Speaking of crazy, the words that came out of Mike's mouth were something else. Her jaw dropped a bit as she looked straight at him for the first time. "Model material?" She scoffed. "I appreciate the compliment, but that's not gonna get me into those skimpy articles of clothing. Regular clothes are one thing, b-being nearly naked is another." Her voice trailed off a bit, gaze lingering on a certain black and purple adorned unmentionables. She wouldn't like if she said she didn't love looking in Victoria's Secret. The idea of wearing such cute and frilly things appealed to her more than anyone would know. But who would she even wear them for? The fact she was asking herself these questions instead of flat out saying no made her even more so agitated with the whole situation. "...No, no way. Definitely not. Nice try though." she chuckled bitterly.

After a while of her chewing at her nails as a wreck, she caved. She couldn't take this anxiety. Especially if she needed to last in this room for another good 50 minutes. She reached for the glass, thanking him quietly before taking a sip. The effects hit her about 5 minutes later, it wasn't much. But she found herself easing the tension in her muscles. Her mind no longer racing a mile a minutes. Still, it was filled with what-if's. The whole effect made her want to drink a bit more. She couldn't sit here like this and not relax, but she couldn't get wasted. "I-I can't have that much to drink. I have to be somewhat sober. So...I can't drink anymore than this glass. Okay? After this hour is up I have to go home." As if she were giving herself more assurance that she could drink, she took another sip, feeling her head becoming swimmy and slow with each passing minute. Her mind was still all there, but her body felt close to floating. It was then her eyes found the set of black and purple lingerie again. Her interest got the best of her as she stood up and walked over to the. Her finger delicately tracing the frills and ribbons. She really liked them. And she would never be given a chance to try something like this on again, really.

Especially for someone else.

Oh gosh. No, no. The sober and grounded part of herself made her pull her hand away. This wasn't her. She had drank a bit too much, and her judgement was clouded. Here she was, locked in a room with a hot guy and some cute clothes she had always wanted to wear. Especially for a guy since she had seen plenty of girls doing much more in lingerie than modeling. The scenes from porn she had watched replayed in her mind, making her feel weak in the knees. No was not the time to associate porn with lingerie when she was basically in a sex trapped situation. If she tried on this lingerie in front of him, she would be nothing but a slut like a majority of the college population.

But she also wanted to be like other girls. That's why she came to the party. Just because she lived a little tonight didn't mean she would have to do it again. No one could see what was happening in this room. And by God, nothing would happen between the two of them. Mike wouldn't say a word because for sure he wouldn't want word of it. No matter what she tried on. It was one night. A single pair of matching lingerie. It would be so quick. And it would be a secret. Here she was drunk after all, or partially drunk. She knew what was going on and for sure was no where near blacking out.

Before she knew it, the undies and brassiere were in her hands. The alcohol had made her a lot more brave than she anticipated, because here she was turning to him with mischievous eyes. "...Once. I've never tried on cute stuff like this before. So once. I'm getting right back into my clothes after this." She said it in a way that told not only him, but herself the rules. Some of her sense of judgement was still buried in her intoxicated brain. She spotted the bathroom door and quickly made her way to it. With each step, she wanted to throw the skimpy clothes back where they came and take her spot back on the couch. It was too late, she was in the bathroom, door locked behind her and dress already over her head. Her neutral bra hit the floor along with the pile of her dress, and then the panties along with it. The smooth fabric of the lingerie tickled her skin. She never knew that it could be so soft.

The figure clad in frilly undergarments that stared back at her was something she thought she would never see. For the first time, her curves actually looked like curves rather than just being chubby. That, or she was drunker than she thought and visualizing what she wished was herself. She lifted her arm slowly, good. Smooth and shaved. As were her legs. She hadn't even known she was going to wear a dress, let along lingerie. Luckily it was a routine to shave everyday. Especially with her ethnicity in mind. With a small turn, she admired the dark purple against her olive skin, the way they hugged her and felt just light and airy. Remembering Mike was out there, she thought about taking it off and just putting her dress back on. But something about 'modeling' for him, his eyes on her like they had been earlier, excited the intoxicated Juliette. Even the sober Juliette had felt some sort of agitated her, in a good way. Once again, before she could even register it, she had made her way out of the bathroom and toward the middle of the room.

Almost immediately, she regretted her decision. She felt absolutely naked, not to mention cold. Her arms quickly grabbed her shoulders both from embarrassment and being a bit chilled. She wasn't used to just walking around in her underwear, after all. After standing there awkwardly, she swallowed, still staring at the floor. "I-I'm gonna change back." she whispered, beginning to move, avoiding his gaze all the while. Why had she thought this would be fun?
 
One thing. If Mike had to choose one single thing he liked most about Juliette, it was how she was as egoistic as he is. He loved how she played her cards the same way he did. There was something about a girl - Juliette, specifically - who doesn't instantly transform in a puddle of love and fangirl feels in front of him that somehow gets him drawn to her. He watched in amusement yet in silence how she debated with herself whether or not to live this "one night only" or to retain her typical good girl image. He thought, to hell with image. There was no one else in this room for her to be conscious about. No one else aside from an internationally-renowned model, to say the least, but just like Juliette, he was spending this "one night only" as someone he wasn't. Tonight, he was just a regular college kid.

