The Bad Boys Roommate

Safe

Carter pulls my hand as we walk up the stairs to the cafe. "Have you ever been here?" He asks me causally.

"No, actually I haven't. It's really beautiful." I say as I smile softly. Everything in my mind right now is directed towards Kota. I think of his soft glance as i walked out of my room in my dress. His lips on mine just hours ago. But I quickly snap out of it as I realize Carter is looking at me assumingely. "I'm sorry, what?" I ask.

"I was saying how my mother used to take me here all the time. It's like this cafe is in its own world, placed perfectly in its own utopia. A place we could go to dismiss the things we didn't want to deal with." As he talks I notice his face contorting into a million tiny emotions. All beautiful. I smile.

Looking around the rooftop that we finally reached I notice the full extent of its beauty. The sunset is shining it's now golden rays over the bushes and sofas placed perfectly about the rooftop. Each red sofa has its own coffee table and a small coal fire. There are perfectly placed gardens full of red roses and tulips scattered about the venue. As I'm taking all of this in I look to my left to see this brown eyed, freckled boy looking at me in an admirable way. I open my mouth to speak but as I do a woman approaches us.

"Hello, my name is Ava and I'm your hostess today. You guys can pick any of the seats you would like, being that it is solely reserved for you tonight." She has this sparkle in her eye as she looks at Carter. I mean who could blame her. He reserved this whole thing for the both of us?

"You reserved the whole thing?" I ask him, shocked.

"Only the best. It's not a big deal. Ava is a family friend and always admired my mother, she helped out a lot with this." He says.

I start to wonder about his mother. He's mentioned her twice now, but almost in a sad way. "So your mother?.. is she?"

"She passed away a year ago. Cancer.. really picks the best of us all." He says. "But I honestly want to focus on the beautiful woman right in front of me. My mother is always right here.." he pats his heart. Fuck, I'm swooning. I mean, meeting Carter the other day is nothing compared to the sensitive soul I see right in front of me.

"I'm so sorry to hear that.. so sorry." I say unable to form a good sentence. "But thank you for the compliment. You look very handsome yourself." I jabbed his side playfully trying to lighten up the mood even the slightest.

He chuckles and leads me to the far back corner. "Here?" He asks.

"Here looks perfect." I say. "What's your favorite thing to eat from this cafe?"

"Tough question, you see, I'm not usually a cafe food type of guy, but there's this drink here. Holy shit. It tastes like heaven is exploring your mouth." He gestures towards the drink called 'London Fog'.

"Heaven in my mouth? Don't mind if I do." I laugh.

We order the drinks and look across the city. The sunset is still golden but turning more of a burnt red, as the minutes pass it starts to turn purple. I look around and notice garden lights lit up all along the terrace. "Wow." I breathe out.

Unexpectedly Carter pulls out a book. It's titled 'Among Those'. He noticed my curiosity. "So, this here, is a book. Yes, I know it's cringy. I'm a 19 year old college dude and all I've yet to do is read books and swoon over girls who are too good for me."

"Too good for you? I wouldn't quite say th-" he stops me.

"No, Alice. You don't understand. You have this beauty about you that takes my breath away. In some instances I look at you and I'm amazed that this beautiful woman is sitting right in front of me. Like how the fuck did I manage this?" He looks up. And then quickly back down as if he was consulting his mother.

I have no words. Absolutely no words at this point in time. I just smile. Eventually I'm able to say, "so this book of yours." And let out a short laugh.

"Oh! Yes. It's called Among Those. I brought this for you, I thought what better way to show who I am than to show you a book I have read a million times, marked a million times and a book that has had such an impact on my life. Those little markings you'll find scattered about the pages will show you what I found important, what I deemed noteworthy, and what touched my heart." He says.

At this point, I'm in awe. There are so many layers to this guy. So many heartfelt genuine layers and I can't even imagine what else lies beneath.

The sun has now set and a cold breeze replaces the once warm one that I had just felt not too long ago. Lights scattered among the city shine out, each one calling for my attention. The stars have peeked out from behind their purple veil and an immense moon has begun its journey into the sky. "Cold?" He asks me.

"Are you kidding me? I'm solid." I correct him with a little finger shake and a smirk.

He reaches down to the coal fire pit and with the flick of a button it ignites, heat spreading to my (non-admitted) cold legs. My face probably showed my relief from the cold and so he smirked.

"Oh stop, I wasn't that cold. It was too beautiful to notice the cold air." I say, trying to seem tough.

"Everyone gets cold Alice I wasn't expecting you to not get cold." He laughs. God I'm so stupid. I just wanted to seem as composed as he had been. I didn't want anything to distract us from the beauty in this moment.

"What do you think happens when we pass on?" He asks me suddenly. I'm taken aback by this question. I look over at him. Light is dancing through his curious eyes, reflections from the below city. I watch his eyes wander throughout the sky. "That bright star just over there.." he points, "sometimes I like to think that's her. Dancing across the night sky, surrounded by other loved ones, who join her in this dance. And as they dance they watch over us, the perfect place for their souls to wander and rejoice." He finishes his sentence and I look at that star.

"You know, Carter, I don't know. What I do know is that she is here ...with you.. your heart .. she is there." I say awkwardly. I wish I had the deep understanding of the universe like he did. That ability to dive into my soul. He smiles at me, looking down, he holds out his hand. I take it. It's warm and subtle.

As it envelopes my hand he stands and pulls me gently upwards. "Should we just .. dance a little?" He asks awkwardly. He's standing in front of me, goofy grin on his face, hair pushed aside holding my hand in his in front of him.

"Let's do it." I say enthusiastically. 'Cringe- Stripped' by Matt Maeson plays softly in the background. I can hear crickets singing their songs in the distance. He pulls me closer and places a hand on my hip. His chocolate eyes looking deep into mine, and this time I didn't care what he saw. He deserved all of me. He had just shared the most beautiful things from the depths of his soul. The least I could do was surrender mine.

We danced for quite some time, laughing when we fumbled, talking about everything, took our break sipping our drinks that had arrived. Then afterwards danced some more. Finally it was time for the cafe to close and he drove me home.

"Thank you.. for tonight, Carter. I can't find words to explain the part of me you opened up tonight." I'm looking into his chocolate eyes yet again. The freckles placed perfectly on his cheeks not letting me forget how perfect they are. Am I falling in love? Could it be that after one fucking date I'm falling in love with Carter?

"You're more than welcome and I hope you would let me take you out again?" He asks. Silly boy. Does he not know how I feel? No, Alice. You suck at conveying emotions. Remember?

I swallow the lump in my throat and manage to utter some words. "I really like you."

"And I really like you." He says softly. He says this in a low voice, almost inaudible. I watch his perfectly formed lips come closer to mine and before I know it were kissing.

Fireworks, I'm not kidding, Fireworks. The way his hand snakes through my hair and how safe I felt right there in that moment with every piece of me out and vulnerable. But at the same time not
vulnerable at all. I had nothing to worry about here in his arms. His lips on mine. I was safe.

A/N
It's been too damn long since I updated. Ya girls been through some shit 😂 but hey ITS HERE AND ITS GOIN AGAIN. Thank you to those who are still here. Props to you. My writing has improved and I hope you all enjoy this new style. ❤️
Xoxoxo -Shan