He's trouble

Chapter 1

Copyright © yasmineosmani 2014

All Rights Reserved

**

8:03 PM

*Airport of Los Angeles*

Monica looked at the time on her phone; 8:03 PM. It was almost time to get on the plane. She should have been excited to finally go to Nashville and pursue her dream of becoming a singer, but the memory of Jesse was like a stain in her thoughts and it was draining her energy and happiness.

Tears started filling up her eyes, so she took a deep breath and thought:

"Control yourself, Monica. Now is not a good time to think about him. You're going to Nashville, finally! You should be excited!"

***

*FLASHBACK, 3 MONTHS AGO*

Walking in Venice beach, I was trying to find a good spot to set my guitar so I can play and sing. This has been my routine every weekend, for the past 9 months, since I left my dad's place. As soon as I turned 18, I moved out and since then, I have been living on my own in a small apartment in LA. It's not that I don't like him; it's just that we are not as close as before, ever since the death of my mom, 4 years ago. As soon as I got in LA, I have been working in a restaurant as a waitress in the day, and go to a studio at night to work on my songs. The small job at the restaurant isn't enough to cover all of my spending and the rent of the apartment, and I have been saving enough money to go to Nashville, so I can finally try and be a real singer. Hence, playing on my guitar and singing brings me a little bit of money. It's not a lot, but it's better than nothing.

After searching for a few minutes, I finally found a good spot, near a palm tree. I needed to have a little bit of shade, it was 105 degrees and the sun was burning on my skin. I set up my guitar, and placed my guitar case open on the ground, so people can throw some change in it. I didn't have enough money to buy a microphone, so I had to learn to project my voice loud enough.

I started singing some of my new songs, and at the third song, there were a lot of people gathered around me in a big circle. It was the first time that I had attracted this many people. As I was singing my song, I made eye contact with a mysterious charming guy. I could tell that he was already looking at me from before, and was waiting for me to notice him. He had a fire burning in his eyes, something I wasn't able to read. He approaches me, and bends down to put money in my guitar case. I was finishing my song at the same time, and I glance down, and all my money was gone! That bastard stole all of my money! I quickly grabbed my guitar and ran after him.

"HEY HEY HEY!!! Where do you think you are going like that with all MY money?!?!"

He turns around with a smirk plastered on his face. Ugh.

"Hey there, I'm Jesse."

"I don't fucking care who you are, give me my money back!!!"

"Calm down, it's only twenty..."

He looks down at the change in his hand.

"Twenty-three dollars and sixty four cents."

"Yeah, well I need those 23,64$" I said as I tried to get a hold on my cash.

He was super quick, and held me in a way that I wasn't able to move anymore.

"Let go of me RIGHT NOW or I'm gonna scream rape! And give me my fucking money back! I worked for it and I need it."

"Alright, but on one condition..."

"WHAT?! What do you want?!"

"You accept to go get ice cream with me."

I widened my eyes at him. Is he fucking serious right now?!

"That's it? Then you will give my money back?"

"Yes."

"You promise?"

"I promise."

I looked at him and his eyes were sincere. I had to accept if I wanted my money back.

"Fine. But just one ice cream and then you get the fuck away from me."

He smiled and all his face lit up. We walked to an ice cream stand in silent and he paid the ice creams with his money. Thank god! We found a bench to sit on and we ate our ice cream silently. I carefully looked at him; I didn't want him to see I was observing him. He had dark brown messy hair, with strands of hair falling on his face and brown eyes. He had small lips, but were super irresistible, and the thought of having them on mine ran across my mind. I quickly shook away the thought. What was I thinking? I didn't know this guy, he stole my money and I was dreaming about kissing him. Anyway, he was wearing a sleeveless shirt, and he had tattoos up and down his arm. His arms were really toned, and I just wanted to feel them. I couldn't deny it; he was super attractive. And I didn't like that - there's nothing more dangerous than a boy with charm.

''You like what you see?'' he asked me with a wink.

''What, no no no! Gosh, get over yourself'' I said as I rolled my eyes. 

I took the last bite of my ice cream cone then stood up.

''Okay, I'm done my ice cream. Thanks. Give me my money now.''

''Here you go.'' he said as he handed me my cash. His fingers touched mine and sent a shiver through my body. I think he noticed because he smirked, but brushed it away.

''Bye'' I said as I was leaving.

''Bye, see you next time'' he answered.

See you next time?! What was he thinking? That I'm just gonna hang out with him after he stole some money from me? He should know better! But he's cute and he bought me ice cream... NO. Monica, get a hold of you! He is only a cute stranger who stole your money and bought you ice cream. He was probably bored or something. But what if he wanted something from me? Maybe like my phone number? Yeah, I don't think so. Even if he did, I wouldn't have given it to him. Or maybe I would have... Anyway, I don't care about him. I'm never gonna see him in my life again...

***

It was getting late, and I started to get really tired so I walked to my apartment. It was only 10 minutes away from the beach and I really like that because it was perfect for morning jogs. When I arrived, I made myself some iced tea, and checked my Facebook for 10 minutes. There was really nothing interesting on it, so I just logged out and decided to go to sleep. I took my clothes off, and wore a large t-shirt that was just long enough to cover my buttocks. I slipped into my bed - the sheets were cold on my skin. I closed my eyes to relax for a few minutes, reminiscing about my day. 20 minutes later, I shut every thought out, and tried to sleep but I just couldn't. Was it because of the heat, or because I couldn't stop thinking about Jesse..? I decided to brush him away of my thoughts, I'm not gonna loose sleep over a guy, and even less over a stranger! My exhausted body started to win over my thoughts, and slowly, I sank into a deep sleep.