“You ok?”
“Yeah. Thank you.” I push off the door because having him that close to my body makes everything inside me feel like fireworks. I tell myself it’s the adrenaline from seeing Billy and Kandi, but teenage Blair is giddy as fuck right now.
“I don’t know why I froze out there. I knew they would be here.” I walk over to the sink and check my makeup and hair in the mirror. My eyes dart to look at him in the reflection. He’s leaning against the door with his hands casually in his pockets. I can’t tell what he thinks, so I keep talking.
“It’s just embarrassing when your failures get photographed and splashed all over the gossip magazines. I hate it and try to avoid it at all costs.”
He just smiles and then pushes off the door. His steps feel like slow motion until he’s standing beside me. He reaches out to tuck a loose lock of hair behind my ear.
“I wouldn’t consider the split with Billy a failure, but I understand what you’re saying.”
His hand is still resting on my shoulder, and I can’t tear my gaze from his right now. When his eyes dip to peek at my lips, it’s easy to forget all about how much he hurt me and instead I imagine what his lips would feel like on mine.
A knock at the door pulls us out of our trance.
“We should get back out there.” I walk to the door. “I’m sure Sophia and Grant are wondering where we are.”
“She sent a text a few minutes ago. She’s headed into the theater with your friend Grant.” His eyebrows raise as he emphasizes “your friend.”
“Grant is harmless.”
“He looks comfortable with you.”
“He is,” I say. I won’t apologize for having good relationships with male colleagues. “We’re just friends.”
I can feel Wyatt’s body against my back as he reaches around to open the door for me.
“Good.”
My heart races again, and I need to get these butterflies under control. We’ve both obviously moved on. What happened was so long ago, and even though we were friends first, what we had was just a fling. Besides, I’m trying to land his sister as a client. I need to keep everything professional.
When we exit the bathroom, he reaches down and laces his fingers through mine. It’s hilarious how quickly I fold on my stance to stay professional. I shake it off and assume it’s allfor the crowd of reporters and photographers still around, just a friendly gesture. He’s just helping me out, taking one for the team.
Whatever you need to tell yourself, Blair.
We make our way into the theater, and I shiver as he places his hand on my lower back to guide us to our seats. Since we are the last ones to show up in our section, I’m now sitting next to him instead of Grant. Sophia and Grant are a few seats down and she leans forward and looks over me to ask Wyatt what took so long. Her gaze darts back and forth at us both.
“Lines for the bathroom were long,” Wyatt says.
I smile at her awkwardly, hoping it looks like I’m confirming his lie.
The lights go down, and the show begins, but all I can focus on is Wyatt’s thigh pressed against my knee. He moves his elbow to the edge of the armrest, leaving space for my arm, but my attention is fixed on how big his hands look resting on his leg. I immediately hate how my body betrays the pep talk about professionalism I just gave myself.
Swallowing the desire, I focus on trying to make it through the next fifty minutes.
ten
. . .
WYATT
I graba drink from the bar and scan the room to find Blair. She’s talking to the talent, and as I watch her, she throws her head back in laughter. God, that makes my dick twitch. She’s so gorgeous. All I wanted to do in that theater was slide my hands up her thighs and see if she was as excited to sit next to me as I was to be sitting next to her.
She looks around the room, and our eyes lock when she spots me. She offers a small, professional smile, and I take it greedily, giving her one in return.
I’ve missed her.
There’s a lightness in my chest I haven’t felt in years.
