I Want That Photo of You

"I really appreciate you paying for the meal, but I'm a little annoyed at you." My arms were now through the sleeves of my jacket. The L.A nights could get chilly.

"I can live with you being annoyed with me for that reason. Did you like it? Have you had enough to eat?" Pedro pushed his hands into the pockets of his jeans. We walked side by side down the street.

"I am so full. I might need to dance some of it off."

"You like to dance?" He turned to face me, our steps now in sync.

"I'm always dancing. I can't stop myself. I just love music. Hope you do, too. Otherwise the rest of your night is gonna be pretty boring watching me."

"I don't think I'd be bored watching you. But lucky for you, I love to dance too!"

"Are you flirting with me, Pedro?" The wine had gone to my head, and gave me the confidence to say what I actually wanted to say.

"Trying to. I'm not sure if it's working."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you're playing your cards close to your chest. You haven't flirted with me yet. I'm starting to think you don't find me attractive. I mean, I know I'm no Harry Styles, but-" before he could finish his sentence, I reached over and grabbed his hand and linked our fingers together.

"I think you're fucking hot, alright. A little too hot for me to handle. You intimidate me so I've been a bit scared to flirt with you. That enough for you?" I confessed. He flashed a devilish grin.

"I just wanted you to hold my hand, really. I was just too shy to ask." He squeezed my hand. We idly chatted as we made our way to the bar, still hand in hand. "This is one of my favourite bars in L.A. They play the best music. Come." He guided me to the entrance of a white building with an arched doorway. He left go of my hand and signalled for me to walk ahead of him into the bar. My breath hiccuped when I felt his left hand hold onto my waist as we walked through.

The bar was full of people. The high ceilings were decorated with gold accents and low hanging lampshades. There was a small area by the bar that people where dancing, making a makeshift dance floor. Pedro's hand didn't leave my waist as he weaved us through the crowds. Prince's 'Kiss' blasted through the speakers, the bass shook the floor.

"I love this song!" I started to mumble the lyrics quietly to myself, not wanting Pedro to hear my awful voice and run away.

"Do you?" He asked, now by my side as we reached the bar.

"Yeah. Prince is one of my favourite artists."

"Purple Rain is my favourite song ever."

"I can't listen to Purple Rain. I have to be in a very particular mood to listen to it. I don't have the emotional capacity to listen to it casually." I confessed. Pedro stared blankly at my face, causing me to get embarrassed. I was very passionate about music, and maybe he thought I had been icky by confessing that.

"I feel the very same way about that song." For the first time since I'd met him, I felt winded. The way he was looking at me, the way his grip of my waist tightened. It felt like we made a real connection. "You got points for that confession, Elle."

"Are we playing for points now, Pedro?"

"Yep. Don't worry, you're doing well. Wracking 'em up. What would you like to drink?" He looked up from me and over my shoulder, smiling at someone. "Oscar, hey man. What are you doing here?" His hands were now on his friend and not my waist.

"Bud, I didn't know you were coming here." He engulfed Pedro in a hug. I stood there not knowing whether I should say hi or continue to not get involved. "Who's this? Hey, I'm Oscar."

"Eleanor." I smiled sheepishly. I was about to extend my hand when he gave me a hug too.

"You out with my friend here?" He slapped Pedro on the centre of his chest, causing him to curl over.

"Yeah she's with me." His words made my stomach flip.

"Jesus, Pedro. Punching a little bit, aren't you?" Oscar smiled at me, before laughing at his friends reaction.

"A lot. Who are you here with?"

"There's Jesse, Carol, John and Rosa. They're somewhere on the dance floor." He was bobbing his head over the mass of people to try and locate them. "I was just coming to get some drinks."

"Rosa's in town?"

"Yeah she flew back two days ago. If you have a moment, come say hi. She'll love to see you." Who's Rosa?

"I will for sure. You'll love Rosa, Eleanor. She's amazing!" Pedro grinned just saying her name.  You could tell Pedro loved everyone in his life wholeheartedly.