Mike was about to protest when she seriously considered about wearing the lingerie. He was about to say that he was merely teasing her and that they could spend the entire hour just chit-chatting but his words kept on being interrupted with her vocalized supposedly-internal struggles. "You really don't have to do it, you know!!" He shouted out to her but he was silenced with the door of the bathroom closing in on him.

That's when panic sunk in. His thoughts were vivid enough on its own so what more if he actually sees her? For Christsake he could already masturbate with mere thoughts alone and he already tried his hardest to discipline his boy parts because of it and now here she was, changing into such little-to-almost-no-clothing at all.

He groaned softly to himself as he forced and stomped his way to the side table to chug down a glass of brandy. He needed the confidence boost brought about by alcohol, too. She took quite a while in changing so he ended up drinking a little more than he should. No, he wasn't drunk. He was still conscious about his surroundings yet the drugging effect of alcohol was slowly peeling off his bad boy egoistic model secret self and bringing out Mike Romanov, the normal 21-year-old guy who's also a regular human being. It sucks having a lot of personalities to keep up because he never got to know who he really was. To his fans, he was kind and humble. Partially, that was true, but he did love the feeling of fame and what it gave him. To Alex, he was a little bratty and a monster in bed but he figured the woman loved the latter one. What if he'd go soft on her the way romantic sex goes? He'd love to try that, but he figured Alex had enough of the whole soft romantic sex because of her stage in life. Oh god, Mike craved for the slow and sensual sex now and it's not helping that his date was currently changing into a very sex-inducing lingerie.

He chugged down more of the bronze liquid that burned his throat. He never really liked the bitter and stinging taste of brandy but he liked the confidence boost it gave. Mike just set down his glass when he heard the door open. A warm electric sensation ran through his entire body, making him refuse to turn to look at her. He was afraid that if he does so, he might scare her off. However, when she said she'd change back, he instantly turned to get a good look at least before he missed his chance.

Reality was better than his mental images.

The lingerie was perhaps made for stick people like the VS models so it clung on to her a little too tight, he assumed, but it brought out her curves more. She had what most people called "the Coca-Cola body" and those hips and thighs, oh god, how he'd love to run his hands along them. She didn't pass media's standards for an underwear model but she definitely passed his standards of beauty. With her glasses off and her hair away from her face, Mike was simply glued on his spot for a while. He was thankful he already set the glass down or else he might drop it upon seeing her.

"Please don't change," Mike said. The brandy's confidence boost made it easier to take one step and another towards her until the tip of her breasts almost touched his chest. There was not much of a height difference between them, but there was something about looking down at her that made him feel so protective over this innocent being. So many thoughts ran in his mind but the most that tortured him was how some other man would be greeted and blessed by this sight in the future. Some other guy would have this privilege every godforsaken night and they'd make love so sensually and he'd make her scream in ecstasy and she'd kiss him passionately and.... and that made him feel so disappointed.

But tonight, she was his.

And he wanted to make her probably first sex ever the most memorable one in her entire life. He craved for the idea that even if she has sex with other guys in the future, her mind would still bring her back to the night she lost her virginity to a male model who can show her and make her feel oh so good.

"I'm sorry," Mike said. "I'm just-- ah, god.." He wasn't making sense. He allowed his eyes to do all the talking as he admired every inch of exposed skin and every inch of the parts hiding behind the thin clothing. He dared to run the back of his hands from her shoulder down her arm and admiring her like she was a flawless porcelain statue given by the gods themselves.

Come on, alcohol. Work already. The fear was overpowering his want to devour her. The fear that she might get scared, that she might hate him, that she might look at him a lot worse than how she already did, ate him too much for comfort.

But he only had an hour. Goddamn it, he only had an hour or less to give her the best first sex any girl could ever have.

He grabbed her wrist with pressure but not enough to hurt her. Mike pulled her close to him until there was no longer a space that gapped them. He snaked his arms around her bare waist and pressed her against him before leaning down to give her a gentle kiss on the lips.

The alcohol was finally kicking in.

"I'm not a jerk," he murmured on her lips before kissing her again. "I really think you're beautiful and ohgod I can't stand the thought of having someone else take you for the first time," he kissed her again. This time, his kiss had more pressure and it was close to making out with her but he pulled away from her lips to trail light kisses up along her jawline to her cheek and up until her ear before whispering with a husky voice, "just this once. Look at me as a guy you like. A guy you've had a crush on for so long." He nibbled on the shell of her ear with his lips as he breathed heavily. "Just this once. Have sex with me."

He was supposed to wait for her response out of respect but his hand already trailed down from her back towards her inner thighs. He brushed his hand on the smooth skin until the side of his finger touched the bottom tip of the lingerie. Only an extremely thin piece of clothing separated the skin of his hand from the skin of her virgin woman parts.

Slowly, he touched her with the tip of his fingers still with the cloth of the lingerie keeping them apart. He tickled her pussy with the tip of his finger until the sexual fluids started seeping out while all the while, he gave the sensitive skin of her neck a few light kisses.

