On her way downstairs, irritation danced in her nerves.She never had visitors unless she requested them. So why this sudden person came to see her today out of all days and what's worse is that it's the very same time she about to have heated sex.When Josephine reached the door she unlocked it and pulled it open.Her heart dropped when she saw Zariah standing in-front of her apartment. Zariah is wearing a black tank top and green cargos with black heels. Her braids I tied up into a high bun. "Hey." She says.Josephine swallows hard. What is she doing here? Wasn't she mad at Josephine like three-four weeks ago. It was shocking to Josephine to find Zariah and what's worse is that Elijah is upstairs.Zariah's eyes narrowed as she stared at Josephine in confusion. "Why do you have dry clay smudged all over your body?" She questioned.Vivid memories from the pottery room invaded Josephine's mind. Heat rushed to her cheeks as she thought of Elijah's hands trailing up her body.Josephin
Josephine entered her apartment with a closed-up expression. She found Elijah sitting on the couch as he was lost deep in thought.Josephine slowly approached him, each step she took her heartbeat quickened by a mere second."You didn't tell me your ex was coming over." Elijah lets out. His head tilted to the side as his hands are clasped together like clips.Josephine paused.Of course, Zariah told him.Was it wrong that Josephine never wanted him to know about her and Zariah? Yes, they were a thing in the past but that is past and Josephine would always keep it behind her. Good or bad.One of the reasons why she did not want Elijah to know about Zariah is that she is scared of chasing him away. She does not want to admit it but it's true.Josephine liking girls is one of the things she is not that comfortable with telling Elijah but now it is too late."I did not know she would be paying me a little visit." Josephine answers.Josephine throws herself onto the couch, her head thrown
Her eyes drifted to his, and it was over.His lips caught hers in a hard kiss, driving them apart with the force of it. There was nothing gentle about it. They fell on the couch in a tangled mess of wandering limbs, their lips never leaving each other. Elijah lifted Josephine's shirt over her head, tossing it across the room and her chest was exposed, he gasped and his eyes darkened in lust towards Josephine.When his mouth closed over hers once again she moaned. The sound was soft just like the feel of her lips against his. Everything about her was soft.Her curves are pressed against his chest, Her delicate soft hands exploring his body. Her mouth captured him in a gentle insistence, allowing him in.He lost himself in her. He drowned in her sweet softness. The slight scent of her perfume mixed with lavender, that now-familiar hint of raspberries that made her taste sweet and nostalgic. Like she single-handedly embodied everything about sweetness.The sound of a phone ringing hummed
Josephine giggled as Elijah picked her up, throwing her over his shoulder, her bare ass exposed to the public but luckily the parking lot was empty. Elijah's car beeps as he gets closer to the car, opening the passenger door he gently placed Josephine on the passenger seat and buckled her up. "Where are we going?" Josephine questions, excitement gleaming into her light jade eyes. Elijah places a kiss on her forehead, tucking a strand of her golden hair behind her ear then says. "It's a surprise." He shuts the door and rounds the car, opening the door he enters before shutting the car door again. He pushes the start button then the engine roars to life. Turning to face Josephine, a goofy smile spreads across his face before pulling out the parking lot and onto the busy night streets. It's alive. The kaleidoscope of shimmering lights flicker in the distance as the starry sky sweeps over the city that never sleeps.After their moment in Josephine's apartment, Elijah told Josephine that
Have you ever been so wildly attracted to someone you can actually feel it driving you insane?That's the way Josephine can describe her attraction towards Elijah.Her soul was starving to be understood and simply one day a man walking freely through her doors said. "I get you, what you think are flaws is what makes you beautiful." Josephine doesn't have an explanation on how Elijah just pulls her in. He just does. His always had a gravity that she's never been able to overcome.The City night is alive. The shimmering of lights flicker in the distance as the starry sky sweeps over the city that never sleeps.Hazy clouds envelope the moon so it was in its own realm of perpetual darkness.The wet, desolate streets of the city rested in silence as the starry black sky wept over it. The small, green trees on the cliff side swayed as the strong breeze hit them."The view is beautiful." Josephine gapes, admiring the city night view. Elijah appears behind her wrapping his hand around her wa
Josephine shuts the door behind her as Elizabeth takes a seat, placing her bag on top of her lap as she awaited for Josephine. Her mind was racing with all sorts of questions. The room was closing in and with each passing heart beat she was close to loosing her mind. Josephine walk over to her desk, talking a seat as she nervously chewed the inside of her cheek and rapidly tapped her left foot. "So, what do you want to talk about that involves Elijah?" She questions, her voice flat as she kept her cool but on the inside her stomach was twisting with nervousness.Elizabeth straightens her posture."Elijah and I have been talking about you last night." She proclaimed, a seconds pass but it seemed like hours. Josephine's hand squeezed into a fist under the table. "And since our wedding is approaching soon, we thought it would be kind enough to invite you for dinner tonight. That is if you're free." She explains and all the heavy weight lifted of Josephine's shoulders. She thought Eli
