She's Mine (ABL #3)

I remember the first moment I saw her... the moment she had shown up on my doorstep. With those piercing blue eyes and shiny golden hair.

I hadn’t had the best day.

I got the visiting times at the prison wrong and spent an hour on the phone being lectured by my father. I swear he has spies everywhere, its fucking frustrating. Apparently I can't do anything right. There isn't a lot I can hide from him, trust me I've tried. So instead I keep my life simple, straight ahead, not letting anything in my life distract me from my goals, from my fathers goals. Because I can't let my family ruin any more people.

The city had been bustling tonight. I shoved my way through crowds gathered on the upper east side. People drinking, singing the night away. Surprising, considering it was pelting down with rain. There was a new night club opening down the street my best friend had just opened. But I would not be in attendance.

I had instead come home laying on the couch in my empty, quite apartment. My apartment was a nice place to live in, ideal location and hidden from sight. But it was too big for me to live in on my own. I have a lot of people who I needed to interview for a potential flat mate. I had published an ad in the paper a couple weeks ago. But I doubt many people my age would be able to afford my rates. It takes a hefty amount of money to keep running, I just wish I had somebody to share the load with.

I guess I’ll end up stuck with some stuck up middle aged man who’s wife or husband is asking for a divorce.

I sat up, going to open my beer when the doorbell rang.

I look outside to the rain pouring down outside. Who is looking for me in this sort of weather? I pull myself off the couch heading to open the door. But nothing would've prepared me from what I found on the other side.

A peite blonde stood on my doorstep. She held no umbrella, worn no rain jacket. Just a pale white dress which was soaked through. Her arms wound tight around her chest. She looks up at me with these wide, bright ocean eyes that seemed to hold the world inside them. Her eyes framed with thick lashes that had little drops of water dripping out.

She smiled at me.

And lord save me, my heart fluttered in my chest at the sight of such a stunning girl smiling up at me.

“ Hello.” She held her hand, which I took with no hesitation, shaking it softly. Her palm was wet from the rain. I hope she couldn’t sense my utter shock, that would be embarrassing. Plus her accent, oh my it was so...sexy.

In a strange way she was very intimidating. Maybe it was the way she looked, or how she walked, or even perhaps the way she held herself. My breath was stolen away as she watched me.

"Hi I'm Alexander.... but you can call me Alex." I was surprised I managed to say anything at all. She was grinning. Despite the fact that she was soaking wet, she was smiling and her blue eyes twinkling. I was suddenly very aware that I was only in track pants and socks. I watch ask her eyes take me in hungrily. Her gaze felt warm, safe. I’ve never had that with a girl before.

“ What are you doing here?” I ask her, a little breathless and utterly confused. Does she want to take shelter or something? She peered around me into my warm apartment. She assessed it for a while, before drawing those eyes back to me. I sucked in a breath, her gaze was so intense, I felt as if she was staring into my soul.

“ Nice place you’ve got here. I heard your looking for a roommate.” She replies. Her voice alone caused me to feel butterflies. Fucking butterflies.

I have never felt butterflies.

“ What gives you that impression?” I grin at her, leaning against the doorway. She blushes, a smile playing on her lips. “ You have a sign in the window downstairs, plus like a thousand adverts everywhere.”

She was smart, I could tell. She had a cheeky sort of gleam in her eye, making me think she’s the kind of girl who always knows more than you would expect. She analyses, she’s smart in more ways than one.

“ Come inside then. We need to conduct an interview.” I didn’t need to interview her. But I wasn’t going to tell her that, she needed to think I was cool, calm, and playing fair.

I watched her enter my house. The way she walked, it was utterly graceful, almost as if she was floating. Everything about her screamed sexy. Her aura was infectious. As she breezes past me I had to resist the temptation to pull her into my arms, plaster her lips onto my own.

She sits down on the couch, her eyes darting around the room, assessing. I offer her a drink but she declines, a smile gracing her lips. There was something about her that drew me in, Like a magnet. She was angelic, utterly perfect.

And I wanted her to be mine.

As I looked into her eyes, for the first time I could sense a fear hanging in there. She did well to hide it, to most it may of slipped beyond their gaze. But I saw it. She bit her lip, her hands clasped together. She reminded me of a girl a long time ago that I had met. That girl had the same grace, same kindness and the same fear. The very girl I was doomed to stay away from, to never see again.

I think I finally believe in love at first sight. Everything in my body screamed at me to kiss her, claim her and I haven’t even known her for more than five minutes. I knew that if I had to live with this girl I would be utterly whipped within the first few weeks.

That cheeky smile she’s giving me, plus her wondering eye make me think that she feels the same.

“What’s your name?” I begin, smiling. I wanted her to feel comfortable, safe. The need to protect was present, my nerves of edge. But I had to remind myself, that it didn’t know this girl and it wasn’t my job to know her secrets or chase her demons.

“ Cecelia Rose Harding.” She said, hesitant. “ But most people just call me Cece.”

Suddenly I feel like the world had stopped spinning. I sit across from her utterly frozen. My lips pressed tight together, I tried to keep my expression neutral. But I couldn’t help the recognition and utter shock that ran through my body.

This changes everything.