Page 61 of Arianna

My stomach grumbles. I went to bed last night without my usual late-night treat. Something I never did before.

“Surprise me,” I tell him while placing a white cloth napkin down on my lap.

“Asshole.” He murmurs, amused and loud enough for me to hear.

“Why, thank you.” I shrug. Benjamin finishes cooking and places a plate of scrambled eggs with bacon on the side in front of me. As always, his food smells and tastes incredible. The giant with no manners and a tender heart knows his way around the kitchen, which has me curious. “So, you’re not only my babysitter, but you’re the cook here too?” I take a bite of the bacon and look at Benjamin expectantly.

“Just say thank you and shut the fuck up, kid.” He flips me off and turns around to prepare himself a plate.

Grinning, I take another sip of my coffee and gaze at the paper. In today’s news, the presidential runners of each party and their assemblies are being covered.

I skip most of the boring details until I find the one that interests me.

Who will run for President in the upcoming election? Rumored Republican and Democratic candidates.

With two years to go until the next presidential election, reports are swirling about which public figures may throw their hats in the ring for what is already shaping up to be one of the most heated political races in this country’s history.

I read the basic information on some of the runners-up until I get to the last one.

Sebastian Kenton

Age: 32

Less than two years after he was sworn in as Senator of the city of Chicago, Senator Kenton announced his intention to run for president. It is still unknown who will be his choice to join him on the ticket. Kenton, who serves as a U.S. Senator and is a well-known criminal defense lawyer, has garnered a reputation for speaking his mind on issues he supports and the ones he does not. Rumors of his ties to the Chicago crime family didn’t stop him from winning the race to Senator, and I believe nothing at this point will.

Senator Kenton is an obvious frontrunner in the upcoming election. He is the candidate to watch out for.

At the bottom of the article, there are countless images of Senator Asshole being followed by paparazzi with a supermodel or two on his arm. There are others of him sitting in a restaurant, head bent low, talking to a handsome man covered in tattoos, and if I am not incorrect, he looks Hispanic.

How is it that the public speculated about his ties with criminal organizations, yet they still put their faith in him? That tells you the state of the country.

The good guys never fail to disappoint, and the bad guys seem to get the job done. What an odd turn.

I keep flipping pages, and all I see are images of him and his flavors of the month. I want to have some smart retort—something clever to say—because I shouldn’t care. But I do. And I find at that moment, all I can do is try to manage this swell of emotions because there’s no reason for me to feel… the way I do.

Rolling my eyes, I skip through all the gossip, not wanting to ruin my day when it’s just begun. The image of him with other women angers me; it shouldn’t, but it does.

He’s no one to me, but… hell, I don’t even know what he is to me.

A man that saved me from early prostitution and has taken me as a charity case? God, that sounds horrible.

It’s true, though, and nothing more.

He can’t be anything more.

He just can’t.

I think about the way his hot breath fanned out over my face as he was so close to me, so close I could almost taste his lips. I see them, too. When I close my eyes, the image of his lips, his grin, and even his smell attacks me, hitting me full force and leaving me defenseless against the memory.

Then I remember the letters he gave me.

Letters from my youngest sister.

It’s all too much.

I’m too much of a coward to confront what those letters might say. I have been putting all my energy and focus into other things.

Things like obsessing over my tyrant.

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