Little Things (Second Chances 1)

The beats of the song continue to play as our bodies whirl. Her smile widens and it feels as if it’s touched my soul. The touch we share is electric, yet steady all at once. She has utterly enchanted me with this alluring pull as if I’m hypnotized. It’s just the two of us dancing, no one is near.

This is what I want. Her and only her.

The Mustang comes to life and I shift into reverse and pull off into the night. I look over into the passenger seat and see the most beautiful girl in the world sitting next to me.

I reach over to grab her hand, “Did you have a good time tonight?”

Her smiles shines, “Yes, I loved it. It was the best night of my life.”

My fingers curl into hers as we drive in a comfortable silence. All I think about is the past few hours—the music, the dancing, her body next to mine, her luscious pink lips—everything so fuckin’ perfect.

“Duke, you know my birthday is next week, right?”

I know where she’s going with this and I won’t have her ruin this moment. Nevertheless, my hand still tightly grips the wheel.

“You know I want you to stay; no need in discussing this right now. Let’s just enjoy this moment.”

She turns to look out the window, “I know, Duke. It’s just getting harder and harder to leave, that’s all.”

A feeling of hope enraptures me, “So, what are you saying?”

She turns to look at me and squeezes my hand, “I’m saying I might take your offer.”

My heart practically jumps out of my chest and a huge smile grows across my face, “You mean it?”

“Of course, Duke. I don’t want to leave. I just need your help to keep my mother safe.”

“Raya, I will do everything I can to protect you. We can go tomorrow to the police; the sooner the better.”

She breathes a sigh of relief, “Thank you.”

I pull her hand to my lips and kiss it, “Anything for you.”

We ride the rest of the drive in silence, holding hands and listening to the radio. Fifteen minutes later, I pull up to her house and see the lights are on.

Raya unbuckles her seatbelt and takes off my jacket, “Here, thanks for lending it to me.”

I take the jacket from her, get out of the car, and walk over to the passenger side so I can walk her to the front door. We walk up the steps in unison but I’m not ready for this night to be over. It’s okay, you’ll see her tomorrow. She fiddles with her keys and stands slightly away from me. I reach out to pull her into an embrace and hold on for what feels like forever. I have to force myself to let go. She looks up into my eyes, smiles, and strokes her hand along my cheek. Immediately, my breathing stops and a jolt of electricity flows through my body. Closing my eyes for a few seconds to gain composure, I open them and see waves of blue before me. I move my head closer to hers and she licks her soft lips. The tension between us accumulates as if it’s about to burst. As our lips come closer and closer to mere inches, I pause. I don’t want to rush this. Instead of gracing her lips with mine, they brush her cheek.

“Goodnight, Raya. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

She smiles in return, “Goodnight, Duke.”

She turns to insert her house key into the lock, opening the front door. She waves as she steps inside and shuts the door behind her.

I head back to the car, mentally fist pumping, and a huge grin plasters itself across my face. I’m so fuckin’ happy right now. Everything is coming together and soon Raya and I will be together without any hassles.

I climb into the car, waking the Mustang to life, and hear it roar. There’s a dim light radiating off the passenger seat and I see Raya’s phone on the floor. Oh damn, she’ll need this. I turn off the car and head back to the front door, ringing the doorbell.

A few minutes pass with no answer, so I ring it again. The lights are still on in the house so I lean over to the window and peek inside. Hmmm, I don’t see anyone. I contemplate yelling her name, until I notice a parked car on the street. Fuck, that’s Craig’s car.

I turn and start banging on the door. “Raya!! Raya!!”

A feeling of dread and fear crawls through my skin and I run back to my car and dial 9-1-1. I give the operator the address and she says the cops should be here in a few minutes. Hanging up the phone, I run back to bang on the door.

“Raya!!”

I hear a faint scream come from inside and I lose it. That’s it.