Defying Him

Chapter Eight: We Are Done

"I promise I will come over every dinner when we fly back home." He said, but it's been two days since we returned from Florida, and he never knocked on the door. When I dissembled nonchalance and asked Brayden if Autumn was getting better, he said he hoped so because Myles had been taking care of her.

I wonder if she had told Myles what I did and if he disdains me now.

The first lesson I learn is not to act with a jealous mind. Now, instead of breaking them up, I have brought the two closer.

Were they ever going to be apart, though? He chooses her while I am here already. Maybe he hadn't been giving me any signals. Maybe I am just imagining everything. For goodness' sake, look at me. I look like a joke. My reflection looks festive in the mirror, as I had painted her to be.

The light layer of makeup and tricky smile could do the work. No one would know the breakage inside me.

Brayden said he would spend his day outside until evening, but he agreed on the deal to take me skateboard shopping on his way out if I clean up my room; which looks perfectly arranged now. The worn oversize yellow t-shirt I am wearing is almost swallowing my shorts, and my all-star shoes aren't exactly clean.

As I emerge from the building with my hair freely bouncing by my side, Brayden smiles and puts on his sunglass, urging me to slide into the passenger's side.

At the store, we decide on a longboard, with stable wheels, a wooden surface, and SpongeBob art behind it. After that day with Myles at the park, it triggers me to want to learn something from the experience. I had seen different people, be it, kids and adults, gliding carefree. I envy that kind of comfort because I had denied myself that route. Everyone thought coming here was going to help me, but it is only worsening as days go by, for I am in pursuit of someone out of my league.

On the ride back, I use a taxi. Brayden didn't like the idea but his manager had been ringing his phone, so I insisted he go do his thing while I find my way back to the condo. After minutes of argument, in which I had to remind him I'm almost eighteen, he won at the end and made sure I put on the helmet, knee, and elbow pads before he get me in a cab.

When I arrive at my location, I paid the old man and climb off the vehicle. On the left, there is a sign of a garden. I stroll in the direction, holding my new board.

After a convenient walk, I realize it is worth it. A circle hedge maze with tall, healthy walls stood before me. Chloe and I had once won a maze escape game in a winter fest back in elementary school. I've never been in a maze alone, but right now I am thinking irrationally once again.

With my AirPod on, I lay the board down and step on one leg onto it, using the other to kick off the ground and get the wheels moving. It is simple, given I have balance. I guess this is the easiest phase. I will focus on it for today.

Cautiously, I cross the threshold and take off into the maze with Harry Styles's As It Was playing on the highest volume.

The aisles are slim and shallow, but they are the closest to serene I've ever been. I could feel the sun bathing my skin and the wind blowing my hair. My eyes close for a brief period, letting myself absorb the calm and comfort until I grasp an almost subtle noise and my eyes flick open.

Myles.

What the hell?

I am caught off guard. I stand in my stance for a few seconds, trying to process the fact that he is stalking me.

"It's a reliable board." His voice was rich and mesmerizing when he spoke.

His iridescent eyes are unjust. I fail to concentrate on my emotion about how I felt toward him for the past few days. Which is supposed to be anger.

My mind is telling me to leave, but my legs are stuck. My tongue is urging me to speak, but my brain has forgotten how to construct a sentence. I freeze, half paralyzed, breathing while he closes the space between us. If this isn't a spell, I don't know what it is.

He has me engrossed in his attraction, body, and soul. My lips slightly parted and my eyes centralize on his piercing stare. He is too close. He is all I can breathe.

He kneels before me. I wonder what he is doing until he sets my foot in a better position on the board.

"Here. Now you are all set." His ethereal voice notified me when he rose and face me again with a sunny smile like he have no memories of Florida.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him.

"I saw you going in. I was afraid you might get lost. It's a very difficult maze."

Oh, I see he suddenly cares about me.

"How's your fiancee doing?" I solidify, and he immediately diverts his eyes from me, grounding his jaw. "Heard she was sick. I hope she is fine. You must be concerned about her. Why don't you go check on her?" I mocked.

