2 5

w a i t i n g

"Three cheeseburgers with fries, please."

It was the week after our first kiss; after the most blissful, euphoric seven days of my life when I received a call from Momma - inviting me and my sister to have lunch with her at a local sports bar.

The young waiter quickly jots down the order on his notepad and looks up, asking politely, "Anything else?"

That's when my four-month old niece Emma, my sister Nova's daughter; sitting on Momma's lap bangs her chubby fist on the table and blubbers out, "Guh!"

The wide-eyed waiter looks down at the cute, adorable baby and blinks twice, "Um..."

Momma giggles at his startled expression, the corners of her eyes crinkling as she slowly waves him off dismissively, "Nothing else. Thank you."

He immediately turns to Momma and bobs his head repeatedly with a dumbfounded look on his face and walks away.

Well then.

I turn to look at Nova to see her bunching layers of tissue over the salt and pepper shakers and then lifting them up in the air and exclaiming cheerfully, "Look! They look like tiny little ghosts! Isn't that awesome?"

Um...

Momma bounces Emma on her lap who lets out a happy shriek making me smile at the baby before Momma turns to look at her youngest daughter and answers dryly, "On behalf of all of the humanity, I assure you that is not awesome."

I bob my head in affirmative and grunt out, "A-women!"

They both turn to me and raise their perfectly sharp eyebrows as if on cue and lean in closer.

"Did you just say A-women?" Nova asks, blinking twice and twitching her eyebrows somehow.

I bob my head again and explain quietly, shrugging my shoulders, "Amen is so last year."

Nova stares at me for a beat and nods in understanding, "Ah." While Momma sighs out loud in defeat and makes a constipated face and groans out, "Why you both so weird?"

We are hindered from responding when the waiter returns with our orders and places the plates in front of us.

"Anyway," Momma clears her throat and pops a fry into her mouth and turns to Nova, "What's new with you and Scott?"

Nova takes a bite of her burger and chew it softly before responding grouchily, "Nothing much. We're pretty busy with the kids. There's nothing exciting going on with us anymore. Nothing! Zippo! Nada!"

I study her quietly and tilt my head to the side in observation, "Why do you sound so grouchy?"

"Oh, I'll tell you why!" Nova munches on her fries and throws her hands in the air and exclaims loudly, "Because we haven't had sex in a month! A frickin' month! Thirty days, dudette! Thirty days!"

I do a slow blink, "Um..."

She chomps on the burger and continues grumbling, "It's not like we don't kiss or anything, 'cause we do. We even get to second base and stuff - no problem with that! It's just when Momma is finally about to have an orgasm by Daddy's talented mouth or hands - that's... that's when the twins start crying. Right on the verge of my frickin' orgasm!"

Damn.

I chuckle wryly and scratch the back of my head, "Not that I don't want my baby sister to have sex with her husband or anything but... why don't you just hire a nanny?"

Nova turns her glowering eyes at me and I immediately shrink back into my seat when she throws her fry back on her plate, "We siblings never had a nanny. If Mom and Dad can do it, then why can't I? Do you think I'm not capable of looking after my children? Is that what you think? Huh?"

Ever since Nova had given birth to her twins - Keaton and Emma; she had somehow turned even more hormonal and grouchy than the time she actually was pregnant.

I seriously have some new-found respect for Scott.

I bite my lip and turn to look at Momma with wide eyes and croak out, "Momma? A little help here?"

Thankfully, Momma pinches Nova's cheek, like she did to us when we were babies and looks at her warmly and speaks in her motherly voice, "You know that your sister doesn't think that. You're already a great mum, sweetie. If you don't want to hire a nanny, why not just let us babysit the kids once in a while?"

Nova turns to look at Momma and blinks twice and whispers in a hushed voice with a soft smile, "I can do that."

That's when I bob my head again and jerk my thumb at Momma and turn to Nova, "Yeah, me too! What she said!"

Their lips twitch simultaneously and their eyes flicker with amusement and we stare at each other for a beat before bursting into giggles.

"Anywhore! Speaking about sex!" Nova starts and turns to look at me with her mischievous brown eyes twinkling cheekily, "What's going on with you and Lucien?"

On cue, my cheeks flushes bright red and I let out a squeak at the back of my throat and immediately duck my chin; suddenly finding my burger quite interesting.

That's when Nova shrieks out, bouncing in her chair in excitement, "You bitch! You had sex, didn't you? You totally gave him your V-card!"

I gape up at her and shriek out immediately, shaking my head rapidly, "What?! No! I did not have sex with him, I swear!" I wave my hands around me and widen my eyes sincerely.

Nova squints her eyes at me and asks suspiciously, cocking her head to the side, "Then what's that blush for?"

Damn.

I shrug awkwardly and fidget with my fingers and mumble under my breath, "Just because we didn't have sex doesn't mean we didn't do other things."

Silence.

And then Momma and Nova let out a high-pitched, girlish screech and throw their hands in the air cheerfully; making my cheeks flush further. Good grief!

Nova turns her excited eyes at me and squeals out, "What did you do? I need details. I need to know everything. Everything! Every frickin' thing!"

I stare at her with wide eyes and stutter, "Um... I... er-"

"Hmph. Too slow!" She cuts me off with a wave of her hands and asks rapidly, "Did you lick his hot dog?"

So, this is really happening.

I quickly shake my head.

"Did he eat your hamburger?"

I stare at her in confusion before turning bright red at the realization and sputtering out, "N-no!"

"Did he rub the tip of his hot dog against your hamburger?"

I shake my head again.

"He shoved his fingers up your hamburger!"

My lips part and my eyes widen as I gape at her, "I... er... um-"

"That's not a no."

