L E V I ' S     P O V

"I knew the bitch was up to no good." Kace tsked as he chowed down on a piece of cake from my refrigerator.

I just told Kace about what happened with Trinity and about how I fired her.

I sighed as I ran my hand down my face, "She's not a bitch just psycho." I said as I waved him off.

I rested my head in my hands as I let out a long sigh.

I didn't have time to think about Trinity and her unhealthy frame of mind at the moment. Not with the fact that Ophelia has yet to leave her room from me yelling at her.

I went looking for her but couldn't find her. It was only then that a maid said she had gone back to her room after I left.

"Not a bitch?" He asked bewildered. "She hurt Ophelia, man. More than once, sounds like a bitch to me." He shrugged as he sat directly in front of me.

I snapped and looked at him, "Are you sure we're talking about Trinity here? Because it sounds like you but you don't see me calling you a bitch." I glared at him before turning my gaze to the table angrily.

I knew that that was a low blow but I didn't care at the moment. I wished I could say that I understood what he did but I couldn't wrap my head around it.

It was completely understandable that it was antisocial and unhealthy for Ophelia to follow him everywhere in high school but instead of just flat out telling her to make friends, he could of just helped her to make them, especially knowing how people take advantage of Ophelia easily.

I was being a hypocrite though because I shouted at her, not being mindful of the fact that she saw the good in everyone and just wanted to make friends.

I didn't hear him reply, our breathing making the tension in the room thick because of the uncomfortable silence.

"Look, I'm sorry man, I'm just really frustrated right now." I blurted out an apology. "It just seems that when I'm one step further, shit comes up and carries us two steps back." I pushed my food away from me.

"Nah, it's cool. I deserved that." He said.

"Now I gotta find a new cook." I muttered.

"A new cook?" He chuckled. "There's like 30 other maids in this house. Get them to do it." He suggested. "Plus... Ophelia's an excellent cook." He tried to hide his smirk as he discreetly covered his mouth with his hands.

I wasn't quite sure of the shit that he was implying.

"I'm not about to hire Ophelia as an employee. The last thing I needed was for her to think that I only think of her as my cook." I shook my head.

Kace rolled his head, "I'm not saying that—"

He stopped talking as Ophelia walked in the room and began blushing when she saw both of us just stared at her.

"I um—" She swallowed and fiddled with her fingers.

Trying to save her from having to speak knowing how shy she was, I nudged Kace under the table roughly.

"Ow, you son of a---" He shouted in pain. I gave him a warning look which made him stop his sentence.

I motioned with a point of my chin toward the door. He understood the message and limped toward Ophelia while glaring at me, making me roll my eyes.

Giving her a kiss on the forehead, he left after telling her goodbye.

She didn't maintain any eye contact with me as she continued to look at every feature of the house to avoid having to speak to me.

"Ophelia—" I started but she cut me off frantically.

"I'm r-really really sorry for not telling you a-and for being the reason that you had to fire an employee, j-just please d-don't kick me o-out, j-just please let me f-find a place f—" She pleaded desperately as she rambled before I cut her off.

I'm sure that she hadn't realised that I was already situated in front of her.

By now, she was sobbing incoherent sentences with tears leaking out of her eyes.

I placed the palm of my hand on the cold skin of her arm, rubbing soothingly in up and down motions.

"Hey, hey. Breathe." I rested the arm that was limp by my side on her cheek as I mimicked deep, slow breaths.

She was still crying just not as heavily but she did comply and began to take slower breaths.

"I'm not going to kick you out," I tried to reassure her. "And I never will, so just relax, okay?" I looked at her.

I let out a soft sigh once I've seen that she calmed down.

"Look, I'm sorry if I made you think that it was your fault because it isn't. I was just mad at the entire situation." I said as she wiped her eyes.

I hesitantly rested my hand on her waist, hoping that she wouldn't feel uncomfortable. When realising that she was still wiping her puffy eyes and sniffling, I relaxed.

