Precious Virtue ✓

Chapter 41: Kiss Of Gold

Precious Virtue

Chapter XLI: Kiss Of Gold

[Adrien's POV]

"Are you ready for your surprise?" Preston asked, leaning his back against the front door, watching me with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Are you gonna tell me what it is?" I shrugged on my coat with a raised brow.

Preston smiled. "Of course not. You'll find out once we get there."

I rolled my eyes with a groan. Apparently, Preston had a surprise set up for me today for my birthday, something he had been planning for the past week, and for the whole week, everyone knew what the surprise was but me. It was driving me crazy—I tried to beg Preston and my roommates to tell me what it was, but their lips were sealed. It was pointless to beg them as clearly I wasn't going to know what the surprise was until I got there, but that didn't mean that I wasn't about to go insane over not knowing.

Because I wholeheartedly, with every ounce of my being, at this moment, was going insane.

With an amused look on his face, Preston pushed off the door and we headed out of my apartment dorm. We took the elevator down to the main foyer and exited the residence building, heading to the parking lot where Karsten, Luella, and Faryn were waiting for us in Karsten's car. I pulled open the back door and hopped in, sitting in the middle of the back seat between Preston and Luella, while Karsten and Faryn were in the front.

"Took you two long enough! Were guys busy making out or something?" Luella wiggled her brows, nudging me in the arm with her elbow. I scoffed, a heavy blush coating my cheeks.

"Honestly, I wish," Preston replied bluntly. I shot him a look, narrowing my eyes at him.

"What?" He asked accusingly, shrugging his shoulders innocently. "I'm just telling the truth."

"I don't like you guys," I said.

"Nah, you love us," Karsten replied, grinning at me through the rearview mirror. I scoffed louder.

"At this moment? No."

Laughter echoed in the car. Preston draped his arm across the back of my seat, and Luella hugged me, resting her chin on my shoulder. I rolled my eyes, a smile cracking on my face.

The whole drive took about ten minutes. As Karsten drove through town, passing by the different restaurants and shops bustling with people, the more and more restless I grew. It felt like the longest ten minutes of my life, but when we finally rounded a corner and pulled into the parking lot of a cute little building, my mouth fell open.

"A pottery studio?" I said in disbelief. I stared up at the white building with a brick upper half, my heart fluttering in my chest.

Preston smiled softly. "Happy Birthday, Adrien."

I turned to face him. A wide smile tugged the corners of my lips upwards, and I shot my arms out to wrap them around his waist, hugging him tight. Preston chuckled and hugged me back.

"Come on! I wanna paint some mugs!" Luella exclaimed, hopping out of the car. The rest of us followed suit. Luella moved to the trunk of the car, grabbing the wrapped presents, while Faryn stepped out of the passenger seat, holding a cake box. As we headed to the front entrance of the building, Preston placed a hand on my shoulder, stopping me.

"Hold on, I got one more surprise for you before we head in," Preston said, glancing down at his phone, before looking at me with a cheeky smirk. I raised a brow.

"Another surprise?"

"Mhmm..." He hummed. I frowned, curious, but my curiosity was tamed as I turned and saw a familiar car pull into the parking lot a minute later. My eyes widened as Luka stepped out of the car, holding a gift bag in his hand.