Chapter Six
I watched her and her friend giggle out of the apartment, both dressed in fancy clothes. Aria wore a black gown that dipped low at the chest, revealing a glimpse of her cleavage.
The fabric hugged her in all the right places, accentuating her curves and contours.
The heels she walked so perfectly in made her look inches taller than she was. Her makeup was light and natural, blending seamlessly with the tone of her skin.
Her blond hair fell in effortless waves over her shoulders, and her striking blue eyes sparkled.
I should’ve stayed back at my place, being productive with my time. But here I was, stalking a twenty-two-year-old girl for reasons I’d yet to understand. The two friends had planned to go out to the club, and I thought it was a great opportunity to get involved with Aria directly.
However, I hadn’t come up with any plans yet. I wasn’t sure how to get involved, when to get involved, or what to expect from her after getting involved. I just felt the aching need to be close to her.
I watched her from the other side of the street, drinking in the curves of her body that her regular, practical jeans and oversized jackets often concealed. A cold shiver ran down my spine as my gaze followed her into the car.
Once inside, she began glancing out the window, her eyes scanning the streets like she could sense that someone was observing her. The girl was hyper-aware of her surroundings, and I liked that about her.
She looked in my direction, and from the shadows that shrouded my identity, we locked eyes. I could tell that she knew something or someone was lurking in the darkness. Perhaps she just couldn’t prove it.
It wasn’t until her friend’s voice caught her attention that she looked away, and the vehicle drove into the night.
I went after them in my black SUV, making sure that I maintained a safe distance from them. Aria was already way too sensitive and observant—I didn’t want her noticing my car behind them.
They said they were going to a club, but I traced them to the university, which was buzzing with activity at that time of evening.
The campus’s central lawn had been transformed into a sea of color.
Rows of white tents lined the pathways. Student organizations occupied booths decorated with banners and balloons.
Music blasted from a stage erected near the center of the grounds, where a local band played to a crowd of dancing students. The scent of grilled food, popcorn, and cotton candy drifted through the warm air.
Strings of lights had already been hung overhead, their golden glow draped over the space.
I parked by the curb and looked out the window for a moment. My gaze followed the two girls as they met up with a group of friends. They exchanged pleasantries, hugged one another, and laughed at something one of them had said.
They blended into the crowd, hands in the air while grooving to the loud music. A couple of shirtless young boys walked past the pavement, wolf-whistling at the small group of girls approaching them.
College life was fun when all you had to worry about was good grades. A good number of these young adults didn’t have the slightest clue how harsh the real world was. Some of the most popular boys and girls on campus might end up working menial jobs to survive years from now.
The best couples in the university would most likely not end up together. Only a tiny percentage of them ever did. The brightest of these students might end up working a nine-to-five with little or no time to chase their own dreams.
The most unserious students on campus—those whom people thought wouldn’t amount to anything—were the ones who would actually build something meaningful.
The most famous would be forgotten.
The proudest would be humbled.
The most popular would end up alone.
The prettiest girl would settle for a regular guy and start a family after realizing that reality was different from the fantasy world in her head.
These young adults would soon come to understand that life was unfair in all ramifications. And only those who rebelled against the system would actually succeed in building something for themselves.
I stepped out of the car and began moving through the festival unnoticed. Dark jeans. A fitted jacket. Sunglasses tucked into my collar. Nothing memorable.
Blending into the crowd was a piece of cake—everyone was engrossed in one activity or the other. I moved stealthily and confidently, my eyes discreetly searching for her.
“Hey, handsome,” a feminine voice called to me.
I stopped in my tracks when a tall brunette dressed in a bikini halted in front of me.
“Are you new?” she asked, cradling a red plastic cup in her hand. “I haven’t seen you around here before.”
I could smell the alcohol in her breath, mixed with the sugary scent of her perfume. Her hazel eyes were pinned on me in a rather seductive manner as her teeth grazed her lower lip.
“God, you’re so hot,” she whispered, closing the distance between us.
She was tipsy. And tipsy girls her age in settings like this tended to do something dumb and reckless.
Without a word, I stepped away before she could reach out to me, disappearing into the crowd. I knew she’d be wondering how I vanished before her eyes, but I didn’t bother looking back.
Eventually, I spotted Aria standing near a bonfire with her friends. Her smile was faint, her roaming eyes hinting at the fact that she was more conscious of her surroundings than she was interested in their discussion.
She held a red plastic cup of alcohol but didn’t take a sip. She just stood there, her gaze shifting across the faces in the crowd—analyzing. I watched her from a safe distance, intrigued by how she easily picked up on details around her.
I noticed the way her blue eyes crinkled at the corners each time she forced out a smile. A young man approached her, tall, lean, and masculine. He rubbed his hands in glee, his lustful eyes darting over her body.
My fingers clenched into fists on my sides, my brows furrowing. Why was I pissed off by this man’s presence around her? Why did I feel the urge to go over there and knock him out with a single blow?
He tried to get her attention, but she was more interested in scanning the environment than she was in listening to him. I watched him leave after failing to impress her, and a small, self-satisfied grin tugged at my lips.
She said a few words to her friends and dismissed herself. My heart skipped a beat when she began walking toward me. For a moment there, I thought she actually recognized me or had noticed me staring at her. However, I didn’t move.
A commotion started nearby. Two guys were arguing over something, and fists were already being thrown. I stood there, watching her head toward the chaos behind me, seemingly uninterested—just minding her own business.
It was as though time slowed as she walked past me, her gaze fixed ahead. In an instant, my instinct kicked in, and I reached out to grab her hand. I pulled her to me just before a thrown bottle whisked past her head.
Without hesitation, I yanked her away from the chaos, my arm wrapped protectively around her. She didn’t push me away. Instead, she followed my lead as things began to spiral out of control.
Once we were safe from the commotion, I let go and stepped away before she could make sense of what had just happened. I picked up my pace, leaving even as she called out to me.
“Hey, wait up!” She rushed after me, trying to catch up, but couldn’t match my long strides.
“Aria!” a feminine voice called out to her in the distance.
As I walked away from the scene, I felt her gaze on me, and when I glanced back, I saw her friends pulling her away from the slowly spreading chaos.
Although I’d only held her for a moment, the scent of her perfume filled my space. And even now, feet away from her, it still lingered in the air around me. I headed straight to my vehicle, got inside, and closed the door.
My fingers combed through my hair as I leaned into the driver’s seat, wondering what the hell I was doing. The sound of her voice when she called out to me still echoed in my head, stirring up feelings I wasn’t used to.
“Fuck,” I murmured, massaging my temples.
I couldn’t help wondering what it was about this girl that kept drawing me to her. And the more I thought about it, the less it made sense to me.
Why was I suddenly overly protective of her? Why did I always find myself jumping in to save her from trouble?