4

Andrea Salvador 

Flashback 

I stared deeply into his captivating blue eyes and sighed. "Francis" I called out his name.

"Hmmm" he hummed.

"I'm going to Chicago tomorrow for shooting" 

"Okay, can I come with you?" He suddenly asked. 

"Francis! You can't go there with me. You have work! You have piles of pending work on your desk, remember?" I said rolling my eyes at him. 

"Work can wait, you're important to me" he said pouting.

"No, I'm going there alone. Besides, you have your friends here with you. I will be gone for only 2 weeks"

"Two weeks?!! It feels like forever" he complained.

"Francis North" I glared at him.

"Okay fine! Does this mean, I'm going to get a response from you when you're back? A positive one" He suddenly asked. Before I could say a word, he continued again. " Chloe, I wasn't joking when I said I like you. I want you for me and I will always wait for you no matter what. Always know this, okay? And, always know that I will never take a NO for an answer. Your answer should be positive" 

"Are you threatening me, Mr. Francis North?" I asked, chuckling. 

"No babe" he said and kissed my lip again. "Let's go out on a date tonight" he added. 

"Francis, we can't" I said, turning him down. Not because I want to but because I'm scared for us.

"Why?" 

"The paparazzi! Have you forgotten? They've been tailing us for the past months now. They believe something is going on between us and seeing us together tonight will make the situation worse." 

Do I have to bring this up?- I mentally asked myself.

Maybe, I just want him to make it official. We literarily do all the things couples do except, SEX. I don't know if we're doing the right thing but, he has told me countless times that he likes me but today's confession seems different and deep. I could feel it and I didn't doubt him because he has always treated me well ever since we became so close. 

"I know but, you can't turn me down either because of this, Chloe. It's bound to happen to us, we're celebrities remember? And at this point, I don't care if they know about us or not but, if you don't want them to know about tonight, then so be it, I promise"

I ended up sighing after a long thought. "Fine! Where are we meeting?" 

"My penthouse. I will pick you up"

"Francis!!" I shrieked. 

"You trust me, don't you?" He placed both of his hands on my cheeks and caressed them lovingly.

"Of course, I do idiot."

"Then, don't keep me waiting beautiful. 8 pm promptly. I have a surprise for you and I'm sure you'll love it" 

"Well, I can't wait then" I said in an excited tone and he pecked my lip. He guarded me towards the passenger seat and opened the car door for me like a gentleman. I hopped in whilst he walked towards the other side and got in also. He ignited the car engine and drove off straight to my house.

Two Weeks Later 

It's already been thirty minutes since I got back home from Chicago. I went for a photo shoot and I'm extremely exhausted already. I walked in on Celine getting dressed to go out with Janet and the other girls. She told me about the outing yesterday on the phone when she called but, I don't think I'll be able to go with her. I'm extremely tired.

"Are you sure you don't want to go with us?" She asked with a puppy look on her face. 

"Just go, Celine! Have fun. I'm not interested" I hissed and slumped lazily on my bed. I'm so tired right now.

"Okay, baby girl. Take care of yourself. I love you! Bye!" She blows me a kiss and walks out of the room. 

Immediately after she left, I heard my phone ringing, and Francis's name appeared on the screen. I smiled widely seeing his name appear on my screen. It's now strange how I can't seem to do without him ever since what happened between us two weeks back at his penthouse. 

Did I forget to say it?  

We made love two weeks ago at his house before I left for Chicago. I had no idea how it happened. I guess, we were both carried away by our emotions and we did it. I didn't regret it even though it was my first time. I'm glad, I gave it to a man like Francis.

He was so happy too, to be my first and promised to always love me. He won't stop thanking me for making him my first. And that very night, he asked me to be his girlfriend which I affirmed instantly. There was no need to act tough when I loved him so much and he did too.

"Hey, Francis" I said as I picked up the call. He will be so happy to know that I'm back in town. I decided not to inform him so I could surprise him. 

"I missed you" He suddenly blurted.

Okay, I wasn't expecting him to say that. We talked on the phone last night and suddenly, sounding this way is just surprising... Silly man!

"I missed you so much Chloe" he added again. 

"Someone has really missed me so much, isn't it?" I teased him.

"I do and I wish I was there with you right now. Plus, you sounded tired." He chuckled as he said that. 

"You can say that again"

"Now that you're back, you need to take enough rest, okay?" he said and my eyes widened in horror.

"You knew that I'm back?!!" I asked stunned. I can imagine the smirk on his face right now. "I can't believe you ruined my plan of surprising you" I hissed. 

I got tired of the paparazzi stunt and their silly questions so, I disguised myself as a guy just to escape them at the airport. No one knows of my movement aside from Celine and of course, my mom.

"I'm Francis North, remember?" He answered cockily. 

"Whatever!" I hissed and he burst out laughing.

"Don't be like that babe. You now belong to me and I need to know your every move. It's important to me. Plus, I love those pictures. You look hot in them." 

"Pictures? The same one I just shot yesterday? How did you get them?" I bombard him with questions.

"I'm Francis North, nothing is impossible for me," he said arrogantly again making me roll my eyes even though he can't see me. 

"So, what are you up to?" I asked.

"Preparing to go for a business meeting in the next thirty minutes then, I will make my way back to the school so I can submit my project." He said.  "I wish I could be there with you right now" he added again.

"And now that I'm back, we have all the time for ourselves"

"Go on a date with me tonight, beautiful?" He asked.

"Definitely yes! I can't wait!" I exclaimed excitedly.

"Perfect! I'm going to pick you up before 7 pm"

"That early?"

"Just so you know how much I missed my girl. That reminds me, when are you submitting your project?" 

"I'm going to do that tomorrow. I will just have to go through it one more time before submitting the last chapter. I do not want him to complain."

"That's my girl. I will see you by evening then?"

"Sure! I can't wait" 

"Me too, baby. Bye, I gotta go now"

"Bye!" 

I couldn't stop smiling at myself the moment he hung up the call. Never in my wildest dream have I thought I would be in love with Francis North. The fact that he has always treated me right ever since we got together made me realize how good of a person he is. 

I decided to get a little nap before I started preparing for tonight's date with him but before that, I texted Celine and Janet about it.