The Love Trials 1 (The Love Trials 1)

“Sorry about that,” I whispered, feeling embarrassed.

“It’s not a problem.” He grabbed my arms and brought me towards him. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, thanks.” I nodded as he stared into my eyes.

“Good.” The pressure of his fingers on my arms increased, and he moved towards me slightly.

I took a step back and felt the wall against my back. He took another step towards me and I felt his body pressed up against mine as he looked down into my eyes. I stared up at his lips and wondered if he was going to kiss me. I licked my lips in anticipation. I couldn’t help it. There was some sort of wild animal attraction between us. I’d never felt a buzz like this before. Not even with Hunter. I wanted him to kiss me. I wanted to know what it felt like to have a kiss with a stranger on a train. I closed my eyes and waited to feel his lips on mine. I could feel his hardness against my stomach, and I moaned slightly.

“Next time, try and be more careful,” he whispered in my ear and let go of me. I slowly opened my eyes, and he stepped away from me.

“I said I’m sorry,” I muttered, feeling dazed.

“Sometimes, sorry isn’t enough.” He frowned at me and then muttered something under his breath. “I’m going back to my seat.” He looked at me and then walked back to his chair.

I stood there, unsure of what had just happened. Why hadn’t he kissed me? I sighed in frustration as the bathroom door opened and an apologetic-looking lady walked out. I walked in, crouched above the seat, and wondered what the deal with the guy was. Why had he been such a jerk? I had been so sure that he was going to kiss me. I walked back to my chair and made sure that I didn’t acknowledge the man at all. I wasn’t going to waste any more time thinking about him. He was nothing to me. I kept repeating that in my head over and over again. He means nothing to me. He means nothing to me.

Without knowing it, I fell asleep. My dreams were vibrant and full of handcuffs and dark corners.

“I think this is your stop.” The man across from me nudged my shoulder and woke me.

I blinked up at him in confusion, the mysterious man’s face still in my mind. “Huh?”

“This is Cadestown.” He nodded at the sign on the tracks.

“Oh.” I jumped up and grabbed my backpack. “How did you know I was coming to Cadestown?”

“I saw your ticket.” He smiled. “You better hurry before they pull off.”

“Yeah, thanks.” I smiled at him again before running and jumping off the train. I heard the conductor ring the bell and then watched as the train left the station.

“That was a close one, wasn’t it?” a dry voice whispered in my ear, and I jumped.

“Argh!” I shouted out in surprise and turned around to face the handsome man from the train.

His eyes studied my face intently, and then he frowned. “You shouldn’t fall asleep on the train like that.”

“Excuse me.” I pulled my backpack onto my back.

“It’s not safe.”

“It’s none of your business.” I looked back at him and squared my shoulders. “Maybe you should just worry about yourself.”

“I was just trying to give you some advice.”

“I don’t need your advice.” I took a step away from him.

His eyes narrowed as I moved away from him, and a small smile crossed his face. “Alrighty then.” He nodded. “Goodbye.” And with that, he walked away.

I stood there watching him walking away and felt a slight twinge of regret. I wasn’t sure why, but the man had unnerved me. I bit down on my lip and stood there for a few minutes. I was starting to feel anxious again. I wasn’t sure if I was doing the right thing, and I hated that I had lied to my family. I hated it more than ever.

I pulled the invitation back out of my backpack and stared at it again. It was so classy, so elegant, so full of promise. And if I had been invited because of Hunter, well, I couldn’t just walk away from that. Not after all these years of crushing on him. I took a deep breath. I truly believed that Hunter was my soul mate, and this was the only way to find out if he felt the same way.

I walked to the front of the train station and looked around for a cab. I sighed as I realized that Cadestown was a far cry from New York City. There was no line of cabs waiting outside the train station. I stood there feeling sorry for myself when I noticed two other girls walking towards me.

A cute blonde smiled at me. “Hi.”

“Hi.” I nodded back at her, taken aback at her friendliness.

“You going to the academy?”

“Yes.” I blushed. “How did you know?”

“I figured.” She giggled. “There aren’t many of us out here, and well, you look lost.”

“Yeah.” I sighed. “How are we supposed to get there?”

“I think a car is going to come and pick us up.”

“Oh, cool.”

“I’m Amber by the way.”

“Nancy.” I smiled at her.

“This is Shannon. She’s shy.” Amber nodded towards her friend.

“Hi, Shannon.”

“Hi,” Shannon whispered back at me, her eyes looking scared.

“Don’t mind her.” Amber laughed. “Shannon didn’t want to come, but I told her that that there was no way I was coming by myself.”

“Oh. That was nice of her.” I tried smiling at Shannon again, but she looked down at the ground. I felt a bit rude talking about her in third person when she was standing there with us, but I wasn’t sure what to say.

“She’s a virgin,” Amber spoke in hushed tones.

“Oh?”

“Not for long though.” Amber started laughing, and I watched Shannon blush.

“Why do you say that?”

“Why?” Amber looked at me in confusion. “We’re going to the lovers’ academy. The place that teaches you to be the best lover possible.”

“Best lover possible?” My words were low as my body froze. “So we have sex?”

“We don’t just have sex. We’re taught to be the best lovers we can be.” She grinned.

“Oh?” I felt like my eyes were popping out. “Best lovers we can be?” I repeated slowly.

“You don’t know?” Amber’s face looked shocked, and then she had a wicked gleam in her eyes. “No way. How do you not know? You have to apply to come here.”

“I applied, but I didn’t really know exactly what I was applying for.” I wrinkled my nose. “I thought it was just a camp to teach us about sex and stuff, maybe some tricks. I didn’t know we’d be expected to have sex.” I shuddered.

