She was different from the others; of that he was sure.

For one, her hair was the fiercest red that he had ever seen. So luscious and unruly; untameable. Most people would dote on her hair, believing it to be her best feature when in reality, it was her third. It followed closely by her dark grey, almost black eyes that seemed to look into the soul of everyone she interacted with and her plump, full, ruby red lips that were only a shade lighter than her hair. Her cupid's bow was defined and her bottom lip slightly fuller than her top.

And two, he couldn't take his eyes off her.

She was no doubt the most beautiful woman he had ever had the pleasure to lay his eyes upon.

He had seen her around campus a couple times now in the past week. On Monday she had been locking lips with a lanky blonde male whom was groping the breast of the blonde female next to him as they made out. The redhead had her arms wrapped around his neck, her eyes closed and her head tilted up, blissfully unaware of the blatant disrespect and hoodwinking going on right next to her.

On Tuesday she had been with a small group of friends, talking animatedly as they walked the halls after class. She had bumped shoulders with him by accident. He was just able to make out the strawberry scent of her shampoo as she turned around and offered him an apology accompanied with a smile which made his otherwise dead heart beat faster than it ever had.

On Wednesday, she was by herself, lazily typing away at her phone with one hand. Her lips curled up into a brief smile before she placed her phone in her back pocket. Her eyes connected briefly with his and in that moment, a flash of recognition sparked in them. He wanted to go up to her and introduce himself, tuck her unruly locks behind her ear and whisper an innuendo or two. But he remained scowling instead.

Her attention deviated away from him when her boyfriend approached from behind and grabbed her around the waist as he pulled her in for a hug, a familiar blonde following closely behind him.

On Thursday the Earth had spun on its axis as she leant against the wall of her classroom, her face devoid of the usual smile that she sported; a frown in its place. Her eyebrows knitted together as she stared ahead at the door in front of her, her eyes swarming with emotion.

She wore her heart on her sleeve.

On Friday, she blinked back tears as she watched her boyfriend, or presumably ex-boyfriend now, make out with that same blonde right in front of her. She had pushed herself off the opposite wall and walked in his direction. When she was right next to him, he made sure to nudge his shoulder.

She didn't turn around this time, just muttered an apology under her breath as she continued walking, wiping away the stray tear that had surpassed its barriers.

Darcy Blake.

That was her name. Well, the name written on the cover of her notebook anyway. And that was also the last time that he had seen her before university ended before summer. At first, he had feared that she would graduate and he would never see her again. But when he returned as a cleaner on the first day after summer, he noticed her walking with two other girls, much happier than he had last seen her to be.

He was glad. She deserved to be happy.

"Darcy," he tested the name on his tongue later that evening as he lay awake in bed after a hard day at work. When he had initially agreed to momentarily take over the cleaning job at the university for his friend, he hadn't thought that it consisted of so much work. Juggling both jobs was more tiring than he had anticipated, but friends looked out for friends.

"Darcy Blake." Turning onto his side, he unconsciously fisted the duvet as he remembered the tear that had begun trailing down her cheek before she swiped it away angrily.

She deserved so much more but unfortunately, he too, wasn't worthy enough of a precious gem like her. All he could do was fall asleep with a small smile playing on his lips and thoughts of her playing through his mind.

In his dreams he would allow himself to hope for what was unattainable in reality.

---

She was beautiful, like a siren calling out to him. Her lips curved into a small smile as he approached her; awaiting him.

A groan passed his lips when she raised her hand and beckoned him towards him, closer. He came to a stop in front of her, his arms braced by his sides, itching to wrap themselves around her and pull her flush against him. What he wouldn't do to feel her little body pressed up against his.

"Thelonious." She called out to him, her voice quiet and gentle. For his ears only.

A groan escapes his lips and he buried his face further into the pillows.

"Thelonious," a voice called out to him again. But this time, it wasn't the fiery vixen whom he had been fantasising about in his dreams.

Blinking once and then twice, his eyes landed on the young Romeo Bourne whom was stood in front of him with his signature smirk on his face. Rain or shine, the kid was always smirking. It used to rub Thelonious up the wrong way at first, thinking the lad was making fun of him but that gradually changed as they started working together.

With dark brown hair that was beginning to curl over the tops of his ears, a few strands fell into his eyes which he chose to always keep pushing back instead of getting a haircut. His jaw was defined and slightly square, his mouth wide, his nose sharp and angular, his eyes a dark, chocolate brown and his skin pale.

He definitely held a candle to his namesake.

Romeo Bourne definitively took some getting used to. Usually a pain up the ass, but he was a good kid and a harder worker too.

"Man, you need to wake up." The youth repeated, having been trying to wake up his friend for a few minutes now.

"What are you doing in here?" His voice was husky and throaty, the remnants of sleep lingering.

"The light bulb needs changing in room 15." The younger man shoved him this time, shaking him to wake up.

Thelonious rubbed a hand down his face. "You had to wake me up for that?"

He merely shrugged. "I don't know where you keep the bulbs." A blatant lie.

"They're in the supply cupboard."

"Well, you're up now so you might as well do it yourself."

Thelonious groaned against and sat up, flinging the covers off him.

Romeo's eyes widened briefly before he looked his friend and employer square in the eye, his lips curling up into another teasing smirk. "You must have had quite the dream."

Thelonious glowered. He was not a morning person. "What do you know about that?" He asked, suspicious as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes, his tone harsher than he had meant for it to be.

"Nothing," he held up his hands in surrender as he backed out of the room. "But whatever you were dreaming about must have been good for you to get as excited as that."

And with that he was gone. And good too for if Thelonious ran into him again so soon, he was in the right mind to deck him.

It was way too early for riddles. Though the young lad's words soon unravelled itself when he felt a jerk in his nether regions as he began to recount the intricate details of his dream.

Great. He hadn't even spoken a word to the girl and he was already getting hard over her. And to think she had merely smiled at him.

Romeo's words echoed in his mind as he grabbed a shirt, adjusted himself in his pyjama bottoms and made his way out of his room.

There was a lightbulb that needed changing.

-

All my stories can be found on Inkitt for FREE: https://inkitt.app.link/RA__illuminating_

Chapters of Beating Hearts [Knight's Rest #1] will be uploaded on Inkitt a week earlier than on Wattpad as well as exclusive bonus chapters at the end of the story. So, be sure to check out Beating Hearts on Inkitt here: https://inkitt.app.link/RA__illuminating_

Chapter 03 is available on Inkitt NOW!

Layla Knight

11.06.19