EMILY

The Storm (3)

Justin's POV

After that embarrassing situation, I hurriedly dashed back to the lounge and flopped down on the couch. The only source of light in the room was the moonlight coming through the window but the darkness was better than the embarrassment of facing Emily again.

She didn't come out for the next half an hour. I just kept sitting there, tapping my feet on the floor anxiously and contemplating on whether to go back to her or not. After much pondering, I came to this decision that its better to wait here.

After a while, I heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Angling my neck, I watched her as she wobbled inside with some mattresses in her hands. I rushed towards her and took some weight off her hands.

"Where's the torch?" I asked.

"It's battery died down." she told me.

Sighing, I sat down on the couch and she lay the mattresses down on the floor, just where the moonlight reached. I took my time to observe her face as she frowned when the sheets kept on flying because of the wind. Amused, I stood up and slouched beside her and helped her.

After she was done, she left the lounge once again and returned with two blankets and a pillow. I wonder how she find those in this pitch black darkness.

"Thanks." I said and settled on the right mattress. She blushed and kept her head low as she sat down on the left one. There were only few centimetres between both mattresses.

Then started the awkward silence once again. It was my fault that she had to think thrice before speaking anything in front of me. I wanted her to talk to me, laugh with me, tease me, taunt me, be angry at me but all I received was her silence.

We both lay down and watched the rain trickle down the glass window. There was so much I wanted to say but fear of ruining everything stopped me. She hasn't realised but our little fingers were touching, causing goosebumps on my skin.

"I'm joining Julliard." I decided to break the silence myself. For a moment, her face remained emotionless as she kept staring at me but then a wave of horror went past her face.

"Why?" she sat up and questioned. "You could've joined any Ivy League with the number of matches you have won."

"Guess I have developed interest in Arts now." I lied.

"But why Julliard? Why me?" she almost screamed in desperation.

It hurt me deeply to know that she despised my presence that much. "Don't worry, I'll stay away from you." I said and stood up. Her face contorted but I ignored it and dragged myself out of the lounge. Using my hands to guide me, I reached the end of the hallway and sat there in the darkness.

My father had taught me that real men don't cry. For him, parenting was instilling his toxic masculinity in his child. Now I couldn't cry no matter how much I wanted, at least not when I was not drunk to oblivion.

"Fuck." I cursed. I hated these feelings. I hated feeling powerless in front of him. I hated that I couldn't tell her what I feel for him. I hated this helplessness.

"Justin." I heard her voice and her muffled footsteps. "Where are you?"

I chose not to reply. I knew I was a mess right now and I didn't want her to see me like this.

"I can't see anything." her voice was coming closer.

"Go away Emily." I emitted a sigh.

"I.. I am sorry." she said and walked towards me. "It's really dark."

"Just go back to the lounge." I said.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that." she kept on coming towards me. I couldn't see her clearly, just her silhouette.

"Ouch." she collided with my legs and stumbled forwards onto me, ending right on my lap. "Ow."

"Are you alright?" I asked, holding her closer to me.

"Um.. I.." she stuttered. I could imagine the redness on her cheeks. "I.. Um.. am sorry."

I chuckled humorlessly. "I have hurt you so bad. And you're the one saying sorry." Her vanilla scent was tickling my senses.

"Um.. I don't like when I make someone sad." she whispered.

"Fuck." I cursed again. Her words pushed me deeper in the puddle of guilt and shame.

Why is she so nice?

"What happened?" she asked, trying to disentangle herself from me but I didn't let her. Her soft body was presisng against mine, making my thoughts go haywire.

"I want to do something." I whispered and leaned towards her. I heard her suck a sharp breath.

I couldn't control anymore. I needed to be closer to her.

"W.. What?" she nervously asked.

"Just a small thing. Stop me if you don't like it." I whispered and used my sixth sense to guide me. Cupping her cheeks, I planted my lips on hers, causing her to freeze in my arms.

It was supposed to be a small peck but when I tasted her, I couldn't stay away. And the fact that she didn't stop me added to my desire. I angled her neck with one hand and used the other hand to pull her closer to me. My lips continued moving against hers in a wild, passionate way. Her lips just stayed static, showing that she wasn't inexperienced in kissing.

It took her a minute to be familiar with my lips and when it did, she started sucking my lips gently, causing me to let out moan after moan.

...

Emily's POV

I was kissing Justin Reed. It wasn't for revenge or hatred unlike our first kiss, it was pure passion. And I didn't realize how good it feels to be kissed until now.

It felt like my whole body was charged with a strange emotion. Like I wanted him closer to me, even though our bodies were already glued together. I haven't felt this desperate before. His caress, his lips, his arm around my waist, everything felt heightened.

Is that how kissing someone you love feels like?

I don't know where I got the courage from, but I snaked my arms around Justin's neck and pulled him down towards me. My tongue traced the seam of his lips and I tried to gain entrance. It wasn't me. I would never do something like that. Maybe I was possessed.

He growled when I slipped my tongue inside his mouth. Heat began to pool in my belly and I pressed my body further into him. I wanted more but I couldn't figure out what.

I never felt like this with Damien. Not even when he forced me to be physical with him. What's about this man that made me cross all my limits?

I traced my fingers down his neck to his hard back, feeling his muscles clench under my touch. His tongue kept sucking mine, eliciting small breathless moans from me.

I have no idea how long we kissed, a second, a minute, an hour, only to be stopped by Dad's voice coming from the door.

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