Adrian

"How much longer is she going to take? God!" Nico yells.

"Dude, calm down. It's not even 10pm yet, which is the time we agreed on. Just give her five more minutes," I respond.

"Fine, but if Sofia doesn't come out of her damn room at exactly 10pm, I'm dragging her ass out even if she's not dressed yet. I don't want Ana to get to the club before us and wait by herself."

"Nico, relax. We'll get there. If you're worried so much, why don't we just pick her up?"

He sighs. "I offered to obviously, but she said she preferred to meet us there. Probably wants to get there on her own in case she regrets this and wants to bolt. Dammit, this night is already a disaster," he says shaking his head.

Jeez, this kid is one nervous Nelly. I'm nervous too, but for entirely different reasons. However, I think I'm doing a much better job at hiding it than he is. Nico's never known how to keep his emotions up his sleeve.

"I'm just going to say this once, so listen carefully. Get your shit together, alright? She already agreed to going out which means she wants to go out with you. She could have easily said no, but she didn't. She's probably just as nervous as you are. So put on your big boy pants and remind her why she likes your stupid ass. Got it?"

Wow, I think my words are for myself as much as they were for him.

"Fine. Just tone it down with the speeches, Adrian. You're giving me a headache."

"I'm giving you a headache? What the hell do you think you've been doing to me all damn day?"

He's about to yell something back at me, when we hear a door open and heels click down the hallway. Thank god she's ready. I don't think I would have been able to tolerate any more of Nico's yapping.

I turn to look at her as she approaches and I literally feel time slow down at the sight of her. She's wearing a loose top with these little black shorts and knee-high boots. I repeat, knee-high fucking boots. Her blond silky hair falls in curls down her shoulders and they bounce perfectly as she moves. And her eyes. Damn those green eyes. She must have put makeup on or something because the way they pop is incredible.

I swear she looks like one of those sexy ass girls from the movies walking towards you in slow motion, only her expression isn't sultry and cocky. It's completely innocent and fuck if that doesn't make me want her even more. This night hasn't even started yet and I already know I'm a goner.

"Fuck no. No fucking way, Sofia," Nico says, pulling me out of my reverie.

"What?" she says giving him a hard glare.

"Go change. You're not going out like that," he orders.

"Hey! What's wrong with what I'm wearing?" she protests.

Nico sighs dramatically. "I could tell you a million things that are wrong with it, but I'm not getting into it right now. Just go put on some freaking jeans or something so we can leave."

"You don't get to tell me what to do, Nico. I'm not changing. Mom picked this out for me when we went shopping the other day. So if she is fine with it, then that's all I care about."

Seriously? Go Mrs. Durant! I absolutely love that woman. I'll have to thank her later. Oh wait, shit. I obviously can't do that. She'll then know I'm after Sofia. Idiot.

"Well mom is not a guy so she doesn't know what she's doing. Seriously, I don't have time for this. I can't be watching out for you tonight while a million douchebags hit on you. I'm trying to get back with Ana tonight, you know that. Please go change."

There is a slight desperation to Nico's voice and I know he's on the verge of freaking out. Okay, so he's overdoing the overprotective brother card but I can see his reasons in a backwards way.

Sofia's expression softens and she suddenly looks towards me for the first time with pleading eyes.

"Adrian?"

Fuck me now. She's asking me for my opinion. In front of Nico. What the hell am I supposed to say? I feel terrible too because she looked pretty damn excited about going out a minute ago and now she's looking at me like she's two seconds away from running back to her room and not coming out again for the rest of the night. This was a big step for her, too. Dammit, Nico. Why does he have to ruin this for me? Not that he knows it, but still.

I open my mouth but no words seem to come out. I'm still trying to get over the way she looks and she's left me damn speechless. I'm transfixed. There's no other way to describe it. I turn towards Nico. Maybe if I stop looking at her the words will finally come out.

He slaps the back of my head. "You're not helping me here, Adrian." He turns towards Sofia. "See? This is exactly what I'm talking about," he says flapping his arms towards me in exasperation.

Aw shit. He obviously witnessed me drooling all over her. Exhibit A. Exactly what Nico was referring to. I peek over at Sofia and she's slightly blushing. Okay, now there's no way in hell I'm letting her change out of that outfit. I think I would actually pay her to keep it on. I shake my head at that thought. I want to offer her money now? What the hell is wrong with me?

