Page 16 of #Awestruck

How did he ratchet my annoyance from an eight all the way up to, like, ten million? “I don’t remember inviting you.”

“You didn’t.”

Was that all he was going to say about it? “How did you find me?”

“I called your dad’s law firm, and he gave me Aubrey’s extension, and she was happy to tell me where you’d be.”

Oh, a conversation was going to be had between me and my sister. Maybe a conversation of the physical variety. Because I was going to kill her. And given his role in this fiasco, I’d force my dad to represent me for free after I took her out.

We were starting to attract an audience. I saw a group of giggling teenage girls hanging around by the bleachers, waiting for him. I wanted to be like, “Run! I’m the ghost of Evan Dawson’s past! This won’t turn out well for you!”

Instead, I said, “Okay. I’m going now.”

He fell into step alongside me and then even opened the gym door, letting me go first. I was about to tell him I was perfectly capable of opening my own doors when I noticed the teenage horde was closing in on us. I’d seen videos of what they did to celebrities, and I did not want to get caught in the cross fire. We went around a corner, out of sight of the throng. I grabbed Evan by the shirtfront and pulled him into the empty gym. I held still in the dark, listening to the sound of too much lip gloss and low self-esteem passing us by.

“You know, if you wanted to get me alone, Ashton, all you had to do was ask.” His voice was low and almost purring, like a giant predatory cat.

I needed to remember that’s what he was. A predator who only looked out for his own self-interests and couldn’t care less about other people.

And yet I stood there, still holding on to his shirt, breathing in his scent of soap and some kind of masculine cologne that had my toes curling in.

I forced my hand to release him and backed up, feeling along the wall for the light switch. I found it and turned the lights on, flooding the gym with brightness.

“Thanks for the save,” he said, hands in his pockets as he leaned against the wall.

“I didn’t do it for you.” I couldn’t explain why I’d done it at all. “I think they’re gone. We can go now.”

Instead of pushing on the door and leaving, he walked over to a cart and grabbed the basketball on top. He bounced it on the shiny floor, the sound echoing loudly off the walls. “It’s been a long time since I’ve played.”

Nobody cared, least of all me. Before I could say as much, he spoke again.

“I am sorry for just showing up, but I need to sit down and talk to you. I gave up too easy the last time I tried to apologize to you, and I’m not doing that again. Have dinner with me?”

How many times was he going to ask the same question and expect a different answer? “This is your plan? To hound me until I give in?”

“Not hound. Ask nicely. Repeatedly.” He took off his jacket, and my traitorous eyes followed the outline of his biceps and shoulders in his shirt.

“Why do you even care? Why is it so important for you to explain?” The words burst out of me; I hadn’t intended to speak them aloud.

“Because of all the things I regret in my life, what happened with you is one of the things I regret most. I’d do anything to go back and change it.”

Why did that make my eyes fill up with burning tears? “Yeah, so would I. But time travel is still not a thing.”

He held the basketball against his stomach, resting his forearms around it. “Right. So the only thing left is for me to beg for your forgiveness after I explain everything to you.”

“Not going to happen.”

There was a pause as he considered my instant response. “I never figured you for the kind of girl who’d hold a grudge like this.”

“It’s not holding a grudge. It’s just keeping certain memories fresh in my mind so I’m better prepared for having to talk to you.” And to keep my hormones in check, because they liked Evan Dawson and everything about him very, very much.

He laughed. “I’d forgotten how funny you are.”

Today, it was not on purpose. I let out a long sigh as my response.

“Ashton, please go to dinner with me.”

My resolve started to crumble ever so slightly. “Why do I get the feeling you’re going to keep asking until I say yes?”

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