The Crew | On Hold

Chapter 33

My hands immediately start shaking. "What?" I choke out, unable to say anything else that would express how completely caught off guard I am. Why did he even think of doing this? This is so not going to end well. 

"Calm down, Emma. It's gonna be alright." He pulls both of us up from the ground. Placing both of his hands on the sides of my face, he stares into my eyes, and for a second my heart is beating faster because his kind and loving self has returned, not because I'm so nervous that I could throw up. "Please, Emma. Don't waste any time. Get dressed and wash your beautiful face. We need to see Anna. It's gonna go great, I promise you, baby."

My mouth pops open, but no words come out of it. My heart is beating like crazy, and I can't control my breathing. Drawing long and deep breaths, I nod, and walk over to my closet. Andrew silently pads back to my bed, and sits on the edge, following my every movement with his stormy eyes.

A haze is taking over my thoughts, and I don't really care what I pull out of the closet. My mind is whirling around scenarios that could take place next. Firstly, she could fire us both without remorse. Secondly, she could press some charges against us, if the no-romance clause was mentioned in the agreement. Unfortunately, I didn't pay that much attention to it, since I was over-excited that I got a job at all. I obviously didn't think I'd fall in love with my crew mate. I still can't believe I did. 

I quickly step out of my clothes, oblivious that Andrew is right next to me, and I'm only in my underwear. My bra doesn't match the panties, but I don't care. I can't care, especially not now. I throw the used clothes in my laundry basket, and pull on the black jeans and grey, soft sweatshirt I've chosen. Well, not really chosen. It was the first thing I grabbed, so that's why I'm wearing it.

"You are so beautiful, baby" Andrew's soft lips brush against my neck from the back, making me shiver, and I lean into him, letting his pecks on the neck take my mind off of what's going on. My heart starts to beat a little faster and I can feel my knees become soft as his kisses trail down from my ear to the collar of my sweater.

After a minute, Andrew  pulls away, and my mind focuses on the problem again. Throwing Andrew a quick glance, I run to the bathroom, and splash my face with some cold water, avoiding to look at myself in the mirror. I don't want to see how terrible I look. That would only make me more unprepared to meet Anna. That's how I feel, anyway - unprepared and totally scared -, but at least knowing that Andrew will be by my side calms me down a bit. I won't be alone. 

"Ready?" 

I nod my head, and we make our way down the stairs and out the door, past mom, who doesn't even get the chance to ask where we're going. I manage to give her a weak smile, and tell her that I'll be back soon. I don't dare saying that we'll be back home, since I don't know what's gonna happen after meeting Anna. We might break up, we might be stronger than ever. Time will tell, I guess.

***

We sit in a private booth in my favourite sushi place - Tokyo Bei -, and I can't even gulp down my Cola, because I'm overly nervous. My hands are sweating profusely, and my pants are almost getting wet from me constantly swiping my palms in them. My leg starts to bounce up and down uncontrollably, and I see Andrew giving me a side-eye, probably annoyed with my nervous breakdown, but I don't look back at him. 

My eyes are trained on the entrance, expecting Anna to arrive, or Mila to slither her way here, angry at me for still being with Andrew. A group of women come in, and I search the small crowd for Anna, but she isn't there. Another blonde-haired woman comes in, and my heart immediately stops beating as I notice her, but I release the breath I didn't know I was holding, when I realise that she isn't Anna.