6. Unknown Numbers

"And why are you telling me all this now?" Jane questioned me accusingly as we walked towards our next class. I had just narrated the events of yesterday to her and she had quite a good laugh when I told her how Roman showed at my doorstep and witnessed Alex's and I's catfight.

"Because, I caught up with my family after a long time and slept after because I was really tired and she nodded in understanding.

"Alright. This is me. I'll see at 12 in the cafeteria yeah?" She asked me.

"Yup. See you then." I waved at her and made my way to my next class. The day went by in a blur and I could've sworn people were staring at me weirdly when I went to the cafeteria.

What's their problem?

I spotted Jane almost immediately and saw her talking with Matt and another new guy I hadn't seen before. I grabbed a brownie an sandwich and made my way over to them. Jane smiled when she saw me and the new guy looked at me as well and smiled.

He was really handsome, with light brown hair and dark brown eyes, and a charming smile.

"Hey guys." I said sitting down next to the new guy.

"Hiya Thea, everything good?" Matt asked me and I nodded, unwrapping my sandwich.

"Thea, this is Dean. He's new here." Jane introduced me to the guy named Dean and I turned to him smiling and stretched my hand out to him.

"Hi Dean, it's nice to meet you. I'm Heather Elias." I said and he took my hand, shaking it and smiling widely.

"Nice to meet you too Heather, I'm Dean Logan." He said in a British accent and I raised my eyebrows.

"You're British?" I asked him and he nodded.

"Yes, I moved here a while ago from England." He said and I nodded.

"So what's your major?" I asked him.

"Business. My father's a businessman so I'll be taking over for him soon." He explained.

"That's cool. Do you like it? Business, I mean?" I asked him.

"Yeah, I do surprisingly. Speaking of, what's your major?" He asked.

"Design. Interior designing." I said and he frowned.

"So you're not doing business? I mean you're an Elias so I figured you would." He said but I chuckled.

"Yeah, I get that a lot. I have studied business but designing is my passion so I leave the business to my brother. I do take some business classes though." I said and he nodded. We slipped into conversation easily and got to know each other quite well.

He was an only child and was supposed to take over his father's company after college. I knew a bit about his company because of Alex. Overall, he was a very sweet and nice person, easy to get along with.

"What class do you have now?" He asked me and I grinned.

"Business." I said and he smiled widely.

"Well, aren't I lucky?" He said and we both laughed as we made our way into class together. We mostly talked throughout the lecture, not bothering to take notes since we were so engrossed in each other's company.

I think I like this guy.

"Wait so you're only 19?" He asked me and he looked at me in disbelief.

"I know, I get a lot but I finished school early because I skipped a class. Apparently I was too smart." I said and he nodded.

"So you're a nerd?" He said and I fake gasped.

"Don't you dare." I said and he raised his hands in surrender. Jane joined us as we made our way through the halls to leave.

"You're getting cozy with Dean. You like him don't you?" She raised wiggling her eyebrows and I blushed a bit.

"He's really nice and easygoing, but I've only known him a few hours." I said stealing a glance at Dean who was talking to Matt and a few other guys.

"And he's hot. I think he likes you too." Jane said and my head whipped to her.

"How do you know?" I asked her skeptically.

"Just look at how he looks at you. I bet he'll ask you out today." She said but I shook my head.

"Come on Jane we've only talked for a few hours." I said walking over to the guys and she shrugged.

"I know it, just you wait." She said but I rolled my eyes playfully and saw the guys leaving and just Dean and Matt were left, and we walked to the entrance with them.

"Are you guys leaving?" Matt asked us and both Jane and I nodded.

"Are you leaving too?" I asked Dean who nodded.

"Yeah I'm done for the day. Are you free right now?" He asked me and I glanced at Jane briefly who was now grinning.

"Yeah I am why?" I asked him and he pulled me aside.

"I was thinking we could grab a coffee or something, if you want, that is." He said and I smiled.

