2. Chapter 2
My eyes dart around the deck, trying to decide what the easiest and quickest way out of this would be.
I could make a loop around the Blue Splash bar.
It’s crowded enough that no one would notice I’m gone—not like they would care to anyway.
Maybe I can climb up to the Sky Deck where the DJ is and take the elevator down on the other side to my suite.
Just as I find solace in the latter of my escape plan, Leo makes his way over to the group, almost prancing with untamed arrogance as he greets everyone as though they’ve been lifelong friends.
He’s always been friendly like that, but knowing Leo, it’s likely that he does know everyone here in some capacity.
I’m almost envious of the way he can work a crowd, easily interweaving himself into it and sometimes making himself the center of it.
Although his energy never shifted from the group, his eyes continuously lingered on me, causing slight panic to rise in my chest.
Hurriedly, I squeeze past Carmin in an attempt to make my way up to the Sky Deck.
“Hey, where are you going?” Carmin says as she reaches out for me.
“Uh, you know what? I don’t feel too good. I think I need a lie down,” I say, hoping the small shake in my voice doesn’t give me away.
“But we just got here?”
“I know, I know, but I really can’t stay—”
“Leaving so soon, Gina?” A gruff voice sounds from behind me. I curse myself as I turn around to find Leo standing over me with an amused glare in his eyes.
I smile softly, a hint of annoyance flaring in me. “Leo, it’s so good to see you. I didn’t know you’d be here.”
“Well, it is my best friend’s wedding after all,” he says as he beams down at me.
Leo hasn’t been around much these past five years.
He went from being my brother’s annoying friend and unfortunate neighbor to a ghost who was occasionally brought up during the holidays when Elijah bothered to show up.
It’s unsurprising that little about him has changed.
His looming height of six-foot-three has been the same since I can remember, but his frame is larger now, more muscular, as the sleeves of his shirt seem to constrict around his biceps.
His dark brown skin naturally glistens under the sun, as it always has.
His now short hair and goatee are the only true signs of his maturity.
“I’m Carmin. I don’t think we’ve met.” Carmin’s voice breaks the awkward tension beginning to bubble between Leo and me as she reaches out to shake his hand.
“I don’t think we have.” Leo slides his hand in hers, his charm clearly taking effect on her and turning in my stomach.
And now I really do need to go lie down.
“Melody’s said some amazing things about you, though.
It’s good to finally put a face to the name.
And it’s good to see you again, Gina. Hopefully, we can catch up? ”
“Maybe,” I say stiffly, but my answer doesn’t waver his confidence as he continues on to mingle with some others.
Carmin turns to me, her mouth hanging slightly open. “Okay, he is so hot. I can’t believe you grew up with that.”
“That is a grown man I haven’t seen in almost five years.
He looked nothing like that then, trust me.
” I sit down on the edge of a nearby chair, sipping out of my parrot as I watch Leo.
I’m almost jealous of the way he can easily blend into a crowd, moving as if the space were created just for him.
But an unsettling feeling curls in my stomach as I recall the last time we saw each other.
All I can do is ignore it and hope it doesn’t consume me.
Carmin sits beside me with a shrug. “Either way, he’s gorgeous. Do you know if he’s single?”
My face scrunches, an acid feeling coming to the back of my throat. “I don’t know, and I don’t care. I just want to get this over with.”
“This’ll be fun, Gina—I promise—because I’m going to help you with Justin.”
My gaze snaps to her. “Help me? Oh, no. That’s—no.” I shake my head as my eyes fall to my lap.
“Oh, please. Don’t act like I don’t notice the way you looked at him. And did you see the way he looked at you?” Carmin’s hand comes over mine as she falls back with a smile. “I can make it happen.”
Looking up through the crowd, my body relaxes as I find Justin in the crowd.
How could I not have fallen for him? I can’t help that my nerves bounce off every wall in my body when I see him.
His charm and the way he always seems so confident—he’s a magnet that’s never stopped pulling at me.
It’s been years, and it’s such a silly crush; I should be over it by now.
But I want nothing more than to finally know what it’s like to get the guy.
We’re both grown adults with careers and life experiences; who’s to say that there isn’t something there when I haven’t tried?
I glance at Carmin, who has a small smile on the corner of her mouth. “Fine.”
“Oh my gosh, yay!” Carmin exclaims as she wraps her arms around me, nearly knocking me over in the process. “I promise I won’t let you down.”
I try to relax, but the imprint of Leo’s eyes on me is hard to ignore.
I never know what that man has up his sleeve, but it’s never anything that doesn’t embarrass me.
I can only hope that he has left his childish behavior behind as I have, so that maybe I can relax and enjoy myself.
Better yet, enjoy scoring the one goal I never could win with Justin. This could be it.