Lina couldn’t believe she had almost given in to Raymond’s advances in the backseat of the car. The memories of his warm lips on hers, made her feel things she hadn’t felt before, and his gentle long fingers tracing the contour of her body made her face flush.
Raymond took his hand that was resting on her bosom and reached out to gently brush a strand of hair behind her ear. “Hey, are you okay?” He asked, sensing her unease, his voice low and husky.
Lina’s eyes snapped to his, her gaze meeting the warmth and love in his blue piercing orbs. She felt a flutter in her chest. “Y…yes, I’m fine,” she stammered, trying to sound as calm as possible.
Raymond couldn’t help chuckling softly at Lina’s shyness. “You look so damn cute and beautiful when you feel flustered,” he whispered, his breath sending shivers down her spine.
Lina’s face grew hotter as Raymond’s words washed over her. She felt like she was melting into his gaze, and her body was betraying her resistance towards him. Suddenly, Lina couldn’t take his teasing anymore.
With a burst of adrenaline, Lina scrambled off Raymond’s lap, grabbed her bag, and fled the car. She didn’t dare look back, fearing what she might see in Raymond’s blue piercing eyes.
Raymond was surprised at how Lina fled so fast. He couldn’t help his lips curling up as he watched her short legs carry her to her apartment building through the tinted window. He knew she was still shy around him. He doesn’t want to push her too far. Her response to his intimacy just now was a good start for a healthy relationship, which shows she might also have feelings for him without her even knowing it. Not long after, he also stepped out of the car.
Lina, who thought she had escaped from Raymond, rushed into her apartment building, her heart pounding in her chest. She was supposed to be angry with him, not making out with him yet. She fumbled with her keys, her hands shaking as she tried opening the door.
Finally, she was able to push the door open and step inside. In the process of shutting the door, a foot wedges itself into the gap of the door, stopping the door from closing midway.
Lina’s eyes widened in shock as she stared at the sleek black shoe holding the door open. She knew those shoes, they belonged to Raymond.
“You! How…how did you catch up so fast?” She stuttered, her heart racing at the thought of Raymond coming in, trying to continue what they hadn’t finished in the car earlier.
“I’m faster than you think, babe,” Raymond whispered, his eyes glistening in amusement, the light in the hallway casting a warm glow on his handsome face.
“You are not welcome here. This is my house.” Lina said, trying to get rid of the flutter of her rising heart.
Raymond wasn’t surprised that she didn’t want him to come in. After having an intimate moment with her earlier, he felt he should leave her alone to cool off for the day. By this time tomorrow, she would be the one rushing back to him, apologizing that she was sorry for misunderstanding him after he cleared his name.
He took back his foot that was stopping the door from closing. Lina didn’t even give him the chance to utter a word before banging the door on his face.
Raymond couldn’t help the smile etched on the corner of his lips at her fiery temper. Just for a night Raymond, you can do this. He muttered, consoling himself before walking out of the building.
A moment later, he was already seated in his car. He brought out his phone from his pants pocket, dialing a familiar number. “Let’s grab one or two bottles of liquor at Heaven’s Club tonight. Make sure you invite Jayden with you.” After saying that, he hung up the phone. He gazed outside the moving car window, but he wasn’t enjoying the scenery, his heart heavy with the thought of Lina and their unknown future together.
***
6:30 p. m
Rihanna’s Apartment.
Ria let out a deep sigh, her exhaustion was evident in the slump of her shoulders. “Ahh, what a busy day. I’m so freaking exhausted.” She muttered to herself as she boarded the elevator to her apartment floor.
Just as the elevator doors were about to close, a powerful masculine hand, slipped into the gap, holding them open. Ria’s gaze drifted up to see who had interrupted her lift. Her eyes widened in surprise as the hand that was massaging her tired shoulders froze in the air. She took in the familiar features of Jayden, her boyfriend she broke up with a day ago.
Her instinct screamed at her to look away from him, but her eyes seemed not to be listening to her brain as it seemed rooted in his chiseled face. His piercing dark eyes lock onto her brown ones, which are filled with surprise, and for a moment, time seems to have stopped as they stare at each other.
The tension between them was palpable, and Ria felt her heart rising in her chest. Jayden’s lips curled up into a smirk at her bewildered look. He had been calling her since yesterday, but she wasn’t picking up, making him panic that she was serious about the breakup. He was someone who didn’t care about a woman’s feelings at all, but Ria was different.
Since the day he met her in the parking lot, he felt like he wouldn’t want any woman in the way she wanted her. Seeing that charming smirk of his that always turns her on, her mind reeled as she took her eyes away from him. Her gaze focused on the Roman numerals on the elevator panel, counting them down in her mind as she wished for the elevator to reach her floor quickly.
“Have a long and exhausting day?” Jayden asked, his deep voice sending shivers down Ria’s spine. From his tone, one would have known this was a usual question of his to her.
Ria’s eyes snapped back to his, and she felt a surge of irritation. What was he doing, getting into the elevator together with her? Didn’t he know she needed space? Instead of answering his question, Ria said with sarcasm, “Are you stalking me?” she asked, her tone dripping with annoyance.
The elevator doors finally closed, and the elevator began ascending to her floor. Ria felt trapped, stuck in this small space with the one person she’d been trying to avoid. She shifted her weight, trying to put some distance between them, but Jayden’s gaze followed her, his eyes burning with an intensity that made her skin prickle.
“Stalking you?” He chuckled, “have you forgotten I also live in this building?” he questioned, his tone playful.
“Humph, so what if you live in this building? Why are you boarding the same elevator as mine, if it’s not a form of stalking?” Ria snorted, irritated at Jayden’s answer to her question.
As the elevator stopped on Ria’s floor, she breathed a sigh of relief. She couldn’t wait to escape Jayden’s presence and lock herself in the safety of her apartment. But as she stepped out of the elevator, Jayden followed closely behind, his eyes never leaving her slender back.
“Ria, can we talk?” he asked, his voice low and husky.
Ria’s heart sank. What does he want to talk about? Their breakup? She didn’t think she was ready to face that conversation. Not yet. Not until Raymond, his friend, cleared his name, and made Lina happy again. Lina’s happiness was also equivalent to hers.
“I’m not in the mood to talk to you. When that friend of yours gives my friend an explanation for his infidelity, we can talk.” Ria faced him and said like a petty woman. After saying her piece, she stormed out of the hallway, leaving Jayden to gaze at her back which seemed lonely. Jayden couldn’t help kicking the trash can beside him in frustration, emptying its contents everywhere.
He couldn’t help cursing and blaming Raymond for his misfortune. He thinks it’s the right time to see that son of a bitch and teach him an unforgettable lesson. As he took out his phone to place a call to Raymond to meet, his phone rang, displaying Dylan’s name on the screen. He angrily picked up the call.
“What is it?” After listening to Dylan, his lips curled up into a wicked smile.
“Perfect timing,” he muttered to himself as he walked back to his apartment, which was on the same floor as Ria’s.