Chapter Seventeen

The rest of the weekend goes by without much incident, since Adrian checked in on me a few times a day instead of staying with me. I spent most of my time settling into my new place, making a list of things I need to add for decor and shopping online for a few things. Adrian would bring me food that he cooked at his own place, ask me how my day was and if there was anything I needed him to come with me to do outside of the community before leaving again. I would tell him no, even though I wanted to go out if only to stretch my legs.

After seeing the incidents that transpire every time that I go out in public, though, I decide to give Adrian a break before school begins and he has to be up my ass 24/7. Honestly, I needed a little time alone to gather my thoughts, anyway, and he seemed to appreciate the time apart.

By the time Monday morning rolls around, Adrian seems his normal self when I find him in the kitchen, hovering over a cup of coffee at the island. He turns on his stool to look at me over his shoulder, lifting the mug to his lips. Unlike he had over the weekend, today he seems able to hold eye contact without any difficulty. "Good morning, Princess. Did you sleep well?"

I made a face of disgust at the nickname. "Hm... Let's get back to the drawing board for pet names," I suggest, heading to the espresso machine to brew myself a hot cup of courage. I lean over the counter of the island to slide some documents across to him for his review.

Adrian seems to take my criticism in stride, unwavering in his mood. "Alright. Should I call you something else on campus? Like Baby? Honey?" He tries, testing them out on his tongue as he scans over the papers that I handed him. After reading the letterhead, he glances at me over the top of the documents, an eyebrow raised in an annoyingly handsome manner. "Is this the contract?"

"Ew, nothing that my dad would call me," I say, curling my lip as I select my espresso pod and place it into the machine, reaching to the cupboard for a cup. " It is. It took me all weekend so you'd better tell me if there's something I forgot to add. I was very thorough," I glance at him, trying to gauge his reaction so far. It doesn't seem like he's gotten to the part that states he can't be intimate with me on campus yet.

I hear him turn the page as he sips his coffee. "Hm-hm. I’ll think of something, Ms. Loveday."

My coffee sputters into my cup as I glance behind me to continue checking for his reaction to the contract. He seems very concentrated as he reads, brow furrowed with attentiveness. I'm not going to admit that I had my lawyer type the document up for me to be up to legal standards, especially considering the impressed expression on Adrian's face. I turn my attention back to my beverage and collect the ingredients I want to add to make the bitterness easier to swallow.

I glance at him again curiously as I put the oat milk back into the fridge, catching his eye as he glances up. "What do you think?" I ask, hoping that I don't sound too obviously curious.

He holds my gaze as he lifts his cup to his lips, taking his time answering me. Over the weekend he hasn't shaved his face, allowing stubble to take over his jaw. I have to admit that it does make him look a little older, which I assume was the point of growing it out. I kind of prefer him without it, but I'll wait to bring it up if he keeps growing it. I'll only really have an issue if he tries to have a beard or mustache.

"It looks good," He narrows his eyes in suspicion, turning back to the last page. "Too good. I didn't take you for the type to study the legality of documents. I was expecting something sloppy, honestly. Good job." The way his tone changes as he praises me causes me to suck in a breath, and he sets the documents down to look at me, almost expectantly.

I purse my lips and take my cup from the counter, forcing myself to breathe again. It seems like he's using trial and error with what he says and hoping for a reaction, but he's slowly figuring out what my type of man is, trying to do and say things that I like. Not like he has to change anything about him to make me like him more, but I won’t admit to that.

He seems to be taking what I said to heart the other night; 'Try not to fall in love with me.' If it's a challenge he wants to make, so be it.

I try not to give him the reaction he's fishing for, coming to sit on the stool beside him to drink my breakfast, unbothered. "Thanks. Do you have anything to add to the contract?"

He glances at the papers, sifting through the words with his finger and stopping to tap at the beginning of one of the paragraphs, raising an eyebrow. "Nothing to add, just questions. What's the meaning of this?"

I lean close enough to see what he's pointing at, unsurprised to see the no-contact part. "You can't really be surprised by that," I state plainly, trying not to breathe too much of him in order to remain sane. "You should know why I put that in."

Adrian's smirk says that he knows exactly why I don't want him messing with me on campus. "But that's no fun. I thought you said our relationship was supposed to make things less boring for you. Being restricted to hand-holding and cheek kissing seems pretty vanilla to me."

I roll my eyes at his tone, taking a long sip of my coffee, relishing the heat against my throat. "You know why," I say again, unamused.

He sighs, though his stupid grin stays in place. "Yeah, I know why," He shoots me a wink. "You don't have to admit that I make you so we-"

I jab him in the rib with an elbow, none too kindly. I know it should have hurt him at least a little, but he doesn't even spill his coffee as he laughs. "I don't want you having to waddle around the school either," I say, taking a pointed sip of my coffee.

Adrian shrugs playfully. "Okay, good point. So no booty grabbing. What about this part?" He leans over to push the contract between us, so that our arms bump together when I angle myself to read it better.

"We don't have to continue pretending when we're alone," I simplify for him. "As in, when we're off campus or otherwise out of public view."

Honestly, I added that part in order to avoid a replay of what happened on the couch the other night. I don't think I can handle him constantly teasing me like that without taking care of the matter he causes to arise. Besides, if he does choose to act like that again, I'll know it's because he actually wants to, and not because it's part of our fake dating contract. I'm not going to let him slip up that easily without calling him out.

Adrian makes a pouting face into his mug before downing the rest of his coffee. I try not to stare as his throat bobs with each swallow, turning my attention to finishing mine off, too. He's wearing a black turtleneck sweater with matching dark slacks, and a nude colored long-coat hangs on the back of his chair. I'm pleasantly surprised to see that he actually has a sense of fashion, and he even accessorized with rings and a watch. I tear my eyes away from his hands, trying not to admire the length of his fingers too much.

"Alright," He says with a sigh, luckily oblivious to my staring. "Do you have a pen for me to sign with? Or should I use my blood as ink?" He jokes, though his eyes don't match his voice. If I had to decipher it, I'd say he's a little disappointed in certain details I chose to add.

"I mean, you can bleed for me, if you really want to show your commitment," I say sarcastically, procuring a pen from my purse at the end of the island and handing it to him.

"I'd happily shed my blood for you, my little bunny," He says charmingly, smiling as he accepts the utensil from my grasp. I don't miss the way his fingers linger on mine before he continues to sign his name at the bottom of each page. Once he's done, he offers the pen back to me. "There, I've signed myself away to you. Now it's your turn,"

He makes it sound so intimate that my hands shake a bit as I take my pen back, signing each space on the lines below his. "There," I finalize, emphasizing the stroke of the last signature before looking back at him intently. "Now we belong to each other."