Unexpectedly Yours

Chapter 11

Piper's pov 

As soon as the door clicked shut, I realized my friends had pulled something. They left me here alone with Alexander.

I could still hear Iris and Serena's barely contained giggles and Elise's.

"Come on, Judith!"

 As they practically dragged his cousin out of the room.

 They couldn’t have been more obvious if they’d shouted. 'Were leaving you two alone!'. I cringed internally at how ridiculous the whole situation was.

Alexander seemed unfazed by their antics, though. He smiled, casually leaning against the edge of a nearby table. 

"Looks like they’ve left us to our own devices."

I tried to laugh it off.

 "Yeah, well... that's them for you."

The room suddenly felt too big and too quiet without my friends noise to fill it. I was here to take his measurements for the outfits we were designing, but somehow the task felt heavier now that we were alone. I tried to focus, measuring tape in hand, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was in over my head.

Alexander shifted slightly, his eyes following my every move. He looked relaxed, but something about his steady gaze made my heart race. I fumbled with the measuring tape, suddenly hyper-aware of how close we were standing.

"You know" 

Alexander said, his voice smooth and casual.

 "you don’t have to be so nervous. I don’t

bite."

I rolled my eyes, a small smile tugging at my lips. 

"I'm not nervous"

 I lied, trying to steady my hands. But I could feel the heat rising to my face, and I knew my cheeks were giving me away.

He chuckled softly, and for a moment, the tension in the room seemed to lift. 

"If you say so."

As I started measuring his shoulders, I realized how out of place I felt here. Not just in this room, but in his whole world. He lived in this massive villa, surrounded by luxury I couldn’t even begin to imagine. And here I was, a second-year soon to be third year fashion student, struggling to keep my hands from shaking as I took his measurements.

"I bet you’re used to this" 

I said, trying to make conversation. 

"Being measured, I mean. For fancy suits and stuff."

Alexander raised an eyebrow, clearly amused. 

"Not as much as you’d think."

I glanced up at him, surprised. 

"Really? I thought you’d be... you know, someone who does this all the time."

He shrugged, a small, almost shy smile on his lips. 

"I guess I’m not who you think I am."

There was something in his tone like he was holding back, hiding something. But before I could ask what he meant, I caught myself. I was overthinking it. Alexander was just a guy. A very attractive, very wealthy guy, who weirdly signed up to model sure, but still just a guy.