By now, he expected her to push him away or to cry or to ask for help but he wanted her so badly, he couldn't bring himself to stop.
 
She had made it maybe halfway to the bathroom when his voice startled her. Her arms were still very much wrapped around the upper part of her chest. Stopping, she turned her body around, only to have his in sudden close proximity. She took in a sharp breath and stood there, paralyzed by anxiety? Panic? Never in her life had she could have imagined this picture. Her being in lingerie, maybe inches away from the top male model in the country. Her arms loosened a bit around herself, falling to lay on her breasts. Her eyes had been averted to the floor ever since she walked out of the bathroom. But now, they were quite aware of his presence, looking up at Mike through those long, black eyelashes. There was something about the look in his eyes that made her feel smaller than she already was. He seemed so conflicted. Looking like he wanted to say something, anything. As if he were going to burst. She wanted to reach out for him, ask if he was okay. But she was a bit distracted by the whole situation at hand. Not to mention, she still wanted to get back in her dress. It was cold...although his body head was radiating to her. It drew her in, but not enough to close the space between them.

If he wasn't going to say anything, she would just try again to go and change. It was then words finally seemed to regiter in his brain. And that was the first time she smelled all the alcohol on him. Oh gosh, it made her want to cough. How wasted was he? Her eyebrows, like usual knitted together. This time however it was of concern. Did he need to lay down. Opening her mouth, she shook her head, not wanting him to apologize for-well whatever he was apologizing for. "Mike, I think you need to lay d-ah!" She nearly jumped out of her skin at the tantalizing feel of his hand on her bare shoulder. Her entire body tensed automatically. She may have looked panicked, but really, she was shocked. Shocked by the surge of heat that trailed where his fingers roamed. Carefully, she let out a shaky breath, her head tilting down to linger on how his hand lingered at the end of her arm.

She realized she didn't feel so cold anymore.

On the contrary, just one touch and there was somehow a growing heat, if she hadn't known better, her whole body could have been blushing. Instead, it was just her cheeks. Finally, she lowered her arms, unsure of why she felt eased enough to do so. Her entire body was on edge about him however, what was he going to do next? Was he going to caress her again? Or better, would he caress her again? The very thought made her weak in the knees.

But not as much as what he did to her next.

Another surge of heat shot up from her wrist to the rest of her body. This time, instead of looking toward where he grabbed her, she finally looked straight up at him. Her eyes lidded as she watched him curiously. Honestly, she wondered if he was teasing her, trying to trick her into falling for him, wanting him to do something to her, anything. The more aware part of her mind told her to pull away and make a beeline straight for the bathroom. But the side of her losing her inhibitions-

Well it didn't have time to react.

Her eyes went wide as the space between them closed. His arms and hands running over bare skin that caused a very visible shiver to shake her body. Juliette surprisingly more than welcomed the warmth against her unclad olive skin. Without being fully aware, she had also snaked her arms around his neck. What had gotten into her? This wasn't natural for her, she had never done anything close to embracing a boy. Nervously, she had begun to pull them back, but she was halted by a warmth, this time that hit her lips. It was quick, just a brush of the lips. But he didn't stop for long. He began to speak, but she couldn't hear him all too well. Her heart was pounding much too hard in her ears. She let out a shaky breath as he laid another kiss on her lips. His words were sweet and desperate while his actions were hot and sure. Such a combination was throwing her for a loop, but she accepted the kisses to her lips with fervor, her arms involuntarily tightening around his neck as the second kiss deepened. For someone like her who had never kissed a boy in her life, she was loving every second of it. It felt...unnaturally..natural. If that was possible. Something she had never done, but felt that should could do forever. Especially when countered with his lips.

When he pulled his lips from hers, her head instantly leaned in to follow, but he was quick, knowing exactly where to go. Now here was a foreplay scene she had seen in many porn videos. Being kissed near the neck/neck kissing. God, how she had always wanted to receive it, maybe be on the serving end of it, but she never imagined it to actually happen. Almost immediately a soft cry fell from her lips. Honestly she wasn't sure what was making her melt more, his kisses or his words. She didn't even know what to say. She was at a complete loss for words, the only sound coming from her mouth were quiet cries of pleasure at the new sensations peppering her jawline. Following the continuous kisses and a nibble to the ear was what completely broke her.

Just this once. Have sex with me.

That was all she needed. That confidence sky rocketed through her entire being and released that sexual demon that had hid itself throughout her blossoming years. She didn't even have a chance to nod before his one hand began to move south. Well, he worked fast. So much for consent. Honestly it didn't matter at the moment. Her head tilted to the side, allowing him to access her neck and give her as many kisses as he wanted. Hr cries had been soft, trying to hold back as much as she could despite being sexually awakened.

Being quiet went out the window when his hand found itself down there Immediately, her arms tightened around his neck, nearly pulling him down as her legs nearly went out from under her. The lovely sound she cried was nothing short of a moan. Her hips instinctively moved against hand, but not for long. Her hand slid from behind his neck, her finger curling under the neckline of his shirt. She let out a shaky breath as the other hand reached down and stopped him from making her moan any more. "At least- at least get me on the bed first." She breathed out, voice shaky. What was he thinking? Pulling something like that to a girl who had never, ever, been touched anywhere on her body before. At least not by another person. Letting go of his wrist, the finger that was hooked under his neckline moved down to grab the hem of his shirt. Pulling him toward the bed before she sat down on it first. She sat there for a second, trying to get her breathing and heart as under control as she could before grabbing his hand and pulling him down on top of her. Blushing, she looked up at him through lidded eyes. With this new found sexual confidence, she felt like she could finally answer what he was saying earlier.

