Leave Your Sins At The Door

4 “Sterling”

CHAPTER 4

Amelia knew it even more acutely as she watched girls passing by wave at him, and he lazily flirted back.

She knew his kind very well, “Playboy.” She thought.

And now, she was determined to cut him out of her life entirely before anything could start because she didn’t want to be one of those women fantasizing about him in broad daylight.

“Nothing is infatuating about him anyway.” She thought in the back of her head as she shook her head.

Owen and Jax watched Sterling casually wave at Amelia, his annoying, handsome smirk firmly in place. Then, their gazes shifted back to Amelia, who, to their shock, flipped him off with her two middle fingers. The moment she turned and walked away, both of them erupted into laughter.

Sterling didn’t even flinch when the girl in the baggy hoodie, the one with the surprisingly short bob, shot him the bird. Instead, his devilish smirk only stretched wider, a low, rumbling chuckle escaping his chest. Owen and Jaxon exchanged bewildered glances, clearly expecting a different reaction.

“Did you guys see that?” Sterling drawled, pushing off the wall, his eyes still fixed on the retreating figure of Amelia.

There was a genuine spark of amusement in his gaze, a rare flicker that surpassed his usual casual arrogance.

“Well, well, looks like the Sterling Thorne ‘Walking Erection’ McCade charm finally met its match,” Jax crowed, nudging Owen. “First time I’ve seen a woman give you the finger instead of her number or her mouth.”

Owen leaned in, grinning. “Yeah, man, she’s definitely not one of your usual fan club members. Guess the ‘devilishly handsome smirk’ only works on most women, huh?”

Jax added, feigning seriousness, “Maybe you’re losing your touch, Thorne.”

“Or,” Owen quickly chimed in, “maybe you just found the only woman in this university immune to the ‘McCade Effect.’ And she flipped you off, dude. That’s a new personal best.”

Jax and Owen both shouted, “Double middle fingers!” and then started laughing.

Jax smirked widely as he continued, “The irony of the notorious playboy finally getting rejected and by the girl from the viral video, no less.”

“The viral video?” Sterling’s amused smirk faltered slightly, a flicker of genuine curiosity replacing his usual arrogance. He turned to Jax, a sharp glint in his emerald eyes. “What viral video are you talking about?”

Jax and Owen exchanged a look, a knowing, mischievous glint in their own eyes. Owen clapped Sterling on the shoulder. “Oh, you don’t know? Man, she was everywhere two years back. Total train wreck.”

“Yeah,” Jax chimed in, leaning against a locker. “She’s known as the backstabbing friend and a psycho ex-girlfriend. She got pregnant and threatened to about the baby in front of the guy.” He shook his head, ever the nosy one, he added, “Remember that teacher’s assistant? He was her ex.”

“There was a video,” Owen added quickly, “a massive fight with a lot of slapping, all caught on camera.”

“It went completely viral across the whole university,” Jax continued, “so much so that she stopped attending for two years after her sophomore year.”

Owen nodded. “That’s her. Amelia Rose Prescott. The girl in your little paper airplane incident.” He gestured vaguely in the direction Amelia had disappeared. “The one who just gave you the double middle finger.”

Sterling shook his head in disapproval, “You call yourselves men, being such gossips.”

“What gossips?” Jax shot back. “Everyone knows about it. Ask anyone, they’ll tell you the same thing.”

“Exactly,” someone else chimed in, “The video was everywhere, and everyone was talking.”

Sterling shook his head again as his brows furrowed, a slow realization dawning on his face.

“Amelia Rose Prescott,” he repeated, testing the name. A new level of intrigue settled over him, replacing the earlier amusement with something sharper, more focused. He pulled out his phone, a sudden determination in his movements. “Show me.”

“The video?” Jax asked.

“No. Her socials,” Sterling answered sternly.

Jax and Owen shrugged.

“We heard she deleted all her accounts after the viral video,” Jax replied.

Sterling smiled mischievously. “I gotta head out, lads.”

“Where are you going?” Jax hollered, but Sterling was already walking away, leaving them behind.

Amelia’s day finally wrapped up. Classes were done, and after her work shift, she arrived at the white house she’d be sharing with a few other renters, luggage in tow. Her watch read past eleven in the evening. She sighed after a long day and rang the doorbell. When the door opened, an older woman in her early sixties, Linda, greeted her.

“Hi! You must be the renter who called about arriving late?” Linda greeted her with a warm smile.

Amelia returned a shy smile. “Yes. And you must be Linda?”

Linda nodded. “And you must be Amelia?”

“Yes,” Amelia confirmed. “I’m so sorry for getting here so late. I had work after my classes.”

“Oh, it’s not a problem,” Linda replied warmly, ushering Amelia in as she wrestled her heavy luggage through the doorway. “Your room’s upstairs, the keys are already inside, along with the house rules, so you can check those out later. I’d love for you to meet the other housemates, but most aren’t home right now.” She then smiled at Amelia. “Aren’t you heading to the frat party? Everyone was just talking about it.”

“Party?” Amelia thought as she shook her head, as she knew that would be the last thing on her head right now.

She smiled weakly as she shook her head, “I think I am too old for that.”

“Oh dear, no one is too old for fun.” Linda smiled warmly.

Linda led Amelia through a brightly lit hallway, past a cozy living room, and began ascending the stairs. “We have a few other residents here,” she explained, her voice cheerful. “Mostly students, like yourself. It’s usually pretty quiet here, especially on weekends.”

As they reached the top of the stairs, a door at the end of the hall swung open. A figure emerged, long, darker brown hair still damp from a shower, casually running a towel through his dark brown locks.

Amelia gasped, her breath catching. It was Sterling, though she didn’t know his name. All she recognized was that he was the guy she’d flipped off earlier.

He paused, lowering the towel, his emerald eyes locking onto Amelia’s. The familiar, infuriating smirk slowly spread across his face as recognition dawned in his gaze.

Linda, oblivious to the sudden tension, beamed. “Oh, Sterling! Just the man. This is Amelia, our new housemate. Amelia, this is Sterling. He lives down the hall. Right across yours.”

“Great.” Amelia muttered under her breath.

He was topless, showing off his chiseled chest and abs, wearing only gray sweatpants. His bright green eyes swept over her from head to toe, making her feel a wave of self-consciousness. She was used to people at the university glancing at her for a second before looking away to gossip, but his prolonged gaze felt different, more intense.

Sterling simply leaned against the doorframe, those eyes still fixed on her, and drawled, “Welcome, Amelia Rose.”

Her brow furrowed for a second. How did he know her second name? she wondered mentally.