HIS ROOMMATE

ALWAYS HAS AN EXPIRATION DATE

CHAPTER 34

ADRIAN’S POV

The moment I kissed Kai I knew I wasn't going to take it back. I don't regret it even if she wakes up tomorrow and act like nothing happened I still won't regret it because I can feel it, I can't explain what it's but I know it is not regret.

It’s not CEO Adrian feeling this. It’s not the man who runs boardrooms and buys companies. It’s just me. Adrian. The guy who sat on grass in Central Park because she was crying in her doorway.

“Are you ready?” I asked as I placed a soft kiss on her face. She nodded, looked nervous but sure.

Her eyes are wide. Honest. No CEO mask between us. No “always” promises. Just her.

“Emm... Adrian... This... Is my first time” she said nervously.

The words hit me like a wave. I stop. Completely. Hands still at her waist, but not moving. Not pushing. Not taking.

My whole world narrows down to her face. To the trust she’s giving me. To the weight of it.

“Don’t worry I will be gentle... If you think you can't take it then tell me I will stop okay,” I say. Voice low. Steady. Because she needs steady right now.

I brush my thumb over her cheek. Wipe away nothing. Just touch. Just reassurance.

“Kai, look at me,” I whisper. She does. “We don’t have to do anything you’re not 100% sure about.”

She swallows. Nods again, smaller this time. But her hands tighten in my shirt. Not pulling away. Holding on.

“I’m sure,” she whispers. “I want this. I want you. Just… be gentle.”

Gentle. I can do gentle.

I lean in and kiss her forehead. Then her nose. Then her lips. Slow. No rush. No CEO decisions. Just her breathing matching mine.

“Then I’m gentle,” I promise against her mouth. “And I’m here. Every second. If you say stop, we stop. If you say wait, we wait. Okay?”

“Okay,” she breathes back.

The city is quiet outside. Morning light on the walls. Everything else can wait.

Because this isn’t about taking. It’s about choosing. And she chose me.

Slowly I went in. No rush because I don't want to hurt her. Her grip on me tightened... But she did not ask me to stop.

"Adrian!!" she moan the moment I was fully inside.

"it's going to hurt for a moment but it will fade soon, okay" I said kissing her tears away before I started moving.

I stop when I feel her tense. My hands come up to her face. “Kai. Breathe with me. We can stop. Right now. No questions.”

She shakes her head. Eyes locked on mine. Tears there, but she doesn’t ask me to stop. Her grip on me tightens instead.

“Kai?” I whisper. Just her name. Giving her every chance to pull back.

She nods against me. Small. Sure. “I’m okay. Just… stay with me.”

So I do. Slow. Gentle. Nothing rushed. My forehead against hers. Kissing her tears away before they can fall. Whispering that I’m here, that she can say stop anytime.

It’s not about what we’re doing. It’s about her trusting me with this. With her.

The world narrows to her breathing, my breathing, the way she says my name when she needs reassurance. I move only when she’s ready. Only when I know I’m not hurting her.

“Adrian,” she breathes, and it sounds like both a plea and a promise. The way she said my name and held me, made me lose every bit of control I had left. I held on until she was okay, until the last tremor faded. Then I went still.

We both were breathing heavily, I fell to the bed beside her and I gently pulled her close and placed a kiss on her shoulder.

“Are you alright?” I whispered.

She nodded and snuggled closer. No words. Just her fitting against my chest like she’d always belonged there. I held her close and we drifted off.

The next day I opened my eyes to Kai’s phone blowing up with messages on her nightstand. Vibration after vibration. I wanted to wake her up but then I remembered what happened last night. We crossed the line of friendship last night but I don't seem to regret it.

I stared at her sleeping face for a moment... Her lashes, the way she frowned even in sleep. I gently removed the hair blocking her face and smiled. I never realized how beautiful Kai was until now maybe because I've always seen her as a friend..

Her phone beeped again, so I decided to check it. Just to silence it so she could sleep.

The moment I opened the phone my finger froze against the screen:

**"Ms Moore we will be expecting you in Australia next week, Tuesday for the formality. Congratulations again and thank you for choosing us"**

Kai is leaving for Australia? Why does the thought break my heart so much?... But why didn't she tell me about it?

The room goes cold. Last night replays in fast-forward. The door. “Yes.” Her trusting me. “Always.”

Always. I said always. But “always” has an expiration date now. Next week.

I set the phone down like it burned me. Didn’t read more. Didn’t need to.

She chose me last night. And she chose Melbourne months ago.

I thought I was giving her space to decide. Turns out the decision was already made. She just didn’t tell me.

Kai stirs beside me. Mumbles my name half-asleep and curls tighter into my side.

And God, it hurts. Because this girl just gave me her first time, her trust, her “yes”... and she’s packing to leave me in seven days.

I close my eyes. Kiss her forehead anyway. Because I meant it. I won’t ask her to choose me over her dream. I said I’d always be here for her. Even if “here” means watching her go.

But it still breaks me.

And I have no idea if I should tell her I saw the message. Or pretend I didn’t.

KAI'S POV

Sunlight through the blinds. Dust in the air. The city sounds distant, muffled.

I wake up. His arm is around my waist, heavy and warm. His shirt is on the floor. Mine is too. My heart drops when I remember last night. Central Park. The wine. The door. The bed.

“Always,” he’d said. Then “yes.” Then nothing else mattered.

I don’t move. Don’t breathe too loud. Because if I move, this becomes real. Melbourne becomes real. Jan 15 becomes real.

His breathing even. He’s awake. He has been awake for a while.

For a long time neither of us speaks. Just the quiet. The kind that’s heavier than any words.

“Kai,” he says finally. Voice rough from sleep. His forehead presses to my shoulder. Not CEO Adrian. Just him.

“Yeah?” I whisper back.

“I don’t regret last night,” he says. No hesitation. “Not one second.”

I close my eyes. Because I don’t either. But not regretting it doesn’t make it easier.

He shifts, props himself up on one elbow. Looks at me. Really looks. No boardroom mask. No six inches between us. Just that stare from Central Park.

“So what do we do now?” he asks. Quiet. No demands. No pressure. Just the question we’ve been avoiding since he pulled me close at the door.

I sit up slowly. Pull the sheet around me. The apartment feels too bright. Too honest.

“I don’t know,” I admit. Voice small. He was looking at me like he was expecting me to tell him something I'm not saying.

He nods. Doesn’t touch me. Doesn’t push. Just nods like he expected that answer.

“I won’t ask you to choose me,” he says" I said I’d always be here for you, Kai. I meant it.”

The words hit harder than last night’s kiss.

“Adrian—”

He cuts me off with a soft smile. Sad, but real. “We can figure it out. Later. After coffee. After you breathe. We don’t have to decide anything before the sun’s even up.”

He stands, grabs his shirt from the floor. Doesn’t put it on. Just holds it. Like he’s giving me time. Space.

I watch him. The man who kissed me like I was the only thing anchoring him.

Last night we didn’t choose.

But morning always comes. And with it, decisions.

I pull the sheet tighter. “I will get you coffee "he said and walked away. Did we just make everything worse with last night? Even though he said he didn't regret it... I still feel something was off about him. Did he know about me leaving to Australia? But I didn't tell him, not yet. Because I am so scared.

TBC