by Unknown
“But I guess, what can I expect, right?” She questioned boldly, her tone turning hard. “Truth from a cheater? Of course not. I shouldn't be surprised.”
“What are you going to do when you're not angry anymore?” Eli retorted suddenly. His gaze pinning her under the depth of his words. “When you're anger dissipates and all that's left is how much we still want each other. What are you gonna do then?”
“I'll get over it,” Amiira exclaimed without hesitation, side stepping him as she walked past him and took a seat at her desk. “Now, if you'll excuse me, I have work to do.”
Amiira felt him assessing her for a few more moments as she ignored his blisteringly haunting eyes and focused on her computer screen. Pretending to busy herself with whatever she could, to further evade his presence. Without another word, he casually, yet purposefully strolled out of her office.
As her office door shut, she took a resounding and much needed deep breath.
Chapter 4
The first Friday of the month of June came way faster than Amiira had expected. She hadn't waited until the last minute to pack, although she realized packing an exorbitant amount of personal belongings and her entire summer wardrobe was a bit ill advised, as she'd be staying at her apartment in LA during the week when she was working. But being the conventional woman that she was, that didn't stop her from over-packing and going on too many frivolous shopping trips, racking up her credit card bills to buy tons of cute, new outfits for her summer days and nights.
She had become steadily more and more excited for this new adventure she was getting ready to partake in as she shopped. There was little else as validating and consuming as retail therapy, and what was a better reason to indulge than new surroundings and a new house? One on the beach at that!
As she drove toward La Jolla from her apartment in L.A., the coast was her ever present sidekick, as it winded alongside the 5 freeway. She had the music blaring, sunglasses on and the windows down as she let the warm, yet comfortable air wrap her up in its essence, as she sang and danced in her seat. Strumming along to the bass and the drums with her fingers against the steering wheel.
Amiira was more than ready to get the summer started. She kept thinking about the impressive pictures she had seen of the house included in the listing, and felt her energy become more boisterous and elevated as she recalled the images. She wasn't exactly sure which room she would get but she wasn't incredibly picky, and she knew that every single room in that house was absolutely superb.
She had no doubt that whichever room she had, she'd be content. She thought excitedly about the common areas and the type of expansive space that the images had shown, she was almost certain that pictures probably didn't do the place any justice, and that her first time in the beach house would elicit both wonder and excitement.
She spent the rest of her drive, which ended much faster than she had anticipated, thinking and humming along to the music until she had to focus on her GPS and its instructions, as she drove past cliffs and stunning scenery until she arrived at her destination. She parked and quickly got out of the car to absorb and fully take in the front of the house before her. It was much grander and wider than she would have expected, just from the outside. It looked to have at least three floors, tons of windows and mauve colored exteriors that bled into deeply stained wood detailing. Though it still reeked a bit of a beachy, established structure, there was no doubt in her mind that it had been updated relatively recently. Both houses on either side of it were hundreds of yards away, which afforded the residents substantial privacy from their neighbors.
Amiira felt herself filled with divine anticipation to see what the inside looked like as she grabbed her purse and shut her car door. She left her luggage in the trunk to come back and retrieve later; all she cared about seeing was the inside of that house.
She could hear the waves crashing off in the distance as the cool, sea air brushed up against her bare arms, causing small little goosebumps to form. If she hurried, she'd maybe catch the sunset after getting the grand tour. Amiira glanced at the other two cars that were parked in the long, wide driveway, both expensive as all get out. One was a Mercedes LS and the other was some type of Porsche, she felt momentarily self conscious about her ordinary car parked alongside them, but quickly shrugged it off.
Amiira had learned long ago, not to compare herself with others for too long, especially when not doing so as a means to gain inspiration, but to put herself down. She'd upgrade to a flashy car eventually, if she just kept working hard enough.
Amiira rang the doorbell, feeling an extra bit of excitement run through her as she waited for someone to answer. After a few moments, a tall, blonde woman, with her hair in a side braid, genuine green eyes, and a wide smile swung open the door.
“Hi,” the blonde offered in a bit of a sing-song voice. “You must be Amiira! I'm Riley.”
“Hi, yes... it's so nice to meet you,” Amiira replied, matching Riley's tone. Riley was the owner of the property and the one whom Amiira had been speaking with about the arrangement.
“Come on in,” Riley offered, holding the door open further, motioning for Amiira to enter.
Amiira's eyes darted at a dozen different things at once. The entryway was massive and stretched a great distance. She could see past it into the main room which was spacious, and open with high vaulted ceilings.
“Tell me you brought more stuff with you!” Riley sweetly joked as she noticed Amiira's purse.
“Oh, yes of course, it's all in the car. I'll get it later. I was so anxious to come in and get the tour.”
