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Prologue

Ryan Steel's driver pulled up to the familiar large iron gates of the Burke house. Two guards stood on either side of the doors, protecting the people who resided on the other side of them.

"Name please," a guard ask the driver coolly.

"Ryan Steel," he spoke up for himself from the back of the sleek black Mercedes.

After a curt nod from the guard, the gates flew ajar, letting the car easily slip through and up towards the magnificent house of Ryan's dear friend, Everett Burke.

"I'll call when I'm finished here," Ryan said casually to his driver, Martin, then walked up the steps. He knocked only twice when a young girl, not much past her teen years came running through the doors, nearly toppling him over.

"Sorry, sir," she yelled behind her, her dark brunette waves that matched her fathers billowed out behind her.

"Careful Rory," Everett himself yelled after his daughter, shaking his head staring after her lovingly but disapproving. His eyes finally snapped over to his old friend and a smile lit his face, "Ryan!"

The men enveloped each other in a hug only long time friends could do and pulled away from each other, "How've you been, Everette?"

"Good, you know, still trying to watch out over Aurora," Everett said with a sigh. "I swear, that girl won't focus on anything but music. She is twenty one, she has got to get her head out of the clouds and be more serious."

"Funny, it's the exact opposite with my son. Ryland has done will for the company, but I worry he is a bit too caught up in it. I'm an old man, Everett, I want to retire, but I can't be settled leaving the company with Ryland."

"Well why not, you said yourself he has done well," Everett said.

Ryan nodded, "Indeed I did, but its not the company I'm worried about. I don't want my son to run himself into the ground."

Everett sighed, "I wish that Aurora would take our company that seriously. She seems to want nothing to do with it."

"Our kids " Ryan said as he and his friend laughed. Then an idea struck him. Ryland and Aurora were exactly what the other needed.

It was simple. If Ryland and Aurora were put together, Ryland would loosen up and Aurora would take her responsibilities more seriously.

"Everett my dear friend, I have a proposition for you."

"And that would be what?"

"Your daughter is the exact opposite of my son. Its perfect!"

The wheels in Everett's mind started to turn, "So what is your proposal?"

"My proposal, is that he should propose..."

1. I'm Getting What Now?

"Just one more go, I promise," my best friend Hayley begged, already crouching into a ready position.

"Why, you already know I'm going to kick your ass and hand it to you," I replied smugly as I crouched next to her.

"Oh, whatever, Rory," she said playfully, setting her eyes on the end of the hundred yard mark on the track. "Alright, we go on one." I nodded once as she started to count backwards from three, "Three, two, one, go!"

I shot across the starting line and in no time at all, I flew past Hayley and crossed the finish line, barely out of breathe. Hayley glared at me and I shrugged, "I tried to tell you."

"Don't talk to me, Rory," she snapped playfully, throwing her arm over my shoulder.

As we walked towards our cars, my phone buzzed in my back pocket. I pulled it out and looked at the caller ID. "It's my dad. I'll text you later," I said and made my way over to my car. I swiped my finger across the screen to answer and placed it to my ear, "Hey dad, what's up?"

"I need you to come home, we need to talk," he said in a serious tone.

"OK, what's up," I asked as revved the engine and pulled out of the parking lot.

"We'll speak when you get here. Love you."

"Love you, too dad," I said and hung up the phone. I turned the radio up and sang happily along to Chains by Nick Jonas.

Is it just me, or has he got A LOT sexier?

As I pulled up to the gates, Jerry - the guard - opened them and let me inside. I smiled at him, then continued up the drive, parking off to the side. I cut the engine and walked up the steps into the house.

"Dad, I'm-"

"In the living room, Aurora," he said using my full name, and I flinched.

This can't be good.

"What's up," I asked, trying to stay casual as I sat down across from him on the couch. His brows were furrowed, but an excited glint was present in his green eyes. His usually well kept dark hair that I had inherited was slightly messy as well as his loosely slung tie.

I looked a lot like my dad. I got his slightly curly, dark brown hair that fell down to just above my elbows as well as his dark complexion, leaving my skin lightly tanned. I was a decent height for a girl, standing at five feet, eight inches, which came from my dads side, too. The only thing that I got from my mom was her warm, brown eyes and curvy figure, which I was proud of.

My dad opened his mouth, then closed it and squinted. "Just say it, dad," I said laughing.

He raised his eyebrows and looked away, scratching the back of his neck. "Alright. You're getting married."

I sat there silently looking him. Maybe I just heard him wrong. "I'm getting what, now?"

"You're getting married. In two weeks."

I was stunned into silence. My mouth hung loosely open as I stared at dad. This has got to be a joke. That's it, where is Ashton Kutcher. Come on out now. I have got to be getting punked right now... "What? To who? Because the last time I checked I was happily single."

"To Ryland Steel."

A red flag immediately shot up when I heard that name. Ryland Steel. Around here - well among me and my friends - that name is synonymous with 'biggest ass in the world ". Rumor has it that he has the face of an angel, the body of a Greek god and a voice like silk. And to top it all off, the richest bitch since Oprah. That all sounds pretty good, until you add in the fact that he acts the part. He is a stuck up, little - well not exactly little, considering he is 6'4" - bitch that thinks that he's better than everyone.

Have I met him? No, but I've heard enough that I know that I never want to. "I'm sorry. I'm not marrying him," I said, crossing my legs and leaning back on the couch.

An evil smirk made it's way onto my dads face as me pulled a thick stack of papers from behind his back. "Actually, you are." He pushed the stack in my face and I started to read it.

In short, it said that Ryland and I had to be married, and and stay married for a year. If we didn't, he forfeited his position in Steel Industries and that I would as well, in Burke Inc. Yeah, big whoop.

I wanted nothing to do with my fathers company. In all honesty, I didn't even know what the hell they did there besides kiss my dads ass to get a paycheck. My dream was music.

I could play acoustic, electric and bass guitar, violin, piano and drums. My plan was to, obviously, become some sort of singer, and if not....I really don't know. There was no Plan B for me.

And I think following your dreams is better than sitting in an office doing God-knows-what and being bored for the rest of your life.

I looked up at my dad and smirked, "That's fine. I want nothing to do with the company anyway," I said smugly, however my dad just matched my smirk.

"Read the fine print, sweetheart."

I narrowed my eyes as I read the small print beneath my name.

This also voids any participation in music programs and/or Universities.

Oh that was low. "Dad, you can really be serious," I yelled realizing that he probably, in fact, was.

"Oh, but I am," he said confirming my thoughts. "Look, Rory, you are not the only one going into this blind, Ryland is, too."

"What? Is that supposed to reassure me? I font want to marry his stupid arrogant ass," I yelled, throwing my hands around like I was having a seizure.

My dad frowned at me, "Have you ever met him," he asked with a stern look.

"No, but I don't need to! I've heard enough about him in the tabloids," I snapped, making my fathers glare towards me deepen.

