BeautifulDistaster420 x Traveler

Victoria had a generally confused look on her face when Talon said he was worried about her. No one had ever said that to her. To anyone who knew Tori, she was always very together, happy and the life of the party and all of that couldn't be far from the truth. She had one close friend who knew the truth but passed a way a little over a year ago and that's when she got worse, she felt like she had no one. It was clear to her that Talon was seeing her in a weak state and that bothered her, a lot.

"Worried about me?" She asked with a soft laugh "You mean after you try and arrest me, now you're worried?" She asked looking up into his eyes as he got closer, feeling his strong arm wrap around her little frame, steadying her in her heels. Just the contact of there bodies brushing against one another send a chill down her back. God what was it about this guy?

She sighed softly as he started to walk her towards his truck. She thought about refusing, telling him that she didn't want a ride and that she wanted to walk, but the half mile she already walked in heels was pretty painful so she finally agreed. "Fine" she says softly, climbing up into the truck once he opened the door for her, always with the gentlemen gestures. She had a lot running through her mind but what Talon thought of her was the biggest. God he probably thought she was just some spoiled rich girl who didn't know what problems were.

He was glad that she consented to go with him. Once she was in the car he shut the door after her and then got into the driver's seat. She was sitting there, undoubtedly still mad at him, and he noticed that she hadn't buckled up yet. So he leaned over and reached to the far side of her to pull the belt over her hips. The seat belt fastened with a sharp snap.

Talon wanted to tell her that holding her accountable wasn't a sign of not caring about her but he figured that arguing right now wasn't in either of their best interests, so after he clipped his own seat belt into place he began to drive to her neighborhood. While he drove all kinds of inner turmoil began to brew in his mind. What if she decided to put a restraining order on him after this? What if her father found out that he picked her up, and decided to make a stink of it at the precinct? But then a sobering thought occurred to him. What if Talon hadn't picked her up and she wound up raped or dead... or both? He couldn't let the possible outcomes interfere with doing what he knew was right.

He remembered her pass code, 6972, and keyed it in before driving to her house. It felt eerie to be there so soon, as if he was reliving some Twilight Zone episode. But he glanced over at her and the bright red dress told him that this was not the same moment he had experienced yesterday morning. It was a new day. Literally. He found it easier to be around her when he wasn't arguing with her.

Victoria was quiet the whole way back to her place after Talon clicked her seatbelt into place. He was so different then any man she had ever come across. He hadn't once been inappropriate with her, tried to hit on her or come onto her in any way shape or form. Maybe he wasn't into her that way, maybe he had a girlfriend and he was just doing 'charity' work as he called himself the other night. Maybe she was the charity this time and he simply just felt pity for her.

Once he entered the code, she looked over at him running a hand through her dark hair. "Look, I don't want you to think that you owe me anything, or have to worry about me. I'm fully capable of handling myself and what happened was my fault, not yours. If I wouldn't have driven drunk none of this would have ever happened. So please stop looking at me like I'm so damaged. I'm completely fine, I swear" she said as he stopped in front of her place.

She reached for her seatbelt and slowly pulled it from her little body, her hand toying with the handle for a second, clearly hesitating. She wanted to spend time with him, to get to know him so she finally swallowed her pride and just asked. "You want to come in?" she said softly, her eyes on his. If she wouldn't have been tipsy she would have never had the balls to ask him.

He was about to get out to go open her door when she asked if he wanted to come in. Talon looked at her, wondering what exactly she meant by that, but then he nodded. "Yes... that would be nice." He frowned to himself wondering exactly what he had meant by that. Would it really be 'nice', or was that just what people said? He walked briskly to her side of the truck to help her down. The truck could be tricky to climb out of in those heels of hers... and in her current state... and he wanted her to get inside safe and sound.