"Sure." I mumbled, not knowing what to say. Oscar started another conversation with Pedro so I turned around and ordered two pornstar martinis. I'd noticed that the guy who had been making our drinks kept looking up at me and smiling.

"You have that affect on a lot of people." Pedro's deep voice rang into my ear, the nose of the bar making him come in closer to me. Being close to Pedro was dangerous.

"What do you mean?" I looked up at him, seeing him stare at the guy.

"Men. Staring at you. Can't say I blame them. I can't help myself either." His heavy arm swung around my shoulders and rested with his hand just inches from my boob. Pedro continued to stare at him as he brought our drinks over to us. Pedro only shifted when he tried to retrieve his wallet from his pocket with one arm, firmly keeping his other on me. I had already taken notes from my purse whilst he'd been talking and handed over the cash before he had chance to even retrieve his wallet.

"I told you, you're not paying for everything." I slid one of the drinks towards him.

"Now I'm annoyed at you."

"Deal with it." I took a sip of the delicious cocktail, collecting the foam from my lips with my tongue. "What are you thinking?"

"You don't want to know."

"I do, tell me." I took another sip.  He shook his head.

"What is this?"

"Pornstar martini. My favourite cocktail."

"Pornstar?" He raised his brow, then put the drink to his mouth. I watched the liquid decanter into his mouth, following its journey down into his throat as he swallowed. My blood tingled. A frothy foam laced the edge of his thick moustache. With a new confidence, I reached up and brushed my thumb across it, collecting the liquid and keeping eye contact with him as I brought it to my mouth and stuck it clean.

"Delicious." I smirked.

"You have no fucking idea what you've just done to me." His voice was deep and dark. I took a step closer and leaned up to his ear and whispered,

"Tell me, then." He swallowed hard before his chest started to shake harder with each breath. "Is this enough flirting for you?"

"You're lucky there are other people around." His hand was now on my hip, squeezing fairly hard but still not painful.

"How I feel right now, Pedro, I couldn't give a fuck if there were millions of people around us." I took a step closer to him so our chests touched. My boobs were pressed against his chest, and joy filled my body as I watched him look down at how my boobs had started to overspill the cups of my corset.

"You are bad, you know that right?" His fingers danced on my hip, causing tingles to shoot across my skin.

"You have no idea how bad, baby." I returned his name for me earlier and watched him squirm.

"My fucking god." He mumbled under his breath and pushed his hips forward. As he did so, I felt his hard crotch on my stomach. Fuck. He looked down at me, and I looked up. Both of us keeping eye contact. Our heavy breathing in unison.

"Pedro! Mi amor, I have missed you!" A small black haired woman came towards Pedro and broke our bubble.

"Rosa! I've missed you!" She engulfed Pedro in her arms.

"Oscar told me you were here! So sorry to intrude, I just wanted to pop by and say hello." She smiled firstly at Pedro, then at me. "My name is Rosa, I've been friends for Pedro for far too long!" She held her hands out to me and I stepped into her hug.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Eleanor." Ironically, Rosa smelt of roses. She looked a bit older than Pedro.

"Ella es muy hermosa, Pedro!" She held me by my elbows as she spoke Spanish to Pedro. I felt my cheeks blush as she called me beautiful.

"Sí, creo que ella también es hermosa!" Yes, I think so too.

"Gracias. Estoy muy halagado!" I thanked them both in Spanish, feeling both smug and proud for my multilingual talents.

"You speak Spanish?" Pedro looked shocked. I liked that I could do something that shocked him.

"Si, papi. And a little bit of Italian."

"She is a keeper, Pedro." Rosa grinned up at him. "My darling, enjoy your night with my Pedro here. And Pedro, you look after this bonita! I'll call you in the week." She squeezed my elbows then kissed Pedro of both cheeks before she left us.

"Papi? Did you just called me daddy?" He asked, his chocolate eyes now almost black.

"Yes, daddy."

"You're going to fucking kill me tonight. My old man heart can't take this." His large hand ran up his torso and clutched into the his shirt.

