Since I’ve Been Loving You

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“You’re there right now, aren’t you?” you asked your girlfriend, looking out at the streets of Paris through the window of the car Prada had sent to pick you up. Natalia was sitting in the passenger seat.

You had landed early in the morning, after a one-and-a-half-hour flight from Milan, exactly a week and half after your night with Rina and Gawon. Thank goodness she couldn’t spend much time with you the next day and had to leave for Korea the day after, because if you were honest with yourself, you needed a little break from her to think about your feelings.

Staying alone in your city—with a night with Somi in between, which you certainly didn’t turn down—helped you clear your head a lot. Several of those days were dedicated to work, whether it was going to meetings with sponsors, doing IRL, or regular streaming from the apartment you had rented. But it was just what you needed to stop thinking about the whole thing with Rina.

Who, by the way, you’d been ghosting. Not too much, but just enough. You’d get back to your usual chatting routine with her. Later, when you returned from Paris to Milan. Your intentions were to also have a serious conversation about your relationship, but you weren’t going to think about it for the moment.

Right now your priorities were different.

“Yeah,” Wony answered on the other end of the line. She yawned right after. “I just woke up. Are you coming here yet?”

“I’m about fifteen minutes away, maybe less,” you said. “Can we meet?”

“Well… yeah, right? We were going to do it without you even asking.”

“I know I know, but right now. As soon as I get there.”

“Oh, yeah! I think so. I’ll let you know when you get here, okay? I have to talk to my manager.”

“Great,” you smiled like an idiot, causing Natalia to look at you mockingly. “I’m going to hang up, baby. I love you.”

“I love you too, my sweet boy,” Wony replied, and you heard a peck on the microphone. “See you in a bit.”

You hung up and stared out the window for a while, entranced. When you looked back, Natalia was still staring at you.

“What?” you asked.

“That’s how my older brother smiled before he married my sister-in-law.”

You clicked your tongue, snorted, and looked back out the window, putting the headphones you had around your neck on to listen to your Michael Jackson playlist for the rest of the ride.

15 minutes later, you arrived at the Le Bristol Hotel, where Prada and Miu Miu were hosting their guests. This time, you didn’t pull any strings to get a suite, not because you couldn’t, but because you were already a pain in the ass for the brand with that kind of thing. On top of that, you didn’t want to look like a snobby little brat. You’d settle for the deluxe room (with garden view, a huge plus) they’d booked for you, for which you were already more than grateful.

Upon going up and leaving your luggage scattered around the room, you unpacked only the essentials, let Wony know you’d arrived, and went to the bathroom to wash your face. While you were doing so, you received a notification on your phone: your girlfriend telling you to come down in about ten minutes, if possible.

After telling her you’d be there, you didn’t even change your clothes and went straight down to the lobby, without waiting for the ten minutes to pass. You waited near the foot of the stairs that led in a semicircle to the upper floor, leaning your back against a tall, marble pillar.

While you waited you heard several people coming down, but instead of looking every second to see who it was, you decided to keep your eyes on your phone to act mysterious (you seemed autistic). It wasn’t until someone tapped your shoulder that you looked up from the screen.

“Honey, how many times do I have to tell you you’re not Bruce Wayne?” Wony said, a mocking smirk on her face.

Your girlfriend was dressed in comfortable clothes, a half-lowered mask, sunglasses, and her hair tied back in a high bun; she looked rushed, probably on her way to get ready for the show later. Her manager and crew were nearby, at a safe distance to give you both privacy.

You laughed, took her hand, and pulled her towards you for the hug you’d been craving for weeks. Wony threw her arms around your neck and held onto you tightly, and you had one arm around her waist and the other across her back. Both of you were breathing in each other’s scent as if it were aromatherapy. It wasn’t the most subtle thing in the world, but you cared less than nothing.

“Hey, baby,” you murmured, caressing her back, your face in her neck.

“Hey, darling,” Wony murmured back, her voice small, caressing your shoulder and the back of your neck with her thumbs. “Did you sleep at all on the flight?”

“Nah, I didn’t have enough time,” you replied, and realizing you’d been hugging for about a minute, you released her from your arms. “And you? I think your eyes are still glued shut from sleep,” you pointed at her sunglasses.

Wony took off her glasses, folded them, and placed them in her hand. Her pretty eyes and makeup-free face looked as angelic as ever.

“I’m just being mysterious,” she replied, reaching up to fix the collar of your sweater. “I’m picking up habits from you.”

You chuckled.

“Right. I just hope you don’t pick up smoking cigarettes. I’d kick your ass.”

“No way,” she pouted in disgust. “You know the smell is awful, and the sooner you quit, the better.”

“That’s what I’m trying to do, baby. I only smoke one a day at most now.”

“Mmm, that’s good,” Wony crossed her arms. “But I’m not going to congratulate you until it’s zero instead of one.”

“One step at a time, sweetheart,” you made a gesture of cupping her face with your hand, but held back as a precaution. Her staff was too close, and you weren’t the only ones in the lobby at that hour. “Fuck, I’d kiss you right now. I’m struggling.”

“Nuh-uh,” Wony shook her head, one eyebrow raised. “You wanted to meet right now. And we can’t here.”

“I know, I know. Just wait until we’re alone later.”

“Are you threatening me?”

“Kinda. I need you, girl,” you stared into her eyes. “A lot.”

Wony remained silent, staring at you. Her cheeks flushed.

“And I’ll do everything I can to make you need me even more.” Wony looked you up and down, lingering for a moment on your lips before returning to your eyes. “You’re not ready, babe.”

“Is the outfit too killer?”

Behind her, Wony’s manager signaled, showing her her phone. She had to go. Wony stuck out her thumb, nodded, and looked back at you.

“You’ll see for yourself later,” Wony placed a small kiss on her fingers and then pressed them against your lips. “I love you, baby. See you at the show.”

“Take care, darling,” you winked at her as she returned to her staff. “Love you too.”

With that and little else, Wony and her entire crew headed back up the stairs. You did the same a few minutes later, knowing you were going to have to go through the same preparation process she did before the show.

You had to mentally prepare for it. More cameras, more damned curbs full of people. And this time the damn walk from the moment you got out of the car to the Palais d'Iéna—where the show would take place—was going to be longer.

But you’d already had a taste of the experience before, and nothing was going to be worse than that first time.