Dani

Trevon wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me close, as we walked into Crimson’s Nouveau, an upscale dining restaurant in the center of the city. Couples sat at the rustic bar in the center of the room, waiters placed plates of food in front of people in black leather booths, and the hostess who was standing in front of a chalky brick wall gave us a perplexed look when we just walked right by her.

“Aren’t we getting a table?” I asked Trevon.

He gazed down at me, leading me through a maze of people. “We’re meeting Maria and Eros here,” he said.

I stopped, pressed my lips together, and yanked on his sleeve. “What?”

“We’re meeting—”

“Why? Why them?” The only plan that I had come up with today after my little chat with Dr. U was to avoid Eros. No, not confront the problem head on like she would want me to do. Just ignore the problem and hope he’d go away.

Trevon shrugged. “I saw him this morning, and he asked if we wanted to go out. I didn’t think you’d mind, but we can leave if you want.”

“Dani! Trevon!” Maria yelled from a booth from across the bar. She waved her hands in the air, as if I could miss the bright orange cropped shirt she had on. Eros and his roommates were sitting in the booth.

Eros’s eyes were on me and only me. I gulped and squeezed Trevon’s hand.

Lust was nothing compared to my incredible, amazing, trustworthy, handsome boyfriend.

Trevon pulled me over to the table and immediately dropped my hand. He slid into the booth next to Javier, one of Eros’s roommates, and I grumbled to myself, taking the only open seat left which was directly across from the man himself—Eros.

My gaze stayed glued to the menu. Yet, I couldn’t help smelling that cinnamon scent, tasting it on my tongue. I didn’t have to look up to know that Eros was staring right at me.

Truth was, I was afraid that, if I looked up, Eros would be able to read every one of my thoughts about him last night. It was absurd, but I couldn’t risk it. Those thoughts were intimate and so damn embarrassing, especially with Trevon sitting—cluelessly—next to me.

After we ordered, Trevon curled an arm around my waist and leaned close. “Is everything alright? You’re tense.” His eyes were bright, and a small smile was plastered on his face.

Hoping that it would help me shake my lustful thoughts, I tried remembering all the times I’d seen that small smile on Trevon’s face. On the swings in elementary school when he shared his grape juice box with me. Through one of the foggy classroom windows while I sat in fifth grade detention alone because some girls were picking on him for his hair, and I wasn’t going to let them hurt my best friend. While we danced together in the rain in his backyard the night of prom because Kellan from his wrestling team never showed up as my date.

I had always loved Trevon, and one annoyingly sexy smirk wasn’t going to change my mind.

“Everything is fine,” I said, sipping my white wine. It was the only thing getting me through tonight.

“We can go if you want,” Trevon said to me.

Yes, please, let’s go home. Far away from Maria who kept gazing at me, then at Eros, then back at me like something had happened between us. Far away from Eros’s smoldering stare. Far away from these feelings that wouldn’t leave me alone, no matter how hard I tried.

 “No,” I said. Trevon was happy, and this was one of his only nights he had off of work during the week. I didn’t want to ruin that for him, even if I had to endure the rest of dinner. He gave me a big smile, planted a kiss on my cheek, and turned back to Javier and Zane, Eros’s other roommate.

Under the table, Eros’s foot grazed against mine. I pressed my lips together, trying to ignore it, but then it happened again. “Quit it,” I whisper-yelled across the table, not daring to look at Eros.

He continued.

“Stop.”

Still, his foot brushed against mine.

I raised my gaze and glared at him. He leaned back against the leather booth, swirling his glass of red wine in his hand. The black ring on his left index finger clanked against the glass. He narrowed those piercing green eyes at me as if he was trying to figure me out. And just when I was about to turn away, his eyes darkened.

They reminded me of my dream when his eyes were beautifully black with no whites in them at all, but…

My eyes widened. My dream.

Heat crawled up the sides of my neck, and I rubbed Mom’s pendant again. God, he had to remind me of that stupid dream.

“How was your night last night, Dani?” he asked.

Did he know that I dreamt about him last night? That I begged for him? That I couldn’t stop thinking about him? The mischievous glint in his eye made me think he knew everything. But he couldn’t.

“Good.”

“Just good?” He cocked his brow. A strand of his dark hair curled onto his forehead.

“Just good,” I repeated, trying to convince myself of it.

He took a long sip of his wine—jaw clenched—and nodded. When he placed his glass down, his fingertips were white. “We’ll have to fix that next time.”

I narrowed my eyes at him, leaning against the dark wooden table. “What did you just say?”

Without answering me, he gazed back at our friends. A smirk still clear on his face. I leaned closer to Trevon; fingers interlaced with his. “I’m going to the bathroom.” I needed to get away from Eros. He was making me absolutely insane. I didn’t know what was real and what was fake anymore. Reality and imagination were so closely woven together, I couldn’t pick anything apart. Maybe talking with Dr. U would be a good thing.

I hurried to the bathroom, closed the bathroom door, and groaned. “Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?” I leaned my back against the chic brick wall and covered my face with my hands.

