Alrighty, The dude is Dominic, and the girl is Alyssa. Just pretend that Alyssa's hair is like...beach curls, black and a lot longer. Im talking pant waistband long.(:
* * * * * * *
"Holy crap."
I didn't say it.
I almost did, but I wasn't about to embarrass myself like that.
Dominic Rodrigues, the number one Football player in California, is standing directly in front of me.
This isn't normal.
What the heck is going on?
I stare at him for another second, then shake my head to clear my thoughts. "Sorry, you just look different."
He raised an eyebrow, amused. "How so?"
Why is he still talking to me? Shouldn't he move on to his seat?
"I don't know, you just do," I said, looking him up and down, trying to figure out what's different.
"That's reassuring," He laughed, shaking his head. A few pieces of his copper hair fell into his eyes and he combed them back into place with his fingers
That's one stunning piece of man.
I'm guessing he's about six-foot-three, give or take. He has a sharp jawline, high cheekbones and you can see his muscles bulging from under his black suit jacket.
Wait, Black suit jacket-
"Oh, I know what it is," I chuckled, feeling stupid for not seeing it before. "It's 'cause you're wearing a Tux."
"Why would me wearing a suit keep you from recognizing me?" He trailed, obviously confused.
"I've only seen you play Football on tv. So, that means I've only ever seen you in a uniform and helmet."
It makes sense.
"You've watched my games?" He asked, kind of shocked.
"Dude, everyone's watched your games," I said, taking out my blanket and wrapping it around my arms. I noticed the look of disbelief on his face and rolled my eyes. "It's not hard to believe my guy."
"Yeah, okay," He replied, dropping the topic. "Anyways, are you Alyssa Marie?"
"Mhm."
Why did I just tell him that?
"Okay, good," He said, sitting down in the seat beside mine.
"Woah woah, What do you think you're doing?" I asked, my eyes wide. I back up a bit. "I don't even know you."
He doesn't move. "I work with your dad."
My jaw dropped. "I'm sorry, You What?"
"I work with your dad," He repeated, his Emerald green eyes locking on mine.
"You're the Seventeen year old worker?"
This is getting ridiculous.
"Yup."
"That's..." I struggled to find the right words. "Wow."
"I know right?" He shook his head. "I still can't believe it."
"What's your position?"
"I'm his assistant," He said, buckling himself to the seat.
Is he joking? That's like, two positions below Dad!
"What? Why are you looking at me like that?" He said, referring to my open mouth and wide eyes.
"How the hell did you manage to secure a job that high?" I asked incredulously.
"I don't know. He just asked, and I agreed."
"He just asked?"
I was expecting the worker, Dominic, to have a less significant job. Not because he isn't capable of doing something that requires actual brain cell usage, But because of his age. He's only Seventeen and working as the assistant for the most successful music company in all of America
"Pretty much," He replied, slightly uncomfortable. "Was I supposed to go through some sort of application process?"
"Just understand that dad's been looking for someone to fill in that spot for like, two years," I said, looking over at him. "He's declined over three hundred applications, so it's hard for me to believe he let you have the job so easily. Not to mention that they've all been over the age of twenty five."
"Well, shit," Was all he said, looking at the seat in front of him.
"Yeah."
"I understand your shock now," He shrugged.
"And I understand why you're wearing a tux."
"We have a meeting to go to later today when we land. We're closing a deal with another company."
"Hence the tux," I muttered, buckling myself in as well. "How long have you had the job?"
"About a month or two," He said.
Oh, ok. That's normal.
"Has he given you a room yet?"
Dad always gives his most important workers a room in our house so they can sleep over, Unless they have a family of course. But, working for a music company is a lot more difficult than it sounds. They work a lot. So, that's why it's convenient for them to have a spare room because Dad doesn't want anyone driving late at night.
His main office is at a building they own in the city where his other employees stay, But he usually works from home in his extra office, which leads to another reason for his important workers to have an extra room. So they can reach him easily, of course.
