My Guardian Angel (3 page)

“I’ll have a dark mint chocolate chunk please.” I pointed to the gelato I wanted.

“Two scoops or one?” the teenage girl with a tight, blonde braid asked.

“I so shouldn’t have two… but I will.” I caved and she laughed as she reached in and began scooping it into a small plastic cup.

“That will be $5.55.” She handed me the cup and waited. I reached into my bag and took out my wallet. Damn these female wallets which are huge, but still we can’t seem to live without them. I rummaged through it until I found a ten.

“OH
, MY GOD!” she cried out. I looked up to see her hand over her mouth, as she began to jump up and down.

“You’re…you’re Kassia Preston, the one who wrote Vampire High!” She pointed at me. “I love the books and the show.
Oh, my God! The show is awesome!” she spoke excitedly.

“Thank you
,” I said quietly, handing her the ten.

“No, it’s all good.” She waved her hand at the money. “Is it true that they’re making your book into a movie?
‘Cause I love Drake; he’s my favorite.” I didn’t answer, but instead, I still held out the money.

“Can I get an autograph?”
she asked, as she was getting her pen and paper ready.

The customers in the store began whispering and I couldn’t help but get nervous.
I was alone, and being mobbed now wasn’t a good idea.

“Take the money, please
,” I said a little more forcefully. “I’d like to pay.” But she pushed my hand away.

“It’s on me.” She smiled brightly, as she pushed the pen and paper at me and waited.

“Your name is?” I asked.

“Tia
,” she squealed. I signed it, thanking her for the gelato.

I tried to leave, but some of the other customers stopped me
, telling me how much they loved my books and wanted autographs too. I groaned inwardly, regretting my decision of stepping foot into this place. I tried to say I was in a hurry, but I failed miserable at it. I signed a few, but one person was truly persistent and I couldn’t get away. I closed my eyes praying for a miracle.

Little did I know the tiny store bell would bring me that relief.

I felt a hand grab onto me and pull me towards a huge male body. It was Jason.
He used his other hand to push those around me aside and ushered me outside. He held onto my hand and dragged me through the streets. He was walking so quickly that I nearly fell a few times. He finally stopped and yanked me to him.

“What in the hell were you thinking about going in there?”
he seethed. I jerked my hand away.

“Excuse you?” I stared at him. “I don’t recall having to ask you for permission on where I go and what I do?” He glared at me, h
is eyes burrowing into me, but I pushed through and continued. “The last time I checked, you were a stranger who I had just met.”

He stepped in closer. “Have you any idea what people would do if they knew who you were?”
he asked, his voice almost trembling with anger.

“I'm not a celebrity. I'm just a writer
,” I bit back.

“Yeah, a writer
who everyone knows. The more popular you get, the more dangerous it will be for you. All they see is the money you make and ways to get it from you,” he fired back.

I stepped away from him and started to head home. He grabbed my hand and yanked me back to him. “Don’t you see? You couldn’t even handle a few people in a stupid ice cream shop
!” he accused. I lowered my head, I knew what he was saying was right, but still.

“It was a gelato shop
,” I corrected.

“What?”
he snapped.

“I didn’t even get my gelato
,” I pouted.

I pulled my arm from his grasp and walked away.
He followed close behind me, mimicking my steps. Whenever I stopped, he stopped. He watched me closely until I finally reached home. I started up the steps, but stopped and turned around.

“Why did you help me?” I asked, looking down at him. That’s when I realized he was younger than me.
The sun shined onto his face and I could see his youthful complexion.

“Because you needed me
,” he said simply. I blinked a few times, taken aback by how easily he responded.

“Thank you
,” I said meekly. Damn it, he was a boy. Well, not really, but he was younger than me that’s for sure. I continued up my steps.

“Can you do me a favor?”
he asked, as he leaned onto my railing. I turned around to see his muscles bulging out of his shirt as he stood holding onto the metal.

“What?” I said, as my voice had cracked.

“Can you please be more careful?”

I turned away from him and began searching for my keys.

“I’ll be more careful,” I said flatly.

I needed to get away from him. His testosterone was singing my name. I would give anything to submit to him.
I finally located my keys and opened the door, closing it on my new fantasy. Why did I feel safe with him?

1970s Dodge Charger

“So let me get this straight. A tall
, yummy, hot looking stud saved you and you didn’t invite him in to fuck?” Leave it to Genna to yell it out over the music. She was stunningly gorgeous. She had to be, since she took good care of herself with her lean body and very expensive breasts. Her dark hair was always her best feature since it contrasted with her olive complexion perfectly.

