Saved (Tempted #2) (2 page)

West drove to the restaurant and had Stay playing softly though the speakers. He made conversation with them while I chose to stay silent. Instead of talking I listen to the lyrics of that song. I could feel the emotion pouring from the lyrics and it hit me like a ton of bricks.

Did he really feel like that?

I could have been home finishing my online courses for tonight. But no, here I was in the car with my ex-boyfriend who I still loved no matter how much I wanted to hate him. Love sucked balls.

“Maddie, what do you think?” Grace asked, pulling me from my thoughts.

“About what? I spaced out,” I asked, looking at her.

“Do you want to go Planet Adventure? We can drive go carts.”

“Sounds great,” I said, letting my eyes wander to the rearview mirror.

It was like he could feel me looking at him because his eyes landed on mine. I knew I shouldn’t look at him and give any hope of us getting back together but I couldn’t look away. He made me feel like no one else.

“Remember our date there, Angel?”

Not so romantic, right? But it was. It was perfect.

He always had this fascination with calling me Angel. I never asked him why. After my wreck my parents got me my angel wing necklace. And I’m sure that he thought I got it because of him. I did but not in the way he was thinking.

“Date? You guys dated?” Grace asked, obviously confused, “I thought that was a rumor.”

“Nope, it was true,” I told her, looking down at my phone.

I wanted someone to change the conversation. I wished it was a rumor. Actually, that was a lie. There were some things I would change but loving him wasn’t one of them. But that’s something I could never let him know. 

“How long did you guys date?” Grace asked, looking from West to me.

“Almost a year,” West answered, tightly gripping the steering wheel.

“What happened?” Grace asked, sitting on the edge of her seat.

“I screwed up, let’s drop it.” West said, turning the music up.

Grace gave me a sympathetic look and I gave her a half smile. He tried every day after my wreck to make it right but nothing he did worked. I already had the scars. They were invisible but that didn’t mean anything. I knew they were still there

“We’re here,” West announced.

As soon as he parked the car, I hoped out. I didn’t want him to open the door for me and I knew that’s what he would do if he was given the chance.

“We have to pick teams,” Ethan said, looking at Grace.

I had to get her before he did, it could be girls against boys.

“Ethan, will you be my teammate?” Grace asked, looking at him.

Of course she did that. She liked Ethan and I couldn’t really blame her for that. But that meant I was stuck with West all night. Great.

“I guess we get to couple up. Feels like old times, huh?”

“Yay! This is just how I wanted to spend my night,” I told him dryly.

Swinging his arm around my shoulders, he led me inside. I tried to remove his arm but it was like it super glued to me. To be as tough as he was he was always a fan of PDA. That was fine when I was his. But there was one problem I wasn’t his anymore.

“Quit trying to move my arm,” he said, smirking.

Giving up, I let him have his way. It was just an arm. What could it hurt?

“What first, Angel? I know laser tag is your favorite,” West asked, pointing to the sign on the wall.

Of course he knew that. He knew everything about me. He knew that I would rather watch a horror movie than a chick flick any day and that I would eat cookies and cream ice cream for every meal if I could. He knew random things like that but he also knew that my body reacted to his touch like nothing else. He knew every secret.

Except one.

“Yeah, let’s do it,” I told him, trying my best to avoid eye contact.

I only agreed to it because it would mean minimum conversation with West. And I was so thankful for that.

“Let’s go,” Ethan said, walking toward the vest and guns.

Following him, I picked up the heavy black vest and slipped it on. Grabbing my gun, I quickly made my way into the dark room. I could hear the three of them laughing on their way in. Running to hide behind one of the huge barriers, I tried to distance myself from the voices.

I told myself I would play the game but I wouldn’t let West try to break me down. I wasn’t strong enough for that and to be honest I didn’t know if I ever would be.

“Where are you, Angel?” West called.

Staying silent, I searched for Ethan or Grace. I was safer with them. Not that I was scared of West, I was scared of the way I felt around him. It was toxic. Seriously, toxic.

“Are you trying to play hard to get?” he taunted me.

His voice was getting closer. But I couldn’t make myself move anymore. It was like I wanted him to find me, like I wanted to find out what he would do to me if he found me. We would be completely hidden but at the same time Ethan and Grace could walk up. Shaking my head, I tried to clear my thoughts. I couldn’t risk losing myself in him because I knew I’d never find myself again.

Jumping, I felt an arm snake around my waist and pull me in. Looking over my shoulder, I saw West with his stupidly beautiful face.

“W-what are you doing?” I stuttered.

