The Carrero Heart - Beginning (Friends to Lovers)

I keep my thoughts to myself, beam at Jake with a smile as he stands to walk us out, and try not to react in any way to the hand
holding, even when Arrick’s grip tightens and he moves so close to me that his arm rests against mine.
“We’ll drive rather than fly. I think she needs the time to think things through before we face Leila.” Arrick pulls me with him as we
turn to leave the office, lifting my black cardigan from the chair for me and guiding me to the door.
“I’ve never understood your aversion to the jet; it cuts travel time by three hours. Why do you hate flying so much?” Jake grins at
his brother and is met with a shrug.
“I guess I’m just not as flashy as you. I prefer the simpler things in life. Cars that don’t require neck braces to drive them, and
keeping my feet planted firmly on the ground, taking things more slowly with less possibility of death.” Arrick smiles at his brother,
leaning in for a male shoulder to shoulder hug from Jake, and a solid pat on the back. Jake leans in and throws a kiss on my
cheek, slides a hand over my head like he’s stroking a cat and waves us both away.
“Wuss.” Jake goads him, but Arrick just shrugs and pulls me out through his assistants’ connected office. She is no longer sitting
there but the doors are all open.
“Call ahead and tell them we will leave later today. We will probably get there late evening and stop somewhere to eat first. I
have some things to deal with before we go.” Arrick turns to face his brother at the door and Jake leans into the frame casually.
“Sure. Have a safe trip and try not to let her off her leash this time.” Jake smirks at me cheekily. “She’s a runner, and she hasn’t
yet been chipped.” He ducks as I aim a slap at his shoulder. Gone is the commanding bossy father figure, and that annoying
Carrero pain in my ass is back in his place.
***
We’ve been driving for a couple of hours; idle chit-chat and evasion of certain topics has me staring out at the passing scenery
as rain makes everything wet, dull, and super shiny. Bored and listless as music fills the car. We’ve listened to various radio
stations as we travel and Arrick seems lost in his own head. Nothing unusual there; he’s always been a thinker, someone who
went quiet and just sorted shit out while he drove us anywhere. I find it strangely reassuring to watch that focused frown, the
gears turning in his head and taking the quiet time to be still with everything. He hasn’t said anything for at least the last half
hour. The silence isn’t exactly awkward; we are capable of sitting without talking and not feeling weird about it, but I’m dying to
have him say something about what he’s thinking.

He glances my way when he feels my eyes on his profile for the tenth time. I’m trying my hardest to evaluate how long I’ve been
in love with his face, or if it was just always something I ignored. Taking in every detail and trying to assess if he always gave me
these butterflies and urges to feel gooey.
“You want to stop for food?” He glances at me with a frown, obviously unnerved with the intense way I am staring at him, yet
again. “Can you also stop doing that.”? He adds with a smile and I turn away with a sigh.
“You’re not going to ask me why I’m staring at you?” I ask petulantly. “What goes on in my head while I’m doing so?” I look back
at him slyly.
“I’m not sure I’ll like the answers to either question, so maybe not right now. It is a little uncomfortable having you give me these
intense glares while I am trying not to kill us in a road wreck, Sophs. Rains’ pelting it down, the roads slippery, and yet I am only
aware of a set of beautiful baby blues trying to bore into my skull.” He slides forward in his seat to squint between the wipers as
the rain seems to break into a hurricane-style downpour and almost obscures the view instantly. I too squint out at the sudden
dramatic weather change and know for a fact he will make us stop now. His car doesn’t handle well in the wet at the best of
times, and even though he is a proficient driver, I know how seriously he takes the safety of his passengers. The rain is forming
shallow rivers across the road, and I spot a couple of car lights blaze red as people in front hit the brakes and cars slide. People
are crazy when the weather gets extreme and it wouldn’t be the first time some idiot caused an accident from panicking when the
road is this busy.
“Sure.... There’s a fast-food place there, look.” I point through the waterfall view to a flashing McDonalds’ sign on my side and he
nods. Maneuvering us so we are soon off the main road and following the signs to the car park, to get out of the worst of this
rain. He finds us a parking spot near the entrance and slides it in effortlessly.
“Get ready to run.” He smiles my way, pulling his jacket from the back seat of the car and looking around for something to use as
a shelter. “Stay there until I come around and open your door.” He regards me with a cute eyebrow movement, looking about
twelve for a moment before he opens his door and disappears in a flash.
I try to screw my eyes up to see where he goes and jump when my door clicks open seconds later. Arrick using his jacket as a
makeshift roof and I slide up into the little shelter his body creates under the jacket he’s holding. It’s over his head with one hand
and he pulls me into him, so I’m molded to his body, an arm tight around my waist so we’re both under shelter. I’m more than
aware of how flustered this little maneuver makes me, aware of every part of my body tingling like crazy, and how he makes me
feel held this way. Overly aware of the difference in our body types and how easily we fit together.

We make a mad dash for the automatic doors across the car park. I squeal as rain and puddles splash up around me and my
naked legs, in shoes that let everything in. Hiding my face against his chest as we get into the calm interior of the entrance.
He lets me go when the door closes behind us and shakes off his jacket by holding it by the neckline away from him and scoops
my hand easily into his to lead me on. I glance down at them joined snugly and frown. He seems oblivious to how often he
automatically does this and tugs me into the already bustling fast-food chain which is full to bursting with families and kids and
crazy amounts of noise.
“I don’t know if we’re going to get a seat.” Arrick scans around at the seriously crowded restaurant and then stops and points to a
far corner.
“Table for two, way back there. Go sit down before someone takes it and I’ll get us food.” He lets go of my hand and gently
guides me ahead of him, towards the table with a hand on my lower back.
“A Big Mac.” I throw back at him with a smile and head for the general direction, having to sidestep kids and squeeze through
people milling around. Dodging hyperactive children on a sugar rush.
“I know... Same as always.” his voice follows me and then I lose him when I crush myself between two large women and manage
to secure our little spot, nestled right against the window in the smallest corner ever. I sit down and use the time to take off my
shoes and try to get rid of the water I collected on the run in here.
I sit for a few minutes, using napkins to dry off my legs and feet, and do the best I can to wipe out my shoes when he appears in
front of me with a loaded tray and slides it down between us. He sits on the chair opposite me with a smile. That gentle Arrick
smile, not a full Jake Hollywood special, but still a sexy ‘I’m hot and it’s effortless’ kind of smile. I never noticed before just how
much his dimples appear when he smiles this way. How much softer his face is, compared to Jake’s harsher angles and lines
and stubbly face.