"Please don't do that. You haven't seen me dance yet." My fingers wrapped round his wrist as I slowly pulled him into the direction of the dance floor. Europe's 'The Final Countdown' started to blast throughout the bar, causing my blood to pump a little harder. "I love this song."

"Me too. You into this kinda stuff?"

"Absolutely. You absolutely cannot beat a power ballad. I've got a playlist full of them, it's literally the best playlist ever. I'll send it to you." Pedro's eyes softened at my reply, a small smile crept on his lips.

"It's nice to see you talk passionately about something. Music, your friends and family. Your big green eyes go all wide and glisten."

"Stop being mushy." I playfully nudged his elbow. We started to dance, moves ranged from passionate air grabs to air drums and guitars and us violently screaming the lyrics. I enjoyed that Pedro didn't take himself seriously. It was refreshing to have a guy still want to get out and have fun, and not just play video games all day. A few songs down the line and Pedro's friends had joined us to dance. A blonde lady around Pedro's age made her way over to me to introduce herself. She was very classy, in a black jumpsuit, her make up done to perfection. Surely he would want to date her?

"Hey darlin', I'm Jesse." She hugged me, and I made a mental note to ask her about her perfume. It smelt amazing.

"Hello. I'm Eleanor. It's lovely to meet you."

"Likewise. You're here with Pedro, right?"

"Yes I am. He's a lovely guy."

"You're not wrong. Everyone loves him, it's annoying!" We chuckled in unison. "You wanna grab a drink?" She noticed my empty glass in my hand.

"Yes, please!" Without having to communicate, we broke off to ask the rest of the group what they'd like. Well, I went to Pedro, Jesse went to the others.

"Hey you." The whites of Pedro's eyes were slightly red, he was drunk. And hot. Still so hot.

"Hey handsome." His eyes widened.

"Are you flirting with me, Eleanorrrrrr?" My name rolled off his tongue.

"Si, papi."

"You gotta stop that."

"Why?"

"Because it makes me wanna... you've just gotta stop it. Having a good time?" His arm curled around my back and lay on my waist. A small tug and I was pressed against him.

"I am. I've come to ask if you'd like another drink."

"Sure! Come, I'll come to the bar with you." He went to step forward. I put my hand on his chest to stop him.

"It's OK, I'm going with Jesse. You can continue to move those snake hips. What would you like?"

"Leaving me for my friends, now?"

"Trying to make a good impression. And I can watch you dance for a bit." Pedro's face was unreadable, his eyes scanned all over my face.

"A beer, please. Any. I'm not fussy."

"A beer coming right up for you, daddy." My words causing him to squeeze my waist. "Pedro?"

"Yes, Eleanor?"

"You really wanna smack my ass right now don't you?" I bit my lip.

"More than you could know."

"Maybe later." I winked and slid away from him, over to Jesse who had been watching us.

"So are you two dating then?" Jesse didn't hold back.

"Well, Pedro said this was a date. But we're not dating. It's a first date. Who knows if he'll want to see me again for a second." I felt shy, and didn't want to look at his friend.

"I don't think you've got to worry about that, judging by the way he's looking at you. What about you? Would you like a second date?"

"Absolutely. He's so much fun to be around!" And so fucking hot!

"How long have you two known each other?" She smiled. She was a beautiful woman.

"This is embarrassing... we met yesterday."

"Yesterday!?" The word fell out of her mouth. Understandably.

"Yeah."

"I've never seen Pedro so comfortable with someone, never mind after one day. You must be doing something right. He's always so private about his love life, we never know what's going on. But those few dates we have met, he's never been like this. Been so himself. Keep it up, girl." Her words caused me to blush all over my face.

"I'll definitely try my best." I looked up from the floor and over to the area the group occupied. Pedro was talking to Oscar, they looked deep in conversation. Pedro nodded at something Oscar said, Oscar flicked his hand through the air. Pedro touched his chest then suddenly, they both looked in my direction. Shit! Oscar smiled at me, Pedro beamed. I grinned back. Oscar whispered something to Pedro and I watched Pedro mouth, "I know!" Jesse paid for the drinks, and I offered her some money. Like Pedro, she point blank refused so I made a mental note to pay for the next round. Even though I'd already drank too much and knew I'd regret it in the morning. We moved through the crowds, the anxiety to not spill a drop grew worse with each step. I was the most clumsiest person anyway, I didn't need this added pressure.