The club was full, but Genna was a promoter and was able to get us the best seats in the house with all the trimmings.

“He was too young!” I shouted.

She rolled her eyes. “And?” I waved my hand at her.

“
Fuckin’ lineup. So what did I miss?” Tara had come back from the bathrooms. Her shorter, blonde, statuesque body made her look like the perfect package. She was a voice actress for quite a few animated movies. At one time, she did try her hand at real acting. She gave it up after a while, since she only was getting offers for B movies. She figured voice acting was her ticket and she was fine with it.

“Little Miss
Prissy over here, let a good-looking stud out of her vajajay’s grasp.” Genna thumbed at me. Tara gave me the same look Genna did when I first told her.

“I don’t know him
,” I fired back.

“And?” Genna asked
as if I was stupid.

I shook my head. “You both are sluts.”

Genna raised her glass. “If memory serves me right, so were you once.” I picked up my drink, remembering my younger years. I was such a stupid girl.

“That was then, this is now.” I took a healthy swig of my drink.

“So what does he look like?” Tara asked, wiggling her eyebrows at me. A small smirk came across my face as I began to remember him.

“He’s tall. Well, taller than me, with a lot of muscles.” I closed my eyes remembering him.

“Uh huh, yeah, what else?” Tara smiled.

“His hair is a dirty blond, but he shaves it down crew cut style.”

Tara put down her drink. “Hmm, go on.”

I grinned remembering his tat. “And he has a full sleeve.”

Genna slammed her drink down while Tara looked affronted.

“Damn woman!” Tara snapped.

“What’s wrong with you?” Genna asked miffed.

“Girls! He was too young. He must have been, like, at least five years younger if not more. No, no I can’t.” I shook my head.

“You have to be shitting me!” Genna barked. “Men do it all the time, taking on younger and younger women. So why the fuck can’t we?” She challenged.

“I'm not saying women can’t! I'm saying I can’t!” I retorted.

“You’re stupid, you know this right?” Tara shouted at me.
I stood up, ignoring them.

“Where are you going?” Genna called after me.

“Dancing!” I fired back.

I pushed and edged my way to the dance floor. The place was crowded and the vibe electric. I loved the feeling of the heavy bass moving through my body.
The sound resonated as I found my spot and began to dance.

I wanted to ignore their stupid comments. I wasn’t old
. For God’s sake, I was only thirty-three. I was young, pretty and had my share of fun. Yet, I wanted something more serious, something soul crushing, heart wrenchingly serious. I didn’t want any of this bullshit kid stuff anymore. I wanted what I wrote about. I dreamt what I wrote about. I wished for it every day, even though I knew it wasn’t real; I still clung to the idea that a soul changing love existed just for me.

The beat picked up and so did my hips. “GO GIRL!” I scarcely heard Genna over the music.
A man approached me, coming into my space.

“That’s right babe
, shake your hips for me.”

I literally stopped what I was doing and stared at him.
This tall, lanky man with a receding hairline stood in front of me. His body was flailing around, nearly knocking into those around him.

“Ah
, excuse me.” I wagged my finger at him. “What exactly are you doing?” I asked trying not to laugh.

“Dancing with you
, baby.”

That did it.
I started to laugh uncontrollably.

“Are you sure?
‘Cause from the looks of it, you look like you’re having a seizure.” He looked insulted, but moved in closer. I stood my ground not wanting to back down from him.

I felt a warm
, hard arm come from behind me. His hand came across my belly, pulling me in tight. I struggled, moving into a defensive position.

“It’s me.” His voice was like honey, whispering low into my ear. “Don’t hurt me now.” He mocked.
I took in his smell, his divine smell.

“Buddy, do yourself a favor and get away from my girl
,” he growled. His face moved in closer to mine, his stubble rubbing against my soft cheek. Why the hell was Jason here?

The lanky loser moved on, but not without a small whimpering growl
which made me chuckle. I pushed out of Jason’s embrace. God, it felt nice, his hard body against mine, his strong arms protecting me. I shook the idea out of my head. When I turned to thank him, his face was far from being remarkably handsome; rather, it was distorted. Jason was angry.

“What did I tell you about being careful?”
he growled louder than he had to the asshole.

“I was being careful!” I fired back.

