t w e n t y t w o

"Aurora?"

Xavier let out a grumble as he laid on his stomach with his eyes still closed. He stuck his arm out to pat the space next to him only to find the bed empty. Opening his eyes with confusion, his eyes darted around the room to see if she was in his room.

She was not.

After dinner last night, he gave her a tour of the rest of the house to which she pointed out that he must've really liked the color black. Despite the lack of colors, it was still a really beautiful house.

Post tour, Xavier convinced her to stay the night, not that it took much convincing. He let her use his shower and gave her one of his old t-shirts to wear, so she could be comfortable. Even though it was one of his older shirts, it still seemed to be really big on her. But it smelled like him, so she wasn't really complaining.

Thankfully, she was always prepared, just in case she had to stay overnight at the firm. Xavier watched in awe as she pulled out makeup wipes and a pouch full of tiny travel sized bottles, which was basically her skin care routine downsized. Her purse was literally a magician's hat.

They spent the rest of the night, cuddling in his bed, watching some show he had never heard of on Hulu. She had originally suggested 'Lucifer', but he adamantly refused, not wanting her to ogle at Tom Elis. No matter how much she promised not to, he still refused. After a 10 minute discussion, they finally settled on 'Brooklyn Nine Nine'. Either way, she was happy since this was one of her favorite shows.

She found herself surprised, yet not surprised that he had never heard of it before. Even though she had already watched most of the episodes, she still laughed. Xavier, on the other hand, thought the show was stupid, but he found himself slightly enjoying it, only because he liked hearing Aurora laugh and giggle. Although he did have to admit that he had no clue why she laughed.

Despite her "total" concentration on the show, she was distracted, on more than one occasion, by the man next to her. He had taken off his shirt and claimed to always go to bed without one, causing her to roll her eyes— but really, she was not complaining.

Under the dim lights, she could see the tattoos that littered his body. They covered his upper arm from his elbow up to his shoulder and some of his chest as well as parts of his back. On multiple occasion, he caught her staring and smirked knowingly, causing her to blush.

"I don't mind if you stare," he had said when he caught her one time. "It's all yours, anyways."

She felt the urge to punch him.

Around halfway throughout an episode, she had fallen asleep on his chest. After gently tucking her in, he turned off the TV and folded her discarded work clothes that she had bundled up and placed onto the couch in his room.

She looked angelic as the moonlight shined through the large window, making the black comforter of his bed contrast Aurora's soft figure. She seemed so small compared to the large bed.

He gently tapped a button, automatically closing the window with black curtains. Soon after, he crawled in next to her, gently pulling her close to him. She let out a soft groan, causing him to freeze and hold his breath in hopes of her not waking up. He finally let out a sigh of relief when she made no noise and wrapped his arm around her. He fell asleep, feeling content as he held her in his arms.

He had woken up at 6am with his arm still wrapped around Aurora's waist, her back to his chest. Slowly, he got out of bed and pulled on a pair of workout shorts, moving quietly so she wouldn't wake up. He found that she moved around quite a bit in her sleep and was actually a heavy sleeper.

Before he left for the gym, he gently pulled the blanket around her when he noticed that both of her legs were sticking out of the comforter. The last thing he wanted was for her to get cold.

It was still dark when he arrived on the first floor gym. The surrounding glass wall allowed anyone who occupied the gym to enjoy the natural light as well as view. It was open to whoever wanted to workout and accessible from the outside with a swipe of a card that Xavier personally gave out. Besides him, the guys in security frequented the gym.

An hour later, he went back to his room where Aurora was now sprawled out on the bed with both her feet sticking out again. He gently tucked her back in and then took a quick shower before crawling back into bed, making sure to pull her soft body close.

He had fallen back asleep quickly, something that usually never happened, as he would either be doing work at home or heading to the office. By the time he came to, it was already 10 in the morning.

And to his confusion, she had disappeared.

Figuring that she was probably exploring the house, he quickly tugged on his grey sweatpants and made his way down the stairs, heading towards the kitchen where he heard voices. With her back facing him, Aurora stood leaning over the counter on her elbows, conversing with his housekeeper.

He stood back as he took in the sight of his girl standing barefoot in his kitchen. Since it was slightly chilly in his house, she had stolen a sweatshirt from his closet to wear over his t-shirt. They were a couple sizes too big for her, both ending just above her knees.

"Good morning, Mr. Knight," called out Rosa, who had noticed him the moment he had stepped foot into the kitchen.

Rosa was an older lady who had been working for him since he had graduated from college. She only came around once a week, sometimes twice, to make sure the house wasn't left a mess. Her husband took care of the gardening and Xavier paid them both generously for their dedicated work around the house.

