Magnetic (New Adult Contemporary Romance)

by Bray, Ayr

  “Samantha, I am not sure what happened when you came back from the bathroom, or whatever, but I had a really enjoyable time, up to then. I would like to see you again, but I’m getting the vibe that you don’t want anything to do with me. Am I right?”

  She didn’t answer, but shrugged her shoulders in an indifferent I don’t know motion.

  Darren was upset, he couldn’t get her out of his head since they met today, everything had been so perfect all day, then bam she goes to the bathroom and doesn’t want anything to do with him. Women are so fickle, he thought as he turned around, ready to walk down her stairs. “Look, I can’t fix what you won’t tell me.” Darren turned and ran down the stairs, retreating to his jeep as fast as he could.

  Firing up the engine he backed down her driveway. He stopped when he looked at her seat and saw the flowers. “Damn,” he said as he looked back and forth between the flowers and her lighted windows. He could see Samantha pacing inside, her hand continually raising to her cheek and wiping away errant tears.

  “What the hell?” he questioned. Taking the jeep out of reverse and driving back up the driveway he got out and slowly walked back up the stairs to her apartment. Hesitantly he raised his hand and knocked at her door. She didn’t respond at first, and he knocked again. Shyly she answered the door, a handful of tissues wadded in her left hand, and her eyes red and puffy from the tears she was already shedding.

  “Hey, we need to talk, can I come in?” Darren asked, holding up the flowers as a sort of peace offering.

  “No, it’s late, why don’t you just call me sometime.” Samantha stood against the doorframe, her arms crossed in front of her.

  “That’s way to convenient, at this rate you will never accept a call from me. C’mon, a man deserves to know why a date that was going so well turned sour in the course of five minutes. What the hell Samantha, one minute we are in lover’s paradise, having the most incredible date of our lives and the next, you won’t even look at me.”

  She didn’t say a word, she just looked at the floor in silence. Darren became frustrated, unsure what to do next, but willing to try almost anything. They had the most incredible connection, something he had never felt before, he would do almost anything to get it back. “Seriously, you’re not going to tell me anything? Can I at least come in and try to talk to you?”

  Samantha didn’t say anything, she just stood there looking at him, contemplating.

  “For the sake of bugs.”

  “Bugs, what? What are you talking about?” Finally, she made eye contact with him.

  “Standing around with the door open is attracting all the bugs. It’s dark out, and we have the light on.” He pointed to the light above their heads that was swarming with little bugs.

  “I can’t believe I am falling for such a lame excuse as bugs, but I know you’re right.” She swatted at a fly that buzzed around her face and let him in, taking the flowers from him and placing them in a pitcher full of water. She wished she had a pretty vase, but the pitcher was all there was.

  He slipped off his jacket and laid it across the arm of the couch as he sat down. He leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees as his thumbs massaged his temples. His hair fell forward, and as she walked over to sit at the other end of the couch Samantha longed to run her fingers through it. Despite everything, she was still drawn to him by an invisible fascination that she could hardly resist.

  Samantha unzipped her leather boots and kicked them off. They landed across the narrow room underneath the window. Darren looked up to see her feet, covered with thick wool socks, tuck up under her. She still wore her oversized sweater, but she started to remove her jewelry and set it on the desk at her end of the couch. Neither of them said a word, but Darren just watched her. Seeing her in the comfort of her own apartment, performing such a simple task as removing jewelry was something he had never watched a woman do before.

  “Darren, I know we had a great time tonight, but I just don’t think it’s meant to be.”

  “What are you talking about? I know you felt what I did, how can you just give that up? I know we only met today, but I’ve never felt with anyone what I feel with you.”

  “Not even Melissa?” Jealous women are never rational, and Samantha’s jealousy was at the peak of the mountain. She’d been jealous the moment Melissa had walked up to their table, but it was nothing to the bitterness that she felt once Melissa had accosted her in the women’s bathroom.

  “Melissa? What?”

  “Oh come on Darren, fess up. I’m just one in a long line of unsuspecting women that you meet and prey upon just to get your sexual fix.”

  “Sexual fix? What are you talking about?”

  “Yeah, well Melissa told me all about you.”

  “She did, when?”

  “When I went to the bathroom.”

  Things were beginning to make a little more sense to Darren, though he was wracking his brain trying to figure out what the bitter hag had said. He couldn’t think of a single truthful thing that she could accuse him of.

  “I have no idea what you mean when you say sexual fix, but I can tell you about Melissa. Will you listen?”

  Samantha nodded her head, and Darren began to explain his connection to Melissa. “Melissa was the high-school lover of my freshman roommate, Jared. She spent hours at our apartment. I even wondered at one point if it would be better if I moved out so that she could move in. Initially she only came around when Jared was home, but then she began to stop by whenever the urge struck her. I tried to avoid her, but it seemed the more I avoided her, the more our paths crossed. One weekend Jared went home because his mom was sick and his father had to go on a business trip. His task was to care for his younger siblings; anyways Melissa was in my apartment when I came home from a party. There she was lying on my bed with some skimpy red lingerie. The truth is, I rejected her, and she’s hated me ever since.”

