Page 228 of Now and Forever

Chapter 80

A

re you sure you want to retire to your room?” Archer bemoaned, not hiding the fact that he didn’t want to cut the night short. We had just finished going through a few plates of decadent chocolates, fruits, cheeses, and tarts.

Hiding my smile, I made a half attempt of an eye roll before shaking my head at him. “I’m sure.”

Archer, though nice and playful, was too touchy-feely for my liking. It wouldn’t have been so bothersome had I not encountered Cruz and that peculiar conversation. As much as I enjoyed Archer’s company, I knew I needed some alone time to ponder, go to sleep, and wake up the next morning with it in the back of my mind. Before I could reflect, I had to part with Archer first … if he would let me go.

“Could we possibly continue this upstairs, then? I don’t want to part with you, not just yet,” He pressed.

His eagerness to get to the next level with me had a polarizing effect, which wasn’t doing him any good. He had an idea what was going on between Cruz and I, and a part of me wished he could be a little more understanding.

Popping a blackberry into my mouth, I made a placid smile. “Don’t you have some place to get to? A party or whatever else it is you do at this time of night?”

“I do …” He trailed off before he reached for my outstretched hand that was languidly sitting on the table, mindlessly stroking it with his thumb, hoping to evoke some sort of emotions from me. Then he leaned over towards my ear and whispered, “But I’m giving you the chance to persuade me not to.”

“Goodness, well, lucky me.”

He was being provocative, and I didn’t know what to do or say other than laugh it off.

“A no really means no with me, Archer.”

“All right, all right.” He nodded before holding up his hands in surrender. “But the moment you change that pretty head of yours …”

“It won’t,” I promised. I knew myself too well. Had I wanted to be with him, there wouldn’t be anything to stop me, but that wasn’t the case, so there was no need to make him wait or lead him on. The night had been fun—we both had admitted earlier on—but I wasn’t sure if I wanted to continue this charade. After all, I had a lot going on just from trying to persuade myself that Cruz Elliot wasn’t the man for me to pine and obsessive about.

“How easily you break my heart, Serena. I suppose I’ll see you tomorrow, then?” He feigned hurt, clutching his chest as if he truly was in pain.

I had to hand it to him; he truly was entertaining to be around.

“You’re usually not back until Monday, so I’ll see you then.” Anyone in the house knew he went in and out, and on weekends, he was usually MIA and wouldn’t be back until later Monday afternoon. It only took one look at him to know how hard he partied over the weekend. He was the infamous wild child, and he lived it to its entireness.

“I do, don’t I?” he mused before daringly adding, “But you never know … Something tells me I might be coming home more often soon enough.”

“Ha. Don’t count on it, mister.” Getting up from my seat, I declined when he offered to walk me to my room. Instead, he settled for kissing the back of my hand, playing up the lothario gentleman he was.

“Pleasant, erotic dreams, Serena,” he said before sending me one of those teasing grins of his.

Oh, boy. This guy was pure trouble. The word was written all over him. God help the women who fell into his trap. They would probably never recover. Thank goodness I wasn’t … Well, had Cruz not been in the picture, I could have easily been persuaded by his amazing good looks and personable persona. What woman wouldn’t?

“Yeah, right. Goodnight, Archer. Be safe, yeah?” I bid him farewell before hurriedly striding towards the stairs so I could curl up in my bed and sleep this pang of sadness that had settled in and given me severe chest pains for most of the night.

It was already past eleven at night, and Margery had retired for the night an hour and a half ago. Thinking about her made me smile. She had done well tonight. She was in her element, socializing and mingling amongst friends.

Taking the steps, I basically sprinted so I could get onto the landing and take my shoes off. My soles were aching, my body was abuzz with alcohol, and my mind persistently raced like a damn broken video player, particularly focusing on the man who had eyes that seemingly melted me inside and out.

Sighing, I strode down the hall that led to my bedroom with half-closed lids.

Upon opening the bedroom door, I was about to throw my shoes onto the couch when I realized I wasn’t alone.

“Cruz! What in the world are you doing in my bedroom? I thought you had left. What the fuck!” I screeched with my eyes popping out of my sockets while the deafening sound of my heartbeat echoed in my ears.

He remained still as he stood before the window with his back to me, staring at the darkness of the night.

Why wasn’t he acknowledging me? I silently worried.

How badly I wanted to walk across the room and demand answers as to why he was in my bedroom, invading my privacy, but I was too chicken-shit to do so. I knew this visit meant something. After what had happened downstairs, God knew what kind of backlash I would get after making out with his brother. Apologizing for it was out of the equation. He wouldn’t hear of it. Regardless, I did it in part to save us both, and I hoped I could convince him of that. Never in my life had I considered he would be waiting for me here, in my bedroom of all places.

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