Chapter 3

Azalea’s POV.

I cleared my throat and took a careful step back from Damon. My eyes were still locked on his, in his three weeks absence his beard had grown and was trimmed perfectly. His hair too was well taken care of– I shouldn’t be starring, in fact, I shouldn’t have even run into him like this.

“Mr Trumann, I’m so sorry, I wasn’t–” I began to apologize, in fear he might be as terrible as his mother. I heard rumors about him, they all said just how charming this man was but I was still as careful as I could be.

I wasn’t a big believer in rumors, it was said that Lucas was quite the young player around our area and I refused to believe it at first. After tonight though, I can believe it.

“Hey, it’s ok. I rushed in, Azalea,” Damon said gently, his deep voice soothing me along with his hand on my shoulder that was at a respectful place.

“Yes, Mr. Trumann, I didn’t mean to though,” I continued, breaking away from eye contact. I could no longer stare into those intense blue eyes– not without risking drowning in them.

“Azalea, please we’re the same age no?” Damon pointed out. Well… We weren’t the same age, but he was only three years older. “Mr Trumann is my father, I prefer to be called by my first name,” he explained. I nodded at first, I suppose he does have a point.

“Okay, Damon, I’ll be going now, have a good night,” I smiled politely and stepped out.

“Wait, Azalea, are you ok?” he asked, walking behind me as I went down the three steps.

“Yes,” I was quick to answer and Damon circled around me. He crossed his arms and stared at me.

“Are you lying?” He then asked and I sighed.

“Maybe a little,” I confessed shyly. I kept thinking of Lucas and that girl. Sure this time it’s her, then he leaves her and when I go to confess again there would be another girl and then another and by the time I get to him it would be the same cycle, I’d be nothing more than just another girl to him.

“Yeah?” Damon asked and smiled weakly, “Is there anything I can do to help?”

I stared at him with a frown. Why was he interested all of a sudden? The last time we uttered more than the customary hellos and how are yous was back in high school. He was having a hard time with chemistry and I just so happened to be taking AP classes and was good at it, his father heard and had me enlisted to help Damon. Damon got his good grade then we went back to never talking.

“Probably not,” I stated with a shrug.

“That sounds a bit like a challenge.” His lips curled into a smirk, “I love challenges.”

“Mr– Damon, I’m serious,” I sighed, hands planted on my hips and I swore I felt his eyes trail down my body very slowly.

“Let’s go grab some food, there’s this great place that serves the cheesiest fries and juiciest burgers,” Damon suggested. At this moment that sounded so damn good. I wanted it.

“Where’s your car?” I asked, looking around. The Trumann had a large variety of cars, going from the fanciest trucks and SUVs to the most luxurious sedans.

“I came with a friend,” Damon explained and walked towards my truck without me having to point it to him. “Come on, need me to drive?” he asked and I nodded. I threw the keys at him which he caught and he headed to the car.

We got into the car, and Damon stared at his phone for a moment. I assume he was checking out the route he had to take and all I could worry about was what the hell I was doing. I got into the car with a man I barely knew. Yes, we grew up on the same ranch but his life was far more different than mine and we barely knew each other.

I couldn’t let anyone know who I was with because that would spark questions and I didn’t want odd rumors to be spread around the ranch so I just prayed whatever was about to come of this night wouldn’t be a mistake.

“So, it’s been forever since we last spoke,” Damon said, ending the silence in the car.

“I guess yeah,” I admitted, fidgeting with my hands in my lap.

“High school was it?” He recalled just perfectly it seemed.

“Yeah, when you needed help with that chem test,” I pointed out and Damon turned to look at me for a moment. There was a slight smile on his pink lips.

“Ah yes, those were some interesting years,” he laughed and turned back to stare at the road. “You are quite smart though, I was humbled by you knowing those things despite being a few grades down,” he admitted and that made my jaw drop a little. He was humbled by me. I’m not sure if he’s just saying it to lift my mood or if he meant it but it sure was making me feel good.

“Yeah, I was interested in all those things during that time,” I admitted. Besides excelling at sports I had a great interest in science-related subjects and took AP classes.

“I honestly thought you would’ve made it to some prestigious college,” Damon confessed. I did too, Damon. I did too. I never told anyone I still applied, despite knowing I wouldn’t be able to go. I applied and I was accepted into a major league university, one that would’ve covered over half of my expenses or all depending on if I were to join the varsity sports team. But I knew I couldn’t accept that offer. Not when I wanted to look after my father.

“I’m sorry about your father’s situation,” he then said, pulling me out of my thoughts. This was the first time a Trumann had said this.

“Thank you, Damon,” I said sincerely.

“But from what I’ve heard, you’re taking great care of those horses and the crop watering and such,” Damon pointed out and I smiled. I took pride in my work and he seemed genuinely impressed. “The reports show that since you took the main lead things have been increasing positively,” he continued and I couldn’t help but smirk as my pride was intact.

“Thank you, I try my best but those horses are just my babies so it’s easy to deal with them,” I shrugged off, trying to be humble. I then decided to keep our conversation going, “How was your business trip?”

“It was business…” Damon said with a sigh. “I’ll admit it was tiring when I had to go to board meetings with men at least 10 years older than my father,” he then explained it all made sense.

“Oh shit, really?” I asked with a slight scrunch on my face. I knew how those men tend to think and I knew for sure I wouldn't last long in that room.

“Yeah, like some of them should clearly be at home, spending time with their teenage grandkids,” he joked and I gasped.

“Damon, don’t be mean,” I playfully shoved him and he laughed.

“No, I’m serious, I’m not even sure how one of them was even still alive and well at his age,” Damon continued and I couldn’t help but continue laughing.

“Oh god, you’re unbelievable,” I snickered, covering my face in my hand.

“Come on, we’re here,” He said as he parked the car. I looked around, it seemed like a nice and peaceful place. Damon looked around and then turned to me. “Do you want to grab drive-thru or do you want to dine-in?”

“Drive-thru,” I answered almost immediately. Whilst Damon had a low profile in the media, I still didn’t wish to be seen with him in public because people might get the wrong idea and I didn’t want that to happen. It might complicate things for us for no reason.

We went through the drive-thru and we both got our beef burgers and cheesy fries with a soda and of course peach pie, their fruit pie of the day for dessert. Damon drove us to a lake and parked the car. We had a view of the calming water as we ate our dinner. We talked and laughed and had a great time together. We shared the same interest in music and movies and that kept us going for quite some time.

Suddenly some nice and slow music came on. I inhaled deeply; Damon’s intoxicating cologne hung in the air. I turned to him and noticed the way he was staring at me, I felt a wave of butterflies in my stomach. Damon’s gaze dropped to my lips, my heart raced against my chest. This wasn’t right yet I didn’t say anything. Instead, I closed my eyes and Damon leaned in.

As Damon's lips gently brushed against mine, a rush of electricity went through my veins. My body tingled with anticipation, his hands cupping my face as he deepened the kiss. I surrendered to the warmth and sweetness of the kiss but only for a moment. I then pulled away and shook my head. This wasn’t right, this couldn’t happen between us. Damon can never have an interest in a girl like me, this must surely be him acting out against his parents.

“Damon, I–”

“Did I overstep?” he asked worriedly.

“A little… I just think we’re friends or trying to be?” I stuttered, unable to find the right words.

“Azalea, it’s ok. I understand,” he said gently. And god, that smile could fool everyone easily. I fell for it.

And this night right here was the start of it all.