Sky's P. O. V.
I return from my father's private island, where I spent a week clearing my mind. During that time, I came to a realisation-I can no longer see Zoe in the same light. Every night, I had intense dreams of her, and my desire to feel her body against mine, to hold her close and to bury myself deep inside her, has grown stronger.
Despite feeling guilty, I can no longer deny the physical attraction I've developed for Zoe. It's overwhelming and uncontrollable.
I'm longing to share my feelings because we've shared everything since school times. However, I must keep the truth hidden to protect our friendship. If I have to resist my desire or lie to her, I will. I'll do whatever it takes to save our friendship.
I didn't talk to Zoe much this week because I wanted to clear my mind. I gave her the excuse that I was busy with work.
Now I don't know how I'm going to face her in college. Will I be able to hide my growing feelings from her?
Anyway, I miss spending time with her.
Although I know that nothing can be the same between us as before, I still pray that I can get back to normal with her.
As I step into the college, Alex rushes toward me after spotting me. "Where the hell did you vanish to, man?" he asks, sounding both concerned and annoyed. "We have a match in one week, and we haven't even practised."
"I'm sorry, Alex. I had some urgent family business to take care of," I lie, trying to avoid the real reason for my absence.
"Well, we need to get our asses to practice now." He grabs my arm and drags me toward the basketball court.
When we arrive, we find that a group of guys is already practising there.
Alex's face turns red with anger. "Hey! We had this court reserved!"
One of the guys steps forward, smirking. "Yeah? Well, we're using it now. You can wait."
Normally, I would try to calm Alex down and avoid a fight, but my frustration and thoughts of Zoe have been eating away at me. Now this shit-I can't take it.
"Get off the court." I say, my voice low and threatening.
The guy laughs. "Or what?"
Before I can react, Alex throws the first punch. "This."
Before the guy can punch Alex back, I land my fist on his face, and the fight begins. Normally, I'm the sensible guy, the one who avoids fights, but right now, I can't stop myself. I throw punches, feeling the adrenaline surge through me.
My mind flashes with images of Zoe, her flushed face, the entire week I spent away from her, and it fuels my anger even more. I don't stop; I can't stop. It's as if someone has possessed me.
I'm aware that this isn't me, but I don't care. I need to release the pent-up emotions that have been eating away at me. For the first time, I don't hold back.
After what feels like an eternity, we're pulled apart by some other students. Our knuckles and faces are bruised.
Fuck! What did I do? I'm not like this.
I realise just how much I've changed in the past week. I've got to get a grip on myself before I lose everything that matters to me-including Zoe.
***
As I enter the classroom, Zoe spots me and rushes toward me, her eyes widening in concern as she sees my bruises.
I feel as if I get my breath back after seeing her after a week. I seriously missed her. Worry is etched on her face, yet she looks so beautiful.
"Sky, what happened to you?" She lifts her hand and touches the bruise on my forehead, her fingers gentle against my skin.
For the first time, her mere touch sends electric currents through my body, heating it. I close my eyes for a few seconds, losing myself in her touch.
I'm not understanding what's happening to me.
"Sky, where did you get lost?"
Her words pull me back to reality, and I immediately answer her, "We got into a fight with a group of guys on the basketball court."
"Are you kidding me?" She stares at me in disbelief. "You never fought before."
Yeah, I know, but it's because of you that I fought. And I don't know how to tell you this.
"You know how much I've been stressed because of work this past week. I couldn't control myself." I clear my throat and lie to her, trying to sound convincing. She shouldn't know the real reason for my outburst.
"Sky, what's wrong? Tell me." She urges, her eyes full of concern and confusion, boring into mine. I want to tell her the truth, but I can't. "Please, speak up." As she places her hand on my arm, her touch burns my skin, making it hard to think straight. I immediately remove her hand, making her more upset.
But then I notice a burn mark on her hand, and my brows furrow in worry. "How did this happen, Trouble?" I ask in a soft tone, holding her hand and caressing the mark.
She withdraws her hand from my grip. "First, you tell me, Sky. Why are you behaving so out of character?"
"Zoe, it's nothing. Just a lot of stress. I'll be fine." I force a smile that I hope looks reassuring.
She narrows her eyes at me, clearly not convinced. "Sky, you know you can talk to me about anything, right?"
"Trust me, there's nothing serious." I glance at the mark on her hand and ask, "Now tell me how this happened, Trouble."
"I was baking, and I accidentally touched the hot tray."
I shake my head, a smile flashing on my face. "You're always getting yourself into trouble, aren't you?"
"And you didn't text me this whole week." She stares at me, hurt, making me feel guilty.
"I'm sorry, I was busy."
This time, I didn't lie to her because I was seriously busy dealing with my wild thoughts about her. Only if she could read my mind, she would know how much I desire her.
She averts her gaze, folding her arms across her chest. "Don't talk to me. I'm angry."
"If I take you to your favourite place today, will you still be angry?" I raise my brows at her.
Although I still can't take her wild images out of my mind, I want to give her time because I can't upset her any longer. She doesn't deserve it.
"Yes." She glares at me. "Because it hurts when you ignore me. Never do that."
"I wasn't doing it deliberately, trouble. Trust me, I hated every minute of it," I say, looking deep into her brown eyes.
"I trust you." She steps closer to me and embraces me. As I feel her body pressed against mine, for the first time, it arouses me. I feel a sudden urge to pin her against the wall and have my way with her. I wonder what it would be like to grab her neck and bury myself deep into her, to make her moan my name for real.
Fuck!
What am I thinking?
Control, Sky. Control.
Wild thoughts swirl in my mind, and I break the hug, trying to regain control, clutching my hands.
It is hard, but I must act normal in front of her, controlling my forbidden desire.