Page 38 of We Own Tonight
“I told you I’d see you again,” Eli explains as if it makes totalsense.
This is crazy. I thought we were done with him showing up. He’s been in the wind, and I had no way to get in touch with him, not that I would have called anyway. I’ve already decided this will never happen, so I don’t know why my heart is racing at the sight ofhim.
It makes no sense that the tight blue jeans and gray T-shirt that cling to his muscles have my mouthwatering.
I’m completely unaffected by him in general. Yup. Totally. It’s because I’m tired that I’m reacting atall.
I shake off the thoughts of how much more I’d like to see of him and take a drink. “You did, but that was . . .” I pretend to have to think about it. “Like, ten days ago?” It was eight, but I’m not going to tell him I’mcounting.
He grins and takes a seat next to me. “Aboutthat.”
I shift over a little, hoping some distance between us will help my racing pulse. “Were you out and about and then figured you’d stopby?”
I did not just say that, did I? Oh, God, Idid.
“Nope.” He chuckles. “I just got back from New York. My agent needed me to finalize some things for our nextseason.”
“Oh.” I take another drink as he moves a little closer. My heart races as his side touches mine. “I’ve never been to New York,” I admit. I haven’t traveled anywhere since my parentsdied.
Eli starts to move the swing. “You’ll have to come with me onetime.”
“Come with you?” Isqueak.
“Yeah,” Elilaughs.
“That’s a littlepresumptuous.”
“Why? We can go away together if youwant.”
“What makes you think I’m going to go on a trip with you? We barely know each other. Hell, we’re not evenfriends.”
“I thought we established we were definitely friends lasttime.”
It’s going to circle back to my groupie slut status with us. There’s no true friendship, there’s a one-night stand and pizza. It hardly constitutes as anything. Besides, I don’t need any more friends. I have my girls, Brody, and Stephanie. I’mset.
“Look, you don’t know me, and I definitely don’t knowyou.”
Eli throws his arm around the back of the swing, and his fingers find their way to my neck. “I think I know you prettywell.”
“Really?” Ichallenge.
“I know you’re beautiful, like pizza, have the world sitting on your shoulders, and try damn hard not to like me, which you are failingat.”
I smile and play with the ring on my thumb. “Whatever. I don’t think aboutyou.”
I’m a big, fat liar. I think about him all the time, and last night, he managed to star in my dreams—again. As much as I tell myself I’m glad he stopped showing up, I was sad. There’s something about being around him that makes me crave more, which is the dumbest thing I could allow myself towant.
Eli’s thumb grips my chin, and he forces me to look at him. “I’m serious. Since the minute I laid eyes on you, I think about you all thetime.”
“Eli,” I say, hoping he’ll stop. I don’t want to think aboutthis.
“Why do you think I called you on stage? Why do you think I wanted you to come to the meet andgreet?”
“Because you wanted me to sleep with you!” I say and try to shift away fromhim.
He cups my face and holds my gaze hostage. “No, because for the first time in all the years I’ve been doing this, I’ve finally met someone who managed to knock me off kilter. I didn’t understand it until I was in New York. I kept wanting to look at you. Then I couldn’t get to you fast enough after the show. That has neverhappened.”
I want to believe him, but it’s hard for me to even fathom. “Please don’t feed melines.”
