HIS CLAIM

28

Elsa
“I’m going to miss you so much!” I hugged Tessa tightly.
“Me too! It’s going to suck without you.”
“Ghee, thanks.” Arianna commented and faked an offended expression. I let out a laugh as I turned to hug her as well. It was going to be so weird to be away from them for so long when I had practically spent every single day with them.
“Now we can all get some sleep at night without you going crazy at it.” Josh started and I gave him a blank look.
“Don’t you ever get tired of your own stupid comments?”
“Never!” He grinned and gave me a bone-crushing hug. I smiled and shook my head when he let me go. He was going to be missed. Not so much his comments about my sex life though, but he was truly fun to hang out with. He was just one big man-child.
I gave them one last goodbye and even shared an awkward goodbye with Dante  where I patted his shoulder as a farewell. I didn’t know why I still felt awkward around him, but I did. Probably because of the number of times I have humiliated myself in front of him. I guess he kind of felt the same around me too because he simply awkwardly patted my head as a goodbye.
“That… hurts to watch.” Tessa commented, making it all even more awkward.
I turned to look at Nicholas. The last person I yet had to say bye to. The person I least wanted to part ways with. The others left to give us some privacy and I took the moment to walk up to him. I wrapped my arms around his neck, and his arms glided around my waist. He lifted me and hugged me tightly into his body while burying his face into my neck.
I was feeling a little emotional from our hug and I had to try my best not to shed a tear. I had to remind myself that I would see him again, but it was so damn hard to let him go right now. I was so used to seeing him every day, sharing a bed with him, feeling his touch… I had already created a little life with him in such a short amount of time. And even though I had gone through some fcked up things in the meantime, I was happy this man was in my life and I was in his.
“I will miss you so much…” I said quietly and he looked at me. I knew he didn’t want to let me go. I could see it on his face as he looked at me softly.
“I’m going to cry if you keep looking at me like that.” I chuckled and gave a small smile. I could feel my throat tighten as this got too emotional for me. Nicholas  gave me one of his beautiful smiles before he pulled me into a sweet kiss.
“I will miss you too, my babysunshine.” He whispered against my lips. My heart skipped a beat and my whole body started to tingle at the one word he used. I placed my hands on either side of his face, caressing his cheeks as I drank in his grayish blue eyes, making sure to memorize them. I smiled warmly at him with my blurry eyes as tears welled up in them. I blinked them away and pulled him into another kiss.
How was I going to be away from this man for weeks?
Nicholas  walked out to the car where Logan and Gio were already waiting for me.

“Looks like you two are the lucky ones who get to spend so many amazing hours with me in the car!… Okay, that sounded gross.” I scrunched my nose when I heard it.
“What I meant was, I give great concerts and you get to hear my amazing singing!” I beamed once again. Logan just chuckled while Gio did not look like someone who was excited about what was about to unfold.
“I will need a raise.” Gio looked at Nicholas  blankly.
“Hey! I have a great voice. Wait till you hear me sing in Korean!” I gave him a big smile. He blinked a few times before returning his gaze to Nicholas.
“It better be six figures.” He simply said and got in the car. I scoffed and called him a crybaby.
“Looks like you’re going to torture my men.” Nicholas pulled me into him with a smile.
“Just a little.” I grinned and he shook his head a little. I wrapped my arms around his torso as I looked up at him. He caressed my hair as his  eyes looked affectionately into mine.
“Stay safe, don’t get hurt.”
“You stay safe too. I’ll be back before you know it.” I told him, mostly to remind myself that I would be back to see him again. Nicholas placed a kiss on my forehead and held me tightly one more time.
We said our last goodbyes before I got in the car. My heart already felt heavy as we drove further and further away from him. Soon, he was out of my view and I was left alone with Logan and Gio, heading home for the first time in two months.