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Ally pulls her phone out of her bag which was sitting on the bedside table. Lorenzo must have taken it off her when he placed her in the bed.
She presses buttons before saying, “Our Uber is ten minutes out, so let's get a wriggle on.” Placing her bag over her head, she finds her boots and slips them on. I look around the floor for my own before I realise they are out in the kitchen probably where I left them.
“You ready to make our getaway?” she asks, smiling at me.
“Do you think he’s awake out there?” I whisper.
“No idea. But what do you want to do? Be quiet and sneak out or say goodbye?”
I contemplate it for a minute but as much as I want to stay and talk to Lorenzo, the old Sophia takes over and makes up my mind.
“It’s better if we sneak out,” I huff.
“One day, you’ll start living for yourself Soph. I can only hope that day comes sooner rather than later.” Her sad smile stares at me and I can’t help but feel my happy little bubble from a minute ago pop.
“Let’s go,” I say, walking towards the door. Quietly as possible, I twist the doorknob and pull it towards me. Darkness from the living room greets us and I take in the room. Large windows cover one side of the room, covered by dark curtains, blocking out the sun. A wide L shaped couch sits in the middle facing the T.V. I catch sight of a tanned muscled arm dangling over the end of the couch. I point it out to Ally and press my finger to my lips, to remind her to be quiet.
I glance to the kitchen seeing my favourite boots, lying haphazardly on the floor where I must have left them. Tiptoeing over to pick them up, I dangle them from my fingers not wanting to put them on in case they make too much noise and wake him before we can escape.
My feet slide around in a pivot to tell Ally to hurry but when I catch sight of her, I nearly yell. She’s standing right behind the couch, staring down at Lorenzo. She turns to me with wide eyes then she puts the back of her hand against her forehead pretending to faint from his looks. I pull my lips in to try to contain my giggle but she’s making it hard. She then makes a heart shape with her fingers and starts moving it over where her heart is as if it is thumping out of her chest. I slap a hand over my mouth as my laughter gets louder. Forgetting to be quiet I quickly step over to her, grab her arm and push her away from the couch towards the door.
She quietly laughs at me, but my eyes get drawn down to the figure on the couch. A shirtless Lorenzo lies there. His quiet breaths go unheard as his peaceful face is directed at me. With his eyes closed, he’s still so gorgeous. More so now. Growing up, Lorenzo always had hard eyes. It was as if the weight of the world shone through them. Well, that was always the impression I got. I think others saw a leave me alone attitude, but I always thought there was more to him than he allowed others to see.
I can’t help my gaze dropping to the tattoo of the wolf that covers one side of his muscular chest. Lorenzo wasn’t this bulked up at school. He was a bit lankier, but he’s filled out more since then. His jet-black hair, shaved on the sides but a lot longer on the top, hangs down across his forehead.
I have what I call a brain fart moment and my finger slides the hanging piece of hair out of the way so I can get a perfect view of his face. His stubble looks as if it’s grown since last night and I ache to run my fingers over it, to feel it against my skin. My parents would never let me be with a man with facial hair. Clean shaven is the only way in my parents' world. Like a clean face determines the worth of a person. I shake my head at the silliness of their ideas.
Wanting to break free of their control over my life, I bend forward. For once I want to take something for myself. For me. I want to do something because I want to do it. So, before I can second guess myself I slide further down, wanting to press my lips against his cheek in a silent goodbye.
Centimetres away from his cheek I reach my lips out, so close. Before I touch his cheek his face turns, a firm, strong hand pulls my head in and before I know it his soft, full lips are pressing ever so gently to my own. A stark contrast to the strong grip he holds my head with. My eyes don’t have time to close and enjoy the sensation before he’s pulling away, his now open eyes staring back into mine.
Seconds tick by with neither of us saying a word. The silence stretches as I feel the familiar heat of my cheeks. Something in the way his brown eyes gaze into mine has my heart speeding up. It looks a lot like longing. But that can’t be right.
“I wanted to say goodbye,” I whisper. I don’t know why I whisper when he’s obviously awake now so there’s no need for me to carry on being quiet.
“And I couldn’t let you walk out of my life again without kissing those lips that have featured in my dreams countless nights,” he whispers back, and I become aware of how close we still are. I’m still draped over the couch with his tight grip in my hair. I don’t know what to say to his confession, so I lean back, putting much needed distance between us.
I catch sight of Ally whose eyes are bulging out of her head, but she silently stands there, not knowing what to do either. I drop my gaze from her but increase my steps to where she stands. The rustle of Lorenzo’s movements alerts me that he’s getting up from the couch and worry flits through me at the thought he might try to convince me to stay. I think I’m more afraid of the fact I don’t want to leave.
“Thanks again for last night Lorenzo. It was so good to see you again,” I stutter, as I turn towards him as Ally and I reach the door. Now it’s my turn to stand there with my eyes bulging out of my head. Lorenzo stands there in all his gorgeous glory wearing nothing but tight black boxer briefs. His muscular legs match the rest of his body and have my mouth watering. What training must he do to have a body like that?
Ally must sense I need to get out of here because she opens the door and tugs on my arm before she says, “Yes thanks for your help last night Lorenzo. Sorry we have to run.”
“It was my pleasure, Ally. And it was nice to meet you,” he says, sending a genuine smile her way before his gaze flits back to me.
“And Sophia, I’ll be seeing you in eight years,” he says, his smile widening as he shows off his perfect teeth, crossing his thick arms over his chest. It makes my brows pull in together in confusion. Ally gives another tug on my arm and I’m nearly out the door before he slides a hand through his hair pushing it back. “Don’t worry, I’m sure it’ll come back to you eventually,” he says, as he brings his hand over his heart, tapping it there.
“I don’t….” I start in confusion, before he cuts me off saying.
“Let’s just say I hope fate is on our side,” he says, as Ally pulls me through the door and closes it behind us. Lorenzo’s laughter can be heard from the other side as Ally grips my wrist and practically drags me down the stairs. We manage to find our way out the front of the bar to our waiting Uber.
“Ally, what the heck? Why are you in such a rush?” I demand, after I come to my senses and the Uber driver is driving us away from the bar.
“Girl, I’ve never seen that look on your face, but I know damn well what that look means. It was the look where you are about to blow your life up. And I couldn’t let you do that. Even though that man is sex on a stick,” she says, as she fans herself.
“What makes you think he would blow my life up?” I ask, a defensive note to my voice. Ally’s sad smile looks at me as she drops her head to one side before taking my hand in hers.
“Sweetie, I never said he would blow up your life. I said you would blow up your life because the way he looked at you was as if he would move heaven and earth to be with you. And you and I both know your parents have way too much control over your life. There is no way they would let you and him be together with a happy ending.”
