First Edit: 03/08/2017
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Before I can react or say anything, Justin has me pulled forward and plants his lips on mine in a gentle peck. He cradles my waist and gives me support as we lean against the wall.
It takes my lips a moment to ease into the motion when Justin chooses to carry on with our kiss. The stiffness subsides and I catch the rhythm of our lips colliding. It turns from a sweet nothing to something intimate and intense.
In a glimpse I could feel my mind telling me everything will be okay. A cocoon makes its appearance in my mind's eye and spins right around him and I. It feels as if I am the only person in the room with him as our bodies entangle onto each other - and I let the smile of surprise creep over my mouth as our lips touch in unison.
As soon as the cocoon wrapped around us, it disappeared. My rational mind pushed the kiss aside and I'm allowed to remember where I was.
The dark haired girl.
I gasp and pull away. The realisation settles in when I fling around to look at the brunette. She has her hands clenched in fists and her watery eyes are reason enough to believe that she was hurt by Justin's action. She takes a visible deep breath before shaking her head and storming out the room.
I look back to Justin whose smug smile vanishes when he sees my blank face. Was this a stunt to make that girl jealous?
I put my hand over my mouth and look at him with turmoil.
"What is it?" he asked.
I breathe in through my nostrils and mutter the idle words, "I've only been kissed once before," my words were low enough so that just he could hear them.
He crosses his arms and huffs, "What? That's crazy."
When he sees my unchanged expression, his face drops, but I can't help the tears that threaten to spill and make a sprint for it back to the ladies before he can see it.
"Leah, wait, no!" he cries after me.
Inside the ladies I try to compose myself. I walk up and down with my hands on my waist, looking at the floor. I'm trying to wrap my head around this.
Until now, my heart belonged to another - the only boy I had kissed before Justin. I once thought I would spend the rest of my life with him, be a couple that grew old together. That was until the unimaginable happened and I was forced to move on.
I haven't kissed anyone but him.
That changed tonight,
I can't help but let out a delusional giggle. If Justin only knew that I was a virgin too! It seems virtue isn't important to him or anyone else for that matter as it was back home for me.
The door slams open and lets the faint sound of music infiltrate the bathroom. I see the blonde girl, Paris, staring at me and then she smiles. I try to fake a smile back.
"He wants to talk to you," she says, knowing exactly I would know who she's referring to. I give her a hesitant look and she motions her hands for me to come, "You can't hide in here forever. He'll wait, might as well get it over with now."
I know she's right. So I inhale and go back outside.
Justin stands near the piano, relieved when he sees me walking towards him. He holds out his hands but I shake my head, not wanting to touch again. He gets the signal and stands inches apart from me.
For a second I feel guilty, but I shake it off. We don't know each other, we have nothing in common. It doesn't make sense that I want to feel his embrace, or share another kiss...
"I'm an idiot" he proclaims, "I'm sorry, I didn't know what I was thinking. You're clearly not like other girls and when I saw Selena I just did the first thing I normally do," he admits, "but it was a mistake. Forgive me?"
I fold my arms and hold myself for comfort. With a throat cleared I speak in a low voice, "I don't know how things work around here, but where I am from I was taught that men treat women with respect."
He wants to say something but I point my finger up and cut him off, "If you like a girl, you should learn how to court her." I look at him with a death glare, "You will never use me as an object to make someone else jealous again, got it?"
If only my mom could see me now, she would be so proud standing up for myself.
Justin is clearly taken aback by my sudden burst of confidence, because he looks at me with eyes the size of golfballs before he nods, "I got it," he says, lifting his hands up in peace, "I made a mistake and I'm sorry, it won't happen again."
I relax my arms next to my side and turn on my heel, "I should go."
He touches my shoulder and I have to fight the urge to nuzzle myself in his his chest. It feels so right, but it's so wrong.
"Let me make it up to you," he whispers.
I shrug his hand off, "That won't be necessary," I say and walk out the door. Denzel must be waiting for me, he can't be happy that I took my time.
I go back to the place where Denzel had been waiting for me, but there is no sign of him. I look around at the now empty dance floor and walk back to the bar. A few people sit at the bar, but not one of them is Denzel.
