Zariah was still in front of me with her hands held to my temples, but I no longer felt tired or weak. Actually, the complete opposite.The events of the last few months flashed in my mind like a rewinding function. I had been pushed to leave the place I’d known as home, finding myself in a new city so far away. At the time, I was down and out, depressed, feeling super low. My heart was completely broken. I was completely broken. But then Adrian and Acelin came into my life when I needed someone the most. That was no coincidence. And despite the fact of who they were, they showed me things I’d only dreamed of before. Almost as if something too good to be true, but it was just that. They gave me their hearts so willingly and they too had mine. Because of our bond and love I was stronger than ever. I found out who I was, became confident and more comfortable in my own skin. Met friends and family I never knew existed. Yes, it was kind of crazy, but my life had changed drastically for
Sleep didn’t come for me that night. A terrible storm brewed outside the window, matching my somber mood perfectly. Usually, a rainstorm would have had me knocked out, but right then, it only added to my discomfort. Rain poured down, lightening flashed, and thunder clapped loudly. The wind whistled harshly, scraping bare branches against the window. I recalled the story my mom used to tell me and my sister when we were little girls. When it thundered God was moving furniture around. When lightning flashed, he was turning on the lights. And when it rained, he was crying. We were taught to believe in a different God than the ones I more recently learned about, but is that what was happening? Were the gods crying?I laid on my back staring up into the dark as if would reveal the answers of the universe. The things that just happened haunted me. I wondered if they could have been handled differently or if somewhere we took a wrong turn. Would it always be like this?So typical of me to
My eyes scanned over the empty space one last time. My stomach tightened as the reality of the situation set in. I couldn’t believe I was actually doing this. Change scared me. I was not an outgoing person at all, never stepped out of my comfort zone, and was anxious as hell, but yet, here I was, bags packed, house empty, moving halfway across the country to Sequoia Village, of all places. “No turning back now, Ray.” I spoke aloud to myself. A notification came across my phone. It was HIM. My heart skipped for a second when I saw the name on my screen. Tristan Greene. I scrunched my face, angry that I still let him get to me. He was the reason for all of this, after all. I should have him blocked on everything, but I was too weak for that even though I only got hurt in the end when we stayed in touch. “Are you really going to leave without saying goodbye?” The message read. What a selfish dick. He wouldn’t commit to me, but wouldn’t leave me alone either. He didn’t want or couldn’t
I woke up feeling like shit. I was always 50/50 with naps. Lights danced across the dark sky out my window. Nice view. I stared for a couple of minutes and then got up and walked out on the balcony. The crisp, cold air sent a shiver through my body. I hadn’t checked the weather. I rubbed my hands up and down my arms as a strong breeze blew by. My curls whisked back away from my face. I had recently done a “big chop” cutting a lot of my hair mainly to get the damaged blond out. I needed a change and was now rocking my natural, healthy hair - dark brunette. It complemented my green and brown hazel eyes, so I had been told, anyway. I walked back inside to the fridge realizing how thirsty I was. Inside were some complementary bottles of water left by my new landlord along with a bottle of wine and vodka. A note read “Welcome to your new home. Here’s something to get you started, whichever you prefer.” I chuckled. That was a nice gesture. Normally I’m a wine-sipping type of gal, but vod
“Oh, my God. I’m so sorry,” I blurted out. I looked down and my hand jerked back as I realized I was attempting to pat-dry the wetness on his chest from the spilled drink. I was nervous and being awkward. What an idiot. The man in front me was gorgeous. His skin was bronze and he had dark, chocolate curly hair that contrasted his eyes, his facial hair cut short against his skin. I felt his toned chest under my touch from before. My gaze went back to his eyes. They were so different from anything I’ve ever seen on a person. I couldn’t explain it. “You have really nice eyes.” Something I had meant to only think but the words had actually come out. What was going on with me? I was never this bold. He smiled and spoke for the first time. “Thank you. Your eyes are beautiful too.” His voice came out deep and husky. As he spoke, he put his hand under my chin lifting my face to his. A shudder went through my body when I felt his warm but rough, calloused hand against me. Why did I let him
A deep sigh escaped me and I realized I had been holding my breath. My body was tense. I made my way back towards Trinity. She was smirking at me. “What?” I laughed as I scratched the side of my head looking away. I’m sure she had caught my interaction with Adrian. “Nothing,” she said. “I see you met Adrian.”“Oh, do you know him?” I asked. “Of course.” She paused and stated, “He’s well-known. His family’s been here for years. They own a lot of property and businesses around here.”“Oh,” I said trying to sound uninterested but my eyes told another story. “He’s definitely single,” she offered. I smiled and then caught myself. “Well, that’s none of my business. I am not getting into that. Nope.” My face got serious for emphasis. Trinity looked at me and smirked. “Okay. If you say so. I don’t blame you.”I sat at the bar for a while and before leaving me and Trinity exchanged numbers. We definitely connected. She was around my age, 23, but was going to school during the day and bar
I woke up to light shining through the curtains. My body flinched as I rolled in the bed. Last night’s events had taken a toll on me. Realizing I was not in my own bed, I jumped up. Looking around at the unfamiliar space, I tried to take in my surroundings. I was in this dark, elegant suite of some sort. My legs rubbed up against the silk sheets. So soft. Memories of last night started flooding back in my head. I scanned the room and then I saw him. Adrian. He was sitting in the corner in a chair his eyes glued on me. How long had he been there? Was he watching me sleep? I looked down and noticed I wasn’t wearing what I had on last night. Somehow I had been changed into an oversized t-shirt and some boxer shorts. “What the hell? I raised my voice. “Where are my clothes? Did You undress me?”“No. No. Calm down. Our live-in housekeeper helped you. You undressed yourself.” “Your housekeeper,” I repeated side-eying him. “Wait. Why am I here? What happened?”“Well, I didn’t really kno
I opened my eyes to darkness. It was evening. I had slept longer than I intended. My stomach growled hard reminding me I had barely eaten in the last 24 hours. This wasn’t the way I had anticipated losing weight. I went to the fridge, but there was only water. I hadn’t gone shopping. I hadn’t done anything productive, for that matter. The only thing I had managed to do was bump into one tall, dark, gorgeous man and get attacked by a creepy, weird one - two things that were definitely not on my to-do list. I grabbed my phone to search for food options in the area and settled on Italian. Kiera was all over the place when I finally called her. You’d think I was the little sister the way she tried to boss me around. “I know. I know.” I said after minutes of her berating my apparent stupidity. “I thought I’d be okay on the first day at least.” “Well, that’s why you don’t think. Do I need to bring my ass down there already?” We both started laughing. She was such a smart ass. I talked