How had she seen his thoughts so clearly? He had been thinking that she had been broken by her father, perhaps that she felt like she wasn't worth the happiness that comes with sobriety, but he couldn't recall having said anything like that to her. Yet... she knew. Maybe it showed in the way he looked at her. He knew what it was like to live with someone who was unpredictable and violent. Hell... he had grown up with two alcoholics as parents. Maybe that was why he tried to have so much self-control. He could see how easy it was to slip down that path. He'd been drunk his fair share of times, usually on leave in the military, and he knew that the escape it provided was addicting.

Talon was careful not to touch her anywhere that would be considered inappropriate. He locked his truck behind them and followed her to her door, always close enough to grab her if she seemed like she was going to fall over.

Victoria smiled when Talon agreed, she was not expecting that, but she was glad. Rejection wasn't something she handled very well. She waited patiently until he walked around and opened her door, taking his hand and climbing out. Great this as step one, but now what were they going to do once they got in there? She hadn't thought that far ahead, She sighed softly and shook the thoughts, pulling the keys from her purse and unlocking the door.

Once they stepped inside, the soft beep of her alarm system went off, flipping on the lights she entered the code, the same code she used for her front gate. She tossed her keys down on the little table by the door, along with her purse. "So just make yourself at home" she said with a smile. The house was gorgeous to say the least. It was clearly decorated by an expensive interior designer, everything posh and elegant but it look completely unlived in, like there wasn't much life going on in here. The house was way too big for her. There was no reason she needed eight bedrooms, hell she didn't even have eight friends.

"I'm gonna go grab a bottle of water, do you want anything? I have beer, wine, pop, juice, water, anything you want. I don't know about you, but I'm starving so we can raid the fridge while were in there" she smiled turning and headed down the hallway towards the kitchen, flipping lights on as she moved through the house. Her kitchen was gorgeous, all white cabinets and silver stainless steel appliances, a gorgeous island in the middle of the kitchen. She grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and started to look for something to eat, bent over just slightly as she rummaged through the fridge, her dress just hardly covering her tight ass.

The inside of her house was intimidating. It was huge. Luxurious wouldn't begin to describe it. He noticed, without meaning to, that her house code was the same as her gate code, and noted it in the back of his mind. When she offered him a drink he said that water would be fine, and then he followed her through her home to her kitchen, because he simply didn't know what to do with himself in such a big place.

She had the best of everything, it seemed. Her house looked like it was perfectly coordinated, but he doubted that the couches had even been sat on. He eyed the lack of personal pictures in the house and wondered, once again, about the woman who had been slapped by her father in the police station the past morning.

It was hard not to notice the way her dress clung to her body. He cleared his throat and looked away, suddenly self-conscious about how little she was wearing and the fact that she was so drunk that she'd be an easy victim of date rape. She might not look at it that way. Maybe that was what she expected out of life, just to be used and abused by the men around her.

"Do you live alone here?" He could tell that the house was massive. There were other floors, and undoubtedly more than the standard three bedrooms and two bath that most of suburbia catered to. He wandered over to her dining table and noted the perfect sheen on the wood... and the thin layer of dust above that. She hadn't sat down at her own table in a long time. It helped to have something else to look at other than her round, delectable bottom. She was hot... she had to know how alluring that dress was on her. It was making it hard not to think of her as a sexual object, but Talon reminded himself that he was just there to make sure that she didn't choke on her own vomit or die of alcohol poisoning.

She grabbed two bottles of water from the fridge and some cut up fruit that she had inside of a plastic container and closed the fridge with her foot, sliding the things down onto the counter, watching Talon closely as he looked around her place, wondering what as going through that head of his. She didn't realize how completely inappropriate she was being by bending down like that and still didn't as she turned around to face Talon. Normally she would have caught a man trying to look or before she even had a chance to turn around, he would be closing in on her, but not him.

She opened her bottle of water taking a sip and grabbing a grape from the bowl popping it into her mouth. She nodded her head at his question before she stopped. "Well no, that's not entirely true" She said with a smile and called out for her dog. "Harley, come here boy" she said with a whistle, hearing his paws clicking on the hardwood floor as he ran down the stairs to greet her, tail wagging and completely friendly. She kneeled down to greet him, running her hand over his head and pecking his nose. "This Harley, great attack dog huh? You see how he just stormed the place when we walked in" she teased. Harley was a 5 year old, blue nose pit bull and probably her best friend. Though he looked intimidating, he was nothing more then a big baby, walking over to Talon and rubbing against him.