"He left," the barman says, cleaning a glass, "Tall black guy, fancy suit?" I nod as he continues, "yeah he left after he looked for you. Told me to tell you he'll see you Monday if I happen to see you."
"How do you know it's me?" I ask.
"His description of you was spot on," he gives me a wink. Then his eyes trail behind me and he visibly gulps with a pale face. He clears his throat to signal me and I sigh in relief. It's probably Denzel.
"Hey, I apologize for taking so long, I got caught..." I turn around seeing Justin standing behind me. I go silent.
"Were you expecting someone else?" he asks me with a smug. .
I groan internally and fly up from the chair, "Excuse me," I give him a sarcastic grin and saunter past him. Without looking back, I push open the door and exit the bar.
"Leah, please!" he runs after me, touching my arm when we stand outside, "where are you going?"
I look up at down the street, realizing I have no idea where I am.
Shoot.
"Have you been here before?" he asks, seeing my confusion.
I sigh, "No! I just moved here, I have no idea how to get home!" I moan in frustration.
"At least let me help you get home?" he offers.
It wasn't an offer I could refuse at the moment. I look up at him and nod. Great, just great!
Justin walks me to his bright red Ferrari 458 Italia. I try not to look impressed and keep my head down. He opens the door for me and I climb in.
"So do you know what area you live in?" he asks.
"Um, I think near Manhattan Beach," I say trying to remember what the driver said the other day when I asked him the same question, "The Hills section!" I remember.
"Okay, that's a start," he notes and starts the engine.
It was like a scene from a movie - one moment we were in solitude and the other a bunch of screaming fans popped up out of nowhere. The shrieks and chants of people yelling Justin's name overpowers my ears and I swallow hard. Flashes of fans and the paparazzi alike blind my sight and I can't help but shit my eyes as the sudden attention makes me nervous.
I feel a warm hand over mind and look up to see Justin giving me an apologetic smile, "Ready to get out of here?"
I nod and he presses down on the pedal, pushing us away from the crowd.
"That must be exhausting," I mutter after a while.
"Look, I'm sorry about the other day and tonight... and probably tomorrow as well." he says.
"Tomorrow?" I ask.
"Our pictures are going to be all over the tabloids," he mutters in a low voice, "I'm drawing unwanted attention to you and you clearly dislike it as much as I do," he looks at me, smiling, "since you hate me so much."
"I don't hate you" I admit, "I mean, I just didn't like what you did to me in there, but you seem normal, you know, besides the whole fame thing."
He laughs.
A few minutes went by before he spoke again, "You're so different Leah," he says, "I can't tell you how nice it is to have a proper conversation with someone I don't know without them screaming and fangirling over me the moment they see me. That day in New York, I knew I had to see you again after I realised you didn't know who I am."
"I'll let you in on a little secret," I say, already feeling my cheeks flare up, "I googled the hell out of you that night," I laugh.
"Yeah?" he says, his face lighting up, "you like my music?"
I nod, "Yes, it's pretty good. I mean Will thinks you sounded like a girl before your voice broke, but I think it's cute."
"Will? Who is Will?" he asks.
"My roommate," I say, suddenly remembering Will! I take out my phone, "why didn't I think of this sooner?" I roll my eyes, texting Will to send me the location of our apartment.
"You live with a dude, but you've only been kissed once?" he raises a brow and purses his lips together.
"Will is gay," I answer and look forward, "and it's twice as of tonight."
I look at the map on my phone as we drive to check where we should turn next.
"Oh," his shoulders relax into the seat, "I apologize. I don't know why I'm acting like such a pig around you, I have no right to be jealous." His hands tighten around the steering wheel, "Sorry about the kiss," he whispers.
"I'm not," I admit and see how his smile grows so wide that his pearly whites come into view. He looks at me when we slow down at the stop and I clear my throat, "You should take a right here."
His cheeks blushes up before he focuses on the road again.
Minutes later we stop in front of my apartment building.
"You're kidding me?" Justin exclaims with eyes scanning the building.
"What?"
"You live here?" he asks in a high pitch.
"Apparently," I shrug.
"I'm impressed."
I smile and open the car door to climb out, but Justin locks me in as his hand flings across me. He takes my hand and looks at me with his gorgeous dark eyes, "At least give me your number?"
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-euodiadem