The One Read online

  The sound of my own voice came from Ellie’s pink laptop.

  “But… Jason.”

  Grabbing the screen and tilting it towards me, I watched in horror as Luke cornered me against a wall, breathing heavy on me. It looked bad, but it felt worst. I could smell his sickening cologne from here.

  “Oh no,” I said.

  “Someone must have been filming you guys,” Ellie said as she watched the video. “Great shot, too. It almost looks like it was planned.” She shook her head and wrinkled her nose. “That guy is a fucking sleaze-ball. I’m so sorry you had to go through that.”

  “It gets worst.” I said it just as he plunged in and kissed me.

  “What the fuck!” Ellie was livid just as I was then and now.

  My heart beat hard in my chest because I knew what I was about to see. I instinctively looked to the upper left corner of the screen, where Jason appeared. Seeing him relaxed me for a moment and made me forget about the horrific thing happening in the foreground. His face looked so confused, so hurt. I relived all the shame and heartbreak of that day.

  “How could you do this?”

  Jason’s words broke my heart all over again. Jason disappeared just as fast as he appeared.

  “Oh, Sophia.” Ellie patted my back, rubbing it gently.

  I fought hard to hold back tears, but I could feel them forming, swelling in my eyes, threatening to tumble down my cheeks. I swallowed back the hurt.

  “Let go!”

  The video showed me pushing Luke back and spitting at him.

  “Whoa, Sophia!” Ellie smiled.

  “It gets worst,” I said, wincing because I knew what was coming.

  *SACK*

  I didn’t watch it because after feeling it in person, there was no reason to relive it, but I could see the damage through the pained expression on Ellie’s face.

  “Fucking. Awesome.” Ellie looked at me with a look of respect and appreciation. “You showed that guy.”

  I smiled. “It did feel pretty good.”

  “Hell yeah it did.”

  “And does it make me a bad person that knowing a video of him getting kicked is on the internet?”

  “And it’s been viewed over ten million times!” Ellie chirped.

  “And it what?” I shook my head. “Did I hear that right? This has been watched over ten million times?” I put my hands on my cheeks and shook my head, looking off into the distance. “This is terrible.”

  Ellie’s expression dropped to confusion.

  “Why?”

  “This is assault, Ellie! I kicked a guy in the…” I looked around and lowered my voice. “I kicked a guy in the balls.”

  “He assaulted you first!”

  I ran my fingers through my hair and shook my head. “No, this can’t be happening. Do you know how bad this video looks to my clients? And to Jason?”

  “Please, Sophia.” Ellie grabbed my hand. “Nothing in this video is your fault. Luke is a sleaze and he deserved what he got.”

  Breathing out slowly, I nodded. “You’re right.”

  Still, I couldn’t help but think about Jason, and what dragging him into the media like this would do for his reputation.

  My phone buzzed.

  I groaned. My mother had been extra involved in my life lately and I was getting tired of constant calls from her.

  “Should I let it go to voice-mail?” I asked.

  “Do you think she’s seen the video?”

  “Oh shit.” I let out a sigh. “I didn’t even think of that.”

  Ellie pointed to my phone. “It was just a text.”

  “A text?” I looked up Ellie with a question on my face. “But nobody texts me but you.” And Jason, my subconscious reminded me.

  My fingers trembled as I reached for the phone. I opened the message and my heart jumped at the name.

  Jason Powers.

  “It’s Jason!” I was a little too excited.

  “What did he say?”

  I opened the text and read the message.

  Jason (7:15PM): Can you swing by the penthouse? We need to talk.

  “He wants to talk,” I said. My voice was shaky and I wasn’t sure if this was a good or bad thing.

  “About what?”

  “He doesn’t say.” I looked up at Ellie. “He wants me to go to the penthouse.”

  “Well that’s good. He wants to see you in person.”

  “Yeah.” My heart was racing in my chest.

  “When does he want you to go?”

  I read the text again. “He doesn’t say.”

  “Maybe you should go now.”

