CHAPTER TWO
1025 Words
Sophie told herself she should leave. She had already lost the race. That alone was enough reason to walk away and forget the entire night. That was how she lived her life: no attachments, no lingering moments, she made sure there was no room for anything that could follow her home.
But for some reason, her feet refused to move, and her eyes kept finding him.
Louis stood across the racing ground, talking to a few people, but his attention was not fully on them. Every now and then, his gaze drifted back to her like he was making sure she had not disappeared.
She didn't like that or maybe she did, and that was the problem.
She pushed herself off the hood of her car and started walking, intending to leave before this strange pull got worse. But she did not make it far before his voice stopped her.
“You always walk away this fast?”
She turned around slowly.
Louis was standing behind her now, close enough for her to notice the calm confidence in his posture. He was not trying too hard or forcing anything, and that made him more dangerous than the others.
“I don’t stay where I lose,” she replied.
A faint smile touched his lips. “Then you must not stay anywhere for long.”
Sophie narrowed her eyes slightly. “You talk too much.”
“And you don’t talk enough,” he said easily.
For a moment, neither of them moved, the noise around them faded into the background. It was just the two of them standing there, caught in something neither of them had planned.
Sophie should have walked away, instead, she chose to stay.
Instead, she stayed. “I don’t do conversations,” she said finally.
“Good,” Louis replied. “Neither do I.”
That caught her attention. She studied him more carefully this time. There was no curiosity in his expression, no pressure or hidden questions waiting to come out.
“What do you want?” she asked him.
Louis held her gaze. “Nothing complicated.”
That answer should have made her leave, instead, she let out a small breath.
"I just want to get to know you, that's all," Louis said, then stretched his hand out to her, careful not to say her name.
"My name is Louis," he said.
Her eyes fell on his outstretched hand, reluctant to take it.
"Sophie." She said and clasped his hand briefly. Louis noticed the hesitation instantly.
"I have to go now." She said, pulling away.
He nodded, "Do you think we can meet some other time?"
She shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe we can, but I'm not assuring you anything."
"That's fair." Louis didn't say anything else as he watched her walk away from him. It was evident that she was hiding something, he knew there was more about her than he already knew, and he had to dig deep.
He couldn't explain the way he felt drawn to her. Maybe it was in the way she stood out and seemed to want to get away from the world as much as she could.
For some reason, he didn’t think he wanted to let her go so soon, so he hurried after her.
"Hey, Sophie, wait up!" He called as he picked up his pace.
She turned when she heard his voice.
"I know you're in a rush to head back home. But why don't I treat you to a couple of drinks while we get to know each other?"
Sophie narrowed her gaze at him. She shouldn't be accepting the offer, but the way he took interest in her was intriguing as much as it was dangerous, and she was curious to know where it headed.
"Just a few drinks, but you won't be getting to know anything about me..." she paused.
"At least not tonight." She went on.
"That's fine by me." Louis replied and led her to the nearby bar where they had a few drinks.
After four shots of alcohol, Sophie felt herself loosening and giving into his conversation. For the first time, she noticed how handsome he was and how sharp his jawline was.
"It's just the alcohol." She tried to convince herself.
"What about the alcohol?" Louis asked, arching his brow.
She slapped a hand across her mouth unaware that she had said that out loud.
"Nothing." She replied immediately, her heart racing in her chest. Louis let out a knowing smile as her cheeks flushed.
"Have I mentioned how pretty you actually are?" Louis asked.
Sophie was stunned. For a moment she couldn't say anything, she just shook her head slightly.
"Well, since I haven't, you're the fiercest and prettiest woman I have ever seen." He reached out his hand, and while Sophie closed her eyes, anticipating his touch, he simply pushed back the hair falling over her face, making sure his hand didn't graze her skin yet.
The calm look on her face sent blood running down. A crotch was forming in his pants. It was easier to blame it on the alcohol, but he knew it wasn't.
"Sophie," he called out softly.
She opened her eyes to see him smiling at her. Her face flushed harder.
Sophie stopped thinking, for once, she allowed herself to feel something without questioning it, and that scared her more than anything because she liked it.
She liked the way he looked at her like she was not broken, she liked the way he listened to her without asking for more.
She liked how easy it felt to be around him. It was way too easy, that was why she knew it had to end.
The moment she started wanting more, she would lose control, and Sophie never allowed that.
"You seem very tipsy, let's go upstairs." Louis said, taking her hand.
"What's upstairs?" She asked.
"There's a room upstairs, you might need to lay down a bit."
"Will you come lay down with me?" That was meant to be an inside thought, and that was when she knew she had had too much to drink.
- Writer