Whenever I stayed with him, I never really minded having a bunch of people around. It made me feel safe. And the workers who've been with him for so long have watched me grow up. It sounds weird, but I promise it's not.
"He insisted on it the minute I walked through the door."
"I'm not even surprised," I muttered, closing my eyes briefly.
I'm too tired for this.
"Alright, I have to finish up some work," He said after a few seconds of silence. "So, I'm gonna do that."
"You go ahead. I'll be sleeping," I said, my eyes drooping. "Wake me up before we get there?"
"Of course," He pulled out his computer from his black backpack. "Sweet dreams."
"Whatever," I mumbled, flipping all of my curls away from my neck so they don't bother me. "Stupid list."
* * * * * * *
"Wake up," A deep voice repeated, shaking my shoulder. "We're about to land."
I open my eyes, letting out a small yawn before sitting up. I look over at the guy next to me, remembering that I'm on my way to California. Yay. "How long was I out for?"
"The whole time," Dominic chuckled, closing his laptop and sliding it into his backpack. "Six and a half hours."
"Oops," I said halfheartedly, stretching out my back. "I feel better though."
"I can imagine," He said, pulling out his phone, most likely texting someone. "You were saying something about staying up late because of a list before you fell asleep."
I laugh. "Yeah, that was my idiotic mistake."
"Care to enlighten me?"
"I stayed up till like, one or one thirty last night because I was making a list of what to pack for the trip or whatever."
He snorted. "Procrastination?"
"Procrastination," I repeated. "And to make things worse, It was only three bullets."
"Wow," He laughed, shaking his head. "You only got four hours of sleep because of a three point list?"
"Yeah, Definitely not my brightest moment," I chuckled, massaging my neck. I probably slept on it wrong.
"Nope," He said, smiling. "By the way, your dad called. Apparently I've been told to go shopping with you and Meredith? The owner of the company we're supposed to be closing a deal with got sick and had to reschedule too next Monday, So Matt just told me to come with you."
"Oh, I'm sorry," I said, "It'll probably be boring."
"Nah, it's no big deal," He ran a hand through his hair. "I always find a way to make things interesting."
"I'm sure you do," I laughed, shaking my head. Then I remembered something. "Hey, I wasn't rude to you earlier, right?"
He raised his eyebrow. "No, not really."
"Okay, but even if I was and you're just too kind to tell me, I'm sorry. I'm not the most pleasant person to be around when I'm sleep deprived." I paused. "Or anytime before having Coffee."
He laughed. "You're all good. My younger sister's the same way."
"Younger sister?" I questioned, raising my eyebrow.
I assumed he was an only child.
"Yeah, her name's Delilah," He said, smiling. "She's in Eighth Grade and goes to a local middle school back in South Carolina."
"Wait, but I thought you lived in California?"
"I do, But she stays back in Greenville with my Grandma."
Grandma?
He noticed the questioning look in my eyes. "My parents passed away a few years back."
My eyes widened. "Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry. I had no idea."
He laughed and waved me off. "It's okay, really. I miss them, but I know they wouldn't have wanted their passing to affect me, so I didn't let it."
I nodded, not sure what to say to that.
"Besides," He continued, picking up the silence. "I just channel the negative feelings into my Football."
"Good for you," I smiled. "But why are you in California if your family is back in South Carolina?"
"For Football mainly. But now for your dad," He said shrugging. "I had a better opportunity to get noticed by a good college if I played for Brendal, than I did with my old High School back home. So I moved over here."
Brendal Academy is the private high school I'll start attending tomorrow.
"I stayed with my aunt and uncle at the time, but when I started working with your dad, he thought it made more sense to let me stay with him instead. He brought up the fact that I could take you to school when you get here, and how much easier everything would be if I agreed."
That sounds like dad.
See, my dad does a lot for his employers, so this really isn't that hard to grasp. I was just shocked before because I was exhausted.