"He won't bite" she told him with a smile, turning to the freezer and pulling out a frozen pizza "Sausage or supreme?" she asked looking at Talon, walking over to the oven and pre heating it.

He was a little taken aback to see the muscular dog trotting down the stairs, and Talon raised an eyebrow as if to ask 'Am I going to be eaten?'. He watched the dog greet Victoria, though, and noted the friendly and almost stoned way the dog just accepted having a stranger in his house. Maybe Harley was used to having random men there. For some reason that thought didn't sit well with Talon.

"Yeah... he's vicious." He let the dog smell his hands before he knelt down and pet the beast. "He's great." He smiled at the dog and decided that if Victoria saw fit to take care of another living being then she couldn't be too bad. At least it wasn't one of those yappy little purse puppies that were so popular among the wealthy.

He looked up as she pulled out the pizza an immediately felt like he had overstayed. "Uhm... I should probably get going." Talon stood and then pulled out his wallet to take a business card out. He took out a pen and wrote his number on the back. "Listen... I know you don't need any help and I understand that you're an adult, but if you need a ride you can call me." He held his card out to her, wondering in the back of his mind why he was doing it. "It's not like I have anywhere else to be, at least for the next six nights... and we don't want Harley to be an orphan. I mean... what would your dad do with him if you died? He'd probably be sent to the pound. If you won't slow down for your sake then slow down for his. Harley counts on you."

Talon smiled at her and gave her a little shrug. "But I really should go. I'm not supposed to be here."

Victoria smiled watching Talon with Harley, anyone who was a dog lover was okay in her book. The do was definitely use to Victoria having her fair share of strangers there, the dog being completely unaffected by Talon, but happy to greet him and get his head scratched before he trotted off into the living room.

Alicia tried to hide the disappointment in her face when he said he should go forcing a smile and nodding her head. "Yeah, It's getting late" she said running a hand through her hair, watching him write his number down. She couldn't read him, usually she was good at doing that, but Talon was impossible. She couldn't tell if he liked her or just felt pity for her. "I don't know why you think that this is an every night thing for me or when it even matters if it is. I'm 24, single, no kids. Why shouldn't I go out and have fun?" she asked looking over at him.

She didn't take his card, letting it sit on the table as she let out a soft, almost irritated laugh. "You're not a cab driver, it's not your responsibility to drive me around. Thanks, but I got it under control." she said forcing a smile, grabbing her bottle of water and pushing off of the counter. "Thanks for the ride home Talon" she said starting to walk past him, letting him show himself out. It was rude, but she was a little irritated and didn't want to show that, her best bet was to head upstairs and that's exactly what she did, calling Harley to walk with her.

He watched her leave, her body language almost telling him to 'fuck off', but she didn't shove him out of her door and slam it behind him, so Talon supposed it wasn't as bad as it might have been. After standing there for a few moments he left.

The truck engine tried to turn over as he pushed the key forward, but it didn't catch. He grumbled and tried again. Nope. Talon dropped his head back on the headrest and stared at the ceiling of the truck cab. "Really? Really, God? Are you laughing at me right now?" He reached forward and tried the key again.

The started tried to catch, but there wasn't enough juice in the battery. He groaned and leaned forward so that his forehead rested on the steering wheel. "I really, really don't think this is funny. This is SO not funny..."

Accepting the situation, Talon got out and went back to Victoria's front door. He rang the doorbell and stuck his hands in his pocket, waiting and hoping that she would answer. If he could plug in the trickle charger to his battery for half an hour he was certain that he could start the truck, but without her help he'd have to call a tow truck, and right now he didn't have the cash to afford that, nor did he want to wait for over an hour until one could come.

