Page 6 of The Sweetheart Dance
The car ride to her apartment is quiet without many conversations. It is funny to think how much chemistry we had in the beginning and now we aren’t even talking.
Raina gives me the directions to her home and as I’m pulling up to her home, I see how nice of a neighborhood she lives in. The neighborhood I live in is nice, but it isn’t like this. This is true suburbia.
She guides me to a parking spot and the minute my car is put in park, she’s pawing at the door handle to get it to open. If I wouldn’t have known she just got dumped an hour ago, I would have been offended.
Normally I don’t have to fight so hard to keep a woman interested in me.
I’m out the door and around the car before she can spin her body around to get out. I reach a hand down for her to grab which she does hesitantly. I can tell she’s unsure of why I’m being so nice to her.
I might be a professional football player, but I’m still a gentleman.
“Let me walk you to your door.”
She bumbles on her feet. “You don’t have to. I’m fine.”
“I wasn’t suggesting. Let’s go.”
I place my hand on the small of her back and have her lead me to her door. The apartment complex looks safe, homey while upscale. All of the windows and doors have some sort of lock on them to keep people inside safe.
I feel the wind start to pick up along with the howling of a snowstorm beginning. The weather did say we should be expecting a snowstorm tonight; I just wasn’t sure we would actually get it.
“I’m sorry,” Raina mumbles. “I’m usually not this much of a mess.”
Stopping in my tracks, I place my hands on her waist to get her to spin around to look at me. Her eyes are the same captivating ones I fell for all of those years ago.
“You have nothing to be sorry for. Let me walk you to your place.”
She nods briskly before unlocking the front door to get into the apartment building. There is a giant elevator off to the right of the lobby and a row of mailboxes next to it. Raina’s eyes are trained to the elevator making me follow her over there.
She smiles at me awkwardly while we wait for the elevator to come. I can tell I’m making her nervous by being this close to her, but I don’t care. I need to make sure she gets upstairs safely.
Get her upstairs and then you can go. That’s all you have to do. She’s heartbroken and isn’t interested in you.
Even as I repeat it, I know I’m going to want to see her again. There has to be a reason why she ran into me at the restaurant, right? It definitely wasn’t a coincidence.
We climb into the elevator and she presses a button off to the side. The door closed quickly around us before carrying us to the next floor. The doors slide open silently urging us to get out.
“I’m good right here,” Raina says shyly.
Smiling down at her, I nod towards the door to encourage her to open it. I’m seeing this whole thing through and she’s going to have to deal with it. I know she’s had a rough night but I need to make sure Colton isn’t going to come back again.
“Would it be too forward to ask you to come in for a glass of wine?”
I’m taken aback by her little voice. She seems so insecure it would be impossible to tell her no. “Of course, not. I would love to know what you’ve been up to all of this time.”
Chapter Five
Raina
I can’t believe I invited him inside of my apartment. I can’t believe I did it!
I open the door and do a mental checklist to make sure I have everything embarrassing put away. I would die in the middle of my living room if a box of tampons were lying on the couch.
The fresh smell of vanilla greets us at the door and I look over to the flowers I had eagerly put away before our date. I can’t believe I thought he was going to propose.
I’m mentally kicking my sorry self as I walk to the kitchen to grab the flowers and throw them away. Sure, they are beautiful and my favorite flowers but I can’t bear to see them.
“A gift, I presume?” Luke’s sultry voice rings through the air.
