Have I Told You (2 page)

Six months later …

Caston and I met my senior year of college. It was spring of 2012. I was dating Mark Baker. He was the quarterback of State. I always went for the type of guy that was big, strong, and blond. However, my big and strong guys always turned into big, strong jerks. Mark was no exception. He was overbearing and mentally abusive.

The night I met Caston, Mark and I were at a frat party. I hated them. I was never into the party scene, but Mark loved them, and where he went, I was expected to follow.

This party felt different. We were seniors this year, and everyone seemed to be psyched that graduation was near. Our football team was ranked number one, and Mark and his buddies got bids to go pro, so they felt they were untouchable.

Mark was drunker than I had ever seen him that night. “Hey, Bre, get me another beer.”

“Not right now,” I said tentatively, removing his arm from my waist, trying to get away. He tightened his grip on my wrist. “Ow. You’re hurting me, Mark.”

Leaning in to my face, he whispered, “You better get me a beer, now, before you regret it. Remember you were nothing before me, you’re no use to any man now, after what happened, and if I decide to leave you, no one will want to be with you. Ever.”

I sighed and nodded my head, he was right.

I made my way through the crowd. My head was down, trying to get back to Mark as soon as possible. I hated making eye contact with people, because I felt worthless and ugly. Why Mark was with me I didn’t understand, but he made sure to remind me, every chance he got, that I was the lucky one to have him.

As I turned the corner I ran right into the back of a man. “Oh, I’m sorry, excuse me,” I said.

“No reason to be sorry,” he yelled over the music, “it is so crowded in here you are hardly the first person to run into me tonight.”

Looking up, I came face to face with the most beautiful man I’d ever seen. He had the clearest silver blue eyes, dark black hair that was the perfect length to run your fingers through, and an angular jaw. He was tall, and had great hands that were now resting on my arms. He was dressed in dark blue jeans and a white oxford with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. His forearms were muscular, adorned with a leather cuff on his right wrist. I wanted to run my hands along his chest and through his hair. Looking into his eyes made my legs feel weak. The electrical current that ran through my body when he touched me made a shiver pass through me, sending a pool of lust into my thong. I smiled shyly, and tried to sneak past him.

“Hey, wait up,” he said, keeping a light hold on my elbow. He leaned down to my ear. “Can I at least know the name of the only person here who is as sober as I am?”

His breath felt cool on my hot neck, and it made me shiver. I have never reacted like that to anyone. My mouth went dry, as I thought about how I wanted to turn my head and kiss his delectable lips. Suddenly, I didn’t remember my own name.

“I’ll go first,” he said, holding out his hand and giving me a smile that made me want to pass out. “I’m Caston. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

“Sabrina,” I responded without taking his hand. “I really must go. Nice to meet you, Caston.”

I quickly turned to leave, before he said anything else. His smile made my insides quiver, and I knew I had to get out of there before Mark found me talking to another man, or I did something I might regret.

“Here.” I shoved the beer into Mark’s chest when I returned, and plopped down next to him on the dirty leather couch, my arms crossed over my chest. I tried to sit as far away from him as I could, but he slid in next to me, draping his arm around my shoulders. I felt sick to my stomach as soon as he touched me; Beth was right when she said it was too soon to go out. Closing my eyes, I tried to breathe slowly to calm myself down, but all I saw were silver blue eyes staring into my soul, and those hands making their way up my legs. I tightened my thighs in response to my dampening panties.

“Thinking about me?” Mark slurred, and I was harshly brought back to reality.

“Ugh, no.” I tried to get up, needing air, but he pulled me back onto his lap, grinding into me.

“Feel me, babe?” His friends just laughed and egged him on. I struggled to get out of his grasp, as I felt the bile rising in my throat, but he pushed me down, pressing my back into the couch. I felt scared. Flashbacks of our fight two months ago racked my mind, and I panicked.

