AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Hello, Rhylan. It’s so nice to finally meet you. Chucky here has told me so much about you.” Her voice is silky, just like the olive tone of her skin. She tucks her jet-black hair behind her ear and looks down at Chuck. The two look into each other’s eyes, lost in them as if I’m not here.
I clear my throat. “Nice to meet you too,” I say loudly to get their attention. “Although I’m sorry to say, Chucky hasn’t mentioned you before.”
She laughs heartily. “Chucky has been keeping me a secret.”
Chuck continues to smile up at her, his gaze lingering on her eyes, then traveling down her neck. She turns to wave at a new set of guests that have walked through the door, her smile brightening in recognition.
“I’m going to say hi to some friends,” she says softly into Chuck’s ear before turning to face me again. “It was nice meeting you.”
She extends her hand towards me with a warm smile, and I shake it before she steps away. We both watch her as she meets her friends at the door, her enthusiastic greeting able to be heard from where we’re standing.
“Chucky?” I say to Chuck once we’re alone again. My brows are raised in amusement as I don’t even bother to hide the mocking tone in my voice.
“Shut up,” he responds, embarrassed but not completely so. He’s relishing in the attention that Sonia was giving him and simply being in her presence.
“So, who is she?”
“I’ve been seeing her for a couple of weeks. I met her at a party, out in the Valley.”
“The Valley?”
“Yeah, but she doesn’t live there. She’s from this side of LA. Like me.”
I nod. “And it’s serious.” It’s not a question. It’s more of an educated assumption based on their body language.
He sighs, his smile spreading millimeter by millimeter. “Man, I never thought this relationship bullshit was real. Who the fuck would settle down when there’s this many beautiful women in LA? But Sonia…” He whistles.
“That good, huh?”
“It’s like, from the beginning, she tells me, ‘Cut the shit.’ She told me to tell her who I really was, not the spoiled, rich-boy part of me but who Ireallywas.” Head shaking, he looks down at his feet as if he still can’t believe Sonia walked into his life, that she’s already staking a place in a way he never imagined. “I told her everything, my future, my plans for Suits & Whistles, everything. And she actually sat there and listened. She doesn’t even care about the money. She has her own with her modeling agency that she started seven years ago. She’s an actual responsible adult with dreams and ambitions. I didn’t realize how fucking sexy that shit was.”
I listen to his every word, hanging on to it as he pours his admiration for this woman that entered his life just weeks ago. That’s not a long time. Not long at all. Yet, she’s made an impression on him that will last a lifetime. This is a side of Chuck that I’ve never seen, never even thought existed.
I’m jealous. Envious but not in a malicious way. More so that I want what he has: freedom. Expectation for things that I couldn’t even dream of while bringing out a part of me that I thought had died long ago.
That was exactly what Ellie had done to me. While our relationship was flawed, I can’t deny that what we had was real. I never gave us the chance to fully experience the extent of what our relationship could offer, but I know that if we did, it would have been magic. Pure magic. Here’s Chuck, ready to experience it all from the beginning with nothing but optimism.
I clear my throat. “I’m really happy for you, Chuck. Everything is turning out to be such a success. We’re all proud of you, man.”
“Thanks. I am too.” He smirks, still surprised and not used to his success.
The elevator doors behind me ding open, and an older couple dressed to the nines in Chanel and a tailored suit walk in. “Oh shit. It’s my parents,” Chuck whispers. He hurries away and greets them, their expressions serious but intrigued. Chuck’s body language changes too. He’s seeking approval, praise from the people that he never cared for approval from in the past. Yet here he is, a new leaf turned and hoping that his parents would be proud that he’s made a name for himself.
“You meet Sonia?” a voice behind me says in a hushed tone. I turn and find Jackson close to me, his face hovering over my shoulder. Behind him, Charles and Amelia stand close by.
“When did you guys get here?”
“I got here before the party started. I helped set up the tables and shit,” Jackson answers. He points a finger toward Charles and Amelia. “These two walked in barely ten minutes ago.”
“We had to drop the kids off at my parents’.” Charles defends his tardiness.
I take a step toward Amelia to embrace her. “Hi, Amelia. How are you?”
“I’m good,” she answers warmly.
“So did you meet the new girl?” Jackson repeats his question.
“I actually did. Just right now. She seems nice,” I say matter-of-factly. “And Chuck seems to have taken a liking to her.”
