BILLIONAIRE'S HIDDEN DESIRE

CHAPTER 2 - High school Sweetheart

NYC,  May 5th, 2016

Sophia POV

Earlier this morning, I got a massive package outside of my bedroom door. Juanita delivered it personally for me. It was a two-tiered birthday cake from my parents. The cake itself has a pretty pink marble color, embellished by gold leaves and flowers, complete with sixteen candles and my name written beautifully on top of it. I took the small card that came along with the cake.

Happy sweet sixteen our daughter, Sophia. We love you to the moon and back—lots of hugs and kisses.

From: Mom and Dad.

From the looks of it, I knew that mom and dad wouldn’t be here again this year to celebrate my birthday. I tore the card and dumped it on the trashcan. For God’s sake! I can accept any birthday that they missed before this, but not my sweet sixteen. It was such an important day for every girl.

“Ms.Sophia… This morning Mrs.Olivia wants me to hand you this. She said it was your birthday present.” Juanita said while handing me a small black box wrapped neatly in gold ribbon. I reluctantly received the present. As I opened the box, I saw a car key inside of it. “Great! So they think I will forgive them if they bribe me like this. Over my dead body!” I looked outside the window, and there’s a brand new Mercedes parked outside with a big ribbon on top of it. I got even more furious. I put on my training outfit and went outside to have a jog. Exercise always helped in calming my anger.

***************

The morning breeze and sunshine soon welcomed me. My mansion was located near the mountain, so I have the privilege of breathtaking scenery every day. I can smell the fragrance of pine tree leaves as I jogged along, only a few cars passing by this winding road. As my mood went up, I add more speed to my jog.

After half an hour, I suddenly felt cramps in my left calves. I took a seat on the road while messaging my feet. As I looked back to the road, I just realized that I already jog far away from my mansion. With these cramped feet, I’m not sure if my feet can make it back there. Great! What should I do now? I can’t risk waiting here and got eaten by a mountain bear.

I gathered my strength to get up, hoping there will be another car passing by on this desolated road. I waited for around fifteen minutes, but there’s no car passing. Just when I was about to give up, I suddenly saw a red mini cooper approaching in my direction. I waved both of my hands in the air to grabs the driver’s attention. And to my surprise, the car stopped in front of me. I ducked my head to checked inside the car.

The driver suddenly got down from the car and startled me. “Can I help you, miss?” The boy with dark blonde hair asked me. I unconsciously studied his appearance. He wears a grey rolling stone T-shirt and ripped jeans that had a wide slit on the knee. His facial features looked a little bit like Harry Styles, and I assume he was the same age as me. Even though he was not my type, but I found him kinda cute. I nervously tucked a strand of hair behind my right ear as I tried to use my charm on him.

“Umm... I was wondering, can you give me a ride? I have cramps, and my mansion was a little bit far from here.” His eyes went towards my feet, and he stayed silent for a few seconds like he was weighing something inside his head. “Don’t worry… I’m a good person. I’m not going to rob you or anything.” I rolled back my eyes. How come he’s suspecting a weak girl like me?

He chuckled at my words then opens the passenger door for me. “Get in!” He said curtly and took me by surprise. This is the first time I asked for a ride from a stranger. “What are you doing all alone here? You could get attack by the wild animals.” He said while keeping his eyes focused on the street in front of him. “I was out for a jog and ended up in this place,” I replied simply to him as I looked out to the window.

“You know it’s rude to not looked people in the eye while we had a conversation, right?” He said, half-teasing me, earning a glare from me. “I think we could be friends since we’re around the same age.” He said casually as he smiled at me. Truth be told, I never got too close with a boy before, and I found it hard to not be awkward in front of them. “Do you live around here?” That is the first question that I asked him.

**********

We chatted nonstop for the rest of the ride, from music to movies and other random things. “Thanks for the ride. I’m Sophia, by the way.” I said after we arrived. I went out, and I saw him pulled down his window. I shamelessly walked back to his car and leaned on his opened window. “Can we meet again after this?” I asked him, then he gave me a smirk.

“We’ll see about that later…You owe me once for the ride. Nice to hang out with you, Sophia.” He replied, then landed a small peck on my cheek. I went speechless at his sudden action. “And you can call me Riley.” He added before he left. His small kiss on my cheek bothered me for the rest of that day and causing butterflies to form in my stomach. I found myself asking. Is this what love feels like?

************

After that day, Riley would come to my house almost every day, and he even moved to the same school as me. We had a lot of fun. By fun, I mean only having fun and not caring about anything else. We skip class together just to hang out with his friends partying and splurging money. I was too fond of him to realize that he was giving me a bad influence. One afternoon, I was sitting in the park under the big tree, sulking while looking at my geography test results.

“Hey, Soph! What’s with the long face?” Riley asked as he brings a can of cold beer for me. I widened my eyes in shock then quickly hid the can in my backpack. “Riley, you clearly knew that we can’t drink at school! How if the teachers saw us drinking?” I slapped him hard on his shoulder.

“Ok, babe! Chill, I already checked, and there’s no teacher detected on my radar.” He said while putting both of his fingers on the side of his head to imitate the alien. I laughed at his silly action. Little things he does can make me forget about my anger. He then pulls me to lay down on his lap while giving me a soft stroke onto my hair. It was very comforting. After a few minutes, he took something out from his jeans pocket. He brings me to get up while putting both hands on my shoulders.

“Let’s have fun tonight. There’s a cool place that I know, and I’ve got you this.” He said, lifting a card in front of my face. It was a fake ID. I saw my picture there but with a different name. “Fiona Smith” I like the name. I think to myself. “How did you get this?” I asked curiously. “I had a friend...You don’t need to know.” He replied briefly. “Get dressed, and I’ll pick you up tonight, Fiona…” he then said as he lifted up my face. I smiled at him and nodded. I know that tonight is going to be fun. He always knows how to lift up my mood.

Riley POV

That day, I ran away from my house because I just had a fight with my dad. He always tries to control me, now he wants me to date his business partner’s daughter named Brittany. I met her once before, and everything about her turns me off, from her excessive appearance to her attitude. I just don’t like her.

I chose to run away from home instead of accepting his silly arrangement. As I drove my red cooper, I saw a girl waving at the side of the street. I got off from the car towards her. She told me that she had cramps during the jogging. I was hesitant at first. I’m not in the position to get involved with anyone else, moreover a girl like her.

She rolled back her eyes and told me that she wasn’t a robber. I chuckled at her in response. She seemed cute with her innocent and shy personality. We had a nice talk on the way back, and I want to keep meeting her ever since. Later she told me her name was Sophia. After being accompanied by her, I just knew that she’s the one I need right now.