“Sure, well let's get started then. A couple of us are here so let me introduce you, I think we're only waiting for Kian to show up, he ran to the store and Eve isn't coming until next weekend.”
Once they reached the kitchen, Amiira saw two men both probably in their early thirties chatting, which they ceased doing when the two women entered.
The one standing nearest to them was short but built. He had a beanie on so Amiira wasn't sure what color his hair was and he was dressed casually in beach clothes. His face was thin yet strong, his forehead pronounced. The other one, sitting on a barstool, was tall and a bit meek. He didn't immediately smile, but didn't necessarily come off as rude right away. He had gray colored eyes and a noticeable scar on his eyebrow.
“Amiira, this is Wyatt,” Riley said, gesturing to the standing man. “And that is Elijah. Guys, this is Amiira.”
“Hello,” Amiira said graciously, maintaining a polite amount of eye contact with each of them. “Nice to meet you both.”
“It's nice to meet you,” replied Wyatt warmly.
“Hey,” Elijah offered evenly.
Amiira's attention was taken from the two guys in front of her when she heard the front door open.
“Oh, and that must be Kian,” Riley spoke up, directing her words to Amiira as she cast a look behind her.
Amiira nodded as she waited to be introduced to her fourth roommate, whom she heard approaching. The very moment he appeared in the entrance of the kitchen, her pulse quickened.
Chapter 5
Amiira was instantly shocked by her initial reaction to the man who walked into the kitchen with smooth strides, carrying two big grocery bags.
His skin was an olive complexion, which was aided even further in its pigment, by the tan that he had. His hair was long and dark, which he had pulled back into a haphazard, makeshift bun. He was tall and slim, but had broad shoulders. The gray long sleeved henley that he was wearing was pushed up at the elbows, revealing solid forearms that led towards massive, sculpted and capable hands.
His neck was thick, yet not distractingly so. His jaw line was peppered with short, dark hair that spanned across his chin, and surrounded his distinctly shaped lips. He had noticeably angular cheekbones that gave his face the type of depth and dimension that was staunch and unapologetic. His eyes however, were soft and kind, a sort of honey brown color mixed with amber.
Once he set both of the bags on the counter, he turned towards Riley and Amiira. His focus landed on the latter with pristine accuracy almost in an immobilizing fashion.
“Kian, this is our new roommate, Amiira,” Riley explained excitedly in her welcoming cheerful voice, looking back and forth between the two. “Amiira, Kian.”
“Hi,” Kian offered simply, his gaze clasped hers pointedly, as he extended his hand towards her.
“Hello,” Amiira replied, hoping her voice was as even as she'd consciously attempted to make it. She extended her hand to take his and the literal physical grasp, though brief, that his hand took on hers, coupled with his enduring eye contact, registered somewhere in the pit of her stomach.
Both his touch and his eyes, even in something as ordinary as an introduction, were full of intention.
“How are you doing?” Kian further posed, as he released her hand, yet his gaze was undeterred.
“I'm well, thank you,” Amiira responded, a bit caught off guard by his question and the sincerity with which it was delivered.
There was something about the way that he asked it that resonated deep within her, because he did it almost in the way you'd ask someone whom you already knew. Someone you've already established a relationship with. Not someone you'd just met seconds earlier.
“Thank goodness you're here,” Riley interjected. Amiira finally tore her eyes off of Kian to look at her, wondering who she was referring to. “Gotta balance out the levels, we needed some more estrogen in this house. Too much testosterone.”
Amiira smiled at the blonde, thankful for the joke and suddenly feeling almost exhausted from the literal pull that had harnessed her since Kian had entered the kitchen.
“Should we have a drink?” Wyatt spoke up. “What'd you get, Kian?”
“Some of everything. Whatever was on that list that you sent me, I got,” Kian answered, finally taking his eyes off of Amiira.
Amiira suddenly remembered that she had heard the faint clicking of glass coming from the grocery bags that he had set on the counter. She had been so encompassed by Kian's presence that it had escaped her.
If there was anything that Amiira could use at that very moment, it was a strong alcoholic beverage.
“Amiira wants a tour first though,” Riley explained, her tone airy. “We'll have a shot when we're done, yes? Do you drink?”
“Definitely,” Amiira answered resolutely.
Riley led the way out of the kitchen, and Amiira followed close behind, her eyes involuntarily flickered back towards Kian who was nonchalantly observing her. Amiira felt herself nervously swallow as she took her attention off of him and continued exiting the kitchen.
She faintly heard Riley start excitedly talking about the house and all the decorating she had personally done with the help of a fabulous interior designer. While Amiira had every intention of actively listening to what the blonde was saying, she found herself still almost reeling from the introduction that had just been made.
