CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT: ATHENA

We all watched as Leo ripped off the wrapping paper and opened his gift first, which contained a new pair of basketball shoes and a new basketball with what appeared to be a signature scribble on the side.

"Athena said you liked basketball, so I got my brother to get you a signed basketball from your favorite player, Michael Jordan," Sophia explained, and Leo abruptly stood up from his chair and walked over to her, crouching down and hugging her tightly.

"Thank you, Sophia, this is by far one of the best gifts I've ever received," Leo said, tightening his hold on her.

"It's okay, dear, think of it as a gift for taking care of my baby," Sophia said, smiling down at him as he stood up and walked back to his seat, hugging the gift as if it would disappear if he let go. I smiled as I stared at the three of them, there were still kids like me no matter how tough or mature they acted.

Austin opened his gift when Leo took his seat, and unlike Leo, he couldn't control his emotions; his eyes welled up with tears as he stared down at his gift, which was a set of colors, paint brushes, and two sketch books. I never told her he liked to paint, so how did she know what to get him?

"How?" Austin asked, still fighting back tears.

"Athena didn't have to tell me; I recognize a painter's hand when I see one."

"Thank you Sophia, I've been trying to get them but they were too expensive, seriously thank you for this, it's the best gift ever," Austin said as he rose to his feet and went to hug her.

Austin returned to his seat, still staring at his gifts, a small smile on his face; after learning he was dyslexic, he also told us that painting was the only way he could express himself, so I knew her gift meant a lot to him.

"I'm glad you liked your gifts," Sophia said with a small smile.

"So, where is my gift?" I asked, wiggling my brows and smiling at her.

"You are not a guest." Sophia said, sticking her tongue out at me.

"No fair,"

"Life is not fear, my darling Athena."

"I prefer Uncle Jerry anyway."

"Stop lying to yourself, Athena; you love me more than that old geezer."

"Whatever," I said as I turned to see the guys looking at me with an amused expression.

"I win, Athena 0, Sophia 1," Sophia said, pumping her fists in the air with a huge grin on her face, before turning to see Stephen looking at her with the same amused smile the boys were giving me.

"You look so cute bickering with her, I'd like to see more of this side of you," Stephen said as he kissed her on the lips, causing Sophia to blush furiously.

"No flirting at the table, Stephen!" I gasped, causing everyone to burst out laughing at my stunned expression because he just kissed her in front of everyone, which I would never get used to.

"Okay Athena I apologize," Stephen said chuckling softly

"Good"

"I never thought I'd see the day when Athena would be embarrassed by me, getting kissed on the lips," Sophia said, still laughing at my reaction.

"I hate you," I said, sticking my tongue out at her, making her laugh even harder for a few more minutes before she regained her composure, 'I'm going to sell her on the black market one day.' I thought as a small smile played on my face as I formulated my plan in my head.

"Let's dig in before the food gets cold," Sophia said as we all dug into our meals, and as we continued talking about ourselves, Austin spoke up while his face was still stuffed with food, saying, "This sauce is the bomb, Sophia."

"Thank you, Austin, and please avoid speaking with your mouth full." Sophia scolded Austin, who responded with a smile and a salute before swallowing the food in his mouth, causing everyone to laugh.

"Glutton," Leo mumbled jokingly, but it was loud enough for Austin to hear because he stuck his tongue out at him before devouring the rest of his food.

"You're going to choke." Shane signed, laughing at Austin who looked like a mess right now

"Then I will die a happy man," Austin joked as he ate the last of his food with a huge grin.

"Weirdo," I said, looking up at him with a small smile happy they're enjoying themselves

"You love me anyway, Red."

After we had finished our dinner, I went to the kitchen to get the chocolate cake I had baked for dessert. Before taking my seat, I served everyone a piece of cake, including myself.

"This is delicious, Sophia," Stephen said as he finished his first bite of chocolate cake.

"Athena made it; she's a wizard when it comes to desserts and pastries," Sophia said proudly as she looked in my direction.

"Well done, Athena, this is lovely," Stephen said.

"Thank you, Stephen," I said as I turned to see Leo, Shane, and Austin had finished their cake and were about to eat another piece.

""I love it," Shane signed as he smiled up at me.

