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Her tongue slips out as she wets her lips and nods. She looks back at Griffin, a frown pulling her lips downward. "I'm terribly sorry, Griffin. Something has clearly come up that needs my attention. Can we reschedule this for another time?"
Griffin glances at me from the corner of his eye and I don't miss the look on his face that quickly disappears before Aria sees it. He isn't happy about this situation, but he doesn't let Aria know. Of course, Griffin has to be the most agreeable and accommodating person. "Of course. We can reschedule for whenever is good for you." He pushes his chair back and rises to his feet. "Please, you stay," he tells her and nods. "Just give me a call later tonight."
She won't be calling you, dickhead.
Aria reaches for Griffin's hand and gives it a gentle squeeze. "Thank you. I appreciate you being so understanding."
Griffin gives her his award-winning smile before bidding her farewell. He nods at me before exiting the restaurant. I grab his wine glass and set it on the empty table beside us before I sit down. Aria looks flustered as hell, her neck and cheeks a perfect shade of pink. Her eyes are wide with her jaw set as she stares at me for a moment.
"You're something else, you know."
I flash a grin at her, this time a genuine one laced with amusement. "I'm well aware. I have a tendency to get what I want."
"What is it that you want?" she questions me.
The server walks up to the table with two plates of food. She gives me a quizzical look before she turns her attention to Aria and sets a plate in front of her. Aria offers her a smile. "You can put the other plate in front of him. My other friend had to leave."
She doesn't respond to Aria and gives her a smile while setting Griffin's food in front of me. I don't want to be rude, since I've already fully covered that base. I have no intention of eating the food that another man ordered.
"I want you."
Aria's fork clatters onto her plate as it slips from her hand. She gasps and recovers as she picks it back up. Her eyes flash to mine. "What?"
"I can't do this without you, Aria," I tell her as I fold my arms on the table in front of me. "We will do whatever you want to do with the routine. Hell, we can choreograph a new one if you'd rather do that." I pause for a second, letting out a deep breath. "Please skate with me."
Her lips part and she clamps them shut before trying again. "You interrupted dinner for that?"
"It was an urgent matter," I explain as I shrug sheepishly. "I need to know that you'll do it. I don't want to skate with anyone else. I don't want to have to find another partner. We both know we have chemistry and the skills. It has to be you."
She studies me as she slides her fork between her teeth. I watch, mesmerized, as she pulls the food from the tines and begins to chew. Her jaw moves in a delicate motion and the silence stretches between us. The electricity bounces off the molecules floating in the air. Her throat bobs, a slender movement as she swallows her food. She still doesn't speak a single word as she lifts her glass to her lips. She kisses the rim, tipping her head back as she pours some of the liquid into her mouth.
Aria swallows the wine and lifts her napkin from her lap to blot the corners of her mouth. Red lipstick stains the white cloth as she lowers it back to her lap. The anticipation is killing me. Amusement dances in her irises.
"Well?"
A slow smile pulls on her lips. "This is unusual. Let me enjoy the moment a minute longer."
I tilt my head to the side in question, not following what she is implying.
"I like watching you squirm like this, Leo."
A chuckle rumbles in my chest and I shake my head at her. "I'm begging you to put me out of my misery."
"Okay," she says with a grin. Her eyes shimmer as the light from the candle on the table catches them. "I'll skate with you."
CHAPTER SIX
ARIA
Leo visibly relaxes in his seat and a slow smile creeps across his lips. The butterflies in my stomach flutter to life. Earning a smile from Leo Wells feels like a goddamn reward. He's pleasant enough with most people, but it isn't often that I see him genuinely smile. He's really good at faking it.
"Are you going to eat?" I ask him as I point to the food Griffin ordered that Leo moved to the other table.
Leo takes a sip of his wine and shakes his head at me. "I don't want that."
"Well, if you don't want it, I'll take it home in a box if there isn’t any meat in it," I tell him as I motion for him to move it back to our table. Leo's movements are hesitant but he reaches for it and sets it down by my plate.
"Are you going to take it to Griffin?"
