Two weeks later, Friday evening

Outfit: the below dress, white trainers
Hair: messy big curls

If all of the kings had their queens on the throne
We would pop champagne and raise a toast
To all of the queens who are fighting alone
Baby, you're not dancin' on your own

Can't live without me, you wanna, but you can't, no, no, no
Think it's funny, but honey, can't run this show on your own
I can feel my body shake, there's only so much I can take
I'll show you how a real queen behaves, oh

No damsel in distress, don't need to save me
Once I start breathin' fire, you can't tame me
And you might think I'm weak without a sword
But if I had one, it'd be bigger than yours
~Kings & Queens - Ava Max~

Having finished getting ready for the staff BBQ party Jen was hosting at her house, I sat on the sofa with music in the background, and scrolled through Pinterest while waiting for Nate to pick me up. Ever since the space museum, things have been great between us and it got to the point where we would stay at each other's place for a couple of days at a time, because we hated being apart for too long. The last time I saw him was yesterday morning at his apartment, before I left for work and I was already missing him. Truth was, each day that went by I fell more and more in love with him, but the romantic in me wanted to wait for him to say the three famous words first.

Hearing a knock at the door, I turned the music off and rushed to open it. As soon as I saw Nate with a grin on his face, I wrapped my arms around his neck while he held onto my waist, "I missed you" he said before we shared a kiss, "I missed you too" I replied with a smile, happy to be in his company again. Pulling away, he placed his overnight bag by my entrance table and, assuming we were leaving, I went to grab my keys, but catching my wrist, he pulled me back in his arms, "I didn't say I was done with you" he said with a smirk, before crashing his lips onto mine. Closing the door behind him, he pinned me against it taking me by surprise.

As we passionately kissed, he let go off my hands and taking that as an opportunity, I undid his jeans and rubbed his hard dick through his boxers. Groaning in pleasure while I moved up and down his length, he quickly pulled his jeans and boxers down to his ankles, before taking my underwear off and throwing them on the floor. Soft moans escaped my lips when I felt his fingers entering me, as I held onto the hem of my dress. Paying attention to my g-spot he thrusted deep, making it harder for me to concentrate on the hand job I was trying to give him. With a smirk, he pulled out and picked me up as I wrapped my legs around him in response. I tightened my grip on his shoulders when I felt him sliding into me with ease, "I love how wet you get for me" he whispered in my ear, sending shivers down my spine. Before I could reply, he thrusted fast and hard, making me arch my back, "oh God Nate" I moaned, encouraging him to pick up the pace. With a few grunts, he finished with me following close behind.

Arriving at the party fashionably late, "glad you two lovebirds could make it" Jen greeted us at the door with a hug. We followed her to the back garden and taking a quick look around to see who was here, I noticed Lori and Steph staring at me with a displeased look on their faces, making me mentally roll my eyes, "hey uncle Diego" I heard Nate say, catching my attention, "hi mijo, good to see you" the man who approached us said, as he stood next to Jen with an arm around her, "and you must be Annabeth" he said making me nod, "nice to meet you" I said politely, "the pleasure is mine, it's nice to finally meet the girl who's gotten this one all smitten, he never shuts up about you" he said amused while Nate didn't look impressed. Trying to contain a grin, "come on honey, let's go" Jen said, rescuing Nate from further embarrassment.

Once it was just the two of us, "all smitten, uh?" I teased making him grin. Placing his hand in mine, he gave it a squeeze before walking us to the refreshments table. While he took care of the drinks, I put a handful of nachos on our sharing plate when, "Annabeth" my face dropped when I heard Lori's voice from behind me. Turning around, "hey guys" I replied with a polite smile, noticing Steph standing behind her, "I see you're back with Jen's nephew so you must be expecting a promotion any time soon and the whole sleeping around with a bunch of different guys isn't my thing, but good for you" she said in a condescending tone, making me want to punch that fake smile off her face.

Having had enough, "I don't know why you feel the need to be a bitch and act as if you're in high school, but I would appreciate it if you maintained some level of professionalism, or if you prefer, I can always report you to HR for harassment, your choice" I threatened while she glared at me, "and just so we're clear, the same goes for you too" I said to Steph, making her nod, "I'm sorry" she said in a small voice, before walking away. It looked like for once Lori was speechless and with a final glare, she stormed away.

Letting out a breath, I felt an arm wrap around my waist from behind, "great speech cupcake, I would have spilled a drink on her" Nate said, making me laugh. Turning around to face him, "you ok?" He asked in concern. I wasn't going to let anyone walk all over me again or ruin my mood. With a nod, "let's go have a good night" I said with a smile. He leaned in and gave me a gentle kiss, before picking up the drinks he placed on the table and motioning for me to lead the way. Grabbing one last handful of nachos, we joined the 'nice colleagues'.

