Hello! Yes, I'm back with a new story!
Thank you to all of you who wrote me really sweet messages, asking me to come back to fanfiction. You really helped motivate me, so... this is for you!
Chapter One
I hurried out of my building, my heels clicking loudly on the asphalt of the sidewalk. I pushed at the shorter hairs falling in my face and readjusted my purse on one shoulder while gripping my laptop case tighter. It was one of those mornings... the horribly stressful ones. I was glad I had left my camera at the studio the night before so I didn't have to carry it as well. By the time I got to work I knew, I just knew I'd be in for a talk with the boss. Of course I would since I hadn't finished my latest assignment: LA by night for a tourist review.
I stepped into the local Starbucks and groaned at the sight of the line ahead of me. This was just my day... I took the opportunity to run my fingers through my straightened hair to take out any superficial knots. I needed to look somewhat presentable for work. I tugged at the skirt that had ridden up as a result of my running. I was lucky I hadn't fallen to start with.
A few minutes of foot tapping and watch checking later I was finally getting the coffee I was craving for, the only solution to my moodiness. I was already late... better get the scolding with some caffeine in my blood.
I shrieked when a rude customer brushed past me, knocking me over to the side. I yelped as my coffee spilled over onto my hand, burning my sensitive skin. Another yelp told me my poor hand wasn't the only victim... My eyes widened when I noticed the expensive shirt covered in coffee.
"Oh my goodness!" I reached for the napkins on the counter to wipe the mess I had made. "Here." I dabbed the napkins onto the shirt, hoping to remove as much as I could of the staining liquid.
"There goes my shirt." A deep voice brought me back to reality. "It's okay, really, I'll just have to go to work shirtless." I grimaced.
"I am so-" My voice trailed off when I looked up at the person's face, my mouth going dry at the sight of the amused – and beautiful - brown eyes staring back at me.
"Don't worry about it." The male smiled, his fingers wrapping around my wrists to stop my attempt to clean him up. My cheeks burned a deep shade of red when I realised what I had been doing.
"I uhm-" I looked down at his shirt one last time before looking back at his face. "Can I get you a new shirt maybe?" I blurted out the first thing that crossed my mind.
"Nick." He extended his hand, seeming amused by my embarrassment. Jerk.
"Miley." I shook his hand awkwardly since my hand was still a bit sore from the slight burn the hot coffee had caused. "Are you sure I can't-"
"It's nice to meet you, Miley."
"Wish it had been in other circumstances." I grimaced again. "Look I live two blocks down, if you can just come with me I can probably lend you one of my brother's shirts or something-"
"Don't-" He was about to ignore my attempt to redeem myself. I wouldn't have it.
"Follow me." I instructed, gently tugging on his arm. He hesitated for a split second before following me.
...
"Nice apartment." He commented as I stepped into the living room with Braison's best shirt. My brother, the young, careless and slightly rebel guitar player made use of my apartment every time he needed an escape from home. It was obvious, from anybody's but my parents' stand point, that my 17 year old brother did not want to be stuck in the life they wanted for him and I was more than glad to provide him with the space he needed when my parents went a little over the top, convincing him to go to this or that prestigious university; something he clearly did not plan on doing.
I caught Nick's eye as he looked up from a picture and noticed the slight uneasiness that came over him. A frown twisted my lips and I was about to ask when he smiled brightly, erasing all signs of the previous uneasiness. Okay, then?
"Is she your best friend?" He pointed to a picture of a younger version of Demi and I, smiling goofily at the camera. My cheeks reddened.
"That's an old picture." I mumbled, embarrassed.
"You guys look pretty close." He commented. Okay stranger, stop trying to figure out my life by looking at a picture. Thank you. I huffed.
"Take your shirt off." I ordered, half seriously. A chuckle escaped his lips.
"I didn't mean to pry-" Really, now? I teasingly narrowed my eyes at him. "You'll have to forgive me, I've never been-"
"Let me guess." I cut him off. "You've never had some bossy girl invite you to her home so she could give you her brother's shirt in exchange of your coffee covered one." Come to think of it, that sounded pretty awful. The heat rose to my cheeks and I bit my lip, realising just how incongruous the whole situation was. Why, why, why must such things happen to me? "You must wonder what possessed me to invite a stranger into my home without-"
"But I'm not a stranger." He played along, the same teasing smile never leaving his face. "I'm Nick, we met when you spilled your coffee on me-" He chuckled when he noticed my glare, "-when you accidentally spilled your coffee on me. I'm going to be late for work and my boss is going to have my head for it." I held back a giggle.
