Page 50 of Trust Me

“Shh,” he coos, looking down at my heel in his lap. His fingers lightly brush against my ankle, the contact making me shiver. Elio notices, smirking as he brings his fingers to the criss-cross straps, where one wasn’t done up properly.

I watch him with bated breath, loving how he looks beneath me. I read about it all the time in my books, a man on his knees for a woman, and I have to agree.

The sight is powerful, equal to the lust that is coursing through my body.

He fixes the strap, then caresses my ankle. The motion sends a pulse right to my clit, and my lips part.

Elio’s eyes flit back up to mine as his hand trails upward.

“You’re the most beautiful thing to exist, you know that?” he tells me as his fingers dance across the smooth skin on my legs, trailing over my shin, behind my calf, then to my inner knee.

His words make me weak in the knees. They already wanted to buckle from the ache between my thighs, and the nerves in my belly are waiting to see what he does next.

But he doesn’t do anything because my fucking phone rings from inside my clutch. I tear my eyes away from his, putting my foot back on the floor. The trance has been broken.

I fish my phone out, seeing that it’s Adam calling. I don’t even spare Elio a second glance. I rush out the door, practically running to the elevator.

Once the doors shut, I release the biggest breath yet. I place a hand over my erratic heart, willing it to calm. That was the most intense thing I’ve experienced. I could feel the tension between us. It was a live, tangible thing.

I wanted to reach out and cut it by pressing my lips to his, but of course, I didn’t do that. I’m still pissed off from last night. I could ask him what happened, but that would force me to admit that I care and I can’t do that.

In the lobby, Adam perks up when he sees me. “Hi, Jasmine. Wow, you look beautiful.” He beams.

“Thank you. You look pretty good yourself,” I tell him honestly.

We walk toward the doors where I say good night to Colin, who eyes Adam a bit suspiciously before heading to the restaurant.

Our date is fine, not bad, but not great either. He’s nice and very sweet. He talks about being an engineering major and a tight end on the football team. He also asks questions about me.

The conversation is light, but forced at times. We don’t have great chemistry, despite how much he’s trying to create it. To put it simply, there’s no connection for me. No spark. No banter. I feel bad because he’s a good guy, but he’s not the one for me.

At the end of the night, he walks me to the front of my building, with his hands in his front pockets. “Thank you for letting me take you out. It was nice,” he says, looking a bit shy.

“Thank you for dinner. It was really good.” I smile at him because the food was pretty tasty.

“Can I kiss you? I know you haven’t been kissed, so I feel like I should ask,” he babbles, talking faster than I can keep up with.

I’ll admit, it’s nice he asked me instead of leaning in, but I’m still not feeling it. My entire body shies away from his at the idea of his lips on mine.

“Adam, I’m really sorry. You’re a great guy, but I think we should only be friends, okay?” I apologize to him, taking a step back for some distance.

“That’s okay, Jasmine, really. Sometimes you don’t get that vibe, and it’s okay.” He shrugs.

“I meant what I said. You’re a really great guy. Please don’t think it’s you. Not to sound cliché, but it’s me. I have so much going on that—”

“Jasmine, you don’t need to explain yourself. I’m not offended because I get it. If I’m being honest, you’re great too, but I didn’t get that spark either. I wanted to kiss you to see if that would change things, that’s all. So it’s okay. Friends?” he says with a smile, opening his arms for a hug.

I step toward him, embrace him quickly, then step back. “Yeah, friends is good.”

We say good night to one another, then I push my way through the lobby door, Colin’s chipper face coming into view.

“Evening, Jasmine, where is the lad?” he asks, not afraid to be personal because in my time here, we’ve grown close.

“I sent him on his way,” I tell him, my nerves beginning to ricochet in my body at the thought of what is going to happen upstairs once I see Elio. I left him in the heat of a moment to go on a date with another guy.

I’m sure he’s not going to be exactly thrilled with me, but at the same time? Fuck him. He gets to go out with girls who he probably took back to his room, and I can’t go on a respectable date?

“Ah, I see. Would that be why Mr. Mazzo was scowling when he came to get the food he ordered?” he ponders, one wrinkled finger going up to tap his chin.

---