Chapter 4

I was sitting at my desk, trying to concentrate on the notes I had spread out in front of me, when I heard someone softly clear his throat from the doorway. Looking up, I found Christopher leaning against the doorframe, his hair still damp from his shower and a short-sleeved T-shirt revealing arms considerably more muscular than I remembered. I couldn't help looking at him for a moment before returning my attention to his face, where I found a smile that made me suspect he had come to ask me for something.

"Crisis under control?" I asked, remembering the commotion caused by the previous night's party.

"Crisis under control," he confirmed with a smile, although he made no move to leave the doorway.

I knew him well enough to recognize that his seemingly carefree expression was hiding something else, so I set my pen on the desk and turned my chair to face him.

"And what else?"

Christopher let out a small laugh, surprised that I had figured out his intentions so quickly, and finally stepped into the room. He approached my desk, glanced distractedly at the books I had open, and then looked back at me, as though trying to find the best way to bring up whatever was on his mind.

"Mia, there's something I'd like to suggest."

"That sounds suspicious."

"I haven't even said anything yet."

"Exactly."

His smile widened, but then his expression grew a little more serious.

"I'd like you to meet my friends."

I stared at him for several seconds, convinced I must have misheard him.

"Your friends?"

"Yes," he answered, and I instinctively raised an eyebrow, making Christopher laugh when he saw my expression. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Because we've spent years making sure your friends don't even know I exist, and now you suddenly show up saying you want to introduce me to them. Forgive me if I need a few seconds to process such a dramatic change."

Christopher leaned against the edge of my desk and crossed his arms, watching me with a calmness that contrasted sharply with the uneasiness beginning to stir inside me.

"They want to go to my parents' beach house next weekend. Since Monday's a holiday, we'll have a few extra days to relax, and I thought it would be nice if you came with us."

My eyes widened.

"To the beach house? With all your friends?"

"Well, not everyone you've seen around, but quite a few of them."

"Christopher, I don't think that's a good idea."

"Why not?"

He asked so naturally that, for a moment, I had no idea how to answer. Perhaps it was easy for him to imagine me spending a weekend with the people he regularly socialized with, but I had spent years keeping my distance from those gatherings, and I knew his parents' rules far too well.

"Because they're YOUR friends," I finally replied, as though that alone should have been explanation enough. "And because it goes against practically every rule we've followed for the past several years."

"I know."

"Then?"

Christopher remained silent for a few seconds before moving a little closer.

"Because I don't want a repeat of last night, and I certainly don't want to end up in the hospital again."

I looked at him, not entirely understanding.

"What does one thing have to do with the other?"

"I didn't like having to ask you to stay away from them or knowing you were shut away in your bedroom while I was with my friends. This is your home too, Mia, and I don't want you to have to hide every time someone comes to visit."

His words surprised me more than I was willing to admit. For years, I had accepted those restrictions without questioning them too much, convinced they were an inevitable consequence of the agreement that allowed Christopher and me to sleep together. Hearing him speak that way stirred an unfamiliar emotion inside me, although it also brought a considerable number of worries to the surface.

"It's part of the rules, Christopher, and you know it."

"I know, but I also know it could be a pretty wild weekend, and I have to be careful because of my medication," he explained. What he said made sense, but I wasn't entirely convinced by his excuse.

"I understand that, but how do you expect me to fit in with them?" I asked. "What are you going to tell them when they find out we share a bedroom?"

"The truth."

I blinked.

"The truth?"

"Yes, Mia. I don't see any reason to lie to them."

I stared at him, trying to figure out whether he truly understood what he was suggesting. This wasn't simply a matter of telling his friends that we had known each other since childhood. It meant revealing a part of our lives that we had always kept private, something that, outside the familiarity of our little routine, could be rather difficult to explain.

"Christopher, I don't think they'll understand."

"I think they will. At least the ones who are really my friends."

"And what exactly are you going to tell them? That I'm your human pillow and I've been sleeping beside you for years because you can't get any rest otherwise?"

Christopher didn't laugh at my comment. Instead, he regarded me with a seriousness that made me feel a little embarrassed by the way I had phrased it.

"I'll tell them we've known each other since we were children and that my insomnia improved when we started sleeping together. There's nothing shameful about that."

I lowered my gaze to my notes, although by then I couldn't remember a single thing I had been studying.

"Maybe not to you, but I'm not sure everyone will see it that way."

Christopher leaned forward slightly, trying to catch my eye.

"Mia, you have nothing to be ashamed of."

"I'm not ashamed," I replied, although I knew the reality was a little more complicated. "I just don't want to become your friends' entertainment."

"That's not going to happen."

I gave him a skeptical look.

"Maybe some of them will understand, but what about Serena? Do you honestly think she's going to be perfectly fine with me going on vacation with all of you?"

Christopher's expression changed for the briefest moment.

"For her sake, I hope so."

His answer only made me more uneasy. Not because I doubted his willingness to defend me, but because I knew the way Serena looked at him, and I suspected my presence wouldn't exactly be welcome. If she already had reasons to look down on me for being part of the mansion's staff, discovering that I also spent my nights with Christopher probably wouldn't improve her opinion of me.

"That's not particularly reassuring," I admitted.

Christopher sighed and crouched in front of my chair until his eyes were level with mine.

"Listen to me, sweetheart. I'm not asking you to come so they'll like you or because you have anything to prove to them. I want you there because I'd like to share something more than just our nights with you, and because I think we could have a really nice few days together."

My heart gave a little flutter.

For years, Christopher and I had built a relationship that seemed to exist only when our bedroom doors were closed. We read, talked, and shared secrets we would never have entrusted to anyone else, but when morning came, we returned to our separate lives and behaved as though that closeness had never existed.

Now he was offering me the chance to accompany him somewhere we had never been able to spend time together in that way before.

"What if they don't like me?" I asked quietly.

Christopher smiled tenderly.

"Then they'll have to get used to you," he replied, making me let out a small laugh.

"I don't think that's how things work."

"With me, it is."

I shook my head, although I couldn't help smiling. Christopher took my hands in his and looked at me with an expression I knew all too well, the one that lit up his face whenever he truly wanted something and was willing to do whatever it took to get it.

"I'll be right there with you, Mia. I won't let anyone hurt you, I promise."

I wanted to believe him because, until then, he had always kept that promise. Still, I knew things could get complicated when other people who didn't understand our relationship got involved.

"Do you really want me to come?"

"More than anything."

I watched him for a few seconds and realized that if he hadn't genuinely wanted to share this experience with me, he never would have gone to the trouble of suggesting it. Christopher could easily spend the weekend with his friends and return to the mansion afterward, just as he had done so many times before, but this time he seemed determined to include me in his plans.

And although I still had plenty of doubts, the possibility of spending a few days by the ocean, reading peacefully, and getting to know Christopher's world a little better eventually became more tempting than I cared to admit.

"All right," I finally agreed. "But if Serena tries to drown me in the ocean, I want you to know it'll be your fault."

Christopher burst out laughing and straightened up to pull me into a hug.

"You're the best, Mia. Thank you."

I smiled against his chest, enjoying the embrace while trying to ignore the uneasiness that still lingered inside me.

Maybe I was overreacting, and the trip would turn out to be a wonderful experience. Perhaps his friends would be much nicer than I imagined, and I would discover that I had spent far too much time worrying about rules that no longer made sense.

Or perhaps I was about to willingly walk into a situation I would regret.

Either way, I had just agreed to spend an entire weekend surrounded by Christopher's friends, including Serena.

What a weekend I had ahead of me.