9| Sooner Than Expected

Amelia pov

Bridget and Dean had vanished. So it was just Scott and Savannah at the table today. Scott was typing furiously on his phone while Savannah looked bored. When she saw me approaching, her eyes lit up and she waved enthusiastically. I smiled and got down on a seat in front of them.

"Hi!" She exclaimed. 

"Hey." 

Scott looked up and gave me a beaming smile, "Hi A."

"A? That reminds me of Pretty Little Liars." Savannah replied to him.

"Okay, well, I'm just going to pretend I didn't hear that. So how are you?" He turned to me.

"I'm good, you?"

"Have you seen Theo?"

My heart started beating wildly against my chest. "Why-why do you ask that?" I hoped my voice didn't sound shaky.

"I haven't seen him since yesterday. I was wondering if he even came today or not."

"I went over to his house yesterday. He was in a pretty foul mood." Savannah said.

Was it because of me? Yeah, probably.

"When I was leaving I saw Claire making her way inside, so I wasn't surprised."

My stomach revolved at that, "Cl-Claire?"

Savannah nodded, "They're family friends, Theo and Claire. Their mothers are kind of business partners."

"Oh."

"What was she doing there?" Scott hissed out, looking at Savannah. His pitch had decreased drastically as if he didn't want someone else to hear.

"She was wearing a black thigh length dress." She whispered back. I could see the wheels rotating in her head.

"Do you think she was-" Scott cleared his throat.

"No! I mean, I don't know. Theo said they don't do that anymore."

"Uh-guys? What's going on?" I asked them, confused.

Savannah sighed, looking at her twin as if asking him for permission. When she didn't get a response, she turned to me, "Theo and Claire used to sleep together."

My stomach revolted.

"We advised him not to do something even casual with someone like her. Claire's a manipulative bitch. Theo deserves much more than her. So one day he told us he'd ended it."

"And," I cleared my throat, "You think he was lying?"

"I don't know. I hope he wasn't, Claire's a bitch. I don't want him wasting his time on her."

I don't want him wasting his time on anyone.

"Why did he go to the legal class yesterday?" Scott asked me. 

I felt my ears turn red, "I don't know?"

"Where are Bridget and Dean? I swear if they're in the janitor's closet doing all that kinky stuff-"

"Kinky?" Scott raised an eyebrow, gaining a newfound interest in the topic.

I tuned off from the rest of the conversation. My mind was too busy picturing Claire and Theo together. I wanted to puke, I wanted to get away. I wanted him to come to me and tell me it was a fucking lie, that nothing like that happened.

Why would he come to you after what you said to him? 

I hurriedly looked side to side, hoping to catch a glimpse of Claire, hoping for some kind of reassurance, but I didn't find her anywhere. I wondered if they were together right now as well, but my mind couldn't think further.

Ethan tried cheering me up in class, but it was as if my body had shut everyone out, I couldn't think. 

Whenever I tried, he came in my mind, and with him came Claire, so I just stopped altogether. 

When I reached home, I flopped down on the bed, burying my face in my pillow. I tried to imagine his vivid green eyes, the way his mouth turned up when he smiled, the dimple in his left cheek. All I was left with, was the last words he'd spoken to me. I'd made him angry, so angry. I could see it in his eyes how much I'd hurt him. I didn't like it.

My phone rang and I groaned, wanting to be left in peace. When the person didn't give up, I slowly opened one eye, looking at the caller id.

My body sat up straight.

My hands shook as I picked up my phone and pressed it to my ear. "H-Hello?"

"Come outside." His smooth voice flowed in my ear, and he hung up.

I got up as fast as lightning, replacing my 'hello kitty' shorts for my black denims, checking my hair in the mirror, I combed it using my fingers, grabbing my phone and rushing out of the room. The thought of seeing him excited me. I didn't understand this feeling.

Theo was standing against a dazzling white Porsche, black Ray Bans covering his green eyes. His hands were in the pockets of his rippled black jeans, the sleeves of his shirt rolled up enough to give me a glimpse of his strong arms. Sunlight reflected off his brown hair, making them appear brownish golden.

He was so stunning.

His head raised up when he heard me approaching, a smile covering his lips as he looked me top to bottom, "Why're you panting, Mia? Did you dress up for me?"

I ignored his remark, "I didn't know you owned a car."

"I prefer not to take it out, but seeing your reaction on the bike, I didn't want to take another chance." His voice didn't convey if he was angry with me or not. I couldn't say he wasn't, because I remembered the look in his eyes yesterday. He was absolutely furious, and I don't think that kind of anger could be subdued in a single day. Nevertheless, he didn't mention it, so I chose to not mention it as well.

"Get in."

"Where are we going?" I asked him.

"We're going on a ride."