"He didn't let you say no, did he?" I snorted, folding up the blanket in my lap and shoving it inside my backpack.
"He didn't let me say no," He repeated, smiling. "But I'm extremely grateful for everything he's done for me."
"He's a good guy."
"He is." Dominic nodded before turning to me. "What about you? What are you doing out here?"
I run my fingers through the tips of my curls, thinking about the best way to answer his question. He gave me his honesty, and it would only be rude if I didn't give him mine in return. So, I told him the truth.
"I live in Greenville too, with my mom. Well, now lived I guess. But, I would always come to stay with dad for the first weekend of every month because of my parent's divorce."
Here comes the difficult part.
"A few months ago, we found out my mom has pancreatic cancer, and I haven't been able to visit my dad because I've needed to take care of her. Dad told me that he wanted me to stay with him for the first six months of school so I could focus on my grades more, rather than having to stress about taking care of my mom."
I swallowed, and looked out the window, avoiding his eyes. "I knew that wasn't the reason though. I knew they just didn't want me to watch my mother die before my eyes. I wasn't going to go at first, but then I saw the look in my mother's eyes, and I realized how selfish I was being.
"I was only thinking about myself and how I didn't mind watching her get sicker, just as long as I didn't get to lose any time with her. But, I never thought of how it would make her feel. Her only daughter, witnessing her passing...It's not something any parent would want to put their child through. So, knowing that is what she wanted for me to do, I decided that I'd leave. Just for her."
I released a breath. That felt good. Being able to tell someone...felt good. He might stop talking to me after this flight, but at least I got to get that off my chest.
I look over at him, and smile at the calm expression on his face. I was glad he wasn't looking at me in sympathy. It would've made me feel uncomfortable, and he must have known that.
"That's extremely mature of you," He said finally, looking over at me. "Which is a compliment, by the way. But for you to put valuable time with your mother aside for her own benefit...Not a lot of people would do that in your situation."
I shrugged. "Maybe not. But it's her life and she gets to choose how she wants to spend the rest of it. I know it's not because she doesn't want to be with me. She just doesn't want to watch her suffer."
"Which proves my point even further," Dominic said. "Adults probably wouldn't even think of it that way. But you do. And you're how old? What, my age?"
"Yeah," I answered. "Seventeen."
"Do you see what I mean though?" He asked.
"Maybe. But I just suck at accepting compliments," I snorted.
Is anyone good at accepting compliments?
He laughed with me. "It's all good, as long as you heard what I had to say."
Before I could respond, the flight attendant announced over the intercom that we'd be landing soon, and told us to put away all devices and buckle up so we could land.
I did as I was told and next thing I know, we're walking out of the airport, our luggage rolling behind us.
"Is someone picking us up?" I asked Dominic, completely forgetting about how we're supposed to get home.
He rolled his eyes. "Alyssa, sweetheart. How do you think I got here?"
"Uh," I really thought about that for a second. How did he get here? "Someone dropped you off?"
"No Alyssa. I drove. I drove my car, the one that I bought myself, here."
"Oh my God, I knew that," I said, mentally facepalming myself.
"Sure," He chuckled, crossing the street.
I had no clue where we we're going, so I just followed him until we stood in front of a Mercedes-Benz CLA250. In charcoal grey.
Oh. My. God.
"This is your car?" I all but shouted, my jaw dropping to the floor.
This has been my dream car for God only knows how long-
"This," He kissed his palm and placed his hand onto the trunk of the sleek car. "Is Sterling. My pride and joy. My only reason for happiness. The only thing fueling my will to live. She is to be handled with extreme love and care. So, that means no feet on the dash. Have I made myself clear?"
"Crystal," I repeat, my eyes not leaving this gorgeous piece of metal. I trail my fingers along the side. "It's beautiful."
"She's beautiful," He corrected, brushing past me to open up the passenger side door.
