Until Then : Book 1 - Until Then Series

by Victoria Ashlee

  We weaved through the cars like it was nothing. The lights from the buildings whisked by like shooting stars. Pretty sure we should have received a few tickets if it weren’t for the New York traffic. My arms were clutched tightly around Stefan’s stomach. Thankfully he was blocking most of the air, from blowing up my dress. I was happy I still had his coat on.

  We stopped in front of a sports store. Which confused me even more. Stefan helped me off of the motorcycle, almost causing me to flash an older lady walking her dog. I don’t think Stefan thought the whole me being in a dress motorcycle thing through.

  “Wait here.” He set his helmet on the motorcycle.

  I took in my surroundings. A few people were walking together across the street. I could see a young girl working out to something on the TV in an apartment a few floors up.

  “What’s your shoe size?” Stefan poked his head out of the door.

  I turned around, “Um seven? Are we going running?”

  “Something like that.” He laughed, and went back inside.

  Moments later Stefan came out of the store holding two pairs of roller blades.

  My eyebrows rose as he walked toward me. “Rollerblades? You bought rollerblades.”

  “Yeah, it’ll be fun.” He put them on the back of the motorcycle, and latched them down.

  “I don’t know how to rollerblade.” I sheepishly admitted.

  “Don’t worry, I'll show you.”

  We drove a few more blocks, and ended up at Central Park. My heart began to race as we walked further into the park. I’m going to fall. It’s going to happen. I kept psyching myself out.

  “Here I'll help you put them on.” Stefan told me, and gestured to a bench.

  “I can very well do it myself.” I took the skates from him, and made my way over to the bench. I slid my feet into them, and began to latch the buckles. The last buckle started to give me trouble. I huffed in frustration. Stefan was biting his bottom lip, trying not to laugh at my stubbornness.

  “Here, let me.” He bent down, and instantly clasped the buckle. Of course it worked for him.

  “You ready?” He asked, holding his hands out for me. I placed mine in his, and tried to stand. My legs were shaky at first. I kept looking down.

  “It’s like ice skating.” He tried to reassure me, making me look at him.

  “If you say so.” I wobbled backward; I grabbed hold of his arms as he steadied me.

  “You’re ok.” He smiled. He started to skate backwards, leading me forward.

  I looked down at his feet, and then up at him with frustration. “Is there anything you can’t do?”

  A short laugh came from his mouth. “Yeah, of course.”

  “Like what?”

  “I can’t poach an egg.” He said with all seriousness.

  “How will you ever survive?” I mocked.

  He eyed me, and I knew what he was going to do next, I wasn’t going to like. He turned, releasing my hands. “See you’re doing fine.”

  “No, no Stefan don’t let go.” My legs started to shake again, my arms were trying to balance myself.

  “You’re ok, as long as you’re going straight, you’re doing it right.”

  After a few minutes I actually wasn’t that bad. Once I got past my fear I started to feel a little confident. He was right, it was a lot like ice skating; minus the ice and cold weather. We started to skate further into the park. You could almost see the stars, just almost. The lights illuminated the green grass.

  Suddenly a small group of people appeared in the walkway separating us. I barely missed the late night joggers. Then a hill came out of nowhere, and I started to pick up speed.

  “Stefan, I can’t stop!” I started to panic.

  “Hold on!” He tried to catch up to me, but he was too far away to reach me.

  The speed kept picking up, and a curve in the sidewalk started to appear. I began weighing out my options. Keep skating to my imminent death, or face plant the grassy hill ahead. I decided to bail into the grassy hill, and landed knees first into a rough tumble. Two seconds later Stefan tripped over me, crashing onto the grass next to me. His fall sounded harder than mine. I rolled over on my back, and burst into laughter. Stefan winced as he sat up, and looked over at me like I had lost my mind.

  He removed his skates, and walked over to me kneeling down. “Are you ok?”

  “Yes.” I continued to laugh.

  “Are you going to stay down there?”

  My laughing settled. “Maybe.” I looked up at him.

  He then laid down next to me. “You’re a strange girl.”

