![]() Chapter OneA Chapter by Bailey DrakeHave you ever heard the saying ‘All
men are either taken or gay?’ Well, me and my few friends have heard it one too
many times, and every time they’d protest, claiming that it’s impossible, for before
someone’s taken, they have to be single.
Well, in almost all cases, that is
true. But in mine, things are a bit
different. And no, this isn’t one of
those, before I was born, I had an arranged marriage, and I hated the guy,
cause he was my childhood enemy and part time vampire. Well, kind of. When I was born, I was engaged
to a guy, who was most definitely not a vampire. Well… I wouldn’t exactly say engaged, because
I had a choice in the matter. If I
didn’t want to marry the guy, I didn’t have to.
My parents and his parents were business partners back when mine were
alive and kicking, and they thought it was perfect if we got together. You know, keep the family business going and
junk. However, they said that it was
completely up to us. On my parents’
will, their only request for me was to marry him so they could be assured that
I could live a happy life. In other
words, rich and powerful. If I married
him, we’d be business partners, own the company, live in a mansion, and have
maids and butlers and stuff. As I grew older and could
understand the situation, I realized I wasn’t really interested in falling in
love and having a fairytale life, and most of that was because of Romeo and
Juliet. I didn’t want to love someone to
the point that I would give my life for them.
So I thought, what the hell, why not marry someone for my parents? I didn’t really get to give them anything
except the labor of caring for me when I was a stinky, whiny baby. So, to wrap up and get to the point
of all that, I’ve never been single.
I’ve always been taken by someone. The guy I was betrothed to didn’t
really care. He wasn’t interested in
falling in love either. His love was his
parents and my parents’ business, Madden&Corbin Co. Actually, it was his business when he turned
eighteen. And then we’d share it when I
turned eighteen. Ah… what a beautiful, touching
story. Maggie didn’t think it was. She actually didn’t want me to marry the guy
my parents set me up with, saying that if I did and ran the company, I’d end up
like her sister " my mother " uptight and only interested in making money. I assured her that would never happen. So saying this was an arranged
marriage story is completely untrue, now that I’ve got everything out. My parents wanted " not forced " me to
marry a guy, and mostly for good intentions.
They wanted me to have a good life.
And I agreed to the marriage, for my parents, for Maggie and Robert, and
for me. I couldn’t live knowing that I’d
gone against my parents one and only request of me. “Julie! Someone’s here to see you!” Maggie’s voice was faint, letting me know
that she was calling from down the hall.
I looked up from my schoolwork, out the window, recognizing the pink
Celica anywhere. Yes. I said pink. “Mags, I don’t think you can call
what’s here a someone!” I yelled
back, loud enough for the blonde haired, pencil thin heeled girl to hear, who
was probably standing in the doorway after just arriving. I got up, though, knowing Rome probably sent
her. No way would she come here for any
other reason. When I got to the living room, sure
enough, Cecilia was standing at the door, her eyes narrowed and angry. When she saw me enter, the anger turned into
worse. Pure loathing. Which I gladly returned to her. “What do you want?” I said, rolling over the back of the couch to
lounge on it. Maggie left for the
kitchen, and I silently wished she’d come back. “Ugh… you are such a child.” I rolled my eyes. She’d say this every time she saw me. “C, you’re only three years older
than me. And I’m only one year shy of an
adult. You need to get that through your
rather empty head.” Cecilia was dressed
for success in a pencil skirt, heels, and a formal jacket over some surely
expensive white shirt. I had to look
away, for the sight of her was enough to make me retch. “Rome sent me.” I stared at the ceiling, waiting for her to
continue. “He wanted me to tell you that
the Johnson account wasn’t selling.” Did
I mention Cecilia was my replacement until I turned eighteen? She was Rome’s partner until I could come to
his side and legally run our business with him.
Even though I pretty much did already.
“He wanted to know your opinion on it.” “The Johnson’s have to
sell. Their income is way lower than
their expenses, and no other company has the gut to buy them. The Johnson’s sell boat parts, but when we
buy their company, we’ll sell boats too, and offer to repair damages as
well. And once their income shoots up,
it’s value will be way more than what the Johnson’s ever wished to have.” I looked over to Cecilia, to find her staring
at me in disgust at my obvious faith in my opinion. “Just you wait and see.” “Well I’m not going to be the one
to tell him, especially when that plan fails.”
