Redeeming Her Love

Chapter Five:

Sarah’s POV:

I guess you could say I have been sulking all day about what happened yesterday evening at sunset as I haven’t really left my room. Thankfully, the morning was cloudy and forced everyone to go to the mall for movies, which I said no to, but even the comfort of my books have done nothing to stop my mind from wandering off. Why would Lucas say such nice things to me and then just change at the drop of a hat? Is he lying? I frown as I hear a soft knock on the door. If it’s Lucas, then I am not interested. Still, my soul somehow misses him now that it knows how he can be.

“Who is it?” I ask and Milly shouts from behind the white wood. I tell her she can come in, which she does, loudly and dressed to the nines in a mini dress and make-up. I lift my eyebrow at her.

“There is a bonfire at the boat club tonight and YOU are coming with.” She says. I quickly put my book down and swing my body to face her.

“I am NOT doing anything, Milly.” I respond and she rolls her eyes. I don’t want to go anywhere really. What if Lucas is there? I don’t necessarily have the best track record around for socializing with my sister.

“You ARE coming. Please, Sarah. We hardly ever get holidays together and before you know it, we will be done with college and never see each other. Please, pretty please?” Milly begs and gives her lip a little shake. I know it's all an act though.

“Please, Sarah? Just this once, for all times sake? It will be fun and we can come home if you feel uncomfortable.” She says again and I feel the remaining fight inside me snap.

“Fine, but if I don’t feel it then I am coming right back!” I retort and Milly squeals in one of her high-pitched and excited tones. I can’t help but laugh as she makes her way to my closet as if looking for something.

“Wow, Sarah. You really do only own jeans.” She says and I shrug. She should know by now anyway. Milly gets back to work in my closet as she realizes she will get no reaction from me. Before I know it, my pair of ripped, light skinny jeans and a baby pink crop top have been thrown onto the bed next to me. I look up at Milly with confusion.

“Wear this. I have some sandals for you that have a small wedge and I will come to do your hair and makeup now.” She says and I feel my eyes widening. Clothes choice is no problem, as they are from my items, although the crop top was supposed to be for by the pool, not out in public. Wedges, hair and makeup?

“Milly!” I complain.

“Nope. Not listening, Sarah. It is the holidays and I want to bond with you. Let me just have this one moment, please? I promise I won’t do anything over the top. Please, will you just trust me?” She says again and I huff out in frustration. She has a wicked smirk on her face that I wish I could rub off.

“Fine.” I say and then storm off to the bathroom to change. When I come out, Milly looks pleased with the outfit and asks me to sit on the chair by the mirror. At first, I really got a fright as I saw her whipping out her curling tongues and her hair spray, but now that she is done, I am actually impressed. She has somehow managed to do a very natural, beach wave that sits on my long hair very softly. I smile and she rolls her eyes.

“Told you.” She says and I fold my arms. Next, she whips out her bag of cosmetics and my skin itches in fear as she shows me all her glittery shades of eyeshadow. Thankfully she settles for a very natural eyeliner and mascara and then lip gloss. I have only worn makeup a handful of times in my life, so it always feels odd, but I must say that Milly knows what she is doing. My green eyes look so bright and my lips look full. I smile at the reflection I see in the mirror. It is me, the real me, but a little less plain.

“Milly, I love it.” I whisper and she pulls me close for a hug.

“Thank you for letting me do this, Sarah.” She says and we stay close for a second before she tells me all about the plans for the evening. Apparently, the bonfire is held annually and is an event for holiday-makers. Sounds like a mixer, which is exactly what I feel like. Not. I follow Milly down the stairs, getting ready to grab my keys to head out.

“Wow, look at you two…” My father says, smiling at my sister and me. We both smile back.

“Milly. Sarah, wow.” My mother says, almost shocked at how I am dressed. Do I really look that different? Milly winks at my mom and then offers me a reassuring smile. Milly chose the tightest clothes she could find in my closet, but how can I refuse when they are my own clothes?

“We will see you both later?” I say and they nod, smiling and searching my gaze. What is their problem? When I turn to head out the door, I hear them giggling about something. I hear my name in the mix but decide to ignore it. For now, I just want to spend time with my sister. Despite our differences, I do love my family immensely and who knows what the future may hold?