My body zapped with energy as we rolled down the roads, the plants rushing past us. The entire way Theo kept his eyes on the road, though I didn't. I glanced at him from the corner of my eye, at his scrunched up eyebrows, his tongue peeking out to lick his plump lips. 

Jesus Christ, what the fuck was happening to me? Since when had I ever been so observant to a guy's habits?

  He didn't say anything to me the whole ride. I had expected him to make at least a small conversation, but he didn't. My mouth was itching to ask him about Claire, but I had no right to poke in his life after what I'd said yesterday. Actually, I had no right to poke in his life whatsoever. 

We were back at the hill. I realized that after we'd stopped, I'd been too busy staring at Theo to notice my surroundings. We parked a bit further than we'd done the last time I'd been here. He got out without saying a word to me. But when he noticed I didn't get out after him, he looked back at me, motioning with his eyes.

I got out and followed behind him, waiting for him to say something to me, anything. He didn't. I started wondering if this was how we would be from now on, if this is how he'd ignore me every time we were together. Why did he bring me here if he planned to ignore me?

He kept on walking straight ahead, not stopping at the banyan tree. I saw his hands hover over, then seconds later he removed his shirt. When he was taking his hand out of the sleeve, I noticed the expanse of his shoulder blades, his muscular back. Without stopping, he removed his pants as well.

And I stood there with my mouth open.

"You coming?" He glanced behind at me, and without waiting for a response he jumped down.

I shook myself out of my dreamy trance, proceeding to remove my top and my jeans, walking over to the edge. Even though I'd done this earlier, looking down scared me. I vaguely saw Theo coming up the lake, shaking his head, running a hand through his slick wet hair.

"Mia, come on."

"Mia, please don't be scared. You enjoyed it last time, didn't you?"

"I'll catch you angel, I'll always catch you."

His last line made me breathless. I suspected it had a deeper meaning, that it wasn't just about the jump.

"At 3." He said, "One."

"Two," I whispered, more to convince myself.

"Thr-"

Like last time I jumped before he could complete. And then I was falling. My body was falling, I felt as if the earth's core was calling out to my soul, as if it was pulling me inside. I felt free, no one could control me right now.

Then it was over.

I pushed my hair back, pushing my body up to the surface of the lake. My eyes were closed as I gasped, coming up for oxygen.

"Hey, angel. Breathe. Just breathe, you're okay."

When I opened them, I saw his green eyes staring at me, raw adoration in them. His hands were on my shoulders, but he removed them and placed his palm on my cheek, gently stroking my cheekbone.

Then he smiled, "That wasn't so hard now, was it?"

I gulped, not letting go of his eyes. My breathing was harsh, there was water in my lungs, but it didn't matter right now.

He mattered.

"You're okay, right? I can't-"

I cut him off by placing my lips on his.

Theo pov 

I stumbled back for a second when she flung her arms around my neck, and froze completely when I felt her lips against mine. I know I'd said she would be the one to initiate it the next time, but this was way sooner than I'd expected.

I wasn't complaining.

My hands went down to her legs and pulled them up, making her wrap them around my torso. Her chest was pressed against my chest, my hands were digging in her thighs, but I didn't care.

She tugged at my hair causing a groan to escape my mouth, and I felt her smile against me. My hand came up to plunge in her wet hair, pressing her head closer to mine. I could taste the lake's water on her lips, but everything else was hers.

I traced her bottom lip with my tongue, making her gasp and clutch on my shoulders tightly, but she didn't let go. I wouldn't have let her anyway. Her mouth was hot against mine, fierce, strong. She was clutching me as I was clutching her, she held me as I held her.

"Theo." She whispered.

"Yes, angel?"

"I'm sorry I said all that to you." She closed her eyes. "I didn't- I didn't mean it."

"Well, you didn't lie. No one has ever said no to me." I attempted to joke, but when she didn't say anything I pressed my forehead to hers, "I know you didn't."

Her mouth descended on mine again. She had never been the one to express herself, she had never shared her feelings. So her boldness surprised me. The fact that she was expressing herself, not in words but the way her lips felt against mine, was something new, something very new.

And I liked this new side of hers.

I'd never been one to care, I'd never once felt the need to ask for a girl's attention. But right now I wanted to fall on my knees and beg her to look at me, just once, if not more. I wanted her to see me, to see past the barriers I'd created all my life. I wanted her to look at me like no one else looked, I wanted her to know me like no one else does. 

I wanted to tell her how much she meant to me, how important she'd become to me in these past couple of weeks that I couldn't imagine myself without her, but I knew it would scare her away. I knew she would run away like she did last time, and I was just too fucking selfish to let her go. I was too fucking selfish to enjoy the moment.

She gasped in my mouth when I pressed her closer to me, wanting to feel every bit of her. She let me devour her mouth, her legs tightening around my torso when she felt she was about to fall. 

But she was not going to fall, not when I was here. No, I would never let her fall. 

I'd always be there, standing right down to catch her.

*