Chapter 24

Apartment Greg, it feels strange that only I call him Gregory, as large as his apartment and Lana's. Some unopened boxes were stacked in the corner of the room. I slowly surveyed the entire room; all the furniture looked like it had just come out of an interior design magazine. Although a bit messy because he had just moved in.

The dominance of gray and black colors, as well as stainless steel and granite, made this apartment look expensive. I imagined Greg only needed to point to a design model he wanted, and a few hours later, his apartment would be ready. Money makes everything easier.

How much did they pay Mr. Osborne to give up his apartment? I frowned as I thought about it. He couldn't possibly leave his job in Manhattan. Maybe Greg would just visit Lana every weekend, maybe this apartment was just temporary... my gaze moved to Nicholas, who was standing a few meters in front of me, one shoulder leaning against the wall next to him, both hands in his pockets. And he was watching me.

I took a deep breath to calm my pounding heart. "You know about all this too?" I asked, pointing around me with both hands. He just shrugged without taking his eyes off me.

"So I'm the only one who doesn't know." I muttered to myself while staring at a small black bear ornament on the TV stand.

"Nick..." For the first time, I called him by his short name. My eyes were still fixed on the bear. "We won't be able to stay away if Greg and Lana are together."

I heard his footsteps approaching, but my eyes couldn't leave the bear ornament. Nervousness made me unable to look directly at him.

"Greg and Miss Morrel have nothing to do with us, Eleanor." He stopped next to me.

I turned slightly towards him, furrowing my brow. "Of course they do, I wouldn't be able to forget you if I always met Greg."

"You like him." I didn't like his tone when he said that. This time I turned to him completely. He was still looking at me with his calm face, but his eyes were getting darker, although still blue.

"Because Greg is your brother. Not because I like him," I replied.

He just stared at me with his dark blue eyes, as if searching for the truth in my current expression. "I don't like talking about it like this. Have you had dinner?"

I nodded. This wasn't the first time he had asked if I liked Greg; I didn't know how he could think I liked his brother. Greg was at the top of the list of people I didn't like right now.

Nicholas pulled the corners of his mouth down. "Sit, Eleanor." He unbuttoned his jacket and then took a seat on the sofa opposite me. His tie was loose, hanging a few inches below the top button of his shirt. I followed suit, sitting on the black leather sofa behind me. My hands moved unconsciously to stroke the soft surface of the sofa.

"So..." I waited for his eyes to meet mine before continuing, "I have to answer now."

"I've been waiting too long." He answered without blinking.

"You already know my answer..." I was sure he already knew. I bit my lower lip nervously; I couldn't back out now. Nick leaned back on the sofa and then loosened his tie with one hand, tucking it into one of his jacket pockets.

"I want to hear it from you, Eleanor." His voice was low. My eyes were fixed on the top button of his shirt that was now unbuttoned. Suddenly, this apartment felt too small for us. I opened my mouth slightly to answer, but no words came out.

Nick leaned towards me, our faces getting closer, then he fell silent, waiting for my answer. He didn't touch me, but being this close to him had the same effect as if he had touched me... I couldn't think clearly. I swallowed my saliva to moisten my dry throat, the only part of me that felt cold was my hands, which were still holding the wine glass I hadn't touched yet. The faint smell of aftershave mixed with mint made my brain even foggier, but Nick still looked at me patiently.

What did he ask earlier? Oh, my answer.

"Nicholas..." my voice sounded a little hoarse, "I... I want to be with you." My last words almost sounded like a whisper. But Nick heard them. Because the next moment he took the wine glass from my hand and put it on the table, one hand grabbing my wrist and pulling me towards him. Suddenly my face was a few inches from his, his blue eyes looking darker as he stared at me.

Then he closed the gap between our faces, "Then there's no turning back for you." He whispered on my lips softly before kissing me. My brain switched back to autopilot when Nick kissed me, his hand wrapping around my wrist moving to my shoulder. The only thing I could do now was to feel and respond to his kiss. I couldn't think of anything else. Nick's tongue traced my slightly open lips, then—

The sound of a ringing phone made me jump a little in my seat. Nick pulled his head away and looked at me with slightly hurried breath. His eyes seemed a bit lost as he looked at me, and I couldn't blink at all as I returned his gaze. I wanted to keep his expression in my mind forever.

But the damn ringing phone didn't stop, Nick pulled his phone out of his jacket pocket with a little annoyance and answered it.

"Eric." He muttered while standing up. Nick never said hello. He walked away from the living room, but I could still hear him; he didn't talk much, just hmm and yes. Typical Nick. A minute later he came back, and I looked up at him as he put his phone back in his jacket pocket. "Eleanor, I have to go back to Manhattan."

"What?" I furrowed my brow slightly, "You just arrived this afternoon."

"I have to go back now." There was a hint of anger on his face, "Greg will stay, I'll be back as soon as possible."

I pulled the corners of my mouth down, "Greg can leave, and you can stay here. At least wait until tomorrow morning, besides, there are no overnight flights."

