The first time was at the cafe when she hadn’t brought any money, the second time she had been arguing with someone about the price of fixing a car, the third time she had been stuck in the rain while walking around, and the fourth time she had fallen off the stairs and he had had to carry her… Naomi was even more embarrassed because he was right.He put a hand in front of her, and she froze before looking up at Francisco. Francisco looked at her. “Do you expect me to carry you back instead?”She was frantic. “No, of course not!” She grabbed his elbow and slowly stood up, but the pain in her ankle made her take a sharp breath. Francisco looked at her right foot. “Twisted your ankle?”She nodded.Francisco helped her walk to a tree so that she could sit under it and knelt to remove the shoe on her right foot.Naomi put out her hand. “Let me do it.”“Does it make a difference if I do it?” Francisco removed her sock too and looked at her. “It’s still removing.”Naomi pressed
Francisco sat near the fire and added wood to it, then looked back at Naomi, who was leaning against the stonewall. She was curled up, hugging her legs as if she was freezing.He stood up, walked over, squatted down in front of her, and touched her forehead. It wasn’t burning, so she probably had a low fever. He stood back up, took the dried jacket, wrapped it around her, and pulled her into his arms.Naomi was surprised. Maybe she was feeling very cold, but the moment when she was in his arms, she felt warm and comfortable.“You’ll feel better after you sleep.” He gently pressed her head toward his chest. Naomi listened to his voice and felt his heartbeat, then suddenly smiled. “Just like a dream.”Francisco looked down. “What dream?”Naomi felt like she was floating, put her arms around his waist, and snuggled. “I like…”Francisco heard her mumble the rest of the sentence and beamed. After a moment, he whispered, “What do you like?”Naomi’s breath slowed, and he smiled aft
Maisie walked over and put her hand on Ryleigh’s shoulder. “Don’t worry about Naomi. Francisco won’t do anything to her.”“Zee, you and Barbara are acting so weird today.” Ryleigh moved her hand away as she realized something. “Why does it feel like you know something that I don’t?”Louis coughed. “You’re just not thinking far enough.”Ryleigh stomped on his foot which made him take a sharp breath. He had to endure that because she was his wife. Nolan hugged Maisie by her shoulders. “Alright, it’s getting late. We should all get some rest. They’ll come back tomorrow morning.”The two of them went back into their tent, followed by Barbara and Helios.Ryleigh held onto Louis. “Tell me what is happening.”Louis hugged her. “Little lady, I’ll tell you when we’re back in the tent.”Ryleigh frowned. “Don’t lie to me.”Louis helplessly said, “I won’t.”The night grew darker, and the moon peeked out from behind the dark clouds.Morning broke, and the fire was out.Naomi slowly ope
’This question again.’Naomi looked at him. “Do I need a reason?”Francisco smiled. “Do you know me well enough? How can you admire me if you don’t know me? Are you not afraid that I might be a bad person?”Naomi looked down and slowly said, “I know you’re not.”Francisco ran his finger over her lips. “How did you come to that conclusion? Do you feel safe when you’re around me?”She frowned, a little confused. “You’re so innocent.” Francisco stared at her. “You’re not careful enough with men. If it were other men, do you think you could be safe staying with a guy?”Naomi pressed her lips together. “But you're not them.”“I’m not, but it was because I suppressed my feelings.” He let go and sat up with his back facing her. “You need to be more careful with men.”He stood up and walked to where the fire was to pick up his jacket and put it on, then looked out at the sky. “The sun is up. Let’s head back.”Naomi looked down. If he weren’t going to be with her, why did he kiss her
“Yes.” Naomi smiled and nodded before taking the seat opposite Mr. Roswald.He studied her and smiled. “What a surprise. I didn’t expect you to be so… elegant, Ms. Xavier. I thought…”“You thought what?”Mr. Roswalrd chuckled and continued. “After all, you don't look much like your mother described.”Naomi nodded. Something crossed Mr. Roswald, and he picked up the menu. “Do you want to eat something? Feel free to order anything you want.”She was stumped for a moment before replying with a smile, “No, thank you. I’ve already eaten. I came here only because you said you wanted to see me.”“I see. So, would you like something to drink?” Mr. Roswald asked again.Unable to turn down his offer, Naomi ordered a cup of coffee.While he was having his meal, he asked about her work. Since Naomi worked in Soul as well, she was familiar with it. After they had finished talking, Mr. Roswald seemed rather satisfied with her as he said, "It truly surprises me that you're very serious in you
Mr. Roswald stretched his hand and caressed the back of her hand.Naomi was stunned and frowned while he continued. “I'm sure it'll work out anyway. I need a decent and wise wife like you, Ms. Xavier.”Naomi suddenly pulled her hand out and said, “I’m sorry, but I already have someone I like.”Mr. Roswald’s expression changed, and he pulled her hand away. “You have a man you like? So? What's the big deal? Are you guys dating? Are you married? If your parents know about your relationship, will they approve of it?”Naomi was startled. She tried to pull her hand out of his grip but to no avail. Her face turned grim as she warned, “Mr. Roswald, please let go of my hand.”“Ms. Xavier, I really like you. I liked you from the first moment I saw you.“ Mr. Roswald pulled her hand and landed a kiss on it, causing goosebumps to erupt over her skin.Naomi felt disgusted and pulled her hand out of his grip. She rose to her feet and said, “Please mind your manners, Mr. Roswald!”The rest of t
Naomi was momentarily stunned. Her eyelashes were trembling as she said, “I have no idea either. I don’t know what our relationship is right now. Besides, you don't take our relationship seriously, do you?“Although I've never been in a relationship before, I know kissing between men and women represents the intimacy of a relationship. But we're not that kind of relationship. Well, maybe for you, we are not.”Francisco did not know whether he should be laughing or be angry right now. He stood as stiff as a ramrod in front of her and asked, “So, you think that the thing between us is just a game for me?”“Is there a difference?” Naomi’s eyes turned red, looking just like a rabbit that had just gotten bullied. “Yes, it is.” Francisco placed his hand on the wall beside her as he leaned closer. “If this were just a game for me, I wouldn’t kiss you. I’d just have s*x with you.”Naomi was so terrified that she froze in place. She looked at him fixedly as he went even closer to her. A d
When Naomi did not reply, Francisco cocked his head to look at her. “You don’t want to go on a date with me?”“Of course, I want to go on a date with you…” Naomi froze for a moment and asked, “Are we in a relationship now?”Francisco tightened his grip and pulled her closer into his arms. “Really? This is the question you have for me? You really are more ignorant than I thought you were.”Naomi looked at him, and a smile appeared on her face.The next day, at Soul…“Thank you for yesterday, Naomi. My mom told me that guy called her and said we were not suitable. He even apologized to my mom, and my mom was shocked,” Lucy said, expressing her gratitude to Naomi.Naomi replied with a smile on her face, “It’s fine. I should thank you instead.”“Thank me?” Lucy was confused. “Why are you thanking me?”Naomi lowered her head. She had been feeling different since yesterday.Looking at the smile on Naomi’s face, Lucy said, “Look at you, grinning like a Chesire cat. You aren’t in love