"It's still my fault t-though." She fiddled with her fingers.

Just as I'm about to reassure her a final time that it isn't, she perked up.

"Oh I know!" She rested her hands on my shoulders and I tried to not get distracted by the action.

I smiled at how excited she looked.

"I can be y-your new cook!" My smile dropped.

Just what I didn't want to happen.

"No. No, you're not working for me." I said as I stared into her once excited eyes.

She stared at me before stepping away from me and wrapping her arms around herself.

"What? Why? D-Don't you think I can do it?" She mumbled.

"No! It's not that, it's just—" I pause. How was I supposed to tell her that I didn't want her to work for me because I wanted more with her than an employer-employee relationship?

Especially without scaring her off.

"—That you have a job!" I came up with quickly. "I don't want to tire you out with two jobs." I tried to reason with her.

"B-But the girls at the diner don't have to go anywhere now, I-I can manage." She shot back. "I wouldn't feel comfortable if not, so I'm doing it whether you like it or not." She folded her arms across her chest and by the look on her face, I knew she was bluffing and trying to sound confident.

There was still some truth in her words and I didn't want her working here if she wasn't going to get paid.

Exhaling loudly, I complied. "Fine." I gave in gruffly.

My insides churned a little when I saw a breathtakingly beautiful smile take over her features.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" She came forward and stood on her tiptoes as she wrapped her hands around my neck making me stumble back a little.

Surprised by the action, my hands stayed stuck by my sides.

Just as I felt her tense up and ready to jump back, my hands slid hesitantly across her waist as I rested my chin on top of her head, a gentle smile resting on my lips.

"Want to go out with me later tonight?" I whispered as I held her firmly in my arms.

I felt her nod on my chest and smile.

O P H E L I A ' S    P O V

"Have I told you how beautiful you look tonight?" Levi said as he helped me out of the limousine.

I blushed a deep red although he had repeated it numerous times already.

"Y-Yes, four times actually." I muttered the last part with a giddy smile on my face.

"Well, I just wanted to ensure that you knew." His voice sounded husky as Gerald drove off with a wave.

I was wearing a pair of high waist jeans, a black long sleeved top, and a pair of boots. I wasn't exactly sure what my style was since I literally only had 3 outfits, excluding my work uniform, but I knew that I liked to be comfortable.

I just didn't want to not put the clothes that Levi bought me to use because since he wouldn't accept any payment back, I didn't want to waste his money.

We walked and talked about Levi's business because although I knew nothing about it, I loved hearing him talk about it since he seemed so proud of it.

"So what about you? How's it at the diner?" When he asked this question, by the tone of his voice and the look in his eyes, it wasn't just for 'small talk'. He looked like he genuinely cared about my answer even though he looked like he knew it already.

"I-It's fun. I love my job but I've always wanted to be a doctor; a paediatrician actually. I love children." I whispered as I looked down and played with my fingers.

I knew that my dream could never become a reality. To get to where I wanted to be, I needed to go to college which required money which I don't have at the moment, or any time to be honest.

I was finally making more money at the diner and saving more which would take me years to actually make the amount needed for college but I'd be in my late thirties maybe forties by the time I succeeded.

I looked at Levi to see him looking straight ahead, the thoughts swarming his mind like an interrupted bee hive.

I turned my head straight forward once again and frowned because of the fact that I just ruined the mood talking about my sad life story.

Not even a few steps later, I saw him leading us towards an ice cream parlour.

I absolutely love ice cream.

Ice cream is just so cold and creamy...

"Wow..." I muttered when I took in the interior.

"You like it?" He murmured next to my ear, his lips brushing against the shell of ear.

"I love i-it. Come on!" I grabbed onto his hand and dragged him to the front desk while he just chuckled from behind me and let me drag him along.

As we waited in the line, I looked at all of the flavours that I never even knew existed but it didn't matter how good they looked anyway because I'd only have eyes for one flavour.

"Good Night, your order please?" A preppy teenager about 17 or 18 said politely from behind the cashier.