“Holding you,” he whispered into my hair.

“I can see that,” I said through gritted teeth, “Why are you holding me?”

“Because all I can think about it being close to your body.”

I felt my heart flutter.

“You can’t say stuff like that to me.”

“I can’t help it if the thought of touching your body consumes me. I want to taste you again. I want you to love me again,” he said, tighten his grip around my waist.

“Let me go, West. I can’t do this,” I said, fighting myself free from his hold.

Turning around to face to him, I tried my best to talk but nothing came out. It hurt to look at him. So, I turned on my heels and ran the other way.

Seeing Ethan ahead of me, I held my gun up and shot him in the back. He turned around and fell dramatically to the floor.

“How could you do this to me?” he asked.

“Don’t take it personally,” I told him, pretending to blow smoke from my gun.

“You’re so hot!” I heard West yell but I couldn’t see him

Scanning the room, I saw him roll across the ground. Idiot.

“I’ve got you now, Grace,” I heard West yell, followed by an over the top evil laugh.

The lights turned back on signaling the game was over. I tried to get out of the room before West caught up with me but it was no use. I could sense him behind me.

“We won. We always did make a pretty good team, huh?” he asked, brushing my hand with the tips of his fingers.

“Could you not?” I asked, pulling my hand from his reach.

“Whatever, Maddie,” he said, storming out of the room.

Maybe I had got my point across. He might actually leave me alone now. I mean that was what I wanted, right? Well, if that was the case then why did it hurt to watch him walk away?

Feeling my phone vibrate in my back pocked, I pulled it out and checked the lock screen. One new text message from West.

West- Make You Miss Me by Sam Hunt.

What was that supposed to mean?

Putting my earrings on, I took a deep breath and looked in the mirror. I loved Ethan and I couldn’t wait to celebrate with him but I wasn’t too excited about seeing West. I hadn’t heard from him since that night at Planet adventure. I should have felt free but I couldn’t help but feel like something was missing.

“You ready?” Grace called from the living room.

“Yeah, I’m coming!” I yelled back.

Grabbing my coat and clutch from my bed, I made my way into the living room. And I saw Grace applying lip gloss in the mirror. She looked beautiful and I could tell she was nervous. She had a crush on Ethan and she wanted to look good for him. Why couldn’t I have fallen in love with someone like Ethan?

“You want me to drive?” Graced asked, placing her lip gloss in her purse.

“Yeah, let’s get going. We’re already late,” I told her, checking my watch.

Slipping on my coat, I made my way to the door with Grace following behind me. We walked as quickly as we could down the staircase. I knew the elevator would have been much quicker especially in heels but I hate elevators. I always thought I was going to get stuck in one. Not that I ever have but still it could happen.

Picking up Ethan’s gift, I walked to the door. Opening the door, we walked outside and ran to get out of the rain that was starting to drizzle. When did that start?

Finally reaching Grace’s royal blue Toyota Camry, I jumped inside and slammed the door. Grace got in and started the engine. She pushed her foot on the gas and tore out of the parking lot.

Reaching for my seatbelt, I buckled it in place. She could give West and Roman a run for their money any day. She drove like a crazy person.

“Whoa! Slow down, Vin diesel,” I told her, holding on for dear life.

“Oh, hush. I got this. I’m an excellent driver,” she said, turning the music all the way up.

I kept my mouth shut because I didn’t want to break it to her that she was a horrible driver. I just wanted to make it to the restaurant alive, was that too much to ask?

Grace turned into the parking lot. Once she found a parking spot, she slammed on the breaks.

“You’re insane,” I told her, getting out of the car and trying not to fall down, “You’re lucky I don’t get car sick.”

“Oh, toughen up. You dated a drag racer,” she said, grabbing my arm.

“Yeah, don’t remind me,” I mumbled.

Wait, was that Luca’s car? What was he doing here? I highly doubted Roman had invited him. Maybe he was just taking some poor girl on a date. Bless her heart.

Walking to the entrance of the restaurant, once inside we were greeted by the hostess. She led us to our table. Looking around the table, I saw Ethan’s face light up when he saw Grace. Next, my attention fell to Emma and Roman. They were being cute as usual. But when my eyes landed on West I had to suck in a breath. No, not because of how good he looked in his leather jacket or because of the new lip ring he was wearing. And not because of those gorgeous green eyes but because of who was sitting next to him.

Marilyn Martin.

He brought her with him. It wasn’t the fact that he brought a date that made me angry. It was the fact that he brought her but I was going to play nice. I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing that the two of them got to me.

