6. Trouble

~ COLTON's POV ~

“I just…” Sierra paused for a moment before answering, “I really don't wanna do this right now,”

“Do what?” he pressed.  “Your birthday party?”

“That and being auctioned off like a show horse,” she blurted.

“You’re being auctioned off like a show horse?”

“Not literally, but yeah,” she shrugged.

“How come?”

Sierra paused again before answering. She was looking at him while debating whether or not she should tell this stranger about her life’s story. 

“Hey, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” he said nonchalantly. “It’s just that it’s not every day I get fell on and shoved into tight spaces—“

“My dad is throwing this party because he wants to marry me off to some rich billionaire asshole,” she blurted suddenly. 

“What?” he gaped.

“Yeah. Because apparently, girls like me aren’t made for normal romance. Our marriages have to be board approved and I’ll probably end up with someone in there who is either boring as hell, has bad breath, or just weird and handsy,”

Colton couldn’t help but laugh at her rant. Somehow he found it really cute.

“That sounds horrible,” he said.

“Tell me about it,” she rolled her eyes and sighed.

“But… I’m sure they’re not all like that?” he asked cautiously.

I’m not like that.

“Have you seen these guys?” she scoffed. “They’re incredibly obnoxious and narcissistic people. All they care about is their money and their private islands and their ego,” 

Ouch. That hits a little too close to home.

“So you don’t like any of these guys, why not just screw the thing and find someone yourself?” he quickly changed the subject to avoid bruising more of his ego.

“How?”

“How?” he asked back. “You’re a pretty girl and this is New York City, there are plenty of ways to meet people. You can swipe ‘em, meet them at bars, strike up random conversations, or hell, you can fall on them too,”

Sierra let out a giggle and her cheeks blushed bright pink. Colton found it amusing that she would blush at everything he said. She was so pure and innocent.

“I don’t know, I guess I never got a chance to do anything like that,” she shrugged. “I’ve been homeschooled all my life. I don’t even have friends,”

Colton furrowed his eyes in response. 

“Wait, so you never had a boyfriend before?” he asked.

“Nope,”

“Not even a date with a guy or anything like that?”

“Uh-uh,”

“And now your dad wants to marry you to some random rich dude?”

“Pretty much,”

Colton let out a loud scoff. He definitely wouldn’t want to be in her shoes. Coming from a similar background, he knew all about the responsibilities and duties of the family. Some day he might have to marry a girl for business purposes too, but that would be a long time from now, and he planned on living his best life before that happens. But this girl, this poor girl, she never even had a chance to live and experience anything and her life was already over. 

“Well, that sucks,” he said.

“Exactly my point,” she agreed, her shoulders slumped in defeat.

Colton noted how her eyes were filled with dejection. He didn’t mean to make her feel worse about the situation, so he quickly thought of something positive to say. 

“But you know, marrying one of the guys up there isn’t all that bad. You’ll get a lot of security and stability. I mean that’s probably why your dad wants you to do it,”

Sierra rolled her eyes in response. She’d probably heard this so many times before, she was over it.

“I’m already secure and stable,” she argued. “I don’t see why we need more of that,”

“Nothing in this world is permanent,” he reminded her. “Empires can fall within a day,”

And yours might even fall tonight…

Colton didn’t say that last part out loud. He just swallowed hard and kept his poker face, not revealing anything.

“I suppose that’s true…” she let out a long sigh and turned her face up to the sky. “Look, I know it’s stupid, but sometimes I just want a little magic, you know? A little glass slipper moment or a magic carpet ride. Something more than just security…”

Colton found himself looking at her and studying her beautiful face. Those bright green eyes were so mesmerizing to watch, he could look at them all day. And don’t get him started on those pink, soft lips of hers. He could only wonder what it would feel like to kiss her. They’d probably taste like heaven.

“I probably sound super ungrateful for saying that, am I?” she turned to him suddenly, pulling him out of his trance.

“No, not at all,” he blinked and shook his head. “I agree with you. There’s gotta be more to life than just… living,”

“Exactly!” Sierra beamed in excitement. 

For the first time in her life, it felt like someone truly understood her. Her eyes shone brightly before him and Colton was entranced. His gaze darted from her eyes down to her lips and he swallowed hard. They were standing close to each other, it took everything in him not to grab her face and kiss her lips. 

God, I wanna kiss her!

Colton’s eyes turned dark as he took a step closer. He was towering tall above her and Sierra kept his gaze. Her eyes were wide as saucers and her lips were parted open slightly. Sierra stood completely still as Colton slowly leaned his face down to her, their noses were barely touching each other. Colton waited to see if she would back away, but she didn't. She knew what he was about to do, and she was entranced too. Her eyes fluttered close as Colton leaned even closer.

“Miss Sierra! Where are you?!”

Suddenly, the loud thundering voice shocked them and they pulled apart instantly. Sierra whipped her head back to see several guards with flashlights scouring the garden. It was only a matter of time before they’d get to her.

“Alright, I think that’s my cue to leave…” she said with a defeated sigh. Then she looked up at him and forced out a smile. “It was nice talking to you, Colt,”

Colton didn’t say anything and just nodded his head. Sierra was turning around to leave and he should let her, he should also get away before the guards find him, but he wasn’t doing any of that. Against his better judgment, suddenly, he grabbed her hand and turned her around, stopping her from leaving.

“Hey, why don’t we just get outta here?” 

“Huh?” Sierra stared at him in confusion.

“I’ll, uh, take you on that magic carpet ride,”

Colton didn’t know what got into him, but he couldn’t stop himself. He knew he had a mission to accomplish, but this was somehow more important than that.

“But, what about the show?” she asked him. “Aren't you gonna get in trouble if you leave?” 

“Meh,” he shrugged. “We could all use some trouble every once in a while. Life’s a lot more fun that way,”

What the hell are you doing, man? You’re not supposed to leave the party!

Despite his brain’s angry yelling, Colton remained calm on the outside. He gave her a smile and she was smiling back.

“Miss Sierra!” they heard another yell. 

The guards were getting closer. Sierra turned her head back and panic was splashed across her face. Colton wasn’t taking no for an answer, so he quickly tilted her chin to him, fighting for her attention.

“Come on, you’re the one that says you want a little magic,” he reminded her. “This is it, this is your moment!”

Sierra couldn’t help but smile. She bit her lip and glanced down before looking up again.

“You’re kind of crazy, you know that?” she laughed.

“So I’m told,” he smirked. “But I have a feeling that you are too,”

Suddenly, something clicked inside Sierra’s brain and there was a twinkle in her eyes. She was looking at him with a look he couldn’t decipher, and it made him feel kind of nervous.

“Miss Sierra! Where are you?!”

The guard’s voices were getting so loud. They were definitely nearby. Sierra looked back and quickly looked at him again.

“You know what? Let’s do it!” she exclaimed. “Let’s go cause some trouble!”

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- - - - To be continued - - - -