"Just this once..." She whispered, sitting up a bit to kiss him, the alcohol on his breath was almost overwhelming, but it didn't stop her from getting a little kissing practice in. "So be it." Now that she agreed...what was she supposed to do. Don't get her wrong, the fire burning in her lower area made her want to do...well anything she saw on standard porn. But carrying out was different. Biting her kiss-swollen lip, she glanced to the side, propped up on her elbows under him. She looked him over, wondering if he was gonna make some sort of initiative move like he head earlier. Instead, she eyes his shirt. "Well that's not fair.." She scoffed almost silently, she moved, pushing him up so they both were sitting on their knees. With shaky hands, she grabbed the hem of his white-v neck, slipping it carefully over his head. The sight of his chiseled chest was something she had seen before, yes. But this was something else. It made her feel self conscious about her own body. Her eyes found his, silently questioning him if it was okay to touch him. Her fingers found the indentations of his abs, tracing them slowly, fascinated. He truly was flawless.

The tips of her fingers moved up and down his chest carefully, but her eyes had somehow fallen to his pants. Oh gosh. Was he just as aroused as she was. The fact he felt how aroused she was made her want to hide under the blankets they were on. Instead, she channeled her new found courage. The hand caressing his chest moving farther, finger tips ghosting a touch over the pelvic area of his jeans, her eyes carefully moving up to note his reaction.
 
A scream of being raped.
A cry.
A couple of punches.
A slap on the hand.
A slap on the face.
A push.
Anything negative.

Mike expected at least one of those things to happen or even one after the other in some sort of sequential order but what he got instead was something far beyond his expectations. She led her on. She fucking led her on. For someone with no experience at all, she was pretty outgoing.

And he loved outgoing.

When she showed that she wanted him as much as he wanted her, Mike didn't hesitate anymore. He smirked at her and allowed her to drag him to the bed. Usually, he hated it when the girl takes control but having her play his game was something he found enjoyable. He'd set aside his usual rules if only to hear those moans again. He wanted to hear her moan louder. He wanted to hear her scream his name. He wanted her and he wanted him. That was enough.

"Yeah, I'm being unfair, I'm sorry," There was a teasing smirk on his face as he allowed her to take his shirt off. He felt her slender fingers trailing down her torso and though the sensation wasn't entirely alien to him, he still sucked in his breath because he never felt so aroused by that sensation before. He allowed her to touch every inch she pleased as long as he was rewarded with the top view of her breasts. He only noticed how huge they were and, almost by instinct, he started cupping them with his hands and massaging them as if it was the first time for him to held breasts like that. He loved how the size of them fit his hands perfectly. He was still admiring her lady bumps when her hand rested on the hem of his pants which made him smirk down at her all the more.

"Are you going to accuse me of being unfair again because you're the only one in undergarments?" He attempted to sound domineering and teasing but he ended up letting out another gentle and playful chuckle. He scooted away from her for a while to get rid of the denims and he tossed it down on the floor before kneeling back on the bed. A noticeable bulge had already grown beneath the tight boxer briefs he was wearing. He reached out for her hand and trailed it down his chiseled abs until it rested on his growing hard-on. He controlled her hand so that it rubbed the bulge gently, making him groan in delight.

He was about to lean in to pin her down on the bed when someone knocked on the door which almost made him jump in surprise.

"15 minutes, lovebirds! And don't mess it up there ya hear? Ain't got other rooms free for this shit," said a voice from the other said.

Mike cursed inaudbily under his breath.

"Come to my house," Mike whispered to her as he played with her ear. He surprised her by instantly sliding his hand inside her underwear to rub her wet woman parts gently with his fingers. "15 minutes is too little. Come to my house, please." He kissed her neck again as his fingers worked their magic under there. He made sure he didn't go too deep but enough to hit her clitoris repetitively with the side of his fingers. He rubbed the parting of both lips gingerly until his fingers were slowly getting coated by her fluids. That made him want her more.

"Have sex with me at home, love," He trailed kisses further down and planted a kiss mark on the top of her left breast. He wanted to explore her more. He wanted know every inch of her body. He wanted to take his sweet time because he wanted to give her the best. He wanted to be the one to give her a second round if she wanted more. He wanted her to ask him about sex and he wanted to show her everything she needed to know. He wanted to have sex with her in the shower or in the bathtub. He wanted to take her everywhere in his house and devour her in every area as romantically as possible. He craved for her.
 
Oh gosh, there were definitely not books on this.

