5. Runner

~ SIERRA ~

It took Sierra a moment to realize what was happening. One moment she was standing by the window, breathing in the fresh air, and the next moment she was lying on her stomach, face to face with a stranger. 

Sierra opened her eyes to see a pair of icy blue eyes looking back at her. She had fallen on top of a guy, who seemed young, maybe around her age. He had jet-black hair that was styled like Leonardo DiCaprio in Titanic. He also had strong features and a sharp jawline, and his body was all muscles and rock-hard.

“Ehem,” the guy let out a dry cough, pulling Sierra from her train of thought.

“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry!” Sierra panicked in awkward embarrassment and quickly got up to her feet. “A-are you okay?”

The guy propped himself up and Sierra heard a crack. It could be his bone popping out of its socket or something. Sierra grimaced in anticipation, but the guy didn’t look affected by it at all.  

“I might’ve broken a bone,” he laughed coolly. “But I guess that’s my fault for wanting to catch a fallen angel,”

Sierra blushed instantly. “Is this what they call flirting?” she blurted in her head.

“You alright there?” the guy asked again.

“Y-yes… thank you…” she stammered, gazing down to hide her blushing cheeks. 

The guy finally got up to his feet and Sierra saw a white mask lying on the ground. It looked like the mask from the Phantom of the Opera. She bent down to pick it up and examined it. 

“Hey, I think this is yours,” she said.

“Oh, right,” the guy quickly took it from her.

“Why do you have a mask on?”

The guy hesitated for a moment before answering, “I’m with the play,”

“Huh?”

“There’s gonna be a show later. It’s part of the entertainment,”

Sierra didn’t know there was going to be a show later on. Her dad never mentioned anything about bringing a Broadway play to her party. It must be a surprise, she thought.

“Oh, I didn’t know dad got Phantom of the Opera to perform!” she squealed in excitement. “This is so cool! I didn’t think he’d listen but he really knows my favorite Broadway play!”

Sierra enjoyed watching Broadway plays as much as she loved reading. That was probably what she liked the most about living in the city, there was always a good show and a good story right around the corner.

“Yeah,” the guy chuckled nervously. “It’s supposed to be a surprise…”

“Oh, don’t worry, I’ll definitely act surprised when they lift the curtains,” Sierra said quickly, not wanting to get the poor guy in trouble. “Your secret’s safe with me,”

Sierra let out a friendly smile, and the guy smiled back. Except, his smile didn’t seem friendly. It was more like a smirk, and it made Sierra somewhat nervous.

“I… I’m Sierra, by the way,” she blurted. She had a habit of rambling whenever she was nervous.

“Yeah, I know who you are,” he replied.

“You do?”

“You’re the belle of the ball,” he stated matter-of-factly. “Happy birthday, by the way. It’s a great party up there,”

“Thanks…” she muttered, feeling somewhat embarrassed for being called ‘the belle of the ball’. The guy caught her looking embarrassed and the smirk on his face only grew wider. Sierra thought fast on her feet to change the subject. 

“Hey, what’s your name again?” she asked.

“Colt—I’m… Colton,” the guy was stammering this time, sounding uncertain. “Colton Anderson,” he said finally.

“Nice to meet you, Colton,” she smiled. “Well, or to fall on you,” she giggled.

Colton let out a chuckle and said, “Likewise,” 

Sierra looked up and caught Colton’s eyes again. They were so blue and bright, it made her stop and stare. She also couldn’t help but note his perfect eyebrows and straight nose. And that sharp, sharp jawline. Sierra found herself swallowing hard.

Oh my God, he’s so beautiful to look at.

“Miss Sierra!”

Suddenly and out of nowhere, Sierra heard the voice of one of the bodyguards calling after her. They must’ve noticed that she was gone and now they were looking for her. 

Oh, no!

Sierra threw her glance around and spotted a narrow spot between the willow tree and the wall. Without thinking too much about it, she pulled Colton by his jacket and cramped herself and him in between the gap.

“Hey—!” he protested.

“Ssh!” she shut him up quickly. “We have to hide!”

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X 

~ COLTON ~

Colton didn’t know what was happening, but he was suddenly pulled towards the narrow gap between the tall tree’s bark and the wall. His back was flushed against the tree while Sierra snuggled in front of him. Her back was flushed against the wall and there wasn’t any space between them.

Fuck, she’s so near me.

Sierra put a hand to his mouth so he wouldn’t speak while her head was glancing around, looking for something. Colton’s body stayed completely still, but his eyes kept glancing down. He saw how Sierra’s body was flushed against him, her knee was rubbing against his groin slightly, and there was a clear view of her cleavage from where he was standing.  

Shit! This is not the time to get hard, focus, goddamn it!

Colton groaned internally and rolled his eyes back to avoid seeing her. Then he started thinking about sports, his grandmother, or literally anything else so his little man wouldn’t get excited.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity, Sierra slipped out of the gap and their bodies were no longer pressed together. She was waiting until she didn’t hear any more sounds. She looked around from side to side and let out a relieved sigh when she found no one.

“Phew, that was close,” she said.

“Ha-ha, yeah,” Colton laughed nervously and checked his pants. 

No bulge. Thank fucking heavens.

“Sorry about that, I just have to make sure the guards won’t see us,” she said.

Colton narrowed his eyes. He was intrigued.

“Why were you running from the guards?”

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- - - - To Be Continued. - - - -