"Aurora Arya Burke, I raised you better than that," my dad snapped raising his voice, which shocked me into silence. My dad was never one for shouting, and when he did he was furious or really passionate, and right now, I'm pretty sure he's leaning toward furious. If there was one thing my dad didn't tolerate, it was judging others unfairly...which I was doing right now.

My face reddened and then dropped my head. "I sorry, dad. You did raise me better than that. I don't know him and its unfair to judge him base on rumors I've read in magazines. I should meet him before a cast a judgment on him."

My dad smiled. "Its wonderful that you feel that way, because we are going to meet him and his father in an hour."

2. Well Aren't You Just a Sexy Ball of Sunshine?

I sat in the backseat of the town car with a scowl on my face. My dad, however, sat across from me with a smug smirk. I glared at him and he just rolled his eyes, "Oh, don't give me that look, Rory. You'll thank me for this later," he said matter-of-factly.

I narrowed my eyes, "Yes, that's totally going to happen. Just like I am going to wake up tomorrow morning and sprout a penis," I snapped and my dad just laughed at me, shaking his head.

Within a few minutes, the car came to a stop in front of large iron gates similar to ours. Our driver spoke to the guard and the gates opened for us, leading up to a large house with formidable but beautiful white columns and a black Benz parked in the front. As the car came to a stop, the doors the the house swung open. I immediately recognized the man from a couple of weeks ago that I nearly ran over in my haste to get to the track.

My dad got out of the car and I followed his lead, standing beside him as he embraced his friend. "Everett! Nice to see you again, and you must be the lovely Aurora! I'm Ryan Steel, my son Ryland is just inside," he said, gesturing towards the door.

"Shall we," my dad asked, offering me his arm. I glared at him and stomped ahead following Mr. Steel.

When we walked through the doors, I glanced around the large room in awe. The ceilings were high and seemed to go up forever, the walls were a light cream and the furniture was warm browns and earth tones. It was a perfect mix of homey and classy, a mix many attempted but couldn't quite pull off, so the fact that they did, made me smile.

Mr. Steel led us down a corridor to the left of what I assumed to be the family room, and to a large set of wooden doors. He opened them and ushered us inside with a wave of his hand. As I walked inside - whatI'mgoingtoassumeis- the den, my attention is immediately drawn to two separate things: the Foosball table and the tall, imposing figure that stood with his back to me.

"-well tell him that I am in a meeting," he yells, causing Mr. Steel to clear his throat, loudly. The man turned around and glanced at me. "This won't take long." He hung the phone up immediately and I scowled.

"Aurora, this is my son Ryland. Ryland, this is Aurora Burke."

Ryland didn't make a move, just let his eyes roll over me; appraisingme. Finally, he took a step forward and paused, he reached into his pocket and then held his hand out to me. I opened it and he dropped a large diamond ring into my palm.

My mouth dropped open and I could see from the corner of my eye, Ryan Steel and my dads happy smirks at my reaction. Well, hatetoburstyourbubble...

"Hell fucking no!" I threw the ring back at Ryland.

"No," he asked, half shocked and half pissed.

"So now you speak."

"What the fuck do you mean, No?" Well aren't you just a sexy ball of sunshine.

Before I could respond, my dad jumps in between us. "You have no choice. You're marrying him, Rory and that's final."

"You can fucking make me, dad!"

"Yes I can. You read the contract, Aurora. This conversation is done," he said, picking the ring up off of the floor. "Now you're going to wear this mans ring. You are going to be living at his home as well, so this is goodbye."

My eyes widened, "Dad, you can't be serious! What about all of my things?"

"They were delivered earlier," Ryland interjected, looking at me coldly.

I shot daggers at him, narrowing my eyes. "Fuck you."

"No thanks, sweetheart," he said arrogantly, glaring right back at me.

"Well, we'll leave you kids to it," Mr. Steel said and he walked out.

"I love you, honey. You'll thank me one day," my dad said and tried to hug me.

I shoved him away, my eyes like ice, "Don't touch me."

Hurt flashed in his eyes, but he walked away, leaving me in the room alone with Ryland. I looked over at him, and he was staring down at his phone. After a minute or two, he looked up at me with cold, indifferent gray eyes, "Let's go. My driver is here," he said and walked out the door. I followed after him back to the front where a black SUV sat next to my white Audi.

"Your father had it brought for you, Miss Aurora," I older woman said, handing me my keys.

"Thank you," I said and started walking to my car.

"Where do you think you're going," Ryland demanded.

"Away from you, asshole," I snapped and drove away.

"Wait, wait, wait! So you mean to tell me, that your dad basically sold you off to RylandSteelto make a damned point," Hayley said, trying to wrap her head around what just happened.

I nodded. "Yes. With a contract and all."

"And Ryland gave you a ring?"

"Yes. And I threw it right back at his dumb ass," I said still fuming about earlier.

After I left, I pulled my hair into a loose ponytail and drove around the city for a while, then stopped at Hayley's house. I changed out of that damned dress and into a pair of leather jeans I had in the back of my car for some reason, a loose gray crop top and Vans, then told Hayley the entire story.

I pulled the ring out of my pocket and handed it to her. She looked down at it and her big blue eyes widened. She picked up the ring and turned it around in her fingers, in awe. It irritated me how she was looking at it, but its not like I could blame her.

The ring was beautiful, I have to admit. The band was a shining platinum and in the center, a large square cut diamond. It was surrounded in a frame of smaller diamonds and on either side, there were two medium sized squared cut diamonds, then multiple small ones on the sides of the band. Engraved on the inside was my name, Aurora, carved intricately. In any other situation, I would adore the ring, but coming from him, it would have to be a cold day in hell.

After appraising the ring, Hayley set the ring down on the table, then her eyes met mine. "Might I just say in the most loving, best friend way that I can, that you are the dumbest bitch I have ever came into contact with."

My eyes widened and I gaped at her, "Hayley!"

She sat back in her seat and crossed her arms, "Rory. What did he even do to you?"

"He was a total dick to me" I almost shrieked, angry. "You're supposed to be on my side!"

"Rory. He only reacted to you. You wounded his ego. So, outside of doing what any person with a penis would do, what did he do to you?"

Her question caught me off guard. And when I thought about it, he really hadn'tdone anything. And that fact pissed me off even more.

"I've got to go," I said, got up from the couch and walked out to my car.

I jumped in the drivers seat and turned the radio up as far as it would go, blasting my favorite songs from my phone.

Youputasourlittleflavorinmymouthnow. Youmoveincircleshopingnoonesgonnafindout. Butwe'resolucky. Kisstheringandlet 'embowdown. Lookingforthetimeofyourlife...

I sang along angrily to Miss Jackson by Panic! At The Disco as I drove to my dads house - speeding the whole way. When I pulled up to the gate, I rolled my window down to show the guard who I was.

"Hey boys, its just me," I said.