  “All the best people are. Isn’t that how it goes?” I turned my head to face him. Our eyes connected. My stomach filled with butterflies again.

  We both laid there in the grass, our faces inches away from each other. He leaned over closer to me. What I thought was about to happen, made my heart race as he moved closer to my lips.

  I sat up swiftly, almost knocking him in the face. “Actually my arms really hurt.” I lied. I was internally kicking myself. Why did I just ruin that?

  He sighed, sitting up next to me, “We can put ice on it when we get home.”

  The whole ride home on the motorcycle I felt uncomfortable. My grip on him was tight, I wanted to be near him. I wanted to kiss him. Gosh, I wanted to do more than kiss him. So, why did I avoid him?

  We walked through the front door, and made our way to the kitchen. Stefan grabbed a towel from a drawer, and began filling it with ice from the freezer.

  He gently placed the ice on my arm. “How’s that?”

  I formed a small smile, “Better. Thank you.”

  “Maybe rollerblading wasn’t the best idea.” He moved the ice to the other side of my arm.

  I placed my hand on the towel, relieving him of holding it. “No, I had a great time. Even with my scuffed up elbows.”

  “You tumbled gracefully.” He inspected my other arm.

  I felt bad for leading him to believe my arm hurt worse than it did. I don’t know why I panicked when he leaned in closer to me. It was as if my mind shut off, and I hit the eject button.

  “I’m going to go shower. I need to wash all the remaining dirt off.” I tell him.

  “I should probably shower too.” He looked down at his now dirt stained shirt.

  I stared at him, trying to figure out what he was thinking. The guy from the plane turned into someone entirely different than who I thought he was. I turned, and walked out of the kitchen. Stefan followed behind me up the stairs.

  We stopped in front of my door, and I turned to face him. “Is this the awkward part where we say goodnight?”.

  “It’s only awkward if you make it.” He took my hand, and kissed the top of it.

  He started to turn to walk up toward his room. Before he let go of my hand, I stopped him. He turned to look at me, our gaze lasted a few seconds. In that moment I felt that I had everything I’ve ever wanted right in front of me, my hands started to feel clammy, my heart was beating faster. Everything was a little slow, as the world faded, and it was just the two of us left.

  He pulled me closer, and placed his other hand on my burning cheek. He hovered in front of me, searching for something in my eyes. My breathing was shallow, my lips slightly parted. I wanted him to kiss me. I was silently begging him to kiss me. I had this deep aching need for his touch.

  His lips lingered close to mine. “Are you sure this is what you want?”

  I nodded. Trying to contain my breathing.

  “You are very dangerous.” He whispered, placing both hands on my cheeks. “You’re going to get me in trouble, but the thing is I’m good at trouble.”

  Then he crashed into me like the ocean kissing the shore. He gently pushed me up against the wall, pressing his body against mine. His kiss was something I had never felt before. His fingers ran through my hair, as chills rushed through me. Then the moment was over, and he pulled away.

  “Goodnight, Little One” He smiled, and
then walked up the stairs to his room.

  I shut my door behind me, and leaned up against it, sliding down to the floor. This isn’t real. This doesn’t happen to girls like me. There’s a catch, there’s always a catch...

  Chapter Thirteen

  Sophia

  The next morning I was running extremely late for work. Everything was distracting me this morning. My head was cluttered with thoughts from last night. As much as I would love to stay home, and daydream about him, I needed to leave for work ten minutes ago.

  I grabbed my purse, and rushed out the door. I turned my keys in the lock, and spun around to walk down the steps. I almost stumbled from the sight that greeted me when I turned. A sweaty Stefan dressed in grey joggers, and a white shirt. This is a joke right? After last night, I'm going to be left with this sight in my head all day? The universe is laughing at me right now.

  “Good Morning.” He walked up the stairs, stopping one below me making our eyes level.

  I stood there clutching my purse. “You run?”

  “Yeah, every morning.” His breathing was heavy, as he pulled his shirt up wiping the sweat from his face.