"Just stop. I'll look after her tonight, okay? Crisis averted. Let's just get the hell out of here," I finally manage to say. Every second more that we spend in this house is another second wasted of having Sofia to myself at the club.

"Yeah, I'm sure you will," Nico mumbles under his breath.

This time I slap the back of his head. "Just focus on Ana. Let's go," I say pushing him towards the front door.

He shakes his head but starts walking ahead regardless, probably at the mention of Ana. I pull Sofia to my side, and immediately notice her height difference against me with the heels. I don't have to bend my arm down that much to wrap around her waist and her head is now just above my shoulder. She really fits me perfectly.

"Looks like you're mine tonight," I whisper in her ear, hoping more than anything those words ring true.

She smiles back at me and it's at that moment I already know this is going to be the best night of my life.

We get to the club and I can't wait for Ana to arrive so I can disappear off somewhere with Sofia. Now that I think about it, I should have planned this better. I mean a club isn't exactly the best place to try to romanticize someone. Maybe I should just ask her out on a proper date again. Truth is, last time that happened I didn't get to see her for eight straight months so I'm kind of scared to do it again. What if she says no this time? It's different now that we live together so she might think it's weird to start something again.

Baby steps, Adrian. One thing at a time.

I look towards Sofia and Nico. They're actually having a friendly conversation and I'm pretty surprised after their family feud showdown from earlier. I guess that's how the sibling thing works, or maybe it's because they're twins and have an extra connection, but they always seem to get over it really quickly.

"You guys want drinks? I'm designated driver tonight, so knock yourselves out," I inform them.

"At least have a beer with me, Adrian. I'm sure it'll wear out by the time you leave," Nico says.

"Fine, but I can't have more than one," I respond. We walk towards the bar and I guide Sofia in front of me. "I'm holding you responsible for that, darling. I have some precious cargo to return home later," I tell her in a low voice and she giggles. I love that I have an excuse to touch her tonight. I can already see her turning heads, so I need to let these assholes know she's off limits.

Nico orders drinks for us while I scout the club. There is a pretty big dance floor where most people are convening, but there's also a second floor that doesn't seem to have too many people walking around. Hmm. Maybe we can go there to get some privacy. But what do I do once we get there? How do I even get her up there? God, I'm so bad at this.

Nico snaps his fingers in front of me and hands me a Pacifico. Sofia has some girly concoction type of martini in her hand and I wonder what drink it is so I can order it for her in the future.

"Don't worry, I watched the bartender make it," she tells me proudly.

Well I'll be damned. She actually listened to me. If Nico weren't in front of us I would have kissed her already because she's just so damn adorable. "That's what I like to hear. What the hell is that anyway?"

"It's a passion fruit margarita."

"Sounds fancy." Okay Adrian, mental note on that. "Well cheers, guys."

We clink our drinks together and Nico suddenly gets very still. "Ana is here. I just saw her walk in," he says as if he wasn't expecting her to show up at all.

"What are you waiting for? Go get her, bud," I tell him.

"Okay, I'll be back. Please stay here. Fifteen minutes tops and then you can go do whatever you want."

"Oh my god, I've never seen him so nervous before," Sofia says once he's gone. "It's kind of cute."

"Yeah. I hope it works out between them."

"Me too. It's almost weird seeing them not together. Like something is missing."

"I'm glad we were able to come out," I tell her. "It would have been better during the weekend, but Nico thought a Wednesday would be more casual. Practice is going to suck tomorrow."

"I guess you can't win them all," she laughs. "Hey so, thanks for sticking up for me and not making me change earlier. I think Nico was two seconds away from biting my head off."

"Of course. He was just really nervous and trying to be protective of you in his own weird way," I explain. I step a bit closer to her and reach for one of her curls, running the silky texture through my thumb and middle fingers. "For the record, you look absolutely stunning. You make it extremely difficult to stay away."

I feel her breath catch and my fingers travel to her neck almost on their own accord. Her pulse beats steadily under my touch and I desperately want to lean in and close the small distance between us. But Nico should be coming back any second now so I really need to pull away.

Her eyes meet mine and they are full of wonder. "What if I don't want you to?"

I quickly count the words because it's the most amazing string of words ever put together. What if I don't want you to. Seven, if you count the contraction as one word. Maybe I am a lucky bastard after all. Or maybe it is just a lucky number and it's wishful thinking.