This was not how Project Hermit was supposed to go. I should’ve been back at home with my face stuffed into the Games People Play book that Dr. U gave me to read before I left today, blasting music through my ear buds, locked in my room. Not out with Eros, sitting across from Eros, thinking about Eros, dreaming about Eros. Why wouldn’t he leave me alone?

One of the toilets flushed, and a high-heeled woman, who couldn’t be any older than me, walked out of a stall. She washed her hands in the sink and gazed over at me. “Is something wrong?” She tossed her toffee brown hair over her shoulder, her amber perfume overwhelming me.

My cheeks tingled, and I looked away. “Nothing.” Strangers didn’t need to be in my business.

After drying her hands, she pulled out a stick of bright red lipstick from her Versace purse and leaned closer to the mirror. “Come on. Tell me Sweet Cheeks. I’m not going to spill your secrets to anyone.” She applied a coat of lipstick. “Let me guess. Boy trouble?”

I sighed. “Something like that.”

“Bad boyfriend?” She narrowed her eyes at me, then shook her head. “No… hmm… love triangle?” I furrowed my brows together. I wouldn’t call it that. “Getting closer...” After a moment, she smiled. “In a relationship but attracted to another guy?” When I frowned, her smile widened. “I guess that’s the one.” She threw her lipstick back into her purse. “Well, if you ever need someone to talk about this with, I’m Kasey.”

I smiled awkwardly at her. “Uh, Dani.” Was it normal to make friends with people in restaurant bathrooms?

“Here,” she said, handing me her phone. “Put your number in.”

I rubbed my sweaty palms together, unsure if I should, but I ended up entering my number anyway. I didn’t know how much longer I could keep this to myself and I sure didn’t want to tell Dr. U about everything that had happened, especially the dream. She’d just lecture me about how these lustful thoughts were the devil’s doing.

With a smile, she walked out of the bathroom, her heels clacking. I took one last look in the mirror and followed. I just needed to get through the rest of the night, then Trevon and I could go home and act like nothing happened. Because nothing had happened.

When I stepped out of the bathroom, I bumped into someone’s chest. Eros. He grabbed my hips, fingers grazed against my skin, to steady me. Then, he pushed me against the door. “Dani, Dani, Dani,” he said.

Great. I swallowed hard. Just… great.

“Why have you been ignoring me?” His fingers dug into my skin.

“I… I haven’t.”

He chuckled and tilted his head, staring down at me with those dark eyes. “Yes, you have.”

“I have a boyfriend,” I blurted out, pressing myself into the wooden door.

“Why’re you getting so defensive?”

“I’m not.”

He raised a brow. “Is it because you’ve been with him, but all you could think about was me?”

I forced a laugh—the cringiest damn laugh I had ever heard. “No! That’s ridiculous!”

He stepped closer, and I couldn’t get myself to step back into the bathroom and slam the door in his face. Instead, I stared up at him, thinking about how close I was to him and how hard my heart was beating against my chest.

Half of his face was shadowed by the dim light above us, giving him a dark, dangerous, devilish look. “I haven’t left your mind since Sunday, have I?” He leaned down slightly, his nose grazing against mine.

This was sin. Pure sin.

“You’re acting stupid now, Eros.”

“Am I?” he asked, his lips were mere inches away. Heat radiated off of them, hitting me in waves. His fingers curled around my waist the way they did Sunday morning.

All I could smell was cinnamon.

“Yes,” I whispered. “You are.”

He stepped even closer, one foot between mine, his waist pressing into the side of my hip. “I’ve been dreaming of all the dirty things I would do to you, how I’d make you beg, how I’d make you scream out as I tormented this pretty little body of yours.” His fingers burned on my skin. “Don’t tell me you haven’t dreamt of the same thing.”

I clenched my jaw, my eyes closing so softly, and took a shaky breath.

His fingers trailed up the side of my body until they reached my lips. He brushed his thumb against my bottom lip, making it tingle. “… so soft, tender…”

Those words… Those were the same ones he had said in my dream.

He grasped my face gently and gazed down at me. Every sinful thing that I wanted him to do to me flashed into my mind. His lips on mine, his long slender fingers tormenting my body, everything.

Mom’s pendant shifted against my chest.

He chuckled. “Even with a boyfriend, you’re so responsive to my touch.”

Trevon. My eyes widened. I pulled myself out of the damn trance he seemed to put me in every single time I was close to him and glared up at him. “I am not.”

“Whatever you say.”

I pressed my lips together. “I’m not!”

He dropped his hands and turned away from me with that damn smirk on his stupid face. I crossed my arms over my chest. I couldn’t believe him. No—scratch that—I couldn’t believe myself.

All those days of Sunday school, all those late Saturday nights at church with Mom listening to a priest preach about a devil that I didn’t think existed, thinking about how weak those people who fell into temptation were.

The devil wasn’t real, but temptation sure was.

Eros gazed back at me and pushed his hand into his pocket. “Oh, and Dani… I found these this morning.” He pulled something out of his pocket. “They looked like yours. Thought I’d return them to you.”

He tossed me the panties I had worn last night and walked away.