Sure, there was reference, that is if porn could be counted as educational. She had seen enough of it to know what foreplay looked like, and how it was carried out. Heck, she had seen enough to know how every position was carried out. But she had never been in a porn. The closest thing to physical sex she had ever gotten was obviously masturbating. This was far from masturbating. Masturbating was for her own pleasure, and now, well now she needed to give someone else pleasure. The very idea both struck excitement and fear inside of her. Not so much fear as shyness. She had never heard moans other than her own, even then, she had never been a loud masturbater. Then again, she had always been holding her voice back, especially out of fear someone in the apartment could or would hear her. She had never touched anyone other than herself. She knew her body on a sexual level for years now. But someone else's, that was a new frontier.

Mike certainly had no trouble pleasing her, however. From the moment they had started, his hands were somewhere on her body. She had gone from being cold in nothing but lingerie, to extremely hot anywhere he touched. His hands had quickly found their way to her rather endowed chest, grabbing at them carefully and massaging them. As amazing as it felt, she could only bite her lip, suppressing any noises she made out of both embarrassment and the fear that she could be heard. Just from him touching her nether's she found out how loud she could be. With how many people knew they were out there still partying, she didn't want them to listen in on what the two of them were doing. The images of people finding out almost turned her off entirely, but the more she felt his hands on her, the more she forgot about it. But then, he took moved backward. She got a bit scared for a second, thinking he thought she wasn't liking it because of lack of noise. But instead, he was removing his jeans.

Well, she knew that he was large just from resting her fingers on his jeans just moments earlier. But his underwear couldn't suppress what the denim hid. Her eyes immediately fell on the cloth covered bulge, studying it in clear fascination, and a bit of an impressed gaze. If it wasn't for how nervous she was, she would have reached out and touched it, just to get a gauge on how it felt, or better yet, how big he really was. She had lifted her hand to try and push herself to touch him instead of looking like a dead beat, but he seemed to sense her apprehension. His hand grasped hers, moving it guide her in touching him more so than what she had before. On contact, she tensed up, surprised by the heat that even his clothed cock could give off. Out of pure shock by his actions however, she almost pulled away, but under her touch she watched him shiver physically. Clearly, he reacting positively to her. Such a lovely site caused her to lick her lips, her eyes finding courage to move and watch his face.

She met his eyes the moment he let out a quiet, pleased groan. Juliette physically shivered at the very sound of his voice. As a singer, sounds definitely appealed more to her sense. His smoldering gaze, plus the pleasure in his voice was enough to melt her apprehension away. With drive to hear him more, her hand pressed down a bit harder, rubbing and caressing him with the same care he had with her chest. So entranced by the look in his eyes, and his voice, she hadn't noticed she had taken initiative to move his briefs away from what was hiding when-

"15 minutes lovebirds!"

Her hand moved away as if she were a child getting caught with the cookie jar. Gasping, she almost flew backwards and onto the bed, luckily she managed to keep some of her composure. Physically, she had almost jumped a good foot in the air. Instead, she had instinctively wrapped her arms around his shoulders, clearly startled and looking at him what to do. Way to ruin the mood, Douglas. Her eyes found the clock, 10:45. Damn it, her grandparents would be home at 1:00, or 1:30 at the latest, if she could be so lucky. She opened her mouth to tell him they needed to stop when his heat voice crept into her ear.

His house? How? There was no time. He was right. 15 minutes wasn't enough time for them to finish what they started. Juliette didn't want her first time to be carried out rushed or too quickly either. In fact, she probably shouldn't be having her first time at a party anyway. Although, with the way things had been going, a somewhat intoxicated Juliette wouldn't have minded. His voice was like a siren call, so tempting. But what would happen if it took too long, or she fell asleep? What if they even came home early? God, she wanted him so bad. But getting in trouble with her grandparents for the rest of her life was (as much as she hated to say it) worth one night of sex for the first time. Hell, if she got in trouble she would never have sex ever. With sad eyes, she opened her mouth to apologize and decline when his hand snuck into her panties.

Gasping sharply, she buried her head in his shoulder. Knelt on the bed, she leaned her body into his for support. His fingers were working magic on her, and they weren't even inside of her. With a sweet cry, she bit down on his flesh to stop from getting any louder. His voice found her ear again, calling her 'love' in a honeyed tone while continuing to make her spread her legs apart farther. How dare he call her something so...endearing. It made her shiver, it made her want to hear more, it made her feel special. Then again, he asked her to make him feel special too. Look at him like she was a boy she had feelings for. Why? Why was she giving him that satisfaction? Because they were both horny? Because they were both lonely...? Her somewhat alcohol-clouded mind couldn't make heads or tails about it. All she knew was that she craved him in a way that if she didn't have him, she wouldn't be able to shake the feelings, the yearning.

"O-Okay." She whispered shakily. Her hips had somehow begun to move on their own, circling slowly against his working fingers. He needed to stop now or else they wouldn't be able to leave the room. Taking a deep breath, she grabbed his hand and pulled it back. Once more, she looked to the clock, and then, met Mike's eyes. Just one look into her own and he could tell she needed him, but there was also a worried glint in them. "We have to get decent before they find us. We have 12 minutes." She hadn't realized she had been allow him to nearly finger her for so long. Moving off the bed, she ran for the bathroom. "Don't just stand there! Get yourself looking...civilized or something." Since the mood was a bit...well not so much dead as it was awkward for her, she couldn't exactly make eye contact so casually. In the bathroom, she moved to put on her clothes, making sure she didn't leave behind any signs of what could have happened. She grabbed tissues and quickly wiped her face and neck of sweat. Who knew it had gotten that hot in the room. Studying herself in the mirror, she noted the flush on the bridge of her nose and cheeks. Hopefully, if they moved fast, no one would see them.