"Um..."

"That's not a no either!"

I turn my panicky eye back and forth between the enthusiastic faces of Momma and Nova before shoving my face in my hands and groaning out loud.

This cannot be happening!

That's when Nova bangs the table with her fists and cries out happily, "HALLELUJAH! He fingered your hamburger!"

I slowly take a peek around at the tables around us to see all of the other customers staring at us with curious, questioning eyes.

That's when Nova stands up proudly and points her finger at me and yells out, "That's my sister, y'all! She finally had her first orgasm! Her first orgasm, people! Woo-hoo!"

And to my horror, everyone at the bar starts clapping and letting out whistles and cheering out, 'You go, girl!' along with Momma who starts doing her Happy Chicken Dance in front of me while little Emma bounces in her stroller and giggles happily.

I chuckle awkwardly and drop my head on the table and whisper to myself, "Kill me. Kill me now."

Seriously! This cannot be happening!

The bar slowly calms down after a while and Nova and Momma plop back down in their chair and quickly gulp down the food; all the while giggling and wiggling their eyebrows at me like a couple of five-year olds.

Oh well.

Suddenly, Nova whips her head around the bar and bobs her head to the beat and exclaims cheerfully, "I love this song!"

I furrow my eyebrows before nodding in understanding when I hear the familiar beat of Closer by The Chainsmokers and Halsey play through the speakers in the background.

"Hmph. I know this song." Momma squints at us and makes a thinking face before widening her eyes at the realization and chirping cheerily, "Ooh! This was the song that was playing through the radio when your father and I were getting it on in the backseat of our car last night!"

Nova and I immediately choke on our food and stare up at Momma with wide eyes, stammering out, "G-getting it on?"

Holy jeepers!

"Yes, yes!" Momma nods her head repeatedly and shares elatedly, "Apparently, in all of the thirty-four years that your father and I have been married; we have never done it in the backseat of a car. And yesterday, we were like 'What the hell?'. And the next thing you know, your father picks me up and places me on his lap and we both start making out with each other - all tongues, lips and teeth and the-"

"I NEED TO POO!" Nova exclaims loudly, slamming her hand on the table and interrupting Momma's speech which was about to be the reason for me thrusting the metal forks lying on the table in front of me into my ears; just so I couldn't hear the rest of her story.

Turning her wide, terrified eyes at me, Nova gives me subtle nod, "Hey, Nina? Wanna help me poo?" She gives me a look which clearly implied, 'Run, bitch, run! Run away from this table and never come back!'

I immediately nod in response and blurt out, "Of course, I'll help you poo! What kind of a sister do you think I am?!"

We immediately leap up from out seat and sprint towards the washroom without a backward glance; Nova opens the door and we both barge in and slam the door shut and heave out a breath.

So close.

I turn my eyes to Nova who immediately stares back at me in silence before we both burst out laughing.

"That was awesome!" Nova chirps out, giggling childishly and wiggling her eyebrows in mischief.

I snort and ask dryly, "You wanted me to help you poo?" I raise my eyebrow and scrunch up my nose.

"I didn't know what else to say!" She throws her hands in the air in an exasperated gesture and grumbles, "All I could think of is the image of Momma and Dad canoodling in the car. Ugh!"

We both stare at each other and shudder in disgust at the mental image.

"Why does Momma keep doing this? I swear to God, the next thing you know she's gonna send us some sex tape of her bonking Dad." I grumble and place my hands on hips and shake my head gloomily.

When she doesn't respond, I look up at see Nova looking at me with wide eyes and an agonizing, dreadful expression etched over her face.

I pause and stare at her for a beat before gasping out in horror, "Oh my God! For the love of sweet Jesus! Tell me she did not send you a sex tape of her and Dad!"

"Um..."

I suck in a breath and blurt out, "She did?! She actually did?! Oh my God!" I pull away from her and immediately wrap my hands around my stomach as if to protect myself.

"Fuck." Nova curses and pinches the bridge of her nose, "It was a long time ago, poochie."

"Doesn't make it any better." I immediately throw back.

She sighs and runs her fingers through her hair, "Look. Back when I was pregnant with the twins, Scott went through this whole phase where he didn't have sex with me because he thought that his thick, monstrous cock could somehow hurt the babies inside me and-"

"Honey! I don't need the long, graphic version of the story. Gimme a cliff-notes one." I interrupt her, shooting her a pointed look that said she had already provided way too much information than I needed about my brother-in-law's dingdong.

Cue the shudder.

"Fine! Somehow Momma found out about this and proceeded to give me a tape of her and Dad having sex, back when she was pregnant with one of us. She said to have sex only in the positions shown in the tape because she had a firsthand knowledge that the said positions would not hurt the baby." She rambles on and takes a deep breath and stares at me.

I pause for a beat then clench my eyes shut, crossing my fingers and plead, "Tell me you didn't watch the tape."

"Fuck! Do you think I'm crazy enough to do that?" She responds quickly, placing her hands on her hips.

I sigh in relief before asking again, "And tell me you burned that fucking tape."

She chuckles lowly, "Oh yeah. I threw it around a few times and then stomped over it and then burned it and then froze that fucker and then proceeded to repeat the steps - a hundred more times before hiring an airplane to spread the tiny remnants all over the world so that it could never become one again. You know," She pauses and gives me a look, "Just in case. You can never be too sure."

I pinch my lips shut and stare at her in amusement, "Don't you think it was a wee bit over the top?"

"I know. But it was necessary nonetheless." She bobs her head in a firm, determined nod.

Yes it was.

"What about Dad?" I wonder out loud when a thought strikes me.

"Huh?"

