Page 118 of Finding Fate

Someone had stepped out in front of her, not as though they simply hadn’t seen her coming in their attempt to make it down the stairs. No, this person stepped out, deliberately stopping her from going any further.

She looked up and gasped at who it was, startled and somewhat frightened. She was surprised at her reaction. It wasn’t the first time Wesley had managed to corner her when the rest of her friends weren’t around.

“Hey, Izzy, I was hoping to get the chance to talk to you,” he said. His voice was smooth, and he flashed her that attractive grin she’d come to hate.

Megan stopped and turned around when she heard Isabel’s gasp. Noticing the traces of fear in her friend’s expression, she started back up the stairs.

Wesley turned at the sound of her steps. “I heard David’s complaining that you’re taking too long. Shouldn’t our lovely class president and head cheerleader be hurrying over to the dance?”

Isabel held her breath. Why was he trying to get rid of her? She looked around to see who else was nearby. The stands were almost completely deserted now. Her throat tightened as fear gripped her. She didn’t want to be left alone with him.

Megan hesitated. She took a step backwards, but paused to look past Wesley to assess her friend one more time. Hating that she’d left her much needed phone in her bag, Isabel praised God that Wesley was still looking away, and mouthed desperately to her friend, “Get Tucker!”

Megan nodded faintly for Wesley to see. “I guess I better go find him then. I’ll see you at the dance later, Izzy.” She turned then and walked down the stairs.

“So, where were we?” Wesley asked once Megan was out of earshot.

He seemed pleased to have her alone, his smile turning into more of a devilish smirk as he reached up to grab a lock of her hair that was blowing about wildly in the cold, piercing wind.

Isabel didn’t flinch this time. She wouldn’t let him get to her like before, and Megan would send Tucker. That nod was meant for her. Wasn’t it?

“Of course it was meant for me,”she thought determinedly. “Megan will come through. I just have to stay strong ‘til Tucker gets here. I just can’t let Wesley see that he upsets me.”

She forced the tense fear from her throat, shifting it to the pit of her stomach so she could speak in the unwavering tone her gut told her she needed to use.

“I don’t know where we were, but I was on my way to meet my friends,” she said, moving her foot to step past the solid, forceful mass in front of her. “Yes,” she thought in triumph. Her tone was firm.

Wesley reached out and grabbed the railing, blocking her from proceeding down the stairs. “Don’t be like that. I’ve been wanting to talk to you,” he said as he stepped up next to her, his voice calm in his familiar persuasive tone. She would have found it alluring if she didn’t know how he could be.

“About what, Wesley?” she asked, still forcing her words to sound confident, though nervous butterflies swarmed her middle, causing Destiny to move wildly about. Her hand moved to her stomach in an attempt to calm her unborn child.

“About us, of course,” he replied, ignoring the movement.

“Not again,”she thought as she groaned in frustration. “Wesley, I don’t understand you. You date girls all the time. Why do you keep bugging me? You know I’m pregnant. I’m with Tucker. It should be the end of it.”

He groaned, a frown appearing on his attractive face. “Don’t say that.”

She stared at him, curiously. He sounded as though he was almost begging. “Why not?” she asked, a little less forceful now, wanting him to explain. Maybe if she understood, she could find a way to end this headache.

“Because I want you,” he admitted, sounding like it actually pained him to say it.

“We’ve been through this before, Wesley. You just wanted to get some. You didn’t actually want me.”

He shook his head, fervently. “No, I mean, yes, it started out that way, but it’s not like that anymore.”

“What changed?” she asked, humoring him. The conversation seemed to be safe enough, and Tucker would be here soon. Wouldn’t he? Perhaps he was further away than she remembered.

“I don’t know,” he sighed and shook his head more slowly. “The best I can say is that there’s something about you. You’re shy and stubborn and full of fire when you’re angry. You can turn any guy’s head without even trying, and when you dance?Fuck,” he scraped a hand over his jaw. “I’ve never put so much effort into one girl before. It threw me off when you turned me down that night. I only got so pissed ‘cause you made me want you so much. I hadn’t realized what you meant to me yet.”

“Newsflash, Wesley. If you want someone, you don’t smack them around!” she snapped, heat claiming her cheeks. He was so full of bull.

He grabbed her shoulders, his strong fingers gripping her tightly, but not actually causing pain. “Don’t you think I regret that?!” His face was pained, his voice filled with ferocity. Not at Isabel, but at himself. Even with that recognition, his severity still caused her to cringe.

“I guess you’ll just have to live with that regret,” she spat at him. “I’m with Tucker. I love Tucker. I’m having his baby, Wesley. I-don’t-want-you.” She said the last sentence slowly, drawing the words out, trying to get through to him.

“But you want Tucker?” he scoffed in angered disbelief. “You need a real man. Not someone who didn’t have the balls to take advantage of all the game he could have had. Girls would have fucking lined up to fuck him before I moved here, but from what I’ve heard, his real game had barely even started.”

“You think that’s what a real man is? He may not be perfect, but he saved me. From you. And we knew exactly what we were doing after he kicked you out that night!”

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