Chapter 13 Love At First Sight
Cassie grabs my hand, making me grab Beth’s, and leads us through the people to the alcohol table.
“What do you want?” She asks, grabbing us each a solo cup.
Beth and I look at each other before I speak up.
“Just vodka and pop.” She listens, pouring a hefty amount of vodka into each cup and filling the rest with a pop bottle sat on the side.
“Bottoms up.” She hands them to us, making her drink.
Beth and I cheer each other, giggling and taking a drink. I take two big gulps of my drink in hopes it’ll get me drunk enough to ease any nerves I might have. Cassie looks around the party, taking a sip of her drink.
“Let’s go over there.” She points to the edge of the clearing where only one guy stands alone by a large boulder. I want to question why we would go to the strange guy, but Beth is already following her over, and I made a pact with her to never leave her alone at a place like this.
We walk through the different crowds and around at least two couples making out to reach this boulder. The guy looks up as we approach. I recognize him from somewhere, but I can’t place it.
He’s very attractive, so attractive that I feel my heartbeat go crazy just looking at him. He has tan skin that glistens in the moonlight, with his large, muscular arms on display in his cut-off tank top. He’s wearing worn jeans that definitely need replaced but they hug his legs perfectly.
I glide my eyes back up his body to his face. He’s already looking at me with a harsh glare, but I’m too focused on taking in all of his features.
His short, neatly trimmed black hair makes me want to run my fingers through it. His face is chiseled to perfection with a jawline that could kill me.
I feel drawn to him, and then our eyes meet.
He takes in a deep breath at our eye contact, and I can feel it too.
It feels like he’s something I’ve been missing, something I didn’t know I was even missing to begin with. I want to touch him, to hold him, to kiss him, to be with him completely. It seems he feels something similar, which allows the confusion to pierce through the haze of those feelings.
Why do I feel so drawn to this man I just met today? I don’t even know his name or anything about him.
“Anna, this is Alec. Alec, this is Anna.”
“Is that short for something?” His deep voice sends a shiver down my spine.
“Anneliese.” He takes a breath like a weight has been lifted from his shoulders.
“Anneliese. You look beautiful.” His saying my name makes something else ignite in me.
I only want to ever hear him say my name for the rest of my life.
“Well, we’ll leave you two to get acquainted.” Cassie drags Beth away.
I almost forgot that they were even here. I turn my gaze back to him. He’s staring at me like I’m the most precious thing he’s ever seen.
“You smell good.” He says more to himself.
Confusion pushes through the haze again. “What?”
He shakes his head softly, seeming to come out of the haze himself. “I’m sorry, I just meant that you smell good, I mean that’s a good thing, you’re beautiful too. I mean-”
I giggle, ending his painful rambling, “I’m glad I smell good, Alec.”
He nods sheepishly. He’s so hot, I would expect more confidence from him, but here in front of me, he’s acting like a shy puppy.
“I don’t even know what to say.” He says honestly.
I take a few steps closer to him to lean against the boulder behind him. “How about why Cassie introduced us?”
He follows my lead, leaning into the boulder beside me. His jeans lightly brush my leg for a split second, but it’s enough to make sparks fly through my leg.
“Cassie. Yeah, uh, our families are friends. I was bugging her to meet her new friend.” I nod, taking another gulp of my drink.
“Do I make you nervous?” He asks about my drinking.
I look at him, turning my body partially towards him. “Not really, at least not in a bad way.” It’s true that the butterflies in my stomach are happy and excited about what could come with him. But there are no nerves.
“That’s good.” He fiddles with his hands, shoving them in his jeans.
“Do I make you nervous?” I turn the question back on him, considering how he’s acting.
He puffs out a laugh, “Yeah, you do not in a bad way, of course, but more of a how can I ensure you’ll talk to me again way.”
His honesty is refreshing, and hearing his desperation to see and talk to me again is refreshing.
“You know where to find me. I don’t have a phone right now though, so you’ll have to struggle the old-fashioned way.”
He laughs at that, and it’s the most beautiful sound I’ve heard in a long time. His smile is wide, making his face look even more attractive. He rests one of his hands on the boulder behind him, the other still in his front pocket.
“I’ll chase you down all day and night if that’s what you require.”
It’s a heavy answer, and I know he means every single word with his whole heart and soul.
“Wow Alec, be careful, I might think you fell in love with me at first sight.” My joke is loaded, and he knows it, too.
He turns on the boulder facing me, completely with his body resting on the boulder from his hip.
“Maybe I did.” His tone is quieter, deeper.
I think I might’ve fallen in love at first sight with this man. And maybe I’m lucky that he did the same.