The Billionaire And The Waitress (gxg)

25 - a birth

BREAKING into the waterpark at midnight was not an ideal date―especially considering what Muse had to tell Adrien. 

    "How do you even know how to unlock this?" she said, shifting back and forth on her heels. Avoiding the blackmail, the baby. Anything and everything Julien had mentioned earlier today.

    The relaxed, self-assured shrug of Adrien's shoulder only made Muse more nervous. She seemed completely at ease with a lockpick, down on one knee. It took her only a minute. With a click, the lock released and she glanced back at Muse.

    Briefly, the sight of Adrien kneeling made Muse lose her breath. The pitch-black glitter of her eyes locked on Muse. For a moment, both of them only stared. The lamplight of the empty parking lot seemed to grow warmer, brighter. Nothing felt real. Kiss me, Muse wanted to say. Adrien on her knees was perfectly level with Muse's―

    Adrien cleared her throat. The wind stirred, gently blowing her black hair. "Ready? This is how we're supposed to fall in love, you know."

    The word love made Muse freeze. But Adrien was just referring to the story they'd fabricated about their relationship, weeks ago back at the Moth Cafe. According to what Muse had blurted out, they'd met here. Who would have thought there was actually a waterpark named Splish-Splash-Slide Deluxe in New York City? 

     Only an hour ago, Adrien had tossed a duffel bag on the kitchen table and asked her if she had a bathing suit.

    "Yeah, why?" Muse had said.

    "I've got towels, shampoo, and a change of clothes. We're going swimming."

    "Swimming . . . where? Now?" It had been a little past eleven then.

    "You'll never guess."

    And it was true: when the chauffeur had pulled up to a mile-long, deserted stretch of parking lot, Muse had been baffled. The building from the outside seemed cold, sterile. The only thing that gave it away were the words, shadowed in the lamplight, plastered on the front wall: Splish-Splash-Slide Deluxe in a big, bubbly font.

    "And you know how to pick locks how?" Muse asked Adrien currently, as Adrien rose to her full height―a couple inches taller than Muse. Enough to make her heart skip several beats.

     "Dear Old Dad got wasted at some Christmas party when I was twelve and asked me what the difference between a businessman and a thief is. I said I didn't know. He said one wears a suit. So, you know, I learned how to pick locks after that. As any normal person would."     

     "Naturally," Muse said faintly.

     Adrien pulled Muse in through the unlocked door and shut it behind them. The corridor of Splish-Splash-Slide Deluxe was dark and laced with the scent of chlorine. A sign, pointing right, read: Fun This Way! 

    It occurred to Muse this was their last night before the wedding.

    And, in light of seeing Julien Vitale earlier today, she had a special deadline.

    "There's something I have to tell you," she said.

    Adrien leaned over Muse, pressing her into the wall. Muse's breathing turned uneven. She felt pinned down, pierced, impaled by the weight of Adrien's gaze. Instead of scaring her, it made her feel on fire. She wanted to grab Adrien as fiercely as she could by the back of her neck and crush their lips together. God, she was so . . . 

    "Yeah?"

    "I'm . . ." 

    Julien Vitale had asked for information on Adrien. Her finances. Documentation of her independent enterprise. Tax information. And in return, he wouldn't tell Adrien about Muse's past. Think about it, he'd said, with the fluorescent museum lights shining down on his weathered face. But I want an answer before the wedding.