Rosa was an amazing baker and often left delicious treats in the fridge for him. Both his family and friends loved her desserts, which definitely contributed to them staying over often, especially Liam. She even went over to Xavier's parents house often to bake with Xavier's mother.

"Good morning Rosa," Xavier mumbled sleepily. Aurora blushed as Xavier wrapped an arm around her waist, leaning down so his face was buried in her neck.

"I'm going to go see if Jose needs any help," Rosa gave the couple a warm smile. Her eyes crinkled with happiness as she quickly scurried out of the kitchen, giggling like a young school girl. This was the first time she had seen Xavier with a woman and she wondered if his mother knew.

Aurora turned around in his arms, swiping away the hair from his forehead. She had to bite back a giggle as she tried to smooth down his bed hair. He looked like a puppy when he woke up, especially with his hair left in its natural state.

"Good morning," she giggled, pecking his lips. His eyes were blinking slowly as he seemed to still be sleepy.

"Good morning, love," he murmured, looking down at her before placing a lingering kiss on her lips. She was a vision with her face bare from any makeup and her hair falling naturally down her back. "You left me alone in bed."

She grinned up at him. "You were sleeping so well— I didn't want to wake you. And then I met Rosa and she is just the sweetest lady I've ever met."

Xavier yawned, running a hand through his messy hair as he slowly came out of his sleepy state. "What were you two talking about?"

"Just about her baking. She said she would teach me some of her secret recipes," grinned Aurora happily. She had baked once or twice before, but the thought of actually learning how to bake properly excited her.

"Mm, should I be concerned?"

"I've baked before and I'm actually pretty good at it," she retorted proudly, gently slapping his chest. "If you count ready made cookie dough that you just need to roll into balls and place into the oven."

His chest vibrated against her as he chuckled. "I'll believe it when I see it."

"I'll prove you wrong," she grumbled as he pulled her close into an embrace. Her palm rested on his bare chest and she noticed how cold he felt. She was literally freezing just looking at him. "Are you not cold?"

"I am, but isn't that what you're here for?" He asked, leaning down to rest his head on her shoulder. He tugged on the bottom of the sweatshirt. "I believe this is mine, Ms. Young."

She gave him a cheeky grin as she pulled away. Shrugging, she began back away from him.

"You're going to have to catch me if you want it back."

"Is that a challenge, love?" He began to trail after her like a predator stalking its prey. But instead of fear, her eyes were full of mischief.

Shrieking, she quickly darted away from him and headed towards the direction of the stairs. If it is a chase she wants, then it is a chase she will get.

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Aurora unlocked the door to her apartment, stepping inside with Xavier following in after her.

After running around his house for around 10 minutes, Aurora quickly decided that 10 AM was way too early to be doing strenuous physical activity, like running. It was funny that even though he had caught her, he still let her keep the sweatshirt mainly because he liked seeing her in his clothes.

He quickly got ready— changing into a white t-shirt and black coat. His long muscular legs were covered with light washed jeans that had rips and holes in them. She inattentively bit her lip as she noted how good he looked in casual clothing, causing Xavier to smirk after he caught her staring.

Before they left his house, she placed her work clothes from the day before into a small bag. Since it was Saturday, they ultimately decided to spend the day driving around and just spending time together wherever they ended up. Realizing that she still needed pants, he suggested that before they grab brunch, they would drop by to her apartment so she could change and get ready.

As she slipped off her heels, her eyes immediately widened in panic as a voice called out to her from the kitchen.

"Aurora? Sweetie is that you?"

Aurora looked to Xavier with panic as his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. She had  completely forgotten that her mother came by every weekend.

"Mom? What are you doing here?" She asked, giving Xavier a sorry smile.

As soon as she mentioned her mother, Xavier tugged on her hand and looked at her with horror. Never had he imagined meeting Aurora's mother so soon and he was definitely not ready.

Aurora's mother poked her head over the corner to greet her daughter. "What do you mean what am I doing here? Did you forget— oh, and who is this?"

She was caught off guard and her eyes immediately darted down to her daughter's hand that was clasped tightly around his hand. She eyed her daughter with confusion, feeling like there was something she was definitely missing. Although she had met many of Aurora's friends, she never recalled ever meeting him— even though he did look familiar.

Closing her eyes, Aurora mentally cursed herself for forgetting that her mother would be here.

"Mom, meet my boyfriend, Xavier."

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Hello loves, happy Tuesday!! Thank you so much for reading my story as well as voting and commenting. I really appreciate each and every one of you and honestly, you guys make my day. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please let me know what you think as usual~ Have an amazing day and I hope you guys are safe <3 Sending you lots of love^^