A guilty looked crossed our head of security, Martin's face. He scratched the back of his neck and looked down at me. "I'm sorry, Miss Rory, but I can't let you in. Your fathers orders. He said you would be staying with your fiancé."

I glared and very nearly growled at the poor man. I rolled my window up and sped out of the drive. I picked up my phone and dialed my dads number.

"Hello?"

"What the hell, dad," I screamed through the phone.

He sighed. "Go home, Rory."

"I'm trying to, but Martin won't let me through the damned gate," I ground out through gritted teeth.

"Go to Ryland's apartment. I already sent the address," he said calmly.

"Dad!"

"Goodbye, Rory," he said and hung up the phone.

"Dammit," I yelled, banging on the steering wheel. I checked my phone for the address in defeat, and started on my way there.

Within ten minutes, I was parked beside Ryland's building. I got out looking up at the almost imposing building. Itwasatleast 40 storieshigh.

I locked my car doors and walked inside the building. I walked up to the receptionist desk and was met by a guy around my age. He had cool blue eyes and dirty blond hair. His eyes rolled over me and he smirked. "Can I help you ma'am," he asked with a hint of a southern accent.

I smiled at him and looked down at his name tag, "Yes you can, Taylor. What floor is Mr. Ryland Steel's apartment?"

His smile dropped a bit, but he nodded and turned to his computer. "Forty-second floor, Penthouse 4," he said.

"Thank you," I said and walked towards the elevator uneasily. I never liked elevators. They made me nervous. Damnhim forlivingonthetopfloor!

When the elevator finally dinged and the doors opened, I quickly ran out and down the hall to Penthouse 4. I stood there for a second, then finally knocked on the door. In no time it swung open and a fuming Ryland stood there.

"Uh, hi..?" He didn't bother responding, just grabbed me by the arm and jerked me inside. "Hey, get your fucking hands off of me!"

"You could have made me late, having to sit around and wait on you! My meeting is at four," he snapped and I looked down at my phone.

My nose scrunched in confusion. "Dude, your office is five blocks away. Chill out," I said.

If looks could kill, I'd be dead by now. I gave him the same look in return, until finally, he sighed. He pinched the bridge of his nose and looked down. "I don't have time for this. There's food in the refrigerator, your stuff is set up in the spare room." He said nothing else, just turned and walked out the door.

This is going to be the longest year of my life.

3. I Bet You Watch Paint Dry for Fun

I stared at the door for a couple of seconds after Ryland left, then slowly started to explore his apartment. Even though I hate to admit it, the living room was beautiful. A sleek black, baby grand piano sat in the back corner, adjacent a curving crème colored couch that faced the large high definition television that was mounted on the wall. To the back, a balcony that looked over the breathtaking Chicago skyline.

The only thing that was slightly off putting was that it was spotless...like literally. It looked like he had cut it out of a magazine - which in all honesty, he probably did - and smacked it right in his living room. I shrugged it off and continued looking around.

I went into the kitchen, and as I expected, it was modernized with all the appliances being either black or chrome. I left the kitchen and wondered down the hall, the first door I came to was a bathroom, but the second, was what I assumed to be his bedroom.

"Oh come on!" Just like the living room, it was spotless. The only thing that might be out of place was the pair of shoes and tie that was laid out across a brief case, and even those looked like they were placed with perfect precision. The walls were a plane off white and his bedding was black. Simple. Sufficient. Boring...yet still attractive. Yep. Basically sums him up. I shook my head then continued down the hall.

When I opened the next door, I was shocked at the beauty of the room behind it. The walls were painted a Charcoal gray with delecate tree like, floral patterns on it. The bed was white with black and gray bedding. The curtains were white as well as the majority of the furniture. I knew it was mine when I saw my tan stuffed dog, Clover, that I always slept with sitting front and center on the bed.

I opened the closet and, true to what Ryland said, my stuff was delivered and put away, along with a shit load of other clothes that still had the tages on them. I walked inside the closet and opened one of the drawers built into the shelf and was mortified to find pieces of skimpy lingerie in blacks, blues, and reds.

I dropped the piece of "clothing" and walked out of the closet. To the right of the closet, was a door that led into a bathroom. As soon as I saw the jecuzzi tub, I was in love. The entire room was made of tile that resembled stone. There was a open shower that had four different settings and was just perfect.

"It couldn't hurt to try it out.." I whispered to myself. I mean, I do live here now. Might as well get comfortable.

I turned on the faucet in the bathtub and withing minutes, it was filled and warm to perfection. I stripped off my clothes and slowly, stepped into the water. I sighed in content as my eyes rolled back.

"Oh, a girl could get used to this," I said to myself as I leaned back in the tub. I sat there with my eyes closed until the water turned cold. I pulled the plug and let the water drain out, then wrapped a towel around my body.

I walked back out into the bedroom and over to the closet. Cringing, I went to the drawer that held all of the lingerie. I dug around past all of the...skimpierpieces until I found a pair of modest, blue bikini panties. I sighed in relief, then put on a matching tshirt bra, but when I went to look for one of my sacred oversized t-shirts, none of them were there.

I was seeing red, but I took a deep breath and walked out of the closet. "I guess I will be stealing his then," I said in an evil voice. It washitsfaultthattheygotthrownawaysoheshallbesacrificingoneofhis.

I walked across the hall into his room and quickly made my way to the other side of the room to his closet, strangely paranoid that he was going to walk in and swallow me whole for being in his room, even though I knew he wouldn't be home for s few more hours - atleastthatshowlongittookdad. It didn't take me long to figure out that there were no t-shirts in his closet. It was almost completelyfilled with suits.

I rolled my eyes and went on to look in his drawers. The first was filled with socks and underwear. I smirked to myself as I took a pair of the socks and slipped them on. Surprisingly, they almost came up to my knees! Continuing on in my search I finally found a white, Hanes tshirt. I pulled it on and made my way into the living room to, hopefully, find something interesting to do. That's when I remembered the beautiful baby grand in the corner.

I walked over to it, slowly running my fingers over the glossy surface. I sat down at its bench and started running my fingers over the keys. I was just making simple little tunes, st first but it eventually blossomed into Blank Space, by Taylor Swift.

"Nice to meet you, where you been? I could show you incredible things. Magic, Madness, Heaven, sin. Saw you there and I thought, 'Oh, My God, look at that face!' You look like my next mistake. Love's a game, wanna play..."

I sang the song happily until I was interrupted when the front door slammed. "What the hell are you doing," Ryland snapped, loosening his tie.

I looked at him like he was stupid - whichhewas! "I'm playing the baby grand."

"I can see that. I meant, why the hell are you singing such trash?"

My blood started to boil, "Are you fucking stupid? Taylor Swift has one of the most real voices in pop culture to date!"

He rolled his eyes. "Well, at least I know what you do for fun, sit around and dung shitty music," he said, starting towards the hall.

I almost growled and stood up, following after him, "At least its better than nothing! I bet you watch paint dry for fun!"

