It was a cold but bright afternoon in the Hamptons the air filled with the salty smell of the sea and the faint smell of money lingering in the air. No one ever seemed to come to the Hamptons without knowing someone already settled in this expensive place, and this certain day was no exception.
Sofia, a tall, slender girl of twenty, her long, thick blonde hair cascading down her back in soft waves while her deep blue eyes scanned the area as she parked outside the old home of Nolan Ross, looking for this man. "Wow." she muttered to herself as she took in the sleek glass house, the whole building reeking with fortune. She got out of her car, a red Lexus before making her way down a side walkway and out towards the back yard. There was no one around which she thought was slightly strange, all except a stout, hunched over man who appeared to be a gardener. "Excuse me, but do you know when Mr. Ross will be back?" she asked him, her accent sounding quite posh but very English. The man shook his head then shrugged, before his thick Mexican accent was directed at her as he replied to her query. "No, I'm sorry. He doesn't live here any more. You should try Miss. Thorne's house, that's where he's living now." Sofia asked him where her house was before he directed her on how to get there. She then simply nodded, giving this man a light smile before making her way back to her car.
Along the way, she thought about what she had done to get to this present moment, all the work of trying to track him down, going from place to place looking for himand now, finally Sofia had found out where he was living, but after all that, her nerves began to crack her tough exterior skin. "Right Sophie, you can do this." She repeated to herself before getting in her car and drove off as fast as she could, all the way to Miss. Thorne's, or Emily as the gardener had told Sofia she was called.
When she arrived, before getting out the car, she checked her makeup to make sure it was looking okay and then gracefully got out of the car, her long legs coming out first. She pulled down her plain white loose fitted vest top, her tanned arms on show. She wore a pair of denim hot pants and a pair of reed wedges, a hot pink flower on each shoe. Sofia then made her way up onto the porch of Emily's house before knocking on the door and awaited an answer. Emily came to the door, her blonde wavy hair hung loose as she wore a freshly ironed white shirt, tucked into a pair of black pants, a pair of black kittens heels to finish the look off. Emily's face showed a look of confusion, who was this young woman who was standing in front of her, but she simply greeted her nonetheless. "Hi. Do you want something?" Emily asked, her head tilted slightly to the side as a soft, but possibly fake smile hung across her lips. Sofia gave her an equally fake smile, hoping to convey a happy exterior, her voice changing to her natural voice, a mix between English and a Northwest accent, having lived in both Billings, Montana and Southampton, England where she spent a couple of years boarding in Oasis Academy Lord's Hill but left when her mother ran out of money and also because it wasn't for her. Now, she quickly answered Miss. Thorne, or Emily as Sofia nodded softly to her question. "Actually yes, could you tell me where I could find a Mr. Nolan Ross? See, I'm lookin' for him." She finished her sentence with another smile, hoping that Emily could help. Emily seemed to pause for a moment, almost debating whether or not to trust Sofia, but in the end she seemed to. "Yes, urmm, he'll be back later tonight. I'm sorry, but who should I say was calling?" Emily asked, crossing her arms gently as she lent a little bit forward to talk to her. Sofia gave her an amused smile before she started to go. "Oh don't worry. Just tell him that he's found his little star." she laughed softly to herself like there was some inside joke before she was gone.
She had heard there was a bar somewhere near here, 'The Stowaway' or something like that in the borough of Montauk. In case it was a long way, she decided to drive. Anyway, she couldn't leave her car there on Miss. Thorne's property. She revved her car up once more and went on the look for this particular bar. She wasn't looking long before she found it, the web was right, it was easy to find! She then parked her car in a customer parking space before making her way inside, the faint smell of the fish from the docks lingered inside, but fortunately was disguised by the warm smell of the beer on sale.
Sofia propped herself up on a bar stool as she waited to be served. No one else was around as she guessed that was why there was a lack of service in this place. Eventually a young man, quite muscular, a sweep of thick black hair came walking down the spiral stairs which she guessed was his living quarters. She smiled over at him slightly as she started to speak before he had reached her. "Could I have a Strawberry Mojito please? I'm in the mood for something fruity!" she gave him a cheeky wink before chuckling, she loved to play with people, especially guys, they were the best. The man, Jack he was called judging by his name tag started to talk, an almost amused smile on his lips. "A Strawberry Mojito? I can try." Judging by that comment, he wasn't good at cocktails. Sofia felt a bit sorry for him so decided to change her order. "Doesn't matter. I'll have a beer...from the bottle." she smile once more, this time a little brighter. She wasn't someone who cared much about what people thought of her, and drinking beer from the bottle was one of them. Having gone to a boarding school, she had anything 'unladylike' knocked out of her, or so they thought. She hated it there at that school and she was worse than ever.
