Saved by the Mafia Leader

You know those days when you wake up, and you just know it is going to be a long day? Well, that is the exact feeling I woke up with this morning. I let out a groan as I reached to silence my alarm, which was obnoxiously ringing right in my ear.

Dreading the day ahead of me, I tossed the blankets off of myself, pulling myself to a standing position. “Get it together, Skyler,” I mumbled to myself as I made my way to my dresser. Still wiping the sleep out of my eyes, I threw on a pair of leggings and a baggy sweatshirt.

I lazily combed my long blonde hair, then quickly applied mascara to my light green eyes. After a final glance over, I let out a loud sigh. Despite my lack of energy and zero motivation, I made my way out of my apartment and into the chilly streets of New Jersey.

With a list of a million things to do today, I started with the most important thing of all, coffee, which started my string of bad luck by spilling all over the cafe table. I sat down at the local workspace lounge to attempt progress on a freelance writing piece I was working on. However, after three hours of staring at a blank page, I had given up on the idea of getting any work done.

By the end of my failed writing endeavors, my head was pounding. Reaching into my bag that lay on the ground, I searched for Tylenol. All I came across were old receipts and crumpled gum wrappers. Rubbing my temples as the bolts of pain shot through my head, I let out an irritated whine. I shoved my laptop into my bag and made a B-Line for the small convenience store across the street in search of a headache reliever.

Once in the store, I took note of the ‘Caution. Wet Floors’ signs scattered throughout. I carefully made my way to the far aisle, locating the pain medication. Bending down, I scooped up the cheapest bottle of pain reliever and headed toward the cashier. The wetness on the floor caused my feet to slip out from underneath me and sent me colliding into something rock-hard.

“Ouch.”

I groaned, rubbing my already aching head. Part of me debated staying on the ground with my eyes forced to shut out of embarrassment. That was until I heard a man's voice groaning beside me.

My eyes shot open as I jerked my head to see a man on the ground next to me.

“Oh my god. I am so sorry,” I gasped as I scrambled to my feet. I watched as the man rose to his feet.

“Watch where you're going,” he spat coldly as he turned towards me.

I opened my mouth to apologize once more, but it clamped itself shut as I took in the man's appearance. To say he was attractive would have been an understatement. The man's built frame stood over me as he ran a hand through his slicked black hair. He looked like something out of a movie...tall, tan, and sexy.

“Hello?” he questioned, pulling me out of the state of awe he had just caused. His dark eyes bored into mine as he snapped in front of my face.

“I’m really sorry,” I forced out once more apologetically.

The man wore a bored expression, obviously not caring how sorry I truly was. Genuinely feeling bad about knocking the stranger over, I dropped down on one knee to gather up our scattered items. The man just watched as I took everything in my arms and stood up. Feeling my politeness wearing thin and hoping to end this awkward moment, I shoved my arm full of his stuff in his direction.

The man roughly snatched his items out of my arm, muttering something incoherent but clearly rude under his breath. After the day I had, I was not in the mood to deal with some wanna-be brute. Suddenly, I was no longer fascinated with how attractive he was; I was more fascinated with how someone could be so cold. It wasn't like I purposely decided to slip on a wet floor.

“It was an accident. I said I was sorry multiple times. You don’t have to be a jerk,” I remarked, now matching his bored expression and cool tone.

“Listen, why don't you do yourself a favor and shut that pretty little mouth of yours, huh?” he retorted smugly.

I couldn't believe the audacity of this man. There was no reason to speak to me that way.

“You know what. Why don’t you just go to hell," I snapped, matching his level of frustration. “I have had a terrible day, okay? I am so sorry that I bruised whatever sad little ego you currently have going on by accidentally bumping into you,” I continued while gesturing to him like a crazy person. “So if you could just be a decent human being and cut me some slack, that would be awesome."

My eyes landed on the man's face, expecting anger, but instead, I saw what looked like amusement. His lips were drawn up in a smirk, and his eyes lit up what looked like a gleam of amusement. A small tinge of an unfamiliar feeling panged in my stomach; it felt like I was melting under his gaze. How did he manage to still look that attractive while ticking me off?

I let out an annoyed breath as I walked away. I walked up to the clerk, threw my money down on the counter, and headed toward the door. After that strange confrontation, I was more than ready to get out of that place. Just as my hand touched the door, the man called out to me.

“I meant what I said,” he paused for a moment. “You really do have a pretty mouth.” I heard the confidence in his voice, and it sent a shiver up my spine.

I kept my eyes forward, not giving him the satisfaction of seeing me gasp at that statement. Forcing myself to ignore the electric spark in my stomach his statement just triggered, I yanked the store door open and sped walked into the autumn New Jersey air. The cool air hit my heated face, calming me down. As terrible as it sounded, that confrontation heated me in more ways than one.

I don't think I have ever seen such an attractive man. I squelched that thought. He may be a ten, but he was also a grade-A jerk. As I sped down the streets back to my apartment, I wondered why God would make someone so beautiful with such an ugly personality.

I swear if I never saw that man again it would still be too soon.