Page 18 of Siren's Heart

Just me and him, the chemistry is off the charts. It’s tension in the air, invisible sparks lighting around us, and electricity buzzing, just one wrong movement away from exploding. My heart beats in my throat, and within minutes, the caterpillars in my gut have evolved into butterflies on ecstasy that makes my stomach tingle with excitement, so intense I’m afraid it’s about to burst.

This is so much more than a crush.

Goddamnit. This is infatuation–the kind of fascination with a human being that stays with you for the rest of your life.

Just like Justin fucking Dewer in high school. He was one of the 'bad boys,’ always wearing a black leather jacket, both his ears adorned with at least ten piercings, hands decorated with tattoos he had done God knows where, and he was always smoking cigarettes somewhere at the front of the school.

I sat right next to him in algebra and lent him my pencil along with a sheet of paper more times than I could count. In exchange, he used to rip a piece of the paper off and doodle something on it for me, passing it back as discreetly as a drug deal. It seemed forbidden, which made it all the more fun. And before I even knew what happened, what started as a small crush, became an infatuation over the year. Even now, ten years later, I still occasionally think about him, and I even wrote a song over the 'what ifs.'

It was intense. Yet, it is no match for what happened in the past few minutes. It doesn’t even remotely compare.

"What are you doing here?" I ask him, my voice only just above a whisper. I clear my throat, and my eyes widen as I realize just how that sounded. "Not that I'm saying you shouldn't be here or anything, I'm just wondering and–"

"It's alright," he chuckles, lifting his hand to rub his neck. I don’t even consciously decide on it, but my eyes instantly follow his movement, watching the way his bicep moves under his skin as he moves his arm. "I'm actually waiting for Asher. We're... going somewhere," he sounds a bit confused as he retrieves his phone from his pocket. "We were supposed to meet here 5 minutes ago, actually. Have you seen him come out?"

"No," I answer, and he looks up, quickly making me redirect my gaze to the ground, the feeling of getting caught painting my cheeks in a bright red that not even my makeup can hide.

I'm a bit curious, though. Where are the two of them going? My whole body feels like bees are buzzing right under my skin as more and more questions begin to pop up in my head. "But Kayla was also supposed to be here five minutes ago."

"That's strange," he says, tilting his head. His forehead creases with small wrinkles, and holy shit, do I want to run my finger over them until they disappear. Oh God, I'm staring at him. Again. Just what the fuck is going on with me?

My phone buzzes in my bag, and I take it out, thankful for the short distraction and a chance to remember how to breathe properly.

Kayla: Sorry, the call will take a bit longer. Why don't you go ahead?

The muscles in my jaw tighten, and I force them to relax so I can push out a deep sigh. Really? She wants me to go ahead to a date she dragged me into to begin with and meet those mystery men all by myself?

Listen, I’m good at pretending that I’m comfortable in social situations that make me feel incredibly awkward, but my skills have their limits. Plus, I just don’t want to torture myself through small talk just so she can do whatever the fuck it is she’s doing.

Also, when I finally get a minute alone with Luca, it is the worst time she could have picked to tell me to leave. When I look back at the screen, she sends me the address of the restaurant, and my eyes widen.

"Fantasia?" I ask aloud, shock making my filter completely disappear. I heard it takes months to get a reservation there. How the hell did Kayla pull that off?

"Wait, what?" Luca wonders, and his head whips around to look at me, confusion etched into his face. "That's where Asher just told me to go."

"Well, it's also where Kayla told me to go." Wheels turn in my head, and I try to make sense of the puzzle pieces Kayla keeps handing me. Why would she go on a date with Asher? Even if it's only a petty grudge she's holding, she's pretty resentful. There's no way she'd go on a date with him. Which can only mean that...

Oh shit. My heart drops, and I lift my head to look at him with wide eyes, my heart beating so loudly in my chest I almost can’t hear myself ask, "Wait. Are you here to go on a date with Kayla?"

"No,” he says firmly and shakes his head vigorously. Thank fucking God. The loud thumping in my ears subsides, and my heart rate slows down again. “Asher asked me to tag along for a double date, but he didn’t tell me with who." His frown deepens, then his lips part slightly in realization, and he looks at me as if he just got caught doing something he shouldn't have. But I pull my lip between my teeth, gnawing at it as I'm thinking over what exactly is happening here.

Because there is no way in hell that Kayla would actually date Asher. Well, at least none that I can imagine, especially since she hasn't told me, and she always tells me when she has someone in mind. Well, not that it happened in the past few years, but way back, she told me.

Those two are so trying to set us up, I would bet a pretty high amount on it.

I glare at my phone screen, wondering if I should call Kayla and give her a piece of my mind. The audacity, I just can’t. Does she think I can’t manage my own dates?

Then again, now that I think about it... if Kayla and Asher are trying to get us to talk, doesn't that mean Luca is interested in me? My blush deepens as that realization hits.

I loathe that they're setting us up like this. Yet when would I get another chance to get to know Luca without his teammates trying to meddle? At least they’re letting us do it in private instead of listening in like the curious bitch I know Kayla is.

Maybe this is a sign. Or it’s the universe's way of making fun of me. Oh, you want to stop dating? Here's the perfect man.

My lip pulses under my teeth, but I’m not done panic-thinking.

I mean, what can it hurt to get to know him? He's an A-List actor, a new one, but at least he’s in the spotlight himself. Then again, I don't think he's as familiar with the paparazzi as I had to become.

"Well then," he sighs, his shoulders sagging as conviction crosses over his face, and I glance at him, panic setting in, all of the muscles in my back tightening. Shit, did I accidentally ignore him? With a small sigh, I relax when I see the tiniest smile tugging at his lips. He’s probably realized what Kayla and Asher are planning as well. "They're saying we should go, so let's go."

---