He spun around, "Well, at least - is that mine," he said, cutting himself off, lookingbover my body.

I paused, crossing my arms over my chest. "Not anymore."

His eyes darkened and he turned away from me, walking down the hall. A few seconds later, his door slammed. Not long after, his shower cut on. I smirked to myself and went to my own room, content that I had just won this battle.

4. Chop It Off.

"Five more minutes, dad, I promise," I groaned, rolling over and pulling the blankets over my head.

"I'm not your dad, now get up," Ryland's annoyingly sexy voice said, waking me up a bit more, just before my blankets were jerked away, leaving my bare legs and arms exposed to the cold. "And aren't you meant to be 21? Who still has their dad waking them?"

"Jesus, Ryland! I could have been fucking naked," I yelled jerking the cover back over my now freezing legs.

He shrugged, "I don't care. Put on something presentable. We have an appointment at one thirty," he said simply, walking out of my room, shutting the door behind him. I glared at the closed door for a few minutes after he left, but rolled my eyes and got out of bed anyway.

I ran my fingers through my hair as I made my way to the bathroom. It was just past 11:30 so I had enough time for a shower.

When I was finished, I wrapped a towel around myself and went into the closet. I looked around for a minute before I came across a royal blue, denim high wasted skirt. I took it off the hanger and looked at it, then I had an idea.

After a reasonably long search, I found a thin dark beige, boat neck tshirt that tied at the collar. I pulled it on and tucked it into the skirt. I grabbed a brown leather belt and put it on my waist. I left my hair down and looked in the mirror. Smiling to myself, I slipped on a pair of thin soled vans and a long chained pocket watch necklace that Hayley had given me on my twentieth birthday.

Grabbing my phone and my bag, I walked out of my bedroom to find Ryland on the phone in the living room. When I walked into the room he turned around and paused in his conversation. His eyes rolled over me and I had to fight the smirk threatening to take over my face.

"I'll call you back," he said and hung up the phone, placing it in his pocket. He looked down at he watch, then back up at me, "Come on, or we'll be late," he said, looking over me again, lingering on my legs.

I smirked as he adjusted his tie and turned towards the door. I followed him, uneasily into the elevator as he took his sweet time about pressing the button. Before he could get to it, I jumped in front of him and slammed my fist onto the button for the ground floor.

He looked at me like I had no functioning brain cells as I pressed up against the wall, anxiety rolling off of me in waves. "Are you scared of the elevator," he asked looking at me.

"Hell yes, I'm scared of the damned elevator! Its a fucking trap waiting to drop me to my death," I answered.

"Rory, this elevator was inspected a month ago. I watched the men do it. There is nothing wrong with it," he said.

I mad a face, "I don't care who the guck you watched! He could've been drunk for all you know! And font call that," I snapped, crossing my arms.

He smirked, "And why not?"

"Only my friends call me Rory," I said. The elevator doors dinged ond I walked out of the elevator like the boss ass bitch I am.

As we walked out the doors, Ryland walled ahead of me to a black Maserati, parked just in front of the building.

"Huh," I said as I got into the passenger seat.

"What? Surprised that I have a good taste in cars," he asked sarcastically, almost bitter.

"No," I answered truthfully. "That you can drive, period," I said and closed the door behind me. He scowled but started the car and took off down the street.

Within a few minutes, Ryland parked the car outside of Belle Vie. "Uhm, excuse me, why are we here," I asked as we got out of the car.

"Because we are buying your wedding dress," he said casually, walking towards the door. "Like I said earlier, my mother and sister are already inside, and I had my assistant make a few calls, so I'm pretty sure your friend Hayley is here too." I stared at him, shocked. Did he actually consider my feelings?

"Well, why are you here then? Isn't the husband supposed to wait until the wedding to see the bride in her dress," I asked jokingly, trying to be at least a bit friendly.

He shrugged, "I'm paying for it. And I can't have you looking ridiculous," he said seriously.

I narrowed my eyes at him, and grudgingly followed him inside. He walked up to a counter where a woman with blonde hair stood, "Yes, how may I help you," she said with a flirtatious smile, leaning over to give Ryland a good view of her breasts.

I narrowed my eyes at her, but she ignored me. And don't take that the wrong way, o still can't stand Ryland, but its obvious he is here for some type of wedding dress shopping and I'm standing right there!

"Yes," he said looking at his phone, ignoring her. I smirked, "We have an appointment under Steel."

When he said we her eyes snapped over to me. She skimmed over me and her eyes hardened, envious. "Right this way. Your party is already waiting."

She stepped out from behind the counter and let us down a few halls to a showing room. Inside an older lady - who I was assuming was Rylands mother - a girl that looked slightly older than Ryland with the same tone of hair and Hayley sat, awkwardly. When we entered, they all turned back and smiles graced their faces.

"Ah, you must be Aurora! Ryland, sweetheart, you weren't mistaken about how beautiful she is," she said, pulling me in to a hug. "My name is Lanah Steel," I glanced over at Ryland with a raised brow and - I'll be damned he's blushing! It was light, but I was there. "And this is my oldest, Roxanne," she said, releasing me.

"You can call me Roxy," Ryland's sister said as she, as well, brought me into a hug. "It's nice to meet you, Aurora."

"Call me Rory," I said with a smile to both women.

"I thought only friends could call you that," Ryland whispered behind me.

I shrugged, "I like them."

"Rory," Hayley called, wrapping her arm around me. "How's it going," she asked.

"Great," I said with a fake smile that she saw right through.

OK, so the thing is, no one other than our dads, me, Ryland and Hayley know about the contract. Everyone else is completely in the dark - outside the lawyers, of course. And to keep it that way was a part of the contract. If anyone - other than Hayley who I already blabbed to - found out, it'd be considered a breech.

Within a few minutes, a lady that was in her mid or late thirties with brown hair stepped through the door, "So, who is the blushing bride?"

"That'd be me," I said, raising my hand.

"Great! My name is Samantha and I am going to be helping you today. Is there any styles you would like to s-"

"Full princess ball gown," Ryland interjected, not pausing to look up from his phone.

"Uh...yes sir," she said looking at me. I rolled my eyes and followed her to the back. "OK, now what do you want," she asked with a smile.

A smirk lit my face, "The exact opposite."

She was quick to match my expression, "I have just the thing." She led me into a dressing room, then disappeared, coming back a few minutes later with two dresses, "I figure we should give him what he wants, first, and then you smack sense into him."

I smiled at her and let her help me pull on the style dress Ryland wanted. I have to admit, when I got it on, it was beautiful. With the intricate beadingbon the top and the puffed out Cinderella bottom, it would be any girls dream. But I wasn't me. I knew that, but I walked out anyway.

"Oh, honey, you look beautiful! Ryland sweetheart, just look at her," Lanah said, but his eyes never moved from the phone.

"Yeah, yeah. Bag it up."

I scowled at him and started to say something until Samantha beat me to the punch. "We have one more."