As soon as I greeted everyone, "your legs look amazing in that dress" Jonathan said while checking me out, "thank you" I gratefully replied. Nate's arm immediately wrapped around me, pulling me closer to him, "I'm Nate, the boyfriend, nice to meet you all" he introduced himself with a polite smile. We never really talked about labels before, so hearing him refer to himself as my boyfriend for the first time, made my heart skip a beat and I couldn't help but smile.

While my colleagues were in deep conversation about someone's recent bad date experience, I noticed Nate giving Jonathan some weird looks and a smile appeared on my face once I realised he was jealous. Taking my phone out, I typed on the notes app, "you don't have to worry, Jonathan has a boyfriend" I passed Nate my phone and watched as he smiled in amusement, "sorry, just want you all to myself" he quickly typed back and passed the phone to me. Grabbing his hand, I pulled him down close enough for me to whisper, "I already am" I said, making him grin.

Outfit: the below set
Hair: natural

The next morning, I woke up in Nate's arms while he softly snored away. Despite not being close to anyone at work, I surprisingly had a great time at the BBQ and we all ended up dancing the night away after eating a lot of food. By the time Nate and I got back to my apartment it was pretty late and I was exhausted. It didn't take long for me to fall asleep as I happily laid on his chest, his hands playing with my hair, making me feel relaxed and safe. Now that I was awake, I wanted to surprise him with breakfast in bed, but as soon as I tried to get up, he pulled me back down, "where do you think you're going?" He asked in a sexy morning voice, "nowhere, just getting up" I said trying to play it casual.

Nate's POV

Knowing she was up to something, "you're a terrible liar" I said amused, making her roll her eyes. Leaning in, I placed a gentle kiss on her lips, "good morning cupcake" I said as we exchanged a smile, "morning" she replied, before giving me a second kiss and getting up. As I watched her pick up her black cardigan and put it on, I couldn't help but feel happy. I thought I've loved before, but the way I felt about her was nothing like it.

I had plans to organise something romantic for tonight to confess my feelings, but not wanting to wait any longer, "I love you" I said taking her by surprise. As I sat up on the bed, she turned around and stared at me, "I love you" I repeated as we looked into each other's eyes. Suddenly, she threw herself on the bed, tackling me as her lips crashed onto mine, "I love you too" she said against my lips, making me grin. With her sat on top of me, I wrapped my arms around her and held her close as we passionately kissed.

Suddenly my stomach grumbled, making her laugh, "I apologise for the whale sounds" I sheepishly said with a chuckle, "it's fine, it is almost 2pm" she said as I pulled a face in response, "what?" I said out loud while reaching for my phone to check the time. With her hands on my cheeks, she made me face her, "how about I make us some food? I was going to anyway" she said with a soft smile, "I'll have a quick shower and I'll come help you" I said making her nod. As she got off me, I grabbed her wrist and pulled her back down onto me. With my lips on hers, I flipped us over so that I was on top. As we smiled at each other, I moved a few strands of hair from her face, before exchanging one last kiss and getting up.

Annabeth's POV

As I made my way to the kitchen, after a quick morning routine, from the corner of my eye I noticed a white envelope by the front door. Picking it up, I opened it to find a letter inside, "I know you don't want to see me, but I'm moving and this was the only way I could think of to say goodbye. You have no reason to believe me, but I wanted you to know I returned the money your parents gave me and again, I'm sorry for everything, I should have just been honest with you. I wish I could have seen you one last time. Goodbye, Liam". As soon as I finished reading the letter, I found myself quickly putting my trainers on and leaving the apartment. Not wanting to wait for the elevator, I dashed down the stairs to try and catch him. I didn't even think about the possibility that he could have been long gone by now, but I had to try.

Liam's POV

After almost an hour and a half, I was still eagerly waiting on my bike, hoping for Annabeth to come down and jump into my arms. To tell me she forgave me and wanted to be with me as much as I wanted to be with her, but I knew that was a stupid thought. Recognising Nate's voice whenever I would hear them walk by my door, I knew she was back with him now and despite my jealousy, I was happy to see her happy. Though, I could have done without hearing their sex noises as I got into my apartment yesterday evening. With a sigh, I checked my watch ready to give up when, "Liam" I heard her calling me.

Turning my head towards the direction of the voice, I saw her panting as she stood by the gate, looking beautiful as always. I quickly got off my bike and walked towards her, "hey" I said as we exchanged a small smile, "hey" she replied while we looked into each other's eyes, "I'm not angry anymore" she suddenly said, making me feel hopeful, "I was hurt, but I couldn't let you go without you knowing that we're good, no bad feelings between us" she said with a reassuring smile, making my heart drop.

I wanted to grab her and kiss her, but it was clear she was here to say goodbye. Hiding my disappointment with a smile, "thank you" I replied, making her nod. She took a few steps towards me, closing the distance with a hug. I wrapped my arms around her in response and hesitantly let go as she pulled away, "take care" she said and after exchanging a smile, she waved goodbye and walked away. I stood still for a minute, watching her disappear out of sight until, "goodbye" I disappointedly thought to myself. Without hesitating, I got back on my bike and with the helmet safely secured, I drove away.