For the Love of Miranova

Chapter 8: The First Sign

Sam was exhausted. Between the memories of his past haunting him in his sleep, and the late nights spent working on reports for his boss, he was beyond exhausted. She never asked for him to stay up late doing her reports, but he liked the way she smiled when he helped lighten her workload without her knowledge. She appreciated it and was grateful for every single thing he did for her, and he loved that about working for her.

When he accidentally bumped into her a year ago, after following the scent of freshly fallen rain that had taken control of his senses, he knew he would do any and everything for the woman behind his favorite, most calming aroma. He had been undeniably drawn to her from the moment he caught her intoxicating scent, and he could tell he had the same effect on her just by the way she both relaxed and tensed in his presence, much like he did when in her presence as well. It was amusing to say the least.

He thought back to that very day and chuckled to himself. On that day, after his morning jog, he had stopped to get brunch and coffee at Angelov's; a local bakery & café near the apartment he still shares with his adoptive sister.

"Well if it isn't the sexiest guy I've ever laid eyes on," the barista behind the counter said. The blonde teenager couldn't have been more than 18 or 19, and was relatively new to the shop, probably about 3 weeks new at the time. She flashed him what he had assumed was supposed to be a flirty smirk, but in all honestly, Sam thought she looked like she had just popped in a sour piece of candy or something.

Internally, he shrugged it off, but on the outside, he simply chuckled and gave her a polite smile, "Good morning, Veronika."

"The usual?" She asked, making sure to bend over and expose the newly purchased cleavage inducer she'd probably gotten via Victoria's Secret.

"Please," he replied, digging into his pockets for his wallet, "And could you add Lettie's usual to it as well? After the insane night we had together, I'm sure she's starving and could use the energy."

He struggled to contain the grin that wanted nothing more than to burst from behind the indifferent expression on his face, because of the look she'd given him. He knew Veronika wanted him. She had slipped him her number, address, and social media accounts countless times, but the girl was either stupid or desperate, because he never contacted her no matter how many times she had thrown herself at him, and yet she just continued trying. But after the insinuation he had just given her, he hoped she'd finally had gotten the clue.

Her mouth opened and closed multiple times, like that of a fish out of water, before she grumbled out a "Yeah, sure," and left to fulfill the order.

He and his roommate hadn't done anything, in all reality. They'd known each other since he was a child, and their families had always been close. In fact her mother and father had adopted him after the murder of his mother and sister, and Sam had still thought of her as simply his older sister. Having any kind of sexual or romantic relationship was just not something he wanted with the woman. Not that she wasn't beautiful, because she was; a strong 8 out of 10 in his book and she has an incredible personality, it's just that he isn't into her in that way, and no amount of alcohol or lack of sex has ever, would ever, and could ever, change that.

As he waited for his order, he turned away from the counter and went to his usual sitting spot; a table out on the veranda. It was beautiful outside, and because of it, he had decided to go for a jog around the beach. It wasn't too far of a jog, not for him anyway. He'd driven the 10 or so miles from his residence to the beach, parked his car, jogged a mile down the beach, then a mile and a half from the beach to the café, and would then jog it all back to his car. All in all, it was roughly about 5 miles give or take a few yards.

The previous weeks it had been pouring outside, and as much as he loved the rain, he couldn't go outside and jog on the beach in that weather, so he had to take his jogs to the gym. On this gorgeous day though, it had been bright and sunny out, with not a single dark cloud in sight. He wasted no time when he made the decision to take his daily morning jog to the beach before the weather decided to make a surprise change.