Page 36 of The Tempted

We sat across from one another in silence. I sipped my cappuccino while Mikey downed two shots of espresso. This was just as painfully awkward as I imagined it would be. I watched as he nervously tapped his foot against the tile floor his eyes roamed the coffee shop staring at anything but me. He had called me relentlessly throughout the day and now here I was sitting in front of him and he had nothing to say. I pushed my mug away from me grabbing his attention as the saucer screeched along the old table. I lifted my eyes to meet him and looked at him expectantly.

For crying out loud, Mikey, you wanted to talk, so talk,” I said sounding exasperated.

“Yeah, I wanted to talk, but that was before I saw you and you looked like that,” he said with a swift nod in my direction.

“Excuse me?” I said, glancing down at myself. Well, excuse me if I didn’t put a fucking ball gown on. “I don’t always wear a mini skirt. Sorry to disappoint you, Mikey,” I sneered.

He slapped the palm of his hand on the table and leaned forward anger evident in his eyes.

“You think I’m referring to what you’re wearing? Princess, you could wear a fucking burlap sack and I’d still want to peel it off you slowly,” he gritted his teeth fire blazing in his eyes.

“Stop it,” I whispered hoarsely. I couldn’t listen to his illicit words. They were too tempting. He was too tempting. I forced myself to hold his gaze and not avert my eyes. The way he looked at me set my insides ablaze. “We need to get this thing between us under control,” I said, sounding weak to my own ears.

He leaned closer, his whole upper body hanging over the table as he pointed toward me and then back to himself. “Thisthinghas a life of its own and doesn’t appear to be going anywhere anytime soon. The sooner you and I accept that the better off we’ll be.”

I swallowed. “I didn’t come here for this.”

“What did you come here for?” he asked with his words sounding every bit as dangerous as the answer brewing in my head. He leaned back against the chair and relaxed his shoulders.

“I thought we could talk. I thought we could forget….”

“Forget?” he took a quick glance around our table before he leaned forward again. His voice dropped to a whisper. “Forget the way you sound when you come?” he shook his head slightly. “Not likely,” he cocked his head to the side as his eyes fixated on my mouth.

“Mikey,” I croaked. He lifted his eyes and the desire that had been reflected in them turned to anger.

“Glad our little encounter helped you with your drought,” his jaw tightened and he leaned away from me again. “Rico raved all about it.”

“What’re you talking about?” I asked confused. “What does Rico have to do with any of this?”

“Tell me, Princess, why did you call me that night? Why didn’t you call him to get you off?”

Anger boiled in my veins and I felt my fists clench at my sides. I sized Mikey up with a deadly stare deciding I could most definitely kick his ass for talking to me that way. It was my turn to lean forward, shoving an accusing finger in his face. How do you like it, Mikey?

“Listen to me asshole. You called me if you remember correctly…,” he interrupted me.

“I called you to apologize for putting my mouth on you,” he leaned into me. His breath mingled with mine. “You opened the door for what happened and I won’t be sorry for it, I’m only sorry it drove you into Rico’s arms,” he shook his head and then sighed. His face changed, his features softened and his voice sounded resolved. “What the fuck are you doing with him, Nikki?”

“What are you talking about? I have been avoiding Rico’s calls since it happened. He’s the one who is ultimately going to get hurt from our mistake.”

“You sure about that?” he asked.

“That I’ve been avoiding Rico?” I rolled my eyes, reaching into my purse for my phone I threw it across the table at him. “Check my phone.”

“I meant that your relationship with Rico is what you make it,” he said without even glancing at my phone.

I furrowed my eyebrows. “I don’t make it out to be anything other than what it is. What are you even talking about?”

“How did you two meet?”

“What do you care?” I asked furiously. How had this conversation gone from Mikey and me to Rico and me?

“Did he seek you out? Did a mutual friend introduce you? How did you and Rico come to be a couple?”

I shook my head reaching over the table for my phone. I wasn’t going to entertain crazy and Mikey was acting crazy. His hand closed over mine.

“Let go of me!” I said angrily.

“Think about what I’m saying Nikki,” his voice turned into a plea. “Is your relationship with Rico what you think it is? Because if there is even a tiny shred of doubt I want you to tell me. If there is even the slightest possibility that he hasn’t been true to you I need to know.”

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