“Mark, get off me. No! Get off me,” I yelled. The grunts and howls around us made me aware that he wasn’t going to stop. His hands were all over me, and I felt gross. Closing my eyes, I prayed he wouldn’t do this in front of everyone.

Mark’s hand just started to travel up my leg when, suddenly, he flew off of me. My eyes opened to see what was going on. Everyone was backing up, anticipating a fight that would most definitely break out.

“I think the lady said no.” It was Caston. Did he know who Mark was? What was he thinking? Mark was bigger than he was.

“Excuse me, she’s with me. I know what she wants,” Mark yelled.

I sat up, unsure of what I was seeing.

“You are drunk. You should step away to clear your head, and leave the lady alone,” Caston said calmly.

Mark, trying to be the tough guy, repeatedly shoved Caston in the chest. “Do you know who I am? I can do what the fuck I want. She’s with me, so leave us the fuck alone.”

I couldn’t believe this. Who was this Caston guy? I’d never seen him before today. “The lady said no.” Caston calmly repeated.

Mark obviously had enough, and punched Caston in the face. The crowd gasped, Mark turned away from Caston, acting so proud of himself for punching him. Caston never flinched. He stood like a stone statue. Mark was staggering back toward me when all of a sudden Caston grabbed Mark and pinned his arms behind his back. He forcefully linked his arm through Mark’s and made him walk over to me. “Tell the lady you’re sorry.”

“Bullshit, I’m not doing that. Plus she ain’t no lady, fucking whore. Let go of me.” Mark spat, struggling to get out of Caston’s hold.

I cringed at his words, tears welled up in my eyes.

“Tell the lady you are sorry, or we are going for a walk.”

I just stared up at the two men with my mouth open like an idiot.

“Fuck off.” Mark spit out.

With that, Caston tugged Mark out the door to the back yard of the frat house. Everyone watched them go, then snapped back to me to see what I was going to do.

I sat there for what felt like hours, trying to process what just happened. Then scrambling to my feet, I stumbled outside to see Caston talking calmly to an irate Mark in the corner of the yard. Then much to my surprise, Caston started walking back toward the house, and Mark just stood there, not moving.

“Sabrina, you’ll never be anything without me. You little bitch, whore! Fuck off! We’re done!”

Frozen in my tracks, my life stopped. What just happened? I sank to the ground and tears started falling uncontrollably. I felt relief wash over me that I was free of Mark, but I was scared. Where was I going to go? What was I going to do? I lived with Mark. I had nothing. I reached into my jeans pocket to grab my phone. I turned it on and went to dial, but realized I had no one to call. Beth was out of town at an art exhibit this weekend, and Mark just dumped me. I have no family, no siblings, and nowhere else to turn. I hung my head, defeated, thinking I was going to have to crawl back to Mark and beg for forgiveness.

Just then a hand came into my line of sight. I looked up, already knowing who it was offering it to me. Caston looked down at me. The light that filtered down around him made him look like an angel. My angel.

Caston pulled me up off the damp ground. I stumbled a little, but he caught me and pulled me close. I could feel his hard body beneath his clothes. We were face to face, and all I wanted to do was taste his lips.

“Are you okay? There was no reason for him to be rude.”

I looked down, trying to avoiding his eyes. “Oh, I’m used to it. He really doesn’t mean the things he says.”

Not letting me go, he took my chin between his thumb and finger and made me look up at him. “Never look away from me. You are a beautiful woman, who deserves to be treated with respect.”

My eyes started to water again. No man has ever told me I was beautiful before.

“What’s wrong? Please, don’t cry.” He stroked my hair until I calmed down. “What’s wrong?” he repeated. I shook my head.

Realizing I was still in his embrace, I stepped back out of his strong arms. “I’m sorry, I usually don’t cry so much,” I said, as I wiped my eyes with the backs of my hands.

The crowd around us felt thick, and was making me feel claustrophobic. “I have to get out of here. Everyone is staring at me, waiting to call Mark to report what I’m doing.”