Jack gave her another amused smile before getting a beer and popped the cap before handing it to Sofia. "Well that be $2.50. Thank you." She took the beer before handing him the money, the till's ring echoed around the room as she took a decent swig of the cool beer. Something about Sofia however seemed to have caught Jack's eye as he couldn't stop looking at her. Was it what she was wearing? Did she have something on her face? Or was it simply that he liked how she looked? She always opted for it to be the third choice, but there would be times the first two would sneak into the reasons why. Eventually he walked over to her. "Excuse me, but have we met before? It's just...you look really familiar." He let a nervous laugh escape his lips as he pushed his thick fingers through his raven hair. Sofia smirked to herself, a lopsided one before answering Jack. "No, we've never met." So he knew her father then, Sofia's mother had said that they looked alike.
"So, this is your place then? You on your own?" she asked, making the last question having a double meaning. Jack was hot, she wanted to try her chances with him. Jack pulled out a dirty glass and started to clean it as he answered her question with a subtle smile. "No, I live here with my younger brother and my girlfriend. It's just the three of us." He placed the glass under the counter, now all clean for a customer. Sofia nodded, her heart sinking ever so slightly at hearing he had a girlfriend, well there were other fish in the sea, it wasn't bad. "So, have you lived here long? I mean in the Hamptons?" Sofia asked before taking a small sip of her beer, the icy cold liquid caused her to shiver as it slid down her throat. Jack smiled lightly at her before leaning down, his arms crossed and rested himself on top of the bar counter, looking straight at Sofia. "Yes I have. Born and brought up right here at the docks." he replied, seeming to warm somewhat to this stranger. "So, what about you? I'm guessing you're not from here, though I might be wrong!" he teased, obviously impressed by his attempt at humour. "Where are you from?" he asked, looking right at Sofia.
She gave him a smile before briefly looking away, her gaze moving to look at the bar top before taking his gaze back up to Jack. "Oh, all over. It's complicated." she admitted, not wanting to divulge any information about herself yet to anyone. Jack simply nodded and gave a half hearted smile before picking up another dirty glass which was sitting on the bar top and started to clean it. "Well, I wish I could travel, lucky you." he replied with a light smile before he walked off, seeming to be busy with things.
Sofia carried on nursing her beer, her gaze now drifting out of the window and towards the light bussle going on outside. Fishermen and various workers went along with their business, all seeming to have time to talk to one another even if they seemed too busy to even do so.
Sofia sat there at the bar for a good quarter of an hour before she had downed her beer and she was feeling herself to be growing ever so bored. She pushed the bottle further down the bar top before getting up and straightened herself up and then got ready to leave. As she started to make her way towards the door, not wanting to be caught by the owner, Jack, suddenly she heard his voice, the tone cheerful coming from a staircase which lead to the basement. He held a big crate of beers, almost looking effortlessly carried in his strong looking arms which he placed down on the ground at the furthest corner of the bar from Sofia before making his way down towards her behind the bar, a light smile on his face. "You leaving?" he asked before adding. "Well, hope your time in the Hamptons is okay. If you need somewhere to stay, there's a motel just a couple of miles from here, if you didn't have somewhere to stay." Jack told Sofia with a soft chuckle before taking Sofia's empty bottle and put it in the trash.
She kindly smiled at his suggestion before speaking herself. "Thanks for the help. I think I'll stay at that motel like you said. Well, bye, might see you again very soon" she gave him a wink and a playful chuckle before making her way towards the door. Just as she placed her hand on the door to leave, Jack spoke up once more, a tone to his showing slight interest in Sofia. "By the way, I don't think I got your name." Jack wondered before Sofia turned to face him, a slightly naughty smile on her lips as she replied to him. "I didn't give it." A brief pause went by before Sofia replied to his request. "My name's Sofia Janson, it's nice to talk to you Jack." And with that brief answer, she was gone.
It would be a while until Nolan would be back at his house like Emily said, so Sofia went back to her car before driving off towards the motel. It wouldn't hurt to get herself settled here, so off she went to get herself a room.

