Cage of Desire: (Cage of Design Series, Book 1): An Alpha Stepbrother Billionaire Romance Read online

  Chapter Eleven: Mia

  I woke up still feeling upset about my dream last night, and I reluctantly dragged myself out of bed. I stood brushing my teeth in front of the bathroom mirror and realized I looked terrible. I had slept with wet hair and my hair was wild and frizzy, and I had dark circles under my eyes. I spent a good ten minutes putting on my make-up to ensure I covered up the tired sleepless look, and I applied white eyeliner liberally to the corners of my eyes for a wide-eyed awake look. I worked my hair into a loose fishtail and stood before my closet, trying to pick an outfit that was more New York and less Legally Blonde. I pulled out a snug dark green sweater and paired it with khaki pants. I needed college aged clothes; I looked like a mom who was about to drop her child off to preschool. But still, it was better than yesterday’s fiasco.

  I made my way out of the building and decided to stop by the sandwich shop again. The lady from yesterday was still behind the counter, and I walked up to her. She looked at me and said, “Oh Lord, you didn’t get any drinks thrown at you today, did you?” I laughed, and said, “No, no drinks today. I’m here to thank you again, and to buy some breakfast.” She smiled and chatted to me about college and New York while I ordered two bagels and a coffee to go. I was about to leave, when I ordered another coffee for Aria. It was sweet of her to reach out to me to yesterday, and if I couldn’t find her, I’d just give the coffee to someone else and make a new friend. I ate my bagels on the way and carried a tray of two coffees carefully. I didn’t want to bump into anybody again but I had taken extra tissues at the sandwich shop just in case.

  As I entered Savannah’s gates, I immediately spotted Eric’s light hair among the crowd of students pouring in. He seemed to be looking for someone, and I ducked out of sight. I was still looking for a decent hiding spot where I would be invisible to Eric but still wouldn’t look strange to other people. To my relief, he hurried off somewhere soon enough and I didn’t have to crouch behind some bushes like a creep. I sipped my coffee slowly and wandered around the campus. I had a good fifteen minutes before class would start. I saw Aria’s girlfriend, Claire, sitting by the fountain in the middle of the grounds and I walked over to her. Her blonde pixie cut looked messy and her large eyes looked tired, but she still smiled, “Hey Mia, you look cute today.” I smiled back and said, “Thanks, I tried to look like less of a dork today. Here, you want some coffee?” She accepted it gratefully and said, “You didn’t look like a dork yesterday, you’re fucking beautiful.” She said it in such a matter of fact, sipping her coffee and looking around without expecting a response that I blushed harder than I had at any other compliment I’d ever received.

  We talked some more until it was time for me to go to class, and she said she’d see me for lunch if I was free that time. I promised her I’d check in, and then I hurried towards my classroom. I had my creative writing course today and I was excited because that’s basically what I wanted to do with my life. Mom didn’t think that writing was a real job, and that just made me want to pursue it harder. As usual, thinking of mom, I pulled out my phone to find multiple texts from her. I sent her a quick reply, and promised myself I’d drop by for a visit to her office after class. I couldn’t go completely AWOL on her, or she’d revoke my freedom. I sat in the front of class this time, prepared to give my full attention. Eric Cage wouldn’t ruin this class for me.

  Chapter Twelve: Eric

  My head was still reeling from the information I’d just received. I held a printed copy of Mia’s admission form and Savannah record. I smoothed it out and read the small printed words again: Emergency Contact: Dr. Lauren Carter - Relationship to Student: Mother. I couldn’t believe this; the girl I’d been obsessing over since yesterday was the new dean’s daughter, and I’d basically been harassing her all day. Oh God, I felt like someone had punched me in the gut. I can’t possibly fuck and dump Mia like I’d do with anyone else. If this got back to her mom, I could get expelled, and my dad would kill me. I tried to think about something other than Dean Carter and Mia; but I couldn’t get the whole thing out of my mind. I could get with any other girl in the whole school, there were two hot freshmen girls passing by me literally at very that moment, long-legged doe-eyed Bambi types, but I could only think about Mia’s defined calves and her curved waist.

