5. SHORT SHORTS, SHORTY

HEYYYY, I HOPE YOU ALL ARE DOING FINE. AND I AM SO SORRY FOR TAKING THIS LONG TO UPDATE BUT UNIVERSITY HAS JUST BEEN CRAZY WITH SHIT TONS OF ASSIGNMENTS AND EXAMS.

SORRY AND I HOPE YOU ENJOY THIS CHAPTER.

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"Mom, this is Lillian and Lillian, that's mom." I introduce pointing my fingers lazily between the two.

Plopping on the couch, I look as they both hug each other and Lillian gushes about how mom looks too young to be a mother.

She gets that a lot.

She's beautiful.

"I'll bring something to eat for the two of you." mom says excusing herself.

"Savannah is so beautiful." Lillian squeals.

I laugh throwing my head back and nod my head in agreement.

"She is. Are you going to stay tonight?" I ask.

"Unfortunately, no. Mom's coming back tonight. I have to be at home." she pouts.

Lillian's parents are often travelling for business purposes. They both met in New York when her mother used to work as a secretary for her father and that is how their love story began.

"Oh. Next time, maybe?" I ask and smile.

"Yes.  Now tell me." she says, all of a sudden, turning towards me with wide, excited eyes.

"What?" I question looking at her in confusion.

"Nicholas. How do you know him?" she grins mischievously at me.

Thankfully, mom comes back with a tray of juice and sandwiches and place them on the coffee table in our living room.

"Thank you." we both mutter in unison before digging.

She chuckles while leaving the room and disappearing in the kitchen.

"So." she probed.

She wasn't going to leave it, was she?

"My brother is best friends with his brother and our families know each other quite well, too." I explain shortly.

"That somewhat answers my questions. Let me rephrase it though, how are you so close to him?" she inquires munching on her sandwich.

"I-we've been close since the very start. He is-was my  best friend before he moved to Italy and our communication kinda... ceased with the passage of time." I reply, a frown making its way to my face.

"Really? Cause the way he looks at you and holds you like... like you're the most fragile and precious thing for him in the entire world says otherwise. You think that your bond have weakened over the time but I am certain that he doesn't." she shrugs her shoulders casually.

I look at her with my frown deepening and reply, "He's Nick. Of course, he's going to act like everything is just the way it is before he left."

"Isn't it?" she asks raising a brow.

I shake my head quietly and take a it from my half eaten sandwich.

"How long have you known Nick?" I question changing the subject.

"Three years." she replies.

"Oh." I nod my head .

"Finn and I are together. Or were. I don't know, it's complicated." she sighs sadly.

My eyes widen, "The blonde guy? Really? You guys would look so cute together. What happened?"

She chuckles before replying, "Yeah, the blonde guy. Him and I have been together since two years. We're...sort of in the middle of an argument. He's... complicated. He beat a guy a few weeks ago because he was hitting on me and now that poor lad is in hospital." she tells with a frown.

"Nick used to be extremely protective over me, too." I reply.

"Finn has anger management issues." she deadpans.

I gasp loudly and my eyes widened as I stare at her in shock, "Oh my, I had no idea. Is he seeing a therapist?" I ask.

"Yeah, he was. But he hadn't gone to the clinic in a few months. Says I can handle him just fine but I am worried." she speaks lowly.

I place my hand on her shoulder and give her a small smile, "It's okay. You should be there with him and sort stuff out. Communication is extremely important in such relationships. Please, don't fight and make him understand. He'll listen, I am sure."

She gave me a warm smile in return and we decided to watch pretty little liars for the rest of the evening until she had to go.

"Hey, dad." I greet entering the kitchen.

"Hi, Princess. How are you?" he asks.

"Fine. You? How was your day?" I ask in reply as I take a seat next to him on the bar stool in the kitchen.

"I'm good. The day was fine, little boring as a matter of fact." he replies.

Eli enters the kitchen and I squeal before jumping in his arms. He chuckles and spins me around before kissing my temple.

"I missed you."  I mumble looking up at him as he sets me down.

"I missed you, too, princess. By the way, you just saw me in the morning." he teases.

"And its night now." I pout.

"Okay, cut it you both and have your food." mom speaks interrupting us.

The twins come waddling inside the kitchen and Eli and I seat them on their baby chairs before sitting down ourselves.

We mutter a small 'okay' and sit down to eat. The dinner is filled with dad asking Eli questions about when will he be taking over the business, the twins casually throwing in a few innocent questions and mom feeding them. I sat there quietly knowing fully well that Eli is leaving tomorrow for New Hampshire. He has to work on a final project with Ezra and it will take quite some time.