Sofia was planning on simply getting herself settled at the motel before heading back to Miss. Thorne's, but the journey here had taken it out of her more than she realized, as she had somehow wound up falling asleep on the double bed in her room and was only waking up at about seven that evening, feeling refreshed and eager to find out more about this place, the Hamptons.
It took her only a few minutes to straighten herself out, enough to make herself presentable. Once she was done, she jumped back into her car before pulling out her phone to check the time and see where she was headed. Sofia decided that it was time to meet her father, the famed Nolan Ross.
She revved her engine, causing the odd bit of gravel to skit up and fly back, behind the moving car. The radio flared up as she zoomed off and headed back towards Emily's.
When she arrived, all the lights inside seemed to be on, causing a faint glow to spread along the ground below. Sophia killed the engine before getting out.
As she made her way towards the main steps onto the porch, she could suddenly hear a pair of voices; one was Emily's, while the other was a males. Was the owner of the voice her father? The voices were getting louder as she made her way up the steps, they were getting too loud for the distance she was walking. It was then that a door opened around the corner from Sophia which caused the voices to spill into the open air.
"You do realize that my mother will be disappointed you didn't have dinner with us?" The young stranger asked, aiming the rhetorical question at Emily, who had walked a few steps ahead of the young man who Sophia could see was wearing a gray suit. A businessman. Well done Emily!
Emily continued to look like a graceful swan, just standing on the porch. Sophia wondered how like a swan Emily really was, she was sure Emily could panic or worry under it all. Emily didn't answer straight away as she stepped closer to the man as she placed her hand on his arm, rubbing gently.
"I'm sorry that I've made things awkward for you, it's just I'm not feeling up to it tonight. I think I'm coming down with something." Emily lied effortlessly as she plastered a disappointed expression upon her face. "I've got a gift that you could give to her. From the both of us." With that, she glided back into her home before collecting small crushed blue velvet gift bag and handed it over to her boyfriend, or who Sophia guessed was her boyfriend anyway.
"Are you sure you're not coming? I don't really want to spend time with my mother on my own really." he moaned but his words seemed at least mildly serious as a subtle grin appeared on his lips.
Emily clasped his face between her hands as she lent in closer to speak. "I'm sure. I love you Daniel." she whispered before leaning in to kiss him.
"I love you too." he echoed before they kissed.
Sophia waited until they were both gone to make her escape. She thought after all that waiting that maybe now wasn't the best time to stir things up for Emily and Nolan, I mean not yet anyway.
With nothing else to do around here, she would have to resort to heading to 'The Stowaway' once more, though she could never complain if she got to see Jack's handsome face once more.
As she walked down the steps outside Emily's house with Emily back inside her home and Daniel long gone, Sophia started to hear her voice faintly coming through the windows. Sophia didn't think Emily was someone to be trusted, being in the world of corporate business and money. Sophia's mother had told her as much as she knew about the people of the Hamptons, none of which was good.
Sophia strained her ears to listen to the one sided conversation, but all she could hear were the odd words, nothing of which made a lot of sense. 'Daniel', 'Our side', 'plan' and 'lies' was all Sophia managed to hear, which wasn't gripping enough so she decided to officially leave. She didn't want to eavesdrop any longer.
Sophia quickly made a stop at the motel to make herself that little bit more 'sultry' for the evening. She slipped on a tightly fitting gold mini dress that pushed her perfectly perky breasts into rounded domes which was then paired with some matching kitten heels. Her hair was freshly styled once more into soft tendrils which cascaded down her chest in a fixed side sweep.
She was now ready to face the music.
When she got to The Stowaway, the hubbub from inside, which was spilling into the night air seemed electric. She tilted her head back slightly in self confidence before making her entrance. There were many male gazes turned to the blond beauty, some of the gazes were women also but Sophia simply smiled as she took in everyone's faces before sitting herself down on a vacant bar stool. She could see that the staff behind the bar seemed to be overworked tonight, none of which was that Jack who had served Sophia her first day here.
Once she had her beer, she twisted her body around and scanned the room. An almost coy smile appeared on her lips as she took in once more, every customers' faces and features trying to see if she could spot her father, but no one seemed to be him. She really wanted to ruin everything for Nolan and everyone connected to him for what she had been told by her mother, things like the fact he left the two of them to fend for themselves, abandoning them, things like that. Sophia also knew, through the news on tv and even more things her mother had told her that everyone in this town was corrupted. Leeches in the corporate world. The whole lot of them. Poisonous leeches.