"Here she is." Pedro spoke, his eyes followed every step I took towards him. I handed Oscar his drink, which he thanked me for and handed Pedro his beer. Oscar slid away, leaving us two alone.

"What were you talking to Oscar about?"

"You."

"Good I hope." I sipped my cocktail. The cool liquid soothing my burning chest.

"When you smiled at us, he said you had a smile that could make anyone do anything you wanted them to do. I agreed, you do." Tears burned in the corners of my eyes.

"That might be the nicest thing anyone has ever said about me."

"Don't cry, baby." His words were soft and quiet, barely audible over the music.

"Don't call me baby, it'll make me cry more." Pedro giggled as he pulled me onto a hug. With his spare hand, I felt him take a sip of beer. Seconds later, the same bubbly liquid travelled down his throat and I felt every part of that journey through his chest where my head lay. "Do you want to go home? It is pretty late."

"Let's finish these drinks, have one more dance and I'd like to go if that's OK? You don't have to leave, you can stay with your friends."

"You go, I go. I picked you up, I'm dropping you home. You alright?"

"Yeah I'm fine. It's just, nice to hear something like that said about you. Especially when you don't always feel that way about yourself."

"You are, by far, the prettiest girl I've ever met."

"Pedro-"

"Let me finish. You make me nervous, but in a good way. And even since you fell for me-"

"Never going to let me live that down are you-" before I could finish my sentence, his placed his index finger on my lips to shush me.

"Quiet, baby. Ever since you fell for me, I've been fascinated by you. Which is fucking crazy since I only met you yesterday. But for those 28 hours, I keep thinking about you. When you left, and I just had your number on my phone, I wished I'd taken a photo of you to save so I could see you whenever you text me." 

"You know, you could just text me on WhatsApp I have a picture on there-" Was all I managed to say before his finger was back on my lips.

"When I got home, I tried to stop myself from texting you because I didn't want to come on too strong and scare you away. But I couldn't stop myself. And I couldn't wait to see you again. I wanted to know if you were as beautiful as I remembered you are. And you are. Of course you are. I hope you've enjoyed yourself tonight. And if you haven't and you never want to see me again, I understand and I'll hold this night in a special place. But if, by some miracle, you want to see me again, I'll give you space. I don't want this to happen too quickly and get ruined." I couldn't reply. Partly because he still had his finger on my lip, and partly because he took all the breath out of my lungs with his words. We were stood on the side of the dance floor, just staring at each other. Suddenly, his finger went from being on my lip to being up my nose, causing Pedro to laugh like a school boy. "Sorry it got a bit intense there, I had to do something!"

"I've had the best night I've had in a long time." We exchanged a sweet smile and in unison, took a sip of our drinks.

It was almost 2:30am when we left the bar, leaving the others to party without us. The air was thick and cold, I hugged my jacket closer to my body.

"We can get an Uber if you'd like?" Pedro asked, pushing his hands into his pockets. He felt the chill too.

"I'm happy to walk, if you are? It's only a small walk and I could do with the fresh air. I'm a bit more drunk out here than I thought I was in there."

"Are you going to be OK tonight?" He asked, our feet tapping the floor in unison.

"Smooth, Pascal."

"What? I'm being serious!"

"Are you going to be OK tonight? Do you need me to stay and look after you?"

"I wasn't going to say that! I mean, if you need me to, I would. But that's not what I meant."

"Well, I'll be just fine. Thank you. Can you do me a favour?"

"Sure."

"Get an Uber from my place to yours. I don't want you walking the streets alone at this time of night."

"I'm a big guy, I can look after myself. It's not too far."

"Pedro. No. You want to see me again, you get an Uber home."

"Blackmailing me again. Fine. For you, I'll get an Uber." We idly chatted for a further 10 minutes before we were in the lift of my apartment block. Luckily for us, there was a guy who lived on the floor above me in the lift with us. Even still, the attraction between me and Pedro was enigmatic.