  Maybe I could play a different game with Mia; I would take a different approach, switch it up a little. But I had no idea what I would do. I only had a handful of strategies for winning over a girl and they all went out the window when it came to the dean’s daughter. I was actually freaking out, my heart was beating fast and my palms were sweating. I turned around and there she was, sitting by the fountain talking into her phone. As I inched closer, I heard her say, “Yeah Mom, of course I’d tell you if something else happens. That guy was a total jerk.” My face turned pale, and I got out of there as fast as I can. I didn’t have class for ten more minutes but I barged into the empty classroom and sat down, trying to calm myself down.

  Okay. Relax. Breathe. I would stop staring at her suggestively; I wouldn’t even smirk at her again. Just please, don’t let me get expelled. She had already told her mom about me, and I’m pretty sure I’d get an email from the dean’s office anytime now. As if on cue, my phone started to vibrate, and I panicked, dropping it face first on the floor. I picked it up and the slightly cracked screen read Naomi calling. For the first time, I actually felt relieved. If anyone could make me feel better right now, it would be this crazy bitch. I answered, “Hey slut, how are you?” She crooned into my ear, “I’m good babe, but I miss you so much. I keep thinking about you, how are holding up?” I thought about telling her what was going on, but I decided against it. She always acted weird when I mentioned other girls around her.

  So I said nothing about Mia or the dean. Instead, we talked about my classes here and hers in Paris for about ten minutes until I had to go because class was starting. I felt better after talking to her, no matter how insane she was. She always knew the right thing to say and she made me laugh. I paid attention in class this time; maybe I’d be harder to expel if I made the dean’s list. Wait, this was a legit idea. The dean was new this year, and we’d never actually met. Sure, my file has a lot of misdemeanor reports, but she didn’t actually know me at all. I could talk to her, charm the pants off her. Not literally, though I’d done a mother-daughter duo before, but this time it was all about landing Mia.

  Chapter Thirteen: Mia

  I finally got around to calling my mom, and I made the mistake of telling her about the incident with the spilled iced tea. She was horrified and demanded that I tell her if anything else happens. “Yeah Mom, of course I’d tell you if something else happens; that guy was a total jerk.” She lectured me for about five more minutes before I said, “Listen, I have a class right now, so can I talk to you later?” There was a pause before she said, “Mia, I literally have your schedule in front of me right now. I’m the dean at your college, are you really not able to come up with a better excuse? You should just go, I don’t want to talk to someone who doesn’t want to talk to me.” I was so shocked that all I could manage was, “No Mom, umm...” before she hung up on me. I felt terrible, and resolved to visit her in her office as soon as I got the chance.

  I found Aria and Claire sitting on a bench and they invited me to join them for lunch. I gladly accepted, and we were soon on our way to a pizza place just outside of campus. I realized that I hadn’t yet been to Savannah’s cafeteria, and when I said that out loud both my friends started laughing. “You’re such a freshie, it’s kinda cute,” Claire said, and Aria said, “We don’t go there because it’s disgusting and overpriced.” I frowned slightly; if wealthy people like Aria and Claire found it overpriced, who did eat there? “Plus, there are no vegetarian options,” added Claire.

  Both girls passionately reminisced over the time they had staged a protest outside the cafeteria doors, and about two dozen students were almost suspended. “Sarah Abbot’s father is a big shot lawyer though, and h
e threatened to sue the school if they suspended the students, so that was pretty cool,” said Aria happily. I worried about my mom, having to field such threats from lawyers, as well as dealing with protesting students. “I thought it was because Vince Linguini’s dad is in the Mafia, and he sent a death threat,” said Claire. Oh God, now Mom had to deal with mobsters too? What is this school anyway?

  Aria was indignantly stating that not all Italians are in the Mafia and Claire was reminding Aria that she was only a quarter Italian when I interrupted them. “Who’s Eric Cage?” They both fell silent and Aria looked like she had swallowed something unpleasant. Claire looked at Aria before saying, “He’s an awful- awful guy. He’s in the year above us; why do you ask?” She threw a tentative look at Aria while she said the latter part. I decided to tell them exactly what happened, leaving out the crazy sex dream however. We were seated at a table in the pizza parlor and I hid behind a menu when I told them about how he had looked down my shirt.

