5. Alana
Alana
This is the worst night of my life. I mean realistically, I’ve been shot, buried my friends and had generally other traumatic things happen to me, but still, this has to be in the top twenty.
For twelve years I’ve systematically avoided Grae.
I rearranged my schedule, bailed on seeing Lena, hell, I hid in a bathtub once just so he wouldn’t see me.
I heard him piss and everything. So to run into him tonight is a bit of a slap in the face.
He wasn’t on the guest list. It was supposed to be Craig without Amanda. I’ve been at a few events around Craig, but he’s never met me, and I’d like to keep it that way. When it comes to Amanda Chase and her personal life, I like to stay at least six hundred feet away. It’s better for both of us.
But now because of Hadeon being a thoughtful husband, boom—I’m face to face with my ex.
Who apologized like he had been playing the moment over in his head.
He meant it with his whole being. I’ve been living near Grae adjacent long enough to tell if he’s lying.
Spoiler, he doesn’t. He closes his mouth or withholds information but doesn’t flat out lie.
I’ve been waiting for him to say those words. They didn’t exactly heal wounds that had long scarred over, but it was still nice.
And does he have to look so good? The well-trimmed stubble, perfectly styled hair and a suit that was formed for his athletic body.
I’ve seen pictures, and I know he’s stupid attractive, but come on.
Was it necessary for him to flash me his panty-melting smile?
Worst part, I don’t even think he realizes what it does to me.
He was just being him. It’s almost impossible to reconcile the man who spoke to me minutes ago and the man who destroyed me when we were teens.
No, I’ve got other things I need to do. Focus on winning the damn script. I eye up the crowd. The finance guys won’t be an issue, but it's the tech bros that have me worried. I know a few of these guys, and they’re loaded and geeky.
I search for a waiter with food, and all I find is someone walking around with shot glasses of cream of crab soup. Nothing says spend thousands of dollars like a shot glass of thick soup. Ugh, this evening is the fucking worst.
“Hey, wanna come back to my hotel room?” The request is jarring enough, but to have it whispered behind my back by my ex is downright earth shaking.
“What?” I whip around—no need to hide my confused outrage.
He steps back and puts his hands up. “Shit! Not like that.” His voice drops to a humble whisper, “I don’t deserve any of the time you’ve already given me.
” He digs through his pants pocket and shows me his phone screen.
“I got a room so I could watch some of the Fan Fest without being bothered by other people. The QR codes work in the hotel rooms, I checked.”
“Oh.” My shoulders relax, and I breathe. When he notices the shift in my expression, he changes. He continues in a way that is both casual and tries to ease any concerns I might have. And I have so many.
“It’s a suite with a living room space and a closed door to the bedroom. There’s a couch and a chair. You don’t need to sit anywhere near me. I won’t touch you.” He motions to the space between us, “This is the closest I’ll be all night.”
Internally I smirk because he’s right. He is offering a much better evening than this event. His eyes drift over the crowd, then he narrows them and a sneer crawls across his lips. “Um, is that a shot glass of cream of corn soup?”
“Crab.”
“Ugh, gross. They always destroy crab soup here anyway.”
“Well here’s the problem.” As much as I might want to watch the show, I can’t just agree to go with him. “I’m not Kinsley anymore, I'm Alana.”
He raises his eyebrows. “And Alana doesn’t sit on couches?”
“No, Alana has rules for every action she does. Kinsley only had one.”
He snaps his fingers as it comes back to him. “Right, ‘be fiercely loyal and drink the blood of your enemies’, I remember.” He pauses, then whispers, leaning in and I catch a whiff of his aftershave, “Are you going to drink my blood?”
“If I was, I sure as hell wasn’t going to tell you.” I motion to the crowd, “In public.”
“And a hotel room is the perfect place to do that. Clearly, I’m in danger.” He’s joking and totally oblivious to the person I’ve evolved into. No, he still sees the nineteen-year-old me. I sort of miss her.
“Every action I do must check off at least two different reasons. Unfortunately, this offer only meets one requirement."
“So what are these rules?” He rubs his chin, “let me know what I’m working with.”
I take a quick breath and start counting on my fingers, so I don’t miss one.
“Everything has to be done because it helps someone you love or it hurts someone you hate. There’s something to learn from it or it fixes a mistake.
It makes you money or power, or it takes away money or power from someone who doesn’t deserve it.
” I watch his expressions shift through different emotions like he is trying to understand each word.
“The only rule that works is that I can do things for myself, and I kinda want to watch the show.”
“I see the smug satisfaction of being superior to others isn’t on the list.” He arches his brow.
“I guess that could fall under doing something for myself but that’s only one rule and I need two to go watch the show.”
Grae lifts his shoulder in a half shrug. “I guess if we can’t think of something else, then this is the end.”
It should be. There’re a million reasons why I should end this conversation now.
He’s a client. It’s messy as hell. He doesn’t know who I am or what I’m capable of.
But there’s a whisper in the back of my brain reminding me I’m tired of spending every night alone.
And I do want to watch the show. Plus, I can still do what I need to do for Hadeon.
“There’s one more reason,” I whisper. “Time is finite.”
“And is there anything better than watching a fan show live, instead of waiting for the highlights to hit the internet?” His brows wiggle. “You get to watch it before it becomes a meme.”
“All true.” Fuck he’s so easy to talk to. It’s like slipping into an old pair of jeans that fit perfectly on your body but were stuck in the back of your closet for months. “Let’s go.”
His mouth turns into the biggest smile and my stomach flips as heat flares up and down my spine. Am I about to make the biggest mistake of my life? Maybe. But that’s a problem to deal with later.