Looking around he noticed what I was talking about. “Can I drive you somewhere? I do not want you to be alone tonight.” Panic washed over me once again. Where was I going to go? As if reading my mind, he took my hand and led me through the crowd, away from the party.

The sounds of the party grew fainter as we made our way down the street hand in hand. Caston retrieved a key fob from his pants’ pocket and hit the unlock button. The lights on a blacked out Jeep Altitude flashed. He opened the door for me, helping me into the massive vehicle. I looked over the expensive interior; the technology alone on the console put my little flip phone in my pocket to shame. Caston climbed in next to me, started the SUV with a push of a button, and pulled out into the street heading away from the party. He played with some other buttons on the steering wheel, bringing the stereo to life. Looking over at me he asked, “What would you like to listen to?”

I shrugged my shoulders. “It doesn’t matter to me, I like everything. Surprise me.”

I saw him smirk in the dim light of the street lamps. “Fair enough.” He pressed a button and Sweet Dreams by the Eurythmics played through the speakers.

I let out a laugh. “Didn’t peg you for a 80s fan.”

“You would be very surprised to see my iPod. I am very diverse,” he chuckled in return.

Pulling off into the darkness, we rode in silence for a while. We were heading away from campus and out of the city. I turned toward him. “Thank you, by the way. I’ve never had anyone stand up for me before.”

Watching the scenery fly past the window I became a little uneasy, “Where are we going? I don’t want to sound ungrateful, but I don’t know you.”

He laughed. His laugh was intoxicating. “Sabrina, I am taking you to my house. I would hope you do not make it a habit to leave with people you do not know, but I could tell you had nowhere to go. I did not know anyone at that party, and since I did not want to leave you with a possible serial killer, I figured I would take you home tonight.”

“Oh,” I said, facing forward again, biting the inside of my cheek, “You can call me Bre, and Mark’s not really that bad. He only gets like that when he’s drunk.”
Or when he’s mad
, I said to myself, which was all the time. I didn’t want to sound pathetic.

“Do not make excuses for him, Sabrina. Any man who makes a woman feel like they are worthless is a piece of shit. And I will call you Sabrina. That’s your given name, and I think it is as beautiful as you.”

I smiled, thankful for the darkness right now, because his words made me blush. He has called me beautiful twice now. I tried not to look over at him, because I knew he was staring at me with those eyes that made my insides flush.

We continued on in silence, listening to the music play. He did have a very diverse collection. It was fun to see what would come up next. ‘
Five O’clock Somewhere
’ started playing and I laughed. “I could really use a strong one right now.” I said.

“I’ll help you out with that as soon as we get back to my place,” Caston stated. My mind started imaging his strong one helping me out. I chuckled to myself, hoping he only thought I wanted a drink.

We finally arrived at a huge gated mansion. “You call this a house? I’d say it is more like a palace or mansion,” I stated.

He pulled up to the black iron gate and the sensor on the dash of the Jeep flashed, making the gate open. We drove along a winding brick drive, lined with landscaping lights leading the way. I wished it was light, so I could see just how beautiful the grounds were.

We pulled up in front of the house. It was beautiful, a huge three story beige brick house with multiple wings. The up lighting around the front made the exterior look magical. The front door had a large canopy over it, and the landscaping around the front of the house was perfectly manicured. I felt like I was entering a fairy tale. There was no way this guy was for real.

Caston parked under the canopy, got out of the car, and walked around to open my door. My mouth was agape and my mind couldn’t process the magnificent house, or the angel, in front of me.

Caston laughed. “You will catch flies in your mouth if you do not shut it.”

I quickly shut my mouth and bounced out of the Jeep, while tugging my skirt down, so he could shut the door. Caston grabbed my hand and raised it up to his lips to kiss the back of my hand, as a tall dark military looking man dressed in all black appeared in the doorway.