"Daddy. Did he know Momma gave you the sex tape?" I ask her, already knowing that the answer would be in the negatory.

"Pfft. Fuck no. The old man still has this whole fantasy that all of his kids are still virgins and will remain virgins till we die. Yanno - even though Nate and I already have kids to prove otherwise." Nova shrugs, rolling her eyes.

That sounds like Dad.

Nova giggles and walks over to the mirrors and ruffles her hair before turning around and sitting in the space between the two basins and dangling her legs in the air.

I sigh and follow suit to stand beside her with my butt pressed against the counter as we stare at the three empty stalls in front of us in boredom.

"Um... Novey?" I call out quietly.

"Yeah babe?"

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Just did." She responds cheekily.

I shoot her an annoyed look making her giggle while I stare up at the white, pasty ceiling and whisper in a hushed voice, "D-did you... did you feel weird the first time Scott saw you naked?"

She grins down at my burning face and wiggles her eyebrows before outstretching her arms, "C'mere."

I sigh and oblige when she pulls me to stand in between her dangling legs with my back to her chest and wraps her arms around my shoulder and places her chin on top of my head; embracing me affectionately.

"Um... when I was with Scott, I guess, it was like we couldn't get out clothes fast enough, ya know. It was Scott. There was no awkwardness; just raw, carnal lust. Meeeow!" She purrs out just as I slap my hand over her head and let out a sound of disgust thinking about my sister and her husband doing it.

Ugh.

She giggles at me and sways our upper bodies side to side and asks, "Why? You thinking about taking things further with Lucien?"

I shrug and duck my chin, bobbing my head and whispering truthfully, "I-I'm thinking about it."

She nods against my hair at my response and stiffens, asking curtly, "He isn't pressuring you, is he?"

I immediately shake my head and blurt out, "Lu would never do that. He says he's fine with me just kissing him. It's just... It's just-" I cut myself off and bite my lip, looking away.

"Just what, poochie?" She asks softly.

I close my eyes and take a breath and whisper, "Yesterday, we were y'know, making out on the couch and um... normally when we do that; he usually pulls away before it gets too intense saying that he didn't wanna pressure me into doing anything and I usually like it when he does that - when he respects my wishes like that. But then yesterday..."

I trail off and quiet out, fidgeting with my hands and furrowing my eyebrows at the thought.

Nova sighs in understanding and whispers softly, "Something changed yesterday, didn't it?"

I nod slowly and whisper quietly, feeling my cheeks flush, "Yesterday, when he pulled away from me, it was like I didn't want him to. I mean, I feel that way everyday but yesterday, that feeling - of me pulling him close and continuing our kiss, knowing fully well where it would lead to; it was a million times stronger."

Nova nods understanding and mutters, "And you think Lucien knew you felt that way, didn't you?"

I nod in response and close my eyes and envision the conversation that followed the day before's kiss.

Taking my lower lip between his teeth, he slowly pulled away from the kiss; just as my eyes fluttered open and I panted out, trying to catch my breath and curled my fingers over the fabric of his shirt at his biceps tighter.

"Lu..." I breathed out against his full lips and felt his dark eyes roam all over me; taking in my diluted orbs staring up at him in a daze as if he had hung the moon for me; my flushed, warm cheeks; my swollen, moist lips, the vein at the side of my neck throbbing hard at the same pace as my heartbeat and my chest heaving against his tight hold on me.

Placing his large hand over my warm cheek, his thumb slowly caressed my soft skin and I immediately closed my eyes, leaning in to his touch and felt him quietly grunt to himself in his deep, husky voice in observation, "Fuck. She's ready."

I blinked open my eyes to see him staring down at me in scrutiny as if he was studying me closely.

"Honey?" I whispered hesitantly, staring up at him in confusion.

His gaze softened to an extent and he tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear and whispered softly, "Tomorrow, sweetheart."

"Tomorrow?" I repeated the word in a slow, shy whisper.

Leaning down to capture my lips once again, he kissed me silly and senselessly and pulled away, leaving me breathless and wanting more.

That's when his lips skimmed the rim of my ear and he grunted huskily, "Tomorrow. I'm gonna fuckin' rip off every last shred of your clothes that you use to hide your fuckin' luscious body from me. And then I'm gonna get my hands on you and I swear to Christ, I won't stop until you're shaking underneath me and crying out for me to stop but begging me to keep going at the same fuckin' time."

Fuuuck.

Shaking my head off the memory, I whisper to Nova, "He knows I want to take things further with him but I'm afraid to ask. I think, today he's gonna -"

"Push your boundaries without asking for your approval because he knows your body is ready for him to take control."

I sigh and bob my head repeatedly.

"And how does that make you feel? Knowing that once he takes control, he's gonna try and do everything that your body desires and he won't stop even though your mind would beg and plea him to?" She asks softly, placing a kiss on my hair.

I gulp slowly and feel my heartbeat accelerate, "Um..."

She chuckles knowingly and shakes her head at me, "It turns you on, doesn't it?"

I cross my arms over my chest and huff defensively, "It's Lucien! Just the thought of him turns me on. But the thought of Lucien in control, in his own element... that so-"

"Humina humina humina, I know." She cuts me off and I could feel her grinning from ear to ear.

Damn right.

"I'm so screwed." I groan out loud and cover my face with my hands.

"Oh yes, my darling! He's gonna screw to up real nice." She howls into laughter, cackling mischievously at the double entendre.

"Oh, fudge off!" I growl out in annoyance.

That's when we hear the door to the washroom creak open and our eyes widens immediately. Thinking it was probably Momma trying to check up on us, I jump into action.