She led me back to the room again and helped me out of the Cinderella dress, and into a more simple one. But as I looked in the mirror, tears almost came to my eyes. The dress was perfect. It fit to my body all the way down to the floor and had a beautiful train. It was a long sleeved dress, with the sleeves and top being a floral pattered lace. It had a pinging V neckline which showed the perfect amount of cleavage without bring trashy. I knew in that moment, weather this marriage was out of love or contract, this would be the only dress I would be walking down the isle in.

"Miss Aurora, if I do say so myself, in this dress, you are living up to you name, sweetheart," she said as she looked at me.

"Thank you," I said with a soft smile. "Well, let's go show 'em." We walked down the hall and when we stepped into the room...silence. Not a word uttered from anyone. "Well?"

Still, no one said anything. At the silence, Ryland glanced up, and his eyes locked on me. The normal gray of his eyes darkened as they swept over me. He opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, but nothing came out.

"Rory...you look..." Hayley started, standing up staring at me.

"Breathtaking," Lanah and Roxy said together and laughed.

"I think this is it," I said quietly.

"Indeed, I believe it is, darling," Lanah said with a smile, hugging me.

"We'll take it," Ryland said, finally speaking up.

"Girl, did you see his face? He looked like he was about to tear that dress off and fuck you good...in front of his mom and sister too," Hsylay laughed as we walked towards the salon.

"Uh huh." Ryland had driven me back to the apartment to pick up my car about an hour ago, all the while telling me how he would like my hair - long, straight and down - for the wedding. He had had his assistant set up an appointment for me to get my hair done. I had argued and said that I refused unless he took me to get my car and I could take Hayley with me. Needless to say, I won that argument.

As we walked inside, I signed in and in no time, they called me. Hayley said she would go get her nails done while she waited. I nodded, and waved her goodbye.

"So, how do you want it," the lady asked, running a brush through my hair.

As I looked in the mirror, I thought back to what Ryland said; Long, straight and down. A smirk made its way onto my face as I looked in the mirror, "Chop it off."

She smirked, "Boyfriend?"

"You could say that," I said with a crooked smile.

She matched my smirk and pucked up her scissors, "I've got you. Trust me."

5. Words Are Knives

"There you go," the girl, Lauren, said. She spun me around i n the chair to show me the finished product of my hair.

I took a sharp intake of breath as I saw myself. It was different. Very different. And I loved it! My natural beach waves looked more like loose curls now, and stopped aboved my shoulders. "Its perfect," I said with a smile, standing up from my chair. "Here. For doing such a great job." I handed the girl a fifty and walked out of the salon.

I wandered around the mall for a while, until I stumbled up on Hayley in a line at the food court, supporting three bags in one hand, two in the other and purse. I was quiet as I walked up to her and tapped her on the shoulder. She spun around, and almost immediatly, her eyes widened and a huge smile lit her face.

"What do you think," I asked with a smile, flipping my now short, bouncy hair around.

"I love it! Oh my gosh, Ryland is totally going to freak! Didn't you say that he liked long, straight hair," she asked with a devious look on her face.

"Yep," said matching her facial expression, "That is exactly why it is perfect. Plus, even though I am totally opposed to the whole idea of marrying him, I still think with the dress that I picked, the short hair is going to complement it," I said as she grabbed her ordered food and started leading me off to a table.

"I think you're right," she said sitting down.

We didn't waist much time eating and within fifteen minutes, we were in our cars, going our separate ways. As I pulled up to my building - that's going to take a while getting used to - I unintentionally hesitated in my car. All of the possible scenarios of Ryland's reaction ran through my head, and before I could stop myself, I worried if he would actually like it or not.

"No," I snapped, out loud to myself. "Pull it together. You don't give a flying fuck what he thinks," I said and jumped out of my car. Locking the doors behind me, I strutted confidently into the building with my head held high.

As I walked through the lobby, I noticed the same blonde guy - Taylor? - that helped me find Ryland's apartment yesterday. He glanced up at me, and let his eyes roll over my body, "You look nice, Miss. Aurora," he drawled and I smiled, until what he said hit me.

"Thank you, but hold on. How do you know my name? I don't remember telling you," I said suspiciously, as I walked a little closer to the front desk.

"Oh," he said a little caught off guard, "Mr. Steel came down a little earlier and added you to the lease."

I stared at him in shock. "Oh."

He chuckled at me, "Yeah. And the fact that you and Mr. Steel's names are plastered all over every gossip magazine on the rack."

"WHAT?" I ran over to the magazine rack that sat to the left of the desk and took a look myself. Sure enough, there I was, getting out of the car with Ryland this morning, going into the Bridal store. The titles read things like "Wedding Bells for Steel?" and "Sleeping Beauty and The Ice King: Has She Thawed His Heart?" Damn, they work fast. These pictures couldn't been taken but a little over two maybe three hours ago.

I sighed and put the magazines back on the rack, "This is just great," I grumbled to myself as I grudgingly walked towards the elevators that may or may not have been examined thoroughly last month. I pressed the button, and within seconds, the doors dinged, and opened. Before I could so much as move out of the way, a man wielding ear-buds and runners all but trampled me.

"Whoa! I'm so sorry," he appoligized, in a thick, deep Australian accent, pulling his earbuds out and looking over me as I did the same to him. He was attractive. Very attractive - although still not on Ryland's level. What? Let's be honest here, I may not like him, but i'm not blind! He had dark blonde hair that fell to the bottom of his neck with screaming blue eyes. He was tall, well over six feet and was built beautifully.

"It's fine. Not like my day could get any worse, anyway, " I grumbled the last part quietly.

"Well, maybe you should let me buy you a coffee to make up for your bad day," he said flirtatiously. "Will," he said, sticking his hand out.

I laughed a little, but took his hand, "Aurora. But you can just call me Rory," I said. "And I might just take you up on that."

"I'm going to hold you to that," he said, letting his eyes roll over me once more, before taking out his phone, "How about you give me your number, and I'll call you?"

I smiled at him and nodded, "Alright," I said and took in phone, putting my name and number inside, along with a cheesy picture I snapped of myself, "There, so you won't forget me," I said with a smirk, handing him his phone back.

"Oh trust me, I couldn't forget a face like yours. Until later, Miss Aurora," he all but purred, lightly kissing my hand. He backed away from me, and with one last crooked smile, he replaced his ear buds and made his way out the front of the building.

I smirked to myself as I walked, uneasily, into the elevator. In no time, the doors opened easily and I stepped out, releasing a breath I didn't know that I was holding. I shook out my now short hair and made my way down the hall to the flat.

Before I could open the door, I heard a couple of keys on the baby grand being pressed, and before I knew it, the slow introduction to This is Gospel began, and then he started singing...

"This is gospel for the fallen ones, locked away in permanent slumber. Assembling their philosophies, from pieces of broken memories..."

My eyes widened, in complete shock at the beautiful, masculine sound of his voice as it crept through the closed door and to my ears.

