Chapter 8 : Just Say Yes

*Lila's POV*

Two weeks. Three dates. A stupid amount of texts and calls, and I would finally admit it. I was more than just a little lovesick.

Rafe was an absolute gentleman, a full out dream when we were together, I could hardly believe how well we went together. There was just one problem, we hadn’t gone past chaste kisses against the back of my hand or a gentle hand around my waist to walk beside me.

I wanted him to kiss me. I desperately wanted him to and I wasn’t quite sure how to ask for such a thing when I craved his touch. I constantly wondered if he felt the same. If he, too, wanted to take that next step.

Mia was giving me a judgemental look over her glass of rosé since I was only admitting it now, but I never said I wasn't stubborn, or in denial. She was of the opinion that there was no way Rafe didn’t want to f*ck me while I was unsure if the amount of attention and money he spent on me was his dedication to our relationship or if he was just as lovesick as I was.

She had come over for a relaxing girls night. Well, it was relaxing for her as she grilled me for all the gossip and details about my relationship with Rafe. She even said I was more interesting than her current romance book.

I still wasn't sure if i should be insulted by that or not, but to be fair, my life really had spiraled into something fairytale-esque. I was dating Rafe Silvius.

The richest man in the world, owner of one of the largest biotechnical companies in the world, and he was dating ME.

There was a lot of anxiety stemming from that, even though I liked him. I was starting to fear that I liked him too much.

"Why are you so worried about this? I mean, yes, your last boyfriend was a turd, but you’ve gotten a major upgrade in the romance department! How can you not be happy about this?! You’ve been swooning for him since the conference.”

“Of course, I’m happy about this, but I’m also frickin’ terrified! Aren’t we moving a bit too fast? I mean, on our first date, he took me to a private showing of that new movie I'd been wanting to see."

"That sounds like a pretty normal date though."

"Mia, he rented out the entire building. We were the only ones there. The movie was three hours long because it wasn't even the final cut."

"That's—okay, wow. But you went into this knowing he was rich. This is rich people shit, right? Normal."

"No, not normal! For our second date he took us out for sushi."

"Fancy,” Mia swooned.

I rolled my eyes. "He hired a Michelin star chef to prepare it for us. Tunas are BIG, Mia. I didn't know tunas were that big."

She shrugged. "That doesn't sound like a problem."

"The problem is that he's doing all these amazing things and spending so much money and I–I don't know. It makes me feel like I'm not really contributing to this relationship like I should be."

"Hey, you've only been together for a few weeks. You're in the honeymoon phase or whatever. Once you start to know each other and settle down into a rhythm, he'll be better about this… or spend a crap ton more on you once he knows what you like."

"Mia, be serious!" I exclaimed.

“I am.” She frowned before sitting up and bumping our shoulders together. “Hey, you’re fine. You were always slow to get together and start something with someone, you’re just experiencing things at the pace other people do. It’s not bad if you’re moving fast. If you’re really that worried, then tell him to slow down.”

“I just… I’ve never acted like this or—or felt like this before. When I was with Max, sure, we got along fine and went on dates. Hell, we even moved in together! But we never… what Rafe and I have is different.”

“Which is why you’ll be just fine,” she assured me. “Things went wrong with Max because he was an asshole who didn’t put in any effort. Something tells me Rafe is different.”

"I think he might be putting in a bit too much effort, honestly."

"Then tell him that,” Mia pressed. “Have a conversation, Richest man in the world or not, he better respect your boundaries, or I’ll kick his ass.”

I smiled half-heartedly at her words of wisdom. “Thanks Mia. You’re right, I just… I really want this to work. Things aren’t exactly in our favor.”

“What? A kick ass journalist getting together with the billionaire she’s writing about? Sounds like it’s going your way already.”

“Don’t give me your ‘the trope mimics real life’ shtick. He’s a public figure, I’m not, and when it comes out he’s dating ME? That article is going to be one hell of a story,” I groaned.

“So… you gonna write it then?”

I scoffed, rolling my eyes. “Absolutely not. It would have to be at least slightly unbiased.”

“Of course, forgive me,” she replied with a roll of her eyes.

“In all honesty though, I shouldn’t even be writing articles about him anymore. I’m already compromised,” I noted.

“You’re doing just fine,” Mia countered. “Here’s the one thing you have to ask yourself. Do you want to be with him? Yes or no?”

“Yes,” I said without hesitation.

Despite all the good-natured ribbing and my anxiety, I knew Mia was right. I just needed to get out all the nerves now so I could put my all into this relationship. My last one was a total flop, so maybe that was part of the reason why I was so worried about this.

But on the other hand, Rafe Silvius was the man everyone wanted.

He was THE bachelor, the guy that girls dreamed about as their celebrity crush, and I was one little journalist from a small paper that somehow managed to catch his attention.

He said it was because of my question, but I still wasn’t so sure if that was all there was to it. The only thing I knew was that he was genuine about this. About me.

I wanted this, I just didn’t know how to do it properly or deal with everything I was feeling–in other words, sick to my stomach full of butterflies and nerves, trembling from fear and anticipation, heart in my throat and beating out of my chest.

And yet, I never wanted it to stop.

“Then worry about the other stuff when it comes,” Mia finished. “Right now, you just have to worry about drinking your rosé and giving me all the details."

“Alright, alright. You're right, I just… need to calm down."

"That's the spirit!” she cheered. “But seriously, tell me everything."

"Well, tonight he's taking me out for a more casual dinner for a view of the city in one of the high rises."

"That's casual?" she said, her eyes widening.

I chuckled. "He said it was but probably not. Casual for him, maybe. I really need to get his schedule so I can plan one of our dates. I need a movie and a takeout night at home with him at some point."

