Chapter 1

I was laughing and dancing with my cousin Ella as she danced with her boyfriend, Peter, behind her. Ella was the 'adorable one' . She had a short, spiky, pixie haircut, large almond eyes, a small nose and full lips. Her brown skin was smooth and almost always damn near perfect. The lucky broad didn't even need to wear much make up most of the time. Even a 'rolled out of bed' trip to the store never stopped men from stampeding towards her. Her body was a knock out, which she worked hard for, but she'd never really had to fight against her own body to get the 'ideal' look. She was pretty girl and I always felt like she was way out of Peter's league, but I guess that made me a real bad person. By out of her league, I wasn't talking physical appearance. He was a good looking guy, a few shades lighter than Ella, strong jaw, masculine build, and tall.

They actually looked good together, it was just his personality that I couldn't stand. I guess I was truly just biased againt him cause I'd never really liked the guy, and he'd never really liked me.

We just tolerated each other for her sake. He had no choice but to pretend that he liked me because I was family. Plus Ella and I had become extremely close ever since I'd moved.

We were all grooving when suddenly someone roughly pulled me by my hips and started grinding on me hard. My entire body froze. My face dropped and Ella burst out laughing.

I sighed and hoped that my unmoving body would discourage the person behind me, but they kept going. They even had me stumbling forward on the vibrating dance floor because they were grinding so hard.

"Valerie! C'mon!!!" Ella said loudly in my face, combating the penetrating bass in the club just to be heard.

I shook my head and with a heavy sigh, yanked the stranger's hands from my hips and stepped aside. I turned to catch a tall handsome guy walking away from me with a peeved expression. I was shocked that a guy as gorgeous as he would dance with me, and was immediately annoyed with that thought. Low self-esteem was a mother.

Yes, I was one of the many low self-esteemers in the world--sue me.

"You are horrible," Ella said and I shrugged and continued to dance merrily on my own.

It was a typical Saturday night for Ella and I. We both worked hard and always took Fridays or Saturdays to let off some steam. We always had fun, but ever since she started dating Peter, things were changing.

The proof was right in my face when he looked at me exasperatedly. At least he didn't always pretend to like me.

"Why don't you go find some guy to dance with, Val?"

"Peter!" Ella swatted the arm that was wrapped around her waist.

His shoulders hiked blamelessly, "What? I'm just sayi--"

"Peter? Is that you?"

We all turned to the thick British accent yelling over the music. A tall, curly haired guy came into view, his hand clamped over Peter's shoulder.

"HENRY!!!" Peter beamed as he gave the guy a handshake and a hug. "HOLY SHIT!!!"

The two young men laughed as they pulled back, eying each other in disbelief.

"IS THIS REALLY YOU?! IS THIS REALLY HAPPENING???" the British guy asked happily.

"Where the fuck have you been, dude?!" Peter exclaimed, giving him another hug.

As the two enthusiastically greeted each other, I started to go look for a place to sit when Ella pulled me back.

"Where do you think are you going?!"

"Well it's obvious that I'm bothering you two so I'm going to find a--"

"Shush! Don't listen to him."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh okay. I'll just keep on being the third whee--"

"Oh, and this is my girlfriend, Ella," Peter introduced her as he rounded her up to him with his arm over her shoulder. As much as I disliked him, he worshipped the ground Ella walked on. He was so proud. It must have been nice to have a guy show you off to the world with so much pride.

No matter how many times I saw a guy introducing his girl, I always felt a bit of envy. It never got old even at 26 years of age.
 
"Ella." Henry smiled as he held out his hand for her, then nodded with appreciation to Peter. "Nice job, mate."

"You know how I've always done," Peter said arrogantly, his arm slung over Henry's shoulder. He was now sandwiched between the two and the three of them were one little happy group while I stood off to the side like an afterthought. Story of my life.

"Henry?" Ella smiled prettily at him, shaking his hand. "You're British?"

"I suppose." He nodded with a boyish smile as he pocketed his hands, the movement causing the silver chain around his neck with a dog tag to swing. I took in the rest of him. He wore a dark blue blazer over a loose, white t-shirt with a low v-neckline that showcased his chest. He also had on black jeans and black suede boots.

He was a nice dresser, I admitted to myself as I raised my eyes back up his tall frame up to his chest again. He was slightly hunching forward as he laughed and I spotted two wing tattoos on either side of his sternum. They looked nice. I lifted my eyes. He had a nice, long, masculine neck too.

Oh well, I told myself as my knees began to feel weak.

Oh fucking well.

"I love your accent!" Ella practically squealed and I nearly rolled my eyes though I couldn't help but smile. His accent was interesting.