  “Even if all of that is true, it doesn’t refute her accusations against you.” Samantha eyed him, she wanted to believe his story, but there were too many other elements that she couldn’t let drop.

  “Accusations, what does she have to accuse me of?”

  “Being a player, more-or-less.”

  “More-or-less, how so?”

  “Well for one, she said that Lowell’s is where you take all women on your first dates.”

  “Not all, but I do take those that I have a particular interest in there.”

  “See, how would she know that?” Samantha was sure she’d just tangled him into a web and soon he wouldn’t be able to lie his way out.

  “Really? Think about it Samantha. She was my roommate’s girlfriend. She was around to hear about each and every date I went on my freshman year. I took at least three women to the restaurant. It’s not hard to conclude that I like to eat there.”

  “What about your grandfather?”

  “What about him?”

  “Melissa said that you use the same old story to con all of your women. Try to convince them that you have a sensitive side before …” She trailed off.

  “Before what?” Darren was trying to keep control of his anger, but he was beginning to fail.

  “Before … you know.”

  “No, apparently I do not know.”

  “Use them to get your sexual fix.” Samantha blushed as she spoke the words, but she could see Darren’s anger rise.

  “My God and you believed her. I thought you were smarter than that.”

  “How would you know how smart I am? We’ve barely known each other half a day. How am I supposed to know who, or what you are?” He looked over to her. She sat with her hands clasped in her lap, the fury in her eyes piercing him.

  “Why I’ll be damned, here I thought fate just handed me the woman of my dreams. Someone whom I could love and who may love me in return and what do I get instead? Some skittish little girl who thinks I’m a sex crazed maniac. Well I don’t need this shit.” Darren grabbed his jacket off the arm of the chair and
started walking towards the door. He was angry and unable to listen to anything else, but he still heard her when she whispered, “I don’t believe in fate.”

  Part of him ached at her admission to not believing in fate. He thought all women believed in fate, in love at first sight. His sister was always spouting some nonsense that someday she would meet the man that she was destined from birth to be with. That she would see him across a crowded room, and know that he was her undying love. Darren had always hoped she was right, but honestly, until this morning, until he had met Samantha, he doubted that love worked that way. Samantha had changed that though, he had begun to believe his sisters fanciful notions, but no, he had been right after all. Fate, love at first sight, those things didn’t happen in real life. He opened her door and before walking out threw back over his shoulder, “Welcome to college sweetheart. Just remember, there are bitter ex-girlfriends for almost every man on campus, funny thing is, Melissa’s not even an ex-girlfriend, just a crossed wannabe lover. You better grow up and learn to use that pretty little head of your's or you’re going to have a lonely four years.” Darren walked out the door, slamming it behind him.

  Samantha burst into tears, unable to control the ache she felt in her heart.

  CHAPTER 4

  Darren climbed into his jeep and slammed his hands upon the steering wheel, how could she believe such a base and vicious attack, his mind screamed. Firing up the engine he squealed the tires out of the driveway. He drove carelessly all the way back to his apartment, not caring if he got a ticket.

  Samantha lay in bed all night, replaying the day’s events over and over in her mind; running into Darren at the bookstore, kissing him in the Seattle parking lot, the flowers, and the dinner. In addition to it all, she couldn’t get Melissa’s accusations out of her mind. Deep down she knew they weren’t warranted, both her mind and her heart confirmed it, but she just couldn’t stop the jealousy. The thought of another woman having Darren, her Darren, was too much to handle, and as a result, she wasn’t thinking clearly. All rational thought was lost, and now so was he.

  To make it all worse, she chastised herself for thinking of him as her Darren. Sure she had felt the magnetism between them from the very start, but her mind screamed at her to grow-up and think logically. That stuff only happens in the movies, or at the very least to women who are not her.

  Lying on her bed, Samantha closed her eyes to go to sleep, but instead Darren’s eyes were staring back at her in her mind’s eye. She recalled every sensation of his kisses, the taste of his tongue as he thrust it into her mouth to drink her in. The weight of his body hard against her. Samantha shivered despite the heat that was coursing through her body. The more she tried to push him from her mind, the more the thoughts of him lingered at the edge of her consciousness. She got up and went to the bathroom to splash cold water upon her face, but nothing helped, she could still feel him against her. Her whole body shuddered at the sensation.

  Lying back upon her bed, she wrapped her body around her pillow and willed herself to sleep. She hadn’t slept long when she awoke from her first sexual fantasy dream. Her breasts ached, her thighs were tight, and her panties damp from the wetness that seeped from her most womanly place. Shaking her head to clear it, she watched the moon-lit shadows cross her walls. The more she tried to forget the more detailed her dreams became. Stretching out her full length on her bed, she could feel Darren’s hands wrap around her waist, she could feel his groin press against her. Samantha squeezed her ass and lifted her hips against his invisible power. It almost felt better. Even now, she could feel the caress of his hands at the base of her neck, the warmth of his breath upon her mouth.