“Well, you do what you want.” Amber laughed. “They can’t make you have sex. That’s rape. However, we’re all assigned an instructor. The instructor is there to teach you to become a seductress, a woman of the world, a woman who can get any man she wants to do anything she wants him to do.”

“Through sex?”

“Haven’t you heard of the power of the pussy?”

“Amber.” Shannon shook her head, and I looked at her in surprise. “Sorry about that. She’s known to be vulgar.”

“You can talk.” I laughed, and she laughed as well.

“I guess your shock brought me out of my shell.” She shook her shoulders. “I don’t know how I let her convince me to come.”

“Because you want hot sex.” Amber grinned, and Shannon groaned.

“No, we came because you want hot sex.”

“I came because I want hot sex to get me a powerful man on Wall Street. I want to live in a penthouse on Fifth Avenue and I want a summer home in the Hamptons.” Amber’s eyes shone. “And sex will get me that.”

“Why did you come then, Shannon?” I asked her curiously.

“I came to support Amber.” She shrugged and then grinned. “And I guess I came because it sounded exciting. And well, I’m still a virgin and don’t want to be. Guys don’t really like me that much.” She shrugged. “Maybe because of the way I look?” She gave me an awkward smile and sighed as she played with her long, brown hair.

I studied her face and noticed that she was slightly overweight. Not obese or anything, but it was noticeable that she had a few extra pounds. She had a really pretty face and a sweet, genuine smile. Her body was curvy, but she was wearing an ill-fitting outfit. I had a feeling that, if she were wearing a different outfit, she would definitely stand out a lot more.

“So what about you, Nancy? Why did you apply to the lovers’ academy if you didn’t come to learn how to be an excellent lover?”

“Ugh,” I groaned, not wanting to admit my reasons. I knew that they would sound childish and obsessive when spoken out loud, and as much as I liked the two of them already, I wasn’t sure if I trusted them enough to tell them.

“Come on, Nancy.” Shannon smiled at me. “Tell us.”

“Okay,” I sighed. “This is going to sound crazy, but when I was in high school, I met this guy and I fell in love with him. His name is Hunter, and he’s handsome and funny and smart. And well, I just kind of fell under his spell. When I graduated, I had a family friend figure out where he went and found out he worked here, so I decided to try and join the academy so I could see him again. And hope we fall in love.” I took a deep breath. “Sorry. I sound crazy, don’t I?”

“No.” Shannon smiled. “That sounds sweet and romantic.”

“What didn’t you just date him when you were in school?” Amber frowned. “Wouldn’t it have been easier to make a move then?”

“He was my teacher,” I mumbled and looked down.

“Oh.” Amber’s eyes lit up. “Spicy. I like it.”

“Amber loves crazy.” Shannon shook her head.

“That’s right. The crazier the better.” Amber grinned.

Shannon smiled at me. “You’ll fit right in with us.”

“Aren’t we all crazy?” I looked at them and made a face, and we all just stared at each other for a few minutes.

It was then that a limousine pulled up in front of us. We all watched as an elderly man got out of the front door. He was dressed in a black suit, and he walked up to us with a somber expression.

“Ms. Hastings, Ms. Blake, and Ms. Lucas, I presume?” He bowed in front of us, and we all stood there gaping at him. He looked back up at us and gave us a small smile. “I’m Henry, the chauffeur at the Lovers’ Academy.”

“Nice to meet you, Henry.” I gave him a small smile, and he turned to look at me.

“Thank you. Are you girls ready?” He grabbed our bags and carried them to the trunk of his car. He hurried back to us and opened the door for us. “Enjoy the ride, ladies.”

***

The lovers’ academy was nothing like the private club I had been in a couple of months before. Where the private club had been large and creepy, the academy looked comfortable and stately, like a nice, comfy country home. Henry dropped us off outside the house, and a lady with kind eyes welcomed us into the house.

“I suppose you girls are hungry and thirsty?” she asked us as she ushered us in.

“I wouldn’t say no to a beer.” Amber grinned, and the lady smiled.

“I don’t think so, Ms. Blake. We don’t serve alcohol to minors.” The lady smiled at her kindly. “But I can get you a root beer.”

“What the fuck?” Amber frowned as the lady left the room. “Can you believe that?”

“I guess they don’t want to get into trouble?” I shrugged.

“We came here to have sex and they care about a little alcohol?” She shook her head and frowned.

I jumped up out of my chair and walked to the door. “I’m going to look for a restroom. I’ll be right back.” I walked through the door and looked around the foyer with interest before hurrying down the corridor and opening a door. “Oh sorry,” I muttered as I realized that there was someone in the room. “Oh.” My jaw dropped and my face went white as the man turned around. It was the mean guy from the train.

“Hello.” His eyes looked at me with a hint of a smile, but he didn’t look surprised to see me.

“Hi,” I answered him, not smiling. Why oh why did he have to be at the academy?

He took a step towards me. "What's your name?"

"Nancy," I whispered.

"What?" His lips curled up as he studied my timid expression.

I spoke up louder and glared at him, annoyed by his imperious expression. "My name is Nancy."

"That's more like it." His eyes turned a brilliant sparkling green, and he smirked at me. "I like a girl with a bit of fire in her."

"Excuse me?" I stared at him in shock as he reached over and ran his fingers down my neck and to my collarbone.

"I said I like a girl with a bit of spark in her. There's nothing like a bit of screaming to know you’re doing the job right."

“What job?” I frowned at him, swallowing hard. I could still feel my skin burning where he had touched me.

He turned away from me then without answering and wrote something down on a pad. It was when he looked back up at me with a dark expression that I realized I hadn’t gotten the wrong impression of him on the train. This guy was trouble. Once again, I felt like I was in over my head.

"You may go now Nancy." He nodded his head. "Unless you'd like to stay the night."