When she emerged from the bathroom, she coughed, walking up to Mike with concern written on her face. "We both drank...a lot. And I don't like to drive. I mean, I couldn't after drinking, even if it was a little. Anyway. How are we gonna get to your house? Will your driver come and get us?" She seemed incredibly nervous. "If...if we do this. I have to go home before 1. I have to." She made her point clear. "Promise me, please?" Her arm lifted and she held her pinky out. Immediately, she realized she had done something she used to do a child. Heck, when her grandmother promised her something nowadays, they two would pinky swear. Clearly, she was appalled with herself for doing something so childish, but she needed his word.
 
He couldn't get enough of it. Her lady juices drove him mad in a way that no other girl did. Mike almost whined, protested, and got a little violent when she pulled his hand away just when she was already doing her own motions but his senses kicked in and he understood why it all had to happen. He watched in loss and longing as Juliette rushed to the bathroom to get dressed. It was only her words about looking more civilized that got his brain working again. Mike snapped out of his dazed state and quickly pulled himself out of the haze of love and lust. Lust, mostly, but there was a strong longing to be loved and accepted not because he's a model, but because, well, he's just him.

"Right," he said, as he scurried to grab his clothes and dressed up right then and there. His member ached a little too uncomfortably inside his pants but he knew he could manage if that meant a greater sex time once they get back to his place.

But they still have a few minutes left.

"Come here, you pretty girl." Mike smiled at her in such a way that he would on a normal basis, and not as if there were fans and cameras around. His smile was sweet and tender, sincere and loving. Ignoring the raised pinky, hegot up, took her hand and pulled her to him before wrapping his arms around her waist. "We've got a few minutes left. I can drive your car to my place and I'm just gonna call my driver to get mine. I'll get you home on time, I promise you." That's when he linked his pinky with hers. Both fingers linked so well with his longer one chained on her slender own. He loved the feel of it, making him look down on their fingers with a smile.

"All my life, all I did was to sign contracts as a form pact-making." His statement ended with a sad chuckle. "No one ever dared to ask the notorious Mike Romanov to pinky swear with them. You're definitely the first." He kept his pinky linked with hers for a few moments more before releasing their form of pact.

He let out a long and heavy sigh until his whole weight almost collapsed on her. He rested his forehead on her shoulder and embraced her tightly as if his life depended on it, as if he would crumble down to dust if he didn't hold her close to him. "I'm tired, Juliette, I'm tired of this life." He hugged her tighter, if that was even possible.

Mike remained like that for a little while longer until his senses kicked back in, making him realize that he became too exposed all of a sudden - exposed not in terms of skin or nudity, but in terms of nakedness of his true self so slowly, he pulled away and gave her his unnerving smile.

"I'll still give you a good night and I promise to get you home on time. Just, just give me a chance, okay? Umm. Let me be your first, okay?" He gave her a quick peck on a the cheek before exiting the room. Mike leaned against the wall a few steps after the door to wait for his date. There, he was swarmed with so many of his schoolmates, asking him questions about what happened. Ah, he was such a professional at handling these things. Minimal detail, maximum smile. His professional smile, not the smile he showed Juliette. Not his true smile.

"We talked 'cause I wanted to get to know her more," he responded.

"What was her name again?" Another one asked.

"Her name's Juliette Torres."

"Is she your girlfriend?"

He shook his head with his professional smile.

"But do you plan on asking her out?"

There was a pause. A long pause. His smile faded a little, but it didn't completely disappear from his face. He wanted to answer this properly in a way that wouldn't offend his date for the night.

"She's uhh... very busy with school and uhh... I don't want to get in the way of that. Someday, perhaps, when she's more ready."

That caused a loud murmur to spring up. If there was one thing he learned in his career is that when the crowd is distracted with their own conversations, that's the perfect time to leave.

He looked back at Juliette and gave her a signal to come closer to him. Mike excused himself from the crowd until he found his way to Juliette. He took her hand again and led her out of Douglas' place towards the side of the mansion which was far from the prying ears and eyes of the crowd.

"Where's your car parked?"
 
Her eyes lingered on their entwined fingers. It was weird not to see the old wrinkly finger of her grandmother's. Her lips curled into a small smile at his words. He was calling her things she never thought she would get to hear. Being called beautiful, pretty, more positive adjectives- she wasn't used to it. Maybe it was the alcohol talking. The thought was something that made more sense, but also something she didn't want to believe. He could even be lying just to get her to sleep with him. That's what her grandparents would say. His smiles, his kind voice, his tender touch, was this the real Mike Romanov? Was this the one that the fans would only dream of seeing? Any girl would kill to hear him call them such sweet things. But why her of all people? The one girl that would probably hold onto those words harder than any other girl would, simply because there was no chance she would hear them from anyone else like him. Maybe not even from him again.

All of a sudden, she felt sorta sad looking at their fingers like that.