  “Should I?”

  I wanted to. But I reigned in my wild heart. What if it was something bad?

  What if he wanted me to gather all my belongings and leave the penthouse for good?

  What if he was suing me for that video?

  There were so many ways this could go wrong.

  “I think you should,” Ellie said, breaking my concentration.

  “Okay.” I swallowed. I got up and put my phone in my purse. “I’ll see you later.”

  ~Chapter 4~

  I drove slower than I ever had on my way to Jason’s. My hands were so shaky that I wasn’t even sure if I should be driving, but still I made my way into the downtown core of the city.

  I still had my key so I made my way into the elevator and pushed the button for the penthouse floor. My heart raced in my chest to the point where it was buzzing. I fiddled with the key and nearly dropped it due to my clammy hands.

  Trying to breathe, I wondered whether I should expect the worst. Was I getting sued? Kicked out? I didn’t know and a part of me wanted to turn back, but the elevator was already shooting up towards the penthouse and I wouldn’t get away before the doors opened onto Jason’s penthouse suite.

  Tears welled up in my eyes. I wasn’t sure how ready I was to see Jason and be reminded of the hurt I had instilled in him.

  There was no turning back now.

  The elevator reached the top floor. The ring of the elevator sounded loudly, startling me and putting my already racing heart on edge.

  I squeezed my eyes shut, not ready to see the official end of this relationship. I heard the doors slide open. Still keeping my eyes shut, I stood in the elevator for a moment.

  “Hello Sophia.”

  Jason’s voice.

  It had been so long since I heard it that it put my ears at ease.

  He didn’t sound angry.

  “Jason,” I mumbled.

  I heard a chuckle. “You can open your eyes.”

  As soon as I opened my eyes the elevator doors began sliding shut. In that split second I saw Jason’s sparkling brown eyes looking into mine. The doors whooshed close. Jason and I simultaneously lunged forward to put our arms between the doors and stop them from closing. His hand brushed mine as we set off the censor, causing the doors to open again.

  Jason stood in front of me. I could still feel the area on my hand where he brushed me.

  “Jason,” I looked up into his face. But he stopped me. Taking my hands in his, he looked at me. He didn’t look angry or spiteful. In fact, he seemed the opposite of all those things.

  “Sophia.” He stopped to collect his words. “Come in.” He stepped back a few steps and pulled me inside. It wasn’t until then that I noticed the rest of the apartment. There were bouquets of flowers everywhere — red, white, and purple roses, daisies, sunflowers, baby’s breath. Bouquets of all different colors and sizes filled the room. There were flowers on the tables, by the windows, and all over the floor.

  “What is this?” I asked as I looked around the room.

  “Look at me.” The way Jason said those words commanded my undivided attention. “I owe you an apology.”

  “An apology?”

  “That day I saw you — I wasn’t thinking and I acted purely on emotion. If I had actually stayed behind and spoken to you, I would have understood the situation.”

  Tears welled
up in my eyes.

  “Jason.” My voice shook. “I needed you in that moment and you left. You didn’t even want to hear me speak.”

  “What I did was wrong. I left you alone when I should have been there for you. Sophia, I’m so sorry.”

  The tears silently trailed down my cheeks.

  I let out a sigh. “You really hurt me, you know that? I love you. I love you more than anyone I’ve ever known. But you deserted me. And you know what really hurts? You doubted me. I thought we loved each other and were in this for life. But you assumed I was capable of cheating on you days after saying yes to your proposal.”

  More tears streamed down my face and I wiped them away. I was surprised at this outburst of emotion but it had been bubbling deep inside me over the past few weeks. Jason’s eyes flashed down to the floor.

  “I would never do that to you, Jason Powers. I would never abandon you. And I would never cheat on you.”

  His caring eyes looked up at me. He wasn’t moping or ashamed.

  “I know you wouldn’t, Sophia Fletcher.” He stroked my cheek gently. “As soon as I left, I knew I was making a mistake. I wanted to call you, but I wasn’t sure whether you wanted me to, or if you’d even want me back.”