Turning to Nova, I clap my hands cheerfully and look at her with a determined face, "Okay! This is how it goes! You go in there and you poop the fucking shit off and I'll be here, standing outside, cheering you on. Got it?"

Nova squints her eyes in determination and gives me a firm nod, "Aye aye!"

"Um..."

We both stiffen in our spots and turn around at the direction of the door to see it wasn't our mother but a random middle-aged women gawking at us awkwardly.

"AND... CUT!" Nova yells out and clears her throat, staring at the stranger and explaining, "We were trying to enact our play. Yup. That's what it was. A play. We aren't crazy. Nope. Nuh uh-"

I nudge her side making her stop her incessant rambling and clamp her mouth shut.

"A... play?" The woman cocks her head to the side in confusion.

"Um... yeah! It's called uh... The Toilet And um... The Princess. The Pooping Princess." Nova blurts and then yells out together, "It's The Toilet And The Pooping Princess!"

The... what?

I bite the inside of my cheek to stop myself from laughing at the poor woman's horrified expression directed at us.

Grabbing Nova's hand, I quickly make my way to the door and call out, "Please do come and support our play! It's gonna be on Broadway next week. Ciao!"

I wave at her with a bright, wide smile on her face and slam the door shut with us on the outside.

Pulling away from me, Nova opens the door and pokes her head in and hollers out, "Remember! The play is unsuitable for children!" With that, she slams the door back again, closing it shut.

I couldn't help it.

I look at her with wide eyes before bursting into laughter, bending down and clutching my stomach; noticing her do the same.

"See. This is why we should go out more often. We have so much fun!" Nova turns to me and wraps her arm around my waist as we start walking back to the table.

"Yeah we do!" I answer smugly, puffing out my chest.

She squeezes my hip before pulling away and walking to her chair and taking Emma from Momma and sitting back down while I do the same.

"Uh hum." Momma clears her throat and stares at both of us with narrowed eyes, "You done helping each other poo?"

"Technically," Nova raises her index finger in the air and answers with a straight face, "We weren't helping each other. Nina was the one helping me and I was the one who was in the stall doing the whole poo deed thingy."

I bite back my chuckle, raising my eyebrow and mouthing to Nova, "Poo deed thingy?"

Her only response was to smile brightly at Momma and to pinch my thigh from under the table making me jump on my seat and nod repeatedly, yelping, "Yeah! What she said!"

Rolling her eyes at us in annoyance, Momma continues, "And pray do tell... how in the world did you help your sister poo?"

Crap.

I clear my throat, "Um... you know... I just stood outside her stall and um... I sang her a song?" I stutter, ending the sentence with a question.

"And what song was that, little Boom?" Momma narrows her eyes suspiciously and crosses her arms over her chest in an angry mum pose.

I gulp audibly and blurt out the first thing that comes to my mind, "Pooper Face by Lady Gaga!"

Nova immediately chokes on her breath and bites her cheek to stop laughing while Momma blinks at me and corrects, "You mean, Poker Face by Lady Gaga?"

"Same thing." Nova coughs out and turns to me with her eyes dancing with humor.

I shrug and widen my eyes at her.

What else was I supposed to say?

"Ah." Momma nods and then rolls her eyes, "You both know that you're really bad at lying, right?"

Are not!

Rolling her eyes again, Momma wipes her mouth with the napkin and places the cloth on the table and whispers softly, "I'm a horrible mother, aren't I?"

"Of course not! What makes you say that?!" Nova yells out in disbelief and places her hand over Momma's shoulders.

"Yeah. I'm sure other mothers too talk to their daughters about their wild sexcapades. No biggie." I whisper soothingly, placing my hand on top of hers.

"It wasn't referring to that, Nina." Momma responds quietly.

Uh oh. She called me Nina.

"What were you talking about, then?" I scooch my chair closer to hers and stare at her expectantly.

I see her eyes fill with tears and she stares at guiltily, "It's about... It's about Lucien."

I feel my body freeze against her, as the air on my neck prickles in anticipation and breathe out, "What about Lucien?"

She sighs and sits up straight and stares at me, "I know everything, baby. Five years ago, you and your friends went to a shady bar under the disguise that you girls were going to have a sleepover." She pauses and shoots me a look.

"Oopsie?" I chuckle awkwardly and scratch the back of my neck.

"Yes, Nina. Big Oopsie!" She tugs my ear softly making me wince and whimper in response.

Momma takes a breath and continues, "Completely forgetting that it was the first time you girls went to a bar, you started drinking all the heavy stuff and shot it back like you were chugging water." She raises her eyebrows at me, "And by that, I mean - you were drinking shots after shots of whiskey, bourbon, vodka, you name it."

Damn.

I grimace and look at her innocently and gush out, "My my, Momma! Did I tell you how radiant you look today?" I smile brightly at her.

"That line doesn't work on me, Nina." She shoots me a deadpanned look and shakes her head, "And forget about it. I've already forgiven you for that."

I breathe out in relief.

"Anyway, the only smart thing you girls did was calling Rachel's father who came to pick you up. And considering the fact that all of you were boozed up beyond your limits; it wasn't such a big surprise that you woke up remembering nothing about the day before." She chides, narrowing her eyes at me.

"Oh look! Your hair is so fric-"

"Nina."

"Okay, Mommy." I duck my chin down and rub my arms hesitantly.

She leans forward and tucks a strand of hair behind my ear and whispers softly, "But Lucien did. He remembered everything. He didn't forget about you."

I feel my lips part, "Momma."

She blinks twice and snaps her gaze away from me and continues, "Back then, he wasn't the man he is today. He was rowdy, unemployed and rebellious. And he fought for money. Underground. The man he was back then was every parent's nightmare."