"Yeah sure, I'd love that." I said and he sighed in relief.

"Oh good." He said as Jane and Matt came to us.

"You guys going somewhere?" Jane asked Dean.

"Yeah we're grabbing a coffee. I'll see you tomorrow yeah?" I asked Jane who gave me a thumbs up when my phone pinged with a message. I frowned when I saw the number.

"What's wrong?" Jae asked me.

"Uh... I got a message from an unknown number." I told them and they all huddled around me.

"What does it say?" Dean said putting a hand on my shoulder and I opened it.

"I'm waiting outside." The message read and I looked at my friends.

"Were you waiting for someone?" Jane asked me but I shook my head.

"Not that I remember." I said when my phone pinged again and I looked at another message from the same number.

"- Roman." The message read and my eyes widened.

"Roman? Is that...?" Jane looked at me and I furrowed my eyebrows.

"Who's Roman?" Dean asked me but before I could answer another message came.

"To your left princess." The message read and I felt my cheeks heat up as Jane looked up at me accusingly.

Princess?

"What did you not tell me Thea?" She narrowed her eyes at me.

"Why'd he call you princess?" Dean asked me.

"I don't know." I said and looked to my left, and sure enough there he stood, in all his glory.

Roman Angelo.

"What the actual fuck. Did he come to pick you up?" Matt asked me.

"No..." I said as I looked him over. A black dress shirt with the first two buttons open was tucked into black pants. His sleeves were rolled up and his jet black hair was a little messy, although it looked really good on him.

His arms were crossed across his chest, revealing his tattoos and a silver and black watch on his wrist reflected the sunlight. he was wearing black metal shades and was looking at me intently.

"Uh... I should go ask him what's wrong." I said and walked over to him. He stood straighter and his hands dropped to his sides when he saw me approaching and the corner of his lips tilted up slightly.

"Hi." I said when I stopped in front him and he gave me a nod.

"How'd you get my number? Is everything okay?" I asked him and he took his shades off and put them away.

"Got it from Brown. I need to discuss a project with you." He said and I frowned.

"Oh um... when?" I asked him and he opened his car door for me. "Now?" I asked him and he nodded.

"Is something wrong?" He asked me when I made no move to sit in the car.

"I uh... is it important?" I asked him and he nodded.

"Okay then.. can I tell my friends?" I asked him and he looked behind me and nodded briefly, closing the car door, just as my friends came walking over to me. I turned to them while they looked at me expectantly.

"I have to go with him... to discuss some project." I told them and they frowned.

"What kind of project?" Jane asked me and I shrugged.

"I don't know but he said it was important." I said and they nodded in understand.

I turned to Dean who came closer to me.

"I'm so sorry but can we have coffee another day? Tomorrow perhaps?" I asked him and he nodded, giving me a small smile.

"Of course, it's no problem." He said and I smiled at him, saying goodbye to my friends and turning around as Roman opened his door for me.

Just then I felt a hand on my arm but it was removed just as quickly. I turned around and saw Roman holding onto Dean's arm with a clenched jaw.

"Don't touch her." Roman warned him and Dean looked at me.

"What's wrong Dean?" I asked him.

"I just realized I don't have your number, so I came to ask for it." He said and I smiled, taking his phone from him and entering my number in it.

"There. You can call me and I'll save yours too." I told him and he gave me a charming smile.

"Okay. So coffee tomorrow after classes yeah?" He confirmed and I nodded.

"Great. It's a date." He said winking at me and ran off towards Jane and Matt. I turned back around and saw Roman's glare directed towards Dean's back. I frowned and saw his knuckles turned white with his grip on the car's door.

I softly put my hand on his and his head whipped to me.

"Mr. Angelo, are you okay?" I asked him and he frowned.

"Don't call me that." He said and I looked at him confused.

"Call me by my name." He said and I nodded slowly.

"Alright... Roman." I said softly, loving the way his name rolled off my tongue so easily. I smiled at the thought and looked into his darkened gaze and grinned.