I look back and notice that he's already put everything in the trunk, so I step inside the car, feeling the smooth, black leather beneath me. He shut the door and walked over to his side, stepping into the vehicle and starting the engine. After reversing, swiftly whipped out of the airport and started down the familiar road to dad's house.
"This is insane," I said, marveling at how smoothly it glided down the road. "Freaking insane."
"I know," He said, grinning. "I love her more than life itself."
"And it shows," I snorted, referring to the way he spoke about her.
I can't believe I just referred to a car as a her. But then again, I never thought I'd get to ride in a car this stunning, so as far as I'm concerned, it's justified.
"Shut up," He mumbled, flicking on his left blinker.
I burst into laughter.
We sat in a comfortable silence for the rest of the ride, until we pulled up to the neighborhood and I thought of something. "You might wanna change out of your suit..."
"Why?" He asked.
"If you're going shopping with me and Meredith, you won't be very comfortable in that," I said, gesturing to his jacket. "It's up to you though. I only advise."
He thought about it for a second, one hand rested on the clutch, the other expertly turning the wheel into the driveway of my dad's house. "I guess you're right. It'll only take a second anyways."
I shrugged. "Do what you gotta do bud."
He stopped the car at the front entrance of the house, and got out to open my door. I took hold of his outstretched hand and stepped out, looking up at the front of the big white mansion.
"Home, sweet home," I sighed, turning around to get the luggage out from the back.
Dominic was already one step ahead and had both of our suitcases in his hands, along with both of our bookbags slung over each of his shoulders.
I laughed and walked over, took my suitcase from his hand and my bookbag from his arm.
"I can carry these myself," I chuckled, walking up white steps, leading to the front doors.
"No doubt," I heard him mutter, laughing under his breath. I smiled.
When I reached the doors, they pulled open themselves before I could reach over to do it myself, to reveal a squealing Meredith Walker.
"Ah! Finally!" She laughed, holding out her arms. "I missed you beautiful!"
I threw my arms around her neck, laughing. "I missed you more!"
And I did. I really, really missed her.
She was friends with my parents all the way through high school, and my dad hired her as his stylist waayy before I was born. She's basically my second mom.
"Alright ladies," Dominic said, coming up behind us. "Let's move this inside the house instead of in the middle of the doorway."
Meredith squeezes me one more time before moving over to Dominic, pulling him into a hug. "Don't even lie. You know you missed me."
He sighed and bent down to her five-four height. "I did, but just a little."
I didn't miss the grin he was trying to hold back though. I shook my head, smiling.
Meredith released him and ruffled his hair. "Oh please. You'd think that making someone look swoon-worthy would earn you more brownie points," Meredith muttered, as she released him, ruffling his hair.
"Well, I wouldn't say you're doing any of the girls a favor," He laughed, fixing his hair back.
"I guess you're right," She paused. "Who cares? At least you're walking around in style."
"Very true," He laughed, walking through the doorway. "Did Matt tell you I'm joining your little shopping excursion?"
"He did," Meredith said, looking him up and down. "You might wanna change though."
I laughed. "That's exactly what I said!"
"Well, then you should really change," She said with a grimace, "Like, right now."
"Calm down, I was going too," He laughed, making his way to the grand staircase, leading up to the big hall of rooms.
"Sure," She said, rolling her eyes and I laughed again.
Picking my bags back up, I followed Dominic up the stairs to my own bedroom. When my dad gives someone a room, it's either on the right side, or the left. Mine, is on the left. So, when Dominic turns left with me, I'm not surprised.
He throws me a questioning glance. "You're down this hall too?"
"Yeah. I'm at the very end, actually," I said, pointing down the hall, a large glass window at the end.
"Then yours is across from mine."
"Oh, cool," I replied, Not knowing what to say.
We walk to our rooms in silence, but when I reach my door, I throw a glance behind me, only to find his eyes were already there. I turn around, shaking my head as I open my door.