  Aria said, in an icy voice, “Mia, he’s bad news. I’m serious, just stay away from him. He’s all about the conquest, and for him, relationships are just something you break by cheating on or with someone. Don’t talk to him, don’t look at him, and don’t think about him.” I knew she was only looking out for me, but I didn’t like being told what to do. I’d asked for information, and I didn’t know what Aria’s deal with him was, but some stubborn side of me awoke when I heard Aria say those words. I picked up a straw and silently twirled it between my fingers as there was an awkward pause in the conversation. Claire desperately tried to fix things by chattering loudly about how vegetarian-friendly the pizza place was, and just how divine the food was here. But suddenly, I wasn’t very hungry anymore.

  Chapter Fourteen: Eric

  I am a fucking genius. I sat in the college cafeteria with a bunch of people I secretly despised, and while they went on with their mindless drivel, I typed out an email:

  Dr. Carter,

  I’m a Junior Year student here at Savannah College, and I think it’s absolutely essential to my college career that I develop a strong bond with the dean. Dr. Hobbs and I were on very good terms with each other, and I trusted him with all my academic worries. He encouraged all his students to turn to him if they were under a lot of stress or just wanted to talk.

  I sincerely hope that I may be able to forge such a connection with you as well. I understand that you must be an extremely busy woman, and I am writing to you to secure an appointment with you at your earliest convenience, so that we may introduce ourselves to each other and start off the new academic year on a good footing.

  I look forward to meeting you soon.

  Best,

  Eric Cage.

  I read through it once more before hitting send. I’m so brilliant. Why wouldn’t Mia want to fuck me? She would fuck me in an instant. I turned my attention back to the people at my table. All of them were impeccably good looking, well-dressed and wealthy. We could easily be models posing as students, and we kind of were. Everyone wanted to wear the clothes we wore, have the same haircuts, drive the same cars. It was pathetic. Didn’t people see that we were all empty? We had money and we had tons of people falling at our feet; but we had no real friends and no real affection in our lives. We were performing all the time; when we lied about our drunk mothers and abusive fathers; when we spent the summers in the Hamptons just so we could leave our toxic homes; nobody saw that. Sometimes I forgot it too.

  I had seen a counselor last year, who told me that maybe I sought girl after girl to imbue some meaning into my life. I had told her I simply liked a good fuck, before inappropriately propositioning her to join me one night. She dropped my case, and I laughed it off. But sometimes, I thought about it as I got home late at night and my dad was abroad and my stepmother didn’t care; or when I snuck out of girls’ apartments in the middle of the night only to wander the streets till sunrise. I felt a strange emptiness sometimes, but I hid it well by being such an asshole to everyone all the time. The asshole thing wasn’t just a mask; I’m not saying I’m a saint at heart. I really am a horrible person at times. But chasing after girls and planning and scheming made me feel a sense of purpose, and maybe that’s what I was looking for by conducting this elaborate plan just to get Mia into bed.

  I didn’t like thinking about all of this, so I joined in the conversation about football and summer vacations. It was easier to face people I hated than to face the emptiness within.

  Chapter Fifteen: Mia

  I was quiet the whole walk back to campus, and things were tense between Aria and Claire as well, so there wasn’t much talking. I decided to let them go ahead and discuss whatever they had to on their own. “I need to stop and buy my mom something, you two go ahead,” I smiled the fake smile that I had learned to use around Mom, and the one she used around Daddy. Aria nodded at me gratefully, and she and Claire walked off briskly. I could see that they were having a quiet fight, and even though they whispered and smiled while they waked away, I could feel the anger lying just beneath their actions. Maybe I was projecting, but whatever. I didn’t like Eric Cage either but I didn’t need someone else telling me who to talk to and who to think about. I had just escaped the claustrophobic confines of my mother’s house in Virginia and I didn’t need another overprotective person around me.

