“I know that.Logically.”I picked at a piece of cheese.“But sometimes I wonder if there’s something wrong with me.All my friends have already… you know.And here I am, twenty years old, and the thought of it just…” I trailed off, not sure how to explain the knot that formed in my stomach whenever Joe’s hands wandered too far.
“There’s nothing wrong with you, Lena.”Sophie reached over and squeezed my hand.“Some people need to feel safe first.Need to trust someone completely.That’s not a flaw.That’s wisdom.”
“What if I never feel that way about anyone?”
Sophie laughed softly.“Oh, honey.When the right person comes along, you’ll know.Your whole body will know.It won’t feel like pressure or obligation.It’ll feel like a question you can’t wait to answer.”
I wasn’t sure I believed her, but I wanted to.
“You don’t have to do anything unless you’re sure.If he loves you, he’ll wait.”She pointed a fry at me.“Remember, you hold the power here.Who knows?Maybe you’ll meet some other guy at that fancy school.Plenty of rich fish in the sea.”
I felt my cheeks warm.Sophie knew I was a virgin.I’d thought I wanted Joe to be my first, but now that time was running out, I was getting cold feet.
Not for the first time, I wished I could be as strong and sure of my convictions as Sophie.Her fiery red hair, threaded with silver at the temples, was pinned up in an elegant French twist.People often mistook her for being in her thirties, but she’d confessed to me once that she was closer to fifty.Good genes and better skincare, she’d said with a wink.Next to her effortless elegance, I felt like an unkempt schoolgirl.
We finished our fries, leaving not even a bit of cheese on the plate.Despite wanting to stay for the latest gossip she’d heard from her clients, I left Sophie so she could prepare for her next appointment.
While I waited for the elevator, I pulled out my phone and checked for missed messages.
Joe had been running hot and cold lately.Another glacial phase, apparently.Our relationship was like the Titanic, approaching a hidden iceberg.Or maybe it had already crashed, and we were sinking into frigid depths.
The only text was from Clara, my cousin and best friend.
Sorry I missed your birthday.:(We closed the deal ahead of schedule so I’ll be back from Paris soon.Let me know when you’re free, and I’ll throw you a belated birthday party!
A shout came from the direction of my father’s office.Then something that sounded like glass shattering.I put away my phone, all thoughts of my birthday pushed aside.
More angry shouting.I recognized my father’s voice, but not the male voice that responded.
I crept toward the office, stepping gently so they wouldn’t hear my approach.Once I was close enough, I pressed my ear to the door and held my breath.
“Nothing you say will change my mind,” my father said.
“You will regret this, Hughes.”The stranger’s voice was calm.Cool.But something underneath made my skin prickle.A dangerous promise wrapped in silk.
The door flew open.
I jumped back just in time to avoid falling on my face.My father stepped out, and panic swept across his features when he saw me.
“Lena, darling!What are you doing here?”
I hugged him and gave him a peck on the cheek.I noticed the stress lines on his forehead and at the corners of his eyes.My father looked old.Frail.
“I was bored, so I came down to talk to Sophie.”
A tall man with dark hair stepped out of the office behind my father.
He went completely still when he saw me.Not the stillness of surprise.The stillness of a predator sighting prey.No fidgeting, no shifting weight.Just absolute, unnatural motionlessness.Even his chest didn’t seem to move with breath.
His eyes found mine.For a split second, something surfaced in their depths.A flash of gold, gone so fast I must have imagined it.A trick of the hallway lighting.
Predatory intensity radiated from the way he looked at me.His towering figure seemed to fill the hallway, to swallow the air around him.Every instinct in my body screamed at me to step back, so I did.
He noticed.The corner of his mouth twitched.Not quite a smile.More like a wolf watching a rabbit freeze.
“Lena, this is Raphael Antonov, a business associate.”
His nostrils flared slightly as he breathed in.Assessing me?Dismissing me?Something about it felt oddly intimate, like he was taking in more than just air.Like he was cataloging my scent, filing it away for future reference.
