WEEKEND

I was finishing up my makeup, just adding the final touches to my eyeliner, when I decided to text Robert. “I’m ready,” I typed quickly, still trying to keep my hands steady as I applied mascara. Almost immediately, my phone buzzed with his reply.

“Ok, text me your exact address.”

I sent it to him, still getting excited about seeing him. It was just a chill weekend, but it was also three days before the boat cruise—our boat cruise—and I couldn’t help but feel a little giddy. I checked myself in the mirror one last time. I had on a pastel-colored sweater, soft and cozy, but still cute enough for whatever the day might throw at me. My black leggings hugged me just right, showing off my legs, and my ankle boots gave the outfit that little extra edge. I added a simple necklace and left my hair loose. Casual, but still good enough to turn heads, I hoped.

Right as I was finishing up, I heard the faint urrung of a car engine outside. I frowned, pausing mid-brush stroke.Ge was here so soon? I walked over to the window, peeking through the curtains. And there it was—a freaking Nissan GT-R just sitting in my walkway like it owned the space.

“Holy shit,” I muttered under my breath. Robert was already rich—I knew that—but seeing a car like that parked outside my house? Yeah, that was a whole other level. My mind immediately started spinning. How rich was this guy, really?

Before I could think too much, the driver’s side door opened, and a man stepped out. But it wasn’t Robert. This guy was tall, wearing a dark suit, and had sunglasses on. He looked like he could be in a spy movie or a bodyguard or something, and it made me pause. What the hell was going on?

I was about to freak out when my phone buzzed again. Robert.

“Sorry, Soph, I couldn’t come pick you up myself. I sent my chauffeur. Here’s a pic of him.”

I looked at the text, then at the picture. It was the same guy now walking towards my front door, cool as hell. I was still trying to process the fact that Robert had a chauffeur that looked this expensive, for fuck’s sake, when there was a knock at the door.

Damn, this was about to be one hell of a weekend.

The guy knocked, and when I opened the door, he greeted me with a stiff, "Good afternoon. Are you Miss Sophia Hayes?"

“Yeah, that’s me,” I said, still low-key confused. He looked so formal for a weekend hangout.

“I’ve been sent by Mr. Robert to pick you up.” He said it so damn seriously, like he wasn’t escorting me to see Robert, but to some royal ball or something. He gestured for me to follow him, and before I could even process it, he opened the car door for me, bowing slightly. I mean, what the hell, he was treating me like a freaking princess.

“Uh, thanks,” I mumbled, slipping into the passenger seat. He closed the door with such care, like I was made of glass, and then walked to the driver’s side, calm as hell. Before long, we were off.

As we drove, I realized we were heading into an estate. Not just any estate, though—a seriously fancy one. The kind of place where every house screamed "rich as fuck." The lawns were perfectly manicured, and the gates looked like they cost more than my car. And then we pulled up to the house, and my jaw practically hit the floor.

It was the best one on the block, no doubt. Massive, sleek design with big glass windows, and the front yard was pristine. There were hedges, and even a water feature by the entrance. Everything about it screamed money. The kind of place you see in magazines or movies. As we pulled up, I saw Robert walking out of the house, hands in his pockets, looking all casual and rich at the same damn time. He was smiling, and as soon as we stopped, the chauffeur got out, opened my door again, and helped me out like I was royalty or something.

Robert strode over, beaming. “So glad you’re here, Sophia,” he said, hugging me like it was the most natural thing in the world. Damn, he smelled good.

“You look amazing,” he added, pulling back to look at me, and I swear I could feel my cheeks heat up. Fucking hell, why was I blushing?

“Thanks,” I muttered, following him as he led me inside. At the entrance, a few staff members stood, bowing slightly and gesturing for us to come in, like I was walking into a damn palace.

“I’m really sorry I didn’t come pick you up myself,” Robert said as we walked through the door. “I had to finish up some work. Wanted to clear my schedule since we’re gonna spend some quality time together.”

I was about to brush it off, but then we stepped inside, and my words caught in my throat. His living room was insane. The walls were this dark, rich color, and the furniture was bold—big, leather couches that looked like you could sink into them forever. There was sleek black decor, shelves lined with expensive-looking books, and this giant flat-screen TV mounted on the wall. It was masculine as hell, but in a way that still felt cozy. And the view? The whole back wall was practically glass, overlooking this private garden that was straight out of a dream. Jesus Christ, this place was something else.

“Wow,” I finally managed to say. “Your place is… fucking gorgeous.”

Robert laughed, gesturing for me to sit. “Thanks. Took a while to get it exactly how I wanted.”

I sat down, still in awe of everything. The whole place just screamed money. After we settled, I asked the one thing that had been bugging me the whole ride over.

“So… it took, like, 15 minutes to get here, but your chauffeur was at my house in less than two minutes after I texted you. How the hell did that happen?”

Robert chuckled, leaning back in his seat. “Ah, I didn’t want to make you wait, so I already knew your address from your Snapchat location. But I didn’t want to freak you out by just sending my guy over without you giving me your address first. So, I asked for it to be polite. Your handle doesn’t give the exact location anyway, just the general area.”

He grinned at me. “You should probably put your location on private, though, just sayin’.”

I blinked at him, a little stunned. He was right, and I couldn’t even be mad. If anything, I was impressed. “Noted,” I said, shaking my head, still smiling.

Just then, a couple of maids walked in, carrying trays of what looked like some seriously fancy snacks and desserts. One of them said, “The chef’s special for today,” as they placed the trays in front of us.

I took a look, and damn, these weren’t your regular snacks. There were these perfect little macarons in pastel colors, delicate fruit tarts that looked too pretty to even touch, and some fancy-ass tiramisu in glass cups, topped with gold flakes. Who the hell puts gold flakes on dessert? Rich people, apparently. Everything smelled like it was made with the finest ingredients money could buy.

I couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow as I glanced at Robert. “Wow. You really went all out, huh?” I said, trying to play it cool, but inside I was like, holy shit, this is next level.

He chuckled, looking a little smug but in that charming way he does. “Only the best for you, Sophia," he said, and I swear my heart did a little flip. Fucking hell, he knew exactly what to say to make me feel all warm inside.

I picked up one of the macarons, half-expecting it to taste as good as it looked, and yup—it did. Soft, sweet, and just melted in my mouth. I was trying not to moan from how good it was, but damn, it was hard not to. “This is really good,” I said, barely managing to keep my voice steady.

“I’m glad you like it,” Robert replied, watching me with this soft smile that made my stomach do another flip. What the hell was wrong with me? It’s just Robert. We’re just hanging out.

“So,” I said, changing the subject before I got too caught up in my thoughts, “what’s the plan for today? You said something about spending some quality time together?”

Robert leaned back on the couch, looking totally relaxed. “Yeah, I cleared my schedule for the weekend, so we can just chill. Play video games.... Probably have my revenge on you from the last time we played back in highschool, then go shopping for the upcoming cruise.

That sounded… nice. Way too nice, actually. I took another bite of the macaron, trying to keep my cool. “Sounds like a plan,” I said, giving him a smile, even though inside I was still a little nervous. Spending the whole of today with Robert? Just us? Fucking hell, I wasn’t sure if I was ready for all this.

But as he sat there, looking at me with that easy smile, I figured maybe this could actually be fun. Just two friends hanging out, no big deal… even if he did make me feel all sorts of things I wasn’t ready to deal with yet.