"I put on makeup to express myself. I could care less about my so-called insecurities."
Aura Chandler was so sure she had her life figured out. After securing a photoshoot gig with up-and-coming musician Lacey Redd, she was convinced she would get d...
AURA WASN'T SURE WHAT to make of the morning. At one end, her eyes opened only to see the annoying leak a few centimeters away before splashing on her face. On the other end, her phone rang with a phone call from Zachary. She sobered up from her previous frustration and answered quickly.
Before she knew it, she was sitting at her new vanity, getting ready to meet with Zachary. Her eyes wandered over the white surface, recalling Tyson making it so she had a safe space to practice her art. And now she was using it to get ready to meet with the person he loathed the most in Cornelius.
She pretended she didn't care and went ahead to line her eyes with her favorite black eyeliner. One thing was for certain, she was not going to let someone control her actions. She was responsible for her own life. If she messed up, that was on her.
Either way, going out with Zachary was not going to be a big mess up. Tyson could tell her countless horror stories and she would not budge. She knew how to move around a guy, and she was not going to let one from Cornelius do any damage.
She had enough damage to deal with on her own.
So she painted her face to her liking, put on her favorite light blue mini skirt and another white crop top, and exited the house in hopes of finding out that maybe Tyson was wrong after all.
ZACHARY MET HER WHERE they met: at the quaint coffee shop. His lips slipped into a bright smile as she walked through the entrance. He stood up, pulling her straight into a hug. She didn't hesitate in wrapping her arms around his waist, letting his cologne wrap all over her senses.
"It's nice to see you," Aura said, stepping away.
"Right back at you," he responded. "Now, shall we go?" He held out his arm for her.
Her mouth popped open in surprise. "Oh? I thought we were going to be here." She motioned to the coffee shop, where the same teen stood behind the counter fixing a woman's coffee.
"No, I wanted to take you to my house, if that's alright." His blue eyes sparkled as the weight of his words fell on her shoulders. She tried hard to contain her blush.
She cleared her throat, staring at the ground. "Lead the way, then."
Aura wasn't expecting to be led to an expensive and sleek black sports car, but as Zachary helped her get settled, she was trying very hard to contain her thrill. He ran to the other side and got into the driver's seat, giving her a wink before driving off.
She barely had time to get used to the luxury surrounding her when they came to a stop beside an enormous mansion overlooking the ocean. It was a modern beauty with clean edges and gray and white hues. The walls facing the shore were completely glass windows, which she assumed made the inside of the house have impeccable lighting.
Aura could not believe it was Zachary's house.
Zachary got out of the car and ran to her side before she could attempt to open the door herself. He held her hand as she stood up, pulling down her skirt as she stretched to her full height. A tiny, adorable smile graced his lips as he led her towards the entrance of his house.
The front door was bigger than she could ever imagine. He had to let go of her hand to open it with both arms. Aura stepped inside after he motioned for her to go in first, and almost gasped at the interior of the house.
It was just as modern as it looked on the outside, but with wooden pops here and there. As she had predicted, the lighting inside was phenomenal with the sun shining through one of the glass planes, illuminating the place brightly. Her heels clicked on the wooden floor as she inspected everything. Before she could go and see more, Zachary snaked an arm around her waist, halting her movements.
"I've been meaning to bring you here," he whispered into her ear. She bit down on her lip as he pulled her closer. "Follow me."
He led her to what seemed to be the living room. A huge glass chandelier hung on the center of the ceiling, reflecting the sunlight coming from all the glass planes that made up most of the walls. There was an enormous flat screen TV on the one end of the room with great, chic white couches facing it.
Zachary plopped on one of the couches, bringing her with him. She yelped before landing on his side, one of her legs over his. He placed a hand on her exposed thigh, stopping her from moving away.
"So... it's been a while since our last, unforgettable dinner," he said, tucking a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. Cheeks inflamed, she stared down at their position, which didn't help her sudden embarrassment.
"Uh, yeah. Who can forget the great red wine incident?" she muttered.
Zachary leaned in closer. Her eyes focused on his lips before he placed them over hers. They moved against hers in a tantalizing slow dance, savoring and asking for more. Her breath hitched as his body moved to hover over hers.
She pulled away, but he didn't waste time in finding other places to pepper in kisses.
Under other circumstances, she would have been so into it. She would have wrapped her legs around his waist and let her body do the talking. But as she laid under Zachary, each of his touches felt like nothing.
Meaningless.
Empty.
His body tried to get her to respond, but there was nothing, save for a few unconscious pants here and there.
"What's wrong?" he asked, pressing more of his kisses up her neck. "Are you alright?" He came to a complete stop when she didn't respond. She met his eyes, startling blue on brown, and winced.
"Hey," he said. He pecked her lips and pulled away again. "You can tell me if—"
"Zachary!"
Aura frowned as Zachary looked over the couch towards the entrance. Gut-wrenching sobs filled the air as soft heel clicks got louder.
"Zachary, you won't believe this. The agency completely humiliated me in front of all the other models."
Aura bit down on her lip as Zachary scrambled to get up. She didn't know if she should stay down or get back up. She sighed and stood up, which halted Millie's sobs out right.
"What is she doing here?" Millie cried. She stomped like a child, and Zachary ran towards her.
"Hey, hey, hey," he tried to calm her down. Tears fell from her eyes, ruining her makeup further. A noticeable track of makeup ran down from her cheeks to her neck. Aura wanted to give her a makeup wipe.
Before Millie could throw another temper tantrum, Zachary turned her back to Aura and led the sobbing model away from the living room, arms around her waist.
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