《Hot Chocolate》chapter sixteen, sweet dreams.
Advertisement
I don't want to dump my family issues on Camila, but I know she genuinely wants to help. It's in her nature, she always cares about people and will do everything and anything she can to help. I hate when she pity's me, and if you compare my parental issues with hers, mine are nothing.
I lay on her bed thinking about our new 'rules'. We never clarified if we can kiss people, and about any relationships whatsoever. I wonder if she's going on more dates with Matt. Would she tell me if she was? I'd like to think we tell each other everything, but I'm not sure anymore.
"Right, they're not that hot so we can drink them n- what's wrong?"
I snapped my neck up to see her closing the door with her back, a mug in each hand.
"Hm? Nothing?"
"What were you thinking about?" She handed me the drink, sitting down next to me.
"Your tits." I smiled, earning me a middle finger.
"Seriously though. You wanna talk about it?"
"Nah, can we just chill?"
She seemed wary but gave in, "sure."
We put a movie on her laptop and lay watching divergent. It's Camila's favourite movie but I think she just fancies Theo James. She's got a thing for Theo's...
I sipped on the drink but couldn't ignore the way she kept checking on me. "Cam, watch the movie."
"Ok, sorry."
"Don't apologise." I hushed her. I tried to put my focus on the movie but I'm not great at distracting myself.
We finished our drinks and I'm not sure how much time had passed but she still hasn't relaxed. Her eyes keep flicking sidewards to steal glancing and I wouldn't be surprised if she handed me a pacifier and sang me a lullaby.
Advertisement
I could feel a lump in my throat so I swallowed but it caught her attention and she turned to me. "Look if you don't want to talk about it that's fine but you don't have to pretend to be okay, you're allowed to be upset."
"Camila." I raised my eyebrows reassuringly and placed my hand on the back of her head, stroking her soft hair as she gave me those sincere puppy eyes. "I'm o-kay."
"I'm sorry I wasn't here for you this summer, I'm sorry-"
I did the only thing I knew would shut her up and pulled her head towards mine, pressing my lips against hers. I didn't bother add my tongue or pull off her top, it wasn't like that. I felt something different but every fibre of my body just wanted to kiss her.
We pulled away softly and I placed my forehead against hers.
"Don't worry about me, and don't blame yourself."
"I just- you were always there for me, but I wasn't-"
"Camila!" I almost laughed, "shut up, please."
"Fine." She chuckled.
We settled down and carried on watching it. I hate to admit it but the movie is quite good. I almost forget about my life until she leant her head on my shoulder. I glanced down at the fallen asleep girl. I left a small kiss on her head and leant forward to turn off the movie.
"I'm awake." She slurred.
"No you're not." I giggled, "come on, let's go to sleep."
"Fine."
We turned off the lamp and got into bed properly. I made sure to tuck her in as I moved over to my side. I know she fell asleep on my chest last night but I feel like it could be a violation of one of the rules or it might just be weird if we do it again. We should probably stick to oral instead of hugs.
Advertisement
"Goodnight, Buttercup."
"G'night, Princess."
I lay awake for longer than I planned and let my thoughts get to me. I shuffled a few times but couldn't get comfortable, and ending up lying with my hand behind my heads staring at the ceiling.
I don't want to go home. It's not even a home anymore, it's just a house I live in. My family isn't a family. Becca had the right idea, getting away from it all. My family has quite literally divided in half, and I got left in an empty home with a work-obsessed man who has my whole future planned for me. I can't go to college like Rebecca and get a job I actually want - I have to inherit this 'DeMarco company'.
I always wanted to be a chef. Either that or a formula-one driver. But when I grew up and started watching Dad work he'd remind everyday how hard he has worked to build this business and I'd make him proud by inheriting it. But I didn't earn it, and I don't want it.
Camila still reminds me about applying for colleges. She's set on ivy leagues but says she's 'aiming for anywhere that will accept her'. She's probably going to end up with a dozen PhDs and a large house filled with a happy family and wealthy husband. And a cat, she wants a cat.
