Page 155 of Now and Forever

Chapter 52

“Should I ask how your weekend went?” Cori teased as I slowly chewed on a piece of calamari. We were having dinner a few blocks away from the apartment in this new joint I wanted to try out.

“You could say it was unexpected …” I lamely responded before reminding myself to divert the subject back to him. Dwelling on how it all had gone down with Drew still gnawed deeply. After all, it had been twelve hours since I had fallen asleep in his arms, and I hadn’t seen or spoken to him since. “How’d yours go? Still flirting your way around town, picking up chicks new to the city?” Myself included, I thought with a smile.

“Hey, no need to air out my dirty tricks.” He laughed before popping a piece of bread into his mouth.

Cori was so laid back and casual, not to mention crazy sexy in his own rough kind of way. Unlike Drew, he wasn’t demanding of my emotional and mental focus. I liked that very much.

“I’m going to be away this coming weekend,” he said, garnering my attention away from dwelling on my wasted lost love.

“Where to?”

“SoCal. There’s this thing called Slamfest, and I’m going to be a part of it.” He considered me for a moment before casually leaning against his chair. “Why don’t you come? I could use the extra support.”

I laughed, not at his invitation, but at his statement about needing extra support.

“I have a feeling you’re not lacking in that department, Cori. There’s no need to be coy with me.”

“All right, all right,” he said, chuckling as he shook his head. “Man, you really have it out for me, don’t you? But I’m being serious. It’s close to where you’re from. You can invite friends if you like.”

The idea of seeing Courtney made me almost say yes. “I don’t know … This is going too fast—”

“I’m not asking for anything except to have you there, cheering me on. I’ll even lay off the seduction if that’ll make it easier for you,” he countered.

“How noble of you,” I retorted, barely avoiding rolling my eyes at him.

“I’m trying my best here, Red.” He shrugged before reaching out across the table to cover my hand with his. “Give me a little credit. This declaration might fuck me up big time, but I want you there. That’s all.”

Did the guy ever hide anything? He was like an open book, and I didn’t know what to make of it.

“When are you leaving?” I found myself asking.

“This Friday.”

“In four days?” I blurted out before he confirmed it with a quick nod. “That’s cutting it close. Well, I can’t promise you anything, but I’ll let you know by Wednesday night if I can make it.”

A part of me wanted to go and experience this new adventure with Cori, but a large part also held me back because of Drew. Moving on when your heart was barely mended didn’t evoke the greatest of feelings. The question I had to ask myself was if I was willing to plunge into this head-on.

“Fair enough.”

“So, apart from riding and flying around on bikes, what else happens at these types of things?”

He laughed again. “You’ll just have to wait and see, won’t you?”

Cori didn’t bring up the subject of Slamfest from then on. It was as if he were giving me time to digest his invitation. It was, after all, quite a lot to consider. First off, I didn’t know him well. True, I might be hanging out with my friends, but still, I would be stuck on a six-hour plane ride with him. God knew how that would pan out.

For the remainder of our dinner, he chatted about his life and how his passion had turned into something bigger than he had expected. It was a side of him to admire. His eyes lit up like I had never seen before, and for a moment, without his flirty persona being applied, I got glimpse of what kind of a man he was. I had to admit, I was intrigued.

While strolling back to my place after insisting I walk back alone, I texted Manolo, informing him that I would be stopping by the bar soon to catch up. Then I responded to Spencer’s message in regards to him asking for a raincheck.

With no messages or calls from Drew all day, I was sure whatever it was we’d had this past weekend was buried right underneath his stubbornness and inability to accept that he was attracted to me. I get it. I’m not his type. Although, that didn’t change how little it made me feel every time that thought crossed my mind.

What little euphoria I had evaporated the moment I stepped into the building and entered the elevator. Releasing a sigh just as the elevator cart halted and opened to my designated floor, I pulled out my keys and opened the door.

The kitchen lights were on, but I didn’t feel like greeting Jackson or Drew. The thought of small talk made me want to gag quite frankly, so I sprinted toward my bedroom, hoping to eradicate this heavy, sinking feeling in my stomach that made me want to drown myself in something. A bath? Alcohol? What? At this point, anything would do, really.

Dumping my purse on the nearest white lounge chair, I was slipping out of my shoes when the door opened without as little as a knock.

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