Hey guys! I know I haven't updated in SOOOOOOO long and I apologize immensely! I'm slowly getting back into this story, so I will continue working to have updates regularly. All I ask is please be patient, don't worry I haven't forgotten or given up! Thank you for understanding!

-Beatrix

Once we step foot out the car, Olivia is instantly in front of us, greeting us with a bright grin stretched across her face. Her and Aunt Willow make small talk as she escorts us to the dinning area. I'm much to engrossed by slight anxiousness that is slithering in the back of my mind to engage in the conversation so I mindlessly follow behind them. Before I know it we walk into the large dinning room that has a long wooden table in the middle, perfectly set in an off white table cloth and adorned with expensive looking pure white china decorated with red roses. The whole table looks big enough to sit a dozen people but as we walk closer I can see what looks like two girls quietly giggling across from each other.

Olivia has her butler show me to my sit which is right next to the beautiful blonde girl and right across another girl,I assume, with dark hair that covers one part of her face that hides one eye and looks as tall as the doorframe. I smile politely at both of them as I sink down into my seat, they both return the smile but the dark haired girls' was much more shy. I look to see that Olivia has sat at the head of the table and Aunt Willow has sat at her right hand side, right next to me.

"Maeve, darling. This is my daughter Shelly," Olivia gestures to the shy dark haired girl across from me, " and this is my niece, Letha," She motions to the blonde next to me. "Girls, this is Maeve Hale. She is Willow's niece from California." She gave them a knowing look but I didn't think much of it.

I take turns looking at both girls," It's very nice to meet you both." I say politely.

Shelly makes a low grunting noise that startles me but is followed by an electronic voice coming from her phone," I apologize for scaring you, Maeve. It's also very nice to meet you."

It takes me a second but I quickly gather my thoughts and put on a genuine smile. I look her straight in the eye that's not covered by hair," It's not a problem, Shelly. I hope we can be friends." Shelly doesn't answer but just shyly smiles and nods her head.

She's just this shy girl inside this big body.

After the whole formalities of introductions dinner was served. Placed skillfully in front of us was a beautifully cooked roast that smelled so delicious it was mouth-watering. One of the butlers cautiously started to carve pieces of meat for us and loaded our plates with the designated potatoes and vegetables that were equally as mouthwatering. After everyone's plates were set I noticed a lone plate at the end of the table.

"Ah, that's why dinner is a little quieter than normal. Where's Roman?" Aunt Willow questioned.

Olivia sighed loudly and put down her fork and knife," He should be here any minute now. Ever since summer started he's just been out of the house doing god knows what at ungodly hours."

" Teenage boys are forever a mystery." Aunt Willow says bringing her cup of wine up to her lips.

After getting acquainted with Letha we bonded in small talk while eating, Shelly merely listened and nodded occasionally. Letha was very interested in life in California and how I was adjusting to the sudden change in scenery. I soon found at that she, Shelly and the mysterious Roman will be going to the same school as me once summer is over, which I am very relieved by because now I know a few people.

We're halfway through the meal when a tall, dark-haired boy walks in without announcing himself. He walks straight to the end of the table where his plate is waiting, probably already cold from not being eaten in time and takes his seat.

" So nice of you to grace us with your presence, Roman." Olivia sneered at him.

So this is Roman Godfrey.

Roman looks up and chuckles looking straight at Olivia. I finally see his face and even though it's twisted in irritation I can still tell that he's extremely attractive. He's wearing a white t-shirt with a dark leather jacket, his hair is pushed back but perfectly styled and his eyes are a mix between blue and green, from this point I can't even tell but all I know he screams bad boy.

Don't drool.

"Sorry, Olivia. I got caught up with a few things. I'm here now aren't I?" He asks sarcastically.

Ohh. Sounds like a rich boy with an attitude.

I turn to see Olivia tense up like she's trying her very best not to lose her shit, thankfully Aunt Willow intervenes and directs the attention back to her.

" Thank you for making it, Roman," She smiles. " I'd like for you to meet my niece, Maeve," she gently places her arm on my shoulder. " Maeve this is Roman." She gestures to him.

I turn to look at him but find that he's already looking at me. When we make eye contact everything around me began to blur. Something inside seemed to ignite and my whole body was flooded with an unexplainable warm feeling from head to toe. It was like my whole body was set on fire but instead of pain it was sensational, almost intoxicating. I kept my expression blank but on the inside I was freaking out. It felt like only a few seconds since we locked eyes but I was started to get overwhelmed. As much as my brain was telling not to look away, I forced myself to.

I broke eye contact and chuckled slightly, trying to hide my obvious blush on my face," Nice to meet you, Roman." His eyes seemed to glimmer when I said his name.

He quickly blinked and looked away and then started to mindlessly play with his food. He didn't answer but just nodded his head.

I wonder if he felt something too. Or am I having another episode?

Olivia loudly cleared her throat as if saying 'we're still here' so I turned back to her and Aunt Willow. I guess our encounter didn't go unnoticed because all eyes were on me when I shifted in my seat. I couldn't bare to look up so I looked back down to my food.

"So, whose ready for dessert?" Olivia questioned. Before anyone could actually answer she had already rung the bell, signaling her help that it was time to change courses. I wasn't in any mood for dessert with all these new questions in my head but I'm gonna force myself to act normal for the rest of this dinner.