I glanced over at her and could just about make out her features in the dark room. She has her face turned with her hair sprawled across it.
"She took that photograph with her." I whispered almost inaudibly. She must have still been awake because she rolled over, resting her head on her hand on the pillow and staring at me as I kept my head towards the ceiling. "You know the one of Bec with that massive gap in her teeth?" I tried to laugh as the thought of it came back but it turned more into a spluttering frown when my voice cracked.
"Off the mantelpiece?"
"Yeah. The house is empty. Becca's gone, Mom's gone, Dad's never home..."
I didn't even realise I was crying until she wiped a tear off my face. "Theodore..."
"Sorry." I chuckled, wiping my face and turned away from her. "It's late."
She tutted and grabbed onto my shoulder, giving me a massive bear hug from behind. I could feel her breath on my neck and her leg hooked over mine. I placed a kiss on her hand that was clinging to my chest and locked my fingers with hers. I didn't want her to see me like this so I kept my back facing her and allowed her warm arms to comfort me, allowing my masculinity to melt away for the night.
"You've always got a home here with me if you want to stay."
"Thank you, Camila."
"Get some sleep, Dory."
"Sweet dreams, baby."
That's when I realised - I'm screwed. Because I don't want Camila to be my friend-with-benefits. I want all or nothing. Preferably all.
I'm screwed.
Advertisement
- In Serial425 Chapters
Rise
Su Xue, a woman in her mid 20s, is struggling both in paying rent and finding her path in life. Her latest stint has her trying to become a popular League of Legends streamer, though to poor results. One day, she is interrupted in the middle of a livestream by a surprise visit from her landlady. She is informed that she will be having a new roommate. The landlady’s nephew, Lin Feng, a 18 year old boy who has just transferred over to Shanghai for his last year of high school.Though initially opposed to it, Su Xue reluctantly agrees to the arrangement. She learns that the two share a common interest—League of Legends—and that he’s really amazing at the game. Lin Feng also reveals to her he wishes to become the best professional League of Legends player in the world.The next day. Lin Feng attends his first day of school as a transfer student at High School 13. He meets Ouyang and Yang Fan, and the trio find a common passion in League of Legends. Lin Feng is then introduced to Ren Rou, the president of the esports club with a fiery personality, and Tang Bingyao, a quiet bookworm with a love for money and a surprising talent for the game.A little about Lin Feng’s past is revealed. He was a once pro player, the youngest in history and a contender for the best player in the world. Until the finals of the Season 1 World Championship. There, he lost to his arch-rival, an equally brilliant Korean youth. That was the peak of his career, and also the turning point in his life. He stepped down from his team and disappeared from competitive play altogether. Now, after a four year long hiatus, he aims to make a comebackOver the next couple of weeks, Lin Feng learns about the upcoming Shanghai 16 School Tournament, and that his school’s esports club had performed especially poorly the previous year. He agrees to coach the club’s team and help them win the first place trophy this year. And so, he starts the members of the club out on an intense training bootcamp.Meanwhile, the Season 5 League of Legends World Championship is taking place at around the same time. Tian Tian, one of Lin Feng’s former teammates and best friend, is on one of the Chinese teams playing at Worlds. After a poor showing, he is on the verge of a mental breakdown. Lin Feng witnesses everything in a viewing party with the esports club members and becomes worried.On the day of the Shanghai 16 School tournament, Lin Feng reunites with Tian Tian on the phone. He tells Tian Tian he’s going to return to the professional scene, that he’s making a new team and plans to invite him. But Tian Tian has to vow not to give up at Worlds and keep winning. Tian Tian agrees, and Lin Feng promises he’ll fight alongside him. Lin Feng then heads into his match with renewed resolve, to climb from the bottom all the way back to the top, and overcome the rival that defeated him so many years ago.