I rolled my eyes, reached in the deep pocket of my pants, and pulled out
my phone. I called Rome, and when he
answered, I told him my view on things.
I’d been right so many times before, he didn’t doubt me. “Rome, wait,” I told him before he hung up. “You have to promise me that we’ll keep all
the factory workers.” “Julie, not a chance. Getting machines to do the work will be
faster and more efficient.” He sounded
stressed, and I knew he’d come over here later and expect me to rule the world
for him, so he wouldn’t have to. “Rome, I’m not going to watch
hundreds of people lose their job, especially when the stock market is so
bad. They need their jobs. I’m already doing a bad thing by telling you
all this. I should tell the Johnson’s to
sell boats and lower their prices, and then they’d be fine. But no, I have to watch them crash and burn
while we"” “Juliet, calm down. I promise Johnson employees will keep their
jobs.” I rolled my eyes at his nickname
for me. He thought it was so coincidental
that his name was Rome, which when you add an ‘o’, it’s Romeo. And when you add a ‘t’ to Julie, it’s
Juliet. Romeo and Juliet, which happened
to be one of the most frustrating things I had ever read. “Romeo, you better keep your
promise.” Then I hung up. I looked back over to Cecilia, who had smoke
practically coming out of her ears in jealousy.
Cecilia’s obvious and major crush on Rome was almost laughable,
especially since I happened to know from Rome himself that he wanted absolutely
nothing to do with her. “How can he agree to marry you? You’re seventeen, and his twenty-first
birthday is coming up.” I smirked at
her. “C, you of all people should know
that guys like going with younger girls.
The only dates you get are with old grandpas.” She tossed her perfectly made up blonde hair
over her shoulder, and stormed out of my house.
“Good riddance,” I muttered when
Maggie walked in. “Dinner’s almost ready.” I ran my fingers through my long and
unbrushed hair, wondering for a split second if I should take a shower just in case
Rome came. But I pushed the thought
away, knowing he didn’t care what I looked like. I glanced down at my baggy grey sweats and
black cami, shrugged, and got up from the couch. As I prepared to help Maggie set the table, I
put my hair up in a messy ponytail and washed my hands. “Do you think Rome will be coming for dinner
tonight?” Maggie asked as I approached
the table. “Most likely. He’s having trouble with the Johnson Boat
Company,” I said, putting five plates
down at our old mahogany table. I never
understood why Rome came over to our house for dinner when he had that huge two
story house with chefs to make him gourmet meals. The thought that I would be living like that
scared me, but I was also thankful, because I would definitely give some money
to my aunt and uncle. They weren’t
exactly in a perfect financial situation, because my aunt stayed at home, and
my uncle’s job didn’t exactly pay well. As soon as Maggie brought the food
to the table, Rome walked in, looking sharp and handsome in his expensive
Armani suit. Him dressing all fancy and
me dressing like a slob didn’t exactly satisfy me, since that company was just
as much mine as it was to him. But I thought,
before I turn eighteen, why not dress how I want? “Tough day?” Maggie asked, helping him take off his
expensive jacket. Despite Maggie
believing that marrying Rome wouldn’t be the best for me, she still adored Rome
to the highest degree. Sometimes I
thought she loved him more than she loved me. “Yeah…” He sighed, then looked at
me with raised eyebrows. “It’s hard to
believe that the girl who’s a major business women dresses in sweatpants.” I smiled sweetly, taking him calling me a
business woman as a compliment. “It’s hard to believe a grown
twenty year old man needs advice from his seventeen year old fiancée.” He laughed humorlessly at my quip, sitting
down at his usual spot. I sat down
beside him, tucking a loose strand of hair behind my ear. “The Johnsons want to have dinner
with us tomorrow night.” “Since when?” I exclaimed forcefully, surprised and angry
that Cecilia hadn’t informed me. Rome,
who had jumped at my sudden outburst, chuckled lightly. “Since I was on my way here. Mr. Johnson called and said they had a
proposal, and I agreed.” I looked over
at him and smirked. “Told you. You shouldn’t worry so much.” Maggie set down plates of spaghetti in front
of us, and I immediately started digging in.
