Chapter 5

ANNA

Ray and I had a whole weekend planned, but due to Jordan, everything changes. He takes her skydiving instead.

They invite me to come with them, but I don’t want to be the third wheel tagging along and spoiling their time together.

So instead, I am at home relaxing on a Friday night. Xander is away on a business trip, so I’m just chilling on my couch, reading a romance novel, sipping coffee.

~I don’t know why it bothers me that he didn’t text or call. It’s not like we are a couple or anything.~

Just as I am thinking this, my phone rings. It’s my mom.

“Hi, Mom. How are you?”

“Hi, sweetie. I’m wonderful. I’m not going to take up a lot of your time. I was wondering if you will be bringing someone with you to our anniversary party next weekend?”

I can hear the hopefulness in her voice. I love my mom, but she can be so nosy.

“Yeah, Mom—”

Before I can even finish my sentence, she almost yells, “Really?”

There’s a little bit too much excitement in her voice. She always tells me I’m going to end up alone and leave her with zero grandkids to spoil.

Which doesn’t make sense, because my older brother Hendrie and his wife Kate have a son, Noah, who is two, and a second one on the way, so I don’t know what all the fuss is about.

“Yeah, Mom, it will be me and Ray. But I’ll let you know if there are any changes. Now I have to go. Love ya.” I hang up.

The front door slams open and Ray races past me.

“Hi, Anna!” she calls over her shoulder, and runs upstairs to her room.

“Hey, Ray.”

~Okay, now I’m confused.~

Shaking my head, I turn my attention back to the book.

After fifteen minutes, Ray comes back down in a sexy white dress.

I pull up one eyebrow and scan my friend’s new outfit.

“Do I even wanna know?” I ask, smirking at her.

She has a sweet ear-to-ear smile on her face and sparks in her eyes.

“Jordan is taking me to this fancy restaurant tonight,” she answers as she falls next to me on the couch.

“Oh, Anna, I think I’m in love,” she says, as if admitting it to herself.

“Aww, Ray. I’m so happy for you!” I pull her in for a bear hug.

“He is so sweet and gentle. I can tell he cares for me,” she says, full of smiles.

“Oh, yeah—before you run off with your Prince Charming, my mom called and just wanted a headcount. Will Jordan be coming with us next weekend?” I ask Ray as we stand up from the couch.

“I’ll ask him.”

A knock on the door gets my friend running to open it. Jordan looks all fancy in a nice suit.

“Hi, Anna. Hello, beautiful.” He gives Ray his handsome smile, offering her his arm. Without any hesitation, she hooks in, and off they go.

***

It is almost eight o’clock on Saturday morning. When I get up, I decide to take a long shower and make myself a nice cup of coffee.

I am still busy in the kitchen when I hear my phone ring. I fly upstairs, get there just in time, and don’t check the caller ID.

“Hello,” I answer, a bit out of breath.

“Hello, Anna,” says a husky voice.

“Damitry, how did you get this number?” I ask, a bit shocked.

“Dominique gave it to me. I was wondering if you would like to have breakfast?”

~Did he just ask me out on a date?~

“Um, okay.”

“Great. I’ll pick you up in thirty minutes.” I can hear a smile in his voice.

I walk to my closet and pull out a pair of short jeans, a short-sleeved khaki shirt, and matching sandals. I put on some makeup, comb through my hair, and, for a finishing touch, grab my sunglasses.

As I get downstairs, I hear a knock on the door. Damitry is already waiting for me when I open it.

“Hello, Anna. You look breathtaking,” he says with a gorgeous smile.

He takes my hand and leads me to the car. He also drives an Aston Martin, but I think it’s a newer model, and it is a silver one.

He opens the door for me, helps me in, and gets in himself. He puts on the radio and we drive off.

He starts to ask me questions about my life and my family. I ask him a few as well. He tells me that Dominique is his twin sister, and that they have another brother who lives in Tokyo.

When I ask him about Xander, the air gets stiff.

He clears his throat and answers, “He’s my best friend. He’s more like a brother to me, really. We’ve known each other since forever. He’s a great guy.” He flashes me his sexy smile as we pull up to the restaurant.

It’s a cozy little place with a view of the Hudson River. We make more small talk while we eat.

After a nice breakfast, we go sightseeing. He shows me all his favorite places.

~I’ve lived in New York for more than five years and I’ve never seen some of the places. It is beautiful.~

We decide to take a short cruise on the Hudson River and have some sushi on the boat.

It is just past seven o’clock when we pull up to my apartment building.

“I had an amazing time today. Thank you,” I say, giving him my sweetest smile.