He raised one corner of his mouth slightly, his eyes warming as he looked at me, "I have to go, Eleanor."

I stood up and followed him to the door of the apartment. So soon? I just answered that I wanted to be with him, and he's leaving this soon? My face bumped into his back when he suddenly stopped, and we were in the hallway of his apartment.

"Ouch." I rubbed my nose with my right hand while looking up at him. Nick cupped my face with one hand and then leaned down to kiss me, this time longer than before. He kissed me for so long, as if he had been holding himself back all this time and now he was taking revenge.

When he pulled his head away, I was almost out of breath. "Nick..."

"I hope this will be enough for a few days. I'll be back." He whispered before kissing me again. His hands that were wrapped around my wrist moved to my shoulders. The only cold part of me now was my hands, which were still holding the wine glass I hadn't touched yet

Satisfied with the kiss, I felt a pang of disappointment when he pulled away. "Nick..."

"I hope this will be enough for a few days. I'll be back." He whispered before kissing me again. His hands that were wrapped around my wrist moved to my shoulders. The only cold part of me now was my hands, which were still holding the wine glass I hadn't touched yet. The faint smell of aftershave and mint lingered in the air as he disappeared behind the door.

***

A week passed, and Nick still hadn't returned. He only contacted me once three days ago through Greg's phone.

Greg.

I met him every morning and evening, I had to see him every time I saw Lana. He was always there whenever I left my room in the morning and before I entered it at night. I didn't understand why he bothered to rent an apartment across from us if he always stayed in Lana's room. Greg only returned to his apartment when he needed a change of clothes.

Like this morning. I pulled the corners of my mouth down and stepped out of my room; Greg's voice could be heard from the kitchen.

"Morning, Ella." He greeted me, pointing his coffee mug at me, a wide, annoying smile on his face. And as usual, I responded with a pouty face. Greg stood leaning against the kitchen counter, next to Lana who was cooking omelets. Lately, Lana had been cooking more often, although her cooking wasn't very good yet, at least it was edible. And I never heard Greg complain about her cooking.

I ignored Greg and walked past him to peek at Lana's omelet. "Um, Lana... you forgot to chop the garlic?" Two whole cloves of garlic were clearly visible among the pile of omelet she was cooking.

Lana turned to me very quickly, her face looking slightly panicked. "Oh, the garlic... I forgot." Only Lana could forget that garlic had to be sliced before being put into the dish.

"Well, give the garlic to Greg." I replied, opening the refrigerator. "You like garlic, don't you, Greg?"

"No." he answered quickly.

"Garlic keeps you away from vampires, you know." I added, looking at the contents of the fridge before taking a bottle of orange juice. I heard Greg choke, then turn to look at me. Some of the coffee he was drinking spilled on his gray t-shirt, and he was looking at me with a disbelieving look.

"Greg! What are you doing?" Lana scolded him, then took the coffee mug from Greg's hand. This was one of the reasons why I didn't like Greg being close to Lana. He hadn't told Lana about himself. I took the glass and poured orange juice into it while listening to Lana scolding Greg.

Actually, they weren't a bad couple, and lately, Lana seemed happier. But still, I didn't want to see her sad when Greg left her later.

"Change your clothes." Lana scolded him before turning her attention back to her omelet. Her pink apron's straps were slightly loose on her back, she bought it five days ago with Greg. Some strands of her blonde hair escaped from her ponytail. I glanced at Greg, who was still standing next to her, smiling as he looked at Lana. His smile looked different from usual, this smile only appeared when he was near Lana. A little jealousy crept into my heart, not towards Greg or Lana, but towards their relationship.

I stood up from my seat and put the juice glass in the sink. "Hey, I have to leave now. Mr. LeBlanc has a meeting this morning."

"Oh, okay. Are you having dinner at home tonight?" Lana asked.

I shrugged, "Yeah... I guess."

"Do you want me to drive you?" Greg drove me and Lana almost every morning because he wasn't in Manhattan, so he worked through his laptop in the apartment. Nick took care of everything in Manhattan. Tsk.

"No need." I replied, walking to my room.

***

Friday never felt so long. I sighed as I packed my things into my bag. Right now, I just wanted to go back to the apartment and sleep until tomorrow morning. My mood hadn't been very good lately.

"Eleanor?" Mr. LeBlanc's head appeared from behind my small office door, he smiled broadly at me. "Thanks for this afternoon, remind me to treat you next time, okay?" This afternoon, Mr. LeBlanc had a sudden meeting schedule, so he had to cancel his lunch with Elizabeth, his girlfriend. So he asked me to replace him.

I didn't mind at all; Ellie was a fun person. Some people thought we were sisters this afternoon because our hair colors were similar.

I laughed softly, "Actually, Ellie and I promised to have lunch together again."

His smile widened, "Next time we should have dinner together, Elizabeth, you, me, and your boyfriend." He said before disappearing from the door.

Nick having dinner with my boss? Ha. He didn't even have time to contact me, I thought with annoyance as I continued to pack my things into my bag.