"Josephine I really am thankful for you joining us for dinner." Elizabeth shrieks with excitement, "Don't mention it. I should be thanking you guys. I haven't been out in ages." Josephine lies as she meets Elijah's gaze before slicing them back to Elizabeth. Elizabeth's smile brightens. "You should take my advice by removing those." Jonathan cuts in, Josephine turns to face him, her eyes narrowed in confusion. "Remove what?" She questions. Jonathan gestures his head to Elijah. "His tattoos. Wanna be bad boy." He mumbles the last part to himself. Elijah scoffs. "You're still holding a grudge against my tattoos." Josephine's brows shot up, showing interest to the conversation between the two brothers. "Grudge about what?" She questions. "These tattoos would take away all his dates and girlfriends when we where teenagers." He explains as he takes a sip of his virgin cocktail. Elizabeth slaps him on the arm, her lips pouty on the mention on how he got a lot of attention as a teenager
"He should go fuck himself." Josephine chuckles lightly snuggling comfortably on the couch, as a reality shows plays on the tv. The volume is lowered so you can't make out what they're saying but the subtitles are on. Ari shakes her head in disbelief after Josephine explained how the dinner went down. Josephine doesn't know why but as soon as Ari opened her door in pj's Josephine burst into tears and threw herself onto Ari. She might not admit it out loud. But she was deeply hurt considering the fact that he claimed that she would be the last person he wanted to hurt. "But you did say things would turn out ugly and one us will get hurt if we don't speak out our true feelings." Josephine asserts, turning to face Ari. Her short hair is tied up into a small cute ponytail, her skin is pale as a hint of blush blooms on her cheeks and her red lips frowning, as she stared back at Josephine with her brown eyes. Fluttering her eyes under her long lashes. "I did." She whispered a hint of
I’m so done for.The way I feel about Adam, after knowing him for such a short amountof time, can’t be good for me. I mean, it feels good, but it’s definitely dangerous.We’ve been seeing each other for a few weeks now, and I’m smitten, totally smitten. I’m a smitten kitten. And clearly a massive geek.We’re at the beach. It’s early morning, and I have to be at work in a few hours. But we’re all here this morning, surfing at the beach just outside Adam’s house. Max is out there with Grady, Base, Tad, and Paige. Adam and I quit surfing a while ago. We’re sitting up on my rock, and I’m sketching a picture of them all surfing.Adam is here, with me. He’s wrapped around me from behind, his chin resting on my shoulder, while he watches me draw.His lips skim over my shoulder, and his teeth graze my skin, making me shiver. His fingers trace over the skin on my stomach where they’ve made their way under the hem of my tank top.We haven’t done anything more than kiss.He knows I’m a virgin.
Pulling my black, skin-tight, off-the-shoulder dress out of mycloset, I bit my lip. It was sexy yet elegant, even with the thigh slit, and I loved it. But I’d never worn anything like this before in front of Dane, my boss. It would feel weird.My gaze flicked to the more formal dress further along the closet rail, but then I remembered what Dane had said to me yesterday before I left o-Verve ...Don’t dress as my PA. Wear what you’d wear to go on a date, not what you’d wear to go to a business dinner.I looked back at the black dress I was holding and gave it a firm nod. Yes, this would do. I’d throw on a light layer of makeup, add some jewelry, maybe curl the ends of my hair and leave it down. First, I needed to shower.Blowing out a breath, I put a hand to my fluttering stomach. First dates were always nerve-wracking. But this wasn’t a real date, so I technically had no need to feel nervous. There was no pressure to impress, no worry that this might end up being a waste of my time,
Later that day, I parked in the lot outside my apartment buildingand switched off the engine. It wasn’t a very well-lit parking area, so I was glad that dusk hadn’t yet completely fallen. There were many times I’d needed to stay late at the office to help Dane with one thing or another, so I often didn’t make it home until it was super dark.Slipping out of my car, I locked it with the remote fob and then dug the can of pepper spray out of my bag. It was only a short walk to my building, but a girl could never be too careful.Crossing the crack-ridden pavement, I glanced around. There was no one hovering about. All I could hear were my heels clacking on the ground and the sounds of street traffic.Reaching the footpath that led to the main entrance, I neatly sidestepped the cans, wrappers, and crinkled flyers that littered the ground near the overflowing trash can.I could afford to live in a nicer neighborhood, I just preferred being near my family. Especially my father, Simon.Insi
