Page 24 of The Sweetheart Dance
Smiling and nodding, I try to shake off the effect he has on me. He has me feeling way off. We have been sharing a cabin for a couple of days and I’m still not over the effect he has on me.
While we are walking past a bunch of women in the lobby, they all smile at him while trying to get his attention. Luke smiles politely but doesn’t engage in their attention.
I’m hoping he isn’t as big of a player as I would have assumed he was.
“All of these ladies are looking at you,” I whisper jealously.
He chuckles. “Yeah, probably. Maybe they are trying to find out who I am.”
“Does this happen a lot?” I’m jealous and I don’t understand why. I have no claim to him but I want that claim. I want to be able to claw their eyes out for looking at Luke.
Oh, geez. What is wrong with me?
He stops close to the coffee bar with his hands on my hips. He leans in close to me so his lips brush my ear making me tremble all over again. “If I wanted one of those girls, I would be with them and not with you.”
His words warm my insides. I fight off the urge to glare at them all to tell them to back off. He’s mine.
Even if it is for only a matter of days.
“Are you guys going to the dance?” An elderly man is standing in front of us with a big smile on his wrinkled face as he gawks at Luke.
Luke pulls me closer to him and kisses my cheek. “Of course, we are.”
“You made me five hundred bucks at the Superbowl. I should be buying you your drinks.”
My jaw drops at that comment since I wasn’t expecting it. I knew Luke’s team won, but I never expected how many people would be making comments about it.
I nudge Luke with a smile. “You’ve met a fan.”
He shrugs. “Thanks for watching, man! We did it for you!”
The man shifts his weight between his feet as if he’s dancing. I can tell he is trying to figure out how to ask Luke for either an autograph or a photo. I decide to put him out of his misery.
“Want to take a photo?” I ask while standing up with my hand out for his phone.
He looks as if he’s about to pass out from excitement. I can tell Luke’s fans really like him since he’s such a nice guy.
This only makes me like him more. I didn’t think it was possible, that’s for sure.
“I can’t intrude…”
Luke smirks his infamous smirk as he takes a stand next to the man. He places his arm around his shoulder and the other man hands me his phone. I take a couple of pictures before handing him back the phone with a smile.
The man looks at the pictures as giddy as a child waking up on Christmas morning. “Thank you! Save a dance for me!” The last part is thrown out there for me.
“Yes, of course.”
For the next twenty minutes, a herd of young women, middle-aged men, and younger men circle Luke like a vulture. He smiles in every photo, signs a lot of autographs, and makes small talk with them all.
I should be jealous he isn’t spending this extra time with me but I like watching him. I like seeing that Luke actually cares about his fans.
I’m seated off to the corner of the couch to give everyone enough space to crowd the football player when someone taps me on the shoulder. I turn to look to see if it is another fan of Luke’s trying to get in line to take a photo.
This woman could possibly be a fan, but she’s paying more attention to me. “I have something for you,” she states before handing me an envelope.
The woman is in her mid-thirties with slightly graying hair. Her body is plump, but her smile is warm enough to melt icebergs.
I accept the envelope eagerly to see what it is. I haven’t been expecting any phone calls or any other visitors especially since I just got dumped.