“When they offer us the company, we’ll take it, then sell complete
boats, offer repairs, and probably lower the prices a little,” I said, mouth full of saucy noodles. Rome looked over at me and shook his head. “I can’t believe my company is also
your company. You’re disgusting.” I watched him as he wrapped the spaghetti
around the fork like a pro, and fit it all into his mouth. I slurped mine up, surely getting sauce on my
face, and surely caring less. “Whatever. All I’m saying is that once we get it going,
and we sell it for way more than we bought it, I get full rights to say I told
you so.” We continued to eat, and soon,
Robert came in, looking extremely tired.
He sat down and started eating without a word, and finally Maggie joined
the table. Rome and I talked about business,
and other companies that were in need of help, and ones that we’d soon be
buying out to sell them after they got going again. “Will you be staying here
tonight?” Maggie asked Rome as he and I
set out for the back porch. “I’m not sure yet,” Rome answered, giving her a gorgeous smile,
and following me the rest of the way to the porch outside. Finally, we had complete privacy. “Why do you come here when you have
a huge house with a huge, comfortable bed and servants to wait on you hand and
foot?” I sat down on the patio swing,
and Rome soon followed suit. He
hesitated only a moment to answer, giving me a exasperated look when he
realized I wasn’t going to let the subject go.. “Because sometimes it gets lonely
being there. When I come here, it’s like
a real home to me.” We swung gently,
looking out across the night sky. “Tomorrow, you need to dress professionally,
and bring the smart, mature brain of yours.” “Rome, can’t we talk about
something other than business for once?” “Like what?” He asked incredulously, sounding as though I
suggested we strip down to nothing and run nude through the streets. “Like how beautiful the sky
is. Or how good it feels outside. Anything.”
I was desperate for some kind of talk other than stupid business. I didn’t want to end up like Mom was. Like Maggie warned. “There’d be no point. All we’re getting married for is the
business, so what’s the importance of the night sky or temperature?” Rome said, crossing his arms over his chest. My eyes widened, and suddenly I felt
insulted. “Excuse me, but I’m not getting
married for the business. I’m getting
married for my parents, and my aunt and uncle.
The money is for Maggie and Robert, and my parents have only asked this
one thing of me. I’m not as superficial
as you, Rome,” I said, crossing my arms,
too. The chuckle I heard emit from his
mouth only made my anger worsen tenfold. “My dear Juliet… sometimes you take
things too literal.” “Stop calling me that. My name is Julie, and yours is Rome. We both know the only reason you were named
that is because your parents decided to get jiggy in Rome, and nine months
later, you were born. And Julie is a
common name. We aren’t Romeo and Juliet
" thank God " and will never be.” “That’s a shame… I was thinking of
renaming the company Romeo and Juliet.”
I stood up abruptly and pointed to the door. “And that’s your cue to leave. You can’t stay here tonight.” When Rome stared up at me with those
chocolate eyes of his, I narrowed my blue pair.
“Are you daft?” He continued to
stare, and I finally put my hand down, rolled my eyes, and walked inside,
locking the door behind me. I ignored
the acceleration of my heart after staring at his sad, gorgeous eyes, and
continued to try and be angry. “Has Rome left?” Maggie asked from the kitchen as she washed
dishes. “Uh… yeah. He said he needed to get up early
tomorrow.” When Maggie asked me if I
wanted dessert, I suddenly felt tired and worn out. Rome tended to do that to me. I went to my room after politely saying no to
chocolate ice cream, snuggled myself under my covers, and went to sleep. When I woke up, I decided to go on
my morning jog. I’d been putting it off
due to tiredness " ahem, and a touch of laziness " but forced myself to get up
when my alarm rang at six. I threw on a
pair of shorts, a t-shirt, and socks, remembering I left my tennis shoes
outside to dry when I wore them when it rained.
I put up my hair, grabbed my iPod, and went out to the porch to get my
shoes. I grabbed them and started to walk
inside when something caught my eye.
