20. Emerson
Dinner was lovely. I let Stone order my food. I’d never been to this restaurant before, and he seemed familiar with it, so when the waiter asked us what we wanted, I nodded at Stone and told him to surprise me. I loved the little half smile that emerged as he studied me. Like he enjoyed the fact that I trusted him to choose something for me.
I’d made the right choice, letting him decide. The food that came was impeccable. The meat was tender, and it was paired with a sauce that made each bite melt in your mouth. I let out a soft moan and closed my eyes. When I opened them, Stone was studying me with an intensity that took my breath away. I smiled at him sheepishly, and he dropped his gaze to his plate, cleared his throat, and asked me a question about music.
Our conversation was easy, and I enjoyed it. I told him about the dreams I had; he told me his plans for the future. We both said we wanted to find the person we were meant to be with and start a family. My heart pounded when Stone studied me as I spoke. There was something in his gaze. A want that I couldn’t quite figure out, and I feared I was misreading it.
After some chocolate mousse for dessert, Stone placed his fabric napkin onto the table. I moved to scoot my chair out, but he held up his hand to stop me. I waited as he came over to my chair and helped me pull it out.
When I stood, the movement brought me inches from his chest. I could smell his cologne and feel the warmth of his body. When I peeked up at him, he was staring down at me once more in a way that made me feel like I was going to melt into a puddle.
Stone stayed a few inches behind me. I could barely feel his hand on my lower back as he guided me through the restaurant. He grabbed my hand and changed spots with me when a waiter came by with a tray of food propped up on his shoulder. Stone protectively reached out his hand in front of me as he shielded me from any possible misstep.
My heart was pounding now. Never in my life had Stone Walker touched me as much as he had touched me tonight. Electricity was coursing through my body at every point of contact. I was enjoying this so much, but at the same time, I was frustrated with myself for enjoying it so much.
Stone wasn’t mine. He wasn’t touching me because he wanted to. He was doing this for show. Each table we walked by, he nodded at the other patrons and even stopped to sign an autograph for an elderly man. Sure, he was good at playing the doting boyfriend, but it was all an act.
And I was the idiot who was buying it hook, line, and sinker.
When we got to the hostess stand, the ma?tre d’ disappeared in the coat closet and returned with Stone’s helmet and leather jacket. Stone took the jacket before I could. He shook it out before holding it up for me to slip my arms into.
I wanted to yank it from him and tell him that I could do it myself. That if he kept touching me like this all night, I was going to fall for him so hard and fast that I was never going to be able to get out of it.
He was going to ruin me for other men…forever.
But I was a glutton for punishment, so I turned my back to him and slipped my arms in, closing my eyes slightly when his fingers brushed my neck as he pulled the jacket up onto my shoulders. Feeling ridiculous for reading into this more than Stone had intended, I centered myself and turned to smile at him.
“Ready?” he asked.
I nodded. When we got to the front doors, I pressed on the door release and held it open for him. I needed to get some control back, or I was going to explode. Stone gave me a look that told me he was not happy with what I’d done, but I just gave him a wide smile and watched him walk outside.
The roar of his motorcycle filled the air as the valet drove it up to meet us. I slipped on his helmet as he tipped the valet. I swung my leg over his motorcycle. It surprised me how easy this was for me now. I’d never thought of myself as a biker but wrapping my arms around his body and feeling his broad back against my chest—I had been converted.
I slid further up on the seat and waited for Stone to join me. My entire body reacted as he held onto the motorcycle handle and settled in. The first time I rode on his bike, I did everything I could to pull my body away from his. Now, it was taking all of my strength not to sink into him. And watching his hands as he worked the handlebars to speed up and brake had me feeling all sorts of things.
I closed my eyes and allowed him to drive us back to our apartment complex. Even though there were no cameras around, I didn’t care. I was going to enjoy this ride. And if Stone asked, I’d just tell him that we never knew when the paparazzi would be watching.
It may have been my imagination, but I swear Stone kept closer to me than he’d ever done before. He leaned back into me when we idled in front of the garage door, waiting for it to open.
He glanced over his shoulder at me and told me to hold tight as he leaned forward and drove in. He pulled into his parking spot and turned the engine off. In one swift movement, he was off the motorcycle. He held out his hand to assist me. Shivers rushed up my arm when I placed my hand in his.
I climbed off the bike and expected Stone to let my hand go as soon as I was up and stable. But he didn’t. His fingers lingered with mine. I peeked up at him, wondering if he meant to do that, but then shook my head. That was a silly thought. He was just being a nice guy. A guy could be nice without being in love with you.
“Thanks,” I whispered as I pulled my hand away and moved to slide the helmet off.
He lingered close to me as I handed him the helmet. Then we started walking toward the elevator. Once inside, he hit the button for the fourth floor, and we rode in silence. I glanced over at him a few times, wondering what he was thinking.