Before I could stop myself, I inched the front door open, and crept as quietly as I could, inside. As I rounded the corner into the living room, I could see Ryland. His back facing me, gone was his usual business attire. In its place, a flesh colored tshirt, one or two shades lighter than his skin, and light colored jeans. His hair was neatly disheveled - if that makes any sense - and his guard down.

"Their nashing teeth and criminal tongues, conspire against the odds. But they haven't seen the best of us yet... If you love me let me go," he sang out, completely oblivios to my watching his from across the room.

"If you love me let me go! Cause the words are knives and often leave scars, the fear of falling apart. Truth be told, I never was yours! The fear of falling apart."

As he sang, I could feel his passion seeping into the words. Much like me, when I sang. As this realization sunk in, I saw Ryland in a different light.

"What happened to you," I whispered to myself, but apparently not quiet enough.

His playing abruptly stopped and he spun around facing me. For a half of a second, I saw a vulnerability in his eyes, but as quickly as it was there, it was gone, and replaced with his emotionless, stone cold expression that he always kept in place.

"How long have you been standing there," he said cooly.

I shrugged. "Long enough. You're really good, by the way."

His stony expression softened a bit as he looked at me, "Thank you," he said simply looking over me. For a second, I though he wasn't going to notice my hair, but I was sadly mistaken. "What the hell did you do with all of your hair?"

This time, it was my turn for my face to harden. "I cut it off. Don't you like it dear husband-to-be," I asked sarcastically.

He said nothing as he got up from his place on the bench and stalked towards me. I took a step back, slightly nervous as he reached a hand out and gripped the end of a loose curl and tugged on it. "Suits you."

Shocked.

That I'd the only word that could sum up how I was feeling. "Did you just complement me?"

His face hardened again, "No. I simply said it suits you."

My stomach dropped and for some unknown reason I wanted to cry. I don't know if it was angry tears, sad or stress tears, but they brimmed at the bottom of my eyes as I looked at him. "Would it kill you to not be an ass for two seconds," I snapped as he walked away.

He looked over his shoulder at me and his face softened again for only a second before his mask went back up. "Words are knives," he quoated from the song and walked off down the hall.

As I stared after him, I almost let the tears fall until my phone buzzed with a text message:

Hello, Miss Aurora. This is Will.

Would you like to take up my

offer of coffee?

As I read the message, I forced the tears back and a determination came over me. I'll show him.

Yes, Will. I would love to. Meet

you in the lobby in an hour?

It didn't take long to get a message back.

I will be waiting on you there ;)

I smirked to myself and walked off down the hall and into my bedroom. I went straight over to my closet and searched for something to wear. After a few minutes of searching, I settled on a white tank top under a light washed denem button up, that I left open and rolled the sleeves up to my elbows, darker washed boyfriend skinny jeans and white vans.

I didn't worry much with my hair or makeup considering it was already done from earlier in the day. I grabbed my bag and my phone, and walked out of my bedroom only to bump into Ryland.

"Where are you going," I asked.

I glowered at him and stomped past him to the door,"Out."

He gaped at me as I slammed the door behind me. Happy with myself, it didn't faze me when I got into the elevator - Ok, that was a lie, but whatever. As I walked out of the elevator, I saw Will standing over by the magazine rack. He looked good.

His hair was down and almost touched the back of his grey tshirt. He wore dark washed, straight leg jeans and work boots. He looked up as I walked towards him and smiled.

"You look beautiful," he said in his thick Australian accent.

"Laying the flattery on thick, aren't we," I said and he smirked and shrugged.

"You caught me," he simply said and I laughed, following him out of the building.

* * *

-Ryland's POV-

I loosened my tie as o walked into the flat. That was the longest day I think I have ever had at the office. The fact that I couldn't focus and didn't enjoy my work unnerved me. I always enjoyed work.

Ok, I know that sounds weird, but who doesn't enjoy being successful? But somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew what was wrong with me, and I didn't want to accept it.

I could kill my father for this. I was fine. I was at the new op of my game: but, enter dad. Then enter...her.

Flashback

"Mr. Steel, your father is on line two," my secretary, Laura, said, poking her head inside my office door.

I nodded at her and picked up thw phone that sat on the corner of my desk, "Yes, dad?"

"Ryland, son. You need to come to see me at your earliest convince."

"Yes sir. May I ask why?"

He hesitated for a moment, "A...business arrangement of sorts," he said cryptically.

I narrowed my eyes in suspicion, "What are you up to, dad?"

My father laughed, "Nothing that won't do you some good," he said. "I'll speak with you later son." And he hung up.

I stared at the dead line for minute, before I rolled my eyes and put the phone down.

After a couple of hours, it was five o'clock and I had finished my work for the day. I shut down my computer, grabbed my laptop and headed out for the day. Before going to dad's, I ran back to my flat to change into a pair of jeans and tshirt, then started the fifteen minute drive to my parents house.

When I arrives, the gates were already opened for me, so I went ahead inside. Parking my car in the front of the house, I walked inside and found my dad lounging in his office.

As I enters, my dad looked up from the stack of papers in front of him, and smiled at me, "Ah, finally here. Sit down son," he said gesturing to the chair in front of his desk.

"Alright dad, what type of business arrangement are we talking about here?"

A sinister smirk crawled over his face as he pushed thebl stack of papers at me. It was a contract:

THE MARRIAGE CONTRACT

The following parties: Ryland Ares Steel and Aurora Danielle Burke will be entered by will of fathers: Ryan Michael Steel and Everett Christopher Burke into this all binding, legal contract. Said parties shall enter into a valid, legally binding marriage for the minimum of one year.

Neither party, Ryland or Aurora may have any sexual/physical affairs outside of the lawful marriage. Any sexual/physical affairs will be seen as a breech of contract.

If any breeches are initiated the following shall occur:

Ryland Steel:

• CEO position in Steel Inc. foreited

(Handed to Paruniversities

Aurora Burke:

• Position in Burke Industries

forfeited

• no involvement in musical

programs/colleges/universities

Entering into effect two weeks from date signed: May 16, 2015

Signed: Ryan Steel

Signed: Everett Burke

I gaped at my father as I read the contract. "Dad! You can't enter me into s contract without my knowledge! Especially about a marriage! I don't even know this girl," I yelled throwing the papers back at him.

My father scowled and me and stood. "I can and I will, Ryland," he shouted. "And I do know Aurora. She us a good girl. Independent. Good head on her shoulders. Just a bit...opinionated."

I all but growled at him and looked over the contract. It was legally binding. I couldn't get out of it. "Whatever, dad." I slid the contract back at him. "I'll do it," I snapped and walked out of the room and went back home.

I still can't believe he has put me into this. But I would do whatever it took to keep Steel Inc out of Parker's slimy hands.

Parker Hansley was one shisty son of a bitch and you couldn't trust him as far as you could throw him. He would run the company into the ground and I'll be damned before I see that happen.

