Illicit Attraction (English. R18)

Era I compare my life to my bedroom wall—plain and boring. I have had no boyfriend since birth, no s*x life, and haven't experienced the excitement of a bustling nightlife. Everything was because of Mom's strict and conservative nature. It's really distressing! Until one day... “I got my promotion!” Mom gushed as she entered the living room. She took off her heels, walked through the kitchen, and reached for the fridge. She was holding a glass of brown liquor in her hand when she exited the kitchen. So it was a celebration. Unfortunately, she won’t allow me to drink yet. “Nice. Congrats.” I responded softly without even looking at her. I was happy for her. She had been working for years, and that promotion was like a knight in shining armor who she had been expecting to come one day. So I bet she’d do anything just to maintain that profile status. “Not just that, Era.” She sat beside me and sighed before reaching for my hand. “It means I’m leaving.” Like I said, anything. Even though it meant she would be skipping my upcoming birthday. Uncertain of what I’d just heard, I closed my laptop and gazed at Mom. “Y-you’ll what?” “Our branch in Alberta needs a new manager, and the company picked me.” My mind was filled with conflicting ideas. If Mom left, I’d finally be free! I’d be able to go out with my friends and liven up my otherwise dull life. Yes, I’m seventeen. Too young to do some nonsense. But I desired to live as an adult. After all, I’ll be turning eighteen in a few weeks. On the other hand, I’d be living by myself. Alone! Who would prepare my food since my cooking skills were severely lacking? I couldn’t even keep up with the laundry. And how could I sleep at night knowing no one was there? What if a robber smashed through the door and killed me? What if the apartment caught fire in the middle of the night? I can’t be alone, or else I’ll die! “Are you listening, Era?” she asked, tilting her head and frowning at my pale expression. “I just thought... I can’t handle the house by myself; you know I’m a total dependent.” She took a deep breath. “Don’t worry, I’m not leaving you here alone; someone will keep an eye on you while I’m away.” “You mean Cora’s moving in here? That’ll be fantastic! I can’t wait to—” “No! She’s just a kid like you.” She walked toward me and placed her hands on my shoulder. “I’ll send your dad here. He’s going to be looking after you.” My eyes grew big upon hearing that. “M-my, dad? Wait, you said he died in a car accident when I was four.” “Era, let me explain.” She bit her lower lip and said, “Okay. I lied to you. But now you need to know the truth.” Mom opened up a part of her past. She said they were together way back in college, but when she got pregnant at the age of nineteen, he dumped her. My stupid father left her with nothing but an innocent human being inside her! I thought about her confession for a few moments. But, like bitter medicine, my mind refused to accept it. I thought it was only us since my grandparents had passed away the day I was born. My system was filled with confusion. Meeting another relative, particularly an estranged father, was a tale for me. “You want me to live with Henry?” I asked with an irritated undertone. Mom raised an eyebrow. “You will call him dad. He’s still your father.” I shrugged my shoulders and smiled bitterly. “You know, I can live with Henry being dead; how could you trust him if he ditched you in the first place? Are you sure he’s going to enjoy babysitting a child he abandoned without even knowing his baby’s name?” She ran her hands through her hair and shut her eyes. “I have no options. He’s the only one we’ve got.” Mom cupped my cheeks and forced me to look at her. “Look, I need to work. This is for your future as well. Don’t worry, when I come back, he’s out. But for the moment, deal with him. Please.” I shook my head and threw my hands up in surrender. “Fine!” Though accepting a stranger was still difficult for me, there was nothing I could do. I couldn’t win this debate. “I’ll try, but I can’t guarantee it.” I went to my room and jumped on the bed. My eyes were closed, but my mind was racing. How could I cope with this situation? o0o It had been two weeks since I had accompanied Mom to the airport. I went straight to school after saying our goodbyes and taking care of each other. But then someone tapped my