"I'm sorry." The giggle finally escaped, ruining all chances of my sentence sounding anything close to sincere. "Miley. I brought you back to my humble abode so I could redeem myself after I accidentally spilled my coffee on your expensive looking shirt." I bit my lip. "Am I doing a good job?"
"You're doing great." He smiled as he stripped his shirt off his muscular chest and arms. I fought the urge to look but the red marks caught my eye.
"Oh my gosh, you got burnt!" I scrambled to get to him, pressing my fingers to the red patterns visible on his pale skin.
"It's nothing, really." He winced when I pressed my finger a little harder. Ha! Knew it. I shook my head.
"When will men ever learn not to lie to a woman?" I grumbled, half teasingly. He chuckled.
I retrieved the first aid box from bathroom and proceeded to treat the burns. Although superficial, they looked painful. He didn't move an inch as I spread the soothing ointment across his chest, running my fingers subtly over the red streaks. His hand suddenly wrapped around mine and stopped my actions.
"Looks like you got burned too." He looked my hand over carefully. "Here, give me the cream."
"I can-"
"Do you ever let anyone take care of you, Miss Miley?" He teased. I rolled my eyes but couldn't help the smile that crossed my lips. His fingers spread the ointment on the back of my hand. I waited for the stinging sensation to come when his fingers brushed against the burn but nothing came. Nothing but a lovely warmth that spread into my skin as soon as his fingers grazed my skin.
I turned around abruptly and took the shirt lying on the couch. I held it out for him and he slipped one muscular arm after the other before pulling it over his broad shoulders. I watched carefully as he slid button after button into the holes and covered my mouth with my hand when I noticed the final result. A giggle escaped against my will and I pointed at the mirror for him to take a look. "Do you have anything against people thinking you're gay?" I joked, silently praying for the earth to open under my feet so I could disappear. Not only was my brother's shirt too long but it was also too tight...
"Oh you have got to be kidding me." I heard him mutter as he took in the final picture.
"You could always go shirtless like you initially said you would?" I bit my lip.
"I doubt my boss would appreciate that." He chuckled. "Gay for the day it is."
"Let me know how it goes." I giggled.
"I certainly will." He smiled broadly, showing off his best asset yet to be seen. A beautiful, sincere smile that reached his sparkling brown orbs. I looked away for fear of being dazed and cleared my throat.
"I really need to get to work, I'm sure you-"
"I do too." He smiled reassuringly. We silently walked out of my apartment and into the elevator. The ride was short and soon, almost too soon we were parting, going in opposite directions.
"See you soon, Miley." And just like that, he was gone. I smiled to myself and I started my short walk to the office, looking back discreetly to see him waving, a broad smile lighting up his handsome face. See you soon. Had I not scared him off yet? I bit my lip, holding back the smile that was begging to break out onto my face.
I made a quick stop at the dry cleaners, handing in Nick's shirt. Rebecca, a middle aged woman with shoulder length red hair and a wide motherly smile greeted me enthusiastically. After explaining my encounter with Nick, I begged her to do her level best to get the stain out... I was ready to pay however much it took.
A knowing smile lit up her face and she warmly dismissed me, telling me not to doubt her dry cleaning skills. And I didn't.
...
"Where have you been?" Demi shrieked when she saw me sneak in, ducking behind the head gossip girl's cubicle before reaching my office. The short brunette sitting at her desk was not only my fashion expert colleague but also my best friend.
"Long story involving coffee, a cute guy and bumping into each other." I smirked. I knew that would be enough to pick her curiosity. She kept her chirpy voice low as she stated:
"You, me, Lunch." Mission accomplished, she was definitely on the edge of her seat, wondering what had happened to me to make me this smiley. I smiled to myself as I got to work, wondering how in the world Demi had managed to cover for me. Miss Diva – my boss – would have already been sitting across from me, demanding an explanation for my late arrival.
I checked my e-mail, searching to see if the documents I had asked for had been sent to me for my next article on a popular, modern photographer. Photography was my specialty and although I knew my subject well, it did happen that I stepped out of the box and write articles every now and then. Holiday destination had been my latest passion. I lifted my eyes when I heard a knock on the door and called out to whoever it was to come in.
