Chapter 2--- Sweet sixteen
Arielle
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I've always somehow thought I'd feel different on my sixteenth birthday but I don't.
It just feels like every other birthday. The only difference being my heart has refused to slow down and beat at a much safer space.
Zane is coming.
The party hasn't started and it's still quite early in the morning but I know he should be arriving soon.
Meredith woke me up by three in the morning to doll me up cause we know he'd be arriving pretty early this morning.
Mom's running around trying to get things in order and I and Meredith are on our way down to help out when the front door opens.
I hear the familiar sound of my dad’s laugh—loud, genuine—and then a deeper voice answers, one I haven’t heard in three years but would recognize in a heartbeat.
Zane.
I freeze halfway down the staircase, hand gripping the railing as their voices blend in the air below.
“Zane, you bastard!” Dad claps him on the back. “Still aging backwards, I see.”
Zane chuckles, and the sound slams into my chest like a memory and a dream all at once. "Genes, my friend."
Mom rushes over to give him a tight hug. “You’ve been away too long. Come in, come in! God, look at you—same scowl, same stubble…”
“Still better looking than your husband,” Zane teases.
“Lies,” Dad grins.
Jack barrels into view. “Uncle Zane!” he yells, wrapping him in a tight hug. “Holy crap, you’re still jacked.”
“You're still annoying,I see” Zane deadpans, but he laughs. That deep, real laugh I hadn’t heard since I was thirteen.
And that’s when I see him.
Zane Vincenzo Marcelli fills the doorway like he owns the world and has no intention of giving it back.
Older. Harder. Hotter.
His face is more chiseled now, jaw sharper, and his hair much longer.
He’s tall—taller than I remembered. His black suit fits like it was stitched directly onto his body. Broad shoulders, thick arms, narrow waist. A powerful, slow stride like he’s stalking prey, not walking into a family gathering. The kind of man who people run from.
His hair’s longer now. Darker. Shiner. He has a little scar on the side of his jaw, and the ink creeping up his neck makes my stomach tighten. His eyes look dark from up here but I know once I come closer, I'd be swallowed by his ocean eyes.
He’s smiling. Laughing. Genuinely happy to be here.
He looks… warm.
And it’s that warmth that destroys me. Because I had almost convinced myself that he was just the version from my dreams—cold, distant and unreachable. But this? This is worse.
This is real.
He turns his head—like he feels me watching.
And then our eyes meet.
Everything stops.
The house goes silent. The people blur. For a moment, it's just us—me on the stairs, him in the center of the room, and that look in his eyes that I can't decipher
He looks at me like he’s seeing me for the first time.
And I stare back like I forgot how to blink.
Seconds pass but it feels like an eternity.
" Breathe, Ari. So he doesn't think you're having a stroke." Meredith whispers to me, pulling me back to reality.
“Ari! Mer!” Dad calls, saving me the awkward moment. “Come say hi!”
I take a breath, force my feet to move, and walk toward him.
Zane shifts, standing taller, his smile a little tighter now-- or maybe I just imagined it. He opens his arms for a hug like when I was younger.
But the second he pulls me in—
Sparks.
They shoot through my skin, my spine, everywhere. His arms wrap around me, strong and warm, and I inhale that faint scent of cologne and a hint of cinnamon? Not sure.
I go stiff, barely able to breathe.
And when he leans back just enough to look at me again, his smile is gone. Replaced by something else. Shock? Confusion?
Before I can make sense of the many feelings running through me, he moves over to Meredith who's been behind me this whole time and gives a big uncle hug.
Meredith smiles sheepishly as he acknowledges how grown we both are now.
He stares at me for a moment longer when he says the word, "grown", then his attention is stolen by my dad.
And I'm not sure if I should be grateful or saddened.
••••••••••
The party is loud, messy, and crowded. I get pulled in a hundred directions for cake, photos, presents. My friends and neighbors are all here.
Dad, Zane, Jack and a few of our male companions are watching a game. Drink in hand and I can't help but just take in the beautiful sight before me.
It's noisy and a little messy, but it's real and I love it. Mostly the sight of Zane.
I look away with much effort cause I know I can't keep staring at him like a psycho stalker.
I use the opportunity to look for Meredith and I find her passed out on my bed.
Shaking my head in amusement, I take off her shoes and cover her with a blanket before shutting the door.
She knows she can't hold her alcohol but that doesn't stop her from drinking.
I return to the leaving room where the party's still on going and there’s a brief moment I glance across the room and catch him staring. He holds my gaze as he takes a large swing from his bottle.
My pussy immediately responds by wetting itself.
I feel like I’m being burned alive.
But just then, he looks away like he had never even looked in my direction.
I stare at him for a moment before I'm distracted by a classmate who needs directions to the bathroom.
I walk over to the balcony for some fresh air after making sure everyone's satisfied.
But Zane's already there.
He’s staring into space,drink in hand, shirt sleeves rolled up displaying an interesting line of tattoos.
My first instinct is to run back indoors but when he turns his head slightly, I know I no longer can.
My pulse is out of control. He returns his gaze back ahead as I step closer and lean against the railing beside him. Making sure to keep a little distance between us.
“Didn’t mean to interrupt,” I whisper.
“You didn’t,” he says in that voice that has my pussy clenching with need.
He takes a sip from his glass. “Didn’t think you’d come.” I say silently
"Wouldn't miss it.”
A pause.
The silence after that is charged.
"Thanks. It means the world to me." My voice comes out a little sharper than usual and I nearly died from embarrassment.
Zane’s eyes lock onto mine then, and I swear I see something flicker—something dangerous. But before I can tell what it is, he looks away.
“You should go back inside. ” he says, voice low. Deeper.
"Yeah."I say
But I don’t move.
He looks over at me and I immediately forget how to breathe.