Tempt the Hookup (Tempt 3)

“Even if he asked for your consent, you couldn’t see.” He continues to laugh. “Let me ask you a serious question.” He looks at me, and I really think he is going to ask me a serious question. “When your eye started swelling shut, did you just see black? Or did you see some light?”

“Fuck you, Noah,” I say, turning to walk out. “I’m going to have Lauren put a curse on you.” Looking over my shoulder, I smirk at him, and he stops laughing right away. “Fuck with donkey kong.” I point at him.

“Don’t you fucking start with that donkey kong bullshit. Last time was fucking hell. I walked around looking over my shoulder for a fucking month waiting for something to come and bite me in the ass.” Lauren may be sweet and nice, and she may be married to his best friend, and they may be in-laws, but once she sets her wrath on you, watch out. I mean, just ask her husband. He ended up in the ER with swollen balls.

“Have a nice day.” I smile at him and walk away while he yells my name.

I walk back into my office, and one of my clients comes in for a surprise meeting and new lawsuit, which takes over most of my morning. And by the time I finally walk out of my office, it’s way past eight o’clock. I pick up the phone and call Eliahn.

“Hey,” I say softly, “I just got out of work. Is he sleeping?” I ask, and she almost grunts.

“He called you earlier, but Lauren said you were in a meeting,” she says. I can’t pinpoint what’s bothering her, but I have a feeling it’s something.

“Yeah, I had a case that fell into my lap,” I tell her, getting into my car. “But the good news is that I’m due in court in the morning, and then I have the afternoon free, so I’m going to pick him up from school and take him to the park.”

“That sounds great.” Her voice starts to get soft. “He’ll love it.”

“I hope so,” I tell her, and we hang up before I even get home. The call was to the point and not at all friendly. Did I piss her off? Maybe it’s because I was in a meeting, but I told Lauren to call her and let her know.

The next morning when I walk over, she is still standoffish, and I don’t know if I should bring it up or not. “This is his overnight bag.” She hands me the little backpack. “Everything that he needs should be in there. If not, I’m sure you will be fine.” She smiles, but it’s a weird, forced one.

“Perfect.” I smile down at Aiden. “Kiss Mommy goodbye,” I tell him like I do every single morning. “Have fun tonight.” I try to say it with meaning, but I hope she has a horrible fucking time. I hope that he’s an asshole, and I hope she doesn’t fucking come home with him. “Text us when you get up tomorrow.”

“Will do,” she says. “I’ll call him later to say good night,” she says, and I turn and walk down the steps to the car. The day goes by at a snail’s pace; court is pushed back till eleven, but we let out at one so that is good. Even at the park with Aiden, time goes slow, and I keep looking at my phone as the minutes tick by and then the hours. Eliahn calls at around eight, and I can tell by her voice that she is having a good time, which makes me hate it even more.

She doesn’t even ask how our day was or what we did; she just asked Aiden. I put him to bed shortly after the phone call, or better yet, he falls asleep watching television, but it’s Friday. I carry him to bed, and I’m not lying when I say I wait up for her. I pace the house almost the whole night, and at three a.m., I finally give up, turning off the lights and heading to bed. My stomach is twisted in knots, but it’s not my place. She isn’t mine, I tell myself, but it just tastes like acid in my mouth.

Chapter Twelve

Eliahn

“This spa is the top of the line,” Troy says as he opens the door to this spa, and I swear the sound of waterfalls hit me right away.

“Good afternoon,” the lady behind the wooden desk greets us. “My name is Greta; welcome to Serenity Spa.” Her voice is so calming you are almost put in a trance.

“It’s so great to be here,” Troy says from beside me. “We have an appointment at one for Troy and Eliahn.”

“What?” I look over at him, surprised.

“Consider this my welcoming gift.” He knocks my shoulder with his playfully.