Correction. After a second take, I realized it was a someone. “Rome? Why the hell are you sleeping out here?” He woke with a start at my loud interruption
in his slumber. Rome was laying down on
the patio swing, looking cramped on the small seat. He slowly sat up, his hair messy and cute, a
style I rarely saw. “I said I was lonely at my
house.” His voice was deeper and rough
with sleep. I immediately walked over to
him. “Well you need to go home and get
some real sleep. Especially before
Maggie sees your car. I told her you
left last night.” Rome made no movement
to get up, and I groaned, angrily crossing my arms over my chest. “Can I run with you?” His question surprised me, but I made sure to
mask the emotion from my face. “How do you know I’m going to
run?” I didn’t expect him to answer, and
he didn’t, giving me a rather noncommittal shrug. “Well… yeah, I guess, but you can’t run in
that suit. I don’t even know how you
slept in it.” Rome finally got up and
followed me inside, where I went to the laundry room. “You should be able to fit into a pair of
Robert’s basketball shorts, even though he doesn’t wear them anymore. He was a kid when he wore them, not to
mention twenty pounds lighter.” I rummaged
through Robert’s old laundry, and ended up with black basketball shorts and a
plain white t shirt. “Thanks,” He said, leaving to go to change in the
bathroom. While he was gone, I thought
about how sorry I felt for him. He was
all alone in that big house, and never really had any fun. I’d thought about that at least one million
times since I’d met Rome, but knew I couldn’t really do anything about it. He was raised as a rich kid, and will always
be wealthy. And when I marry him, if we
have kids, I don’t want them to be like that.
They needed to experience the world.
“Ready?” Rome appeared in the
doorway, dressed in the clothes I gave him. “Whoa there. Hold up,”
I said, and grabbed his arm as he turned to leave. I roughly pulled him back to face me. “Well look at you. Underneath all that Armani you’re
ripped.” His muscles were way larger
than I thought the owner of a business could be. Actually, the urge to run my hands over them
surprised me. “I work out…” He shrugged like it was nothing, but it was
way more than nothing to me. It meant
that he did something other than run our stupid business. “Let’s just go.” So we did. We ran without a word, and I didn’t even
bother listening to my iPod. The silence
embracing us was kind of nice. The fog
was still settled over everything, and the sun had yet to come out. I must admit, however, that Rome was in
better shape than me. When my breathing
got labored, Rome sped up, as if saying, ‘I’m just getting started.’ It was on the way back that
conversation started. Well, bickering,
more like. “You look like you’re getting tired
there…,” Rome teased me, glancing over at my withering form. I immediately lifted my chest and ran with
strength I thought was gone two miles ago. “Nope. I’m not tired at all,” I lied, and we both knew it. “Oh come on, Jules… I know you’re
about to pass out. If you just say it,
I’ll slow down.” I glanced at him with
raised eyebrows. “Slow down? I feel great, Rome.” “Oh yeah?” “Yeah,” I said, all the while my side splitting in
two. At least that’s what it felt
like. Rome chuckled, slightly speeding
up. I sped up with him. “Then let’s race. Whoever gets there first gets to…” He trailed off, thinking of the stakes. “Dress the other for the dinner
tonight.” I said, grinning
mischievously. Immediately it was
replaced with a wince. The rate at which
my heart was beating had to be some sort of hazard. “Fine.” “Fine.” Then Rome took off, leaving me in
his dust. I picked up my pace, despite
my protesting legs and lungs, and evened it out. “Don’t push yourself to hard,
sugar,” Rome called over to me. “I wouldn’t want to have to peel you off this
sidewalk and patch up your booboo.” I
glared over at him, trying to even out my breaths before responding so I didn’t
sound so pathetic. “You and Cecilia seriously need to
get over this age difference.” Trying to
hide the stress in my voice proved to be futile. “Sugar?
That’s a three year old name.”