"Thank you,Shane."

"Athena, will you marry me for real?" And bake this cake for me every day" Austin joked, causing Leo to smack him on the back of the head.

"Behave, you Weirdo," Leo said, turning to face me, "it's delicious, Princessa."

"Sorry, sorry, she's all yours, no need to be violent about it," Austin said with a pout causing Leo to roll his eyes at him. As I blushed at his comment and Leo's compliment, I noticed Sophia wink in my direction, deepening my blush.

"Could I please have more?" Shane signed, making his best puppy dog face despite the fact that he already had two. I was going to give him more because I couldn't resist that adorable face.

"Of course love" I answered and gave him two more pieces of cake.

"No fair, I only got two," Austin whined.

"Shut up, you're not a kid," Leo smacked him in the back of the head again, causing him to complain to Sophia because I wouldn't do anything if he complained to me.

"Sophia, Leo is being mean to me," Austin complained, making Sophia and Stephen laugh.

"Baby" Shane signed and stuck his tongue out at Austin.

"No one loves me, so I'm going to run away and live as a hippie," Austin joked, making everyone laugh.

"They would miss you too much," Sophia commented with a smile.

"My anger has been appeased, and I'm staying," Austin said, impersonating a character from one of his favorite anime shows.

"Crazy ass," Leo said with a huge grin on his face.

After dessert and clearing the table, we all went into the living room to watch a movie. During the movie, while everyone was distracted, Leo leaned in and whispered into my ear.

"I really want to kiss you right now, you've been driving me insane with that gown you're wearing," he said, and I could feel his hot breath against my ear; thank goodness it was dark because I was sure I was as red as a tomato.

"I'm going to get something to drink," I said, getting up and walking towards the kitchen to calm my raging hormones before returning to the cause of my flustered state.

I stood there for a while to gather my bearings, and just as I was about to leave, Leo walked in with a smirk on his face, staring at me with his intense gaze, "Are you trying to get away from me Princessa?" Leo smirked as he took shirt steps towards me.

"No, I'm not," I muttered quietly.

"I think you're lying because you left after I told you I wanted to kiss you," Leo stated, his smile growing bigger.

"Please stop teasing me, Leo," I said quietly.

"I'm not kidding Princessa, you're on my mind twenty-four seven, I can't think straight whenever I'm around you, I'm addicted to everything about you, your scent, your lips, your fiery red hair, and those beautiful green eyes, and finally I love the way you stare at me whenever you think I'm not watching." He said this as he took small steps towards me, trapping me between him and the wall behind me.

My heart was racing at his close proximity, he was so close that if I leaned in, our lips would touch, I tried looking at anything but him, then I felt his hands on my chin turning my face so I could look him in the eyes, the look he was now giving reminded me of the first time we kissed in the library which made me blush slightly.

The hand on my chin moved to my cheek, he lightly brushed his fingers against the skin of my cheeks, and I leaned into his touch, basking in the warmth of his hands on my skin, making him chuckle.

"My beautiful goddess," he murmured under his breath as he rested his other hand on my waist, rubbing small circles over the fabric of my gown.

My entire body was on fire, my breathing was erratic, and he hadn't even touched me yet, and I already like I was going insane.

After a few moments, he leaned in and pressed his lips against mine. The kiss began gently, but became more demanding after a small moan escaped my lips.

"I could do this all day," he growled against my lips as he pulled me closer, pressing my body against his, and I could feel his bulge against my thigh as I combed my hand through his beautiful black hair.

Our kiss lasted a few minutes before he pulled away, his gaze never leaving mine. "I'm not the perfect guy for you, but I want to be selfish for once in my life," Leo said huskily.

"You could have any girl you wanted at our school, so why me? Leo, I'm just a broken girl with too much baggage for anyone to handle" I said quietly.

"Athena, you're not broken; you're perfect in every way; trust me, I can handle your baggage because I'm not the Saint you think I am; I've done a lot of stupid things that I regret, but falling for you isn't one of them." Leo said, and I couldn't help but shiver at the sincerity in his eyes.

"I've already fallen in love with you and would like to be with you, but I can't ever be that greedy to be with you, because being with me will only cause you pain."