As a matter of fact, I do not want him to leave. I am just waiting for the moment he actually settles here in New York with us. Ezra will be back, too. I love him like my brother.

I was so lost in my thoughts that I didn't realize that the room has  fallen silent and a hand is covering my eyes.

"Guess who?" I hear Eli ask.

I caught a whiff of his scent when he moved his hands a little and grinned, "Ezra." I whisper.

"Well, you caught me." he chuckled and kissed my head as I turned around to hug him.

"Come sit down and have dinner with us." mom offers.

"Oh, no. We have already eaten." Ezra declines politely.

"We?" I ask and my heart skips a beat when he moves to the side to reveal Nick playing with the twins.

As if feeling my gaze on him, he turns his head in my direction and flash me a breathtaking smile.

I feel heat creep up my neck so I immediately look away and focus on the leftovers on my plate.

In doing so, I catch mom's gaze on me and she had a small smile on her face. I brush it off and focus on eating the remaining little food.

After dinner, I offer to do the dishes while everybody move to sit in the garden outside.

Anything to avoid him.

My plan to ignore Nick fails when I feel a hot breath blowing on my neck making goosebumps rise on my skin.

I shiver involuntarily but proceed to wash the last plate in my hand trying my level best not to let him affect me.

Why am I fighting and who am I kidding?

His arms snake around me until his hands reaches mine and he takes the plate from my hand before running it down the water and placing it in the stand.

I turn around in his hold as he dries his hand with a small kitchen towel and feel his arms brush my body.

"Why are you here?" I ask fidgeting with my fingers.

His hands gently rest on my waist and he replies, "For you. Am I not allowed here anymore?"

I shake my head and look up at him as he raises a brow, "You are allowed here." I speak in a small voice.

"Do you not want me here?" he asks putting emphasis on 'you.'

"I do." I reply without hesitation and catch a look of satisfaction in his eyes.

He grabs my hand and walks us to the bar stool before picking me up and making me sit on it. I blush profusely as he, himself, takes a seat in front of me and holds my hand in his.

I notice two silver rings on the middle and forefinger of his right hand.

"Tell me about your day?" he asks softly while rubbing my the side of my hands with his thumbs.

"I-Lilly came over today and left in the evening. We had fun." I shrug.

"Yeah? Do you like her? Is she nice to you?" he asks again.

I almost smile at his questions as they remind me of our blissful childhood. He used to ask the exact same questions about each and every friend I ever made in school.

I nod my head with a small smile and he sighs in satisfaction before mumbling 'that's good' to himself.

I yawn, all of a sudden feeling sleepy, and he places the back of his hand over my mouth.

I smile at the sweet gesture as he asks, "Are you sleepy? Don't you nap in the afternoons anymore?"

"I am not a baby anymore, Nick." I frown.

"You'll always be my baby." he replies without missing a heartbeat.

I bite my lip and look away from him. Why does he always have to say such sweet things to me? He makes me so nervous.

"Come on, let's get you to bed." he whispers and stands up with my hands in his.

We make our way to my room after saying 'goodnight' to everyone and he goes through my nightwear drawer while I brush my teeth.

I come out to see a white shirt which had a banana printed on the left side with 'you are amazing' written under it with white cotton shorts that had small bananas all over it, lying on my bed.

"It's my favorite pair." Nick announces coming out of my closet.

"It's the only pair you have seen." I frown.

"No, I went through them all and decided that I liked this one better than the others since the shorts of the rest are way too short. Like really short shorts, shorty." he says with a disproving frown.

"They're called shorts for a reason and I am five four." I defend.

He ignores the latter comment and shakes his head, "I don't like those...short shorts."

"Good thing that you don't have to wear them." I say with a scowl.

"You look like a small, angry kitten and not intimidating." he remarks watching my expressions before continuing, "And you're not wearing these in front of anyone. They barely cover anything, princess." he finishes and walks over to where I am standing.

My face turns into a tomato but I still stand my ground and say, "If I can't wear them in front of anyone then you should leave, too."

"I wasn't talking about myself. It's different with me." he states stepping closer to me.

"How so?" I whisper ask.

"You know how, bambi." he replies and tucks a strand of hair behind my ear before placing a chaste kiss on my forehead and leaving.

Of course, I did. I knew it was always going to be different when it came to Nicholas. He had me wrapped around his fingers and, whether or not he was aware of this, held my heart in his palm so this was bound to be unlike, with any other.