The Fire Unleashed ✔

21. Sofia Gold

I was expecting for this charade to end as quickly as possible, but it seemed that the heavens had other plans for me. I wasn't even remotely prepared for the tempest that was about to unfurl in my life in the next few months - and even more so, that the tempest would come in the form of the irresistible new mystery friend of Bria's. Had I known I would have to buckle up tightly, things would have gone in a smoother way. But, when had we been aware of our future?

As soon as I gave my say-so to Bria to go ahead with her little set-up, she immediately ran outside, leaving me puzzled. Why did she have to run about for it? And so soon? All my questions were duly answered when I saw her return, but not alone this time. This time, she had company, a very stunning company.

There in front of me, stood a woman of medium height, who looked tall enough to reach my shoulder when she wore heels, pure blonde hair, baby blue eyes, and a confident yet nervous persona. I didn't even know women could pull off a combination of both of those things, but she seemed to be doing just fine.

But I wasn't happy with the little stunt Bria just pulled. I looked at her in exasperation. Couldn't she have waited until I had given her an affirmative answer? What was she so confident about? Her convincing skills, or her friend's appearance.

But she completely ignored my irked self, and continued with her mission. Very casually, she introduced the both of us.

"So, Tiger, she's the one I was telling you about. My new best friend, Sofia Gold. And Sofia, you already know that Tiger is like family."

Her excited voice could be heard miles of, that's how loud she was speaking today. Still, I didn't want to be rude to the new girl, who seemingly had no idea what was happening either. Looks like Bria was gonna get drilled from every side tonight. I stood up from my chair, rounded the table to reach where the two girls were still standing, and stretched out my hand for her to shake.

"Hi, I'm Tiger King. It's a pleasure to meet you Sofia."

She looked up at me with those huge baby blue eyes, giving her face all the innocence she needed. I was always wary around strangers, regardless of their age or gender, and so I could understand where her confusion stemmed from, when she saw me wanting to shake her hand like I was in a business meeting. What she didn't know was that I totally intended to keep it short and sweet, and distant - as if it was pure business.

After a moment, she shook herself out of her trance, and shook my hand with a lesser intensity than mine. Her hand felt actually soft in my hand, telling me that she was the epitome of femininity. She seemed to regain her confidence back, and smiled at me again.

"I'm Sofia Gold. It's nice to meet you too."

"I've heard from Bria that you had been with her the whole time during her vacation. To let you know, she had been going through some hard times and it was getting impossible for me or her brother to handle her, so I'm glad that you took care of her. I'm grateful that you were with her."

At this, she smiled again, and blushed a little too. Bria saw that subtle change in her skin color, and wriggled her eyebrows at me from behind her. She was enjoying it even more than me, it seemed.

"It was not a big deal. Bria is a really sweet woman, and I wasn't the only one who helped her out, it was a two way deal."

"Are you too, going through some difficulties?"

I asked her roughly, without tact and she winced a little. She must not have expected me to be so brusque about it, but I wasn't going to disguise my inquisitiveness and brash attitude by pretending to act like a suave gentleman, when in reality, I was the complete opposite. If she didn't want it, she could run away now.

On the other hand, Bria was throwing daggers my way, trying to get me to simmer down or scale down the size of my ego, but I paid no heed to her. I looked back at Sofia intently, patiently waiting for her answer once she stopped squirming under my intense gaze. I knew I was making her flustered and it somehow annoyed me. I didn't want to be with a woman who was weak enough to cower under my gaze, I wanted one who had the guts to stomach my eyes and still be able to stand her ground.

Eventually, she recovered from her initial shock, and tried to remain confident and gave me another smile, though the color of this smile had paled in comparison to all her previous ones. Knowing I had hit the nail on the head, I smirked inwardly.

"Yes, I kind of am. It hasn't exactly been a smooth ride for me in life, and I had been troubled about it lately, until Bria came and stole away my loneliness. For that, I'm very grateful to her."

She turned around to send a soft smile to Bria, who returned the gesture with puppy eyes and a tight hug. Not wanting to waste any more time, I invited them to dinner this evening, hoping that this girl toughens up for me. But, at the same time, I was acutely aware of that one small portion of my heart that was hoping she wouldn't, and that she would get scared and leave, because that was the only way I could get rid of her.

I really hoped this girl wouldn't show up to the restaurant tonight.

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