“Did you hear?" I ask, and Kel smiles that proud sister smile that I’ve only seen twice before across her face.
She grabs me by the shoulders, her laughter ringing against my ear as she hugs me tight. We’re both basking in this moment. The first happy moment we’ve had in so, so long."I knew you’d get it!" Kel squeals, squeezing me once more.She lets me go and has a wide grin on her face. She’s happy for me, just like I knew she would be.
Swinging her arm around me, she whispers in my ear, “He’s here, you know. He’s talking with Lucas now."A blush rushes to my cheeks in anticipation. My joy in my news is replaced by the excitement and nervousness of seeing Gavin again.
"Do I look okay?" I rub my hands down my lavender mid-length summer dress, biting my lip when it starts to tremble. I don’t want to mess this up. Kel is right; it’s time to live again.Kel’s hand reaches out and squeezes mine.“You’re perfect, Sophie.” She tucks my hair behind my ears and gives me a little push toward the open door.I step inside and take another Blue Moon from the cooler before veering to a crowd of our high school friends.
"There you are!" Sasha, one of Kel’s friend’s, calls, wearing a short black dress and heavy makeup.Ugh, I inwardly cringe at her high-pitched voice. I remember how many girls surrounded my sister in high school, but she was never superficial like these girls.
Kel is in a class of her own. I walk up and take the bowl of pretzels that Lucas hands me. I look around for Gavin as I sip my third beer of the night.
"He had to make a call, Sophia." Lucas gives me a knowing smile and throws an arm around me as he downs the last of his Samuel Adams."Have you seen that man? You might have to stake your claim before one of us snatches him away!" Sasha squeals, nursing a cranberry martini.Immediately, I imagine kissing him in front of all these people, ruining him for her and all these other girls.But I’m not ready for that. For all I know, he’s taken.
What is going on with me today? It’s not like he’s the first hot guy I’ve laid eyes on these past four months. But, oh my, those eyes. The sculpture of his lean chest, narrow hips...
My thoughts are interrupted by a hand on my shoulder. The touch ignites shocks that light up my skin and I know he is behind me.I turn, meeting the crooked smile of the mystery man himself. My heart skips a beat as I look up into his eyes, feeling myself pulled toward him. It’s like gravity.
"There you are! Do you want to dance?" Sasha chimes, looking up at him expectantly.Gavin gives me a wink and never takes his stormy blue eyes from mine as I notice the song change to a slow beat that I recognize as one by Coldplay.
It’s slow and reverent and melts my heart on the spot.
"A dance, Sophia?" he asks quietly, his voice resonating through me in the best way. I place my hand in his and nod as he leads me onto the floor.Once we reach the middle of the dispersing crowd, he turns to me and wraps an arm around my waist, his right hand linked with my left as he sweeps me into him, leading us in a graceful slow dance. I look up at him and a smile plays on my lips.
"You showed up."Gavin's face spreads into a wide, dimple-bearing, soul-consuming smile and it makes me feel lighter somehow.Then I realize he's dipped me in the circle of his arms, which makes my heart beat impossibly fast. I grab his biceps for balance and see his eyes blaze with amusement.
I can feel every line of his lean, hard, muscled body on every line of my soft curves, and when he places a hand at the small of my back, my heart hammers in desire.
God, how long has it been since I’ve desired or truly wanted a man? Years. I haven't felt like this since my sophomore year in high school. I can't help but think how naive I was back then.
"Of course I did, Sophia."He pulls me back into his arms, hooking them around my waist as he balances me again, and I link my hands around his neck, sucking in a breath at the sight and feel of him. Wow, he’s toned. I try to sort my thoughts into words.
