Saturday afternoon
The week went by faster than I expected, not that I'm complaining. I've been avoiding Jackson since I came back to school on Wednesday. I know we agreed that we'd be friends but after what happened on Monday, I didn't feel like being around anyone from school. He has tried to talk to me and every time I would walk the other way…I'm happy that I have one friend here in Redwood High but what if that crashes and burns. I'm happy that he's busy with basketball practice, school, and whatever else the Prince does with his time. It makes avoiding him a lot easier.
Sean is in the living room waiting for me to get finished getting ready for this acquaintance party thing that Redwood High is holding. He said that it'll help us get to know people here and maybe find a few other friends so I don't get lonely.
I look at myself in my full-body mirror admiring how my favorite red satin dress looks against my fair tanned skin and how it helps show off every curve of my hourglass figure. Damn, I feel good and look good. I think I'll just date myself. My hair is in a high ponytail and my face has a little bit of make of makeup – I only wear a full face of makeup if it's a special occasion.
I put on my black strap heels and grab my black purse from my closet door – putting in my phone, my mint-scented EOS lip balm, and a small power bank inside. I enter the living room to see Sean in a dark navy blue suit, his hair swept back with a little bit of gel. We look good. McClains sure know how to dress.
"Let's go?" I say to get his attention. Sean looks up from his phone and grabs the keys to his 69 Ford Mustang.
"Let's go." he smiles at me and we head out to Redwood High.
Jackson's POV
"Sin, come on, man. Let's go already!" Atlas says impatiently. My body is sore from practice and working out. We just arrived at Redwood High and this dude, I swear, is more childlike than my little brother. I unlock the door and Atlas rushes out of my car and heads straight to the indoor gym. I turn off the engine of my car and sit there for a while, Raven on my mind.
She's been avoiding me since Wednesday and I have no idea why. She was absent on Tuesday, I wanted to go and visit her but I don't know where she lives. When she did come back the following day, I tried to approach her, but she would walk the other way. In class, she would sit on the other side of the classroom, near the back door. I tried talking to her after school, but she was already gone and I couldn't go and find her because I had basketball practice.
I rest my head on the steering wheel and let out a heavy sigh. God, what is happening? I just met her and I already have this tiny crush on her. I wish she would talk to me. Redwood High holds an acquaintance party every 3 months as a way to let loose and mingle with everyone in the neighborhood. Today is a bit special – to me anyway – because we're also welcoming the McClains to the neighborhood. This is the only chance I have to get Raven to talk to me before she goes back to avoiding me again.
My train of thought gets interrupted when I hear a car park in the empty spot in front of me. I look up to see Raven and her brother inside. I'm so happy that my windows are tinted or else she probably would've told her brother to find a different parking spot.
I watch as they both get out of the car and my breath is taken away at the sight in front of me. Raven is in a short red dress and it shows off every curve of her hourglass body. Her ass looks great in that dress. Her hair is in a high ponytail and her face looks natural. I feel like a creep watching her from inside my car but holy shit she looks so good. Lord, forgive me for the thoughts I have right now. All I can say is she will be the center of attention tonight. The thought of other males checking her out without her knowledge piss me off but here I am, in my car, doing just that.
Raven talks to Sean for a bit before Sean heads inside leaving her by herself. She sits on the edge of the hood of the car and her hold body relaxes before looking up at the sky. I'm going to hate myself but I just have to do this before I get out of the car. I take my iPhone out from the pocket of my suit and take a picture of Raven before putting it back. Getting myself together, I get out of my car and lock it.
"Hey, Raven." she lets out a surprised squeal almost falling off the hood. I make a move to catch her but she catches herself and fixes her dress.
"Hi…" she says quietly. I can see her eyes check out my body and small smirk forms on my face. I clear my throat and her chocolate brown eyes snap up to look at me.
"Hey, Sin," she replies looking up at me, a faint blush spreading across her cheeks. I move closer to her and she sits back down on the edge of the car's hood.
"You going in soon?" I ask, leaning on the side of the car.
"Yea…in just a bit. Wanted some fresh air before going inside." Raven looks up at the sky and closes her eyes just enjoying the silence.
She looks at peace and happy. My eyes trail down her face to her body and I can see her perky breast from my height. I look away quickly feeling like I had just invaded her privacy. I look down at myself and see a bulge in my pants. Shit. Just great. I pull my suit jacket down just enough to cover the tent.
"Hey, Sin?" I look at Raven hoping she didn't notice that I looked down at her dress just a moment ago.
"Yea?" relaxing a bit, her head is still facing up towards the sky with her eyes closed, "what's up?"
"I'm sorry for avoiding you this whole week…" Raven opens her eyes and looks at me.
I give her a sweet smile, "was there a reason why?"
"I…was scared…that I might hurt you again. I'm sorry for what happened on Monday."
"Raven," I stop leaning on the car and stand in front of her, "I'm sorry for making you feel that way. I was in the wrong and had no right to say what I did." I wanted to hug her but I didn't want her to feel uncomfortable.
Raven gets off the hood of the car and places her small hand over my beating heart. She smiles at the touch, feeling how fast my heart is beating underneath me, and slowly takes her hand back placing it over my chest.
"I'll see you inside." Raven looks up at me and smiles before heading towards the gym. I turn around and watch how her hips sway with every step. I let out a breath I didn't know I was even holding and look up at the red sunset sky. Beautiful…just like my Raven.
Raven's POV
I make my way inside the school's indoor gym with my hand over my beating heart, rushing to the girl's locker room. Holy shit…what was that? Why did I touch him like that? My back leans against the door. I look down at my hand and smile at the thought of Jackson. He looked handsome in his white long sleeve suit. A few of the top buttons were open so you were able to see a little bit of his defined chest. The sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, grey dress pants his legs just right, and white sneakers. His messy ear-length hair was now in a faded undercut and he had a 5 o'clock shadow framing his strong square jaw.
RAVEN! NO! You guys are just friends. Just. Friends. Doesn't matter how hot he looks in a suit STOP RIGHT THERE. No more thinking. You have to focus on the event tonight. Remember, NO BOYS.
"It's just a tiny crush, Raven. Like, you admire the guy because he's good-looking. Right?" I could feel my face getting warm from the memory of our little interaction in the parking lot. Lightly slapping my cheeks to get myself out of my head, I exit the girl's locker room and join my brother in the gym.
The rest of the night, I stood next to Sean and mingled with people who came up to us until it was time to go home. I removed my and washed my face before patting my face dry with my towel. I lazily removed my heels and threw them into my walk-in closet, along with my dress. I didn't bother changing into my pyjamas, the event drained my social battery. The only thing on my mind was Jackson before sleep took over me.