I've Changed

37. green

"Welcome to our home for the week"

Malcom throws open the doors to the penthouse where the seven of us will be sleeping. My gaze is drawn to the sleek and minimalist style, as the whole space is dark and moody due to the black and grey furniture and marbles. We all enter with our luggage and bags in hand, placing them in the corner before proceeding to the floor to ceiling windows with views of the New York City skyline. The thousands of buildings spread out in the distance, the many cars and people walking below us, and the faint clouds that appear in view, showing how high up we are, cause everyone's jaws to drop to the floor.

"Did you rent this place?" Eric spins in his place while Theo repeatedly does the same thing beside him, spinning until he's dizzy and falls to the ground with the loudest thud. Sofie helps him, and Theo leaps from his perch, giving everyone a thumbs up as a sign that he's alright.

"Ellie bought this place a long time ago," Malcom says as he walks through a doorway leading to the bar and hang out area, as they call it.

I examine everyone's shocked expressions, including Jae's, who gapes at the entire place, his eyes admiring every detail and his mouth gaping open, forcing me to close it for him. He takes a deep breath before looking at me and the others in surprise. I shrug as I walk into the room Malcom entered, where there is, as expected, a wall of alcohol and drinks at the bar, a pool table next to it, and a nice lounge area with a great view of New York City behind it.

"You're going to drink at 11 a.m.," Alex says as she sits on one of the bar stools. Before putting back the bottle, Malcom takes a swig of tequila from it. He downs the booze before clapping his hands together, causing Theo to leap into Sofie's arms, his ears plugged by the thunderous noise.

"We need to go shopping because the charity is tomorrow night," he exclaims, as Alex and Sofie follow him. I exhaled deeply, exhausted because I have a lot of work to do in the next 24 hours leading up to the charity ball, but I know I have to put up with it. As soon as Jae detects my unease, he steps behind me and starts rubbing my tense shoulders, and I close my eyes contentedly, leaning up against his chest for support.

"Race you up the stairs," Theo tags Eric causing them to run out of the room, followed by Malcom, Alex, and Sofie, who are discussing the outfits they want Alex to try on for the trip, which makes me smile.

"You own this place?" When he looks at me, Jae asks, gazing around the room with a smile on his face. "Can you get any more perfect than smart, successful, and beautiful?" He says, and I shrug, putting on a smug grin, knowing how hard I worked to get to where I am now. As he steps in between my legs, rubbing my thighs as I lean back, I prop myself up on the pool table.

"It's tough being the Ellie Mae," I joke, watching him shake his head and chuckle as a giggle escapes my lips.

"I can't imagine how difficult it must be to be this pretty," he pouts as I straighten my back and lift an eyebrow in response to his teasing. He simply smiles and leans in closer to me, allowing our gazes to remain locked.

"It's a full-time job," I shrug, rubbing his cheekbone until he kisses me on the forehead with a delicate kiss that makes me smile. When we hear a flurry of footsteps running about upstairs, he assists me off the table. He helps me with my bags, which I told him I didn't need, but he insisted on bringing them up the stairs to our rooms. Instead of the cottage, where we both have separate rooms, I grab his arm and lead us in the opposite direction when he enters a different hallway.

**steamy scenes👻**

"Where are we going?" When I lead him into a room at the end of the corridor, he furrows his brows and tenses his body. As he stands perplexedly by the door, I toss my bags in the corner, and I laugh when his brows furrow even more as he looks at me.