An Involuntary Spark (2 page)

“What? Why?”

“I'm going to be in La Jolla, soaking up the sun and relaxing,” Amiira explained as she opened her car door and slid inside, shutting it behind her. “I rented a room in a summer house that's right on the beach. I figured it's like a vacation but I don't have to take any time off, and I get to do it every weekend.”

“Tuh. I'm jealous,” Naomi replied. Amiira could almost hear her friend suck her teeth in annoyance. “But you deserve it so I'm not gonna hate.”

“I appreciate that, your self control is duly noted,” Amiira exclaimed. “Our regular sushi spot for lunch?”

“Yeah, I'll see you then.”

“Alright, bye.”

Amiira strolled briskly through the halls of her office building, stopping to wave briskly at one of her female coworkers that she had a pleasant and airy sort of friendship with. She rounded the corner heading towards her office as she recounted the hilarious, and very much needed, lunch she'd had with Naomi. That girl was always a trip and a half, but Amiira loved her wild antics and her heart of gold. Naomi was one of the people in her life that she could count on with unwavering certainty to tell her the truth. She would never sugarcoat things just for Amiira's benefit. Naomi was stringently honest, sometimes painfully so. But Amiira appreciated her candor.

Amiira eased her office door open and all the thoughts she was in the middle of fiddling through: her amusing friend, all the reports she had to get done, the spin class after work that she shouldn't brush off... all those miscellaneous things left her mind as her gaze caught the outline of the person waiting inside for her to arrive. Amiira felt her heart skip a beat just at his mere presence, which she automatically felt supremely guilty for, as she immediately steeled herself to engage in what would undoubtedly be a difficult conversation.

“What is it, Eli?” Amiira asked the older man. She reluctantly absorbed his presence as he stood before her.

Eli was broody and imposing in his body language. This was a man that was so used to getting exactly what he wanted. How Amiira hadn't observed that about him when he'd first started pursuing her remained to be seen.

“I wanna talk to you,” Eli said evenly, using his penetrating blue eyes almost like weapons against her. Amiira tore her gaze from his and contemplated taking a seat at her desk. But the only problem with that scenario was that she'd have to pass him in order to reach it.

“I'm busy.”

“Amiira, don't be like that.”

“Don't be like what, Eli?” Amiira snapped back, her voice tinged with agitation. She was fighting the urge to roll her eyes. “I don't have anything to say to you.”

“Well then just listen.”

“No,” Amiira countered matter-of-factly. “I'm over listening to you spout lies and garbage at me. What part of 'we're done' was unclear to you?”

“The whole thing,” Eli responded, not missing a beat. He took a step towards her, to further illustrate his intention. A look of warning flashed throughout Amiira's expression as she saw the calculation.

“That's too bad.”

“I never meant to hurt you, Amiira,” Eli expressed sincerely in his deep and soothing voice.

Part of her reacted positively to his tone. As she realized this, she quickly straightened her shoulders and conjured up a defiant expression.

“The intention doesn't matter, and even still, that's debatable.”

“I'm not happy with her.”

“Oh for Christ's sake, Eli,” Amiira's voice was catching a bit more volume than she would have liked. She took a deep breath and tried to reign in her frustration. “Is that something you read in the philandering asshole husband's manual? Give me a break.”

“It's true though, she's nothing like you.”

“And yet you took vows with her,” Amiira countered, feeling the slightest bit of emotion creeping into her voice. She attempted to disregard it with fervor as she ran her hand haphazardly through her long, thick black hair. “Is that supposed to make me feel better.”

“I don't know what to do,” Eli went on, taking a larger step towards her. “I'm tortured when I see glimpses of you in the hallway. Thinking about what we have.”

“What we had...” Amiira corrected, putting as much emphasis on the words as she could muster. “...was a lie. You made sure of that.”

“Am-”

“Let me ask you something,” Amiira swiftly cut him off, the rest of her name was clipped in his mouth.

“Of course.”

“How many women have you cheated on your wife with?”

She saw where the question landed on him, as his brow furrowed, almost as if her words had been a physical assault.

“I'm sorry.” Eli offered lamely.

“You're sorry?” Amiira almost scoffed, her big brown eyes displayed all of the brazen, clamorous emotion that she felt. She tried swallowing to keep her cool and her overwrought emotions in check.

“I am.”

“You know what makes it so despicable, Eli?” Amiira went on, crossing her arms across her chest for comfort and stability. “It's the fact that you didn't even give me a choice. You didn't tell me you were married. You weren't honest.”

Eli stood staring at her, unflinchingly silent. Not offering a reprieve or a counter to her harsh words. He just soaked in her palpable emotion, not bothering to do away with it, even though it was inherently negative.

“But I guess, what can I expect, right?” She questioned boldly, her tone turning hard. “Truth from a cheater? Of course not. I shouldn't be surprised.”

“What are you going to do when you're not angry anymore?” Eli retorted suddenly. His gaze pinning her under the depth of his words. “When you're anger dissipates and all that's left is how much we still want each other. What are you gonna do then?”