"Thank you! I like yours too."

They talked a bit more but I wasn't really involved. I busied myself scanning the crowd.

"I think your glasses are fucking cool," I heard in the distance, but didn't think anyone was talking to me as usual.

I surveyed the crowd, looking for a spot to sit at when a loud voice spoke in my ear.

"And you are?"

I jumped, wincing and touching my ear as I turned back around and caught a whiff of a musky, yet subtle cologne. The scent electrified me and spiked my senses. Oh god, I hoped I wasn't gravitating towards yet another guy who wouldn't even get with me if I was the last woman on earth.

"I'm sorry was that too loud?!" He apologized while placing his hand on the middle of my back and I got chills. What the hell? Chills?! Already??

"No you're fine," I said as I readjusted my glasses on my face. "I'm Val."

He put his hand out and I placed mine in his and stared at our hands. He had huge hands. He surprised me when he gently pulled me forward, bending so that he could speak into my ear.

"I was just saying that I liked your glasses. I don't think you heard me."

He stepped back and as I looked at his face, I felt a strange shiver go through me. His green eyes were extremely engaging with a certain light to them that made me a bit uneasy. I mean, they weren't harmful or anything, but they did appear to be a bit on the scheming side. But how when his smile was so innocent? Maybe he was just too friendly? He looked really happy to meet me as if I was as good an old friend as Peter.

Okay, I was completely overthinking this, but thats what i did around guys who made me feel...funny.

"Oh thank you! Nice to meet you!" I called out, somehow hoping that would signal to him that we were still shaking hands.

"Nice to meet you too," He said, finally letting go of my hand. I glanced at his faintly smiling lips. He had nice lips and a dimple just to make matters worse. Yes, worse, because I happened to like dimples and there was no sense liking them on someone who'd never really like me back.

Oh freaking well.

Long story short, I was one of the many women who never got the guy she was attracted to. I already knew I was already attracted to this guy.

He had a certain aura about him, a niceness that I often gravitated to (unlike most young women, nice guys were my thing, not the 'bad boys' we were often so stereotyped to like).

But then I'd learned the very hard way that nice guys like him were the worst. At least with bad boys, you knew you were getting a jackass from the get go. At least they didn't pretend to be something they weren't.

Nice guys were sneaky. i wasn't trying to generalize though. Just being cautious.

There I went again making rush judgements about someone I'd just met. I mentally slowed my roll. And anyway, I'd just met him for crying out loud. He probably had a girlfriend somewhere in the vicinity. No one with a smile like that walked around what I liked to call 'regularly single'. That was my department.

"Well guys, I'm gonna go get a drink. Have fun!" I gave them a small wave and was about to turn and leave when this Henry guy stopped me by gently grasping my hand. He immediately let go once he had my full attention.  

"Oh please, don't. My treat," He said, taking a step ahead of me.

When I looked at him inquiringly, he went on. 

"I'll get drinks for everyone," He insisted.

I was stumped and looked at this guy like he was crazy, even though he wasn't doing anything abnormal other than being polite. As he awaited my answer, he actually quickly looked down my frame and I felt like a spotlight had been placed on me. What the hell? He wasn't checking me out, was he? I hoped not. I suddenly became self-conscious and realized how hip hugging my dress was.My next urge was to cross my arms over my body like I was naked on a Saturday morning at a park. I mean, I thought I looked alright before his eyes fell on me, now I suddenly felt dissected. I was so used to being overlooked standing next to Ella that when I was actually looked at it felt like an earthquake was happening. I was obviously the queen of dramatics.

"I'll have a Long Island!" Ella jumped in, even though he was looking directly at me. He turned towards them, giving me his profile. Ah, he had the strong, angular jaw too.

Fuck my life.

"Okay, Long Island," he said, pointing and Ella, then pointed at Peter. "What about you, sir?" 

"Surprise me, bro!"

Henry grinned sneakily then cocked his head. "Are you sure about that?"

I stared at his dimples once again. I gnawed at the corner of my lip in silent frustration. The drink I had earlier was probably getting to me, although I knew that was a damn lie.

I couldn't remember the last time a set of dimples had me feeling…things. I hoped his girlfriend showed up quick to discourage my thoughts and 'things' feelings.

"Positive," Peter asserted and Henry turned to me. A shiver went through me. Ugh!

"And you me lady?"

"Uh, a…Liquid Marijuana, I guess."

His smile broadened as he stood straighter and he lifted his brows. "Liquid Marijuana, huh?" He nodded with approval. "I'm impressed. Good choice." He turned to the others. "I'll be right back."

