Sophia's POV.
Alex was surprised for a moment, then he took a step forward and tried wiping the tears away.
“Hey.” He said in a soft voice. “I didn't mean to make you cry, Sophia. I'm sorry if I hurt—”
“If? If you hurt me? “No!” I snapped, taking a step back, and he seemed even more confused.
“You don't get it.” I sucked in a breath. “It's not even about how you hurt me with Emily. You just don't know what I've been through Alex.”
“Soph—”
“No!”
He opened his mouth to speak but I beat him to it.
“My father died in a car crash and I was present in the car when it happened. I was there, Alex. I was the last person he ever talked to.” I sobbed.
“And today, when you called me and I realized that you were in a car crash, do you have any idea what I went through? All that anger, pain, trauma...everything!
Everything that I've been trying to bury deep inside me for
years came right back up at that exact moment.”
I wiped away the tears to clear my blurry vision.
“If something had happened to you today, I would've hated myself for being the last person to talk to you and I don't deserve that. I don't deserve that from anyone, Alex.”
I didn't realize he'd stepped forward but the next thing I knew, his arms were around me, and my face was buried in his chest.
“Don't you ever say that again?” He whispered.
I cried with all my heart, remembering the fatal accident that took the life of my father and spared mine. And then reality set in. What the hell am I doing? I wasn't this weak.
So, without thinking twice, I snapped out of his embrace and he was taken aback.
“I'm fine.” I sniffled and wiped my tears away.
“Sophia, you don't have to pretend. It's okay to—”
“I'm fine, Alex.” I quickly lay on the floor and covered myself with the blanket.
This is exactly why I don't like opening up to anyone. I was nothing but a mess.
“Sophia.” I felt him kneel beside me. “Sleep well. It will be a better day tomorrow. And I'll never bring this up unless you want me to, okay?”
I felt at ease just hearing that.
“Hey.” He called again and I looked over my shoulder to find half a smile on his lips. “Thanks for letting me take the bed.”
I nodded.
Surprisingly, sleep came easy that night. And before I knew it, the sun was shining on my face.
All the events from last night filled my memory and I groaned in frustration.”
Opening one eye, I peeked over at the bed only to find it empty. Where was Alex?
I didn't scare him away, did I? Don't be ridiculous, Soph!
Maybe he just went outside for breakfast or to talk to Steve or his parents or someone else.
Getting up, I had a quick shower and brushed my teeth. Picking out a yellow summer dress for today, I combed my hair and walked outside.
Stephanie was just getting out of her room at the end of the corridor, her eyes lighting up when she saw me. But it was replaced by a frown as she neared.
“What happened to your eyes?”
I realized they must've been puffy from all the crying last night. I was in a hurry to leave the room and didn't bother checking out my features in the mirror.
“Nothing. Just slept late.”
A knowing smirk formed on her face. “Did you guys....?”
My jaw dropped as I hit her shoulders.
She chuckled. “Come on, Soph. You know there's nothing better than some getting back together sex and birthday sex mixed.”
“What?” I gasped. “Have you gone mad Steph? We did nothing of the like. We might share a room but it's still strictly professional.”
“Okay, jeez. I get it. You didn't do it. Tell me you at least did something special for the birthday boy?”
“No. Wait, what did you say about your birthday?”
“It's his birthday today.” She raised a brow. “You knew that, right?”
“Oh my God!”
Oh, man! This can't be happening.
I checked my phone for the date to make sure Stephanie wasn't mistaken. April 25.
Shit!
I'm his secretary! I should've remembered this. I mean, it's practically part of my job but now, my roommate and best friend are kinda doing my job for me.
Alex's family brought me to Florida for his birthday and I ended up bawling my eyes out in front of him when the clock struck midnight.
Not a very proud moment.
“Happy birthday, Asshole.” Stephanie suddenly said, glancing behind me.
I felt Alex walk up behind me and I turned around to find him strangely smiling at Stephanie, only after cutting a glance at me.
“Thank you, Steph.”
Strange. Since when did these two become friends?
She chuckled. “I'll see you two later.”
Don't you dare leave me here, Steph?
She winked at me, right before walking away and I could tell Alex saw it, with the way his lips curled into a smirk.
I swallowed.
Happy birthday, Alex.
That sounds way too easy. Maybe I should apologize first for last night.
I cleared my throat to speak but him watching me like that, probably waiting for me to wish him a happy birthday, got my tongue-tied.
After about a minute, his smile slowly dropped and with a small nod, he took a step back to walk away.
“Alex.” I finally said.
“Yes, Sophia?”
“I'm sorry about last night.”
He wasn't expecting me to say that. He crossed his arms over his chest. “You have nothing to be sorry about. I understand.”
“Okay.” I nodded.
His eyes searched mine. “Okay then, I'll see you later.”
He took steps away from me and was about to turn a corner when I stopped him once again with my voice.
“Alex.”
I took steps in his direction and surprisingly even myself, wrapped my arms around him from behind. My chest came In contact with his back and I felt his muscles tense up against my body.
“Thank you for listening to me last night.”
“Sophia.” He murmured as he placed his hand over mine.
“And happy birthday,” I whispered. “I hope you have an amazing day ahead, Alex.”
“I am already.” I could hear the smile in his voice.
My cheeks heated up and I quickly pulled my arms back.
Alex turned around with a bright smile on his face which was pretty contagious as I found myself smiling back.
“Um... I should go find Stephanie.” I muttered.
“Sure.” He nodded.
I turned away from him and disappeared into the elevator.
Stephanie and I had decided to go for an outing, so I went to check for her in the lobby.
The number of guests and visitors made it impossible to look for her and she wasn't even picking up her phone.
Standing up on my tiptoes, I searched through the groups of people and my eyes locked with a pair of brown ones, staring right back at me.
It was a guy that appeared to be in his early twenties. I expected him to look away but he just kept staring my way for some time and then a smile formed on his lips.
Do I know him? I didn't think so.
Or does he know me?
I thought as he started walking in my direction. I glanced behind me for a brief moment to check if he was walking up to someone else but the only thing behind me was the wall.
I studied with him. His brown hair was ruffled as he ran a hand through it, a mischievous grin playing on his lips. He was wearing a casual white t-shirt under a black leather jacket with a pair of matching denims. His appearance screamed wealth.
“Hi.” He flashed me a lopsided grin.
“Um..hi. Do I know you?” I asked, confused at his familiarity.
“No.” He shrugged. “And I don't know you either, but that's the point of a vacation. Meet new people, and have fun. Just saw a pretty girl and I came to say hi.”
“I see,” I said.
“I'm Blake by the way.” He extended his hand for a shake.
I shook his hand. His grip was surprisingly warm and firm.
“Sophia.”
“No way.” He gasped.
“What?” I raised a brow.
“I've always wanted a girlfriend named Sophia. This must be my lucky vacation.” He smirked.
I chuckled, pulling my hand back.
“So tell me,” he said. “Do you believe in mind reading?”
I raised a brow suspiciously. Was this some TV prank? Was I going to wave at a hidden camera at the end of this?