by M. E. Gordon
“I find that hard to believe. Let’s see it. What are you looking at?” she asked, trying to grab my laptop.
Thank God for good reflexes. I was able to move it before she could snatch it. “You were out late last night. I didn’t even here you come in,” I said, thinking fast on my feet to change the subject.
She held her hand to her head.
“I take it was a wild night,” I said.
“It was so much fun. You should have come with me. Your brothers were even there,” she said through a grin.
“I told you last week that it was a onetime thing?” I said, glaring at her.
“Well, you’re going to wish you would have,” she said teasingly.
What was she getting at? Let’s not play dumb with yourself, Beth. You know exactly what you want her to say and it involves a particular pair of beautiful, blue eyes.
I watched as Gia walked back to the kitchen. She handed me a folded piece of paper. I took it with an anxious hand and saw the same beautiful script as the very first note.
Missed you tonight. ~ S
I stood there, bewildered again. “I give up, I must be cursed!” I said.
Snatching the paper from my hand, she read it out loud then sat down next to me.
“Who gave this to you?” I ask, frustrated.
“Just some random guy. I had never seen him before. He just told me to give it to Miss Monroe,” Gia said, smelling the flowers.
Once again, Beth is getting the run around. It has to be some kind of joke. What can I say? I have experience in this area. Even though that was in middle school, I have learned my lesson. Trust no one, especially men.
I took the note back from Gia, stomped back to my room, and place it with the other two. I didn’t have time to play silly games. I did have a life, and this wasn’t middle school. I wasn’t going to let this affect me. I walked over, pulled a random book off my shelf, and dove into it head first, not looking back.
Chapter 4
Ah, the last first day of school. I walked up to the common area, taking in the fresh, fall air. What was with all these people just standing around? Students, teachers--and the closer I got I saw--
What the hell are the paparazzi doing here? God, I hope there not here for me.
“Hey, Tina,” I called to a fellow History major. “What the heck is going on over there?” I asked, pointing to all the commotion.
“You didn’t hear? It’s been all over campus and the Internet.”
Here we go--my demise.
“Danny Fenton, you know the singer?” she continued. “He’s starting his freshman year here.”
Oh, thank God. I finally released the breath I had been holding for the whole conversation. “Just what we need our last year, Teeny Boppers.” I glanced over in the direction of the building that I had to navigate toward. Figures they would all be camped out at the building I have to go in.
I was almost to the safety of the building. I just had to make it up the front stairs.
“Hey, red dress!”
I froze on the stairs as I recognized the voice calling. I immediately whipped around, but dropped my books in the process. Before I bent down to pick the books up, I scanned the crowd and saw people whispering as they looked me up and down. Oh, shit, please don’t let them recognize me in my regular jeans and T-shirt. I quickly knelt down to retrieve my books while simultaneously hiding my face.
“Let me help you.”
I looked up to see Simon kneel next to me. I’d thought that was his voice. “I’m sorry I startled you,” he said. “I just wanted to get your attention.”
Mission accomplished. Standing, I looked up into his warm brown eyes. He had his sandy hair tucked under a backward baseball hat and was even more handsome than I remembered. He definitely rivaled Salvatore with his boy-next-door good looks.
“How are you doing?” he asked.
Geez, I don’t know...how about totally confused? “I’m doing well.”
His lush lips turned up when I finally spoke.
“Did you get the flowers?”
Flowers? So he sent the mystery flowers. “Yes. They were beautiful. I wanted to tell whoever sent them thank you, but there was no name,” I said, crossing my arms. I can’t wait to hear this excuse.
“I’m sorry. I thought that guy was your boyfriend.”
Boyfriend? My mind rewound back as fast as it could. Charles. “Oh, he’s not my boyfriend. That’s my brother, Charles.” The pain in the ass, that he is. “Wait, how did you know where to send the flowers?” I asked.
“Well, I knew your name and the Internet did the rest,” he said.
Okay, a little creepy that he knows where I live, but let’s face it. He’s, without a doubt, the most attractive man that has ever talked to me without being friends of my brothers.
“Hey, would you like to go get some coffee?” he asked.
Stay cool, Beth, act casual. Yeah, like guys this hot ask you out all the time. How the hell am I supposed to stay cool? I probably look like a bumbling fool.
“Yeah. That would be great!”
Oh, that came off a little overly enthusiastic. Bring it back a notch or two. “I mean, I have class now, but if you can wait till I’m done, I can.” Much better.
“Sure, I can wait, I have to get my shots anyway,” he said, holding up his camera.
Not paparazzi, huh? I find that hard to believe.
“Okay. I will see you after my class.”
“Can’t wait.”
I turned and headed back up the stairs and into the building.
***
After what seemed like an eternity, class had finally ended. As I rounded the corner of the building toward the benches, there sat a perfectly proportioned man, typing on his phone, a huge smile on his face. A dark gray T-shirt hugged his clearly worked-out arms, and the blue jeans he had on were just tight enough to not look girly.
“Hey, are you ready to head out?” I called as I walked over toward him.
Quickly putting his phone in his ratty old backpack, he looked over at me and stood to meet me halfway. “Yeah, where would you like to go?” he asked.