Gazes still continued to move towards Sophia, most were smiling over towards her while a few tried their best from a distance to show that they liked her. No one though walked up to her which was something she was mildly disappointed at. She loved the whole flirting game, it was an amusing past time for her. While gazes slowly drew less, the bar was getting that little bit more packed as each minute pasted. She was about finished with her beer when the main door of the bar quickly opened and in walked a tall, blond and well dressed man, her eyes drawn to him straight away. Sophia didn't need to guess who he was as it was obvious by his features. He had the same straight nose as Sophia, though hers was slightly softer in shape and they both had the same bright blue eyes as one another. Here was Nolan Ross, her father and right now she felt like she was a shy little girl in front of a stranger. This feeling was alien to her. She was known to be confident, a talker, someone who wasn't afraid to say her mind, but she didn't feel like that now.
'Come on Soph, toughen up!' she repeated in her head. 'This is the moment you've been waiting for.' With that, she quickly turned around to order another beer, this one for Nolan before getting up and headed over towards the table he was now sitting at, her mind replaying her plan for the residents of the Hamptons.

"You look like you could use a beer." Sofia commented as she held out her hand holding the beer to Nolan, a kind smile appearing on her face. Nerves rumbled behind her calm exterior. Here was her father and she was talking to him. Finally. A mix of both anger and excitement swept over Sofia, she just couldn't help feeling either.
Nolan seemed to be taken aback by Sofia's comment and offering. Wasn't he used to people being kind? Was it because Sofia was a stranger? She couldn't decide why he looked at her like he did but finally he took the beer before taking a long swig from it. "Thanks." Was all he said with an exhausted tone to the word.
Sofia took this as a chance for her to sit on the spare seat opposite him, where she virtually slammed her nearly empty beer bottle onto the table, giving off a dull thump, she very nearly broke the glass. "Is it okay if I sit here? I'm Sofia Janson by the way." She smiled again as she spoke, making sure she came across as sweet, kind and ever so slightly shy, the last part being that little bit easier than normal. Sofia was trying her best to introduce herself slow and steady and never seeming too eager, it came across most of the time as flirting and that would be just weird if Nolan thought that.
"It's fine. I'm Nolan. Nolan Ross." He looked up from his slightly hunched over posture, shifting himself back into the seat, his gaze fixed on his 'oh so beautiful' daughter. "Have we met before? Do we know each other?" Nolan questioned, his tone not too heavy but he seemed to be guarding himself against Sofia, there was a hint of it in his voice. Sofia carried on with her 'light and friendly' approach, smiling lightly and shaking her head at his questions. "No, we haven't met. I'm actually new to this area...visiting you see and so far I only know one other person and that's the owner to this place, Jack is it? Do you know him?" She tried to play it cool and again very friendly with a hint of mostly fake nerves. "Well two people actually if you count yourself."
Nolan nodded, listening to what she had to say before answering her question. "Yes, Jack Porter, I know him. Great guy." He smiled for the first time she thought since they started to talk. Nolan still seemed guarded towards Sofia but there was something which had softened, Sofia guessed towards her. She was quite a charismatic person, people got on with her and fell in love with her, both platonic and sexual. She then downed the rest of her beer.
"I'll get both of us another beer." Sofia said that before Nolan could disagree. She quickly got herself up from the seat and headed back over to the bar. It took her a few minutes to get back as it was incredibly busy up there but when she did, she again slammed both bottles down onto the table before sitting herself back down. They both took decent swigs of their beers, Nolan now finished his first and Sofia starting on her second. She wouldn't take another sip until Nolan was that bit more tipsy, bordering on drunk.
A few moments past before either of them spoke. Nolan was the first to break their silence. "Can I ask you a question?" he asked, his body leaning closer to Sofia as he drank more of his beer. The alcohol was working on him and on Sofia if it came it, but neither were drunk, just different levels of 'borderline tipsy', Nolan being that little bit worse.
Sofia nodded, intrigued by what he was going to ask her, her body now leaning towards him, her gaze fixed to him as he gazed back at her. "Sure." She downed the rest of her beer.
Nolan took a brief pause, taking a small inhale of breath before speaking. "Have you got family?" he asked, his question sounding deadly serious and ever so slightly slurred. The beer he was drinking was the strongest they had here.
