98 - The chapter where they discuss the relationship

Rose

" I'm in the arrivals area, where have you been? " Christian complained as I hurried through the crowded airport on the third day of January.

" I took my time to find a spot, so stop being a pain in the ass to the people who did you the favor of picking you up at the airport instead of letting you manage on your own," I said back, panting, dodging people as I spoke.

A smile appeared on my face as I caught a glimpse of the boy with his back to me, talking on his cell phone. It felt like the two of us hadn't seen each other in months, not just two weeks.

I am so screwed!

" I just don't understand how hard it is for you to leave on time, you're already forty minutes late, we should be on campus by now…”

I didn't wait for him to finish his sentence, ending the call without any ceremony, holding back my laughter as I noticed the incredulous expression on his profile when he noticed what I had done, not realizing my presence, almost behind him.

" She hung up on me? I'm going to kill that…”

Before he could finish his sentence, I grabbed his arm, turning him towards me, sealing our lips without giving him the chance to have any reaction but to match the kiss. Christian dropped the suitcase that was on his shoulder on the floor, encircling my waist with his arms, holding our bodies together while I tangled my fingers in his thick strands of hair, enjoying the soft texture under my touch.

" That what? " I asked, looking into his eyes as I pulled away from his lips.

" Unbearable," he added with a smile.

" Asshole," I returned before kissing him once more.

But this time it was Christian who pulled away, letting go of me before picking up his suitcase from the floor, not stopping smiling for a second as he watched me. I grabbed his hand, intertwining our fingers before pulling him towards the airport exit, pretending to be natural as the boy looked curiously at our hands. We walked together in silence, enjoying that little contact until I caught up with Brigitte in the parking space where I had left her minutes before.

" How was the flight? Didn't your parents find it strange that you wanted to come earlier? " I asked him, not knowing how to get into the merits of our current relationship.

" Did they? Quite a lot. My mom was already pretty pissed at me for not giving Abby any attention during those days " he commented, stopping on the passenger side, waiting for me to unlock the door so he could get in.

I bit the inside of my cheek at that name. In the face of everything that happened these days I didn't even remember that girl, but now he was talking, it made curiosity ignite inside me.

" Do you want to drive? " I offered him the car key, trying not to look so interested in the subject.

Christian let go of my hand, taking the key with a small smile before leaning in and giving me a brief kiss. He circled the vehicle, taking the driver's seat, tossing the suitcase in the back seat before unlocking the door for me. I got in the car, turning to him as soon as I put on my seatbelt, feeling my heart race as I watched his blue eyes and his unshaven beard.

He's here! He's finally here!

" So, you displeased your mother... " I decided to bring up the subject as soon as he started the car, getting us moving, avoiding any direct mention of the girl he mentioned, despite my curiosity to know everything about it.

" Yes, but in the end they understood that I had an unavoidable matter to solve here " he answered.

That sentence caught my attention, I leaned my elbow on the back of the seat, turning as much as I could to watch him while playing with a lock of my hair, trying to disguise my anxiety.

" An unavoidable Matter? " I probed him, receiving a brief glance before his attention focused on the road.

" Rose, can we talk?”

My heart raced at that sentence, okay, maybe it's good that he brought it up. Maybe he thinks like me and wants to work things out... Or maybe he wants to end it all, like he told his parents it happened!

What a load of crap!

" Rose?”

" Are we going to talk now? " I gave him a slightly fearful look.

" Is there something wrong with that? " He frowned.

" Well, for starters, you're driving, so you can't look at me, and you know how much I hate..." Not being able to look you in the eye, I mentally completed without having the courage to verbalize that answer, "Not being the center of attention.”

I muttered, feeling my face heat up at that ridiculous justification, and the laugh I got in response only made it worse.

" For God's sake, Campbell. Your self-centeredness has just been raised to a stratospheric level with that sentence," Christian scoffed, "But if you make such a big deal about it…”

He took a detour off the main road that would take us from Waterfall to Grayfox Mills, entering one of the endless woods that spread throughout that area, making the car a little unstable with the unpaved road. I held on as he drove without any hesitation.

" 'Davis, if this conversation is going to end with you spawning my body somewhere, I've already given you all the instructions to make my death memorable, right?' " I ironized.

" I'm sorry, Rose. But I left the candles and skulls I use to simulate black magic rituals in my other suitcase." He gave me an amused look, turning down another, even smaller road, making me worry about Brigitte's painting.

" In that case, I guess we'll have to leave my death for another day.”

" I'll remember to bring all the gear next time " Christian assured with a small smile, turning his attention back to the road, staying silent for a few seconds " don't worry, I just know a quiet place for us to talk.”

" If you kill me, I'll come back to haunt you. And if you think I'm annoying now, you need to see my haunting version " I poked him.

We reached the end of the road that ended at a small abandoned lookout point from where it was possible to see the lights of Grayfox Mills just down the valley from the hill we were on. Taking advantage of the fact that the temperature was not negative, although it was low, I got out of the car after unbuckling my seatbelt, approaching the wooden fence that delimited the safe area, hearing Christian get out of the car and approach.

" How do you find these places? " I turned my face to watch him, holding back a small smile.

" In Missoula I had a lot of places I liked to go to be alone, when I came to Grayfox Mills I decided to look for some places like that " Christian approached, hugging me from behind as he saw me shiver with a breath of icy wind.

I closed my eyes, feeling his hands on my abdomen, before resting my head on his collarbone, enjoying all the physical contact I had missed so much in the last few days.

" If you keep showing me all these places, you're going to have nowhere to hide when you're sick of me,” I warned him with amusement.

Christian didn't answer me, he just wrapped his arms around me, keeping his gaze fixed on the privileged view we both had of the city. But I didn't know how to deal with that silence, not when our future depended on that conversation, so, gathering all the courage inside me, I broke that bubble that had enveloped us for the last few minutes.

"'What do we have to talk about that deserves a view like this?”

He took a deep breath, releasing me before leaning against the car, making me apprehensive for a moment.

"Rose, it's been a while since we should have had this conversation, after all, it's been a while since things haven't been going the way we agreed" Christian put both hands in his pants pocket, making my heart soar

Does he really want to break up with me?

I walked over to him, leaning against his side in the car, watching his reaction with the corner of my eyes, keeping myself silent, waiting for his next words.

"Campbell, when we first started this, it was all fun. All I could think about was how lucky I was to be able to have sex with someone like you with no strings attached and at first it really was like that, until you ruined it " he turned his face to me.

I widened my eyes, crossing my arms as I turned to him with an annoyed expression. How can he tell me that I ruined everything? Is he kidding me?

" Is this a joke, Davis? I followed the agreement from the beginning, how could I have screwed it up?”

" It wasn't in the deal for you to make me fall in love or for you to make any other girl lose her appeal to me," Christian stated looking into my eyes, "You're going to have to admit your guilt in this.”

I continued to stare at him, seeming to have lost the ability to speak as my mind processed his words in my mind. Is he really in love with me?