Shooting me a soft look, Momma smiles warmly at me, "Then he met you."

I inhale slowly and feel my throat clog with emotions.

"He realized that you were everything he wasn't: sweet, shy, innocent, pure. And he understood that if he wanted to be in your life, he had to be better. 'Cause you deserved better. You deserved everything.

Hence, he quit fighting and all of his other rebellious, boisterous acts and started working in his father's company. After two years of working hard and trying to become a better man, he and his brother were named the joint CEOs of CoopCorp."

I sit back and stare at her in disbelief.

He did all of this for... me?

"Mom-"

"The first two years he regularly went to the bar, day after day - waiting for you. Waiting for you to come back to him." She takes my hand in hers and entwines it over her lap.

I inhale sharply and sniff out, "But I didn't. I didn't go back to him."

"You didn't." Her gaze softens and she continues, "The third year, he gave up on the bar; thinking that if you were going to come back, you would have done it a long time ago. And he concentrated all of his time into his work. He skipped out on the parties, the celebrations. Made excuses to be alone just so he wouldn't have to pretend to be happy when everyone knew he wasn't. He wasn't by a long shot."

I feel a tear slip down my cheek and I whisper out, "Why are you telling me this?"

She lifts my hand and places it against her lips and whimpers out against my knuckles, "Because I did something bad, Fuzzy."

"S-something bad?" I stutter, staring at her with wide, moist eyes.

She takes a deep breath, "Three and a half years after you met him at the bar, his mum Serena got tired of seeing her son all depressed and lonely. So she decided to hook him up with one of the daughters of her acquaintances."

"Wh-what?" I mumble, already feeling the sour taste of jealousy at the back of my tongue.

Momma smiles at me and continues, "When she talked about this with Lucien, he flat-out refused. But Serena convinced him to at least look at the pictures of the girls. Now, Serena was well aware of the gold diggers in her circles who wanted to hook their daughters with Lucien just because he was loaded. Therefore, she had carefully selected only those girls who preferred to be away from media and all the similar activities and lived a quiet life."

Momma turns to me and whispers quietly, "I was one of her friends."

I gasp softly and feel my eyes widen.

"Naturally, she had a picture of you as well." She inhales softly and closes her eyes before opening them and whispering hoarsely, "Did you know Lucien actually cried when he saw your photo?"

I inhale sharply and swallow around the clog of emotions in my throat.

"There wasn't any information about you except the picture because your father cared deeply about your privacy at the time. Especially after what happened with Cannon." She shrugs softly and rubs my arm when I feel myself shudder in fear at the mention of my bully's name.

"Serena called me and asked me for my permission for her son to take you out on a date." She whispers softly and blinks back the tears.

"How come I didn't know about any of this?" I whisper in disbelief, staring at her accusingly.

"Because I declined, Nina!" She whispers back harshly and then covers her face with her hands and whimpers loudly.

"Wh-what?" I breathe out and stare at her with wide eyes.

"I thought it was the right thing to do at the time. I didn't know that he had already met you before. I simply rejected the offer and begged Serena to not give out our names or any information about us to Lucien. And she didn't. Because she already knew everything about Cannon and what he had done to you. And she agreed with me that you needed time to heal yourself." She pauses and takes a breather.

"A minute after Serena ended the call; I received another call one. From Lucien. He didn't know my name or who I was; he simply knew that I was your mother and the person who was standing between him and the girl he loved.

He begged, pleaded and cried over the phone - asking me to tell him where you were. And I declined. Again." She clenches her eyes shut and pinches her lips, shaking her head at herself.

"Momma." I breathe out, not knowing what else to say.

"That's when he told me everything. About how you two had met. About how much you meant to him. And I told him about you. Not everything - just the fact that you had a horrid past and that you needed time to get over it." She whispers quietly while I just stare at her, unable to move a muscle.

She looks up and shakes her head, "I could almost hear his heart breaking over the phone when I explained that my decision was firm and it was not going to change."

"A minute later, I heard him take a deep breath and use his fake happy voice to tell me that he had waited three and half years for you; what's wrong with waiting a few more. The worst part about it - was I could actually feel the pain and agony in his voice when he said that. And the fact that he tried to hide it behind a fake voice just so I wouldn't feel guilty." She swallows slowly and fidgets with her napkin.

"I figured he was one of those guys who liked a challenge and wasn't really going to wait for you in reality. But he did. And he called. Every week. Asking me about you. About how you were and what was going on in your life. And I answered. I at least owed him that." She curls her fingers around the napkin and clenches her jaw.

"Some nights were the worst. He used to call me around at two in the morning; drunk out of his mind and just rambled on about you. About how he used to dream about you. And I used to listen. Listen when he cried through the phone sobbing out your name. Listen when he used to beg me over and over for him to meet you. New York is a big city, after all."

That's when I feel the tears freely pour down my cheeks and feel my heart throbbing for Lucien.

"What happened next?" I croak out, hoarsely and look up at Momma.

"Fast forward one and a half years and I realized that you weren't healing. You weren't even living. You were just existing. And I realized that maybe in some way, you needed Lucien just as much as he needed you. So, when you talked to me over the phone about how were going to the park with Rachel; I ringed Lucien and told him it was time. And well, the rest is the past." She slowly finishes and stares up at me expectantly, wondering what my response was going to be.

"If you don't want to talk to me for a few days, I understand. Knowing what Lucien means to you, I deserve that." Momma quietly whispers and stares at me guiltily.

Before I could open my mouth and respond, Nova whispers, "You know, in a way - Momma was protecting you."

I turn my gaze to Nova and just stare at her blankly.

