"Fuck," Nico muttered under his breath.

I bit my bottom lip, "Careful."

"I'm sorry. I'll try to be more gentle."

He continued, and my teeth released my bottom lip. I told him, "You can go harder than that."

"Are you sure? I don't want to hurt you."

"I'm sure, trust me. I've done it rougher than this."

After a few minutes, I finally let out a breath of relief.

I held the mirror up to myself, smiling as I did so. I looked at him over my shoulder, "You did such a good job brushing my hair!"

"Thank you," he kissed my neck, making my heart swell in my chest. "Now let me put the ribbon in."

He grabbed the baby blue ribbon that was meant for him since I didn't have my pink one with me. His fingertips pulled half of my hair back, making goosebumps form on my skin. He used the ribbon to tie it, going gently to not pull my hair.

Once he was done, his hand rubbed up and down my back gently, "You feeling better today?"

"Yea, I'm fine. Honest. But I was wondering if we could stop by my house on the way to my work?" I asked. "I want to change into a clean dress."

"Sure," he answered, but his eyes looked at my lips the entire time I spoke.

I leaned forward, pressing my lips against his. It was just meant to be a quick kiss, but he put his hand on the back of my neck to make the kiss longer. Once we pulled away, he swore under his breath.

"You really have to work today?" he almost complained.

I nodded, "Sadly. But you can hang out in the back if you want? It may not have a recliner and blanket like yours does, but there are some coloring books."

"I'd rather stand at the register with you," he stood up, and I watched him walk over to his black boots.

He put them on and I grabbed my phone while standing up. I let out a sigh seeing nearly 100 missed calls and texts from Romeo.

'Are you okay?'

'Where are you?'

'Are you with Cross?'

'If I don't get an answer soon, I'll show up there myself.'

I turned my phone off, rubbing my temples from the headache my family was giving me. Hearing Nico starting to walk towards me made me turn my head, and my breath felt caught in my throat seeing him.

Black pants, black boots. Tight dark green t-shirt, the same color as his eyes. I wanna touch his hair.

And maybe something else.

His hand went to the side of my face, and I found myself leaning into it. He almost smiled at me, "You look beautiful, Elle."

My lips slowly spread into a smile. I looked up at him and grabbed his free hand with both of mine, "Give me more compliments."

He shook his head, "No can do. Used them all up for the day."

I frowned, but still let him put his hand on my back as we left his room. I only let him because I'm nice, not because it makes my stomach warm.

We stepped out into the sun, and the bright sunny day made me smile.

He complimented me again, "Your eyes in the sun are fucking beautiful."

So much for 'no can do.'

"And in the shade?" I asked.

"Look horrible. Absolutely terrible."

My bottom lip frowned. He kissed my frown and told me, "I'm fucking with you. If I could only see that color for the rest of my life, I'd have no complaints."

Get on a knee and propose to me right now.

Just kidding. We aren't even dating.

Yet.

Nico opened my car door for me because he's a gentleman, and because I glared at him when I saw him walking towards the drivers' side.

I bounced my left leg up and down aggressively, worried to see Rio. He hates me, what if he yells at me again about how much he hates me and how he doesn't want me in his life anymore?

Nico put his hand on my thigh to stop me from bouncing it, but even after I stopped, he still kept it there.

"You ready to talk about what happened?" he asked with a soft voice, trying to not sound aggressive and like he was pressuring me to.

I ran my hands through my hair while taking a breath.

"I followed Rio because I was scared he was buying heroin. Turned out to just be weed, but he caught me following him. My parents showed up because they had my location and caught Rio with it. They blamed me, saying that I brought him to go and get it, and Rio screamed at me. He said he hates me," I told him, my voice nearly breaking at the end.

I bit my bottom lip when I felt it wobble and Nico spoke in a soft voice, "Hey."

"I'm sorry, I don't mean to get emot-"

Nico quickly pulled the car over and turned to face me. He leaned across the seat and held my face in his hands. He looked into my eyes, "You did nothing wrong, Elle. You were just worried about him because you're a good sister. He's just being a little shit because that's what 17-year-olds do, but I promise you that he doesn't actually hate you."