His eyes unstably hover over me, he couldn't look at me even in passing.

"Are you going to stand here like you didn't hurt me?" I wait for a reply or anything. But he only kept swallowing and avoided looking in my direction.

That did it. The anger simmered and fought the allure. I am able to tell him to get away from me and he suddenly turns blanched and disconcerted.

I squat and grab the board, detaching the helmet's velcro and taking it off my head when I spun around to get away from him, but he has long legs that were quick to reach over and block my way.

"Step out of my way, Myles." I focused on breathing.

"I am sorry, okay? I had a lot on my plate." He begins, but I interject. "Do not bring excuses for the fact that you were horribly mean and a liar."

I shove him out of my way and hurry forward while he follows behind.

"Liar? When did I ever lie to you?"

Oh my God.

I stop instantly and turn over. He had to step back when he almost bumps into me. God knows I wouldn't have survived it. He is huge and muscular and I am nothing like that.

"Seriously?" I scoff, and his unbelievably confused eyes blink at me with no idea what I meant.

He has to be kidding me.

"You know what? Screw you." I irksomely exhaled and spun, but this time he holds my hand and stops me from walking away.

I felt every inch of the touch; it ignites a fire in me, piercing through every pore and vein. I knew instantly I burn for him.

"Then I am sorry." he breathed, and my eyes begin to water.

He always has a way of getting me emotional and it isn't good for my mental health. He brings his hand to my face and feathery brush my cheek with his knuckles.

I've always imagined a moment where Myles and I are alone in comfortable silence, and his eyes devour me with every desire worthy of a romance novel.

"I tend to make you cry. I hate it." He whispered, closely.

I am staring at his chest, but I can feel his breath blowing my hair. I am sure if I lift my eyes, I would find his face closer. "I shouldn't have reacted that way in the locker room. I didn't know what to do. I freaked out. Cali, I am engaged, and your brother... I don't want him getting the wrong idea. I didn't want everyone getting the wrong idea."

Wrong idea...

He pauses, weighing his next words probably. I take the opportunity to look over at him. His face is too close. We are practically breathing the same air. His resounding scent is appealing and fresh. It slowly surges into my head like the melody of a nostalgic song, and I savor it mentally.

"But something is happening here, and it always seems to happen when I am around you." His eyes search into mine with unwavering attention. I am sure he could see that I understand what he meant.

His lips press into a thin line as he swallows, distracting my gaze to the smooth shift of his throat. When I dart my eyes back to him, his breathing quickened. Under heavy lids, he is focused on my lips.

Does he want me too? I mean, hell, it is imprinted all over him, from the way his chest is rising and falling as though with pressure.

"Is it bad?" I confusedly asked him, and his lips tugged into a slight smile before he shook his head.

"Everything about you is too good. Bad, and you do not function in the same field."

I push up, standing on my toes like a professional ballet dancer when I've never even practiced a day in my day for this stance.

Our noses touch, lips slightly brushing, and he breathes out in my parted lips. It tastes warm and minty. My entire body succumbs in his cozy arms and let his hands support me. I felt his heartbeat. It was fast and heavy, just like mine. I watch his eyes close, and he stands with me in his arms, unable to regulate his breathing. He kept panting.

"You want me," I told him, and he shook his head against mine, refusing the obvious.

"I am engaged, Cali." His voice sounded raspy and modulated.

"In a hurry." I retorted, and he exhaled painfully.

"This is not right," He whispered.

Yet he followed me.

"Then why are you here?" I asked him, and he exhaled loudly, breathing through his parted lips.

"Please stop."

"I am not the one holding you, Myles. You can leave if you want to." I point out, and instead, he tightens the embrace.

"I can't. Why can't I?" His eyes fly open. Panic is a precipitous tenant. "I can't let go of you." His breathing is stressful and too loud. I fear for him.

"Then don't," I exclaimed.

"Is not that simple..." He yelled equally loud, and I pushed him away from me despite the consequence of the sudden vacant feeling. He stumbles, and his back hits the green wall of the maze.

He looks shocked. He is still panting. But if he can't do anything about this, I think we are done here.