Lucas's POV
I fucking hate this place so much. Every other person in this town would kill to be a member at The Metropolitan Club, but not me. Then again, I'm not like everyone else. Then again, I don't want to be. I can't tell you how sick and tired I am of people ogling me like I'm some sort of God. I may be from the richest family in Rhode Island, but I never understood how materialistic shit like money and status could make a person. There are more layers to me than just those things. I may not be an open book, but if I trusted you enough, you'd get to know what those things are.
My baby bro Teddy handles the Bennett name way better than me, that's for sure. He always seems so relaxed, so composed. Me, on the other hand, I always feel this enormous weight on my shoulder of upkeeping my family's reputation. Maybe it's because I'm the oldest son or because of my wanting to be perfect, but all I know is that I wake up every single day with this pressure of just wanting to do right by my family, especially my dad. He wants me to work for him when I graduate college. I know that I have 4 more years to think about that, but time passes in a blink of an eye. Plus, he already has me coming into the office this summer. If I could be even a fragment of my dad, I'd be grateful. He's responsible, proactive...the definition of a true leader. I wish I didn't, but I feel like I'll fail at being even one of those things, so I find myself intentionally trying to disappoint him. It's easier that way. I'll probably mess up anyway, so might as well get it over with, right? That's how I think. It's fucked up and not healthy, I know that, but I also can't help it. My dad's created this impressively massive empire and the last thing that I'd ever want to do is destroy it.
I'm not like Teddy, I'm not on my shit. My baby bro always tells me that he thinks that I'm the smartest person he knows but I've never felt that way. I feel like everything I touch turns into some sort of disaster. I won't ruin what my dad's created. I won't tarnish my family's reputation.
That's why being here – at The Metropolitan Club – bothers the shit out of me. It makes me uncomfortable. My dad owns this luxurious place, so the second that I step foot onto the property, I'm treated like a king. To everyone else, I'm the luckiest person in this town. But to me, all of this is just a reminder of the person I'm expected to become; a reminder of all the pressure; a reminder of all the ways I'd fuck up if I remotely tried.
Dad had me here tonight to meet with two of his business partners over dinner. He said that he trusted me enough to handle it alone. I told him that's a shit move on his part. I'm not a people-person simply because...I don't care about people. I care about my family and my close friends, but that's about it. My mom – God bless that woman's soul – always tells me that that'll change when I mean the 'right' person, but I don't even know what the fuck that means. There is no right person out there for me. I may only be 17, but I know that that's true.
Dinner was fine. The two old geezers that I met with kept blabbing on and on about BS that, I'm going to be honest with you, I wasn't paying a single attention to. I sat there listening, nodding my head, and picking at the pasta on my plate.
I just walked them out to the valet and came back to the grounds to smoke a J. Fuck, I need it. Tonight was a long one.
I'm taking a hit of the joint when I notice a girl standing a few feet away from me. It's dark outside so I can't really make out her features just yet. She's got to be about 5 foot 4 and is wearing a sequined dress. Her hair is down and she's looking into the fitness center window. I can tell that she's lost.
That's why I call out to her. Might as well play nice for a few minutes.
"Looking for someone?" I ask.
She circles her body around, and I know that my breath hitches because I feel it in my body, even though I make sure to hide my reaction from her. I give no one permission to see inside my soul.
"Uh. No. I'm good," she answers.
Simply put, this girl is beautiful. Not your 'sexy' kind of beautiful – something better. Something more. One look at her, and I can tell that this is the kind of girl you bring home to mom and dad. She's got this soft way about her, maybe it's because of her appearance. Her blonde hair is long, framing her heart face shape. The light hits her, and I'm grateful for it because it gives me a clearer sense of her eye color. Hazel. Her skin is fair, but there's a tint of redness to her cheekbones. She's not wearing much makeup – hell, I don't think she's wearing any – which I like. It's refreshing actually. Makes her stand out from the rest of the girls in this town.
I have to talk to her. I have to keep the conversation going. I'm not ready to walk away just yet.
YOU ARE READING
The Bennett Boys
浪漫I was wrapping up my junior year of high school when my mom told me that we were moving. It was goodbye Cambridge, Massachusetts and hello Newport, Rhode Island. I knew that Newport was going to be nothing like Cambridge; I knew that I was going to...