Rome smiled, nodding a little. “Fine. Don’t push yourself, baby.” Now, baby should have been a blatant defiance
to what I said, but the way Rome said the word was… sexy. I groaned, ignoring my flushing cheeks and
pounding heart " that wasn’t caused by the running " and took off ahead of
him. Rome quickly and easily caught up,
and as we got closer to the house, we remained neck and neck. I couldn’t go any faster, although I wasn’t
sure about Rome. He was breathing hard
now, but that didn’t mean he didn’t have a burst of energy left inside him. “I’m gonna beat you,” I said in a singsong voice. But before he could reply he sped up, inching
his way ahead of me. By now I could see
the house. We got closer, and I tried my
hardest to catch up with him. He ran
through the front yard, and in one final attempt to win, I lunged myself at
him, sending us both flying to the ground.
We sat there laughing and
completely out of breath in the dewy grass, laying side by side. Suddenly Rome rolled on top of me, knocking
my breath out of me more than it already was.
“I beat you.” He whispered, the tip of his nose touching
mine. I rolled my eyes, breathing
heavily, and he laughed, hopping off me.
I got up, stalking inside, even though I was proud of myself. Rome laughed good-naturedly, and actually had
some fun. The rest of that day was filled
with going over papers with Rome. After
showers of course. But whenever I tried
to convince him to go outside and play some basketball with me, or go get some
ice cream, he’d smoothly slide the conversation back over to business. “I dress you for dinner
tonight,” Rome teased after we’d finished
going over some contracts. I sighed,
feeling exhausted.
“I don’t wanna go,” I whined, slumping my shoulders in my
seat. We were sitting at the table, the
fluorescent light making me sick. “I need you there, Jules. You’re the most persuasive, and people have a
harder time saying no to a cute little face.
Please?” He actually dog pouted
at me, and surprised me massively. Not
to mention made me think of how cute he was. “And if I don’t go, Cecilia will
go?” He nodded. “Fine.”
I acted as though I was upset at the idea, but actually, I was looking
forward to the dinner with the Johnsons.
They were pretty nice people. “Thank you!” This would be the moment in the cliché books
where he would kiss me, and then we’d get all silent and awkward, but that
didn’t happen. Have I mentioned Rome and I had
never kissed before? Yeah, weird for a soon to be
married couple. And I’ve wondered before
if Rome’s ever cheated on me. I
mean, I have to face it, Rome is gorgeous, and plenty of girls give him flirty
looks and write their numbers on his hands, but does he call them back? Does he kiss other people? Somehow, that seemed unfair, since I’d been
completely faithful to him my whole life. Meaning I’d never kissed anyone. And yes, I want to kiss Rome. Not because I’m secretly in love with him or
anything, but because I want to experience it.
Everyone else I know has kissed a person, and I’m the loner who chooses
to marry someone I don’t even love. Is
it awkward? Is it hard? What do you do? I’d never know unless I tried. “Jules?” Rome snapped his fingers close to my face,
brining me back. I smiled at him. “Yes?” “You’re truly crazy. You know that?” Rome sighed deep and shook his head, running
a hand through his brown hair. I faintly
heard Maybe by Yiruma playing softly on the stereo. “Are we dancing at this
dinner?” I asked stupidly. I wanted to take it back from the look Rome
gave me, but I couldn’t. “Maybe.” I thought it was ironic he said that, for it
was the song playing. “Do you want to practice?” Yes, I was being a hopeless romantic, in
attempt to maybe get my first kiss. Was
is wrong I was using Rome for that? I mean,
I’d never known guys before, since I’ve been home schooled my whole life. Sure, there’ve been guys at my summer camps,
and on the street who winked and wolf whistled, but I wasn’t about to grab one
by the collar and try out kissing and risk attaining HIV. “Julie, what are you talking
about?” “Do you want to dance? I love this song.” When he didn’t answer, I got up, grabbed his
hand, and pulled him out of the chair.
The song was pretty romantic, so maybe he’d kiss me. Maybe.
Even though he’d had 17 years. When I felt him wrap his arms
around my waist, I took that as a cue to wrap mine around his neck. I’d only danced with Rome once or twice, but
that was at weddings we attended, and it was only for show. So when he pulled me close, I was
surprised. He seemed he knew what he was
doing. We started to sway to the music,
and even I, the girl who’d never been kissed, could feel the intense feeling
around us. He stared down at me, and I
even if I’d wanted to, I couldn’t tear my eyes away from his. “Has anyone ever told you that you
have magnificent eyes?” His voice was
soft, as if raising it would break the magical feeling around us. “Maggie has a few times,” I whispered.
