"The man dumped you when you were pregnant, and now you accept him with open arms?"

I bursted at mom, the moment she opened the door of our house.

"How did you know?"

"He came to see me in my apartment," I look at her with disappointment, my eyes are glaring, "have you got no pride at all?"

I walk to the kitchen to get a glass of water, and she follows.

"I know you'll get mad, I'm expecting this. But I love him so much. I want to be with him until we grow old."

"Seriously, mom!" I slam the glass on the kitchen counter.

"No matter how hurtful he did by leaving us before, I forgive him. He's a changed man now, and his intention for me... for our family, is genuine."

"My ass. I will never accept him as my father."

"Don't put all the blame on him. I was wrong too, Grayson. I deprived him of you. Everything that he sent for you, I returned to him, especially the financial support. I cut him out of our lives. Too many times he begged to spend time with you, but I denied him. It was my decision to hide your relationship to him from the public. I don't want to drag your name in any political issues and make our lives complicated."

"How can you do this mom? You hated him before, and now you're defending him, explaining his wrongdoings."

"I'm just telling the truth. I was young when I was pregnant with you. Your grandpa was so upset, he drove Oliver away by using threats and blackmail. You know your Grandpa, he hated the West, because of a long time family conflict. So, I forbid Oliver to visit or contact me. When you were born, Dad didn't want Oliver to have a role in your life."

"If you're trying to convince me he's a good man, sorry, my opinion of him will never change."

"Well, then I can't force you. I'm not asking for your permission either. Oliver already filed a divorce, and we're planning to get married when everything settled. I'm not getting younger, I deserve to be happy. For many years, I've been taking care of the three of you. It's time that someone should take care of me."

"What the hell mom, if that's your concern, then don't worry. The three of us will take care of you. We'll take turns in changing your diapers when you're old and get you a hi-tech wheelchair."

"Stop making a joke. That is not funny. All I want is for you to understand me and my needs."

"Do Julia and Brooke know about this?"

"Yeah." She nods, looking guilty.

"Dammit. I'm the last person to know again," I exhale heavily, "If you marry him, make sure you won't make the same mistake when you wed Jax."

Jax. Julia and Brooke's father. A lazy, irresponsible husband and father, who often stayed on the couch drinking beer while watching football.

"Just trust me, Gray. Jax is a certified asshole, I knew it from the start but refused to acknowledge the truth. This time, I know what I'm doing. If ever I make a mistake again, so be it. At least, I can say that I tried. I won't live a day full of regrets."

I nod and open my arms to hug her. We hug each other briefly.

"I love you mom, and I only want the best for you. If he can make you happy, then there's nothing I can do about it. I can't stop you, you're a hard-headed mom, you'll do whatever you want."

"Exactly," mom's lips widen in a radiant smile.

"That man will regret it if he makes you cry, I'll make sure of that."

"You're really scary when you're angry." She pokes my chest, "and that man is your father. You must learn to accept him, because soon, we'll be a family."

There he goes again, keeping at least two meters away from me. I can't understand him, he's acting like that kiss never happened. It has been a week since we kissed and it still keeps me awake at nights. That kiss is something. Hot, sweet and addictive. It's not just an ordinary kiss that I can forget easily. I can feel his passion, his need, like a thirst needed to be quenched.

Now, we're on the beach, shooting a video. The crew got vaccinated with Covid, so we're confident to go outside.

Grayson is talking to a sexy big ass waitress, probably flirting with her. If he's trying to make me jealous, then he succeeded. Hmm... I should ignore him and remember he's off-limits. This thick head of mine often forgets my promise to Julia.

"Come on, let's join them." I said to Julia, pointing a finger at the two gorgeous men playing volleyball.

"Sure! Let's get rid of our clothes and flaunt our gym body."

"Of course," I laugh, and together we take off our clothes, leaving our bikinis on. Mine is a skimpy black bikini, while Julia is a hot pink.

Julia approaches the guys first, "Hi, we're so bored. Can we join your game?"

"I know you, you're Julia," the curly red-haired guy smiles, then he turns to me, "and you're Roxanne. I watch you both on YouTube."

The other guy extends his hand to me for a handshake, "I'm Shane, and this is Andy. Come on, join us."

We just start playing volleyball when Grayson interrupts us.

"Come on girls, that's enough. We're here to shoot a video." His smile doesn't reach his eyes, and I know that he's pretty annoyed.