"The Rafe Silvius eating takeout and watching a movie on his couch. It'd be a riveting article."

"But one that's for my eyes only," I smirked.

"...You are so in love,” Mia teased. Then she smiled gently. “It's a good look on you."

...Yeah. That's why everything was so scary. I was falling in love with no way to stop it, and I had no intention of doing so.

Mia had left my apartment to give me time to get ready, and she left me feeling a bit more confident in my whole relationship with Rafe. Yes, I was nervous, but that was just because I cared.

I had never moved this quickly with a relationship. Even with Max, I had known him for a few months beforehand and we were friends for a bit prior to him asking me out.

Okay, he wasn’t the best example, seeing as he screwed me over. So maybe this fast pace relationship was normal. I didn’t really date when I was in college and Max was my first relationship outside of it.

My worries followed me to dinner. It was a nice place. Rafe never took me anywhere that wasn’t, but I was distracted and he could tell.

“Are you alright, Lila? Do you not like the food?”

“No, no it’s fantastic! I’m just… thinking about something.”

I sighed, inwardly scolding myself. I was letting my worries get the best of me and completely ruining our date.

“If something’s bothering you, you can tell me,” Rafe insisted and I bit my lip.

Tell him. Yeah, I suppose I should. I had just had this conversation with Mia after all.

“Well, when am I going to be allowed to take you out on a date? I mean, I know the whole public figure thing would make it hard and all but you’ve taken me out to so many wonderful places and I know I can’t afford to do the same but–urgh!” I stopped myself and chuckled at my embarrassment. “And I’m usually so ‘eloquent,’ as you put it,” I joked weakly.

Rafe blinked slowly before setting down his fork and knife.

“Do you, Lila Wrenn, want to take me out on a date?” he asked carefully, a smile slowly starting to appear on his face.

“Is that really so strange?” I asked hotly, crossing my arms and trying to hide my embarrassment while his smile just got bigger. “I want to do nice things for you too, you know. We ARE dating.”

He chuckled. “I’m the billionaire here.”

“And I’m your… person of interest? The one you are taking out on dates. Don’t pull that card. That’s as cheap as you are rich. You’ve been covering all the dates and while they’re lovely, I want to do other things with you like have picnics in the park or go to little coffee shops and stuff our faces with bread. Normal date stuff. I don’t need all this to be wooed. I like YOU Rafe, you. Not… this.”

I wasn’t dating Rafe for money. I’d rather die than do that. And yes, I’d admit being treated all the time and not having to worry about the bill was nice, but that wasn’t why I was here.

I didn’t want a boyfriend so I’d be taken care of. I wanted a boyfriend because it was Rafe. Rafe who made me smile and laugh, who was handsome and found me just as pretty. Who made me feel special.

Was it really so strange that I’d want him to feel special too?

“Most people are fine with me paying. I don’t mind either,” he told me, tone soft.

“Well, I do. If this relationship is going to work, I actually want to contribute to it,” I insisted.

After a moment, Rafe nodded.

“I hope you know I won’t stop taking you out on dates. I don’t always have time so it might be over the top, but I want you to know that I care.”

“Rafe, you don’t need to spend money on me for me to know that you care,” I laughed softly.

It seemed that I was worried for nothing. God we were both… we both wanted to make this work so badly that we were ridiculous.

“How about this?” I countered. “I plan our next date and we do something… a bit more simple. I’ll pick up food and we’ll have a picnic or something; a lunch date, whatever you’d prefer, but I’M paying.”

“Alright, I think I can agree to that.”

“Should we shake on it?” I joked before fluttering my lashes. “Or should we seal it with a kiss?”

“Well, obviously the handshake,” he said sarcastically and I was in stitches at his tone. Once I calmed down though, I stood up and moved to his side, leaning down close to his face.

His eyes watched me as I remained only inches from his mouth. I bit my lip, waiting to see what he would do next. His hand reached up to my face and his thumb stroked my cheek, but he didn’t move a muscle. He was giving me the power to make the first move, and it felt… amazing.

I relished in his touch for just a moment longer before slowly closing in the gap. When our lips brushed, I knew it was the right decision.

Rafe sighed against my lips and then his hand, still on my cheek, pulled me in closer as he tilted his head to deepen our kiss. My breath hitched as I pressed in, the mood quickly growing hotter.

It made my skin tingle and burn, pleasure clawing its way out so fast that my knees felt weak. This was what we were waiting for. This moment. Everything was leading up to this point.

We had both wanted this and didn’t know how to ask for it, and now we couldn’t stop. The caress of lips was nothing chaste. It wasn’t soft and sweet. It was hungry.

Rafe pulled me into his lap and I threw my arms around his neck, gasping as his hand slid down my back. His other buried into my hair before I had half a mind to pull back and remember to breathe.

“W–wait–we’re… in public–” I babbled and he chuckled, pressing a kiss to my temple.

“Lila, I own this building. This is my highrise.”

At that, I really had to pull back and look at him. “You have a restaurant in your highrise apartment?”

“Haha, no. I have a private chef on the lower levels. I guess we were both thinking similar things,” he said sheepishly, but my heart was beating so loud I didn’t know how he could hear it.

“Oh, are you saying you want me in your house? Couldn’t wait to invite me in?” I teased.

“I own more than one place. This one does have the best view though,” he said while looking me straight in the eyes and sending a shiver down my spine.

“Oh?” My voice pitched embarrassingly and I tried to recover. “I think the view is pretty nice myself, though, we could make it better…” I loosened his tie.

Was I really…

I was. This was fast.

“You need to tell me no, right now, Lila,” he growled, and I leaned in closer.

“But I want to say yes,” I unexpectedly purred.

And God, it felt right.