Page 51 of A Win-Win Situation
I look at myself in the mirror one more time and spritz myself with my favorite vanilla perfume before I leave my room.
Of course, Lucas is already waiting in the kitchen, leaning against the kitchen island with a coffee in his hand. I curse undermy breath when I see him looking as handsome as ever. His outfit is casual; he’s wearing a pair of dark jeans and a t-shirt.
Our eyes lock as I walk toward him, and Lucas's gaze slowly travels over my body. I become acutely aware of his attention, and my body reacts to his lingering stare. My heart skips a beat as a flush spreads across my skin.
Why does he have this effect on me? I don’t understand; we don’t even know each other enough for me to react like this.
All I ask is that he doesn’t notice how my traitorous body reacts. I lick my lower lip nervously, and I catch Lucas mirroring my action, his eyes zeroing in on my lips.
Yep, he totally noticed.
To my relief, his eyes move back up to meet mine. The intensity in his gaze is unmistakable, and I can see a flicker of something there.
He takes a sip from his coffee cup. "Did you sleep well?"
I stop in front of him, leaning in ever so slightly to smell his cologne. It smells woodsy and manly, and my breath catches in my throat. For a reason, my voice can’t seem to come out, so I nod.What’s wrong with me?Why can’t I seem to act like a normal person in front of him?
Lucas blinks, and I take a step back, feeling embarrassed.
I try to shake off the tension that still lingers in the air as I busy myself with getting a glass of water.
Remember you’re still mad at him.
I try to dig up the feelings from yesterday, but now there’s something else that has been added to the feelings.
Guilt.
I might have overreacted,I think.
Lucas clears his throat and looks away, and I can tell that he's trying to regain his composure.
"We should get going, We don't want to be late."
I nod again, take a last sip from my water, and follow him out of the apartment and into the death trap.
NINETEEN
LEORA
My heart is racing as I step into the elevator with Lucas. I don’t know if the stress is adding to my usual fear, but I can’t breathe. Lucas's eyes are on me, yet I can't bring myself to look at him.
I can tolerate him disliking me. But pitying me? I can’t handle that.
My palms start to sweat, and I feel like I'm going to faint. It feels like someone’s hand is wrapped around my throat, squeezing it tighter for every second that passes. I'm suffocating, like the walls of the elevator are closing in on me. My chest tightens, and I struggle to take a deep breath.
Lucas turns to me with a concerned look on his face. "Are you okay?"
I don’t answer. I can’t, because if I open my mouth, I’ll break down. Instead, I try to calm myself down, repeating to myself that I'm okay, that this is just a small space, that I'll be out soon. But the panic is overwhelming, and I can't seem to shake it off.
Finally, the elevator doors open, and I rush out, gasping for air. I try to compose myself as best as I can, but my hands are still shaking.
A large hand softly lands on my back. "Leora?" he says my name with a tone of concern, as if he's worried.
I manage to take one large, calming breath before I nod at Lucas. With a weak smile, I say, "I’m fine, don’t worry." But the truth is, it hasn’t been this bad in a long time. I usually don’t freak out this much when other people are with me.
I take a few more deep breaths, trying to regain control of my racing thoughts and calm my body. I don’t know why, but I don’t want him to know this about me. It’s so silly. Even though I have a feeling he wouldn’t judge me for it, I just don’t want him to know.
Who’s afraid of elevators at the age of twenty-eight? It’s embarrassing.