"Do you want to come in?" I asked, as I unlocked the door. I'd spent almost 8 hours with him, but it didn't feel enough.

"Sure." He answered before he ran his hand  through his hair. The curls bounced at his command. Fuck.

"You have the best hair I've ever seen." I commented, leading the way into my apartment. "Moustache too."

"Thank you."

"And face. Your eyes are just, UGH!"

"Anything else?" He smirked, he knew what he was doing.

"Your shoulders are like so big. And hot. It's annoying because all night I've tried to find something about you that I didn't find attractive and I can't."

"Are you saying I'm flawless?"

"Don't put words into my mouth, Pascal."

"That's what I'm hearing....what's your last name?"

"Parker. My full name is Eleanor Grace Parker."

"That's a pretty name. Mine is José Pedro Balmaceda Pascal."

"You sound hot when you speak Spanish." I confessed.

"So do you. That surprised me. Rosa too."

"Would you like a drink?"

"Sure. Whatcha got?" He followed me timidly to the kitchen area, his hands pressed against his side.

"You can make yourself at home. You're just standing there like that man emoji. It's killing me!" I laughed hysterically, the alcohol is my system making everything a little bit more funny.

"I can't. Everything is so, perfect. Like it has its own place." His eyes scanned my minimalist kitchen. In the short time I'd known him, I'd come to enjoy the small moments where he'd get lost in his own thoughts. His deep brown eyes would glisten in a way that was unsettling.

"Hot or cold? Alcoholic or nonalcoholic?"

"I could do a coffee if you have one?" He was looking at the pictures on my fridge. "Who's this cutie?"

"I've got a coffee machine, help yourself. And that," I lifted the magnet to bring it closer, "is me. I think I'm 4 there. That's my brother Oliver, he's 7 and my cousin, Lewis, he's 9. We grew up together. Did everything together. It's my favourite picture ever." I was dressed in a princess dress and plastic heels. Lewis and Oliver were Mario and Luigi, both of them either side of me with one arm on each of my shoulders, and the other on their toy guns. "I remember that day like it was yesterday. Mom said Lewis could sleep over and I wanted to sleep in Oli's room with them but they wouldn't let me so mom let me make brownies with her and sleep with her. Dad was away with work. I miss her so much." My heart got heavy. It still felt like she was with me, it still felt unreal that she wasn't around.

"If you're anything to go by, she was a wonderful mother." Pedro's large hand was on my shoulder, a small touch that meant a lot. As did his words.

"She was the best. Always so happy and fun. Then she, well, she. She was gone. I can't talk about it right now or I'll cry."

"Cry if you need to. I'm here."

"What the fuck is this, Pedro?" Something clicked in my brain. He looked at me puzzled, rightly so. "I've know you for almost 2 days, yet you make me feel more comfortable, more protected than I have since mom died. How are you doing this?" My brain started to frazzle. Thoughts of how dangerously great this guy could be if I let him in, let him stay around continued to make me spiral. "This isn't me! I've been so guarded for so long, been so independent. And you come along and I would pretty much do anything you asked me to. How? How the fuck are you doing this!?"

"Ditto, Eleanor. When my Mama passed away, I promised I wouldn't let anyone in. I wouldn't get into a relationship, I wouldn't start a family because I couldn't deal with the hurt of losing someone. I've been going through life just fine. But you've got under my skin. It's driving me fuckin' crazy!" He was in front of me, looking down at me with this perfect brown eyes. He swiped a piece of hair that had got stuck to my eyelash from off my face. He was dangerously close, but I liked where this was heading. "What are you doing to me, Elle?" He breathed. My eyes darting between his lips and his eyes, silently begging for him to kiss me. "I really want to, baby. But I'm not going to do it tonight."

"Why?" I pouted.

"Cute." He breathed, "Because we've been drinking. And I don't want a first kiss with you to be whilst we've had a drink. I want it to be spontaneous, unprovoked. I wanna catch you by surprise and knock all the wind outta ya!"

