2. CHAPTER TWO - FORBIDDEN DESIRES
“Come on Lily, where else would you find the time to meet new people?” Alissa said, as she scrunched up her face and threw one of my dresses from my wardrobe on the floor.
“I honestly don’t understand why you think throwing a party in my apartment is doing me a favor.” I smiled at my best friend and made my way to the dress on the floor. “And if you don’t like my dresses, you should tell me rather than throw them on the floor.”
“But that’s where trash belongs, Lily.” She answered.
I gasped, my eyes twinkling in feigned hurt. Alissa glanced at me and rolled her eyes. “Oh please, Lily, am I supposed to believe that you’re offended by that?”
“It was a very rude thing to say.”
“Says the girl who made Tim in accounting cry on his very first day,” Alissa scoffed.
“He deserved it,” I retorted. “Walking into our office like he fucking owns the place.”
“Didn’t mean you had to bring his hairline into it.”
The air suddenly became quiet, and we both looked at each other. Suddenly, we both burst into a fit of laughter as I wiped a single tear off my lower eyelid.
“But seriously though, we have to find you something to wear for my party.”
“That’s still happening in my apartment.” I muttered.
“Come on Lilyyyyy,” Alissa dragged. “Your apartment is way nicer than mine, and you know why I’m doing this.”
“Why are you going through all this trouble to throw a party just to impress some guy?” I asked, as I folded my dress neatly.
“Because, Lily,” Alissa began, “Derek is the hottest guy in the office and I’ll be damned if I let Rachael dig her claws into him.”
“He talks to you just the one time and you think you’re destined for each other.” I giggled.
Alissa glares at me, “At least I’m making an effort. You haven’t gone out on a date in three years. Three years Lily!”
“Oh shush,” I said, not wanting to relive my years of failed relationships. “It’s my own personal decision.”
“Sure it is.” Alissa snorts, and I glare back at her.
“Fine. You can have your stupid party, but I’ll stay in the kitchen.”
“As long as you help out with the appetizers?” Alissa grinned as she asked.
I rolled my eyes at her and nodded. “Fine.”
“Oh, thank you Lily!” She squealed, as she pulled me into a tight hug. “I promise you won’t regret this.”
“Then how come I already do,” I sighed, but smiled and hugged her back.
“Now we have to get ready. Soon the guests will start arriving, and we need to be fully prepared for when they get here.”
“Already?” I furrowed my brows, “Don’t you have to inform them of the loca…” I paused in my tracks and tilted my head as I stared at Alissa. “You already gave them my address at work, didn’t you?”
She beamed at me. “What can I say. I knew you’d say yes.”
“You didn’t tell me you were a psychic too,” I teased.
“Call me whatever you want - psychic, party planner - but I would prefer your personal fashion police because this dress is not it either,” she said, throwing yet another of my dresses on the floor.
I chuckled to myself and lay on the bed, waiting for Alissa to finish going through my wardrobe. A few minutes later, her ranting suddenly stopped, and I turned to look at a small pile of my clothes on the floor.
“Find anything good enough?” I asked, turning to look at her holding up a red dress.
“This is perfect,” she said, with a wide grin. “Now hurry up and get changed. We don’t have much time and there’s still a lot to do.”
“Aye, aye, captain,” I scoffed as she dropped the dress on my bed and rushed out of my room, leaving me to change.
I slowly dragged myself off my bed and grabbed the dress. I slipped into the dress and went to sit before my mirror to touch up my hair and makeup before the party. Just because I didn’t want to have a party didn’t mean I shouldn’t look presentable.
I decided to wear my hair down as I combed my long blonde hair. My emerald green eyes stared back at me, and I smiled at how the golden specks sparkled inside the sea of green.
Growing up, people had always talked about how beautiful my eyes were and how lucky I was to have such unique eyes, but I never saw anything special about them. They were just a color to me. Most of the time, I would think that my past relationships were only because of my eyes.
I wasn’t as pretty as most girls and definitely didn’t feel like it. For some reason, my brother Cole was the beautiful one in the family, and he always made that painfully clear to me. But I never let it wear me down. At least until I got into a relationship and was constantly cheated on.
And Alissa asks me why I haven’t been in a relationship in three years.I shrugged off the thought and carried on with my makeup.