My eyes were watering when he started talking, but stopped when he finished. I nodded, "I know. I'm just scared he won't forgive me."

"He will. And if he doesn't, he's an idiot," his thumbs brushed up and down my cheeks. "So don't be sad."

I nodded my head, my cheeks appreciating the warmth from his hands.

"I'm not driving again until I see that smile," he said, making my lips turn up as a laugh came out of me.

He smiled, "There we go."

He put the car back into drive, and although I was still nervous to see Rio, I felt less nervous now.

He pulled into the driveway, and I felt relieved that my parents weren't home. He asked me, "Do you want me to come in with you?"

"It's okay," I smiled at him. "I've got it. But if I'm not back in 20 minutes, come in and get me because that means Rio killed me."

As I opened my car door, he told me, "10 minutes."

A smile formed on my face as I closed the door.

I walked up to the door, taking a deep breath as I opened it. The second I opened it, Romeo was already at the bottom of the stairs.

"Did your phone break or something?" he asked me with a crease between his eyebrows.

I held up my phone, "Nope."

"So why didn't you answer me?"

I let out a sigh, "I slept at Nico's. After what happened yesterday, I didn't want to come home."

The worry slowly left his face, and he nodded his head.

"Is he....awake?" I asked.

"Yea. His door is gone, though. He was pissed about it last night, and I haven't had a chance to talk to him this morning," his words made my stomach fill with butterflies. And they weren't the good kind, like from Nico kissing me. They were nervous butterflies that made me want to bite my nails.

I took a deep breath, "Listen in case he stabs me."

I walked past him and headed up the stairs, immediately being visible since his door was gone.

He lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling while holding his hands above his head. His eyes didn't seem to notice me, continuing to look up.

I entered the room slowly, and spoke quietly, "Hey."

His head turned and looked at me, and I nervously bit the inside of my mouth. He pushed himself up, sitting on the edge of his bed while his feet hit the floor.

"Hey."

I tried to make the situation less awkward, "I'm not gonna miss that poster you had on your door. It freaked me out."

"Which one?"

"The one with the blood and knife," I said as if it were obvious. "The Saw one."

"It was Scream, not Saw. It was Billy Loomis," he corrected me.

As I said, 'Oh,' he stood up. I gulped while he walked over to me. He's gonna stab me.

He pulled me into a hug, making my eyes widen in surprise.

His arms wrapped around me tightly. I stood there in shock for a moment before hugging him back tightly, a smile forming on my face.

He said in my ear, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have spoken to you like that. You may annoy the fuck out of me, but I could never hate you."

I pulled away from the hug, all of my anxiety evaporating.

"I'm sorry I followed you," I apologized. "That wasn't cool of me."

"No, actually, it was," his words surprised me. "Was up all night thinking about it, and you're right. I shouldn't drink and smoke, at least not until I've been clean for longer. It fucking sucks that I don't have a door until mom and dad decide that they believe me, but I know it's for the best."

A wide smile formed on my face and he shook his head, "Stop that. I'm your younger brother, I'm not supposed to make you smile."

"Well, you did. Look," I pointed at my face.

He laughed slightly. He told me, "I told mom and dad that it wasn't your fault, and I didn't tell them about Cross."

"Thank you. Even though I doubt their opinion of me is going to change," I nearly spoke under my breath.

"I have to change and go to work. We'll get ice cream sometime this week?" I suggested, and he nodded his head.

I entered my room with a smile on my face. I looked through my closet before deciding on a white dress with small baby blue flowers on it to match the ribbon in my hair.

I walk down the stairs, giving Romeo a smile on my way to the front door.

As I opened the door, I nearly fell over seeing Nico about to enter. He looked me up and down, "It hit 10 minutes."

A laugh came out of my lips as I shut the door and grabbed onto his hand, dragging him back to the car.

-------------

"I remember this gentleman," my grandma smiles at Nico. "Is he your boyfriend, Elle?"

I shook my head, "No, he isn't."

"Well it's still nice to meet you," she shakes Nicos hand, and I nearly laughed at the nervous look on his face. "I trust you'll keep my granddaughter company today?"

Nico nodded, "Yes, I will. Don't worry."