"You're a spoilsport. Just give us ten minutes. Do your thing, set the camera up." Julia says then ignores him.

But I can feel his eyes bore mine. He's jealous of the guy playing with me. Who wouldn't? He's really cute and gorgeous, a look-alike of Tom Holland.

Later, we shoot the video, and Grayson is so grumpy. He complains about everything, and I believe he punishes me and Julia, by making us run on the beach.

"It's for the video. We're doing something like a Baywatch intro." He reasons out.

"What a scumbag. Why does it have to be me and Roxanne only? What about Riggs and Chance? They're just drinking Pina Coladas."

"You complain too much," PJ butts in, "you and Roxanne are the major stars in this content. Besides, you both are getting the endorsements."

"Shut up, PJ. I'm not talking to you." Julia glares at PJ.

"I'm tired, I think I'm going to pass out from the heat. Can I go to the villa?" I ask Grayson, and he allows me to leave.

"I'll hang out with Andy," Julia smiles flirtatiously.

The villa that Grayson rented for the crew has four bedrooms. We will stay overnight. It's his treat for us, for all the hard work we did for his channel.

I arrive in the villa and immediately have a long shower. I take my time, singing my favorite BTS song, Spring Day, in the shower and trying the free scented bath products. My headaches are gone, I'm happy about that. It must be from the heat of the sun.

After I'm done, I go to a room where we put all our bags. There was no bedroom assignments yet so we put all our belongings in the master's bedroom.

I remove my robe, I'm completely naked, when suddenly the bedroom door opens. I stand frozen as the man standing in front of me looks as shocked as I am.

I take about five seconds before I realize what is happening.

"What the hell! Why didn't you knock?" I yell at him, as I grab my robe and cover myself.

"Why didn't you lock the door?" His smile is wicked, and teasing.

"Are you laughing at me?" My face burns with embarrassment as I look at him with anger. "I hate you."

"For seeing you naked?" He chuckles, "don't worry, I've seen it before. You sent me a nude photo of you, remember."

That stops me. Oh my God... now he's talking about it.

"For your information, that was a mistake. I accidentally sent it to you."

His eyebrows raise, then he smirks, "Come on, I know you always have a huge crush on me. You sent it to me intentionally."

My eyes grew enormous instantly, ""Excuse me? I never had a crush on you!"

"Don't deny it," he laughs aloud, "I caught you staring at me, too many times."

"Seriously? You caught me, huh? Whoa man, what a super ego you have in there."

"Just admit it, Rox. You always imagine us getting together. You fantasize of us getting married, and live happily ever after. So, you sent that picture before I left university to remind me you're the hottest chick in Baltimore."

"Wow! What an imagination. Fuck you, Grayson. You're the one who has a great crush on me. You think I did not notice you checking on me?"

"Checking on you? I never check on you."

"I have proof. In the videos. You always check on me. Even the viewers noticed that."

"I was looking at someone behind you. It's my job to check on everything."

"Damn you, and what about that kiss? Why did you kiss me, like... like... you wanted me so badly? Like you've been dying to kiss me. Don't tell me that was nothing."

"That was nothing."

I stand in front of him, and glare at him. "Nothing?"

"Absolutely NOTHING."

I heave a sigh, then says, "Okay, so we established already that there's nothing between us. Forget about that photo I sent you, I swear, I did not mean it for you. And forget that you saw me naked today. Erase that in your mind and let's not talk about it."

"Okay. That's great," he eyes me with an amused expression.

"Cool," I reply, then turn my back against him. "Can I have my privacy now? I need to change."

"I'm not leaving."

I face him again, one of my eyebrows raise questioningly.

"You're mad at me," he says.

"I'm not. Can you leave now? You're so annoying."

He chuckles, then comes near me, "see? You're mad."

"Why should I get mad? Stop playing mind games with me Grayson, that's not cute at all."

He pulls me towards him, his hands holding my elbows. "I was teasing you."

"That was not funny at all. You accused me of having a crush on you, and fantasizing about you..."

He laughs aloud, "not even a little?"

I shake my head.

"Now, I'm hurt," he touches his heart like he's in pain. "You're right, I always have a crush on you. It probably started the first time I saw you."

Everything inside me tingles. My stomach swirls and my mind spins.

"And that kiss is nothing?"

He shakes his head slowly, "nope. That was everything."