It's exactly as I last left it. On the right, the entire wall is basically all windows, but the type of glass that allows the light to splay inside, but you can't see in from the outside. Right in the center of the windows is a four person white coffee table with a small crystal vase of light pink flowers resting in the center.
The wall straight across from the door is made completely of white bookshelves, and the wall across from the windows has my white vanity, my white bed, and the doors that lead into the all white bathroom and my closet. Which is, as you know, white. The only pops of color are from the different books on the shelves, the blush pink rug on the hardwood floor, and the pink blanket draped over my bed.
I've always loved it. I've loved having every book I'd want to read at my fingertips, the natural light from the windows, the big marble bathroom and closet. I still do love it all. But it's just different from my room back home. It hasn't been lived in.
That'll change though. That brings a smile to my face. As much as I hate leaving my mother, I'd be lying if I said that I didn't miss my dad or California.
Shaking my head again, I throw my suitcase onto my bed and walk into my closet, looking for another pair of shoes to wear. As much as I love my faithful Crocs, they won't be comfortable enough from all the walking and shopping we'll be doing. I decided to just go with my white nike forces, so I slipped them onto my feet, grabbed my phone from my bookbag, and walked back out of the room, shutting the door behind me.
I walked down the stairs, texting my mom that we'd arrived safely and letting her know that I'd call her later, and paused, hearing Meredith's voice from the kitchen. I walked in that direction and found her and Dominic eating breakfast at the table.
"It's about time," Meredith said, standing up. "You took longer to pick out a different pair of shoes than Dominic did changing into a whole other outfit."
I look over in Dominic's direction who meets my gaze, sipping a cup of coffee. He's wearing a Navy blue Brendal Academy sweatshirt with light grey shorts, and a lanyard hanging out of his pocket.
I turn back to Meredith who's pouring me a cup of coffee. "Sorry, I was just settling in."
"You're fine sweetheart. I was just messing with you," She turns back around and passes me the steaming mug. "How's your mother doing?"
I blew over the cup and took a sip before answering. "She's thin. Really thin."
I saw her eyes flash before she looked down. "Yeah, that'll happen."
Not knowing how to respond to that, I just nod my head and take another drink of my cup.
"What's on the Agenda today?" Dominic asked, breaking the silence. I throw him a thankful look and he winks.
"We need to go to the mall to pick up Alyssa's uniforms for school, as well as her school supplies. And maybe a few shirts if she needs them," Meredith replied, sitting back down at the table. "It shouldn't take very long."
Not long my ass.
We didn't leave the mall until five in the evening after getting there sometime around ten AM. We picked up my uniforms, spent a majority of the time hopping from store to store, picking up different shirts, jeans, and skirts. Then, we finally got back home at around five fortyfive from picking up my school supplies.
I got a massive headache at like, eight thirty, so Meredith told me to get showered and head to bed early so I could get a good night's sleep. After taking off my makeup, I got in the shower with my hair tied up, trying to not get it wet. Afterwards, I brushed my teeth and slipped into a big t-shirt, getting under the big covers.
I don't think I've ever fallen asleep as fast as I did in my entire Seventeen years of living.
* * * * * * *
I'm-
Wow. I'm so so sorry kjlfsdf. I swear I actually have a plan and outline for the rest of the book, I've just been too busy to write it down. UNTILL NOWWW....Okay, well, as always, If you have any feedback, any at all, just tell me. OH. And if I made a grammar mistake or something, tell me that too.
Yeah, Do me a fat favor and vote....Please? Comment too. Those are funny to read ngl......ADD MY STORY TO YOUR LIBRARY IF YOU HAVENTTTTTTT.
Idk what else to say lmao.
WHAT WAS YOUR FAVORITE PART ABOUT THIS CHAP????
You'll learn A LOT more about Dominic and Alyssa's personalities later on. They're hiding secrets from us....a lot of them too........
BYE BYE
~You're cool mom <3
Also, I'm so sorry if this was all over the place- I swear I'll go back and edit it
Mwahh