Stuck In Love (COMPLETED)

chapter-3

Raymond Reynolds's POV

I cannot control my anger anymore. I cannot do it anymore. I cannot see her with him and act like it's all fine. Like it's all my mistake. I did not have any other option. I had to do it. There was no other way out. I had to do what my father said to keep her safe.

No matter how much I wanted to tell her the truth, I knew she wasn't ready to face the real world. If I'd told her about the agreement, all her hopes would have shattered. After so long she had started believing in herself, in this world. I couldn't do that to her because I knew she deserves better. She deserved to be what she wanted to be.

You know we many times regret the decisions we made. We like to picture our life if we hadn't made that decision, but you can't imagine what it feels like when you know that you had to make that decision, it was inevitable.

I wanted her. Every day from the past seven years I wanted her. For the past seven years, I was living with a hope that maybe she will accept me one day. Maybe.

" Well well, if it isn't our captain Raymond Reynolds," said some girl behind me. I turn around and came face to face with a beautiful blonde girl standing close enough to invade my personal space.

"Have we met before?" I asked still trying to remember her highly familiar face.

"I don't expect you to remember" she replied with a beautiful smile.

I remember that smile.

Bethany?

"Beth-Bethany?"

"Thank god, for once I actually thought that you forgot me" she replied while grinning and gave me a tight hug.

Bethany is a professional photographer. I met her when we did a shoot together for a magazine. I became the youngest footballer on United States team and was signed for a photoshoot which took place in Hawaii. Bethany and I spent a lot of time together.

"Are you also-"

" A Nominee? yeah," she replied before I could complete my sentence.

" Congratulations Beth" I replied.

"You too Mr. Captain. I can't believe it's been five years. You've changed so much Ray!"  she exclaimed still smiling. It's one of her charms.

Suddenly a slow song was played and people started joining the dance.

"Would you like to dance with me ?" Beth look expectantly towards me.

"Umm...I don't really dance though." I replied with hesitation.

"Please?"  she requested and I sighed in defeat.

" Okay" and with that, we made our way where everyone else was dancing.

Everyone was dancing effortlessly in a flow and knew all the steps like it was a world known fact how to dance and what to do next. It took me some time but I figured out the moves and was still coping with my dance steps when people started changing their partners.

What the hell?

Next thing I know is I am in the middle of a circle. Couples dancing around us and I am staring into the most mesmerizing shade of brown eyes you can ever see. The owner of those eyes had the ability to knock off the air from my lungs. Which she did. She was wearing a beautiful navy blue gown with her hair braided sideways and her lips with shaded red.

" Are you fine-" I forced myself not to call her princess and instead go for her name " -Sophie?"

Her eyes eyeballs were dilating and hundreds of emotions flashed through them. I saw them becoming glossy as if she would cry any minute now but she hid them well by blinking her eyes.

She didn't reply.

My heart clenched seeing her like this and my hold on her waist tightened. A gasp escaped her mouth at my move but she still didn't utter a word.

"Sophie?" I tried again hoping that she will reply this time. She was looking everywhere but at me.

"Prince-"I was cut off in the middle of my sentence by her soft voice.

"I don't want to create a scene here Mr. Reynolds. Please don't talk to me," she replied as her words left in a whisper fanning my neck.

I could sense the strain in her words. She was gulping if I didn't know her better I would have thought that she is thirsty. It was her habit whenever she was nervous.

Her eyes once again gazed mine and everything halted. I don't know what came over me but for the first time in seven years I had her in my arms and it was more overwhelming for me that I thought.  Her eyes drifted from my eyes to my lips and mine did the same.

Her red shade of lipstick wasn't helping either. It made her look more sensual. I tried to control the urge to kiss her and noticed that she was doing the same. Her face was coming close to mine but by the way, her eyes were shifting in a constant motion I knew she was still debating about it in her mind.

I tried to control myself for a while and let her make the decision.

She was taking way too much time for my patience. So I just made it easy for her to decide.

I kissed her.

She responded as soon as my lips met hers and started moving in a sync. I didn't realize that I slipped my hand in her hair and the other one was tightly gripping her waist.

My eyes were closed and all I could feel was her lips on mine. It felt as if we never stopped kissing. As if I'm still eighteen years old Raymond standing in her room and kissing her as we did endless times. As if we're back to the time when I came to see her for the last time. It felt like we never left that time.

As soon as her lips left mine she rushed out of the hall. 

I started to panic but soon my senses relieved.

A smile made it's way on my lips as I remember the first time I kissed her in the classroom and she rushed, just like this.

Nothing has changed.

We're still the same.