I tried to keep that in mind when I met Aurora. But damn it that girl new how to push my buttons. Her name was fitting of her. She was beautiful and could light up any room she walked into, like the light she was named after.

The first day met her, she peaked my interest, but her clear distaste for me put me off, obviously. Naturally, my pride got in the way and I did nothing to help it, but its like she was born to piss me off.

I sighed and ran a hand over my face as I changed into some comfortable clothes. Once I was finished, I knew I was alone, so I went into the living room and started to play one of my favorite songs on the Baby Grand.

The words to This Is Gospel easily rolled off my tongue as I released some stress. My mind drifted back to her and I couldn't stop it.

I didn't notice when Aurora came in, until I heard her light whisper and I spun around to look at her. "How long have you been standing there," I asked her rather rudely. I mentally cringed, knowing deep down, I wasn't like that.

She shrugged. "Long enough. You're really good by the way," she said.

I was shocked, but I didn't show it. "Thank you. What the hell did you do to your hair," I asked not meaning for it to sound the way it did.

"I cut it off. Don't you like it dear husband-to-be," she said.

Before I could stop myself I made my over to her and pulled on one of her perfect curls. "Suits you."

"Did you just complement me," she asked shocked.

"No. I simply said it suits you." Ryland you jack ass.

I could see the tears brimming on her eyes and I wanted to kick myself. I turned around and started walking away feeling like a horrible excuse of a person when she yelled at me, "Would it kill you to not be an ass for two seconds?"

I looked back over my shoulder and quoted lyrics from Panic! At The Disco that I knew rang far too true, "Words are knives," and walked away.

A minutes pass and I hear her for slam. "Ryland, what did you do?"

About an hour passes and we both came out of our bedrooms. She held her bag and phone in her hands and I inquired where she was going. She continued on her way to the door,then turned and glared at me. "Out."

I stared at the door after she slammed it shut for a few minutes until I decided to follow her. She went to the lobby and met a man. As I watched them talk, I couldn't deny the red hot jealousy that flooded through me. She's marrying me. Not him.

And I'm going to guess that's why I thought it was a good idea to march my ass right out the doors after them.

6. Questionable Motives

"So," Will started as we walked, "tell me about yourself. Who are you really," he asked mockingly with a suspicious look plastered on his face.

I shrugged with a half smile, "I don't know, there's not really much to say about me."

He laughed, "Alright, let's start with your last name."

"Burke," I said simply.

His eyes widened, "As in Everett Burke, of Burke Industries," he asked, seemingly awestruck.

By now, we had made it into the small cafe a couple blocks down from the building, and were seated at a small booth in the back corner, beside a window. "Yeah," I said, not understanding why that seemed like such a big deal to him.

"Oh, wow. Your father is like my idol." As soon as he said that, I was completely turned off by him. Hmm, what a shame.

"Is he, now," I said, disinterested.

He nodded excitedly with a large smile, "Indeed he is. I just think its amazing that.."

And he launched into a big long speech about how my fathers success inspired him to acquire a degree in business. I "Mm" and nodded in appropriate places, but essentially tuned everything out.

Will was to the point where he was telling me how he all but built a shrine to my dad in his dorm in college when I saw him walk through the doors. "Oh no," I whispered just as he caught sight of me.

Ryland was still in that casual, relaxes t-shirt and jeans, sporting a determined and slightly pissed look on his face, as he marched towards where Will and I were sitting.

As he walked, heads - of both girls and guys - turned, but he ignored it as he continued on his way, until he stopped beside our booth. Will looked up at him, confused, and I stared at him with anger and embarrassment, "What are you doing," I gritted out through my teeth.

"Keeping you from a breech," he snapped a bit too fast. I narrowed my eyes at him and stared. I could see something in his eyes, and I'm not quite sure what it was, but he was lying - even though I guess he was partly telling the truth.

"Excuse me, what's going on here," Will asked, staring at Ryland.

Before I could answer, Ryland's attention snapped over to Will, and his eyes hardened, "Its none of your concern," he said in an icy tone so cold that it sent a chill down my spine.

"I think it is. This is our date," Will said gesturing between the two of us, getting a bit of an attitude with Ryland, standing to his full height - which turned out to be about two inches shorter than Ryland. "Come on Rory, lets go someplace else," he snapped grabbing my arm and pulling me - or should I say attempting to pull me - past Ryland.

"Hey, let go," I snapped. If he thought it was alright to grab at me like that on the first date, or anytime he had another thing coming.

"Don't touch her," Ryland all but growled, grabbing Will's wrist and tearing it away from my arm.

"She's with me, not you. So back off," Will snapped, making another grab for me.

Before I could properly process what was happening, Ryland pulled me gently out of the way and sent a fist flying directly towards Will's face.

Within seconds, Ryland's fist connected with Will's jaw, sending him staggering back, "I beg to differ," Ryland said in a scarily calm voice. Grabbing my hand, he led me straight out of the cafe and back towards our building.

I was completely shocked. There were no words that I could force out, just opened and shut my mouth like a damn fish. I stayed this way until about half way back when I could form a slightly coherent sentence, "What the hell was that, Ryland?"

He said nothing, just shrugged with a passive look on his face, although his jaw ticked every now and again, giving me the idea that he was pretty pissed off.

We both stayed quiet the rest of the walk to the building. My nerves were already bad enough after seeing Ryland very nearly knock out the guy I was on a "date" with, and now I had to deal with getting on the stupid elevator.

As my nerves increased, the more and more it showed on the outside. Even to the point where my hands were beginning to sweat.

"Hey, its alright. Nothing is going to happen."

Ryland's voice cut through the painfully uncomfortable silence like a knife and I glanced at him in shock. He was comforting me?

"Thanks," I said, making it almost come out like a question. I was so stuck in my shocked state that I almost didn't notice when the elevator doors opened to our floor.

Stepping out of the elevator, relieved, I followed Ryland into the apartment. I didn't really know what to say to him, so I simply turned and walked towards my bedroom.

It was when I made it inside and collapsed into my bed that I realized what time it actually was and how absolutely physically and mentally drained I was. In a matter of days, I had gone from happily single to grudgingly - and contractually - engaged to a man that I'm not even sure I like as a person. I mean he has given me no reason to enjoy his presence..

I shook my head, pushing all of those weird thoughts away and forced myself off of the bed. I walked across the room towards my closet and opened my underwear drawer; picking out a pair of black underwear and bra, I laid it across my bed and went to take a much needed shower.

As I started the shower, the warm water pelted my skin and relaxed my tensed muscles, taking away the lingering tension from watching the half-way brawl in the dinner earlier.

My honey scented soap filled my bathroom and placed a calm, serene vibe down over me. I scrubbed my hair with the vanilla scented shampoo and conditioner - and very nearly put myself to sleep.

After a good half hour - and after the water turned cold - I dragged myself out of the shower and wrapped myself in one of the plush white towels from the cupboard. I dried my body and used one of the scented lotions from Bath and Body Works that sat on the counter; subsequently, I towel dried my hair and watched as each strand gradually dried and curled up slightly.