Before she knew it, he was nearly toppling her over. At first, she thought he was blacking out, which didn't help since she was dizzy herself. As stated before, she wasn't drunk enough to not know what's going on with both her mind and her body. Her hands quickly came up to push against his chest, trying to keep him up when she realized he wasn't passing out at all. He was laying his head on her shoulder, as if he needed some sort of rest. Like he needed to be comforted. As his arms enveloped her, she swore he would squeeze all the air out of her body. The voice that came out of him seemed so far away and distant. It was like he was...lost.

A sorrowful aching instantly overwhelmed her. Her arm moved up, fingers gingerly playing with his hair. She had never comforted someone else before, but she felt this was the best way to show it. In an instant, he seemed to compose himself as if he were doing something wrong. She watched him, eyes filled with worry as he simply pecked her cheek and walked off. Turning around, she watched him carefully. Her fingers curled a bit, and she forced herself not to reach out for him and pull him back to safety.

No, she couldn't worry about him. Because after tonight, he would be a stranger again. An egotistical model who only cared for himself. Her lazy tutoree and nothing more, right? And she would be the star pupil, the teacher's pet, the good-girl-bookworm. They wouldn't be the people they were tonight because in the real world, where they had to live- this night never existed.

Taking a deep breath, she ran her slender fingers through her dark locks, hoping to smooth them out a bit more before moving toward the door frame. At the sight of so many people swarming Mike, she took a quick step back. From the side of the door frame, she peeked out and listened carefully. They were all questions about her. Hearing the word 'girlfriend' caused her stomach to do flips.

"Are you going to ask her out?"

That was when time seemed to drag out forever. Juliette found herself holding her breath when really she knew what the answer was going to be. She closed her eyes, wishing she could close her ears as well as he struggled with what to say. He couldn't flat out say no, but she knew that's what he meant.

And for some reason it really disappointed her.

Watching as others murmured amongst themselves, her eyes took note of his signal. Nodding, she glanced around and quickly made her way over to him, maneuvering herself through the crowd of people as low key as possible. When she almost got lost in a sea of people, something warm wrapped around her dainty hand. She knew the feeling and couldn't help but smile just for a brief moment. Her hand absently squeezed back as the two made it out of the mansion and into seclusion. The best ofbthebelectronic music was still ringing in her ears when he asked about her car. At first, she was honestly scared to tell him. After all he had a considerable amount of alcohol while she had been in the bathroom. Yet again, he had proven he was fully aware of what was going on. Maybe he drank a lot already. The thought sorta turned her off since she hated drinking, mostly from dealing with drunk family members at parties. But in this case, maybe his buil up tolerance would work. From her bag, she fished out some car keys with disney themed keychains, as well as one Hello Kitty key (it was from when she was little and had to get into the apartment) that was partially true. And her excuse. She could have changed it now that she was a grown woman basically, but she really loved that key design.

She led him down the street to her car and slid into her passenger's seat. It was a decent car. Honestly she didn't know what kind it was. She could care less about cars. It wasn't dirty, and the engine had a nice purr to it. All that really mattered to her was that it ran smoothly and without safety hazards. Surely it was nowhere near as high-end as his vehicles were. Hopefully he wouldn't complain too much about it. From the moment her seatbelt went on, she looked like a nervous wreck. Her fingers grabbed at the seat, knuckles nearly turning white as she sat in a full, upright posture. Her eyes scanned the roar as if her life depended on it (which it did.) She wasn't even driving and yet she was having terrible drivers anxiety. It was most likely out of fear that they could get caught for driving under the influence. Oh, or you know, die. Simply petrified, she stayed silent the whole ride to his penthouse. Her thoughts were racing left and right, anticipating both what could happen to them in this dangerous situation, and what would happen when they were all by themselves. The images that flashed in her mind made her stomach go into knots.

[[OOC: I apologize if this post is a bit all over the place. It's really late here and undid the end of it on mobile. So if the words seem weird, it's because autocorrect and the keyboard are really weird in my phone lol. I hope it isn't too bad!]]
 
[[ It's fine, don't worry. My replies are quite suckish lately too, because I've been doing it on mobile and a sleepy state of mind as well. Lol. ]]

He missed driving a car like this; a car that can blend in with other people's cars, a car that would not get the same stares he does when he drives it around town. His management would always insist that one of the most popular models of the world should not go maneuvering around with "a piece of junk", as they'd call it. The controls felt odd and new at first, and with his slightly drunken state, Mike had a hard time in the first few minutes of the ride but the sense of familiarity kicked in after a while. The whole drive to his condo was silent. Once in a while he'd notice her fidgeting on her seat, perhaps with the fear of drunk-driving, but Mike wasn't entirely drunk. Not close to it, even. He was aware of absolutely everything with his senses heightened above usual. He could still drive perfectly and unless an officer would randomly pull them over and take a good sniff at him, it was like he didn't drunk at all.

