The Carrero Heart - Beginning (Friends to Lovers)

“Sophs, wake up.” Arry’s voice draws me out of sleep, along with the ungraceful shaking of me he has going on and I literally smack him in the face with a rogue hand as I wake up in alarm. I groan when I catch him over the top of me, cheerfully awake and annoyingly chirpy. I blink at the dazzling light of day and realize we probably slept for most of the morning.

“Whaaatt?” I groan out slowly, pushing his face away as he starts biting at my neck and ear in the most annoying way known to man. He has obviously recovered a lot, while right now I’m in my ‘not a morning person. Go away’ state of semi awake.

“Get up, beautiful… Up, up, up!” He pulls me down the bed with him and meets my struggling limbs of refusal as I shield my eyes from the torture of rude awakenings.

“Why? I’m sleeping… What do you want?” I lift my legs to try and dislodge him from my lifeless body, but his arms are already around me and lifting me up to prop me at an ungodly high height around his waist so that I slump over him like a dead doll and flake out.

“I hate you.” I sigh, giving up the fight and let him deal with my deadweight in the way I had to deal with his.

“We both know that’s not true… You love me more than shoes. We’re going to have ourselves a date. Come on, baby, it’s almost noon and we’ve slept most of the day away.” He is way too chirpy a guy when he wakes up, it’s one of his most serious flaws and makes me want to stab him in the head with anything to hand.

I completely forget all my woes and worries from earlier when he is like this. Somehow Arry being this way makes me feel like I’m just worrying myself for nothing and we don’t really have anything to talk about concerning us. He’s fine, we are fine. I’m just over thinking and getting affected by loneliness and long months of living somewhere that makes me miserable. We’re fine… We are.

“We could just sleep some more, then have sex, and sleep again.” I breathe out, exhaling heavily with the realization he has revived his batteries and is raring to go. He’s like the Energizer bunny sometimes, just plug in a new power pack and boom.

What was I even worrying about?

“Or we could go out to eat, wander around the city of love, have sex somewhere exciting and new… Have ourselves a little trip up the Eiffel tower then come home for a sex marathon to tire us out for tonight. We still haven’t visited Notre Dame.” He smacks my ass a little vigorously and I lean up to scowl at him. It’s clear he’s been on the porridge or something as he is far too zingy for a guy who spent eight hours on a flight after a full day’s work at his office.

“What kind of food?” I ask, homing in on one of the very few things that ever make me more receptible to missing out on sleep.

“Any kind you want, anywhere you want. Wear something pretty, suns out.” He slides me down on my own feet, completely naked, while he’s shower fresh and wearing chinos and a button down already. He’s shaved, looks refreshed and smiling, way too much. He looks like my normal, happy, and chilled Carrero. In a way it’s comforting, because god knows I need to see this version of him right now. It’s been absent for way too long.

“Are you on something?” I ask suspiciously, aware that my half-baked boyfriend of two years hasn’t been this happy and bouncy in six months of life here. I have no clue why he is this upbeat today.

“I’m happy as hell to be back here with you. We need this… Some time for us, to relax, and spend it chilling out today. I miss my girl and I realized this morning that you have only one month left of school and we’re done! We can go back to being glued together on the daily in no time at all.” He leans in and smacks his lips on me, hitting me with a passionate kiss that almost winds me, but I push his face off and screw it up at him. Ignoring the pounding wave of guilt that punches me in the gut at his mention of school. I try to deflect before he sees something is seriously up.

dives at my neck

him in the face, right in those sexy dimples and run for the bed as cover

I squeal as he manages to pull me across the bed by one foot, stopping my escape and maneuvers me flat on my back

to the bed effortlessly, laughing at my giggling outrage and feeble attempts to fight him off. He’s in playful mode, my favorite kind and I try and let all the doubts go for right now. However, panicking that he may typewriter me, as he seems in that kind of mood. He loves to make me flip out when he

him, turning away when he leans in to kiss me, trying like crazy

explodes with the sudden intense tingles that catapult through me. One thing Arry knows how to do, its press every one of my buttons,

close my eyes to the sensation of his breath on my skin, still hovering over

my lips shut and shake my head at him, trying not to smile until he gives up and goes back to sitting up to

and snotty tone and get the full force of his

… Go, do your thing, and get ready. If I have to wait to kiss you then I will literally carry you to the bathroom and stick your toothbrush in your mouth.” He plants a chaste kiss on my mouth, despite my protests, ruffles my hair and hauls me up once more, eyeing up all my nakedness with a dirty look and a bigger grin. I know where that filthy mind

no denying the way he looks at me sometimes. Still a smitten kitten even after almost two years of rollercoaster life with me. I shouldn’t worry about us, let all the insecurity and

of the best moods he’s been in a while and I think he probably needed the nap more than he realizes. He always tries to put it off when he comes home through the night, which is generally always when he gets back. He tends to catch night flights as soon as he is done in the city, so he can get here before I get up and make love to me before school. He is usually adamant that I never

just exhausted, nothing

Totally fine.

on the walk-in shower, feeling lighter, while I put some towels on the heated rack for getting out. The bathroom is one of my favorite rooms in this apartment. It’s modern and huge, always so sparkling clean thanks to Janetta our housekeeper who comes by at noon daily. It has a huge tub in one corner that we have used a lot; inbuilt jacuzzi and the shower is big enough for us both

surrounded by money and gorgeous buildings and Arry did really good

back home and yet has a hint of French design in the detailed coving, sash windows and ornate fireplaces in every room. It has a vibe of old world in the building itself, yet with our combined taste in modern décor and muted tones, after I applied my touch. It’s modern and homely. It’s not like our love nest back home, which I miss

shower quickly and dry myself even faster, wrapping myself in warm fluffy towels and make my way back to our bedroom adjoined by this door. The other door leads to the lounge in the other side and I always found it odd that our bathroom

of them, completely oblivious to my presence. He is on his

that he plans on going back in half a week and I instantly feel my insides sink. I hate knowing that’s all I have of him this time and for god knows how long. It’s already Tuesday, that means he leaves me in

Four more weeks and we get an entire holiday where I can come home with him and shadow him like I did in the short summer break. That was the last time I managed to get out of Paris. That’s

quietly past him, catching his eye in the mirror as he looks up and he frowns. His apology I guess, knowing I heard the plan for his departure once more. I don’t respond, staying deadpan as I make my way to my wardrobe and pull out some long

it

go with a thicker dress and throw them all

waist gently and nuzzles my neck from behind, making me tilt my head so he can gain full access, uncaring about my