Tempting Him by Isabel Lucero
37
My head snaps up,eyes scanning the area around me. He’s here.
“I’ll be back,” I tell Joel before jogging toward my friends. “I think he’s here.”
“Who?” Trevor asks.
“Alek. He texted me and knew who I was talking to.”
“What?” Trevor looks around even though I’m not sure he knows what he looks like. The only time he saw him, he was fairly drunk.
I keep spinning around, searching for his face in the crowd. It’s packed, especially now that the headliners are about to start performing. He was close enough to see that I was talking to Joel, though.
Me: Where are you?
He doesn’t reply,and I’m left wondering where the hell he is. There’s no way he’d know who I was talking to unless he was nearby.
“Maybe he has someone spying on you,” Renzo offers as he licks sauce from his fingers.
“That would be creepy,” Ronan says. “But also telling. He’d have to like you a pretty good amount to have someone stalk you.”
I roll my eyes. “He’s not stalking me. He must’ve come for the festival, but where the hell is he?”
As I study the faces in this little food court area, I notice Trevor and Ronan glance past me as Renzo stays focused on his food.
Before I can turn around completely, I hear his voice. “I’m right here.”
My eyes widen, looking down at my friends who stare at him. I spin slowly, coming face to face with the man whose eyes have haunted my dreams, and whose touch I still crave.
“Looking for me?” he asks with a grin.
I smile back at him, my lips stretching wide across my face until my cheeks hurt. “Hi.”
His head dips, a lopsided smile on display as those hypnotising eyes land on me. “Can we talk?”
“Yeah,” I say with an eager nod. “Yeah, of course.” I turn to my friends, who are unabashedly watching our interaction. “I’ll be back.”
Alek’s hand lands on my back as we make our way through the tables until we reach the outskirts of the festival, hanging out behind all the tents and food carts.
Nerves twist in my stomach, and my first instinct is to be thrilled he’s here, but I worry he’s only in town for the festival and this conversation is only going to lead to another goodbye.
“You look good,” I say, my eyes traveling up and down his frame.
Not in his usual suit, he’s still not completely casual, wearing a pair of khaki-colored chinos and a light blue button-up shirt.
“Thanks,” he replies, drinking me in with his eyes. “You too.”
“What’re you doing here?” I ask, cutting to the chase.
“A man can’t come to a music festival?”
“Not one that lives eight hours away.”
“I’ve missed you, Jay,” he admits, stealing the air from my lungs.
“I’ve missed you, too,” I reply immediately.
He releases a breath like he was afraid I wouldn’t feel the same. “I’ve been going to therapy. She’s really earning her money with my twice a week sessions.”
I smirk. “I’m glad you’re going.”
“Me too.” He inhales deeply, shoving his hands in his pockets. “I hate the way things ended. I’m not a man with many regrets, but I regret all the things I didn’t do or say when it comes to you.”
“I hate that that night was ruined by my dad. Have you talked to him at all?”
He shakes his head. “He’s doing his best to ignore me.”
“Figures.”
“We have a lot to talk about. Are you willing to go out with me? Dinner maybe? Drinks?”
My eyebrows rise. “Dinner? Not to your hotel?”
Alek shakes his head, an amused smile on his lips. “I’m not trying to hide anymore.”
“Wow. Well, of course I’ll go out with you.”
“Tomorrow? I know you’re busy tonight.”
My stomach drops. I don’t want him to leave. I want to spend the rest of the night with him. I want to sleep over and go back to the way it was before he went back to Chicago.
“Tomorrow works.”
Alek smiles, stepping toward me. His knuckles graze my cheek as he stares into my eyes. “See you then. Please kindly tell Joel to fuck off.”
I bark out a laugh as he strolls away.
When I get back to my friends, they look around, wondering where Alek is.
“Well? What’s going on?” Renzo asks.
“He asked me to go out with him tomorrow since I was busy tonight.”
“Busy? With us?” Trevor questions.
“Dude, go get him,” Ronan says. “You’re with us all the time. He came back here for you.”
“Well, I don’t know if that’s true,” I say.
“Go find out then,” Renzo says.
“You sure?”
Zo rolls his eyes while Trevor scoffs. “Go.”
“Y’all are the best. I’ll be in touch,” I say before running off, hoping I can catch up with him.
I pull my phone out, ready to call if I don’t see him, but it’s quite a walk before you get to the parking area and I spot him still making his way through the empty field.
“How about we have dinner tonight?” I ask as I walk up alongside him.
Surprise transforms into delight when he sees me. “Sure. Want a ride?”
“On the first date?”
He smirks. “I’ll be a gentleman.”
“Mm. Too bad.”