"Why? I’m sure you had plans tonight before I gawked at your car and my sister invited you to our party." Gavin dips his head and his mouth is only inches from mine when he speaks."I did, but I wanted to see you again more. You look beautiful, by the way." His voice is deep and makes me draw closer to him.“Thank you,” I whisper breathlessly.When he pulls me to his chest, I rest my head against his shoulder and his arms hold me close at the small of my back.My heart beats so fast, and as the song ends, I lift my head and give him my best smile when I feel the nervousness of opening up to this guy I don’t even know. Am I really ready to do this?
"I have to go refill the refreshments. Save me a dance, will you?"Gavin’s dark brown hair falls into his eyes as he loosens his arms around me and nods, his eyes locked onto mine. I see uncertainty in the depths."Are you okay?" he asks, his hand coming up to my cheek. I suck in a breath, my heart racing at the contact of skin against skin."I’ll be back, I promise." I just need to take a breath, some air to sort myself out.Reluctantly, he lets me go and I try to calm my heart as I pull my best friend Farah outside with me. She’s the only girl I know that will never sugarcoat things with me. That’s what I need right now.“What the hell, Sophia, are you okay?" Farah asks as she grabs my hand and we sit on the steps. I take a deep breath and turn to her. She’s been my rock for as long as I can remember. I don’t know what I’d do without her.“I don’t know what I’m doing, Farah. I met this guy today and he’s, God, so gorgeous. Like his eyes captivate me and when he was holding me just now, it felt so right, you know?"She grins and squeezes my hand for reassurance, her reddish-brown hair tucked behind her ears, her knowing eyes seeing right through me."Then go with it, Sophia. Don’t start over thinking it!""He called me beautiful, Farah. I mean, I don’t even know his last name! Is this crazy?"She shakes her head and looks into my eyes, forcing me to be honest.“Do you like him?" She cocks her head to the side, pinning me with her gaze."Yes.""Then stop thinking about it. I can tell he likes you." I grin at the thought and narrow my eyes at her."Really? How?"Her eyes gleam with a smile as she throws
"Sophia," he whispers against my lips, pulling back an inch to meet my eyes, reading them for a moment before that gorgeous smile graces his mouth and he leans his forehead against mine. I let go of his shirt and wrap my hands around the back of his neck as I struggle to catch my breath."That was...wow," I whisper, smiling excitedly. His hand brushes my flushed cheek and his mouth sets in a smile that shows off his ruggedly handsome face."Amazing," he says, pressing his lips to mine softly once more before he leans back and grasps my hand, his eyes shining as he gazes down at me. "Do you want to dance, beautiful?"I grin and nod as he leads me back inside. My heart beats fast and erratically in my chest. His fingers close over mine as we walk back to the almost empty dance floor where a soft melody by Shania Twain is playing. He pulls me into him and presses a hand to my waist. He sweeps me into a slow dance that is just as graceful as before, only this time he presses his mouth
"When did you start dancing?" he asks, his deep voice next to my ear."When I began preschool, my mom enrolled me in a toddler dance academy, and my love for it grew from there.""Is your mom a dancer?” Gavin’s hands skate down my arms, causing goose bumps.I giggle and press closer to him. Being in his arms feels better than I could have imagined. "That’s two questions, but no, she isn’t. She's a model and travels a lot, too." The last thing I wantto think about is my absentee mother, but he asked and, truly, I want Gavin to know me."Did I upset you?" he asks, turning me so that I’m facing him. I hastily shake my head, pressing it against his shoulder as his hand strokes up and down my back."No, she wasn’t around a lot when I was growing up, though. I actually haven’t talked to her in a long time."Deftly, Gavin lifts my face with a finger under my chin and gazes into my eyes."I understand, but if she doesn’t appreciate you then it’s her loss, Sophia, not yours." My heart skips