My grandma smiled widely. I waved bye to her before she left the shop, leaving Nico and I to be the only people here.

I turned to him and did a spin, "Do you like my dress?"

"Mhm," he hummed, and a smile formed on my face seeing him lick his lips while his eyes moved up and down.

I purposefully knocked one of the bouquets behind the counter for a customer onto the floor. I bent down, giving him a free look at my cleavage. I heard him swear under his breath as I stood back up, and put the flowers back on the counter.

"Oops," I shrugged.

He took a step towards me, putting his hand on my jawline and forcing my head up to look at him. His thumb pulled my lower lip down as he almost whispered, "I don't like to be teased, Elle."

His green eyes stared into mine, and he released my lip. He leaned down, pressing his lips against mine, and it felt like I could melt into him.

Ding.

I quickly pulled away, and the customer was walking up to the counter for their flowers. They didn't seem to mind Nico, but I think that's because they couldn't see that he was grabbing my inner thigh behind the counter.

When his hand brushed my underwear while I bent down to grab the flowers, I sucked in a breath and ignored the heartbeat between my legs.

I handed them the flowers with a smile, and they paid using their card, so I didn't have to open the register.

"Have a nice day!" I called out to them.

I waited until the door was completely shut to turn to Nico and glare at him, "Stop that."

"Stop what?" his hand went up even further.

My legs felt weak. I tried to sound authoritative, "Remove your hand."

"If you want it moved, you remove it."

I gulped. His hand squeezed my inner thigh once again, and I didn't remove it.

He did a satisfied smirk, "That's what I thought."

He removed his hand from my thigh. He grabbed my hand, pulling me into the backroom. I started, "What are-"

He cut me off by putting his lips against mine. I took a few steps back while kissing him, until my back hit the wall behind me. His soft hair grazed my forehead as he kissed me, and I couldn't stop myself from grabbing a handful of it.

"Somebody might come in, Nico," I said breathlessly between kisses.

His hands went up under my dress, and I gasped slightly when he pulled my thong down. He kissed my neck before saying, "Then be a good girl and keep quiet."

The heat between my legs paired with his lips against my neck made me let out a soft sigh before biting my bottom lip. His fingers pressed against my clit, making me grab a tighter handful of his hair.

His fingers rubbed circles against my clit, moving easily with how wet I was. I had never been touched this way before, I even rarely did it myself. But the way Nico was doing it made my legs weak and made me want to do this all the time.

"Nico," I breathed, wrapping my arms around his neck because my legs were so weak from his touch.

I felt him nod against my neck, "I can tell you like that by how wet you are."

I wanted him to put a finger in so badly to crave what my body wanted. His finger ran along it, but didn't enter. He looked me in my eyes, "You want me to finger you?"

I nodded my head, feeling blood rush to my cheeks. He nodded while continuing to rub circles, and his fingers once again ran along it teasingly.

His finger pressed against it, and I bit back a gasp as he entered. My arms wrapped tighter around my neck as his lips covered my collarbone in kisses. His fingers went in and out once, making a soft moan come out of my mouth.

This was a feeling I never knew I wanted. But now that I got it, I knew I'd want it all the time. My toes curled in my shoes as his fingers went in and out again, and I buried my face in his neck to make the noises I was making muffled.

Ding.

He suddenly removed his fingers, taking a step back. My heartbeat was rapid in my chest, and I knew that my face was pink. He smirked while licking his fingers, and a customer called out, "Hello? I'm here to pick up a bouquet of roses."

"I'll be right there!" I yelled back, quickly pulling my underwear back up and fixing my dress.

I held my hand to my cheek, feeling how hot it was.

I took a deep breath, trying to calm down before taking a few steps towards the door. Nico stepped in front of me and smirked, "Now you know what it's like to be teased."

I swallowed my saliva. He fixed my hair, which I guess was messed up, before tucking a strand behind my ear.

"It's okay," he spoke. "It'll only make you want it more next time."

Next time. The heartbeat in my chest and the one in between my legs intensified.

The customer called out in an annoyed tone, "Hello?"

I shook my head, brushing past Nico and walking over to the counter.

I know I'm not going to be able to focus for the rest of my shift.