Stopping at my desk, Hanna regarded me warily. “Uh-oh, youreyelid’s twitching. What’s wrong? Did someone mistake you for the model on the Syphilis Awareness billboard again?”I narrowed my eyes at my friend and coworker. “No. And I don’t look anything like her.” We’d had this conversation already. But Hanna liked to poke at me in that way that only one of your closest friends would.“You have the same pale blue eyes and high cheekbones. Her hair isn’t exactly the same platinum blonde shade as yours, but it’s close.”People always assumed my hair color came straight out of a bottle. In truth, I’d inherited it from my half-Swedish grandmother.“But she doesn’t have your blunt bangs or Jessica Alba-mouth,” Hanna went on because, yeah, she was a pain in my ass when bored.“Can we not talk about the model who looks nothing like me, please?”“Of course.”“Great. If you’ve come to speak to Dane, he’s not yet back from his lunch meeting, but he shouldn’t be much longer.”“I came to check on
Entering the water, I paddle out on my board, pushing through the waves. Paddling out farther, I need big waves.I need to surf Evie out of my head.I need the peace that only being out here can give me.It’s been five days since our talk. I haven’t spoken to her since. I havecaught glimpses of her on my way back in and out of the hotel as I pass by the coffee shop, but I’ve avoided going in there.I’ve had to go to Starbucks. So, now, I’ve lost my decent fucking coffee as well.I’ve been staying away from her for many reasons, and it’s not just the fact that she broke my heart. Seeing her again has screwed me up so much.I knew I wasn’t over her—I’d have to be stupid to ever think I was—but I didn’t realize how badly I’d want her again. The urge to touch her and taste her was overwhelming. Just breathing the same air as her was fucking killing me.Standing there, staring at her, I was eighteen all over again.From the moment I’d seen Evie sitting up on that rock eleven years ago, I’
My alarm is going off with an annoying insistence. On a groan, I reach over and slam my hand on it, turning it off.Time for work.Ugh.Summer has only just begun, and I’ve worked the last seven daysstraight as a favor for Grady. I can’t wait for tomorrow when I can sleep in. I’m only doing the overtime because Grady is the best boss ever—a retired pro surfer, and the Shack is his life—and he asked me because we’reshort-staffed at the moment. I’m also doing it because I need the money. Paige, who works part-time in the shop with Base and me, has been on vacation. And Tad, who does the surf lessons with Grady, has been out sick with the flu. So, Grady has been pulling Base out of the shop to help with the surf lessons. So, I’ve been manning the shop alone. But Tad and Paigewill be back tomorrow, so I’ll get the day off. Yay!For tomorrow, I was thinking, once I drag my ass out of bed, that I mightactually spend the day at the beach and lie out in the sun, read a book, swim, and may
My hands are shaking. They’ve been shaking pretty much all day. Every time I think about Adam, the shakes start. How I haven’t managed to break a cup, I’m not sure.He looks the same yet different. He looks hardened to the world. The light that used to live in his eyes has dulled. But he’s still as handsome as ever, if not even more so with age.Adam never looked like a boy. He was always very much a man, even at eighteen. But now, he’s reached his full potential. He seems even bigger somehow.Or maybe it was just his anger that made him seem bigger, more imposing.All that anger, and it was reserved solely for me.The guy I left behind all those years ago was not the man I saw today.I have to wonder if I’m to blame for that.I glance at the clock. Five minutes until the end of my shift. Fiveminutes until Adam is here, and he wants his answers.Answers I can’t give him.So, I’m going to have to lie, something I never wanted to do.I thought there was a slim possibility that I might
She’s here again—rock girl. She’s sitting up on that same big rock, a hundred yards away from my beach house, where she sits every day. Hence, the nickname, Rock Girl.God, I’m lame.With her sketchpad resting against her bent knees, her eyes are fixed on the paper like her life depends on it while her hand freely moves the pencil over the paper, drawing...I have no clue.I wish I did.I mean, I could take a wild guess and say she’s drawing the scenery—the pier, beach, sand, sky. There’s plenty of shit like that here in Malibu. But still, I want to know exactly what she’s drawing that has her so enraptured.Like, I really want to know.I’ve been watching Rock Girl for a week now.I saw her on the first day when Max and I arrived at the beach house,which will be my home for the next year. This will be my year of freedom before I have to go to Harvard, and then once I graduate, it is on to work for my father to learn the family business.Can’t wait. I have to stop myself from rolling m
Half an hour later, I’m showered and dressed for work in a suit and tie. I hate ties, but as the head of Gunner Entertainment, I have to look the part.I head into the living room of the bungalow I call home five days a week. There’s no sign of the blonde, except for the lingering strong scent of perfume.Thank God.I live in a rented bungalow at The Beverly Hills Hotel. I could get an apartment, but I can’t bring myself to put down roots here. Even though I grew up in Beverly Hills, it’s never felt like home. Home is in Malibu where my beach house is. It’s the house that Max and I rented for our year off before we headed to college. It’s the place where I met Evie and where I spent the best year of my life with her—before she left me, and my world came crashing down.The minute I graduated from Harvard and started working for my father, I was granted access to my trust fund. The first thing I did with that money was go straight to Malibu, and I offered a stupid amount of money to th