"Then I'd gladly accept getting hurt if it meant being with you, holding you, and kissing those lovely lips of yours."

"But-"

"No buts, Athena. Since we both insist on being stubborn, I will be the better man and make the best decision for us, so Athena, will you be Mine?" Leo asked me with his eyes fixed intently as he waited patiently for my response.

"I've been yours since the first time you helped me," I murmured quietly, causing a huge grin to form on Leo's face as he picked me up in his arms and twirled me around before putting me on my feet and kissing me on the forehead.

"I like that princessa, I really like that answer," he said as his lips met mine and his hands wrapped around my waist as he picked me up, making me wrap my legs around his waist so I didn't fall while he deepened the kiss and pulled me closer.

While he was still kissing me, he took steps forward until my back was pressed against the wall, allowing him to use it to support my weight.

His lips moved from my lips as he placed small kisses from my jaw to my neck, biting down gently on the skin on my neck, sucking softly, it felt so good that I couldn't hold my moans as he continued his assault on my neck.

But our moment was cut short when we heard the door to the kitchen open, and Leo immediately put me on my feet and put some distance between us.

We both turned to see who had interrupted us after fixing our clothes, and it was Shane, rubbing his sleepy eyes as he approached us.

"I need to use the restroom, Leo. Can you please take me?" Shane signed, waving at me with a cute sleepy smile on his face, "Hi Athena,"

"Hi Shane," I replied with a small smile.

"Princessa, could you tell me where the restroom is? We can continue what we were doing later "Leo said, giving me a wide evil grin that made me blush.

"What were you doing?" Shane signed as he let out a low yawn as he reached out to take Leo's outstretched hand.

"Grown-up stuff," Leo said as his gaze moved to my lips and a smile spread across his face, causing my blush to deepen.

"The bathroom is through that door at the end of the hallway," I replied sheepishly, avoiding Leo's gaze because I knew I'd make a fool of myself if I kept staring at those beautiful green eyes of his.

"Come on buddy," Leo said as he led Shane out the side door to the restroom, giving me a moment to gather my bearings before they returned.

A few minutes later, Leo and Shane returned to the kitchen, the two brothers smiling at me when their gaze met mine.

"Come on, let's go back and finish the movie guys." Shane signed as he yanked on both of our arms, practically dragging us back to the living room, he was such a bundle of energy.

Leo and I sat in our previous position on the couch, and the fact that he was sitting so close to me after what had happened a few minutes before did nothing to calm my racing heart.

When I thought I might be able to get through the night sitting so close to him without jumping him, I felt his hand on my exposed thigh, then he began rubbing circles on one specific spot, which caused my already restless body to heat up. Thankfully, it was too dark for anyone to see what he was doing to me.

Then I felt his hands move up my thigh, bringing him dangerously close to my center. Unable to take any more of his touch, I leaned in and whispered in his ear, "Leo stop," I scolded.

"I'm not doing anything," Leo said as he pinched the spot he was caressing, and I jumped in my seat, unprepared for the pain that followed.

"Are you okay, honey?" Sophia asked, her concern evident in her tone, and from the corner of my eye, I could see Leo smile as if it wasn't his fault.

"I'm fine, Sophia, I just felt something on my knee but it was just a piece of thread, no bigge,"

"Okay Honey" Sophia said before returning her attention to the movie. Even after Leo refused to take his hands off my thigh for the rest of the movie

His gentle touch was so soothing that I fell asleep while resting my head on his shoulder.

Later that night, I woke up in my room, wondering how I got here. I noticed my phone on the bedside table and picked it up to check the time; it was midnight. I let out a small yawn as I saw a text from Leo; I clicked on it and read the message.

Leo: We didn't want to wake you up since you looked so peaceful. Shane and Austin said good night and thank you for inviting us to dinner. We had a great time; please help us thank Sophia for the gifts again.

Baby girl, sleep tight.

Love Leo.

Words could not express how happy I was right now. Leo was officially my boyfriend, and I was overjoyed. After reading the text, I debated whether or not to respond, and I chose the latter.

Me: Thank you for putting me to sleep, Leo; that was very kind of you; I'm glad you had a good time; and I'm sorry we didn't get to say goodbye.

Xoxo

Love Athena