  I put my hand out and touched his arm. He immediately moved his hand so that he was holding me back. The slight but firm touch electrified me.

  He shook his head. “I couldn’t wait any longer. I needed to see you.”

  “Did you watch the video?”

  Jason nodded. I let go of him and reclaimed my arm. I scratched my head and looked away.

  “When I watched that video it told me what I already knew. You would never do that to me, I know that. And what that man did to you…”

  I looked up at him. There was a pulse in his clenched jaw.

  Seeing Jason get angry over what Luke did made me feel good. “Don’t worry.” I smirked. “I got him for you.”

  Jason smirked devilishly back at me. “I saw that. You got him good.”

  Relief flooded through me.

  “As soon as I watched that video, I knew it was a set-up,” Jason said.

  “A set-up?”

  “Tabloids like to meddle in peoples’ lives to get new material. In this case, they hired someone from your past to cause drama in our relationship.”

  I gasped. “People do that?”

  “What a world we live in, huh?” Jason shook his head. “Before I even watched the video, I knew you wouldn’t do that to me. And as soon as the video came out, I knew what was going on. Trust me, you won’t have to worry about Luke or the tabloids for a very long time.”

  “Well, Luke won’t be coming near me anytime soon.” I let out a weak laugh. “When I was entering the building earlier, someone recognized me and shrieked.”

  “I don’t blame them! Frankly, even I’m a little scared of you.”

  I laughed. Wow. It felt good to smile and laugh again.

  “I missed you.”

  We stared at each other, each wearing goofy smiles.

  “I missed you too.”

  Jason pulled me in and kissed me slowly on the lips. He held my head as his thumbs gently stroked my tear-stained cheeks.

  Yes. His kiss was like a breath of fresh air as I felt like I’d been holding my breath underwater for weeks. He gave me life again. Jason was in my life again.

  I kissed him as deeply and passionately as I could, showing him how much I missed him, how much I wanted him.

  He pulled me in closer, wrapping his arm gently around my waist. But despite how amazing the kiss was I couldn’t get rid of that question that seemed to be bouncing around in my mind.

  Jason pulled back.

  “Are you alright?”

  I nodded. “Do you — I mean, is there a chance that you still want to marry me?”

  Jason’s face fell serious and for a moment my heart sunk.

  “Because if you want to take it slow and restart this from the beginning, I can do that too.”

  Jason put his finger up to my lips and I fell silent. The corners of his lips turned up into a sly smile. He took my hands in his.

  “Of course I’ll marry you, Sophia Fletcher. I’m in love with you.”

  My heart fluttered enthusiastically and I willed myself to calm down.

  “Really?”

  “Absolutely.” His dark piercing eyes stared deep into mine. “You’re the one.”

  My stomach did a somersault.

  The one?

  A rush of emotions and hormones gushed through my body and I pulled Jason back in, kissing him wildly.

  Jason walked me over to the bedroom, which was strewn with flowers. He pushed them off, sending petals floating to the ground. He pulled me down onto the bed with him.

  Neither of us could stop looking into each others eyes. After every kiss, every touch, we looked to each other as a way to reinforce to ourselves that we were still there — that we were still with each other.

  ~Chapter 5~

  Less than twenty-four hours later Jason and I were sitting at a restaurant in the Bahamas. The restaurant had a canopy to keep us safe from the bright sunshine, but there were no walls to obstruct our view of the beautiful, endless glittering ocean.

  We had flown down in his private jet earlier that day. Now that it was well into January, everyone was back at work, allowing us to enjoy the beach and the perfect weather for ourselves.

  Jason reached across the table and grabbed my hand.

  “Are you sure you want to do this?” He asked.

  I took a sip of my rum-infused pineapple cocktail. “I know I want to do this. I’ve never been more sure in my life.”

  Jason smiled.

  “I never expected that you’d ever do anything this spontaneous before.”