Victoria was pretty upset that Talon left like that. I mean why did he even come inside? OKay, maybe she was over reacting. She just was use to men throwing themselves at her, giving her all the attention in the world and Talon wasn't doing that. She didn't even know if he liked her or just seen her as a damaged little girl and that didn't sit very well with her. She changed out of her dress into a pair of little black shorts and a pink tank top starting to crawl in bed hen she heard the doorbell. He must of forgotten something, she told herself pulling the covers from her body and heading down stairs.

She headed down the stairs running a hand through her long thick hair and tossing it up into a loose ponytail, some strands falling and framing her face, all of her make up off and having a very natural gorgeous look to her. She took her time, making Talon wait a bit but finally opened the door, leaning against the frame. "you forget something?" she asked looking up into his eyes.

He was definitely not expecting her to answer in her night clothes, nor with her face natural and still so beautiful. Talon stood there for a moment, his mouth practically hanging open until he remembered why he was there. He shut his mouth and cleared his throat, suddenly self-conscious. "Ah... My truck won't start. Could I put my plug in your outlet?"

Talon suddenly realized how that might have sounded. He flushed in embarrassment and then the corrected himself. "I mean... could I plug the battery trickle charger into one of your electrical outlets so that I can start my truck and go home? It would only take 30 minutes or an hour tops. Promise." He smiled in a self-depreciating manner and struck his hands in his pockets. "I'm sorry to bother you... I just can't afford to call the tow truck right now and I'm really tired. I just... I need your help."

It all boiled down to that. Would she help him? She had no real reason to... but he hoped that she might at least let him use an outside outlet for his car battery.

Victoria couldn't help but laugh at his first question, she of course got that impression out of it too and watched as his face flushed a a little softly giggling to herself and running a hand through her hair, leaning against the doorframe with Harley at her side. She smiled even more when he started to go into detail and explain what he meant, giving another soft laugh. Her eyes met his a more serious tone as he said he needed her help. She didn't even hesitate as she nodded her head.

"Whatever you need, there's some jumper cables and such in the garage, I'm not sure if that's what you need, but if you need an outlet go ahead and use it. You can come hang back out inside too, if you want. Unless you wanna run off again?" she asked looking up into his eyes, calling him out a bit. She couldn't help that she like him and was tired of wondering what was going through his mind, she was going to find out tonight, one way or another.

Talon was visibly relieved. "No... I have a charger. This happens an embarrassingly number of times and I haven't figured out what keep draining the battery." He went to get the charger, and after a bit of negotiations was able to find the best place to plug it in the garage. Then he went inside, a bit self-conscious about being in her home again after Lt. Braun had warned him so sternly about leaving the Renaldo family alone.

He saw the unopened bottle of water on the counter and picked it up. "Thank you... for helping John have a good memory at his party and for for this. I appreciate it." He felt extremely self-conscious about keeping her up so late. Her night clothes were doing a terrible job of concealing her body... in fact it highlighted how alluring her form was, and he felt embarrassed every time he looked at her. She was very desirable... and he hadn't felt the touch of a woman in a long time.

"I don't mean to keep you up," he said as he tried not to look at her breasts. "It should only take a half hour or so. Promise."

She leaned back against the counter as she watched Talon giving him a soft smile. She could feel his eyes glancing over her breast a few times, but she didn't mind it all. She was actually relieved, that letting her know he at least found her attractive at the very least. She shook her head keeping the warm smile on her face "Talon really, it's not big deal. Its just an outlet, nothing too personal" she teased him, pushing off the counter and walking to stand next to him.

Victoria smiled once more looking up into his eyes "I would have been up anyways. I have a hard time sleeping lately, I'm a night owl, so please. Stop apologizing. I enjoy your company actually, so I don't mind one little bit. You can stay as long as you want or as little as you want, whatever you're comfortable with, I'm good with, though I would prefer longer over shorter" she smiled deciding to be a little forward, putting herself out there some and seeing how he as going to react about it.