"Miss Stewart, I presume?" Hmm... why was a tall blond with a distinct Australian accent standing in my office? I stood up and walked around the desk to introduce myself as politely as I could.
"That's me." I smiled politely.
"Liam Blakeley." He extended his hand for me to shake and I did. My questioning eyes had him chuckling good heartedly. "I'm your new boss." My eyes widened. New boss? Whatever happened to Miss ILoveOrderingPeopleAround? As if reading my mind he went on. "Miss Jenkins was fired after we found out about her unethical practices." I had a happy dance playing out in my head by now. I didn't even care to find out what she had done, I was over the moon to know that she could no longer control me.
"Well, I'm certainly glad to see you made it out of the bathroom." My eyebrows knit together in confusion. What the hell was he talking about? "I hope you go easy on the chilli next time you eat Mexican."
Demi.
I was going to kill her. Out of all the excuses in the world she just had to use the one that included too much chilli and a very upset tummy.
My cheeks flushed a deep shade of red.
"Mr Blakeley-"
"Don't worry about it." Did he really have to be such a gentleman about this? I huffed internally.
"I have a lot of work to get done before lunch, do you mind..." My voice trailed off.
"About that." He flashed me the smile, I was sure, had more than one girl swooning. "Forget whatever Miss Jenkins had asked you to work on. The next edition is a holiday special..."
I liked the sound of that...
"We will be working together on this one." I nodded, waiting for him to continue. "We will be reviewing several hotels in the area-"
"Let me guess? Paid vacation?" I grinned.
"Something like that." He smiled back. At least he had a sense of humour, I noticed happily. "I'll send you the details by e-mail." I nodded my head and watched him leave my office.
This had to be the best day ever! Well. If you call embarrassing yourself in front of two guys – two hot guys – exciting...
Demi. Here I come.
...
"Thanks for the warning." I narrowed my eyes at Demi as we took our seat at the cafe we were regular customers at.
"I don't know what you're talking about." She looked away, smiling innocently. When her eyes settled on me again I saw the wheels behind that pretty little head of hers turning overtime. This could not be good...
"So..." She smirked. "Did you jump Mr I spilled my coffee on you?" I rolled my eyes. She was far too interested in my sex life – or should I say, my nonexistent sex life? "Come on, spill. What happened?"
I proceeded, with blushing cheeks, to explain how I had spilled my very hot coffee on an equally hot male.
"...and wait for it... He has curly hair." I bit my lip, highly anticipating Demi's reaction to my description of Nick.
"Curly hair?" She shrieked. "That just ruined it for me, thank you very much." She huffed. I let out a loud laugh. "So, when are you seeing him again?"
I shrugged my shoulders.
"I do expect him to drop off my brother's shirt at some point or another. After all, he does know where I live." I bit my lip, thinking of the various case scenarios that could take place.
Scenario one:
He liked having coffee spilt onto him, he will definitely drop the shirt off and... ask me to hang out?
Didn't really see that one happening...
Scenario two:
He didn't think much of clumsy me, did not hold a grudge for ruining his shirt... And dropped by to return my brother's shirt and get his back... He went his way, I went mine.
Wasn't liking that one very much...
Scenario three:
He was a rapist - a very good looking rapist – and I had given him my address without a second thought...!
"Is dreamland really that interesting?" Demi teased, bringing me out of my reverie.
"Sorry." I chuckled at the last thought that had crossed my head. Keep dreaming, Miley.
"What if I don't see him again?"
She rolled her eyes at my insecurities.
"He was blatantly flirting with you, Miley." She smiled reassuringly. "I doubt he'd pass up getting to know someone as crazy as you." I laughed.
"Let's just hope I don't scare him off. If I haven't already that is." We both laughed together as finished up our lunch.
"Demetria." I suddenly remembered something. She lifted an innocent, angel face at me. Wouldn't work. I scowled.
"Next time you have to find an excuse for me... Try to avoid telling our boss I have a severe case of diarrhea. Thank you." I glared at her, knowing fully well that I couldn't be mad at her. I was lucky enough to have my best friend cover for me every time I needed... I wasn't about to complain seeing as it had come in more than handy that morning.
"No problem." She called out cheerfully as I headed into my office.
Your thoughts are always welcomed! I don't know how often I will be updating, I certainly can't promise it will be as frequently as I used to... sorry about that!
xoxo