Chapter 9 A Week Off

After driving for a while, we arrived at the mall where I worked. Before I got out of the car Eliott asked me if I had a break.

"It depends on the crowd there will be today. Anyway you just have to come and relay me if you want to see me!" There was a subtle hint of mischief in my tone.

"Ha-ha... I might do just that," he said. I couldn't say if he was serious or just kidding.

"Damn it!" I gave him a sweet smile before getting out of the car.

As I walked slowly towards the entrance to the mall, I suddenly felt a hand grab my arm.

"You could have kissed me goodbye," he reproached me.

"I'm not sure you deserve it," I said raising my chin.

Amused by my childish defiance, he smiled and placed a soft kiss on my cheek. Then he turned to leave.

"See you tonight, Duchess," he added.

It had been a long time since he had called me like that. Smiling, I pointed to my open mouth, mimicking disgust before hurrying in. I might be late if I continued chatting with him.

***

There were so many people today that I didn't have time to take a break. When I finally checked my phone, there were several messages from Eliott.

[Eli ❤:

Still no break? ]

[Eli ❤:

Poor thing, you're certainly worn out working so hard with no break. I'll run a bath for you tonight. We'll take it together! ]

I laughed at his last message, thinking about what he was trying to imply. He was certainly in the parking lot now, waiting for me. I texted him.

[Mya:

You can keep dreaming! ;) Where is your car parked? ]

I then walked out of the mall, my eyes riveted on my phone, awaiting his response. Suddenly I bumped into someone. Furious, the stranger began to lecture me, saying that I should be careful when I walk. "Young people today are always glued to their phones," he blurted out. Due to the hard day at work I was not really in the mood for such remonstrance.

"Kiss my ass !"

I admitted that wasn't really classy, but hey, I was pissed off!

I continued on my way when suddenly I heard a voice very near, "I'm here!" It made me jump with fear. I turned around to see Eliott standing just behind me.

"Dumbass, you freaked me out !"

"Ha-ha, don't act like you're helpless. I saw you assault that poor old man!" he said to me, laughing.

"He assaulted me first! I was just defending myself!"

"Yeah, that's what they all say !"

It was only then that I noticed his "bad boy" look today, which contrasted sharply with the impression he gave me yesterday. He had let go of his hair, and a few rebellious curls fell delicately on his face. He also wore a pair of sunglasses, which hid his sparkling eyes.

Eliott then arched an eyebrow, apparently perplexed by my sudden change in behavior.

"You... You are really ..."

I couldn't find words to defend myself.

He just smiled before turning around and walking to his car.

"You really need to grow a little bit," he said mockingly.

I hurried to catch up with him.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked, taking long strides. Seeing that he was trying to knock me off, I crossed my arms over my chest, frowning and pouting like a child.

"You shouldn't come and get me if you want to walk alone in front while I stay behind ."

Laughing at my childish complaint, he took my hand and made me walk next to him. However, I didn't move an inch. Noticing that I was sulking, he tried to drag me away.

"Come on, stop being that childish!" "I want to go home. I'll just take a bus

," I said as I walked to the bus stop.

Striding, he stopped in front of me and lifted me off the ground unto his arms.

"If I have to go through all this trouble every night just to pick you up, I'll rather send a driver !"

"You're a jerk Judd!" I hissed helplessly. "I imagine you're proud of yourself now! Dumbass !"

"Absolutely," he said proudly.

We finally reached the car, and he made me sit in the passenger seat. I was still sulking. I was obviously not really angry. But, I loved the way he went out of his way to pamper me.

He finally took his place in the driver's seat and kept loooking at me insistently. A few minutes had passed, and the car hadn't started yet. I then turned to him to find out what he was doing. He immediately took my chin between his thumb and forefinger, forcing me to look him in the eye.

"You won't stop sulking ?"

I didn't answer, and did my best not to smile.

"No, you will have to put up with me like this for a long time to come. I must admit that I take great pleasure in disturbing you ."

As I said this, my lips curved into a smile. Of course he saw it, since he was still holding my chin.

"Deep down you like it, huh," he said with a smirk.

I didn't reply though.

"I knew it," he said jubilantly.

Laughing happily, he kept looking at me. I felt like he was scanning my soul with those deep eyes of his. All of a sudden, he leaned towards me. Instinctively, my eyes closed and I could feel his mouth gently resting on the tip of my nose...

'Would he finally... What the hell is wrong with this man? Why give me so many false hopes ?'

I could understand him all in all, he would be going to the other end of the world in just 5 days... I expected too much from him! I already had a great time chatting with him via messages. So having him physically by my side only increased my feeling of well-being. I just had to learn to enjoy the time we would spend together and avoid thinking about unpleasant things. But I should be careful not to get too attached. Anyways, it wasn't in 5 days that we would be able to create links that could resist distance and time. ...

He suddenly pulled back. Then without saying a word, he smiled and started the car.

I turned and looked out the window at the scenery. A lot of thoughts crossed my mind.

"Are there anything we would need to collect from your place?" he suddenly asked me.

"What for?" I was intrigued by his question.

"I thought to myself that you might like to change, well as long as you still want to sleep at my place. By the way, what time do you start your work tomorrow? "

I then realized that I hadn't told him...

"I asked some colleagues to take over from me this week, so that I could take some time for myself. They kindly accepted !"

"Are we then going to spend the week together?" he asked me with eyes full of enthusiasm.

"Maybe... Unless you get a better option ..."

"Stop that, please. So we're going to your place now? "

"Yeah," I replied, with a small smile that masked the excitement in me.

He smiled back. It was so cute...

All of a sudden, a thought occurred to me... What would a man and woman do together in a royal suite for a whole week? I should try my best to stick to my "never in the first month" rule.