A few hours later, the party was in full swing. There were drinks everywhere, and everyone seemed to be having a good time. I dropped the tray of appetizers on the coffee table, right next to the cocktails, and made my way back to the kitchen, forcing a smile as I weaved through the small crowd of people that were in my apartment.
I was already tired of feigning interest and forcing myself to keep up conversations with people I would still see in the office on Monday. I sighed in relief as I pushed open the door of the kitchen, only to be met with a group of people making out in my kitchen.
“What the fuck!” I yelled, glaring at them as they reorganized their clothes and straightened themselves out.
“This isn’t some college party where nowhere is off limits. Get the hell out of my kitchen!” I gestured to the door as they file out. “And where the hell is Alissa?”
I spotted my phone on the counter and figured I would call her to find out where she was. I grabbed my phone and dialed her number, and as I held the phone up to my ear, I saw a bright flash followed by a loud bang; then I was lifted off the ground, pushed back, and slammed into the wall.
As I fell to the ground, I caught sight of hues of orange. My consciousness began to fade, slipping away into darkness before I could fully comprehend what I was seeing, but I knew what it was.
Fire.
****
My eyes fluttered open, and I squinted as they adjusted to the bright lights. “Am I in heaven?”
“I don’t think you’re enough of a saint to end up in heaven,” I heard a familiar voice say.
I turned toward the direction of the voice, and a sharp wave of pain washed over my body, causing me to wince.
“Easy, Lily, you shouldn’t move too much.” I heard the sound of a chair squeak, and a figure suddenly appeared above me. “The doctor said that you’re lucky to be alive after the amount of smoke you inhaled, and you suffered some internal bleeding from the explosion.”
“Jake?” I said in disbelief.
“Hi there,” he said, with his signature smile. It all made sense now. Jake was a firefighter.
“I’m guessing I owe you my life then?” I asked, wanting to know if he truly did save me.
“Are you kidding me. Cole would literally kill me if I let you die,” he chuckled, confirming my suspicions.
I smiled back at him, grateful that he was a firefighter. My eyes did a quick take as I observed the fine specimen of man before me. Truth be told, I had always had a slight crush on Jake when we were younger, but of course, it never went anywhere.
He was still as handsome as ever. His chiseled jawline and the dimples that revealed themselves whenever he smiled were still the best part about staring at him. The years had been more than good to him. I noticed the slight stubble of a beard across his face as his distinct gray eyes stared back at me.
I glanced down at his body, which filled out his shirt in a very desirable way. The material strained against his bulging muscles that threatened to rip through it, and the collar of the shirt was left unbuttoned, leaving me with a teasing glance of his broad chest.
“I haven’t seen you since I helped you move in. Who would have thought the next time would be me when I had to carry your unconscious body out of your burning apartment?” He smirked.
I scrunched my face as the thought of Jake lifting me up and carrying me out bridal style caused me to flush a bit.
“I know I should let you rest, but how the fuck did a fork get into your microwave?” he asked, his usual playful demeanor nowhere near visible.
“A fork in my microwave?” I repeated. “I have no idea. Someone from the party must have done it.”
“Which leads me to my second question.” He looked down at me, a hint of a smile tugging at his lips. “Since when have you been throwing parties, Lily? You don’t exactly strike me as that sort of girl.”
I rolled my eyes at him. I knew just what he was trying to say - that I was obviously not the type of girl who knew how to have fun.
“Of course I throw parties Jake, what do you take me for?” I lied through my teeth.
Why are you lying Lily? So what if he thinks you’re boring?
“Really?” Jake chuckled, his deep laugh resonating throughout the small hospital room. “Well then, I guess I owe you an apology. But next time, control your guests.”
“Right.” I muttered under my breath. And then the realization suddenly hit me as I looked back up at Jake. “My apartment?”
“We were able to stop the fire, but it was too late by that time,” he answered solemnly.
“Oh my God, where am I going to live?” I asked aloud. Alissa’s apartment was way too small, and she was already letting her cousin stay with her.
“Well, you’ll be happy to know that I already talked it over with your brother, and we both agreed that you should move in with me.” Jake let out a coy smile. “At least until you can get a new apartment.”
Living in the same house with Jake West. What could possibly go wrong?