An age gap love story.
A brokenhearted billionaire.
A college girl.
*****
"Nevaeh," Aiden whispers, "can I rest my head on your shoulder?"
I nod, letting him rest his head on my shoulder. He closes his eyes.
"Thank you." He sighs in contentment. "...
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Tonight, it's chocolate pudding. Nevaeh made me a chocolate pudding.
I've never tasted a dessert so good. I think it's a better cure than any medicine I've ever taken -- OK, maybe I'm exaggerating.
Or maybe it's the fact that she's spending time here again with me that makes me happy.
I don't even remember being sick. I feel like a dog wagging its happy tail whenever she's around, and I don't even care how fucking pathetic that sounds.
"I'm so happy that you like it." Nevaeh grins as she finishes eating her pudding.
She puts her empty plate next to mine on the nightstand before sitting back on the bed. I lean back against the headboard, watching her.
"The first time I made a pudding was when I was around 10 or 11." The smile doesn't leave her face as she talks. "My Dad was the very first person who tried it."
"What did he say?"
"He loved it. Like, really did," Nevaeh says. "That made me eager to do more experiments. In the end, I made so many different flavors of pudding. He called me Princess Pudding, and being the young kid I was, I felt so honored by that title." Small laughter escapes from her lips.
I chuckle, feeling like I can hear her talk all night and won't get bored of it. It dawns on me that spending time here in my room with her is way better than burying myself in work every night. What the hell have I been doing all this time?
Maybe Mom is right. Dad is right. Luna is right.
I'd worked too much that I forgot to enjoy simple things.
Like laughing with someone. Talking about something that doesn't involve a multi-year business contract.
Nevaeh's phone buzzes. She reads a message, and a smile creeps on her lips.
I feel a sudden curiosity building up inside me. I don't know why, but I'm suddenly curious about what the message is about, why reading it can put that big smile on her face, and who has sent the text.
"Something good?" I ask in a small voice.
"It's my friends." She shakes her head in amusement. "These girls are so excited for our field trip tomorrow. They think of it as a vacation rather than a project."
I'm still trying to digest what she said."A field trip?"
Nevaeh nods. "We have to collect data from some companies in LA for our project report, and we plan to go tomorrow. We're going to spend a week there."
"A week?" I stutter in disbelief.
Hold on. Did I just stutter? Fucking stutter?
I stare at her with a lost expression, and she mirrors it. Confusion begins to skate on her face. She must have not expected this reaction from me.