  I shrugged. “Maybe you’re rubbing off on me.”

  Jason smirked deliciously at me.

  Oh my god, I wanted him now.

  He rubbed my hand gently.

  “The only thing,” I started as I looked up into his eyes. “I wished my family was around to watch us, but it’s a small price to pay for finally marrying you.”

  In fact, I liked the idea of not having a big wedding. It meant the paparazzi wouldn’t be fawning over us (and by us I meant Jason) on our special day. I also liked that I wouldn’t have to wear a giant ball gown (even though Ellie would kill me). I had all I ever wanted for my wedding day: the man I loved.

  Still touching my hand, Jason sat back in his chair. He surveyed me under careful eyes. His mysterious smile suggested he was thinking something naughty.

  “What?” I smiled, feeling a little bit exposed.

  He shook his head without taking his eyes off me. “Just looking at you.”

  My cheeks burned pink.

  “Come on, let’s get back to our room before those clouds come in.”

  I looked off to the distance where dark clouds lurched across the sky.

  “What if it rains on our wedding day?” I asked as we left our table behind and walked back towards our ocean-view suite.

  “Then we’ll get married in the rain.” Jason smiled. “And every time it rains, I’ll think of the day I married you.”

  I clasped my hand tightly in Jason’s.

  ***

  By the time we reached our suite we were laughing and joking with one another. Jason’s hands kept finding their way around my waist, touching and squeezing me as we stumbled back to our room.

  “I love you so much, Sophia Fletcher.”

  “I love you too, Jason Powers.” I smiled to myself. “You won’t be calling me Sophia Fletcher for very much longer.”

  Jason smiled. “That’s why I’m saying it as much as I can right now, Sophia Fletcher.” He kissed my cheek and a deep moan of desire rumbled in his throat and chest. “Mmm, Sophia Fletcher.” He rubbed his nose against my cheek, holding me tight against him. “I love the way your name sounds.”

  I laughed. “Get it all in while you can.”

&
nbsp; That grizzly moan emanated from his throat again as he held my body against his, picking me up and kissing my neck.

  It felt so nice to be desired and wanted that I couldn’t believe I’d have this feeling for the rest of my life.

  “I want you so bad,” I said. It took everything I had not to wrap my arms around Jason and rip his clothes off.

  “Then take me.” Jason was already undoing the buttons on my top but I stopped him.

  “What if…” I looked at him with a daring expression on my face.

  “Mmm-hmm?” His eyes were still closed as he kissed me mercilessly.

  “What if we don’t do this until after we’re married?”

  Jason let out an interested moan. “You mean abstain until marriage?”

  “Something like that.” I smirked.

  “I never took you to be such a puritan.” He continued kissing me, moaning deliciously as he did so.

  “It’s just for one night.”

  “I’m not one for putting off pleasure.”

  “That’s why it’ll be even more powerful when we do it.”

  Jason leaned his forehead against mine and looked me deep in my eyes. “You have a way of playing with me, don’t you, Sophia Fletcher?” His hands danced along my waist with the lightest but most sensual touch, and for a moment I wanted to disregard my proposition and let him have his way with me.

  As Jason pulled me towards the bed I bit my lip, but didn’t argue. I wanted to see where this would go. If I happened to break my own suggestion, I wouldn’t be too upset.

  Jason laid me down next to him. We were both still fully clothed — him in light slacks and a short-sleeved collared white shirt, and me in a light blouse and tight jeans. Jason tangled his legs with mine and wrapped his arms around me. The tight jeans did nothing to abate the pulsing of my body as my legs rested between his.

  Pushing a strand of hair off my face, Jason looked at me.

  Gosh, I felt beautiful around him.

  “You know what I love about you, Sophia Fletcher?”

  “What?”

  “I love that you come up with crazy ideas, like abstaining before marriage.”

  I giggled. “I would hardly say we’ve abstained before marriage.”

  “We’re fully clothed, aren’t we?”

  “You know what I love about you, Jason Powers?”