“There’s a nice little café right off campus.” I suggested this place because I knew it like the back of my hand. I had spent many a night cozying up with a book there. So just in case this guy was a psycho, I’d have home field advantage, plus I knew everyone that worked there.
“Sounds great, lead the way,” he said, holding his arm out.
We got our drinks, which Simon very kindly paid for, and sat down in a cozy love seat at the back of the café.
“So,” I said, taking a sip of my tea and placing it on the table next to me.
“So,” he said back, a smile turning his lips up.
Déjà-vu much? “So, you are with the paparazzi?” I asked, getting straight to it.
“No,” he said, sounding nervous, which clearly meant yes to me. “It’s complicated,” he continued.
“Try me,” I said, taking another sip of my drink.
“Well, I work for celebrities and businesses. They contract me out to get good pictures of them and their businesses.”
So he was using me. I should have guessed and he was probably using me now.
“Okay. Well, thanks for the coffee. I think it’s best to just, ya know, move on.” I stood from the couch, but didn’t move as his hand held on to mine.
“Where are you going?” he asked, almost nervously.
“I get it, Simon, you just needed an ‘in’ to get pictures of my brothers or Spencer Salvatore. I’m not going to give you the chance to do that again.”
Letting go of my arm, he stood, blocking my exit. “Elizabeth, please, I want to get to know you. Just give me a chance to prove myself.”
I kept my eyes locked on his. Maybe I should just give him the chance he’s asking for. What’s the worst that could happen?
“Fine,” I said, sitting back down and looking up at him. “Tell me about yourself.”
I l
earned the essentials quickly--twenty-seven, only child, from California, and was an aspiring photographer. He told me he traveled a lot for his job, but he was contracted to the DC area until further notice. He didn’t go in to too much detail, but he reassured me he was not the crazy, chasing paparazzi that I despised. He worked for a company who hired photographers to go out to events to help with good publicity. I guess I have to take his word for it--until I get home and research it, thoroughly.
He waited for me to start talking about myself. I hesitated, of course. The past wasn’t something I liked to talk about with strangers, or anyone, so I tried to keep it light. “Well, I have two older brothers, Teddy and Charles. I’m twenty-three. I was born and raised in New York, and I came here five years ago to go to college. Not that exciting,” I said, reaching for my drink.
“Five years? You on the long term college plan?” he asked, chuckling.
I couldn’t help but smile. Damn, he’s charming. “Ha, very funny! No, I had to take some time off to deal with some family issues.”
“Oh, right, ‘family issues.’ That’s what they’re calling it. Give it up. Were you backpacking through Europe or were you spending all your time partying?” he said cockily.
I hit his shoulder, almost hurting my hand. Fuck, this man is ripped. “I wish I was backpacking in Europe. My grandfather passed away and we were really close. I just needed time off before getting back on track.”
Simon froze, looking at me as if thoroughly embarrassed. “Elizabeth, I’m so sorry--I didn’t--”
“It’s okay, really.” I knew he felt bad and I knew it was not really appropriate, but it was funny to see him taken off guard.
Hearing a buzzing sound from his bag, he bent down and pulled his phone out. Sending a quick message, he placed it back as fast as he took it out.
“Who was that?” I can’t help it. My mind instantly goes to a dark place, probably a girlfriend.
“No one important.”
Damn, he’s good and that smile is contagious.
Our conversation then led to movies and music. Come to find out, we had a lot more in common than I thought imaginable. He was slowly captivating me, although my wall was still very securely up. There were times in the conversation when I could see him holding back, as if he was reeling in his personality, or trying to keep it business-like. It was weird, but he was hot, and I was a sucker for eye candy.
Standing up suddenly, he stretched his arms over his head and leaned to either side. His shirt rose when his arms did, and a sliver of flesh peeked out beneath. Oh my God! Look at the floor, Beth. Look. At. The. Floor. Before you embarrass yourself. Too late.
I could feel him smiling at me, as if he knew exactly what he was doing.
I wasn’t going to let him win that easily. He didn’t need to know that I was drooling on the inside. “Wow, didn’t realize I was boring you,” I said before he quickly looked down at me.
“Oh, you could never bore me, but my ass was starting to fall asleep from sitting and staring at you.”
Well, my cheeks are officially red.
“You’re blushing. You don’t get compliments often do you?”
How embarrassing.
“Shut-up!” I said, hitting his arm.
“Well, you better get used to the compliments, because I’m going to be making a lot of them from now on.”
Hold on a minute, time out. Did he just say that--to me? I scanned the room, expecting a camera crew to jump out. When no one in the café moved, I looked back up at his smiling face.
“Elizabeth, can I have your number?” he asked with a wicked grin.
“All right, I’ll give you my number, but you have to promise me that you’re not going to make me fall in love with you and then break my heart.” I said it as a joke but the look on Simon’s face had me worried. The smile left his eyes as he looked over at me. “I’m kidding,” I said, nudging him. “I’m not going to fall in love with you.”
“Don’t be too sure about that,” he said, chuckling back at me.
I checked the time on my phone as we exchanged numbers. Holy crap! We had been talking for nearly four hours.
