Page 72 of Damaged

Stop.

Like Poseidon himself intervened to keep me from fucking her.

But maybe it was a sign I should’ve taken. Maybe this feeling of fire boiling in my guts is a warning—this will destroy you.

This will destroy youboth.

I see a small black box in my closet. I walk to it and open it. Inside is a tan wool hat. It has an ugly blue ring going around it. It’s not stylish. But that’s not the point. I never thought I’d have a use for this thing, but now I have an idea.

An idea that contradicts my every thought.

Sophia

I’ve tried on every possible outfit I have. I don’t feel like I have anything good enough for a celebratory dinner out with a billionaire. I’m exhausted, going through outfits as quickly as possible. It doesn’t help that my apartment is a thousand degrees and my pits and bra are soaked after my whirlwind of outfits.

I decide to take a break and shower. I’ll come out with a clear head and realize I’m being ridiculously picky.

But dinner with James… We both know what he’s asking. My heart won’t shut up. My appetite is gone because my stomach feels like it’s been shrunken into this size of my fist.

Should I even go along with this? I’m a big girl. I can have casual sex and not fall head over heels for him.

Maybe I’m being presumptuous. This could be a business dinner. Athank-you for putting up with his shitty business associates and almost getting kidnapped by Russians.

But after that night on the beach near Casablanca, how could I think that?

The shower helps calm my nerves. I’m feeling calm, cool, and collected until I look at the time: 6:30.

Crap. I spent way too much time in my own head, and I still don’t have a proper outfit picked out for this.

I’m glad I didn’t wash my hair. I start tearing through my closet, when I hear knocking on my apartment door. I freeze. There’s something about the time between knocks that makes me know who it is.

I put on a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt. What is he doing here almost a half hour early? And didn’t he say he’d meet me in the lobby?

For a brief second, I panic, thinking I heard him wrong on the phone, but I know I didn’t. My confusion turns into slight annoyance.

I walk toward my door. When I look through the peephole, all I can see is a green tie.

He’s too damn tall for his head to be seen.

I open the door a crack and stick my head around it so only my face can be seen.

“You’re early,” I say and then look down to the red box in James’s hands. There’s a black bow strung across the top.

“I wanted to get you something.” James smiles, and my little bit of annoyance evaporates as his eyes brighten. He could start a coup with that smile.

“I’m still not ready yet.”

“I was hoping you wouldn’t be. Can I come in?”

I take a step back into my apartment, and James comes in. I forget how big he is until I’m pressed up against him in this little entry hall. He’s towering over me.

When we reach the living room in all of three steps, he hands me the box.

“So, what’s this? Coffee cake?”

“You can’t wait a second to find out?”

I smirk and undo the bow. I don’t know what to expect. I’m half expecting some employee appreciation plaque. But the box is featherlight. I open the lid and move the paper and freeze.

---