"Besides, two years ago, you were going through the whole 'I Hate Everyone' phase. Lucien would've to work way too hard to gain your trust and it wouldn't be fair on him either. Maybe you both needed some time apart before you could be together again." Nova mutters softly and tucks a strand of hair behind my ear.

I sit back and stare at both of them and whisper lowly, "Lucien never told me any of this."

Nova smiles softly and whispers back, "Maybe it's because he didn't want you to hate Momma because she was the one keeping you two apart. Maybe Lucien understood why she did that and never blamed her for it. Maybe you shouldn't either. After all, you guys are together now. And that's all that matters."

I just blink and stare back at both of them; feeling my head spinning with all the new information and not knowing exactly what to feel or how to react.

If Lucien never really blamed Momma, then why should I?

"I guess." I nod in agreement and slowly smile up at them and shrug, "Lucien and I are together now. That's all that matters."

Momma plops back in her chair in relief and exhales loudly.

"So... you guys are official, right?" Nova asks, smiling back and tilting her head to the side; quickly changing the topic to an extent.

I stare back at her and blink twice, making a thinking face, "Um..."

Nova rears back and gasps out, "You don't know?!"

I squint my eyes and mumble thoughtfully, "We haven't really gone out on a date, so we aren't exactly dating and he hasn't exactly asked me to be his girlfriend so..."

What exactly were we?

"Maybe you should ask him!" Momma points out and then makes an excited face, "You should make a grand gesture to make him realize that he means just as much to you as you mean to him."

Huh.

"Okay!" I smile brightly and then gasp out loud when an idea strikes me, "I know exactly what to do!"

Oh! He's not gonna see this one coming!

***

Six hours later, I walk out of the elevator and wave at Ginger who looks up from the game of Solitaire she was playing on her office computer and yells out, "Yo! Coop is still in his office! Tell him I'm leaving in ten minutes!"

"Aye!" I yell back and walk towards his office, noticing the cubicles around me were empty and all the employees had already left.

Hmph.

Turning the door knob, I open the door and enter Lucien's office and see him with a phone to his ear, sitting in his chair behind the desk with a plethora of files spread out in front of him.

Looking up at the sound of the door closing behind me, he shoots me a grin and covers the mouth of the phone and calls out, "Hey babe. Just gimme a minute."

I smile back and nod at him making him wink at me before he continues the conversation over the phone.

Tucking a strand of hair behind my ear, I turn to the side and walk towards the couch to the left side of his office and gently place my purse on it; before taking off the blazer that I was wearing and tuck it beside the purse as well; leaving me dressed in a simple pale pink camisole with soft gray boot-cut pants paired with black pumps which matched the blazer.

"He begged, pleaded and cried over the phone - asking me to tell him where you were."

I feel my heart skip a beat and my tongue darts out to moisten my quivering lips as I stare at the couch blankly.

"The worst part about it - was I could actually feel the pain and agony in his voice..."

My fingers unconsciously curl over my palms and my vision turns blurry as the first tear escapes down my cheek.

"He used to call me around at two in the morning; drunk out of his mind and just used to ramble on about you. About how he used to dream about you. And I used to listen. Listen when he cried through the phone sobbing out your name."

That's when my hands reach up to cover my lips as a gut wrenching sob escapes me and I feel my head duck down and my shoulders shake as I burst into tears, unable to help myself.

"Fuck. Nina." I hear Lucien slam the phone down abruptly and stride up to me, pressing his large hand over the small of my back and easily turning me to him while I immediately latch my fingers over the lapels of his suit and bury my face in his chest, sobbing uncontrollably.

Bending down, he gently picks me up and sits down on the couch with me straddling his lap as I wrap my hands around his broad shoulders and bury my face into his neck.

"Nina." Lucien whispers quietly and kisses the side of my head, "Sweetheart." His large hand move up and down my spine, rubbing my back soothingly while his lips remain firm against my hair.

"Your mother told you everything, didn't she?" He whispers in a low voice, running his other hand through my hair and slowly pulling it; making me lift up my face to look him in the eyes.

Wiping my tears with my hands, I sniff loudly and nod in response.

"Sweetness." He breathes out and places his lips over my forehead and rubs circles around my lower back.

Curling my hands over the sides of his neck, I clench my eyes shut and sob out, "I'm so sorry."

He exhales against my forehead and softly whispers, "It isn't your fault, babe. Not gonna forgive you for something that wasn't your fault, you hear me?"

I pull away and stare at him and sniff loudly, "What if I had stopped drinking after a glass? I would've remem-"

He interrupts me by curling his hand over the back of my neck in a possessive gesture and bringing my face closer to his and muttering gruffly, "It wasn't your fault."

"Bu-"

"No. No buts. It wasn't your fault. That's it. You hear me?" He grunts out and see his eyes darkening like he does when usually orders me around.

And like usual - I feel my lady bits tingle under his dark eyes and I nod slowly in response.

Tightening his hand around my neck, he leans in further and curls his other hand just under the side of my left breast; his thumb darting out to softly brush against the underswell of my boob while he looks at me intently, "Answer me, Nina."

I gulp loudly and whisper breathlessly, feeling my panties moisten under his intent look, "Okay. It's not my fault. I hear you."

He causally retreats his hand back from under by breast to my back and softens his eyes, smirking at my blushing cheeks, "Good."

I mumble some words under my breath and lean forward and bury my burning face into his neck again.

Damn him.

Tightening his arms around my waist, he quickly stands up with me in his arms and starts walking towards his desk making me immediately latch onto him tighter.

"How was the lunch with your mother and sister?" He asks conversationally, looking down at me just as he plops down in his chair and pulls me closer; making our chests rest snugly against each others'.

