ANMELDENSophia’s POVThe sound of the door closing caused my back to tense. My head turned to the door, my eyes meeting Marcus’s watchful gaze. Heat crept up my neck, his eyes lingering on my gym shorts — a pair that no one should see.“Welcome, I didn’t know you would be back so soon,” I muttered, hoping he didn’t hear how flustered I sounded. “How was work?”“Great,” he said in a gruff tone, rushing up the stairs as if he was being burned.I shrugged, fighting back the feeling that I was getting. If he was in one of those moods, I didn’t want to be on the receiving end of it. We had been fine, the call we had earlier in the day was alright. It wasn’t hard getting back to the workout. Kyla had sent the link, said it helped clear the mind, and well, I guess it was working. That was until a certain person walked in and now — “No thinking, focus,” I hissed under my breath.Besides, with the mood he was back in, I knew that he wasn’t going to come down. I guess this would do. The stairs creake
Marcus’s POVMaybe I should have done something. Maybe I should have intervened faster. But listening to Diane say those words — watching the way Sophia’s eyes glistened —I knew I had been too slow to react.But this was the thin line — I couldn’t bring myself to actually hold her. In Diane’s eyes, she was going to say I was supporting her, taking a side. Of course, I was. Sophia didn’t deserve the blow-out she had gotten. But my intervention still felt like nothing at the same time. Diane had been cruel. Sophia had been broken… and me? All that I could think about was the kiss that almost happened.I had let myself dream, wondering what would have happened a second later if Sebastian hadn’t shown up. What her lips would taste like — would they taste like cherries? Ever since I knew the name of her lip balm, it had become an obsession that was slowly trying to tear me apart.My phone buzzed, the sound forcing me to tear my gaze from the computer monitor I had been looking at. The s
Sophia’s POVI shouldn’t be thinking about it, but I was — my mind stuck on a path it should never have been on. Lying in bed, my eyes fixed on the ceiling as I thought about what last night would have been like. We had been free, the way he had laughed, the way his eyes had taken me in as if he was seeing me. When his hands had cupped my face as if it was the most natural thing to do.“God,” I groaned, feeling that heat creep up my neck, spreading slowly through my cheeks. I turned to my side, pulling the bed cover tighter between my legs, the force causing it to bump against my core. My body trembled from the sensation. This was stupid, having the reaction all because of an almost kiss, but my body didn’t think about that. It just didn’t care. Because the more I thought about it, the more the feeling intensified, the more everything felt too strong to be ignored.He had been close, so close that I could feel just how hard his body was against mine. “Stop,” I whispered in a weak to
Sophia’s POV “Marcus?” I was hit with an instant cold, the warmth of his fingers gone, my body jerked, my heart hammering hard in my chest at the sound of the voice. I needed to act fast, do something that would make what almost happened look different. “Ouch!” I cried. Marcus frowned as he pulled away slowly, the spell between us broken. I knew it. I couldn’t push it. “Are you okay?” he asked, his voice laced with worry. “My eyes — my lash was trapped between them.” He blew on it, his hand back to my face, holding me gently. But this didn’t feel like it. It didn’t feel like when he had held me with so much warmth. “I think it is gone now,” I muttered, watching a figure walk closer to where we stood. “Okay,” he hummed. He was the first to turn, smiling at his friend. “Hey, didn’t know I would see you around here,” he said. Sebastian didn’t look at him, his eyes were on me as if he was trying to figure out what was going on. “Hello,” he greeted, ignoring his friend. Marc
Sophia’s POVHe looked exhausted. Like a man in a room full of bees and he just doesn’t know how to get out. “You don’t like jazz, do you?” I asked.He tugged on the cuff of his shirt, his eyes meeting mine with a soft smile on his lips. “Did I make it that obvious?”“Well, given the fact that you haven’t stopped huffing each time the sax plays louder, or maybe the fact that you have that look, a constipated look on your face — and most people here look like they are having a time of their lives,” I pointed out.“You have been watching me?”My cheeks flushed, my throat going slightly dry at his accusation. “Not watching, but you make it easy enough to know what you’re going through,” I said.He hummed. “So I can’t play poker then?” he asked.“Maybe.” I reached for the glass of wine, this low talk that we were doing, the dinner, the music, they were all messing with my head. “But I am sure I can read through you,” I added.He smiled, “You are an artist, of course you will,” he muttered
Sophia’s POVThe outing had finally made it out of the group chat.I couldn’t stop seeing the smiles on their faces as we laughed at the joke Kyla had shared. “I need to use the restroom,” Kyla said, walking in that direction.“Are you sure you are okay?” Lily’s voice broke through the fog. I stared at her. I could see her eyes on me, watching the same thing she had been doing all night.I smiled, the same practiced smile I had for everything.“Yes, why wouldn’t I?” I laughed.Her eyes narrowed. “You look…” she paused as if she was thinking about what she wanted to say.“Is everything okay at home? Did your mom do something?” I could hear the worry in her tone.I placed my hand on hers, “Everything is great, I have just been a little under the weather… the job and you know…”The lies were getting easier to say.“I can talk to someone — I know a client that works in…”I grabbed her hand.“Don’t do that. Don't put yourself at their mercy, okay? Besides, who said I am not enjoying this l
Marcus’s POVThe shower didn’t help, but it felt like I was fighting for my life. Trying hard to breathe. I thought the water was going to scrub off the thought that wouldn’t leave my head.Diane was in the other room, sleeping softly on the bed, and here I was struck with an incessant thought — a
Marcus’s POVI held onto the phone tighter than I should have, as if it were an anchor keeping me afloat. We didn’t have much to say, and yet the call still felt heavy, too heavy.“Get it together,” I muttered under my breath, leaning against the chair as I thought about how much of a disaster the
Sophia’s PovIt was easier to say I was getting a job than to actually get one.I wasn’t sure of where I was going after being turned down by two galleries, but I guess it was easier to keep on walking than actually taking a moment to think about what had happened.The anger I felt earlier had slo
Sophia’s POVFor a second, I didn’t think about it, didn’t remember and suddenly the memory flashed, the humiliation, the smirk on her face. Her silent victory.Then I had to do something stupid, hug him, cling to him as if my life depended on it. I squeezed my eyes shut, “Great,” I grumbled, turni







