I FOUND LOVE IN CALIFORNIA 1: Well, This Happened

✦ALEX'S POV✦

“Alex, wait! You forgot your goggles,” my mom called as I was already sprinting toward the Porsche, her voice cutting through the morning air just in time.

I turned back, jogging lightly toward her, the slight grin on my face trying to mask the rush.

“Sorry, Mom,” I said, taking the sleek goggles from her outstretched hands, feeling her warmth brush against my fingers.

“Honestly, Alex, you need to wake up earlier so you can have enough time to get yourself ready,” she said, her voice playful as she tilted her head and shook her head ever so slightly, the motion almost teasing.

I held the goggles under my arm, letting them rest there with a casual confidence, and started moving toward the Porsche again.

“Aren’t you forgetting something else?” she called, her tone cutting through my motion before I could close the distance to the Porsche door. I paused mid-step, glancing at her, my eyebrows lifting just slightly.

“Mom, I’m late as you can see,” I said, my voice light but edged with a bit of guilt that I did not quite want to admit.

“Spare me that excuse,” she said, smiling at me, her cheeks dimpling beautifully just for me in that way that always made my chest tighten.

I laughed quietly, shaking my head as I stepped closer and leaned just enough to draw my face near without intruding, pressing a quick kiss to her cheek as my lips curved into a smile that was part relief, part regret. She turned toward me fully, her own smile widening, radiating a warmth and ease that made me hesitate a fraction longer than I should have before pulling away.

“See ya, Mom,” I said, and she lifted her chin slightly, still smiling, the quiet grace in the way she held herself catching my attention.

I slid into the driver’s seat, started the engine of the Porsche 911 Carrera S, and adjusted my grip on the wheel. My eyes darted to the rear, then back to her, catching her standing in the driveway, calm and poised, hands clasped lightly in front of her, fingers intertwined in a delicate, almost rhythmic way that anchored her elegance in the early sunlight.

She waved, and I held her gaze for a moment before slowly shifting into reverse, carefully backing toward the gate, my attention fixed on the driveway behind me.

******

I turned my head slightly toward the phone resting on the chair beside me, saw Connor’s name, and tapped the earpod in my ear while keeping my eyes on the road. “Hey, Connor,” I said, steadying my grip on the wheel.

“Alex, where are you? We’re already ten minutes into stretching,” he said, voice tight and disturbed.

I sighed, glancing ahead at the curve of the street. “Blame my mom,” I said. “She delayed me with one of her last minute lectures. I walked out the door and somehow got pulled back into it.”

Connor scoffed. “Mummy's boy.”

“Connor, I don’t like you,” I replied, a grin slipping into my voice.

“Will you shut the fuck up and get your white ass here real quick?” he snapped. “Don’t make me start without you.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” I said with a short laugh, eyes flicking to my phone before returning to the road and catching a sleek black SUV passing in the opposite lane, my gaze moving over the front seats where a man and a woman sat stiff and composed before settling on the back, where a young man remained almost hidden, dark hair falling around his strikingly handsome face.

His pale gray eyes lifted at the exact moment, locking onto mine with a sharp, unsettling intensity that made my chest tighten.

“Alex…Alex,” Connor called again.

“Y-yes,” I said, blinking and forcing my attention back to the road. “What were you saying?”

“Get the fuck off my phone!” Connor snapped, and the call ended.

I glimpsed the SUV in the rearview mirror, slipping farther behind, and tightened my grip on the wheel, blinking hard, but the image of those gray eyes lingered, refusing to leave as I drove on.