“Listen, Kassia, I saw you and your dancing. You were practically having sex here on the fuckin’ dance floor. Mind telling me what you think you were doing?” His face inched closer, almost head butting me.

“Listen
, buddy!” I met him toe-to-toe and began poking his hard chest. I almost lost focus, almost. “I'm old enough to dance and have sex with whomever I so please. So if you don’t like my dancing, then don’t look at me.”

We both stood in the middle of New York’s “IT” club having a staring competition.

“So this is the tall
, studly boy?” Genna’s voice made me lose to him.

“Yeah, this is overbearing and annoying Jason
,” I introduced.

Genna pushed me aside. “Well
, hello there,” she murmured and smiled. “What’s a tall, gorgeous thing like you doing here?” she asked, practically throwing herself at him.

“Way to go
, Genna. Make us sound older than we really are,” Tara said, annoyed at Genna’s behavior. She wasn’t the only one. Everything inside me screamed ‘bitch, lay off, he’s mine,’ but I stood mute.

“I'm here with some friends.” He nudged his head to the small crowd of men
who were seated right at the bar behind us. All of them looked like him, they waved at us and one even gestured for us to join them.

“Ohh!” Genna purred. “May we join you?”
she asked Jason, ignoring his answer and heading towards the bar.

I looked at Tara. “Aren’t we here because of your man troubles?”

She smiled widely, looking at the young men at the bar. “I think I just found my remedy.”

I smacked my head. “Girls remember
? Time together? You yelled at me to come out with you guys!” Both girls ignored me and went off to the bar, where the other men were, leaving me alone with Jason.

The look on his face irritated me so much, I decided to leave.
I was tired anyway and needed some sleep. To be honest, it was an excuse. I needed some space from him. I met him only two times, but each time I felt like I had known him. Both times felt intense and real. It was too much and I didn’t want to deal with it. I took my phone out of my clutch and texted the girls that I was leaving. They’d probably only see it at the end of the night anyways. Trust me, they wouldn’t be missing me.

I headed out, not bothering to acknowledge his presence, even though he followed me. No matter how loud the music
was, I could hear his footsteps; the sound now becoming something I was seeking. The feel of his heat coming off his body was awakening the dormant hunger inside me. Fuck, what was wrong with me?

I pushed through the crowd and wound up on the street.
I moved between two parked cars and tried to hail a cab. I heard him huff behind me. He was seriously pushing me over the edge.

“Wha
t’s your problem? I hardly fuckin’ know you?” I asked, putting my hands on my waist, as I looked right at him.

He watched me carefully
, ignoring my questions. God, he looked good, with his black combat boots, his jeans that just hung off his hips and a loose, blue t-shirt, which was half-tucked in. A stark difference with what I was wearing, which was a black, mini-cocktail, fuck-me dress, with nine-inch silver peek-a-boo pumps. He had his arms crossed as he studied me. Did he just groan? I swear he groaned.

I turned right around and started to wave frantically, hoping to get a cab ASAP.
I looked behind me quickly and he was gone. A small part of me was sad, but I pushed that aside. I waited for a bit, but no cab came. I knew I’d have a hard time getting home now.

Begrudgingly, I started to make my way down the street when a black 1970s Dodge Charger blocked my way.
The door opened and Jason’s head was lowered, our eyes met and he glared.

“Get in!”
he ordered and I chuckled.

“Nice try
, junior, but no thanks.” I slammed the door and kept on moving.

I could hear the car revving behind me.
The kid must have restored it completely; it looked gorgeous. I hugged my clutch to my body and headed down the street, hoping to finally find a cab.

Jason drove right passed me. I kept my head down, not wanting to give in and look at him driving away.
The car then stopped. He opened his car door, muttered some swear words and marched right towards me. He lowered himself and picked me up, throwing me over his shoulder.

“Put me down!” I cried, but he ignored me.

He reached his car, opened the passenger side door and gently put me in. I seriously thought he was going to throw me inside. He then made his way to the driver’s side and slid in.

“You realize you left your car idling here in New York City? It could have been stolen
,” I yelled.

“That’s how crazy you make me!”
he roared. “Now just be a good girl and let me drive you home in peace.” He gritted his teeth.

I rolled my eyes at him. “Trust me
, junior, I will.”

I inched as far as I could from him and stared out the window with my arms crossed.
He slid across, catching me off guard. He reached for the seatbelt and buckled me in. He then drove me home, both of us not uttering one word.