His eyebrow raised slightly, as did his heart rate as he considered her words. Was she being forward with him? Talon took a drink of water while he thought how to respond. "Honestly, Ma'am... I'm not suppose to be here. My boss actually forbade me from getting within twenty feet of you, so I'm already in violation of that." He didn't realize it but he was leaning back, his body completely at alert at her sexuality. She practically exuded it.

"So..." he glanced at the dog and then back at Victoria. "How did you come to adopt Harley?" It was a lame thing to ask her, he knew, bu the felt completely out of his element. She was sex and femininity personified. He'd always been taught to protect women, but she seemed to dare him to see her as a sexual being and not as a lady. He cleared his throat, a nervous habit he had when he didn't know what to do, and he took another drink of the water. If he kept this up he'd be floating soon...

Victoria's eyes narrowed a bit as he called her ma'am. What the hell? That was not needed. She let out a soft sigh, shaking her head a little. "Talon, don't call me Ma'am and secondly, all it would take is a simple talk to Mr. Braun on my behalf about us talking, so don't worry about that." she said softly turning her body towards his as he pulled back some. God he was making her feel like she had the plague or something.

She laughed softly shaking her head in a bit of frustration as he asked about Harley. "Really?" she asked looking up into his eyes. "Listen Talon, I like you. A lot actually and I'm not sure what's going on in your head, I'm getting mixed signals. I can't decide if you're attracted to me or if you just pity me" she said softly, continuing to be honest with him.

She was hard to argue with, but her statement that she liked him... a lot... threw him for a loop. "I... ah, what? Of course you're attractive. And there's absolutely no reason for me to pity you... I mean..." He shook his head and stuck his hands in his jacket pocket. "Victoria, you have the whole world available to you. You're smart, you're pretty, you are obviously intelligent. I don't understand why you're risking yourself like this."

"When I first saw you at that club I thought that you were going to completely blow me off or be a jerk to John, but you showed him compassion. That's not the way some privileged party girl would have acted. I just... think that there's more to Victoria Renaldo than meets the eye. It would be a shame if you died before anyone got to get to know that woman who's hiding behind the facade."

He had started to move towards her as he told her what he was feeling, but he never quite got within arm's reach. It was like he was afraid to get too close to her. "I'm willing to be a friend to you if you'll let me."

Victoria couldn't help but smile as Talon started to stumble over his words, clearly a little taken back from what she said. She couldn't help it, she had to at least let him know how she was feeling, to put it out there and see where it went. "There's a lot you don't know or understand Talon, I don't know why I do it, I wish I did but I don't. I guess it's an escape from reality" she said with a soft shrug of her shoulders biting down on the inside of her cheek.

She watched Talon as he spoke, her eyes flicking from his and down to his lips and back as he spoke, she wanted to kiss him, she'd wanted to kiss him since the first night she met him. She smiled as he told her that there was more the meets the eye and he couldn't have been more right. Her heart started to race as he got closer, thinking he was going to make a move as let out a soft sigh when he stopped.

She could sense his hesitation and decided to push a little, she moved off of the counter and moved to him, stopping in front of him, She was so close he could feel the heat radiating off of her body "And what if I wanted to be more then friends?" She asked softly.

He pursed his lips. She had to be still drunk, right? She must have been one of those functional drunks, someone who could carry on like a sober person, but who wasn't completely thinking things through clearly. 'More than friends' was very suggestive... the way she moved left very little to speculation. Talon searched her eyes and could almost feel the vibrations coming off her skin as she stood there and practically dared him to touch her. To kiss her. Her lips... were very kissable.

"That takes time," he finally answered her, not moving away. "I'm willing to invest time in you." The alarm on his phone beeped, signaling that his battery charger was done charging. "That's my phone." He nearly grimaced at himself for stating the obvious. "I mean, the alarm. For the battery. So I can go." Why was he sounding so much like an idiot?