  “Oh...” I couldn’t have been more awkward if I tried. My eyes traveled to his stomach. Of course he’s toned. It’s official, he’s beautiful. My mind was going places that would make anyone blush.

  “You off to work?” He asked, snapping me back into the real world.

  “Yeah, I actually need to get going.” I stepped forward, my concentration stayed on him. My heel slipped, causing my ankle to roll. He swiftly caught my arm, steadying me.

  He laughed, and let me go once I caught my balance. “You have to be more careful.”

  “I’ll try.” My face felt like it was burning red from embarrassment. I reached down to fix my heel, and stomped on the ground making sure my foot was in. “Got it, don’t you worry.” I saluted him with two fingers, and briskly walked away as fast as I could.

  “See you later.” He called out. I didn’t turn to see his face, I had embarrassed myself enough.

  You think sitting in traffic in a car is stressful. Being on a subway running late is twice as bad. I sat there cringing at every second of my run in with Stefan. Did I really salute him? I groaned at the thought of it. The woman next to me was side eyeing me. Great, she thinks I'm weird too. My stop finally arrived, and I jumped up trying not to bump into anyone. I’ve got to get myself together.

  “Good Morning” Cam beamed as he slipped through the closing elevator doors.

  “Hey Cam.” I smiled, and looked down at the two coffees in his hands.

  “Got this for you.” He handed me one of the cups.

  My eyes went wide, and I sighed from happiness. “You are a lifesaver.” I took the cup from him, and took a big gulp of the iced coffee.

  We walked off the elevator into our front office. Ms. Franklin was walking by in a hurry in the direction of her office. “Sophia, where have you been? It’s twenty past eight! Keep my schedule cleared. We have an important meeting today at ten.” She snapped.

  Cam leaned down to whisper, “Someone’s in a mood.”

  “Yeah, and she didn’t bat an eye that you were late.” I teased, walking to my desk.

  The next hour went by pretty fast. Everyone was so interested in who was coming for this mystery meeting. Ms. Franklin had been on edge all morning, rushing about yelling at everyone in sight.

  Cam appeared in front of my desk, and looked around as if he were about to tell me the code to the crown jewels. He leaned closer on one arm, “Did you hear who was coming in today?”

  “You mean the meeting at ten? No.”

  He nodded, and smiled at someone as they walked by, waiting to speak until they were out of earshot. “His name is Henry Edwards. That’s Stefan’s Dad.” He picked up a file, flipping through it, pretending to be busy.

  I picked up the papers I was going through to straighten them. “That’s random. What would he be doing here? What does he even do?”

  “Honestly, all I know is that Stefan’s Parents own a huge company in Europe. Maybe expanding? I find it strange that it just happens to be where you and I work?” He sets the file back down, and gives another person an awkward smile.

  “That is strange.” I couldn’t help but notice how weird Cam was acting. Realization hit me that I was about to meet Stefan’s dad. My stomach instantly turned.

  Ms. Franklin came storming down the hall like a freight train. “Cameron! Back to your office. No dilly dallying. Mr. Edwards is early. I just got word from downstairs.”

  The elevator doors opened on the cusp of her last word. A tall man in a very smart suit, with salt and pepper hair was standing there; he looked quite similar to Stefan; just older. A younger guy was standing next to him, he was a tad bit shorter, but dressed the same.

  Ms. Franklin looked like she swallowed a goldfish, as she walked up to them, “Welcome Mr. Edwards. Can we get you some water?” Ms. Franklin’s personality switched so fast I had to do a double take.

  “Only if you have bottled; the bottle must be glass.” He replied, his demeanor was pompous, his shoulders straight back.

  “I will have someone check into that for you.” Her eyes shot at me, trying to get my attention, but I was stuck in a trance.

  “This is my son Thomas.” Henry gestured next to him. Thomas reached out his hand to shake Ms. Franklin’s. Wait, Thomas...Thomas as in Stefan’s brother? No, no, no. Double crap.

  “Wonderful to meet you.” Ms. Franklin chirped. It took everything in me not to laugh at her personality transformation. She was acting like a giddy schoolgirl.