I lift up my shoulders in a shrug and mumble, "Good. Like usual. Apart from the whole stuff about you, it was fun. Though, Nova did steal the last bite of my apple pie so she's obviously dead to me now."

"Obviously." He replies back and I see the tips of his lips quirking in amusement.

I throw my hands in the air and huff defensively, "It was apple pie!"

"Uh huh." He mutters with his eyes twinkling with humour and he grins down at me.

I roll my eyes and place my cheek back against his shoulder and see him lean forward and type something on his laptop.

I tip my head up at him and gasp out loud when the realization hits me and I start to pull away from him, "You have to work! I'm so sorry! I'll just wait for you outsi-"

"Sit your ass back down, sweetheart."

I stiffen at the command in his voice and feel my heart thud while he continues working on his laptop casually; his gaze fixed at the screen as I contemplate myself over his order.

Grow a pair, Nina! You have got to man up and stop following hi-

"Not gonna repeat myself again, Nina."

Okey-doke!

I wince to myself and slowly sit back down on his lap and grumble against his hold, "I hate it when you're bossy!"

Man, I'm so easy!

He chuckles lowly and looks at the file in front of him and grunts out, "Trust me, sweetheart, your nipples poking through your camisole tells me otherwise."

I gasp out loud and look down at my camisole and grimace to myself when I see that he was right.

Not wanting to admit defeat, I just huff and cross my hands over my chest and grumble, "Whatever."

He chuckles again and I feel his chest vibrate against me at the realization that he has clearly won this round.

Phooey.

I sigh contently and lean in deeper into his embrace and twirl his tie with my finger and mumble, "Whatchu doing?"

Without taking his eyes off the laptop screen, he answers quietly, "Proof-reading the clauses of the contract that Levi had mailed to me."

"Mmh." I reply back and nuzzle my nose against his neck and inhale his scent and sigh happily, closing my eyes.

Nina happy.

Opening my eyes abruptly at a thought, I exhale softly and mumble, "Honey?"

"Yeah babe?"

"Um... can I ask you a personal question?" I ask hesitantly, playing with the button on his suit.

"You don't need my permission to ask me anything, sweetheart." He whispers quietly and kisses the top of my head.

"Oo-kay. So um... I just wanted to ask you... um... you know," I clamp my mouth shut and clench my eyes before blurting out, "Are you like a Dominant or something?"

I feel his body freeze against mine for a beat before he relaxes and softly tugs my hair, making me look into his green eyes.

"You wanna know the truth?" He whispers softly, tucking a strand of my hair behind my ear.

"Yes please." I nod in response.

Exhaling slowly, Lucien places his hand over my cheek and softly traces his thumb over the apple of my cheek, "The truth is that I don't believe in labels. I think labels are just an excuse for the society to stereotype people."

I furrow my eyebrow and stare at his masculine, alluring features and whisper, "So, you're not a Dominant?"

He grins down at me, "I didn't say that either."

Hmph.

"To be honest, I never thought about it before. Never really had to. But if what you're asking me is whether I like control in the bedroom. Then the answer is yes. Yes I do." He looks down at me and I feel his feature hardening at the thought just as his eyes darkens.

"Oh." I breathe out and then squint my eyes and make a thinking face, "Does that mean you like... want to tie me up, blindfold me and stuff?"

"Fuck, you're innocent." He grins down at me and nuzzles my nose with his, whispering quietly, "Asserting control doesn't mean just tying someone up or gagging or blindfolding them."

He pulls away and stares into my eyes searchingly, "True control or dominance is established through a look, a word or a simple touch." He taps his index finger over the skin over the vein at the side of my neck which was throbbing erratically and my eyes immediately flutters shut; as a shiver runs down my spine.

Hunka hunka.

"Oh." I breathe out and stare at him in a daze; unconsciously tightening my hold on him.

"But I don't think I'll ever be satisfied by just controlling you." He grunts huskily, running his dark, potent gaze over me and I feel my breath hitch.

"Wh-what do you mean?" I stutter out, staring at him with wide, fearful yet intrigued eyes.

Fisting my hair in his palms, he pulls me closer to him till our lips were just hairs breath away from each other and he looks at me with an animalistic glint in his eyes, "It means I don't think I'll able to stop myself until I own you, body and soul and mark you and maybe someday," his voice turns wistful as he slowly lowers his gaze and caresses my belly, "breed you."

Okay! Why does my hoo-hah quivers when he talks to me like that?!

"You do know that we live in twenty-first century, right?" I point out breathlessly, when his fingers continue caressing my stomach while he stares down at my belly with unrestrained hope.

"Don't give a fuck." Is his only reply.

"Of course." I mumble wryly and shake my head at him before softly whispering and feeling my voice quiver, "What if... what if I tell you that I'm scared?"

"You should be." He replies easily, looking back into my eyes.

Gee, honey! Thanks for that!

He chuckles as if hearing my thoughts and explains, "Every person gets scared when they are experimenting new things. It's normal. Normal to be scared."

Huh. That makes sense.

I open my mouth and close it before opening it again and blurting out hesitantly, "Y-you won't hurt me, right?"

He stiffens against me and then stares into my eyes with so much intensity flickering through his green orbs, "Waited five fuckin' years for you, sweetheart. Do you think I'm gonna ruin it all by hurting you when I finally have you? I'm not a sadist, bella. Nor am I someone who derives pleasure from humiliation. Trust me when I say this - I would never fuckin' hurt you. Never. Deliberately or otherwise."

Le swoon.

I immediately melt against his embrace and breathe out, "Honey."

