2. He was so selfish

It had been-

A week since I got acquainted to Eric Michelson. He was the most aggravating person I had ever came across in my life. Everything was going as planned, my parents had invited me to a cook out. I thought this would be the perfect time to introduce them to Eric. We were suppose to meet for lunch, he was an hour late when I decide I was about to leave. I would definitely find him in his suite playing stupid video games. Eric Michelson was everything, I did not want in a boyfriend.

"Leo.." I heard someone grabbing a chair across me. Looking up, I saw Eric, hair wet... tight fitting shirt and lose jeans that fit his waist perfectly. I had come to realize, he just loved wearing boots... was it a London thing or it was an Eric thing.

"You're late."

"Thanks for emphasizing on that but I'm here now." He replied giving me a quick smile, it was genuine. My heart faltered a bit, he was actually smiling at me... not that I cared right..

"Are you always late for everything, Michelson?" I composed myself, I had ordered two glasses of water and another glass of grape juice while waiting for him and I was too stuffed to order anything. Not stuffed but more like I didn't have anymore space  for anything more otherwise I would regurgitate everything.

"A very absurd habit, I picked up from school." He gave me another quick smile. He had a very beautiful smile, he was just handsome not that I would ever tell him because he acted as if he already knew. He smelled like aftershave cream, it was intoxicating. Him sitting across me made me feel a bit nervous. He didn't seem to mind me as his eyes roamed around the fancy restaurant, I had picked. The waiter gave him the menu, he picked it up and frowned. When he walked into the restaurant, everyone turned to look, maybe because he didn't fit in or because he just always grabbed attention where ever he went.

"Well you need to quit it." I said pursing my lips. I didn't want him to catch me looking but he always did and whenever he did, he had this stupid habit of wiggling his eyebrows at me. I simply rolled my eyes at him.

"Do you know how many boots, I can buy at Gucci with our bill from this posh restaurant?" He said scanning the menu once more.

"I'm paying, aren't I?" I paused. "Besides this is my father's favorite restaurant, I assumed he might bring us here soon enough and I wanted you to be acquainted."

"You think I can't use a fork and knife?" He raised a brow.

"I didn't say that!" I huffed.

"Well, Leo, I'm already well acquainted to places like these unless I'm dining with the Queen of England then don't ridicule me." He gave me a fake smile before rolling his eyes.

"I didn't mean to offend you." I said under my breath.

"Whatever!" He put his plump pink luscious lips in a thin line. I quickly looked away when he caught me staring at his lips.

"You're paying right?" He questioned and I nodded. "Well lets put that to good use.."

Seven dishes later, I knew this was a bad idea. I shouldn't have told him I was paying because he made it a point to milk my wallet dry. Not that he could because with my grandfathers trust fund money, I didn't even need a job or to be working for the next thirteen years.

"You're not going to order again!" I hissed under my breath. I called for the waiter who was here within a second and asked for the bill.

"How do you not get fat from the amount of food you take in? Don't think I didn't see your bill from the Mariston hotel this past week. I will take all this out on your rental charges." I told him but he only rolled his eyes and utterly ignore everything I had just said to him.

He smirked then gave me a smile, a blush went on my cheeks. That was until he winked... he wasn't doing this to me all along. I turned my head to see a group of four girls sat on the table behind me, they couldn't stop giggling. I really thought he was smiling at me? Who was I fooling he already loathed my presence. I had never been likable. Everyone always preferred to associate themselves with Laura Johnston my bestfriend. Who had the heart of gold... not me the uptight upright friend.

Was this why Robbie left me? I wasn't tolerable. This sent me off the edge thinking about it. I put my spoon down and wiped my lips with a napkin. Chicken soup was the only thing I had ordered.

"You can just go sit with them.." I said bitterly, his eyes immediately lit up. What he did next shook me like an electric voltage. With his 6'1 height he towered over me as he went over to their table leaving me alone with his dirty drumsticks and messy half eaten ribs.

"Ladies." He said in his deep British accent which made the girls giggle. "I'm Ricky."

