The question keeps repeating in my mind. I head back inside and look for Reese. We’ve known each other since high school, and she’s going to give me answers.
It doesn’t take long for me to find her. She’s standing with Trevor talking about ‘how totally insane that was.’
“What was her name?” I bark. She jumps slightly, and I take a breath. I need to calm down.
“Bro, you just laid Brad out!” Trevor laughs, dapping me up like he always likes to do. I force a smile but keep my eyes on Reese. I need an answer to my question. I’m teetering on the edge of control. What is happening to me?
“Your friend’s name,” I repeat slowly. “What was it?”
“Evie,” she says slowly. “And it’s nice to see youtoo, Dawson.”
My whole body is screaming at me to race outside and chase Evie down. But that’s not going to work on her. Not on a girl with such innocent eyes that looked at me like a fawn.
No, I need to take things slowly with her. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to stop looking.
I’m going to find her.
And when I do…
…she’ll realize that she belongs to me.
4
EVIE
Two days…
It’s been two days since I met eyes with…him. I don’t even know his name, and I still can’t stop replaying that moment over and over in my mind. The intensity. The strength. The confidence. It’s been fueling the fire within me as my sessions with Charles have increased. Significantly.
I can barely find a moment in the day to get my work done without being distracted and reaching for his drawer. I was in the middle of drafting up some graphics for some social media ads when I thought of the moment he threw Brad on the floor and stood there like my protector, causing my body to go hot.
Consumed, I threw myself onto the bed, stuffed Charles down my pants, and closed my eyes. Then came four of the most intense orgasms I’ve ever experienced in my life.
But after that? Hollowness. A vacuum. A feeling of longing that I have not been able to shake.
Who is he? Some kind of superhero?
I’m desperate to know, but I’m also terrified. I’m dying for him, and I’ve never even kissed a guy. The closest I came waswhen I almost pressed my lips against Tyrese Wilson’s in the back of his mom’s shed for a dare when I was seven.
Even then, I chickened out and ran home crying.
Just like I did two nights ago at the party.
Knowing I won’t be able to work at home, I pack my things and go to my favorite coffee shop. My quiet table in the corner is free, so I order a latte and take a seat. Air pods in, walls around me, I feel safe. Charles isn’t here to distract me, and maybe, just maybe, if I focus hard enough, I will be able to gethimout of my mind.
But about ten minutes later, I hear the chimes signaling the front door opening. Casually, I glance up from my work, expecting to see another college student or a local hipster enter, but when my eyes land on the man stepping in, I completely freeze.
My stomach flips, and every muscle in my body goes tense as his scent enters my nostrils. A godly aroma of pure masculinity that nearly levels me.
Part of me wants to scream. Part of me wants to throw up. But I’m also tingling all over.
It’s him…
But it can’t be. It’s impossible. How could he have found me?
Reese, of course. Duh. I’ll kill her. She’s been trying to set me up with a guy for years now. I guess she saw a juicy opportunity and took it.
As he walks toward me, it’s like the whole world stops moving…