She'd never seen a man so incredibly beautiful in an almost harrowing and exhausting way.
She'd also never been so taken with someone's disposition and the way they interacted with her within the first minute of meeting them.
This realization was almost searing and she tried desperately, almost at once to put it out of her mind. The last thing she wanted to do was come to this place, her home away from home, her weekend getaway vacation, and develop an infatuation with a man whom she had to live in close quarters with.
She cleared her throat and pushed her thoughts about her diabolically sexy roommate out of her head, as she focused on listening to Riley talk about the house as they made their way thru the first floor. Two rooms designated for Wyatt and herself, hung on either side of the first floor, their spacious and updated bathrooms attached to each respective room.
They climbed the first set of stairs as Riley continued to point out interesting and random facts about the house. She was quite the talker and Amiira could tell she took a lot of pride in the house and that she loved it a great deal. She also momentarily thought that maybe Riley had some real estate agent experience in her repertoire by the way she was presenting the house.
The second story was just as gorgeous as the first. It had a common area that could have doubled for a bonus living room that was decorated in a modern, yet oceanic style. There was a giant sliding glass door that led out to a rather large balcony.
When Riley finished showing Amiira the two rooms on that floor and mentioned they were Eve's and Elijah's, Amiira felt her gut tighten just slightly as she realized what that meant.
As if on cue, Riley opened her mouth to confirm her assumption.
“Your room is on the next floor. Kian's is up there as well.”
Chapter 6
Amiira spent the entire length of the tour of the third floor, which was just as impressive and magnificent as the first two, reminding herself to take deep breaths and to focus on what Riley was saying. That had been a relatively futile experiment because her mind wouldn't stop racing with all the possibilities she had no business thinking about.
It was just her luck to have her room on the same floor as the disastrously attractive man she had just met, who'd made her somehow feel incredibly special without even really saying anything out of the ordinary. But the way that he had handled her was still resonating deeply within her consciousness and she found herself fighting off the inclination just as a show of self preservation.
As she stood in her massive room, which to be completely fair, was on the opposite side of the third floor from his, she took in her surroundings as she recalled Riley reminding her to come right down to partake in a toast and a drink with her new roommates.
But Amiira had to somehow coach herself into leaving whatever notions and thoughts she had about Kian aside before she could face him again. She couldn't ascertain specifically what it was about him that called to her on such a visceral level, but it made her stomach fill with butterflies just thinking about it. She'd seen good looking men before and even dated a few.
But he was a whole other type of gorgeous and it wasn't just his looks; it was his demeanor, his cadence, the way he went about displaying his own presence. It was indescribable.
Amiira gazed at herself in the full length antique mirror that had been flawlessly refurbished into something that looked like it belonged in a museum, as she took a deep breath. She studied her face and her form as she mentally prepared herself to enter into the proximity of that man again.
She focused on her eyes, big and a deep chocolate hue, also incredibly expressive, she had been told. They were aided by a bit of black eyeliner and mascara. Her eyes traveled down to her nose, a bit small, but complementary to her face. Her cheekbones were high, but they hadn't been when she was a kid, or rather they were hidden behind the baby fat that she took too long to shed. The top of her cheeks were tinted lightly with her favorite bronzer, and as her jaw shifted under her own scrutiny, she saw the faint outline of her dimple that was in the middle of her left cheek.
Her focus shifted to what she considered one of her best features: her full lips. She'd opted against lipstick earlier that day, although that was one of her favorite makeup products to use. Lip color would ramp up any look and she had the perfect mouth to do the trick. Her mouth was heart shaped and bee stung, women spent hundreds trying to get the look that she had naturally, filling their thin mouths with products that didn't make them look even half as good as her God given pout. Her lack of lip shade allowed her small beauty mark, one that wasn't even noticeable unless you were close enough, and paying attention, that resided on her top lip, to show.
Her long, thick black hair flowed easily down past her shoulders and hit the middle of her back. She'd straightened it at the last minute before she'd hopped into the car. She regarded her stylish short sleeved black romper that she wore, as she felt the air from an open window caress her bare arms. She tore her eyes from the mirror and looked in the directi
on of the window for the first time. Her view was unbelievable, as she realized that the sun was about to start setting.
Amiira looked back at her own reflection in the mirror and took one more discerning breath. She told herself to stop being so dramatic. She was a grown woman for goodness sakes. She wasn't a teenager. She could handle living in a house with someone that good looking. She just wouldn't make it a big deal. She knew she was already over analyzing it after saying not even three words to the guy. She assured herself that she would be just fine and that she was undoubtedly overreacting.
She silently vowed not to pay him any more attention than necessary or absolutely required. She didn't need this to be a thing.
She had just gotten there and he was her roommate. Nothing more. She could handle it.