It took a lot for me to not knock him on the floor and grab him by his boots and walk out of here dragging him. I smirked when when the waiter came to fetch the bill. I solemnly told the waiter that the gentleman over there had offered to pay our bill and the four girl's bill. The bill went up to $679.24 I smirked as I grabbed my purse leaving the restaurant with my head held high.

I wouldn't let him step over me.

Surely not today.

Surely not ever.

—

"Don't mutter a word to me, you harlot." Eric spat as he banged the door in my face. I'm assuming he got my little surprise from the restaurant. I wouldn't lie and say I didn't enjoy the seeing him miserable and upset. I had woken up excited to see his reaction. I was so busy enjoying the moment, I only realized he called me a harlot after he had closed the door.

Thank goodness, I had an extra keycard. Since I was the one paying. Clicking the door open, I saw him..

Messy curls, shirtless and loose fitting jeans right below his hips. I gulped down a feeling of uneasiness. He had an impeccable strong built and never was i a fan of tattoos but at this moment I thought his tattoos looked like art and my curiosity wanted him to tell me about each and everyone of them.

He glared at me before walking away, totally ignoring my presence.

"Ricky?" I called him by his nickname thinking just maybe that would lighten up the mood.

"Only my friends are allowed to call me that." He said as he cut his bacon and eggs before stuffing it in his mouth then chewing with his mouth open for me to see. It wasn't as disgusting as I thought it would be maybe because he was a rather good looking specimen with a disgusting attitude.

"I'm your girlfriend so I have a better privilege." I joked but he only stared at me as if I had said the dumbest thing in the world. He shook his head and turned to look at his plate.

"Anyways I will pay for your bill.. I was just joking-" I said feeling a tad bit bad about what I had done.

"It's alright, I offered to wash the dishes for the whole week in exchange for the bill." He said like he wasn't phased by anything. "I have two jobs now, lucky me."

"I'm so so sorry, Eric I didn't mean to-" he shook his head laughing hysterically. "Kidding, I told the girls that you were my nasty girlfriend who wanted to teach me a lesson and they paid for everything even took me out for drinks at a local club after showed me around LA for a bit. I guess you could say I have friends now. You and Laura aren't the only people I'm acquainted to here." He said in a corky tone, I just stared at him in disbelief.

"Oh alright then.. I just wanted to let you know that we're having lunch with my parents today at their house. They're hosting a cook out. Laura and Sam will be there and a few of my close relatives."

"Oh.." was the only thing he said.

"So..?" I questioned.

"So you're going to get out of my face and let me finish my breakfast." He pointed his fork towards me practically shooing me away which I found very offensive.

"Before I do, I just want to know what you're going to wear?" I said curiously.

He sighed.

"Text me the address, don't worry about how I will dress or how I will get there, this is my job and I take it very seriously no wonder I had a five star rating... Leo." He said slowly as if talking to a five year old.

"Mhm alright then. Keep your tattoos covered, remember your body is the temple of God and-"

"No lip-ring." He finished my sentence. "Now can I finish my breakfast in peace?"

"Here is a card, Incase you need to buy new clothes." I handed him a copy of my black unlimited MasterCard. It took a lot for me to decide to give him, I had just known him for less than a month and he could be a serial killer for all I know. At the same time, I didn't want him to embarrass me knowing that just by smelling his cologne, my family would know he wasn't of the upper crust.

"Are you sure?" He asked a bit taken a aback.

"Yeah, buy anything you need to. Living in Los Angeles isn't cheap and I can't always be there for you." I said softly.

Silence engulfed the tension between us.

"Thank you, Leo." He, for the first time gave me a genuine smile. I nodded because this was the first civilized conversation we had, had ever since our meeting.

"Sure." I waved before leaving. At least he was a grateful bastard and him calling me Leo was something I had gotten used to. No one ever called me that so it was very different and made me feel very giddy.

As I left, I thought about Eric. Did he drop out of school because the funds didn't allow him to continue? Did he drop out of school because he was dumb but he didn't seem dumb! Did he drop out of school because of lack of interest? When did his parents die? When he got into a car accident, how badly was he hurt? Does he have any siblings? What was growing up in England like for him? When did he get his very first tattoo? What are his dreams and aspirations?

I had so many questions, there was no denying he was a very interesting specimen.

Eric Michelson was like no other.

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