"Relax, Juliette. I won't get us killed, I won't get your car damaged. I promise," Mike said. His voice was not demanding, not teasing, not anywhere close to how Juliette thinks of him. His voice was comforting, almost too soft and fragile that at that very moment, people might not even recognize his voice. This night, he'd be the normal kid. He'd be the Mike he always wanted to be, and not the Mike who's the person he's expected to be. As a young star in the limelight, there was always that odd expectation to be the cool kid and to be full of life and full of confidence but once in a while, he'd grow quite sick of that. He wanted to be weak too, he wanted to speak comfortingly to a girl too, he wanted to be sweet, he wanted to be a gentleman and though he's far from being one because what could've been his true identity had already been masked by the identities he was expected to have, Mike wanted to give it all a chance tonight.

So fuck it. Fuck everything people thought of him. Right now, he didn't care. There was only one purpose that mattered tonight, and that is to give Juliette the night of her life. After all, this night was revolutionary for the both of them.

Those words were the only ones he uttered throughout the entire drive. He wanted to talk to her, really, but for someone who's so used to talking to people, he was shy. Oh god, how shy he felt. He was never someone's first before (Alex had recently divorced her husband and was looking for pleasure in him, and she was the only girl he'd ever fucked) and sex was, well, it was never really love-making. It was an outlet of stress, an outlet of all negative emotions he and his partner felt. Or maybe it was only him who felt the negative emotions because Alex would gladly and would preferrably take an agressive sex.

He shook her off his mind. She was nothing beyond his manager and someone who used him for pleasure and whom he used as an outlet of sexual drives.

Juliette, though, was different. There were so many thoughts cascading in his mind like a landslide no one can control and stop, it was making his head ache. Partially, he was afraid. He was afraid that he'd hurt her tonight. He was afraid he'd end up being rough on her and he'd make her hate him for the rest of her life. He was afraid she won't like it, because he didn't know much about romantic sex. So what was he to do? Mike decided to just let time decide and what their bodies would want later on.

The craving for her came back again.

Mike parked the car at the spot of the one he used to get to Douglas' party tonight. Before heading up to his unit, he called up his driver and instructed him to take get his car from the party and take it back late tonight around 2:00 in the morning. When all that's been taken care of, Mike smiled his true smile to Juliette and nodded to her to follow him. CCTVs were everywhere in this place and he didn't want to go all sweet on her now, not for selfish reasons, but because it would greatly affect her private life and he didn't want that to happen. Oh, how he hated for that to happen.

Once they were in the safety of his condominium unit and his doors were already locked, the anticipation and excitement built in again. Right now, there was no one else. No one waited for them outside the door and no one would interrogate what happened inside the four walls of the room. No. Right now, they were alone. Completely alone, finally alone.

But he was afraid. He was afraid the way the craved for sex earlier was just a spur of that moment of dim lights, great alcohol, and sexy lingeries. He was afraid that the entire mood of the room was the only thing that drove her to wanting him.

Mike took her hand for the nth time that night and pulled her to him again before wrapping his arms around the waist he had grown familiar with. "Do you still want me?" He asked. His lost and worried eyes searched for answers in her own. "I most definitely do, but, I don't want to force you." He could stop himself from wanting to have sex with her if she'd say no but if there was one thing he couldn't stop himself from doing, it was kissing her. His lips found hers again and their lips locked for the longest duration of the night. It was no longer a mere peck or a mere drive to initiate sex. No. It was sweet, lingering, and slightly yearning. He didn't want to invade her by pushing his tongue inside so instead, his lightly licked her lips every time their lips touched. He held her close to him and continued kissing her like she was the girlfriend he never had, yet the girlfriend he always wanted. If she'd decline the sex, at least he was able to kiss her like this, he thought.

Yet he couldn't stop his words from pouring out.

"I want to see you, Juliette. The you that no one else knows. 'Cause you've seen some parts of me, love. Some parts that are not allowed to be shown." He kissed her again. "I can't be sweet, love." He kissed her again. "I can't be romantic, love." He kissed her again. "Because I have to be 'one of the cool kids' and being sweet and romantic's not the way of the cool kids." He uttered his last sentence with his lips touching her own before slightly putting a short distance between them so that he could take a good look at her face. The back of his hands gently caressed the side of her face as he smiled at her with a smile so true and so vulnerable. "You're the first girl I ever met who actually treated me like I'm just the flunking lazy student in literature and not the, you know, the... model." He almost spat out the last word with disgust. "And I'm so glad you gave me a chance tonight." He continued caressing her face and memorizing every detail of it with an aching sensation in his heart because he knew that after tonight and once the alcohol in her system is gone, she'd be back to scorning his laziness and his egoistic self. Perhaps she'd think all of this was lie when it fact, this was the truest he had ever been. Yes, alcohol did the talking right now but as the saying goes, a drunken man's words are the words left unspoken by his sober self. In fact he had been so truthful, a part of his Russian accent (which his management hated because he needed to sound fully American) was springing up again after so long.

"Thank you for giving me the chance to normal, love," He caressed his face with eyes lingering at every inch of it as if it was a way of taking a picture of her in his mind before forcing himself to pull away from her fully. He sat down on the couch, his elbows resting on his thighs and his palms taking the weight of his head. He kept his eyes closed and allowed himself to get lost in his thoughts.

He was a hundred percent sure Juliette didn't want to have it with him anymore and he respected that.

But that doesn't mean he didn't want her.
 
Back
Top Bottom