“It was my pleasure.” He leans in and places a soft kiss on my forehead, then gets out, walks around, and opens the door for me. He walks me to my apartment’s door.

“Good night, Annabeth,” he says, then gets into the car and drives off.

I enter the apartment with a smile on my face, head up to my bedroom, pull on my PJs, and cuddle into my first love, my bed.

I grab my book, meaning to read it till I fall asleep, but I can’t read much. My mind keeps on dwelling on our date.

***

Work on Monday isn’t very busy, and time flies by. I spend some of it wondering why I didn’t hear from either Damitry or Xander all day Sunday. I know Xander is back from his business trip.

When I get to my locker at the end of the day, Ray is leaning on it, a devilish look in her eyes and a big smile on her face.

“We are going dancing tonight with the gang,” she says as she pushes herself upright.

“Oh? And who will the gang be?” I ask, giving her a small smile.

“Well, it is you, me, Jordan, Dominique, and the boys,” she replies, tapping her bottom lip with her fingers like she is thinking. “Jordan will pick us up later.”

~Oh, Ray, what have you done? Moment of truth…~

We get home, have a quick shower, and get all dressed up. We finish up and head out the door, where Jordan is already waiting for us.

At the club, Jordan orders us some drinks. I scan the room and see Damitry and Xander in the VIP corner, deep in conversation.

Ray pulls me by the hand to the dance floor. We start dancing; Jordan comes over and wraps his arms around Ray’s waist. He is so possessive—but cute.

I feel two hands on my waist, pulling me in. Ray’s eyes get big and worried. I start to feel uncomfortable.

“You sure know how to move that sexy ass of yours, hot stuff.”

I feel his breath on my neck. It smells like rum. I rip the hands off me, turn around, and see a stranger.

He is taller than me and looks dirty, like a truck driver. He has a hungry look in his eyes and a devilish smile.

“What the hell? Who do—” I am still yelling at him when Damitry and Xander appear at my side.

“Keep your hands to yourself, asshole,” Xander spits through his teeth.

“Or what, huh, pretty boy?” The man pushes himself up against Xander.

Damitry doesn’t say a word. Instead, he clenches his fists, grabs the guy by the shoulder, and lands a punch in his guts.

Xander signals to Damitry with his eyes that there are two more coming, then grabs me by the hand and pulls me behind him.

They knock out the other two guys. When Mr. Truck Driver catches his breath, he pulls out a knife and heads straight at Xander. Damitry pushes Xander out of the way, and by some miracle, the blade misses him by an inch.

My heart is in my throat and my palms are all sweaty. It’s a full-on fistfight.

After a while, the bouncers come and break up the fight, asking all of us to please leave. Damitry and Xander know how to land a punch. They only have a few minor injuries, nothing too serious.

We stand awkwardly together outside the club. There is a dark cloud hanging over us, and nobody says a word until Ray breaks the silence.

“So, that was one hell of a fight.”

Everybody just stares at her.

I stand there, fiddling with my fingers. It is starting to get very uncomfortable.

“Can we go home now, please?” I whisper to Ray. She smiles at me, then asks Jordan to take us home.

I don’t hear from Damitry or Xander for the rest of the week.

***

It is Friday morning and I’m busy packing. We will be driving to my parents’ place for their anniversary party. It’s a long trip, so we want to leave early. Jordan is coming with us, and we’re taking his car.

Around ten o’clock, we hear the Aston Martin pull up. Ray opens the front door, whispers something in Ray’s ear, and starts to rub the back of his neck.

Ray looks upset when she turns to face me.

“I hope your mom wouldn’t mind more company,” she says, darting her eyes at Jordan. He is starting to look seriously uncomfortable.

“What company?” I ask, confused—just as Damitry appears next to Jordan. They both smile innocently at us.

~What? Why…oh no!~

“Hi, girls. Hope you don’t mind if I tag along?”

~I guess it could be fun. At least this way my mom won’t force me to talk to every single man there.~

I smile at him.

“Okay, you will be my plus one, then.” I wink and grab my bag.

“What? Nuh-uh, Anna, you can’t just be okay with this! He didn’t even call the whole week, and now here he stands, all”—Ray waves her hands up and down at him—“sexy and smiley.”

I start to laugh at her gesture.

“It’s okay, Ray. He can come with us. I think it will be fun. Let’s get going.”

Ray just gives Damitry a dirty look, then grabs her bag and hands it to Jordan.

“Here, let me help you.” Damitry reaches for my bag and takes it to the car.

Ray is about to hop in the back, but Jordan opens the front passenger door for her and asks if she would please sit with him. He looks like a puppy begging for a treat.

Ray looks at me and I nod at her. She jumps into the car, all pouting.

~This is going to be a long drive…~