Placing the towel in the hamper, I walked back into my bedroom and pulled on my underwear that I had laid out for myself. I also pulled on a large black t shirt that - upon a deep, and further inspection - I found in the back of my closet underneath all of the skimpier night pieces.

I sighed in contentment as I laid back on my bed, but just as I got comfortable, there was a slight tapping on my door. Raising a brow, I
Pushed up on my elbows, "Yeah," I called, and the door slowly crept open.

Ryland stood on the other side, clad in black sweat pants and a white t-shirts that contrasted very well against his skin. He rubbed at the back of his neck and looked down at the floor, then back up at me, "Would you want to, uh, watch a movie with me? I was going to watch the new Jurassic Park movie," he said paused and looked down at the ground again, crossing and uncrossing his feet.

I smiled to myself, it was almost cute how awkward he was. If he was any other guy, I would've kissed him by now - what? Don't judge. Awkward is endearing to me!

Eventually, I took pity on him, "Will there be take out," I asked, half serious with a smile on my face.

He smiled back and nodded, "Whatever you want. It's on me."

I hopped up off of the bed and walked over to him, "Deal," I said with a smile and walked out the door and back into the living room.

As I made my way back into the living room, the Main Menu screen was already up at the beginning of the movie; couple of blankets were spread messily - which was a huge shock to me, with knowing how much of a neat freak Ryland is - across the back of the couch. Walking over, I plopped down on the couch and pulled the closest blanket down over me and wrapped it around my shoulders. Ryland followed suit and looked over at me, expectantly, "So, what are we eating?"

I looked at him, still a little bit shocked at how...nonchalant he was being. As far as I knew, this was way out of character for him. After shaking off my obvious shock, I pondered what exactly it was that I was in the mood for. "Pizza Hut," I asked with a shrug and a small smile peeled across his face.

"Like you read my mind," he said, the same smile still in place. Getting up off of the couch, he pulled his phone out of the pocket of his sweat pants and walked towards the kitchen. Again, I sat there, shocked. He really seemed like he was trying to make an effort to get along with me - or he just feels bad for how things went down earlier.

Within a couple of minutes, he walked back into the living room with a couple of glass Coka-Cola bottles in his hands. Sitting down next to me, he cracked his open and then handed me the other one. "I hope you don't mind, I ordered a meat lovers and a pepperoni," he said, picking up the remote to the DVD player and pressing play to start the movie.

It was quiet as the first few beginning credits rolled through, and not an uncomfortable one, just a casual one. It wasn't long before the door bell rang, signalling that the pizzas had arrived. "I got it," he said, getting up and moving towards the door. I sat there for a minute, but my excitement for food overrode my lazy instincts. I got up and followed Ryland's path to the door.

When I came up behind him, the petite little blonde was hard to miss. She looked like she was my age, or maybe a bit younger with pale blue eyes and boobs that were obviously fake - though how a Pizza Hut delivery girl could actually afford a boob job was completely beyond me . She stood there doing the typical air head flirt move - cocking her hip out, crossing her arms to push her already too-big-for her-body boobs out, while simultaneously twirling a piece of her bottle blonde hair - as he fished the money to pay out of his wallet.

"So, d'you think that, like, we could-"

Before she could even finish that sentence - in which she was undoubtedly about to ask him to hook up - I walked up behind him with the sweetest smile that I could muster, "What's taking so long, babe? The movie is going to start soon."

The girl sent a me a heavy glare while Ryland turned his back to the girl and stared down at me, mirroring my shock from earlier. I looked back up at him with perfect nonchalance and his slightly confused expression stayed in place for a few seconds before he let it drop. "I'm sorry, I'm coming. Just let me pay for the food," he said, finally pulling the money out of his wallet.

The girl sent another glare my way, but wiped it off as soon as Ryland looked her way again. "Thank you, sir," she said, taking the money and handing over the pizzas. "You should totally call me sometime," she said flirtatiously, trying to hand him a little slip of paper.

My blood began to boil as I stared at her. Before she could place the paper in his hand, I stepping in front of him and grabbed it away from her, "Of course, sweetheart! If there are any openings in the mail room, we'll give you a call," I said sarcastically, slamming the door in her face.

I stood there fuming for a minute, feeling Ryland's eyes baring down on me. "What," I asked, slightly defensive.

A large smirk peeled across his face as he looked down at me, "A bit jealous aren't we?"

I rolled my eyes at him, half playfully, "Don't flatter yourself, hubby. And I could ask you the same question," I said and walked back over to the couch and took my seat at the very end. When he didn't sit down next to me, I turned around to see him staring after me with an almost bewildered look on his face, still sporting his smirk half way. "Well, what are you waiting on? Get your butt over here so we can watch this movie!"

Ryland shook his head at me, but made his way over to the couch. He placed the pizzas down on the coffee table in front of us and picked up the remote and pressed play.

It was as the beginning credits started to play and the tiny raptor hatchling started to emerge from her egg that I realized how excited I actually was to get to see this movie. I remembered going with my parents to see the second and third movie when they had first come out in theaters when I was just a kid, and it was almost a surreal feeling to be sitting with the man that I was to be marring in 2015, watching another Jurassic Park movie.

"So, I heard that this movie is supposed to be pretty good," Ryland said as a little boy talking to his mother came on the screen.

"Yeah, no doubt," I said, not for a second taking my eyes away from the television, "Jurassic World is supposed to have taken place like the second movie never existed."

He nodded, "Yeah, I think that I heard that somewhere, too."

Other than the casual and normal reactions to things going on in the movie, we both stayed quiet for the most part. As the movie wore on, I noticed myself getting more and more comfortable just being around Ryland like I would anyone else. And somewhere in the middle of that, I began to question my initial opinion of him.

The ending credits began to roll and I stretched my arms out and rolled my wrists, getting them out of their cramped state. Ryland and I had gone through the majority of the two large pizzas that we had ordered and downed at least three coke's a piece. I stood up from the couch and stretched up onto my toes, and looked back at Ryland with a small smile. "That movie was awesome," I said and he smiled back at me.

"Yeah, it was. It kind of hurt me for the velociraptor's that most of them had to die," he said.

"I know! I was getting sort of attached to them. Like I want to get a puppy just so I can name it Echo or Blue," I said with a smile as I sat back down on the couch,

Ryland laughed, but agreed non the less. "Do you want to watch another? I don't have work tomorrow. I took of considering the fact that we have an engagement party."

Both of us groaned at the same time, then laughed at ourselves and one another. "Sure," I said, sitting back down on the couch next to him. "You pick."

And thus went the rest of our night, even though I still slightly questioned his motives, he was successful in at least one thing - I may or may not actually enjoy his presence.

Impressum

Texte: Marlee Kimbrell
Tag der Veröffentlichung: 23.05.2015

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