Sofia was surprised at his choice of question for her, they had only just met and he was asking about her family. It took her what felt like minutes to think up how to reply but in reality it was only a few seconds. She didn't want him to have an inkling as to who she actually was, so she tried to think of the vaguest answer she could come up with without, of course making him think she was purposefully being vague. It's a skill to do, it really is! "I have a mom. She lives a long way away so I don't really see her much." That was a half lie, she sees her a lot but he didn't need to know that. "How about you? You got any family?" she asked trying to appear interested. She was to an extent if he did have any family but with what Sofia's mother told her before coming here, he didn't have a family, well he never mentioned one when they were dating. Thinking about it, Sofia's mother didn't know much personal stuff about him, he was a stranger to her too. It was a chance right here to get to know him a bit better. Hopefully anyway.
Nolan thought about it, his expression turning slightly sad and his gaze shifted to the door of The Stowaway. He seemed to be thinking something but after a short while his expression changed and he seemed mildly indifferent, now looking back at Sofia with a light smile. "My parents are dead, I'm a sort of orphan. I have an aunt, Carole is her name, but I haven't seen her in a while." he replied with a hint of that sadness from a few moments before. Sofia simply nodded, smiling lightly at him, nodding as he spoke. She was surprised once more that he was being so open with her as he seemed to be guarded when she first walked over to him. She also hated to admit this fact, she couldn't believe this thought actually came to her mind but after such a long hatred for this man and wanting revenge on Nolan, she had to admit that they were getting on. Well she was finding it easy to talk to him behind the shy facade. They didn't even know each other that well. How could this be happening? It was all wrong. She was simply being sucked into his charismatic ways, another trait she's inherited from her father. No. She won't let herself be swayed by him. She came here on a personal mission and that mission hasn't gone away. It would be a slow process but eventually she will get there and succeed.
"I'm sorry to hear that." Sofia commented sadly as she placed her hand on top of his. She was going to carry on with pretending to want to be his friend. It will work.
For anyone looking over at the two of them, it would seem that they were a; on a date what with the hand touching and the closeness, b; close, touchy feely family members which seemed the most likely by their similar features anyway or c; just simply good friends. None of which were true of course, apart from being the related, though secretly.
Nolan looked down at Sofia's hand on his but he seemed to be down tonight so he didn't seem to mind. In fact he seemed to take relief that someone was there as he turned his palm around and actually held onto her hand. Why he was feeling sad was something Sofia didn't know and wouldn't know at least tonight, she wasn't planning on asking. "No. It's okay, it's not like I haven't got anyone. I've got a very good friend; Emily. I actually live with her, temporarily down in one of the houses on the edge of the beach." he smiled after telling Sofia that fact, a fact she already knew but didn't let on she knew. She didn't even let on she knew Emily, well met her at least however briefly. Emily mustn't have told Nolan that he had a stranger knocking on the door asking for him. Nolan's 'good friend' hid things from him. Sofia may have been wrong, but she was very rarely.
"It's so beautiful down here but I haven't really had time to have a look around this place. I'm thinking maybe tomorrow I'll have a beach day." Sofia laughed softly as she pulled her hand away slowly from Nolan's grasp. He seemed to notice her hand moving but he simply tucked both his hands towards his body.
"Do you want me to show you around if you wanted? Seeing as you don't know many people here." he asked which caused Sofia to smile.
"I would like that. Thanks." She had hoped he would ask her, it would give her time to get to know him more and find his weaknesses to kick him where it hurts.
Nolan's expression slowly turned that little bit more serious as he asked Sofia another question, this one was difficult for Sofia to answer. "If you don't mind me asking, what brings you to The Hamptons?" His question seemed innocent enough to him but it certainly was difficult for Sofia to answer. Finally she decided to at least be honest to him, without giving too many details. It was hard but she managed. "I've actually come to find someone, they apparently live here."
Nolan nodded, listening before speaking. "Would I know them?" he asked, Sofia's heart beating fast for a brief moment before calming down. She shook her head.
"No, I don't think you would."
That was pretty much how their first conversation was left, no big ending to it, just a pleasant goodbye from both sides before leaving the bar and going on their separate ways, but not before agreeing where and when to meet for the next day. "Noon down by the pier on the beach." Sofia finalized before he left to go to Emily's most likely and Sofia went back to the motel. She needed her beauty sleep to be fresh for the next day.
She headed to her room before getting undressed and then finally snuggling under the slightly scratchy covers of the bed but was soon asleep, dreaming of nothing as she sank into the mattress like it was an oversized 'mallow.