16
750 Words
I woke up to the grey, muted light of a rainy morning and the heavy, suffocating warmth of Roman’s arm draped across my waist. For a moment, I lay there, listening to the steady rhythm of his breathing, feeling the unfamiliar weight of a decision that had effectively burned every bridge I had.
The "good girl" Allie would have woken up in a panic, clutching the sheets and wondering how to apologize to her brother. But as I looked at the discarded silk robe on the floor and the bruises beginning to bloom like dark flowers on my hips, I didn't feel regret. I felt an intoxicating sense of liberation.
Roman stirred, his grip tightening instinctively, pulling me back against the hard planes of his chest. He didn't wake up slowly; he transitioned from sleep to total alertness in a second, a habit born from years of high-stakes athletics.
"You're still here," he murmured, his voice thick with sleep, vibrating against my spine.
"I told you I wasn't leaving," I whispered.
He shifted, propping himself up on one elbow to look down at me. The softness of the morning light didn't diminish the intensity in his eyes. He looked at me with a mixture of curiosity and something that looked suspiciously like respect. He had expected me to wake up and realize the mistake she’d made. Instead, I was looking back at him, challenging him.
"My phone has been blowing up," he said, glancing at the nightstand where his device was lighting up with a relentless stream of notifications. "Nolan hasn't stopped calling. He’s probably currently coordinating a search-and-rescue mission to save you from me."
"Let him call," I said, reaching up to trace the line of his jaw. "I'm not a damsel, Roman."
A slow, dangerous smirk spread across his face. "No. You're definitely not. Which is why this is going to be interesting."
He stood up, completely unashamed of his nudity, and walked toward the bathroom. "Get dressed. We're going out."
"Out? It's seven in the morning," I said, blinking.
"It's a game day, Allie," he replied, pausing at the door to look back at me. "And the 'Golden Boy' has a reputation to maintain. But I think it's time we changed the narrative. I’m tired of the same old stories in the tabloids. I think it’s time I introduced the world to the girl who actually had the guts to tell Nolan 'no'."
My heart leaped. He wasn't offering me a secret arrangement or a hidden corner of his life. He was inviting me directly into the eye of the storm. He was offering to parade me in front of the cameras, the fans, and the vultures of the press—effectively announcing to my brother and the entire world that I belonged to the chaos now.
"You want to take me to the stadium?" I asked, my voice breathless.
"I want to take you everywhere," he corrected, his gaze darkening. "But first, we start with the most public place possible. If you're going to play this game, Allie, we play it for keeps. No hiding. No safety nets."
He walked back to the bed and leaned down, kissing me with a sudden, fierce hunger that reminded me exactly who he was. He wasn't looking for a girlfriend; he was looking for a partner-in-crime, someone who could handle the velocity of his life without breaking.
As I stood up and began to dress, I felt a surge of adrenaline that eclipsed anything I’d ever felt before. The fear was still there, humming beneath my skin, but it was no longer a warning. It was a fuel.
I walked into the bathroom where he was showering, sliding the glass door open and stepping into the spray with him. As the water crashed over us, Roman gripped my waist and pulled me close, his eyes locking onto mine.
"Are you sure about this?" he asked, his voice low and serious for the first time. "Once we step out that door together, there's no going back to the girl you were. Your brother will hate me more than ever, and the world will have an opinion on everything you do. You'll be the playboy's latest conquest until you prove them wrong."
I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling him down until our foreheads touched.
"I don't want to be the girl I was," I told him. "Take me to the game, Roman. Let's give them something to talk about."
- Writer