"This isn't one of your films, Pascal."

"Have you watched any of my films?"

"Not a single one. Couldn't tell you anything you've been in. I only know your face from TikTok." I confessed, slightly sheepishly.

"I'll forgive you. Though, you should have seen me in Narcos. I even fancied me in it. Tight trousers and a 70s moustache."

"That really does sound like something I'd be interested in. Now come, let me get you some coffee and I'll give you a tour of the apartment." I showed Pedro how to work my coffee machine. The house warming gift from my Dad. God bless Amazon wishlist. He got himself an Americano and sipped it straight away. "Asbestos mouth." I mumbled. My comment making him spit the coffee back into the mug. And all down his shirt.

"Shit!" He hissed, trying to wipe the droplets off the white material.

"Let me wipe it down." Was all I managed to say before he whipped it over his head, leaving him stood in a white vest and his jeans. A white vest that clung to his body. He looked so hot. "Do you want me to put it in a wash tomorrow? I can bring it with me when we meet next?"

"Please. Thank you." He seemed shy until he saw how I was looking at him in that. White. Vest. The smirk he gave me was enough to drive me mad.

"Absolutely. Come. Apartment tour time." I needed to distract myself. I took him round the apartment, answering questions Pedro had about photos or trinkets. My heart warmed at the thought of him wanting to get to know me more. Last stop, of course, was my bedroom.

"I have high expectations, considering your guest bedroom is nicer than my actual room." He spoke, still clutching his mug, which looked tiny in his hand.

"Well, find out for yourself." I opened the door. I allowed him in first, my view being blocked by his big shoulders.

"This is so cosy." His head spun around to take it all in. "I love that!" He walked over to the huge frame that housed all my Polaroid photos from back home. "You love taking photos, right?"

"I'm a sucker for it. I like to take photos of others because I want to look back on those memories from my point of view. My people, my core memories. My little moments. I don't need to be in them. I know how it felt the moment I took each shot." Pedro bent down to get a better look at the shots.

"There's some great photos on here, I like this one." He giggled as he pointed to a picture my friend had taken of me drunk in Amsterdam, hanging off and pretending to ride a big penis.

"Can't take me anywhere." I smiled, thinking about that trip. I missed those holidays, and those friends. I needed to visit home soon.

"Wow." He gasped, leaning forward at one of the small squares. "Look at you." I bent down, using my left hand on his back to make sure I didn't fall over. "Look at you." He looked back at me, then back at the picture frame. "You look like an angel."

"Stop. I do not." I blushed. How did this made give me confidence one sentence and take it straight back the next?

"You really do. My god. Look at you!!" He didn't stop staring at it. It was at a beach in Cornwall. A bunch of us had gone just before I left for a short break. I had my bikini bottoms and a oversized jumper on. I was sat on a picnic blanket. My hair was in waves from the sea salt and sea breeze. The sky was blossom pink behind me. One of the reasons my friend, Sophia, took the picture. I was balancing a plastic glass of rosé was balancing on my left knee and smiling at the screen. My skin tanned, my cheeks rosy from laughing too much. "How could you want to be behind a camera when you look like that?" For the first time in minutes, he actually looked away from the picture and at me.

"There's far more beautiful things to capture."

"I don't think so." We were so close. Centimetres apart. Our breathing heavy again.

"I need to get ready for bed. You're welcome to stay a while longer to stare at my pictures if you'd like." I picked up the pyjamas I had left on my bed and went into the en-suite. I washed my face, tied my hair back and brushed my teeth within minutes. A simple and quick skin care routine was all I had the energy to muster tonight. When I left the en-suite, Pedro wasn't in my bedroom. I wandered out back into the open plan, seeing him in the corner where he'd earlier found my Harry Styles shrine. He was fingering my vinyls.

"Found anything interesting?" I asked him as my bare feet slapped against the hard floor, making him jump.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to go through your things. It felt a bit intrusive to stay in your bedroom without you there. Then I saw this collection. Pretty impressive. Between your books and your vinyls, I'm really impressed."

"Earned me extra points?"