"I should go." His heart was racing, despite how tired he was. She was so tempting and he knew that there was a good chance that she would welcome him into her bed. But did he want a one night stand with her? Or would that only reduce them to some stupid fling, when what he wanted out of life was so much more than that. And, he guessed, that she might want more than that out of life too. "You should call me tomorrow, Victoria. If you still want to see if there's more us then just 'this' then I'd be glad to explore that with you."

But she was still so close, so he put his hand on her cheek and then leaned forward, and with a small smile on his lips he kissed her cheek. "You should get some sleep."

She couldn't believe that he didn't try and make a move. She was pretty much throwing herself at him and he was not biting. She smiled up at him as he continued to be a complete gentlemen and ran a had through her long thick hair. she pressed her cheek against his lips softly when he kissed her, her hands moving to rest on his strong chest for a moment, before she slid them off. She couldn't help but feel a little rejected, though he did give her some contact it was more friendly then intimate.

She didn't want him to leave, not at all but she didn't want have to beg him to stay. The last thing she wanted to do was to make him think she was clingy and desperate. She sighed softly and nodded her head. "Alright fine, deal" She smiled stepping back from him a little. "I'll go get some sleep and I will give you a call tomorrow, we can go hang out and get to know one another" she said walking to the door with him "Thank you for taking me home tonight, I really do appreciate it" she smiled, opening the door for him.

Victoria smelled like promises and flowers, like a dream that he couldn't remember, but he yearned to go back to. For a moment it left Talon a bit shaken; the deja vu he felt was almost palpable. "You're welcome," he answered, stepping out of her home and away from those eyes that had a moment before invited him to dive into them. "I'll look forward to it. To you. Your call." He flushed in embarrassment as he tripped over his words. She had that magnetic personality that made him forget who he was and what he was doing, and that was a dangerous place to be when he found himself so attracted to her. "Thank you again," he said, at a loss for words. He didn't think that a handshake or another cheek kiss would be appropriate, so he went to start his truck and unhook its battery from the charger.

He noticed with a strange, detached amusement that he felt a little bit disappointed when his truck started up on the first try. Smirking at himself and nearly kicking himself for being so smitten, he rolled up the cable and went home. It would be a long enough morning with the sun nearly risen and his thoughts lingering on the delectable socialite who had just ripped his entire world apart.

Much too much that next morning he was awoken when John called to see if he could go with him to pick up the tuxedos for the wedding. John's fiance had taken the SUV and his little two-seater wasn't going to fit in six tuxes, so he was hoping that Talon and his truck would come to the rescue.

Talon rolled over and nearly shoved his face into his pillow as he listened to John prattle on about how nervous his bride-to-be was, and how she had a come apart that morning because she decided that she wanted the buttercreme instead of the whipped frosting after all, and the baker had told her that the original frosting had been mixed already and so they'd have to pay for the new mix, which was going to add an additional $200 to the price of the cake. Talon laughed. "For God's sake, John! For $200? I'm never getting married, if that's what I'm going to have to deal with!"

John cleared his throat. "Well, actually, I was wondering; the morning show has a picture of you with one of the girls from my party, and they said that you got fired over sleeping with some politician's daughter?"

That woke him up. Talon sat straight up, completely focused and pissed. "What? That's... that's not true, John."

"Well that's good; Lori said that if you were in cahoots with Victor Renaldo then she didn't want you to be in the wedding; her law firm's the one suing him for that development project gone bad, you know."

Talon made a very ungentlemanly sound. "Yeah... well... I'll be there in a half hour, 'kay?" Shit, he thought, what else could go wrong?

Victoria thought it was so cute the way that Talon was tripping over his words, maybe she was wrong about him. Maybe he did like her but he was just more reserved with his feelings then she was, she tended to wear her heart on her sleeve which usually ended bad. She smiled, laughing softly as she nodded "Good night Talon" she said before closing the door and leaning back against it. She smiled to herself, biting down against her bottom lip for a moment. She hadn't felt like this is a long time and for once, she felt like she was falling for an alright guy. Not like the rich, playboy cheaters she was use to being with. For the first time in a while Victoria went to sleep with a smile on her face.

