Revealed

95. Sharon Pierce

I walk through the halls in search of Faine. Maybe he's in a store. I spend about 20 minutes looking through every store I can find men's clothes in, but I have no luck.

What am I even doing searching for this guy I've known for less than 24 hours like a lost puppy? I flop myself onto one of the massage chairs outside a store towards the opposite side of where I left Solane and Jeremy. I sit in thought.

Never before has a guy interested me so much. Back with mom, I wasn't even allowed to talk to boys. I carried that rule with me everywhere. It grew on me. Of course, I spoke to boys, but it was very minimal. No one ever caught my eye.
Now here I am chasing after someone who could technically be considered a stranger to me.

I sigh and push some of the curls in front of my face behind my ear. What am I doing to myself? This isn't me. The hair, the clothes, the guy, they all aren't me.

Then, something tells me to look to my left side, and that's what I do.

There he is. Faine. He's walking into the men's restroom. Even after my short talk to myself, I still decide to get up from where I am and run over to him.

I originally planned to stand by the door and wait for him to come out, but then I thought about how weird it would be if I saw someone else doing that. So I casually look at some dresses in the closest store. I make sure to stand in an area where I would have been able to see him when he exited.

While fake shopping, I actually spot something I like. I move a little closer to it, still watching the restroom door.

The dress is a white bodycon. It's covered in sequins and has two thin straps that go from my shoulders down to the middle of the back. It's noticeably short and even so, there's still a slit along the right side.

I pick it off the rack when I see Faine open the door and begin walking away. I look back over at the dress and sigh before carefully placing it back on the rack and racing out of the store after Faine. Wow. He's a fast walker. Or maybe it's just the heels...

"Faine!" I can barely get that one word out of my mouth. He stops walking and casually turns his head to me. He watches as I struggle to get up to him. By the time I do, I'm so out of breath and my feet are in pain.

He chuckles and grins. Painting with my hands on my knees, I look up at him and smile a sigh of relief.

"You seem a little parched. Water?" He asks while pointing out a food court. I nod my head a little too ferociously and we begin to walk over to it. Well, he's walking. I practically limp my way over.

"Umm... do you want help?"

"No, I'm fine." I lie in pain.

"Okay... do you NEED help?"

I force out an attempt at a giggle. "Maybe just a little."

He laughs and places one hand on my waist to support me. My body sends down a flurry of reactions to the skin he touches. His hands are warm and soft, like that of baby.

He uses his other hand to help get mine around his neck. He helps me to sit down at the first decent table we see. He sits across from me.

"So why don't you just take the heels off?"

"And walk barefoot on public floor? Hell no."
He smiles. "I mean, you could buy more comfortable shoes."

"Or you can just carry me," I joke. He raises an eyebrow with a grin over his face.

"I'm actually super hungry," my stomach growls as I speak.

"So let's get food. What do you want?"

I scroll through my options with my eyes before pointing to a Chinese place across the floor from us. Faine stands up and reaches his hand out waiting for me to take it and follow him.

I chuckle.

"Okay Aladdin, I trust you."

I force myself to get up and try to walk with him, although my feet are not in any mood to move around any longer in these heels. Instead, the heel on my right shoe slips under itself causing me to lose balance and fall.

But Faine is too quick for me. He grabs my other hand, catching me, and pulls me up into his arms.

I'm not sure how it happened, but our bodies are so close to each other. I can practically feel his warm breath brushing past my skin. My heart beats out of my body. I don't even have the courage to look up into his beautiful eyes because God knows what I would have done.

Trying to end the silence and awkwardness, I say, "That was so embarrassing.. everyone is looking at us now..."

Faine must have noticed how out of place and embarrassed I feel because he lifts my chin up and our eyes meet. Oh god.

"If I saw a girl as beautiful as you are with a personality as bubbly as your own, I'd stare too."

My cheeks turn red. It must be very noticeable because Faine grins before letting me go and saying, "Take your shoes off."

"Umm... I already told you I'm not walking barefoot."

"You also told me that I can carry you."

I choke on my own breath.

"I wasn't serious."

"But I was."

"Faine..."

He cuts me off.

"I want to. Please let me." He pleads with fake puppy dog eyes. I laugh and give in. He takes my heels in his hands as I climb onto his back with the support of a chair. Now people are really staring. Some take videos, others admiring how cute of a "couple" we are. It's funny how many people might think that. Faine and I show no interest in their thoughts though.

I wrap my arms around his chest, feeling every carve there is. He starts to walk us over to the food and for some odd reason, I plant a kiss on his cheek. I can't see his face, but I can tell it had an affect on him and that makes me happy.

After eating, we find our way into a store to buy some more comfortable shoes for me. I uncoincidentally choose the same store that I had found that gorgeous dress in earlier.

While Faine isn't looking, I pick the dress up in my size and pay for it. My feet cry tears of joy. I feel a lot better.

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Faine and I have been conversing for a while. We talk about everything and nothing. We're probably the loudest in the whole area and that just makes us laugh some more.

Why hadn't I met him earlier?