  I felt bad though, about lying to Mom earlier. Well, actually I felt bad I had been caught in the lie. I lied to her all the time; I had to if I wanted the slightest semblance of a social life. But since I’d told the others that I was buying something for my mom anyway, I thought that maybe it was time to get those flowers to her and apologize. I pulled out my phone to look for where the nearest florist was, and found one that was just two blocks away. As I walked to it, I noticed people staring at me. I looked around to see if I was maybe just imagining it, but people were literally turning their heads to look at me pass by. I felt really uncomfortable, and I tugged at my clothes so they wouldn’t cling to me. I just hope I didn’t look as awful as I felt. Were people in New York just openly mean?

  I reached the small flower shop and stepped inside to be hit by a powerful mixture of natural fragrances. I recognized the smell of roses and gardenia, but everything else was an intoxicating blend of alien aromas. I walked among the neatly arranged aisles of flowers, buckets of roses in all colors; cheerful sunflowers; intricately patterned orchids and all other kinds of beautiful flowers. I was examining a large white chrysanthemum when I heard a voice behind me say, “Hello, how may I help you?” I turned and found myself facing a dark-skinned young man with a mop of curly hair. He was smiling at me and I couldn’t help noticing that he was kind of beautiful.

  “I’m- uh- looking for flowers,” I said, and felt mortified when he chuckled softly and said, “you know, I think you might be in the right place then.” I could feel my face burning as I said, “Sorry, I meant, for my mother and I’m not really good with knowing what to give someone when they’re mad at you.” He nodded knowingly and said, “Well, I’d advise you to step away from the chrysanthemum; some cultures consider a symbol of death.” I backed away so fast I would have crashed into a bucket of white daisies if he hadn’t thrown out an arm to stop me from falling. To my immense relief, he pretended like nothing happened, and continued on talking, “Okay, so the most popular apology flowers are tulips and carnations, but it really depends on how badly you messed up. If you did something terrible, you might want the blue hyacinth. It’s the truce flag of flowers.”

  I decided on a dozen pink carnations, and the florist seemed to approve as he arranged them into a bouquet. I made the payment at the counter as he said, “I’m Aidan, by the way.” I smiled, feeling suddenly giddy, “I’m Mia.” He handed me the bouquet and a single white tulip. “Well, Mia, I hope you need to apologize again soon, it was very nice to meet you.” He smiled his dazzling smile again as I left, and I noticed how kind his face looked. I walked back to campus in a daze, absently making my way in through the gates and up to
the faculty floor where the dean’s office was. There was nobody outside the door and I assumed my mom’s secretary was out for lunch. I walked straight into my mom’s office and said, “Mom, I’m so sorry about-” to find that she was already in conversation with someone who had their back turned to me. She looked up and her mouth fell open as she saw the large bouquet in my hand, “Mia!” she exclaimed. The person she was talking to also turned and my giant fake smile froze on my face as I saw Eric Cage sitting across from my mother.

  He smiled widely at me, and said, “Dr. Carter, like Mia Carter. I had no idea you were a mother, ma’am; you certainly look it.” I wanted to throw up as he spewed out thinly veiled flattery, but to my absolute horror, my mother was smiling and waving her hands as though to say Oh, stop it, you. My mind was spinning and I heard my mother’s voice fade into the background as she said, “Oh, Eric, you know my daughter already? How lovely that she has someone to show her around.” I mumbled an incoherent apology and started to back out of the room, when my mother said, “Mia, please, join us. That is, if Eric doesn’t mind. He did make an appointment...” but Eric interrupted her and said, “I’d love nothing more, please join us Mia.” I hate him so much.

  Chapter Sixteen: Eric

  Mia looked like she wanted to vomit, and I felt a little bad. I’m lying. I loved every second of it; watching her squirm now only reminded me of how badly I wanted to make her squirm in other ways later. She pulled out the chair next to me, and I could smell a faint flowery scent in her hair as her braid swung forwards and backwards as she settled into the chair. I breathed it in, resisting the urge to reach out and touch her. She would glance at me occasionally. I could see it in my peripheral vision, but I kept my eyes fixed on either Dr. Carter or the wall behind her. I didn’t need the dean to catch me staring at her daughter’s chest, even though Mia’s sweater was delightfully fitted.