Page 73 of Tempt Me

Chapter 28

Gigi wasstill staring atthescreenof her phonelong after it had goneintosleepmode. Max’swords were bouncing around in her head,theword ‘Friday’onelong echorepeated over and overagain. Shedidn’tknowhow,butthemomenthehad paused,her stomach had started totiein knots. She knewwhathewasgoing totell her,and he’donlyconfirmed her worstfears:hewasleaving.

With shaking hands,shepushed backintotheclassroom,herprofessor cutting a sidewaysglance in her direction.

“Sorry,”shemumbled.“Itwasanemergency.”Shetookher seat,picking up herpen asthe lecturecontinued.Butitwasall whitenoisetoher. Fortheremaining forty-fiveminutes,shemadea fewnotesand asked no questionswhilethestudentsaround her debated animatedly. Shehadn’t evenrealized theclasswasover until Alextouched heron theshoulder,startlingher fromher thoughts.

“Gigi,hi,”hesaid,smiling bashfully.

Sheforced a smileonto her lips. “Howareyou,Alex?”

Initially, thingshad been a littleawkward aftertheir first—and last—kiss, buthehad warmed up toheragain,although sheknewhewashoping they’dgivedating anothertry. “I’mgood. Iwasjust wonderingwhetheryou heard fromtheAMNHyet.”

Shefeltherpulsebegin torace.“Have you?”Hadtwoweeksalreadypassed?

Thegrin thatsplithisfacein twowasall theanswersheneeded. Hehadmadeit. “I gotaspot. Did you?”

Shereluctantlyshookherhead. “I haven’t heard fromthem.”

“Oh.” His smilefaded. “Well,giveittime. I’msureyoumadeit. I’ll see you later.” Alexwaved goodbye,leaving heralonein thelecture room. Shepacked her notebookand pen backintoher bag and slung itover her shoulder. Great!Nowshe notonlyhad Max’sleaving toworryabout butalsothe factthatthebestchanceshehad atgetting a jobafter schoolhad justevaporated intothin air.

Shestarted walking backto her apartment,her buoyantmoodcompletelysunk.Shehad another lectureinan hour,butshecouldn’tfaceit. Shedecided thatshewould ratherbewrapped up in Max’sarmsinstead—afterall,they had only a few moredaystogether.

Jen washomewhen she gotthere,herroommatetalking in softwhispersbehind her closed bedroomdoor. Fora second,shethoughtJen wason thephone,butasGigi passed byher room,she heard thedistincttimbre of a malevoice. She had known Jen would forget about Jeremy sooner or later.

Gigitrudged toher closetand started pulling a fewthings fromthe hangers—shewouldn’tneedmuch together by. Shepacked hersuitcasecarefully,slipping in a fewextra non-studyrelated books tokeep herattentionwhileMaxwasatworkintheevenings. Closing thecase,shezipped itshutand hauled it outintotheliving room.Callingthrough Jen’s bedroomdoor,shesaid,“I’mgoing toMax’s.”

Therewasa small thumpand then Jen called,“Whenwill you beback?”

“A coupleof days. Staysafe,Jen.”Gigi hopedshetookher advice.

“I alwaysam,”her roommatereplied,the guy shewaswith chuckling athermischievoustone.

Shewalked toMax’sapartmentwith acloud ofgloomhanging overher head. Shehardlylooked up once,and never deviated fromher path. Whenshereached hisbuilding,shepushed thebutton on theintercombesidethe door.

“Yeah?” heasked coolly.

“It’sme,”shereplied.

“Gigi,comeup.”Thistime hiswordswerewarm. Thedoor unlocked and sherodetheelevator up tohis floor. Hewasstanding in thedoorwaywhenthedoors opened,Erin cradled in his arms,his hair still damp fromhisshower. “What’swrong?”

Shedidn’treply.Dropping thehandleof hersuitcase,shewrapped her armsaround hiswaistand placed her headagainsthisbroad chest. His freehandcametoreston her back,giving her the strength she’dbeen sodesperatelylooking for sinceshe’d spoken toAlex.

“Comeinside,”he urged,stepping away.Passing Erintoher,hepicked up hersuitcaseand broughtitinside. Shesat downon thecouch,holdingthelittlegirlon her lap.

“What’shappened?Is ityour folks?”heasked,propping her caseagainstthewall nearthedoor.

Shetooka deep breath,looking at him.“It’stheinternship.”

Hesatbesideher.“Whatabouttheinternship? Havetheyannounced thesuccessful applicants?”

Thistimeshenodded.“Alexgota place.”

Maxfrowned atthemention ofherclassmate.“Whataboutyou?”

Shefeltthefirsttearsprickthecornersofhereyes. Shewipedthemawayandshookherhead. “Oh,Gigi,”hemurmured, scooting closerand wrapping an arm over her shoulder. “I’msosorry.”

“It’snottheend oftheworld.”Shesniffled.“Thereareotheropportunitiesoutthere.”

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