MISHA WANTED TO slap her forehead as Soren made a U-turn to make the journey to his house. What was she thinking, really? The goal was to A-V-O-I-D him. The resolution of the mystery of the purse didn’t completely change it. She really should make a statement shirt that said “Avoid Soren” and start wearing it so she would not forget it, especially at times when she was with her and he was being very charming and alluring. But it really wasn’t too late as she still could change her mind and ask him to just take her home and she knew that he wouldn’t make a fuss out it. But it would offend him, she also knew that. It would be just like telling him that he couldn’t be trusted and she was afraid that he would do something unpleasant to her while she was in his home. But she had all the rights to be wary. It was his home and he could get all the privacy he wanted for him and her there. And there were a lot of things he could do to make her submissive to all the sinful things he wanted to d
“WHAT I MEANT to say was ‘virtuous,’” she said, trying to save face when she really said the right word. She would always jokingly brag about it—her virginity— to her female friends but never to her male friends, especially to Soren, who, if he really was a naughty boy, might get the wrong impression. He might think she was teasing him or challenging him to pop her cherry. I’m, a virgin, so I would be a valuable addition to your collection, so come and get me, might be his interpretation of what she just told him, suddenly revealing to him that she was a virgin.“But are you a virgin?” Soren, smiling, asked him.She cleared her throat. “Yes.”“Admirable” he said, beaming, like he was proud of her. “Considering that in your profession, temptations abound.”“Yes, there are many temptations in my profession but I really rather that we don’t talk about my virginity.”“Of course,” he agreed, still smiling. “Questions about someone’s virginity’s never part of a slam book.” “Well, I got a f
THE MOMENT SOREN’S lips touched hers, she made what was probably the quickest and the most daring decision she had made in her whole life—she kissed him back. And what was more outrageous was she put her hand on the back of his head and pulled him closer to her, making the kiss between them deeper.Her mind was screaming in protest but her heart was hearing none of it.Soren’s kiss was passionate, eager, enthusiastic, hungry but not… perverted or debauched. No tongue action, no groping, his hands were behaved, both gently touching her hips. She was no virgin when it came to kisses and she knew that a passionate kiss involved some tongue actions and groping. The many kissing scenes she had seen in many movies would also attest to it. Or was it too early to conclude? Maybe Soren and his tongue and hands were just warming up. But a minute had passed and the kiss was still gentle. It was a pity because she thought she was ready to return whatever intensity his kiss would reach. Yes, she w
MISHA DIDN’T RESIST with the first kiss so there was no reason to resist now. She could hear some protestation from a little corner in her mind but her heart quickly shushed it down—there was no doubt now that she had fallen for Soren. And who could blame her? Soren had been nothing but a knight-in-shining-armour in her eyes. There were nasty rumors about him but she wasn’t seeing or even sensing those rumors every time they were together. No hints at all that they were true. All she could see were his kindness and his sincerity and his concerns for her. No indications of him as a drug addict, a liar, a kleptomaniac and a sex addict. How could someone so neat, so decent and polite be a drug and sex addict? And he hadn’t lied to her, not even the whitest of lies, or stole from her. Her purse was him for the taking and it should have evoked all the kleptomaniac tendencies in him but he immediately returned it to her, even though it was raining, even though he knew that he wasn’t welco
MISHA WANTED TO laugh as Soren’s face darkened a bit with confusion.She playfully pressed his nose with her finger. “Don’t tell me you believe it?” Misha told him.“Why not?” He held her finger and kissed its tip.“Jesus, Soren, haven’t you looked in a mirror?”Soren wanted to grimace as confusion flashed again in his eyes.“You are the spitting image of your father,” she said. “That’s why I immediately had an idea on who you might be when we first met.”“Oh, okay,” he said, his face still a bit bothered, and she didn’t know why. He still had doubts that what she said—that he might be adopted—could be true? Unbelievable, he looked a younger version of his father. But then, what was wrong with being adopted these days? Nothing, as long as your parents loved you. Oof, his father obviously wasn’t that enamored with Soren, probably the reason why he was so eager to latch on to what she uttered. Unfortunately, or fortunately, the evidence that he was his father’s son was too strong. Any j
“WHO’S THAT?” MISHA asked and Soren wanted to smile when the smile on her face suddenly disappeared and was replaced by a raised eyebrow.“Who?”“The owner of the voice, the one who called you darling.” He wanted to delay answering to tease her and make her a little more jealous—her wanting-to-frown face was so cute— but he couldn’t. “It’s my mom,” he said.“Your mom?” Her voice suddenly softening. Before he could answer, his mother approached him and kissed him on the cheek.“Who are you talking to?” his mother asked while looking at his phone.“Misha,” he said.“Hi, Misha,” his mother greeted Misha on his phone.“H-hello, ma’am,” Misha greeted back, her voice now sounding shy and awkward.“Who’s she?” his mother turned to him.“I’ll tell you later,” he answered and turned to Misha. “I’ll just have a little conversation with my mom. I’ll call you later.”“Okay,” she said and disappeared from his cell phone screen.He led his mother to a couch where she gracefully sat, putting her e
“HE THINKS I’M not his son,” Soren found himself repeating his mother’s word, in a ghastlier tone, for lack of words to say.To say that he was stunned would be the understatement of the year. But then, he quickly collected himself. His father was not the most considerate man in the world and could sometimes be real tactless when it came to expressing his opinions. Didn’t his father agree with Andrew and Kayla’s accusations against him without looking for an iota of proof? He couldn’t remember a time when his father tried to talk to him to verify those rumors. What he could remember was his father, on a newspaper interview, remarking that, yes, his youngest son who was named Soren could sometimes really be a bit naughty. Was it naughty the word he used or nasty?After that, Soren never attempted to read any article or interview again about his father.“Yes, he had that suspicion,” his mother said, her voice sounding a bit weary.“Had?” he said.“He now believes you’re his son.”“Reall
“KAYLA SENT YOU a friend request?” Soren asked, skeptical.“Yes.”“Are you sure it’s really her, probably a poser.”“The profile name says Kayla Cortez and Andrew and some of your relatives are friends with the account.”“That’s not an assurance that it’s an authen—”“It has five thousand friends, the maximum limit for friends, and it’s active for the last six years,” she interrupted him. “An imposter can’t fool that many people. And her friends are commenting on the posts like she’s the real deal.”“But do you know each other?”“I don’t know her personally and haven’t met her and I haven’t been on her Facebook account.”“Do you have common friends? On Facebook, I mean.”“I already checked it. No, we don’t.”“How did she know you?”“I don’t know,” Misha answered. “Maybe you can ask her.”“We don’t talk to each other.”“Yes, of course, I forgot.”He turned quiet for a few moments. “It only means that she looked for your account,” he said afterwards. ‘And it also means that it won’t en