I looked up at Levi as I leaned against the counter. He motioned with his head, a smile playing on his lips, as he pointed to the board urging me to continue.

"Cookie and Cream, please. Two scoops." I said excitedly.

The lady behind the counter happily types in what I order on the small machine and looks back at us.

"Is that all?" I looked up at Levi to already see him looking down at me.

He then looked at the girl and said, "No, I'll have---" He stopped as the girl cut him off.

"Oh my God, are you Levi Morterez?" She gasped.

Levi paused for a while, not saying anything because I was pretty sure that that question didn't need to be answered.

She gasped, forgetting about my order as she spoke, "My brother and I absolutely can't wait until you finalise the new mobile phone that you're working on! God, wait can I get a quick picture to gloat to him about it and make him feel bad about himself?" She squealed as she already rounded the corner with her phone in her hand.

Other people heard her yelling and murmurs started to sound throughout the parlour.

The girl shouted for her co-workers and Levi put on a smile as he watched them all crowd around him.

I tried to wait patiently but it was hard since I really want my ice cream.

"Hey? Could you just step back for a minute?" The cashier said to me with a smile.

I looked down to my feet, "Uh, s-sure—" I'm cut off as she pushed me back making me stumble as she gathered with her friends around Levi.

Levi saw this and his nose flared as he opened his mouth about to say something but I quickly stopped him.

I put out my hand as a gesture for him to forget about it as I gave him my best forced smile.

Looking down at the people around him gathered for a picture, he stepped away, heading over to me, placing his hands on my waist, ready to start speaking again.

"Really, I'm fine." I said softly as I looked behind me to see the people bouncing on their feet giddily, unable to hide their excitement.

"Are you sure? We c—" He began.

"No! N-No." I said as I already knew what he was going to suggest.

I already knew that Levi loved his fans. I had seen a couple of magazines back at the house with numerous pictures of him and them and I would never ask him to leave just so that I could have him all to myself.

I could wait a few minutes.

"I'll just f-find a seat." I assured him.

He looked all over my face for a while before nodding his head and heading back over to the group of people.

Stepping to the side with a small smile on my face, I began to turn around looking for an empty booth.

I slid in and placed my elbow on the table, resting my face in the palm of my hand as I began to trace the designs of the table with my finger tip.

I knew that Levi was famous of course, I guess that for the past few days I saw him as a normal person.

I knew that there were quite a few people but I didn't expect that I'd still be waiting for eighteen minutes as of now.

If it made sense, I was glad that he was taking a long time because that meant that he trusted me when I basically told him that I was fine and to take all the time I needed.

"Hey." A voice said from above me. "Rough night?" He asked.

I looked up and saw a boy with shaggy brown hair and brown eyes staring down at me. He was wearing a work uniform and carried a wet cloth in his hand.

"May I?" He asked, gesturing toward the table so that he could wipe it clean.

"U-Uh s-sure." I whispered as I slid around a bit and removed my hands.

"And not really, I'm just waiting on someone." I looked over in the direction of Levi. By now, I couldn't see Levi in the distance, the crowd too large for me to see him.

He followed my eyes and caught on right away. "Levi Morterez?" He whistled. "His loss." He shook his head.

I looked up at him confused and he smiled widely at me making his attractive features stand out more.

"For leaving a beautiful woman like yourself here alone. Never know when someone might wanna just snatch you up." I blushed and tucked my hair behind my ear.

Just as I'm about to murmur a thank you, I heard, "Don't be too quick to assume." A deep voice said.

I snapped my eyes away from the boy to face a man.

Levi.

I quickly stood up after sliding out of the booth and planted myself right in front of him, letting the palm of my hands ghost over his chest.

"W-We should probably go." I said but he kept staring menacingly at the boy behind me.

"Please." I whispered.

He looked down at me for a second before taking a large tub of cookie and cream ice cream from behind his back and holding it out to me, his eyes still holding the employee's stare.

