Met Online

Chapter 18

The adrenaline, which has been controlling my actions since I left the warmth of the house, is slowly starting to wear off in the chill of the night, and the anxiety, which has been sizzling underneath it, has started to take over and cloud my mind.

I need to get out of here, now. I need to run as fast as I can and as far as my legs can carry me until my lungs start to burn from lack of oxygen. I need to hide, before Justin finds me and my virtual fantasy world dissolves into a terrible reality.

"Cassidy?" a voice calls out from behind me.

Shit.

I don't turn around, 'cause I know that the moment I do, he'll get a good look at me and the shadows in the gazebo will do nothing to conceal my real identity.

You fucked it up, Cassidy. You fucked it up the way you always do.

"Cassidy, is that you?" he asks again, but this time his voice sounds closer.

I squeeze my eyes shut as I wrap my arms around myself. I can't believe I let this happen. I can't believe that I took the bait and that I'm about to fuck up the only good thing in my life.

I want to run, now more than ever, 'cause I don't think I can handle Justin's disappointment and his further reactions as soon as he realizes who I really am.

"Cassidy, it's me; Justin." I've been listening to his soft footsteps, but yet his proximity still takes me by surprise. I don't move, stupidly hoping that he'll be discouraged by my lack of response and leave. "Cassidy?"

Is the world spinning again? I think it's spinning. Either that or I'm the one being twirled in circles over and over and over again.

"Did you hear me?" My body tenses at his touch, when his hand wraps around my naked upper arm, and with a single tug of my arm he spins me around to face him.

I squeeze my eyes tighter together and pull my bottom lip between my teeth, as I prepare myself for his reaction. Whatever curse word or punishment he is planning, I'll be ready.

But it never comes; there's no curse words spiraling my way or physical punishment awaiting me. The only thing I feel is his hand slowly losing its grip on my arm and finding its way to my cheek. I get goose bumps as his thumb brushes across my lips before he tugs on my bottom lip and frees it from my teeth.

Stunned as his action I allow my eyes to flutter open and meet his curious gaze.

"Hey," he smiles softly down at me, and my world starts spinning again, but this time it's for an entirely different reason.

"Hey," I whisper back, as I unconsciously trap my bottom lip between my teeth again. I only notice when Justin reaches up to free it for the second time.

"That's a bad habit you have there," he chuckles slightly. It's such an intoxicating sound and I enjoy to its fullest, until it stops abruptly. His eyes, now a lot more serious than before, starts to roam my face, then something changes in them, something I can't quite pinpoint. "I can't believe I'm finally meeting you."

Silence takes settles over us as our eye contact becomes more intimate and I feel forced to look away.

There's something left unsaid; something we're both dreading to speak of. I can feel it in the sudden rise of the tension between us and I could see it in his golden eyes, right before I dropped my gaze to the floor beneath us.

"I'm sorry," I speak, my voice barely audible, as I focus on a knot in the wooden floor. "I'm sorry that I'm not everything you expected."

"Hey." His hand snakes beneath my chin and forces it up gently, until my eyes meet his again. "You're perfect." My heart flutters at his kind words, but even they can't seem to overpower my constant insecure thoughts, echoing in my head.