  Samantha wanted to scream, she’d barely known the man twelve hours, and already she knew that if he wanted it, she would give him her virginity, no questions asked.

  The next morning when she woke, it was as if she hadn’t slept at all. The sensations of Darren’s touch, the passion of his kisses were dangerous thoughts to Samantha. If she lingered on them too long, she was unable to do anything else.

  Getting out of bed and taking a shower to clear her head was necessary. Her mind lingered on their animated conversation from the night before and the more she thought about it, the more she hated to admit that he was right. She hadn’t used her brain, she hadn’t rationally thought through a single thing. Nope, she acted foolish, like a silly high-school girl rather than the mature woman that she wanted to be. Now, as a result, she had just lost the man of her dreams.

  CHAPTER 5

  The first week of classes was hell for Samantha. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t forget Darren. She tried to reason that she had only known him one day, but that didn’t help. Her mind played tricks on her everywhere she went. She could swear she saw him coming down the sidewalk towards her, her heart raced, and her palms went sweaty, just to realize that the man wasn’t Darren, in fact, he looked nothing like him. She saw him in the library, at the student union building, even in one of her lecture halls, each time again disappointed when she looked a second time, and it wasn’t him.

  Mark Flattery, another freshman in her American History class, had noticed Samantha since the first day. He always found an available seat near, but not so close that he drew attention to himself. Although he didn’t know her, he could tell that she had recently suffered some type of loss and that she was deeply affected by it. He watched her close for a full week before making his move and approaching her.

  “Is this seat taken?” Mark asked.

  Samantha looked at the empty seat next to her, and the other fifteen nearby, slightly irritated that he would want to sit so close when there were plenty of seats scattered around the room. “Um, no it’s not taken.”

  “Great,” he said as he sat down.

  He leaned closer to her as he introduced himself. “I’m Mark, what’s your name?”

  “Samantha,” she answered.

  “Such a beautiful name, for a beautiful woman,” he crooned, raising his eyebrows and flashing a dazzling smile.

  Samantha rolled her eyes, this guy thinks he’s so smooth, she thought.

  “I’ve seen you in class each day, but you always sit by yourself. What’s up with that?” he asked.

  Samantha shrugged her shoulders, “Nothing, I just don’t know anyone in this class.”

  “Well, you know me now, how about I just plan on sitting by you every day. What do you think of that?”

  “Suit yourself.” Samantha was more annoyed by his too chipper voice, than his actually wanting to sit by her. Having a friend in class wouldn’t be so bad. At least she could tell her father she’d finally made a friend. He was already threatening to visit her in Seattle. Three nights ago he had figured out that she was down about something, and ever since he hadn’t stopped calling. She was tempted to give in and tell him a man broke her heart so that he would laugh at her, tell her to get over him, and move on, but she didn’t want to hear it, she didn’t want to move on. She wanted Darren.

  She swore if she could see him again, just once, that she would make it right. She would apologize, ask his forgiveness, even beg if she had to. All she needed was one more chance.

  Samantha had tried everything to find him. Every day she looked she hated herself more for not learning his last name, for not getting his phone number, for not finding out where he lived. All she knew was that his name was Darren, he grew up in Bellingham, and he drove a green Jeep Wrangler; hardly enough information to find him. Like searching for a needle in a haystack. She had Googled his name, searched for him on Facebook; she even went to admissions and asked for his contact details. He didn’t exist on Google or Facebook, though she was unsure how he had managed that since almost everything and everyone could be found on one location or the other. Admissions wouldn’t give her his information, for all they knew she was a stalker, but it didn’t matter anyways; she didn’t even have a last name, just a first name and a hometown.

  “So, what’s your gig?”
Mark asked.

  “Gig?” she questioned.

  “Yeah, what are you majoring in? What kinds of things interest you? What do you like to eat? It’s an open-ended question that a thousand different answers will suffice. I’m just throwing it out there as a conversation starter. If you would prefer that I ask something more personal, I will.” Mark looked deep into her eyes as she stared at him with unease. “Would you go to the movies with me?” he leaned in and asked.

  Samantha leaned away from him, arching her head sideways to provide the most distance between them as possible. “What? No!”

  “Why not?” he acted hurt, but she could tell he was secretly amused.

  “Why not? Well, … because I don’t even know you.”

  “That’s why the date was invented. You see it’s common for a boy,” he sat up straight and pointed both thumbs at his chest, “to see a girl that he likes,” he then pointed both fingers at her, “and then ask her out on a date. They go out, share a pleasant time, and viola they get to know one another.”

  “I know how a date works, but I’m just not interested.”

  “So, I can assume you have a boyfriend then?”

  “No, I don’t have a boyfriend.”

  “So, I’m guessing that you prefer other women?”

  “What? No, I don’t prefer women, I prefer men.”

  “Perfect then, I am a man, and like you, I am not encumbered with a significant other.” He leaned towards her again, “Although I would like to be.”

  “Look, I’m just not interested.” Lucky for Samantha, the lecture began, and Mark sat back in his seat only slightly put off by her rejection. He would try again at Thursdays lecture.