The other guys figured out I was nervous and started talking to me as well, telling me stories to take my mind off the traffic or telling me how much longer we had until we were through the city. I could feel the anxiety coming on. I didn’t think I would be able to ignore it.
“Once we get through this clusterfuck, I’m gonna need a minute, if that’s okay,” I said. I could feel my legs starting to shake a little.
Ivan asked, “do you need to stop now? We can pull over right now if you need it.”
“No, no. I want to get out of this place first. It’s making me anxious,”
“You got it, princess,” he said as he accelerated through traffic)
Andrei said, “close your eyes, spider monkey. It’s easier for you and we can get you out of here faster.”
I gave him the thumbs up sign, as he was right behind us. I sh ut my eyes tight and held onto Adrik. I felt his hand on my leg again briefly. He put both hands back on the bike as we started to weave through traffic faster. My breaths were coming faster, as my body started to shake a little more with each je rk of the bike.
“Three minutes, princess.”
That three minutes took forever. My legs were shaking, and I felt like I couldn’t catch my breath. We stopped and Misha was pulling me off the bike immediately. Adrik ripped his helmet off as he climbed off the bike, he pulled my helmet off and crushed me to him. His hands running up and down my back, trying to calm my panic.
“Shhh…it’s okay now. We’re out of the city now. It’ll be smooth from here.”
I nodded, my head against his chest. “I’m okay. I just need a minute.”
I heard Ivan say behind me, “you can have as long as you need, princess. Nobody likes driving through Rome.”
Adrik’s hands continued to rub my back, occasionally running over my hair. The longer I stood in his embrace, breathing in his scent, the more relaxed I got. I didn’t know what it was about his touch that could calm me down, but I hoped it never went away. I took a deep breath in.
“Better?” he asked, stepping back to look at me, his face full of concern.
I nodded my head. “Sorry. I don’t know what came over me.”
“It doesn’t matter. You’ve been through a lot lately. Rome is…a lot, even for someone who hasn’t been through even a fraction of what you have,” he said, tucking a stray curl behind my ear.
I leaned against him again, resting my head on his chest. His arms felt so nice around me that I didn’t want to give up that moment just yet. I had a memory of the coldness of the void. Cold that penetrated down to my bones, down to my very soul. I closed my eyes, thinking about how his voice brought warmth back. A small smile came to my lips, thinking about how much I needed him. How he was always ready to do anything I needed. How they all were. I really was the Juckiest girl.
“Okay, I’m ready. We can go again. I don’t want to make us late.”
“You’re sure? We can stay here a little longer,” Adrik said, looking in my eyes, searching.
“I’m positive. I’m okay. Promise.” I stood on my toes and kissed him gently.
He nodded, putting his helmet back on. He climbed on the bike. Ivan was next to me, as I was putting my helmet on. He caught my elbow as I raised the helmet to put it on. He looked me in the eyes, seriously, “You did good. You tell me if it comes back, okay? We’ll stop again. We’re well ahead of schedule. We can afford to stop as much as you need.”
I pulled the helmet over my head and tapped it. He chuckled as he lifted me onto the bike
Sephie
Outside of Rome were more small towns, which I could easily handle. We stopped one more time before we got closer to Naples, just without the car full of fan girls this time. “This stop was boring. I like it better when you guys have fans,” I said as we pulled away from the station. “Nobody tell Tori I said that.”
“1
Andrei sighed. “That might not be a problem when we get back.”
“Bubba! What happened now?”
“I couldn’t tell her we were leaving. I ditched my phone before we got on the plane. No contact until this is done. I doubt she’ll be waiting for me.”
“Oh, Bubba. I didn’t even think about that.” I couldn’t help but think back to my own anger at the situation. I didn’t mean to, but I laughed. “She’s gonna be SO pi ssed.” Stephen spoke up. “We’re all more scared of her than we are of you, if that gives you an idea of what he’s dealing with.”
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.