Chapter 1
It was a late summer night. My best friend, Naomi Shannon, and I were secretly watching porn in her room.
When the scene got steamy, Naomi's face turned bright red, and my mouth went dry. We both knew exactly what we wanted: ice cream.
"Rock, paper, scissors, shoot," we said in unison.
"Amelia, you lost again. Get me a vanilla ice cream cone," Naomi exclaimed.
Having lost two out of three rounds, I reluctantly climbed out of bed and turned around to stick my tongue out at Naomi.
Naomi and I had been friends since we were kids, so I knew her house like the back of my hand.
"Are we out of vanilla ice cream cones?" I muttered.
Wearing my cartoon camisole pajamas, I bent over and searched the freezer drawer downstairs for ice cream cones.
"Amy?" A deep, cold voice came from behind me.
Startled, I spun around.
A tall man in a suit stood there.
*****
The dim, warm light downstairs cast a gentle glow on his handsome face, making him look a bit gentler.
"Leland?" I blurted out.
Naomi had a brother, Leland Shannon, seven years older than her. The last time I saw him, we were still kids.
They were half-siblings. Leland lost his mom when he was little, and his father, Lionel Shannon, later remarried and had Naomi.
Leland was the kind of wonderful kid parents always bragged about, the straight-A student everyone wished their own kid could be. After graduating abroad, he stayed there.
In only three years, the Shannon family's overseas business exploded, growing dozens of times bigger.
"You've gotten so tall," Leland said as he walked toward me, his presence too overwhelming.
I felt a sudden wave of nervousness and instinctively took a few small steps back.
In my panic, an ice cream cone slipped from my hand, but Leland caught it with his big, graceful hand.
"Amelia, what's taking you so long?" Naomi called out from upstairs.
"Coming," I shouted, scurrying to escape the awkward scene.
Leland grabbed my arm, and my heart shot up into my throat.
"Your ice cream cone," Leland said, his voice icy and unreadable, his big hands cold and strong.
I grabbed the ice cream cone and bolted upstairs.
"Amelia, what took you so long?" Naomi said, snatching the ice cream cone and taking a big lick.
"Naomi, your brother is back," I said.
Naomi's eyes went wide, and she choked on her ice cream cone. "You saw him?" she gasped in astonishment.
"Yeah."
Naomi frantically shut off the iPad that was still playing porn. "My brother came back about a month ago to work. The company keeps him super busy, and he doesn't get home until after midnight most days, so we hardly run into each other."
Naomi told me a lot about Leland. "My brother's all cold on the outside, but he's actually a softie inside.
"He always looks so serious or annoyed, but girls still keep sending him love letters.
"But he tosses them in the trash without reading them.
"He's never had a girlfriend, literally single forever."
Naomi was still talking when she suddenly nodded off.
I turned the iPad back on and watched porn porn, but before I knew it, I was out cold, too.
I dreamed about those childhood days when I used to play at Naomi's house.
Back then, Leland always had that unapproachable vibe, but he was ridiculously good-looking.
I still remembered that one day, while Naomi wasn't looking, I quietly slipped into Leland's room.
"Can I play with you?" I asked.
With my big, round eyes and long, batting lashes, hardly anyone would refuse me.
"Are you Amelia from the Sanford family?" Leland asked.
"You can call me Amy," I said.
Leland sat at his desk and watched me quietly.
I walked over to him, and while he was sitting, he was still a bit taller than I was when I stood up.
Somehow, I found the guts to tiptoe up and give Leland a quick peck on the cheek.
He obviously blushed.
I turned on my heel and dashed straight back to Naomi's room.
To everyone else, I was the obedient angel, but only I knew how rebellious I really was deep down.
My memories started to blur, and the sweltering heat of the dog days was unbearable.
I woke up feeling thirsty, so I headed downstairs to grab a drink of water.
After drinking some water, I stumbled back upstairs, groggy.
Leland's and Naomi's rooms were both on the second floor, one at the far east end and the other at the far west end.
I made my way back to the room in the dark, flopped onto the bed, and fell asleep again.
I was a restless sleeper. "Naomi, you really need to lose some weight. Your arm is getting so thick."
I thought I was cuddling Naomi, so I threw a leg over her. "Naomi, why are you so hot?"
I opened my eyes halfway. "Leland, what are you doing here?"
I rubbed my eyes and thought I was dreaming.
"Amy, you've really grown up," Leland said, his voice husky, his breathing quick and uneven.
"This dream feels so real," I mumbled, my voice gentle and a little muffled. "Leland, can I give you a kiss in my dream?"
With that, I climbed right on top of Leland and gave him an awkward, clumsy kiss on the lips.
Leland quickly flipped the script, claiming my lips and deepening the kiss, demanding more and more until I was left breathless.
Sensing how tense I was, Leland quickly paused. Then his lips trailed lower from my chin.
I softly moaned in my sleep.
He slipped his hand under my nightgown, slowly gliding up from my calf.
I was way too sensitive and couldn't help but tremble.
Suddenly, something hard poked at my stomach, making me squirm for a second, but the feeling disappeared soon.
With the sound of water from the bathroom, I fell into a deep sleep.