His jaw was set as he kept his gaze forward. His expression was unreadable. I couldn’t tell if he was happy or mad. Or indifferent. Did he not feel these same jolts of electricity every time we touched? Had I just imagined it all?
I was a fool for reading into our fake relationship. To him, this was part of the act. Somewhere along the line, I’d allowed myself to believe that it meant something more.
“Thanks for dinner,” I said, breaking the silence between us.
Stone glanced over at me and nodded. “Of course.”
The elevator stopped, and the doors slid open. Stone extended his hand, so I exited first. We both stood on the landing, neither of us moving to our respective apartments. I didn’t want to be the first to leave. I wanted to be around Stone—even if, to him, our relationship was fake.
I offered him a soft smile. “Congrats on the win. I don’t think I said that today.”
Stone flicked his gaze down at me before he looked away. “Thanks. And thanks for being there as support. It meant a lot.” He pushed his hand through his hair before dropping his gaze to the ground.
“Of course,” I whispered. Then I chuckled as I playfully punched his shoulder. “What’s a fake girlfriend for, am I right?”
Stone’s entire body tensed. I worried I’d said the wrong thing. But a second later, he relaxed as he glanced over at me. “Exactly.”
Not wanting to stand out here and make a further fool of myself, I nodded toward my apartment. “Wanna come in for some coffee or tea?”
He glanced over toward my door before looking back at me. “Um, sure.”
“Awesome.” I shoved my hand into my purse as I walked toward my apartment. I pulled out my keys and unlocked the door. I slipped off my boots and then stepped further in so Stone could join me. He slipped off his shoes and shrugged out of his suit coat. I slipped out of his leather jacket, and he laid it over his helmet which he had set on the floor.
“You can make yourself comfortable. I’ll get the coffee pot started.”
Stone nodded as he walked into the living room.
I hated that this felt like a date when it shouldn’t. If Stone had been any other guy, then dinner at a fancy restaurant followed by coffee at my place would mean the date was going well, and I was excited to get to know the guy more.
But this wasn’t any other guy. This was Stone. The one guy that would shatter my already fragile family if they found out I was dating him. I blew out my breath, hating that I couldn’t just have feelings for Stone. I hated that my family was intertwined with my relationship with him. That I couldn’t just be free to fall in love with him.
I peeked over my shoulder in his direction. Did he feel that way toward me?
There were signs. If this was a normal situation, I would have figured he was interested. But our relationship was fake. Maybe he was just that good of an actor. I opened the cupboard that held the mugs and took two down.
Maybe I needed to test him. Here, in my apartment, there were no cameras. No one to put a show on for. If I tried to flirt, would he pull back? I squared my shoulders. It was time to find out.
With two mugs of hot coffee in hand, I turned and headed into the living room. Stone was sitting on the couch with both arms draped across the back. He had his eyes closed, and his head tipped back. As soon as I set the mugs down on the coffee table, he glanced over at me.
I gave him a big smile. “Didn’t mean to wake you,” I whispered as I moved to sit down right next to him. My knee brushed his, and I waited to see what he was going to do. When I glanced up at him, his expression was unreadable.
“I don’t know what you like in it, so I just put some of my creamer in.” I leaned forward and grabbed his mug. Then I turned and handed it to him. I made sure to touch him more than normal as I transferred the mug into his hands.
I could feel his gaze on me as I turned back to pick up my mug. I took a sip and then turned to face him. “Do you want to watch a movie or play a game?” I set the mug back onto the coffee table. With my hands now free, I rested one on his knee. “Unless you’re too tired and just want to call it a night.”
I peeked over at him to see his gaze was fixed on my hand. He didn’t look mad, but he also didn’t look happy. Was I reading this all wrong? I slowly pulled my hand away and moved to fold my arms across my chest. My confidence was quickly waning. Maybe I’d wanted this to be real so bad that I’d imagined things.
Was I that naive?
Stone straightened and then moved to stand. “I’m sore. I’m going to go do an ice bath,” he said as he made his way across my apartment to my front door. He had his things collected and his shoes on before I could even process what was going on.
He called a quick “good night” over his shoulder before he opened the door and disappeared. The sound of the door engaging filled the air. I blinked as I glanced around.
What just happened?
I glanced down at the two coffee mugs in front of me. Both still had steam swirling up from the drink’s surface. He hadn’t even stayed long enough to finish the cup. He agreed to come over only to leave so abruptly minutes later. Sure, I wasn’t his real girlfriend, but that didn’t mean he could just cast me aside.
Maybe I was a fool. He was always the first to walk away. He’d walked away from me in high school, and now this. When was I going to learn?
Anger filled my chest to the brim, and I paced back and forth in the living room. I was sick and tired of Stone thinking he could just walk all over me. Even if our relationship was fake, there was something called common courtesy. And I was seconds away from storming over there and giving him a piece of my mind.
I’d always been nice to him. I’d always taken care of him. I’d given him the lucky charm from my grandparents, for heaven’s sake. And to be treated like this?
This was crap. And I was tired of it.