  Stefan’s dad kept glancing over to me. Which was making me uncomfortable. I kept trying not to make eye contact with him, but he seemed more interested in my presence than Ms. Franklin’s.

  “The conference room is this way. Everyone is waiting.” Ms. Franklin began to lead them down the hall.

  “One moment. Who is this?” Henry gestured toward me. I blinked, almost double chinning as I was taken aback by my sudden spot lot.

  “Oh that is no one. She is just an assistant.” She waved me off.

  Henry turned to look at me. “Well just an assistant, what is your name?”

  “Sophia Brooks.” I dropped the pen in my hand, and sat up straight in my chair. Why did I say my last name? Weirdo.

  “So you’re Sophia.” His eyes were piercing through me, as he stepped closer. “Thomas told me about you.”

  I looked at Thomas, and he smiled at me. I haven’t officially met him. Keira told me he was at the house the other day, but this was just weird. Ms. Franklin was glaring at me like she could see into my soul.

  “This way gentlemen.” Ms. Franklin ushered them down the hall.

  Cam was still standing next to my desk. His face was as perplexed as mine.

  “Well that was weird.” He scratched his jaw line.

  “You’re telling me. Why would they know who I am?”

  “You’d be surprised what the Edwards couldn’t do or find out. Sometimes I think they’re part of some secret society. They can get access to anything or anyone. It’s weird.”

  “I still don’t understand why I matter.”

  He picked up a mint out of a glass bowl, “Probably because you’ve been hanging around Stefan so much.”

  “Is that bad?”

  “All I know is that he’s the heir to their fortune, but he doesn’t want it. Something to do with them controlling him.” He shrugged his shoulders. “He owns his own company, so he’d be fine without it.”

  “Stefan owns his own company?” I glanced over at someone passing by.

  “Yeah, it’s small compared to their family company, but it makes him money.”

  “I still don’t understand what that has to do with me?”

  His face dropped all emotion, “You’re a bargaining tool.” He said flatly.

  “A bargaining tool?” I suddenly felt very small and self conscious of my surroundings. He could te
ll I was uncomfortable with what he just told me. “I need to get back to work. Don’t think about it too much.” He tapped the desk, and walked back toward his office.

  I turned back to my computer. What kind of family does Stefan have? The anticipation of the next hour was insane. Honestly, I didn’t want to have another encounter with his family. The thought of them using me as a pawn made me want to hide under my desk.

  I entertained myself by sorting through the mail to pass the time. I couldn’t concentrate to save my life. I wanted to know why they were here. All of a sudden Mr. Edwards, Thomas, and Ms. Franklin appeared down the hall. Dammit, now they are walking my way. If I could be invisible right now, that would be perfect.

  “Thank you, we will be in touch soon.” Mr. Edwards shook Ms. Franklin’s hand, and moved a file he was carrying under his arm.

  “We will be looking forward to your call.” She beamed in the most fake cheerful tone. Ew. She’s more cringe worthy than I’ve been today.

  Henry and Thomas started walking toward the elevator. Relief had started to come over me until Thomas stopped half way. He turned, and walked over to my desk. “We look forward to seeing you very soon, Sophia Brooks.” He smiled, taking a mint. He walked back toward his father. They stepped into the elevator, the doors closed, and I let out a large breath.

  When five o’clock hit, I hurried out of work as fast as I could. Not even stopping to say bye to Cam. I didn’t know what to think about Stefan’s father, or why they were meeting with my boss? Cam telling me that I'm going to be used as a bargaining tool didn’t help in the slightest. My mind was overworking itself, causing my anxiety to go through the roof. I reminded myself to breathe, as I pulled out my phone to call Kiera. I asked her to meet me at a cafe near the house.

  I was pacing back and forth in front of the cafe when she arrived. She turned the corner and instantly had a concerned look on her face when she saw me. “Are you ok?”

  “I’ll tell you about it when we sit down.”

  We walked up to the cashier, “Water please.” I blurted out. It was more of a yell, I received a very awkward look from the cashier and Kiera.