That smile quickly faded off her face the next morning when she was woke up the sound of her cellphone going off, being sent the link the article. Oh fuck she thought to herself as she pulled it up. Her dad was going to have a field day with this and poor Talon, he was getting dragged into all of this and weather he liked it or not paparazzi was going to be swarming him now. Victoria was use to it by now, though it had slowed down lately, now she was going to be right back in the news all over again. She feared this was going to ruin whatever could possibly come from her and Talon and sent him a text message.

I am so so sorry that this is happening Talon. I'm going to fix it. It's just paparazzi trying to fluff their feathers. We'll be old news tomorrow. So listen I was thinking, what are you doing tonight? Maybe we could get together later? Talk about all of this?

she sent the text and got dressed for the day, calling her father, though she didn't want to, she knew he would take care of this. He was most likely the one who planted the story, needing some media attention. And if he didn't he sure knew who did.

The phone buzzed on the center consul and John glanced over. "Aren't you going to check that?"

"I'm driving."

"You're kidding, right? Everyone peeks at their texts when they drive." John raised an eyebrow as he leaned over and peered at the phone.

"Nope. Not going to do it." Talon grinned, but he glanced at his friend. "Go ahead. I know you're dying to see who it is."

John laughed. "Oh... I'm not... okay." He turned on the phone and read the text. "Wow. You're killing me. You're getting together with that Chick from the other night?"

"That 'chick' from the other night is Victoria. She has a name. Now read me the text," he said, reaching over to punch John in the thigh.

John laughed and read him the text, and then wrote back to her: "I'm free tonight. Let's get together. 8?"

They were able to pick up the tuxedos and get John back to his fiance before she completely freaked out, and then Talon went home to get ready to meet with Victoria that evening. He was both anxious and excited, but he felt like he was going to throw up as well. This was the first time that they were planning on meeting... and it felt a lot like a date.

Victoria smiled when she got the text from Talon, happy to hear back from him and that he was wanting to get together tonight. She was glad that at least all this non sense hadn’t scared him off to the point of refusing to see her. She text him back as she pulled up to her dad’s office. “8 sounds good. Meet me at my place and we’ll figure it out from there?”


After having to wait over an hour just to see her own father, she finally spoke to him. He didn’t plant the story but he might as well have. He had a deal with some press that if they canned all stories about him specifically then he would give them things they could work with, exaggerate and turn into trash gossip that all of america so loved to read. As soon as she got her answers it wasn’t short after that her father rushed her out, having more important things to deal with. Victoria hated that he felt it was okay to have reporters reporting trash about her just so her father could stay in good grace. He was self absorbed and selfish.


Her father wasn’t going to ruin her time with Talon. She headed home to get ready for tonight and only then realized she absolutely no idea how to dress. Was it a date? Were they staying in? Going out? Somewhere fancy? Casual? She’d never put so much thought into getting ready before. Sadly most of the men Victoria slept with were one night stands, though she hated them, she needed to feel that skin on skin contact to make her feel alive sometimes. Thats not to say some of the men didn’t try to turn it into a relationship and while it would work for a little while Victoria had major deep rooted issues and she always ended up pushing them away when they got too close, or started to realize just how unperfect her and her life was. Though at the end of the day all she really wanted was attention and affection and she learned that with men, using her body was a way to get it.


But Talon was different, not like any of the men she was use to meeting or being around. He wasn’t full of himself or corrupt, he was a good guy. It took her over an hour after she showered to figure out just what to wear. She decided to go with casual instead of slipping into a tiny dress, she didn’t feel the need to show off her body like that with Talon, though her jeans were very tight and her shirt a little low cut, hey she still wanted him to look. She was just finishing up her hair and make-up, when she heard the knock at the door smiling to herself and heading down.

“Hey” she said with a smile once she opened the door and looked up at Talon standing there. He was a sight for sore eyes, very handsome, charming even. She stepped to the side enough to let him in.