My eyes were an extremely bright blue, and even though Maggie told me
one million times that they were the most dazzling eyes in the world, Rome’s
managed to capture me ten times more than my own did. The rest of the dance was silent,
and as I knew the song was coming to and end, I had so many butterflies in my
stomach, I wasn’t even disappointed Rome didn’t kiss me. It was after we’d separated and another
Yiruma song, Kiss the Rain, came on that I felt unsatisfied. Of course he wouldn’t kiss me, though. He wasn’t the romantic, axiom hero in books
or movies. He was Rome Madden, owner of
Madden&Corbin Company, and my fiancé.
And I was Julie Corbin, the girl who didn’t know how to dance or
kiss. Sound like any familiar hero and
heroine in a fairytale? …didn’t think
so. We didn’t go sit down, though,
after we finished dancing. We kind of
stood there, and at first, it was an amiable silence, but as time grew on and Kiss
the Rain came to a close, it was very awkward. The pretty ending of the song came, and it
nearly brought tears to my eyes. Yiruma
was a genius. “I think we’ll do fine,” Rome said suddenly after The River Flows
in You started to play. I nodded,
swallowing hard, following Rome when he sat down. We kind of sat there in silence, before Rome
pulled out another folder and started scribbling on it. I stared at the concentrated look
on his face, and how lucky I was that the guy I was getting married to happen
to be gorgeous. Because even if Mr. and
Mrs. Madden had a horribly ugly son, I
would marry him. I wasn’t marrying Rome
because he was incredibly handsome. I
was marrying him because that’s what my parents wanted. And even if I never actually knew them, I
loved them. The fact that Rome was good
looking was just a sideline bonus. “Julie? We have to get ready,” Rome said as if he’d been talking for a
while. For all I knew, he had been. I was totally zoned out. Rome then walked to my room, and I
dumbly stumbled behind him. Me and my
grace… “I get to choose your outfit,” Rome mentioned for the second time
tonight. I rolled my eyes at his amused
tone, and watched in amazement as Rome confidently walked into my closet,
skimming through the many dressed he’d bought me. Well, I’d used his credit card and bought
them myself. He chose a champagne colored
dressed that was slinky and gorgeous in a simple way and clung to my body
rather perfectly. I grabbed it, giving
him a snooty look before shooing him out. After I changed, I pondered about
Rome’s good taste. How did he know this
was the dress that flattered me the most, and made me smile? That was my favorite color? That I bought on my sixteenth birthday, and
thanked myself, pretending it was him who gave it to me? “Wow…” Rome smiled at the dress, nodding. “I knew it’d look great on you.” I blushed stupidly, looking down at the dress
to try and hide it. “I’m going to run
home and change, and I’ll be back here shortly to pick you up. I’ll be back soon.” Rome smiled, came closer, kissed me quickly
on the cheek without thinking, and walked out of my room. That was normal of him. To kiss me on the cheek without thinking
about how it affected me. I’d been
kissed on the cheek, but never kissed.
I had many mental arguments with myself, saying Rome knew I’d never been
kissed, and he did things like kiss me on the cheek to annoy me. Well, if that were the case, then it most
definitely worked. While I waited for Rome to return
to take us to dinner, I fixed my hair and put on make up. It took up more time than it took for Rome to
change and return, so when he knocked on my door, I told him to wait in the
living room. My shoe choice was a simple
three inch silver stiletto heel. As I walked down the hall to the
living room, my heartbeat got faster.
What if I looked ugly? What if I
looked pretty? Would Rome kiss me? I felt like a skank, wishing anyone
would kiss me. I mean, was I an absolute
dog? “Julie… you look absolutely
gorgeous.” Even though Rome seemed
rather surprised, I still blushed. Maybe
I would get a kiss tonight. © 2012 Bailey DrakeFeatured Review
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Added on June 12, 2012Last Updated on June 12, 2012 Author![]() Bailey DrakeSomewhereAboutMy name is Bailey Drake. Writing is what I like to do, reading is what inspires me. I also sing, dance, play the guitar, and act. I'm a fine arts person. I'm not really sure where my writing will tak.. more..Writing
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