Scarlett 'Arranged Marriage'

Chapter16

Sira's P.O.V.

I got up at 4:30, and took my shower, putting on a white tank top, a pair of black cheer shorts, and a pair of sneakers I found in my closet. I grabbed my ipod, then took the stairs, two at a time, to the kitchen. I grabbed four bottles of water and a few granola bars, and set them on the counter. I looked around. No sight of Christian. I glanced up at the clock, which read, 4:53. Well, I could use the time tostretch and warm-up. I carefully tiptoed outside, and started with a split. After I had stretched out both my legs, I did a few gentle flips. When I looked up, I saw Christianlooking at me with an amused look pasted on his face. He carried all the stuff I had set on the counter. "Good morning," he called. "Hey," I said, walking over to him. He opened his arms wide so that I could hug him. I walked forward and let him wrap his arms around me. In his arms, I subtly smelled his cologne. He smelledso sweet, like green apples, and it was so surprising that it caught me off guard. My arms stayed around him a little longer than neccesary. "Somebody's happy to see me this morning," he teased. Instantly, I let go. "You didn't have to let go so quick. I was kinda enjoying that," he whispered in my ear as he walked past. I lost my train of thought, and my heartwas racing. The words that were about to come out of my mouthhad gotten lost, betweenmy throat and my lips, and even if they had come out, I'm almost positively sure that they would've made absolutely no sense. "IHATE when you do that," I said,whipping around to face him. Hisexpressionwas stunned. "Do what?" he asked, curiously. I froze. Did I want to give him that much insight into my head? Imade sure to word my answer just right, "I...... enjoy being around you. But when you whisper something in my ear, or stare into my eyes,you...... I react weirdly. I'll have chills running up and down my spine, and my words'll turn to mush, and my thoughts are nonexistant. And it makes me mad! But at thesame time, I feel protected, and safe, and loved. And I'm just wondering....... do I have that sameeffect on you?" I asked, not realizing until the very end of my speech that I had told him much more than I had planned to. That, was how you set yourself up to be hurt. If he told me 'no', I deserved it for being so stupid and careless. I bit my lip, he'dbeen silent fora while. Suddenly, I felt a cool hand under my chin. He pulled my face up to stare directly into his. "I get weak at the knees when you stare at me with those hazel eyes of yours, andwhen I'm with you, it's likewe're the only two peopleon earth. You're right, you are safe, and protected, and loved, and you'll always be. I'll take care of you, no matter what," he said. He steppedcloser, and I could feel his cool breath on my face. I wastoo hyped. This would not go well with me being thisnervous. I had to getout of here.Quickly, I took a step back, and sent him an apologetic look. He looked a little disappointed, but he quietly walked around to thedriver side, and held the door to the Porsche open for me. "I'm glad to see you remembered that I wasdriving this morning," I said,trying hard to get thingsback to normal. He picked up on my mood and said, "Yeah, yeah," in a teasing voice. Suddenly, a thought struck him. "Hey, can you drive a stick, cause if you can't, you're gonna have to ride shotgun," he said. His face perked up at this thought. The Porsche was obviously his favorite car to drive. "Sorry, dear," I said to him, putting the key in the ignition as he climbed into the passenger side seat. "A stick is my favoritethingto drive." And with that, I backed out the garage carefully, then whipped around and floored it to theend of the driveway. 'Oops,' I forgot to tell him that I'dtaken a few years of advancedvehicle handling. This just might be fun.......

Christian's P.O.V.

OH GOODNESS!!! I wasscared. No, let me correct that. I was scared when she floored it down the driveway. I was afraid for my life when she didn't slow down on the entrance to the expressway. I was ready to jump out of the movingvechicle when she stopped looking at the road and started looking directly at me, going 175 mph down the expressway, swerving in and out of cars as if it were some sort of video game.I was currently sitting in the passenger seat of the Porsche, thankful to be alive. When I told her this, she said, "Oh stop being such a baby! It's not like we crashed or got a ticket." She climbed out, closed the door, and tossed me the keys. She sized the place up. "Not bad," she said finally. "I can do some damage here."