"Then you call me by mine." I suggested and saw his smirk.

"Alright, Heather." He said and I felt the shivers going down my spine when my name rolled off his tongue.

I gave him my megawatt smile and I could have sworn I saw his breath hitch momentarily as he cleared his throat and gestured to the car. I snapped out of whatever daze I was in and quickly sat down, buckling the seat belt.

He closed my door and walked to the other side, getting in swiftly and starting the ignition and we drove off.

The radio played lightly in the background and I recognized the song immediately, Cruel Summer by Taylor Swift.

Why does it feel like I can relate to this song right now?

I tried my best not to start singing and focused on the view outside. I felt Roman's gaze on my face from time to time but I didn't dare look at him.

"Where are we going?" I asked him after a while.

"Lunch. Have you eaten?" He asked me and I shook my head frowning.

"But we were supposed to discuss some project, no?" I asked him and he hummed in response.

"We will." He said and I nodded, getting the hint he didn't want to talk any more, so I shut my mouth.

We stopped in front of an upscale restaurant and my door was opened for me by the valet and they held out their hand to me. As I was about to take his hand, Roman came to my side and gave the man a look who moved away with an apology.

What's up with him?

Roman held out his hand to me and I slowly took it, getting out. He didn't leave my hand and we entered the fancy restaurant. All eyes came to us and some people looked away immediately, some stared and the women drooled. Literally.

We were led to a secluded table by the window and Roman pulled my chair back. I sat in it and he moved to his seat. I looked out the window and saw the view of buildings and the blue sky, the sun shining brightly.

We were given our menus and I looked it over quickly. Soon enough, the waiter came forward. He might be in his early twenties and looked at me carefully and then the man beside me.

"What can I get for you today Mr. Angelo?" He asked Roman who placed his order.

"And what about you Ma'am? He asked me and I gave him a bright smile.

"I'll have the pasta alfredo." I said and he quickly wrote it down, looking me over.

"And what drink would you like?" He asked me.

"Just water thank you." I said and he nodded, throwing me a wink before leaving. I chuckled lightly and glanced at Roman who was looking at the poor guy like he was about to murder him.

"What's wrong Mr. Ange-" I stopped short when his head shot towards mine and I realized my mistake.

"Roman, sorry." I said sheepishly and a satisfied look crossed his face. "Everything okay?" I asked him and he hummed in response.

"So what's this project you were talking about?" I asked him and he leaned forward, setting his arms on the table and giving me a good view of his tattoos. I stared at them, my fingers itching to touch them.

"Like them?" He asked me suddenly and my gaze flicked to his smirking face, making me blush.

"I don't really like tattoos but they look good on you." I said honestly and he clicked his tongue.

"Really?" He asked me and I hummed in response. "You can touch if you want. I know you want to." He said and cocked his head to the side, daring me to make a move.

I don't know what came over me because the next second, my had reached out to his arms and I lightly touched one of the tattoos. I heard him suck in a breath when I traced his tattoos, my fingers trailing up and down his arms as I traced the outlines.

He has such soft skin.

I flicked my gaze up to him and saw him looking at me intently. I stopped moving my fingers when I saw the intensity of his gaze.

"Keep going." He whispered and I started moving my fingers again, but I didn't look down, just moved my fingers randomly while we both looked into each other's eyes. Whatever daze we were in went away when I heard the waiter standing next to us.

I quickly retracted my hand but Roman caught it, holding it firmly as the waiter set our meals in front of us.

"Would that be all Mr. Angelo?" The waiter asked Roman who hummed in response, not looking at the guy, keeping is eyes on me. The waiter soon left and we stayed like that for a few moments till I realized our food was getting cold.

"Roman?" I said softly and he hummed.

"The food's getting cold." I said and slowly pulled my hand from his, missing his warmth immediately. He cleared his throat and grabbed his fork and knife and started eating, and I followed his movements.

This just became interesting.