“Well, I better get going. Photo ops await,” he said, finally breaking the silence.
“Yeah, I have to get ready for my next class.” I held on to my book a little tighter as he leaned down to kiss my cheek farewell.
“See ya around, Elizabeth,” he said, before turning from me.
I hung there, momentarily dazed that my morning had gone so drastically different than I ever expected.
***
I sat in class, staring at my un-open books, with the biggest smile on my face. Nothing could take it away.
Except for the jerk next to me.
“Are you going to get that?” he groaned.
I looked over to him, my smile replaced with a thin line. “What are you talking about?” I snapped back.
“Your phone has been going off for the past five minutes, and I can’t concentrate with the annoying buzzing in my ear.”
I narrowed my eyes at him and reached down for my bag which was on the floor between us. I finally found my phone at the bottom of the black hole I called my purse. Two missed calls and two new texts. I hit the little envelope and saw that it was Simon who sent the messages. My grin returned as I read the first one.
Just making sure you didn’t give me a bogus number J
I quickly read the next one.
I really enjoyed our morning 2gether. can’t wait 2 see u again soon! ;)
This class could not end too soon. I had too much to tell Gia. I felt like a giddy little school girl waiting for the bell to chime. I’ve been giddy a lot lately. Weird.
Chapter 5
Gia and I sat on the couch while I gushed about Simon. This was so surreal. It was usually the other way around.
“Wow, he sounds great! I mean for what you know about him,” Gia said warily.
“I know what you mean. He does seem too good to be true, for me at least.”
“Don’t sell yourself short like that. I hate it when you do that,” Gia said.
God love her, she tried her hardest to make me feel better.
She talked over her shoulder while she headed toward her bedroom to grab her laptop. “Did he say anything about the other notes?” she asked, yelling from down the hall.
“No, he didn’t mention it, but I never asked him about them either.”
“I can’t stand this damn thing. It’s frozen again. Can I use yours for now?” she asked.
I could hear her slamming her laptop shut over and over again.
“Yeah, it’s on my desk. It should be fully charged.”
“Great! I’ll be right back,” she called from the hallway.
What the hell is taking so long? She’s blonde but I don’t think unplugging a laptop is rocket science.
“Oh my God, Elizabeth Monroe! Why the hell didn’t you tell me that your picture was on Fame?”
Oh, crap. I hadn’t turned on my computer since I saw the pictures of Spencer and me.
Gia was standing in front of me, shoving the computer in my face, as if I hadn’t already seen them.
“I was going to tell you, I just got side tracked,” I said, sinking onto the couch.
“Yeah, you got side tracked all right, reading a freaking book! You didn’t feel the need to tell your best friend that The Spencer Salvatore is ‘smitten’ with you?”
Geez, you would have thought that I’d gotten married in an Elvis chapel and didn’t invite her. I stood up, grabbed the computer from her, and quickly closed down the web page.
She sighed. “If you want my opinion, Salvatore’s the way to go. I mean he’s hot, rich, a gentleman. Did I already say hot?” A dreamy look washed across her face as she stared off, in another world.
“I don’t think so, Gia. He’s not my type,” I said, shaking my head.
“Not your type. So your type doesn’t involve hot, hot, and filthy dirty hot?” she
said snidely, crossing her arms and tilting her head at me.
“Yeah, pretty much. Let’s get real, Gia. I’m not his type.”
I will not feel bad for myself over a man that I only said three words to in my life. I need to focus on other things.
“Are you kidding me? Beth you’re gorgeous, I’d kill to have those curves,” she said, looking me up and down as if I was a steak dinner and she hadn’t eaten in months.
I ran my hands over my hips and shook my head fiercely.
“Don’t you do that--don’t start picking yourself apart.” She eyed me up and I knew what was coming next. “If you’d come out more than once a year with me, you’d realize how hot you are. You always say your brothers got the good genes but they didn’t, you did!”
“I appreciate that Gia, and I know that you’re trying to be a nice friend but--”
“But what! If you wanted to, you could be the next Kate Upton.”
I rolled my eyes at that similarity because it was absolutely absurd.
“I’m serious, stick some of your long, golden, obnoxiously perfect hair, that takes me hours to even come close to, on her head and she’d look just like you.”
“Even if that was true, it doesn’t change the fact that Spencer Salvatore is way out of my league, if I even had a league--which I might. I’ll be right back.” I headed to my room, pulled out my cell phone, and finally sent Simon a message back.
Nope this is not a bogus #. u didn’t trust me? My feelings r hurt.
Not five minutes after I sent the message and nodded in false agreement with Gia to get her off my back, my phone started buzzing on my desk. Jumping at the sound of it, I picked my phone up and scrolled to the new message.
I think I can trust you, but I know how you girls can be. when r u free? Id like 2 take u 2 dinner.
I was actually bouncing up and down in my chair. I could only imagine what that sight would have looked like. Luckily, the curtains were drawn and the door was locked.
Four messages later, we decided to go out Thursday night. Now I just had to get through two and a half days until I got to see if Simon could potentially be the man of my dreams. Well, one of them at least.