I gasped and began bouncing on my toes.

This is way better than two scoops.

Tearing his gaze away, he placed his hand on my lower back and led me out. I opened my ice cream and got the spoon that he gave me with it, digging into it, the boy long forgotten.

----------

"Bye Gerald!" I said happily as Levi helped me out.

He opened the door for me to the house and let me enter first with my half eaten tub of ice cream.

"Thanks for t-the ice cream and tonight." I said, still turned away from him as I removed the jacket that he had placed on my shoulders when he saw me shivering from the cold.

"A-And also—" I finally turned around to see him directly in front of me.

My breath hitched because of the closeness.

He stared down at me, his eyes a shade darker.

I didn't know what was going through his head right now but I did know that I wanted him to kiss me.

I blushed at the thought.

I wasn't even sure if he liked me like he said.

Like, how was I supposed to know if someone liked me? I'm completely clueless to stuff like this and I knew that we've had moments like this before but he always stopped and changed the subject as if the thought of kissing me was repulsive.

And each time it hurt.

And I doubted that this time would be any different.

His breath was fanning my face and for a second, I forgot to breathe.

"Um— I-I'll see y—" I started, hoping that I could get away from this embarrassing moment if I did make a move, and he rejected me again.

"Ophelia?" He cut me off.

"Y-Yes." I whispered in the dark room.

"Can I kiss you?" He asked, stepping closer to me.

Butterflies exploded in my stomach at his words and I felt my cheeks heat up, my mind in a frenzy.

"Y-Y-Yes." I managed to stutter out.

Taking a step closer, he leaned in and I felt my eyes flutter close until I finally felt his soft lips on mine.

I just left my lips on his unmoving because I was completely embarrassed that I didn't know what to do.

Levi raised his hand and gently cupped both of my cheeks, his lips moving in a slow rhythmic motion against my lips.

This was nothing like I imagined. With my eyes closed, I saw stars floating around in the dark.

I smelled Levi's cologne as he brought up another hand to hold my face between his palms firmly.

The feeling of his hands on my cheek created an electrifying current on my skin, the shock nothing like I've ever felt before.

He tasted like something that I've never tasted before. It was a mix between a sweet cinnamon and peppermint.

I didn't know if I was right or not but it seemed like he was holding back from how he really wanted to kiss me and I didn't like the idea at all.

I was running out of breath from such a sweet gentle kiss and he could tell so he gently pulls away.

My eyes fluttered open to see Levi looking at me. I looked down at our shoes, my cheeks flushed from my first kiss.

I felt Levi's hand come to my chin where he lifted my eyes to meet his. His eyes swirled with emotion which was too overwhelming to look at.

He looked directly at my face, his eyes travelling to every feature until they landed on my lips.

"Fuck it." He mumbled before he slammed his lips to mine.

I stumbled back a little in surprise and he grounded me by resting his hands on my waist.

My hands remained limp against my sides as I moved my lips against his, trying to match his swift movements.

Gently taking my hand in his, he lifted them slowly until they were situated around his neck.

My stomach churned with an explosion and desire as his tongue gently delved into my mouth.

My feet suddenly began to feel weak and he tightened his grip on my waist, his lips moving feverishly against mine.

His tongue explored every inch of my mouth and I held onto his neck tighter as he gently pulled away.

My eyes opened once again and I stepped back avoiding eye contact.

My breathing was extremely heavy, nothing compared the Levi's calm and easy breaths.

His lips were slightly swollen and I could feel the everlasting heat on my cheeks.

"I-I should go upstairs." I mumbled as I pulled down my shirt.

"Y-Yeah." His voice comes out as a stutter and slightly higher than usual. Levi cleared his throat, sticking his hands in his pocket.

Rushing upstairs, I headed to my bedroom and closed the door, resting my back against it.

Smiling, I rested my hand on my lips feeling them still tingle from the kiss.

Running over and jumping on my bed, I buried my head in my pillow and let out a giddy scream, my legs flailing all about the bed.