"Most definitely. I think I've got some catching up to do."

"I think you've got a strong lead, Pedro." He smiled at my words, a genuine smile. Of joy. "I think I have something you'd really like." I went in search of what I was looking for. "I've never played this, I can't bring myself to." I handed him the vinyl.

"Purple Rain?" He looked at my confused.

"Pull it out." My choice of words causing his pink lips to smirk.

"No fucking way." His fingers stroked the rare purple vinyl. "How did you get this? It must have cost a fortune!"

"Do you want to know how lucky it was?" He nodded, waiting to hear more, "in the UK we have a Record Store Day where independent stores come together and it's so cool. They have there little events, special releases get made for that day. I went to one in Manchester on a trip, and I saw it. I didn't have Purple Rain on vinyl, just on CD which I overplayed when I was a kid and it's all scratched so I grabbed it. I didn't even realise it was limited edition till I got home."

"I love that. Wow. Could you imagine?"

"There's only a handful in the world. 100 or something?" His eyes rolled over the purple vinyl one more time before he gently slid it back in the case and handed it back to me.

"I don't trust myself with it." He got up from his crouched position. "I should go. You're all ready for bed and I'm pretty exhausted myself." His hands stroked the top of my arms.

"Order your Uber."

"On it." His fingers tapped away at his screen a little harder than they needed to.

"You don't have to bash your screen in. Old men and technology, ay?" My comment caused him to raise a challenging eyebrow at me.

"I'll give you old man."

"I wish you would."

"You can't make comments like that when I'm getting my ride home."

"It's a shame. I could have been your ride."

"Eleano-"

"I'm a pretty good ride."

"Is that so?"

"So I've been told. By quite a few actually."

"I hope not."

"Well by those who I have. My body count isn't high."

"What the hell is a body count?"

"How many people you've slept with." The answer causing Pedro to giggle like a school boy.

"I love that term. I'll be pocketing that." With a few steps, he was in front of me. At first, I thought he was going to kiss me. But instead, he pulled me into him. Into a tight, comforting hug. "Ugh, I needed this."

"I'm always available for a hug. I'm pretty good at those too."

"Is there anything you're not good at, Eleanor?"

"Nope. My skill set is pretty extensive." I smirked, feeling his pulse quicken.

"Old man heart. Please stop." He pulled away and looked down at me. "I mean, tonight. I needed it. The way I've felt, the, I've really enjoyed myself. Thank you."

"Thank you, too."

"Would you like to see me again?"

"I'll sleep on it."

"Understandable."

"Just kidding, of course I would."

"But not tomorrow. I mean, I'd love to. But I don't want to rush anything. I'll text you though. You can text me too."

"I'll washed your shirt in the morning and we can use it as an excuse to meet up in the week?"

"Thank you. You don't need any excuses though."I nodded before going back in for another hug. I was trying to pocket his smell. The ping from Pedro's phone indicated his Uber had arrived. "I've gotta go." He looked me in the eyes, winding me. "Goodnight Eleanor." He kissed my forehead. His long whiskers tickled my skin.

"Pedro, wait!" I grabbed his hand. "I want you to have this." I ran to the coffee table to pick up the Purple Rain vinyl.

"No way. I'm not taking that."

"Please."

"No Eleanor."

"I want you to have it. Some things just belong with certain people, the right people." We both knew from that moment I wasn't talking about the vinyl.

"I don't want to-"

"If you want to see me again, you'll accept the vinyl."

"You keep blackmailing me.." He moaned but not in an annoyed way. "I can't even tell you how grateful I am. You have no idea."

"Go. Your Uber is waiting."

"Remember to lock the door behind me."

"I can if you actually leave."

"Are you kicking me out?"

"Yes. Go. Get home safe. Text me when you're home."

With one more kiss on my head, he left. I locked the door behind him and went to the fridge to get some water to take to bed. Pedro had only just left but my phone beeped and I knew it was him.

Pedro: have you locked the door?Pedro: you have no idea what this means. I'm gonna frame it. Thank you. 💜🌧️Pedro: p.s I want that photo of you.