I sense some movement to our side and I immediately drop my hand from her and step back, knowing it's Nico and Ana. Dammit. After tonight, he's never going to leave me alone with her.

"Adrian! I thought that was you," a girl practically screams and clings her arms around my neck. It takes me a while to react from the shock and I pull her away from me. It also takes me a while to recognize who this girl is. I can't remember her name but I'm pretty sure we've hooked up before. Fuck.

"Um, hey," I answer nervously.

"Why haven't you called me, stud?" she says batting her eyes at me and placing her hands on my chest.

Oh god. Definitely hooked up with her. Why, Adrian? Why? She's not even that good looking. Could this get any worse?

She leans into me and whispers very loudly in my ear. "I've been waiting to hear you moan my name again."

Holy shit. Yes, apparently it can get a million times worse. I'm pretty sure Sofia heard every damn word of that. I'm so screwed. But what she just said is a complete lie. The only name I ever moan is Sofia's which I'm sad to say has escaped me on quite a few occasions. The resulting slaps I've received from it are never fun. But I guess I've deserved them. So she's obviously making this up. Unless her name is actually ...

"Sofia?"

"Mmm. I like it already, stud," she responds.

I almost scream like a little girl from the horror. This is so wrong. I never want to hear those words uttered like that again, unless it's coming from Sofia. My Sofia. Not this imposter.

I push her away from me and quickly grab the real Sofia and hold onto her for dear life. Her eyes are wide and she looks extremely peeved, but lets me hold onto her nonetheless.

"Listen, lady," I say turning to fake Sofia. I can't even say her name because that name is reserved for one person and one person only. "I don't know what you think is going on, but I'm here with her. I'm sure we had fun or whatever but that was probably months ago and it was definitely a one-time thing. So I'm sorry but that's why I haven't called. It should have been pretty obvious by now."

"Whatever. You weren't that good anyway," she says putting her nose up. She looks towards Sofia and adds, "You shouldn't waste your time with him, honey."

Dammit all to hell. Guess I am really terrible and it's finally caught up with me. I knew I was pretty much done the moment this girl showed up, but she has now officially blown any chance I ever had with Sofia. The thought is severely depressing. I was so close. And it's my entire fault for being a worthless piece of junk.

"If wasting my time means having multiple orgasms in one night, then I'd say he's doing pretty well. Sorry it didn't work out for you."

To say that I'm shocked by Sofia's response is putting it lightly. Why did she just defend me? Not only did she make it seem like we've been together before, but told her I was actually good and rubbed it in her face.

Fake Sofia scoffs and thankfully disappears from our sight. I lean back against the counter of the bar in relief and for a second I wish I could get swallowed by the ground.

"Hey, you okay?" Sofia asks me, placing her small hand on my arm.

What? How is she concerned about me right now? Why isn't she running for the hills? "I'm so sorry. I wish you hadn't heard all that. That was a while ago and I'm not –"

"Don't worry about it, stud," Sofia interrupts with a grin. We look at each other for a moment in silence and then we both burst out laughing. "Maybe I should call you that from now on," she teases.

"No, please don't. I'll have nightmares," I mock protest. Wow, this girl is seriously incredible. Any other girl and she would have left me stranded no questions asked. I certainly don't deserve her. "Thank you, Sofia."

"For what?"

"For not bitch slapping me like I deserve."

"Oh please, that was so entertaining! Your face when you realized her name was Sofia was priceless. I mean, what are the odds?" she says laughing.

"Wow. I almost pissed my pants," I agree with her.

"What's so funny over here?"

I turn around to see a smiling Nico with a hesitant Ana by her side.

"Oh my gosh, Ana!" Sofia practically jumps to hug her. "We've missed you."

Ana is obviously a bit startled by her reaction and her eyes even seem a bit teary. "Really? I missed you guys, too," she responds.

I lean in to hug her after Sofia. "Of course. This guy over here has been driving us nuts," I say pointing towards Nico. "We need someone to keep him in check. Please, save us. Please."

"Funny, Adrian," Nico says.

"No, no. His new name is stud," Sofia informs everyone. She turns to me and playfully asks, "Wait, do you prefer stud or stud muffin?"

I absolutely love that she's being like this. I reach down to tickle her and she giggles delightfully.

"Yeah, I'm not calling you either of those names, Adrian. Good luck with that," Nico responds.

And just like that my entire world feels right again.