Chapter 3: Spark we shouldn't have lit  

Michelle's POV

“I’m sorry, Michelle…” he stuttered. “It’s not—uhmm.” His voice cracked, then he got down from the hood, running a hand through his hair.

“I shouldn’t have done that… you don’t deserve this from a stranger. Maybe it’s best if we call it a night,” he said, now facing me, while I sat there still trying to process it all.

But as the seconds stretched out, I thought about all the years I’d spent saying no to everything—not because I didn’t want to, but because I was scared of messing up, of stepping out of line, of being seen the wrong way.

Before I could second-guess myself, I reached out and grabbed his collar, pulling him toward me. This time, when our lips met, I kissed him back.

I leaned into him as his hands found my waist. My hand slipped on the hood and accidentally knocked over the glasses. It fell to the ground, shattering into pieces. But we were too consumed to care, as we kissed more intimately.

I wrapped my arms around his neck, and he picked me up gently, without breaking our connection.

He opened the car door and we slid into the back seat.

But then he stopped.

He pulled back breathing heavily, his eyes searching mine in the dim interior light of the car. I looked into his eyes and understood what he was asking. 

He was giving me the space to step away if I wanted to.

Without words, I nodded. 

I saw the flash of heat in his eyes as we found each other's lips again. This time it became more intense. 

He tore his  lips from mine, and placed a kiss on my forehead, as he gently slipped his hands through my dress caressing my b**bs like they deserved an award,  I moaned gently, slipping my fingers through his hair.

“Oh Ray” I murmured, as I bit my lips,  “have you done this before?” he asked, placing a kiss on my lips.

I just shook my head gently.

“Oh really” he whispered with a smirk. 

Then we undressed each other quickly, throwing our clothes any and everywhere in his car. 

Something fell off but I didn’t pay much attention to it. 

You’re really beautiful Michelle” he whispered as I ran my hands over his built body, feeling how hard it was, while I kept wondering if he had been plucked from a billboard.

He used his two hands to gently pull my thighs apart, I could feel his bulge hard against my thighs now. 

He slid his right hand and pulled out my pink p**ties

I gave myself to him, trembling between fear and longing.

Then he pushed his bulge inside me, I gasped and moaned all at once, my mouth wide open. The feeling was strange, yet ecstatic. 

He held my both hands upwards on the car door and went all in again, slamming the doors in between my thighs, this time felt better, he continued thrusting gently and kissing the sensitive skin underneath my ear, while I moaned softly. 

“You're so tight Michelle” he whispered in my ear as he pounded harder. He groaned and slammed for the last time and my legs gave out as they shook violently.

He kissed my forehead again, as he fell on me breathing hard. 

A few minutes later, he pulled me into his arms, holding me close as if protecting something fragile. The windows steamed up, and for a while, it was just us—lost in a moment we shouldn’t have shared.

 ***

The early morning breeze at 5 AM stirred me from deep sleep. My eyes fluttered open to the unfamiliar leather seats and the scent of expensive cologne. 

Panic shot through me—I was in a stranger's car, covered only by his white shirt.

I looked down at my body and my heart sank, the evidence was clear, something had happened during the night. My body ached, and yet flashes of last night kept coming back in pieces. 

I turned to look at the man still sleeping beside me. Even in sleep, he was devastatingly handsome—sharp jawline with his black hair messy against the car headrest.

What have I done to myself? The thought echoed in my mind as shame swallowed me whole.

I carefully reached for my small purse and picked my dress from the floor, trying not to wake him, fighting against the hanging effects of the alcohol and the soreness in between my thighs that reminded me of our night together.

I slipped his dress shirt over my shoulders—it was far too big, covering more than half of my thigh.

I opened the car door gently and stepped onto the sandy pavement, pulling his shirt tighter around me and began walking away.

The sky was already fading into streaks of gold, the kind of sunrise that should have felt like hope. But instead, every step away from that car felt like I was dragging shame with me.

I got back to my dorm room shivering from the morning cold. I slipped quietly into the bathroom for a warm shower.

***

After two hours of restless sleep, I was jolted awake by Brenda's rant.

“Lia! Ryan Carter dyed his hair pink!” Brenda said, holding up her phone.

Lia grabbed it quickly. “No way. Ugh, he looks like a melted strawberry.”

I yawned, sitting up. “Why are you two so loud this early?” I muttered, reaching for my water bottle.

“Morning Michelle” they both echoed and then continued their banter.

As Brenda and Lia argued about Ryan Carter, I scoffed, they were furious over a celebrity crush while I was drowning in the memory of last night. Their world felt so far from mine that I almost laughed at the absurdity.

***

"Michelle!" Leo called from behind as I trudged toward the lecture hall for Diet class, my legs dragging, still foggy from lack of sleep.

Leo was my closest buddy in class. People always saw us together and assumed we were dating—which was funny, considering the last guy I kissed was a complete stranger on a beach.

"Oh, hey," I mumbled.

“Michelle, are you alright? You look tired,” Leo said with concern.

"Just pulled an all-nighter studying," I lied, flashing him a weak smile as we stepped into the lecture hall.

I mean, what was I supposed to say? ‘Sorry I look like a mess, Leo. I got drunk last night and ended up hooking up with some random beach guy’? Yeah, no thanks. That’s definitely not a conversation I’m ready for.

Then, as usual, my hand unconsciously went to my neck chain—the one my brother had given me on my birthday before his death, the only piece of him I still had—but my fingers met bare skin. I froze with wide eyes.

“Where… where is my chain?” I panicked.