"My dad passed Thomas Corporations down to me, the family company, last spring. He’d been priming me for it since I was fifteen years old. I own and operate it now, along with my mom, of course, who runs the offices and legal aspects of it."My breath catches. I struggle to imagine how much money he must make, owning a growing computer technology corporation like that. Mom always told me to follow the men with gold, but it doesn’t make me want him any less or any more. It’s just a surprise."Wow. I mean I figured you had a pretty high-end job to afford your Jaguar, but I didn’t expect that. What do you do? It’s computer technology, right?" He nods and leans back a little so his eyes meet mine in the setting sun."We try to innovate mobile and computer technologies for modern-day society. After Windows 8, our system was in almost every PC in America."I give him a smile, reassuring him that I’m only curious about his work and not trying to pry."Windows 8?""Yeah, once we put together
As I make my way into the kitchen, I see my dad giving Kel a hug. I squeal, a huge smile on my face since I haven’t seen him in weeks. Excitement bubbles up inside me when he turns and sees me."Pumpkin, come here,” Dad says, pulling away from my sister. I run into his arms, so happy to see him as he lifts me off my feet and kisses my cheek."When did you get here?" I ask, pulling back to take a look at him. I laugh, seeing his beard coming back. He has new lines around his eyes and mouth, but his deep amber eyes, the same as Kel’s, are as bright as they’ve always been."You look happy, Sophia," he says, twirling me in a circle like he always does."Dad, you seriously have to shave!” I laugh through the words. He throws his head back and laughs, pulling me with him. He makes his way into the kitchen where Kel places three plates of mac and cheese on the table.“I’ll take it under advisement, pumpkin,” Dad winks at me.Turning to my sister, he says, “This is great, Kel. Thank you." I si
GavinThe cup of steaming hot coffee meeting my taste buds could be described as the highlight of my day on most days I spend in the office. Today was different. Meeting Sophia Jones was the highlight, and if I could have spent more time with her today, I would have jumped at the chance. I haven’t truly thought about a girl or rather, a woman, in any way other than an easy fix at the end of a very long day in I don’t know how long. Back in college, it had been different. I was convinced that my girlfriend at the time, Jasmine, was the one. The one. As I think about it now, I have to laugh at myself.I didn’t know how naive that sentiment was. As if there was one woman that would stay by me through thick and through thin. As if there was a woman out there that could look past my name and the number attached to my bank account. Maybe even past the dollar signs on my paycheck each month. I’d thought she was that one woman. Shit, was I wrong. I sip my coffee slowly, closing my eyes f
Sophia "My Sophie," he whispers, sending terrible shivers down my skin as I writhe against his hold, finding myself trappedagainst his hard, heavy, unyielding body. His cold, hard eyes stare down at me. He grasps the button of my jeans,undoing it and roughly pulling them down my legs as I sob, feeling helpless against his weight and his greedy hands. "Please, stop. Stop, Bryce...you’re hurting me...no!” I whimper and scream fearfully as he holds me down,he’s having no mercy as I clutch the bed covers and sobs rack my body. The pain is relentless as I feel his hard lipsagainst mine. I can’t get away. It hurts! "No! Get off me...It hurts!!" I writhe and scream, crying out for help as he slaps me hard across my cheek,making me whimper in pain. I yearn for it to stop, but it never does. "Stop...please..." He chuckles, taking me again as I feel my sex spasm painfully against his punishment. I have no way ofgetting him off me with his death grip on both my hands. "Shut up, bitc
As I slip my ballet flats on and fasten the ribbons of my leotard, my cell rings. I skip over, almos falling as I’m reaching for it. I see Gavin’s name on the screen and smile. It’s been about a week since the night he held me, comforted me after that horrible dream. We’ve gone out to lunch almost every day, growing closer and I’ve found so many things I like about him. His laugh when I try to impersonate my family members or friends as I’m telling a story. His passion for the work his father has done in the technology world, the fierceness in which he speaks when we talk about his sister, Callie. I’ve learned he’s very protective of the only daughter of James A. Thomas. I’ve learned he will only drink when in the company of people he trusts, for some people will stop at nothing to get close to him and his family. When he told me that, I was intimidated. The lavish life style he has is something that is not new to me and though it is a lot to take in, Gavin is much more than a bil