The drive to the boat club goes by pretty fast. My eyes scan over at the clouds hovering up ahead and my skin lifts into goosebumps against the breeze. It isn’t the greatest looking weather for a bonfire, but this didn’t seem to stop any young adult tonight as the parking lot is packed and I can hear loud music coming from the beach. Milly seems to be searching for someone as she grabs my hand and leads me up closer to the crowds. I can already feel something hyped in the air and my body seems to be buzzed with anticipation. I don’t recognize any of the people that my sister greets. Just how many friends does she have?

“There they are!” Milly squeaks and then points to a group of people. My eyes follow her finger to a tall group of guys all standing about with their beers. There are a few girls in the mix too. The one guy looks like the same one that Milly was with on the beach and immediately catches onto our presence and smiles and walks towards my sister. In one, long swoop he has her twirling around in circles and giggling. I smile at their show of affection. Perhaps my little sister has fallen in love? A slight pang of jealousy fills me. My eyes head back to the group of people. All of them are occupied in conversations and laughing amongst themselves. It all looks friendly and welcoming, except for one issue. Lucas is standing there. My breathing hitches as his dark eyes catch onto mine. For a moment I don’t look away as I can hardly bring myself to tear from his handsome stare, but for as loud as he makes my heart pound, my mind screams a reminder of what a tool he is, making me quickly look away.

“I’m going to get a drink, alright?” I say to Milly, who is in a flirtation chat with her mystery man. She smiles at me and winks, clearly agreeing that I can go. My feet make their way towards the bar, where I ask for a soda and the barman kindly hands it to me. The music in here is loud and everyone is already sweating from dancing in the humidity. Nobody seems to be looking at me weirdly, which is a first and for once I feel like I can just exist as myself without any pre-existing judgments. I smile as I sip on the soda.

“Hello, pretty lady!” A male voice says from next to me. When I turn, it is the bright and beaming face of Lucas’s friend from yesterday, Tom. He looks handsome in his ripped black jeans and his white shirt.

“Hey, Tom! How are you doing?” I respond and he takes a sip of his beer and sits next to me.

“Eh, I am fine, although I wasn’t sure if I wanted to come tonight. Usually, these bonfires are full of people who just want to get drunk and have holiday screws.” He says and I laugh out at his honesty. It isn’t a secret that this coastline is filled with hormones in the holidays. I nod in agreement.

“Perhaps the evening won’t be so bad anymore.” He says again and then offers me a flirtatious smile. I find myself blushing at his hidden message and as he sips down the last of his beer, he offers me a hand to stand and follow him onto the dancefloor.

“I am not very good at this.” I admit and he chuckles as he pulls my body close to his, taking my arms in his and leading me into a type of dirty-dancing salsa. His body moves against mine and not once do I feel like I don’t know where to move, as he so skillfully guides my hips and my feet in every next move. We both laugh as I start becoming more confident in the dance and offer him a small butt jiggle to add my own flare. The beat gets turned up a knot and Tom spins me on the dance floor. When his hand lets go and he circles me, I continue gyrating my hips with my hands in the air. He has a smirk on his face as he pulls me back to his body so that my chest is flush against his and our foreheads are touching. It feels like I have completely lost myself in this moment and that for the first time ever, I have allowed myself to step out of my comfort zone. I have to commend Tom for managing to do that.

“Do you have any idea how sexy you are, Sarah?” He whispers into my ear and then turns me around so that my backside is rubbing against his torso. The music slows and his hands are guiding my hips from side to side. I feel captured by the music, even Tom disappears from my mind as I feel his hand sliding up and down my waist. For a moment, I open my eyes and when I look ahead, Lucas is standing at the bar, his eyes boring deep into mine and he looks ready to kill. It is like a bucket of ice, cold water has been thrown onto me, as I come back to reality and realize that I have been grinding up against some guy I barely know. What has gotten into me? My heart rate starts increasing.

“Sorry, Tom. I need some air.” I say quickly, managing to peel myself off his gentle touch.

“Sarah…” He begins but I walk away. Part of me feels guilty for running away from him like this, but I cannot stand there and enjoy myself when I know Lucas is busy watching. I can't allow another to touch me that way, when all my heart has been screaming to me for the past twenty-four hours is that it wants Lucas. I quickly jog out to the beach, my skin greeting the cool air with welcoming pores and I smile against the refreshing swirls of air. Those dark, menacing eyes are still flashing through my mind. The way he gulped down his beer as he watched me has my cheeks flushing. His expression was dark, thoughtful, perhaps there was even a flash of desire. Was he watching me this whole time?

A shiver runs up my spine.