“I'll get over it,” Amiira exclaimed without hesitation, side stepping him as she walked past him and took a seat at her desk. “Now, if you'll excuse me, I have work to do.”

Amiira felt him assessing her for a few more moments as she ignored his blisteringly haunting eyes and focused on her computer screen. Pretending to busy herself with whatever she could, to further evade his presence. Without another word, he casually, yet purposefully strolled out of her office.

As her office door shut, she took a resounding and much needed deep breath.

The first Friday of the month of June came way faster than Amiira had expected. She hadn't waited until the last minute to pack, although she realized packing an exorbitant amount of personal belongings and her entire summer wardrobe was a bit ill advised, as she'd be staying at her apartment in LA during the week when she was working. But being the conventional woman that she was, that didn't stop her from over-packing and going on too many frivolous shopping trips, racking up her credit card bills to buy tons of cute, new outfits for her summer days and nights.

She had become steadily more and more excited for this new adventure she was getting ready to partake in as she shopped. There was little else as validating and consuming as retail therapy, and what was a better reason to indulge than new surroundings and a new house? One on the beach at that!

As she drove toward La Jolla from her apartment in L.A., the coast was her ever present sidekick, as it winded alongside the 5 freeway. She had the music blaring, sunglasses on and the windows down as she let the warm, yet comfortable air wrap her up in its essence, as she sang and danced in her seat. Strumming along to the bass and the drums with her fingers against the steering wheel.

Amiira was more than ready to get the summer started. She kept thinking about the impressive pictures she had seen of the house included in the listing, and felt her energy become more boisterous and elevated as she recalled the images. She wasn't exactly sure which room she would get but she wasn't incredibly picky, and she knew that every single room in that house was absolutely superb.

She had no doubt that whichever room she had, she'd be content. She thought excitedly about the common areas and the type of expansive space that the images had shown, she was almost certain that pictures probably didn't do the place any justice, and that her first time in the beach house would elicit both wonder and excitement.

She spent the rest of her drive, which ended much faster than she had anticipated, thinking and humming along to the music until she had to focus on her GPS and its instructions, as she drove past cliffs and stunning scenery until she arrived at her destination. She parked and quickly got out of the car to absorb and fully take in the front of the house before her. It was much grander and wider than she would have expected, just from the outside. It looked to have at least three floors, tons of windows and mauve colored exteriors that bled into  deeply stained wood detailing. Though it still reeked a bit of a beachy, established structure, there was no doubt in her mind that it had been updated relatively recently. Both houses on either side of it were hundreds of yards away, which afforded the residents substantial privacy from their neighbors.

Amiira felt herself filled with divine anticipation to see what the inside looked like as she grabbed her purse and shut her car door. She left her luggage in the trunk to come back and retrieve later; all she cared about seeing was the inside of that house.

She could hear the waves crashing off in the distance as the cool, sea air brushed up against her bare arms, causing small little goosebumps to form. If she hurried, she'd maybe catch the sunset after getting the grand tour. Amiira glanced at the other two cars that were parked in the long, wide driveway, both expensive as all get out. One was a Mercedes LS and the other was some type of Porsche, she felt momentarily self conscious about her ordinary car parked alongside them, but quickly shrugged it off.

Amiira had learned long ago, not to compare herself with others for too long, especially when not doing so as a means to gain inspiration, but to put herself down. She'd upgrade to a flashy car eventually, if she just kept working hard enough.

Amiira rang the doorbell, feeling an extra bit of excitement run through her as she waited for someone to answer. After a few moments, a tall, blonde woman, with her hair in a side braid, genuine green eyes, and a wide smile swung open the door.

“Hi,” the blonde offered in a bit of a sing-song voice. “You must be Amiira! I'm Riley.”

“Hi, yes... it's so nice to meet you,” Amiira replied, matching Riley's tone. Riley was the owner of the property and the one whom Amiira had been speaking with about the arrangement.

“Come on in,” Riley offered, holding the door open further, motioning for Amiira to enter.

Amiira's eyes darted at a dozen different things at once. The entryway was massive and stretched a great distance. She could see past it into the main room which was spacious, and open with high vaulted ceilings.

“Tell me you brought more stuff with you!” Riley sweetly joked as she noticed Amiira's purse.

“Oh, yes of course, it's all in the car. I'll get it later. I was so anxious to come in and get the tour.”

“Sure, well let's get started then. A couple of us are here so let me introduce you, I think we're only waiting for Kian to show up, he ran to the store and Eve isn't coming until next weekend.”

Once they reached the kitchen, Amiira saw two men both probably in their early thirties chatting, which they ceased doing when the two women entered.

The one standing nearest to them was short but built. He had a beanie on so Amiira wasn't sure what color his hair was and he was dressed casually in beach clothes. His face was thin yet strong, his forehead pronounced. The other one, sitting on a barstool, was tall and a bit meek. He didn't immediately smile, but didn't necessarily come off as rude right away. He had gray colored eyes and a noticeable scar on his eyebrow.

“Amiira, this is Wyatt,” Riley said, gesturing to the standing man. “And that is Elijah. Guys, this is Amiira.”