"That look." He softens his eyes and whispers warmly, "The way you look at me right now, like I'm some sort of a hero; that look makes all of this worth it. If I have to suffer through five years of being without you, knowing that someday you'll look at me that way; I'll gladly do it all over again."

I feel my eyes moisten again when I sniff out and cry out loud, "What does a girl have to do to get a kiss around here?!"

He chuckles softly before immediately leaning down and capturing my lips with his. My eyes roll back in bliss and I press myself deeper against him when he takes my bottom lip between his lips and suck on it softly before nibbling it gently and then doing the same to my upper lip.

Licking the seam of my lips, I part my lips open just as he delves his tongue into my mouth and kisses me ferociously; his tongue moving inside my mouth in a sensual assault while I spear my fingers through his soft hair and moan into his mouth and suck on his tongue making him groan back.

That's when his hands abruptly tightens around my waist making me let out a painful whimper against his lip as I immediately pull away from him and place my hand over my hip and groan out in agony.

"Nina? Fuck. What's wrong?" Lucien looks down at my hip and tries to pry my hand off of it.

I slowly smile at him and breathe through the pain and encircle my other hand around his wrist and mumble sheepishly, "I forgot to tell you something."

Damn me!

He narrows his eyes at me and whispers skeptically, "Tell me what?"

I scratch the back of my neck and mumble softly, "During the lunch, I realized that for the past five years; it was you who had done everything for me. You waited for me. You seduced me. You were always there for me. And I realized that maybe I should do something for you too."

"Nin-"

"No, Lu. I wanted to do something for you to show you that you mean the world to me too." I cut him off and smile at him seeing him staring back at me with love and adoration with a hint of confusion.

"So, I got this." I whisper hesitantly and lift up my camisole at my right hip and slightly lower my pants to show him my hip bone and slowly remove the bandage covering it. "Ta-da!"

He trails his eyes down to my hip and stares at it for a beat and blinks twice before grunting out, "It's a fuckin' leopard!"

I roll my eyes and snap at him, reprimanding, "Look closer!"

Cue the face-palm.

He furrows his eyebrows and lean in, observing the tattoo closely. Then he pauses and then exclaims loudly, "It's a fuckin' leopard!"

"It's not just a leopard!" I throw my hands in the air, exasperated and yell out, "It's you, you dool!"

He immediately freezes against me and stiffens up; staring at me with wide eyes.

That's when I point out, "Look. The leopard has blondish-brown hair. Like you. And if you look closer, it has green eyes. Like you. Plus those small black dots over his body are like your tattoos." I tap his arm over his sleeve tattoo and continue, "And leopards are known for being beautiful, ferocious predators that are graceful at the same time. Kinda like you when you get all turned on and control-y. This tattoo is an animal representation of you."

I pull away and stare at him to see him still staring at my new tattoo unblinking and unmoving, "Plus! Leopard starts with a L. So does your name." I mumble lamely when he still doesn't respond.

"Um... Lu? Please say something?" I whisper slowly after a minute.

I stare at him, seeing the muscle in his jaw ticking and his fingers tightening around my other hip; while he still stares at my tattoo intently.

"Okay. Seeing that you're kinda speechless -. I'm just gonna throw the whole thing out there!" I mumble randomly and then tilt my head and place my hand over his pecs making him lift his gaze from my hip to my eyes again.

That's when I bite my lip softly and whisper out, "Will you be my boyfriend?"

He does a slow blink and simply stares at me.

Being speechless is a good thing... right?

"Lu?" I mumble softly after another minute and feel my eyes moisten at the thought that maybe he didn't really like my tattoo, "It's okay if you don't like it. I wouldn't mind." I hear the strain in my voice as I say the words hoarsely.

That snaps him out of his daze.

Immediately his eyes darkens and heats up when he leans his face closer to mine and tightens his hand over the small of my back as he all but growls out, "Go pack your shit."

I blink twice, "Huh?"

Curling his fingers over the back of my neck, he pulls my face closer and orders, "Go pack your fuckin' shit. We're going home. Now."

I do another blink and mumble lamely, "Huh?"

That's when he lifts me up with his hands under my armpits and shoves me forward until my butt perches over the edge of his desk as he crowds me to it with his rough, muscled body pressed tightly against mine.

"I swear to God, Nina; I'm gonna take you over my knees and tan your ass red if I have to repeat myself again. You hear?" He growls out against my lips and I distinctly feel his erection digging into my lower belly.

Ruh roh.

I immediately bob my head and nod in response. "Okie!"

He gives me a curt nod and stares at me for a second before smashing his lips against mine for a beat and pulling away and raising his eyebrow at me, expectantly.

"Aye aye." I sigh and immediately walk over to the couch and pick up my purse and my blazer  with shaky, trembling and then turn to look at him.

He switches off his laptop and prowls over to me with a determined look. Grabbing my elbow, he leads me towards the door; shoving me forward with him.

"Lu! Wait a sec!" I yell out, dragging my legs forward to match his urgent pace.

"Not now, Nina." He grunts out gruffly, opening the office door and shutting it behind me.

"Lu! What's happening?" I blurt out, staring at the back of his blond head with wide, frantic eyes.

"It's time." He rumbles out curtly, turning around and giving me a heated, carnal look.

Time?

"Time for what?" I whisper hoarsely, feeling my heart thud in my chest and sense my hands turn sweaty and clammy as the hair on the back of my neck prickles in anticipation.

Shoving me forward into the elevator, he immediately presses my body to the side of the elevator with his hands on my hips and sandwiches me between his muscled body and the cold, hard surface of the metal box.

Leaning his face closer to mine, he shoots me a sinister smirk; his green eyes darkening with raw hunger as he rasps out:

"It's time for me to own you, sweetheart."

***