Hopefully.

—

After the delicious meal came an even more delectable dessert. Too bad my nerves couldn't have me stomach anymore than just a few bites. I ended up just pushing the beautifully made chocolate around on my plate. Aunt Willow and Olivia were deep in conversation so that left Letha, Shelly and I to continue our little girl talk. As much as Letha tried to include Roman into our conversation he would merely shrug her off and brood in his chair.

"So school starts in a few weeks. Did you want to go shopping before it starts?" Letha asks.

I thought about it for a second, I didn't really need anymore clothes due to Aunt Willow's excessive need to keep my closet full at all times but it would be nice to definitely be nice to have a girl around my age to hand out with.

I nod," Yes, I'd really like that." I smile at her.

I look over at Shelly," Did you want to come too, Shelly?"

She looks sad instantly and then starts typing on her phone," People will stare." The robotic voice reads out.

My heart drops at this, no way is anyone going to hurt or do anything bad to Shelly. I reach over and grab her hand. She looks up at me through her bangs, I smile warmly at her, " Don't worry, Shelly. I got your back." I promise. Her cute smile returns to her face and she nods rapidly. I giggle at her innocent excitement.

" Aren't you going to ask me?" A voice behind me questions. I slowly turn my head to see Roman sitting back in his chair with his arms crossed against his chest, with his brows raised.

Before I could say anything Letha interjects," Sorry, Roman. But it's just a girls day. Don't you have something better to do? Or someone better to do?" She sends him a pointed look.

Roman puts his hands up in surrender," Fine, fine. You're right." He rolls his eyes as he continues to brood in his chair.

Our girl talk continued without any interruption for another few minutes until Aunt Willow turned to me," I think I'm gonna stay a little bit longer. Olivia and I have some things to talk about. Did you want to stay or are you ready to go home?"

She didn't need to ask me twice, with the whole Olivia thing before, now her son is making me feel weird, all I craved was the solitude of my own bed.

" Yes. I'm ready to go home." I answer honestly.

Aunt Willow nods her head," Okay, let me just call Simon so he can come to pick you up."

Before she can even reach for her phone Olivia says," Nonsense Willow. Do you know what time it is? I'll just have Roman drop her." Before I can even object Olivia's already asking him across the table. " Roman, would you be a dear and drop Maeve home? Willow is gonna stay back a little longer and the poor dear is ready to go home."

" No, it's fine. I can just walk-"

Before I can finish my sentence I hear Roman say," Yeah, not a problem."

I turn my head to look at him and he's smiling in my direction.

OH MY GOSH! HE'S MORE BEAUTIFUL WHEN HE SMILES!

" Okay, now that's all settled then. Maeve, Darling thank you for coming. I hope you enjoyed yourself," She smiles warmly at me," Roman, be nice." She gives him a look.

He salutes to her as he stands up with a goofy smile," You got it, Boss!", He walks over to the door but stops before he walks out," Cars out front, I'll be outside waiting." He says looking at me.

My insides heat up again as we make eye contact, I wonder how it's gonna be when we're alone in the car together, in a close space. Before I can talk myself into a hole I turn to Letha and Shelly," Bye girls. It was really nice meeting you guys again. I can't wait to hangout again." I smile at both of them.

" Bye, Maeve. See you soon!" Shelly's robotic voice says from her phone but she smiles cutely at me.

" Of course. I'll text you soon!" Letha exclaims.

I stand and turn to Olivia and Aunt Willow," Thank you for inviting me to dinner, Olivia. It was absolutely delicious!", I turn to Aunt Willow," I'll see you at home."

" GoodNight, Darling!" I hear both of them say. I turn to walk to the door and a nicely dressed lady is there holding the door for me. I give her a questioning look.

" I'm here to walk you out Ma'am." She says politely. I just nod and follow her through the house to the front door. I guess I must have spaced out the entire walk though the house because I would have definitely gotten lost. We reach the front door and right as she opens the door right in the driveway Roman is leaning on the hood of the most beautiful car I've ever seen.

" Wow! This is your car?" I exclaim as I stared at the stunning red Jaguar XK-150 in absolute amazement.

" Yeah. It was my dads but he passed it on to me." He said casually.

His dad is dead too.

Once that thought enters my head I instantly tear my eyes away from the car and look over at Roman, who is surprisingly looking at me.

" You ready?" He questions. I just nod and start to walk to passenger side. He surprises me by opening the door for me. I just blush and look down and then mumble a quick 'Thank You'. Once I'm in the car he walks to the drivers side and starts the engine. The engine rumbles to life and shakes the car a little.

He looks over at me," Home?" He questions.

Once again as he looks at me I feel so warm on the inside. The whole sensation washing through me from my head to my toes. I know I should be going home but I'm suddenly feeling very daring. Not only is his eyes edging me on but also the pit in my stomach that seems to tighten every time he looks at me.

" Could we go for a drive for a while?" I ask boldly. I honestly don't know where this is coming. For one, we don't know each other. He could be a creep or something. Or to him, I could be a creep. Two, his mom just told him to drop me home, nothing else, who am I to be so bold and change the plans. Three, there is something hauntingly attractive about this boy, why do I want to be alone with him longer?

He chuckles and puts the car into drive," Sure."

We slowly start our drive to god knows where at this ungodly hour.

What am I doing?

Tell what you think so far!