Page 8 of Total Obsession

Perfect!

The moment I'd been waiting for. It had taken her some time, even with my meddling, to rise as high as she had. But, now she was there. I could see the smile on her face. The joy in her eyes. She was soveryhappy right now.

I pulled another shiv out of my pocket and started twirling it around my finger. It pricked the tip and a bit of blood beaded out. I looked at the dark red liquid and brought it to my lips. I put my finger in my mouth, dropped the shiv, and used my other hand to pull my cock free.

I stroked myself. Slowly. Savoring each flash of joy in her eyes. I was about ready to burst from the thrill of it all, but I waited. I waited until the end of the interview. I waited until she looked at the camera, and with a perfect little smile, waved to the audience. I let myself come and the release from the whole evening coursed through me.

I breathed heavily as the pleasure left my body. I flipped the television off and sat in the darkness as the silence pressed against my ears.

After all this time, she was finally going to become my subject.

How sweet my revenge would be.

two

ZOEY CAMPBELL

"Last one," the dressing assistant said to me as she pulled the final bit of string from the corset on the back of the dress. I took a deep breath, the first time I was able to fully breathe the entire day.

"Thanks," I said, shimmying down and out of the beautiful Oscar de la Renta haute couture wedding gown. I stepped out of it, leaving it on the floor. "Um, robe?" I said, standing there topless and in just a white lace thong. As much as I was used to exposing myself like this, lately I was feeling a tad bit self conscious of my body. Being a model past a certain age was tough. While I might have been considered slender to other people, I’d been told multiple times that I was on the borderline of what was acceptable for the runway.

"Right," she said, dropping the dress and rushing over to hand me a white silk robe.

The good thing was that this was my very last time down a runway, at least for the time being. My television career was starting to take off. My agent, Sarah, had called just yesterday letting me know that I'd secured the lead role in a television series that was guaranteed to be a hit. Modeling had been good work up until now, but with so many new opportunities, it would be nice to get away from the catwalk and the personalities.

"It was a great show, Fernando. Really did Oscar proud." I heard the voice, and it sent instant shivers down my spine. It was different than how I remembered it, but I'd know it anywhere.

I wrapped the silk robe around me and turned. "Axe?" I asked, not sure if I was hallucinating.

The man next to Fernando Garcia (who, by the way, was only the head designer at Oscar de la Renta) was nothing like I thought he'd be. When we were in middle school, he was sort of short, but now, he was a few inches over six feet. Whereas he used to have unruly mud brown hair, his hair was darker now, with flecks of silver at his temples, and slicked back and faded down the sides. Whereas he used to wear rumpled-up tee shirts and ripped jeans, he was wearing what I knew to be Burberry's latest silk suit in a deep, navy blue.

Oh, and his voice? Whereas before, he was quiet and timid, now his voice was booming, deep, and confident.

He turned, and his green eyes fixated on me. His bright white smile and the way he looked at me were intoxicating, and I found my heart completely going into overdrive. I couldn’t look away from him. It had been so long since I’d seen the brilliant emerald of those eyes, and while I’d never appreciated them as a child, their intensity wasn’t lost on me now. Nerves tingled through my body as I waited for him to speak.

Would he remember me?

Would he hate me for what had happened between us?

Where had he been all this time?

That second day of high school had ended in complete tragedy. I’d never been able to forgive myself for what I’d said to him, especially considering what had happened that evening. A fire had broken out at Axe’s house. When the last of the embers were snuffed out, only his father’s charred corpse had been found. There was no sign of Axe.

Search parties went looking for him, and the authorities claimed they did everything they could to find him. It was as if he vanished that night.

I never saw the flames of his house, but they haunted me day and night. After that night, I’d never been able to connect with anyone. Any friendships I’d started to build at the school quickly turned to ash. My guilt grew to an unhealthy level over what had happened between Axe and me. The fact that I’d never been able to speak to him again after I’d acted so wretchedly towards him still haunted me to this day.

I believed that I didn’t deserve friendship after what I’d done to Axe. To this day I still thought about why I’d done what I’d done. In that moment, I so desperately wanted to be accepted that I’d sacrificed a real friendship for the mere promise of one. More than that, I’d hurt Axe in the process. As a result and since that day, I kept everyone at arm’s length as a form of punishment.

So, how was he here now, looking so thoroughly put together? Time seemed to stretch on as I waited to hear that deep voice of his again.

"Fernando, tell Laura I'll have to catch up with you both a little later," he said, not taking his eyes off me for a moment. His voice echoed in my chest and then moved through my entire body, doing things to it that I couldn’t quite process.

"She'll be disappointed, but okay," the head designer of the entire flipping label said before walking away.

"Zoey Campbell," he said, grabbing my hands and squeezing them slightly. "Where on earth have you been?" My heart did a somersault as he touched me. His fingers wrapped around mine, and his grip was tight in a secure, comforting sort of way. I looked down at his fingers as they curved around my own, the connection like a jolt of electricity through my veins.

"Where have I been?" I asked almost breathlessly, looking back up into that emerald gaze. "Where have you been? You disappeared!”