I sighed, realizing I had to stay and wait with Ella and Peter. I was tired of hearing Peter's mouth about how I was basically cutting into their 'couple' time. I was just about to excuse myself to the restroom when Henry cut into my thoughts.

"Care to help me get the drinks, Val?" He asked as he stood next to me, his arm rubbing against mine as he pocketed his hands and rocked on the balls of his heels in playful, boyish charm, like he was asking for the biggest favor n the world. Even I couldn't resist his charm this time and had to smile.

Were butterflies really supposed to happen this early into meeting a guy? 

"Sure," I said.

"Yes!!" He yanked a fist to his body excitedly, like something truly amazing had just happened. I won't lie--it had me feeling really good and wanted, which hadn't happened for me in the courting department lately.

Still, I was reluctant as I followed along when he started for the bar. I supposed I could help him since he was buying the drinks.

It was exceedingly packed that night and a miracle that Henry and I were able to weave through the crowd. He had more finesse finding a path to walk through than I did. I kept getting knocked and bumped into on my way there, up until a woman with a very sharp heel practically stabbed my toe.

"OW!!" I yelped, stopping in the bustling crowd while my attacker continued to drunkenly dance the night away.

"Are you alright?" I heard with a hand weaving around the small of my back.

"Yeah," I said with a wince, rubbing my toes through my shoes as best as I could.

"Come on. Hold my hand. Don't want to lose you this time."

Without asking he took my hand into his and cautiously guided me through the crowd. I was staring at the curls on the back of his head wondering where this guy came from. Once again I tried to remind myself that as rare as gentlemen were in this day and age, they were out there. This in no shape or form meant he was attracted to me because my life simply didn't work like that.

I repeated that mantra in my head until we got to the bar. He let go of my hand but stood behind me like he was guarding me from everyone else, lest I get 'attacked' again by sharp-heeled drunkards.

"Does your foot feel okay?" he asked from behind me, so close I could feel his body heat against my back.

"It's fine thank you," I said, feeling extremely shy. My entire body was buzzing, and though I wanted to blame my earlier drink, I couldn't truly because I hadn't had one in two hours.

He was making me buzz.

The last time someone made me buzz, I experienced a pain so deep I changed.

Fuck. Self-esteem [i]and[/i] baggage issues. I was so original, wasn't I?

He managed to beckon the bartender over among the ruckus and ordered our drinks and for himself some water. Every movement he made, I felt against my back and..he felt so good. It was getting hard to keep my sanity and I couldn't understand why because he hadn't really done anything. How could he make me lose it so easily? Who the hell was this guy?

The rambunctious crowd continued to act up and someone bumped into Henry, who bumped into me and I slammed the lady standing next to me.

While I was profusely apologizing to the lady who rolled her eyes and continued talking to some guy, Henry immediately circled a protective arm around my midriff and held me firmly against him since he'd already regained his balance.

"You alright?!" he called out, his lips so close they brushed against my ear.

I nodded as shivers went through me. 

"It's pretty crazy in here tonight, I wonder why?" He said into my ear and my arms and legs felt like jelly. What the hell.

"It's graduation weekend for USF," I responded and he had to lean in again for me to repeat. His scent nearly made me melt against him and with his jawline this close to me I had an urge to touch it but thank god I still had my willpower.

These were just the reactions of a woman that hadn't had male contact in a pretty long while. I had to woman up and get it together.

After I repeated myself he nodded and thankfully let go of my midriff when he was certain the bar crowd was no longer too bad.

Still feeling a bit too close, a bit too comfortable with him shielding me this way with his entire body,  I stepped away so I was looking directly at him as we waited for our drinks.

I smiled politely but uncomfortably at him and he smiled back.

"So what is it that you do, Val?" he asked as we waited for the drinks, leaning with his elbow against the bar top.

"It's Valerie," I corrected him a bit more militantly than intended.

His seemed taken aback, and his handsome smile wavered a bit. "Oh. I'm sorry. Didn't mean to overstep my boundaries, Valerie."

I felt like a fool. "No. I'm sorry I didn't mea--"

"There you go. Thirty dollars even," the bartender interrupted, bringing all our drinks, and I was glad that the awkward moment was over. I took the first drink without really thinking which was which as Henry paid for them with cash and picked up two cups.

"Watch my drink while I take these to Peter and Ella," he told me and I nodded, now feeling uptight for being uptight, and sipped on my drink. One sip and I already felt the alcohol swimming through my body.

I was just taking my second sip when Henry's voice said in my ear,

"It looks like I'm going to have to work hard on breaking down that guard you have up."

I stared at my drink wide-eyed and by the time I turned around he'd been swallowed by the crowd, having left me with a racing heart.

And butterflies.

Why did I have this pressing feeling that my life was about to change?