shoulder as I was thinking about our last dramatic scene. “Would you like to hang out with us? We’re going to the mall,” my best friend, Cora, said. Her face was flushed with delight because the bell had just rung. Her natural routine was to hang out after school. I gathered my belongings on my desk and gave her a tentative smile. “No, Cora, I have to get home right away because my father is on his way and Mom says I should be at the apartment before he arrives.” “Your dad?” Cora’s eyes widened. “I thought you didn’t have one.” “That’s what I thought too.” I sighed. “So, what does he look like? Stout? Bald? Tattooed? Pierced?” She sat on my desk, looking up at me as if she were a curious meerkat. “A total jerk.” I shrugged my shoulders. “Though I haven’t seen him just yet.” “Wow, you are so judgmental,” she said, grinning. “Wait, is he staying with you for good? Are your parents getting back together?” I rolled my eyes. “When that happens, I’ll run away.” “Aw, you don’t like to do that, honey; anyway, we have to go; see you tomorrow.” She kissed my cheeks and pranced toward a group of couples. She wrapped her arms around her boyfriend’s waist, and he kissed her lips and squeezed her behind. I grinned. These people would surely be crawling in shame before dawn the next day. o0o On my way to my apartment, I noticed a red car parked proudly in front of the convenience store beneath the building. As I entered the lobby, I couldn’t help but stare at it. “Perhaps it belongs to the owner of this building,” I whispered as I stepped into the elevator. I reached for the tenth-floor button, but then I stopped. It was already glowing. Except for a man standing beside me, there was no one in the elevator. So he was also going to the tenth floor. Perhaps he was a new occupant. I wasn’t used to studying people, but my rule didn’t apply in this case. His features were too prominent to ignore. I took a step back and cast my gaze over his entire body. Very tall, possibly over six feet. He was dressed in a white T-shirt that clung to his broad chest and showed off his lean biceps. Legs wrapped in faded denim. I blinked as a ringing noise interrupted my brain’s survey of this sexy stranger. He took the phone from his pocket and answered it without even checking who was calling. “How’s everything in there, Timothy?” That sound. It was so deep and rich. I couldn’t help myself, but his voice affected me. “Yes, cancel all my meetings for this week; I have something more important things to do. The elevator tingled and opened automatically. The man stepped out of the double door while still talking on his phone. I stomped next. It was when I noticed that he was walking in the same direction where I was heading, as though we were both drawn to the same destination. “...that’s good to hear. Well, I’ve got to go. Goodbye.” He ended the call and shoved the phone back into his pocket. Shortly, he stopped and spun to face me. Oh no! I froze, taking in every detail of his face. He was a very attractive man. His face was chiseled with a strong jaw stubble. His brows were thick and dark greenish-blue, similar to aquamarine stones. He had a distinctive Roman nose. His dark-blonde hair was slicked back in a trendy hairstyle. “Hey…” he mumbled. My breath was caught in my throat as our eyes met. Oh, great. He thinks I’m stalking him! “You are Era, right?” My eyes widened as he stepped closer to me. I wanted to ask why he knew me. But I lost my voice. I was too busy staring at him in star-struck awe. “I knew it!” he chuckled. “Of course, it’s you. Forgive me. I should have recognized you immediately.” So he’s... “I’m Henry. Your dad,” he said in an easy-going voice. What the hell? So the man that I’d been admiring for the last ten minutes was my father. “O-oh, h-hi...” I found my voice. “It’s... it’s good to finally meet you after... well seventeen years?” I stuck out my hand. But rather than shaking it, he wrapped his arms around me, pulling me tighter to his chest. My cheeks are red-hot. I swallowed the lump in my throat as my heart continued to beat forcefully. I should be pushing him away from me. He was the reason I grew up feeling insecure, why I envied my friends who had complete families, and why I had no idea what paternal love was! But rather than hating him, I found myself appreciating his kind words. Worse yet, I was enjoying his embrace as well. This is bad.