8 1136 - In Serial479 Chapters
Phoenix's Requiem
Painfully shy and conflict-averse, Yun Ruoyan is a scion to a noble house only in name, a puppet embroiled in political machinations beyond her ken. At the tender age of eighteen, poisoned and at death’s door, she finds herself thrown out into the streets. Her relatives have all been executed, betrayed by her dear husband and her cousin. With her dying breath, she curses her own weakness and swears revenge.When Yun Ruoyan awakens once more, she is thirteen, transported five years into the past by the will of the heavens. Her death-defying experience has changed her: no longer is she the malleable creature she once was. But more questions await at every corner—what is the truth behind the birthmark that disfigures her appearance? What are the circumstances surrounding her mother’s mysterious death?Will the phoenix rise from the ashes, or will she fall once more in thrall to fate?
8 646 - End489 Chapters
Poison Physician Consort
Follow Bai Luochu on a journey back to the peak as she reincarnates into the body of an orphaned daughter of the former great general of the Cloud Water Nation.With the Three Great Immortal Sects in front of her, her mortal enemies who caused her death, how would she rise to the top again?With her astounding medical skills and ability to create heaven defying poison, Bai Luochu heals the crippled meridians of her new body and attracts the attention of all three princes of the Cloud Water Nation!
8 1749 - End413 Chapters
Rebirth of a Fashionista: This Life Is Soo Last Season
Cinderella went from rags to riches, but when you are already at the top, fate is more than happy to kick you down. A car accident kicks off Sheng Jiaoyang's reverse Cinderella story by trapping her soul in the body of a poor girl, leaving her to succumb to fate and wait for her Prince Charming to come to her rescue -- obviously not!Like a phoenix rising out of the ashes, Sheng Jiaoyang forges her own way back up to the upper echelons of society, clearing obstacles, taking revenges, and bagging her handsome and rich childhood friend on the way.If you are tired of reading about poor damsel in distress waiting for a man to rescue her, and wants a female lead that can carry herself to the top, Rebirth of A Fashionista is the novel for you!
8 274 - End448 Chapters
The Attack of the Wastrel
Her rebirth gave her a second chance at life. She was back with a vengeance and wanted to make those that had harmed her pay. But to those that helped her, she wanted to repay them. Her evil stepmother? She would slowly pull out her claws, one by one. Her evil stepsister? She would crush her pride. She thought that by getting her revenge for her past life, she would be happy in this life. However, she never would have thought that danger would chance upon her time and time again. The hatred from her clan and whether their bloodline would continue to exist, lay solely on her shoulders. Luckily, on this thorny path, someone had always been protecting her. "Third Prince, have you ever regretted being with me?" That person laughed lightly and peered at her with a loving yet weary look, "As long as I am together with you, I have no regrets."
8 1461 - End401 Chapters
Demoness's Art of Vengeance
Jun Xiaomo, notoriously known as “Lady Demoness”, finds herself chained and bound in a dungeon. Her hard-earned cultivation has been completely crippled, and she has no means of escape. Qin Shanshan, a lady she used to called her “close friend”, mocks Jun Xiaomo, revealing that Jun Xiaomo had been used by the people around her. Even her lover, Qin Lingyu was one of the masterminds scheming against her. Jun Xiaomo watches her life flash before her eyes and realizes that she had indeed blindly placed her trust in people. Her naivety had led to her current predicament. Jun Xiaomo wanted to end it all. However, she is determined to deliver a swan song. Over the hundreds of days tormented in that very dungeon, Jun Xiaomo had painstakingly painted a complicated formation array with her own blood. With a determined look, Jun Xiaomo burns her life force to activate the array. Her sole intent? To bring with her as many schemers to the gates of hell as she could. The bright red light from thearray intensified, and the end was nigh.…or was it? Jun Xiaomo opens her eyes and finds herself alive again; time had rewound right back to when she was sixteen years of age, albeit only at the eighth level of Qi Cultivation. Armed with the knowledge and memories of her previous lifetime, Jun Xiaomo is determined to learn from her mistakes and bring retribution to those who so deserve…
8 368