Sailing With Destiny

Cupcakes

I assume I'd done some pretty stupid things in my life but trying to fight off an intruder was up there with possibly the stupidest. My body was trapped between the strong person behind me and the cold kitchen counters, I heard my heart beat in my eardrums, my skin prickled with fear and my breathing came rapidly as I did my best to fight a rising panic.

His cold hands seeped through the thin cotton of my cami and the rough denim from his jeans brushed against my bare thighs. My heart leaped into my throat as I glanced at the knife that was out of reach – I tried to fight him off but his hold was too strong.

"What is wrong with you?" A deep yet familiar voice hissed in my ear. "Are you trying to kill me?"

"Yes!" I immediately responded. My mind fully grasped the familiar voice and with a frown, I asked, "Leo?

"Would've been Leo's guts on the floor if my reflexes failed me!"

I breathed in and his familiar cologne worked its way up to my nostrils and when I glanced down at his hands around me, I recognized the tattoo on his tan forearm. I let out a huge breath of relief knowing my life was spared and that the intruder was a friend.

"What are you doing here?" I kept my tone low so I didn't wake anyone.

"What are you doing here?" Leo retorted.

"Seriously?" I rolled my eyes, "It's my grandparents' place, culo!"

"Yeah well..." he hesitated for a moment. "They love me more."

"Por favor," I drawled and rolled my eyes once again. "If that's the case, why the hell are you sneaking into their home in the middle of the night?"

"I flew in not too long and wanted to surprise Nonna. And before you ask, I found the spare key under the cactus pot in the courtyard." Leo spoke.

"Now, what are you doing creeping around the kitchen with a knife like freaking G.I Jane in the middle of the night?" Leo irritably asked. "If there was a real intruder, he would've killed you in two seconds!"

"Ugh, could you let go before you lecture me like the old man you are?" I squirmed but Leo was strong.

"Uh, yeah," Leo mumbled but just as he loosened his hold, the kitchen light flicked on.

I was immediately greeted with a confused pair of blue-grey eyes. "What is going on here?" Mitchell's tone was calm but I didn't miss the way his dark brows slowly knitted together and how his eyes slowly lowered to Leo's hold on me.

Leo let go and quickly pulled away, Mitchell's eyes darkened a shade as he stood rigidly across the kitchen island and quietly observed the situation. I huffed, pushed my hair back, turned around, and shoved Leo's chest. "Culo peludo!"

Leo was caught off guard, his mouth opened, eyes widened and his arms halfway spread open. "What the hell was that for?"

"For almost giving me a heart attack!" I kept my voice down but made sure my tone held the right amount of angst.

"I'm going to ask again, what is going on here?" Mitchell slowly approached us.

Leo gestured to the knife for a second and replied, "it seems that your girlfriend was in the mood for redecorating and wanted to start by painting the kitchen red." He took in a deep breath, "Long story short, Mila tried to kill me with a steak knife."

I took in a breath and pointed at Leo, "I came down for a glass of water and noticed that someone was trying to get into the house. Naturally, I grabbed the first weapon I could get my hands on and got ready to attack."