High Hopes|✔

Chapter 23

 O P H E L I A ' S  P O V

"First thing in the morning, when I wake up..." Shalissa sang loudly throughout the limousine ride.

"You remembered to bring the card, right?" Shalissa asked as she scrolled through her phone with her long, acrylic fingernails.

I hummed my response and carefully took out the black credit card from my purse, ensuring not to scrape it or crack it in any way.

"H-How much money is on this thing, anyway?" I questioned as I admired Levi's card.

She shrugged in response, "It's unlimited." She said nonchalantly.

My eyes spilled from their sockets, "You mean as in—" I started.

"Yup, we can spend how much we want." She explained. "I mean— I'm sure there's at least some type of limit but knowing Levi, it's a pretty big amount."

My eyes lit up in curiosity and I said, "Wow, all of this for just the both of us?" I mumbled.

Shalissa made a small giggling noise and waved me off with a flick of her wrist, "Oh no, sweet girl." She laughed again as she dug in her own purse. "That's for you from Levi and this is for me from Elijah." She corrected me by showing me a similar black card.

Before I could voice my thoughts, the limousine came to a stop and soon enough, both car doors opened for Shalissa and I.

I said my thanks to the gentleman who opened the door for me as I stepped out.

Shalissa strutted inside of the large building with stores left, right and centre.

She seemed to know exactly where she was going so I just followed her like a lost puppy throughout the store, keeping note of the two large men behind us that both Elijah and Levi ordered to accompany us.

"Um, what exactly are we buying?" I questioned as I looked around me, trying hard to walk in the heels that Shalissa picked out for me.

Frankly, I loved the outfit that Shalissa picked out for me. Despite me trying hard not to fall, the shoes accentuated my look and took the casual from the jeans and the light blue blouse, and gave it a formal look, especially matched with my favourite blue purse.

"Any and everything." She hummed. "Levi said that he thinks you should buy more undergarments since you only got a few sets the first time." She explains as she turns a corner abruptly. "Let's make a quick stop by Victoria's Secret then." She states and I nod my head in agreement.

I picked up five more pairs of underwear sets, along with a swimsuit since I had yet to try Levi's pool, hopefully when I returned.

I also bought a few shirts and knee-high socks from there.

By the time we left the mall, I had five bags in my hand, 3 of which were mine. Shalissa also had 5 in her hand and obviously, the two extras in my hand were hers.

Gregory and Marshall, the two bodyguards who were following us, offered to carry all of our bags but both Shalissa and I declined since their job was to literally protect us and we didn't want to also add a bag-carrier too.

"What's going on between you and Elijah?" I questioned curiously.

She shrugged, an action I've become familiar with.

"Eh, we kiss once in a while, nothing special." She informed.

I blushed, "Have you... you know." I blushed again at the question that I asked.

Shalissa laughed at my shyness, "No, Ophelia. Similar to you and Levi, we both aren't getting any action."

"That's not true," I mumbled. "We k-kiss sometimes." My cheeks reddened at the thought.

Shalissa shook her head in amusement and we fell into silence, a thought gnawing at the back of my mind.

"Shalissa," I murmured, unable to keep that thought at bay. After she hummed out a response, "How long does a couple take to um," I paused and swallowed my nervousness.

Thankfully, Shalissa picked up on my question and said, "I mean, there isn't a law that says a specific time in which a couple should have sex, Ophelia." She chuckled. "Could be a month, two, a week, some even do it before a relationship." She clarified.

Levi and I have been together for way well over a month now and I was slightly questioning how long it would take for him to get bored of me.

"Y-You've known Levi for a long time, how long would he expect to..." I trailed off.

Her eyes softened, "Levi won't expect you to do anything, sweetie." She said softly. "Not until you're ready." She explained.

I bit my lip in frustration. I didn't want to hear that Levi wouldn't force me or wouldn't expect me to do anything I didn't want to do. He had shown me countless times that if I wasn't comfortable with something he had done, he would clearly stop and I just wanted to know that if it wasn't me and someone else who was more confident or forward, when would they have sex?

I decided to ignore these thoughts for now.

In no time, I arrived back at the mansion and waved at Shalissa as she was driven back to her house.

I stuck my tongue at the corner of my mouth as I tried to balance all the bags in my arms. Before the mall, Shalissa and I went to various places before and I decided just to buy a few groceries for the house hoping that Levi wouldn't mind.

So in total, along with my bags from the mall, I had nine bags. I also bought two ties that I thought would look nice on Levi.

I heard a door shut shortly after my arrival and turned around to face Levi who was immediately coming to my assistance.

His eyes squinted as I handed him a couple of bags, coincidentally all with the groceries.

"I told Shalissa to make sure you bought stuff for yourself," He mumbled.

We walked to the kitchen and I placed the bags on the counter and exhaled a tired breath.

"I did." I ensured. "I just thought that it'd be pointless to let the maids buy stuff when I was already out," I said softly.

He hummed in response as a hand grabbed on to my waist as he buried his head in my neck and groaned loudly.

I giggled softly as I dug in a bag and took out a grey tie.

"What's the matter?" I asked as I pushed him back slightly.

I bit my lip as I positioned the tie right below his neck, "Maybe it would go better with the black suit." I thought out loud to myself.

I wondered why he was home today since he was supposed to be at work but I shrugged it off.

"I have something to tell you," He murmured as he watched me try the other tie against his chest.

"What?" I inquired as I gave him my full attention, noting that he looked conflicted.

"My parents are coming tomorrow for dinner." He said.

I gasped as I pulled away from him, "W-Why didn't you t-tell me sooner." I stuttered as I moved to put away the items. "Luckily I bought more than enough things to make a meal."

I ignored his presence as I looked around the mansion, "They only called this morning after you left." He sighed.

I could tell that he could see the way I was looking around the house, "I'll have the maids handle it, Ophelia." He stated as if reading my thoughts.

Apparently, whenever the year was slow or Levi didn't have any major projects, he would be home most of the time, which meant that he sent home the maids on a short vacation. He said that he doesn't want to be in a house filled with women every time he entered a room.

"No, no. I can d-do it," I suggested. "Don't worry about it." I swallowed.