He didn’t even see me because he was whispering in her ear and running his fingers down her arm.

“Hey, I’m sorry we’re late,” I told them, taking the empty seat between Emma and Ethan.

Grace walked to the other vacant seat by Ethan and claimed it.

“Oh, Maddie. I didn’t see you how long have you been here?” West asked, giving me a sly smirk.

He knew what he was doing but so did I.

“Not long. You can go back to whispering sweet nothings now,” I told him, slipping out of my coat and revealing my little black dress. Every girl’s secret weapon.

I saw his eyes roam my body, so I gave him an innocent smile and turned to face Ethan.

“Happy Birthday, E. I hope you like your gift,” I told him, handing him the wrapped box and kissing his cheek.

I got him a dog-tag necklace engraved with his father’s name.

“You didn’t have to do that, Mad-dog,” he said, pulling me into an one arm hug.

“I know I didn’t but I wanted to,” I told him before turning to Emma.

“Did you know he was bringing her?” I asked Emma, nodding my head toward West and Marilyn.

“No, he just showed up with her. We had to add an extra person to the reservation,” she said, looking at me with question in her eyes.

“Don’t give me that look. Just come over tomorrow afternoon and I will finally tell you everything. I promise.”

“Finally, I’ve been dying to know what happened between you two,” she said, clapping her hands together.

She finally stopped clapping and turned her attention to Roman. Looking around the table I saw that Ethan and Grace were lost in each other. Roman and Emma were whispering and laughing. And West and Marilyn looked almost ready to have sex on the table. Yep, it was official tonight sucked hard. Just like Marilyn did in high school.

I didn’t like being the odd person out, so I just pulled out my phone and tried to make myself look busy. Scrolling through my pictures, I saw a text message appear on my phone. It was from a number I didn’t know.

Unknown number- U look lonely. Want me 2 take care of that? ;)

Me- who is this?

Unknown number- Look up & look straight.

So, I followed the instructions and I saw Luca staring at me. And he was sporting that ever present smirk.

Me: leave me alone.

Luca- U want me to break you out of here?

Me: Y would I take u up on that offer?

Luca- So u could show him what he’s missing.

Me- & why do u want 2 help me do that?

Luca- Because I like 2 watch him squirm.

“Maddie, we know you’re not seeing anyone. So, put the phone down and stop pretending to text some mystery man in front of West. It’s kind of desperate,” Marilyn said, giving me a sympathetic smile.

“It’s no mystery man, sweetheart. It’s someone he knows well. And do I look desperate to you?” I asked her, giving her the fakest smile I could.

“Well, why isn’t he here?” she asked, challenging me.

That was the final straw. I was going to crush his heart just like he crushed mine.

“Actually, he is,” I told her, looking down at my phone.

Me- let’s do it.

Luca- Welcome to the dark side.

Why was everyone that was interested in me an idiot? I mean, seriously.

I could make him believe that I was interested in Luca. I could make him jealous just like he was trying to do with me. Two could play that game. It broke my heart that it came to that but he started it.

I looked up and saw Luca walking towards the table. Game on.

“Maddie, I’ve been looking for you everywhere. Do you mind if I join you?” Luca asked, looking around the table.

I saw West lock his jaw and look at me accusingly. I knew he hated Luca with every fiber of his being but at the same time he knew I hated Marilyn just the same.

“Yeah, I mind,” West said, slamming his hand down on the table.

“Hey, hey. Everybody calm down,” Roman said, “No, we don’t mind. Just keep it civil.”

“Always,” Luca said, smiling at West.

“I don’t see another chair. Sorry, you can leave now,” West said, smirking.

“That’s fine. Maddie can sit on my lap,” Luca told him, pulling me up from the chair and placing me on his lap.

West dropped his head as Ethan whispered in his ear. I knew Ethan was trying to calm him down. He was always the peace maker. Looking around I saw everyone’s facial expressions. They all looked shocked. I had forgot everything he did to make trouble for Roman and Emma. How could I have done this to them? But they didn’t know what Marilyn and West had taken from me. I was going to explain everything to Emma and Grace tomorrow. I owed it to them. I owed to myself. it was extremely hard to keep it all locked inside.

“Why do you look so mad, West? You have the infamous Marilyn Martin sitting next to you,” Luca asked, looking dead in West’s eyes.

Marilyn started smiling. She thought that was a compliment but I knew he was just calling her a whore.

Maybe I could like Luca after all.

“I’m not mad. Just feeling a little sick. I think I’m going to step out for a second,” West said, getting up from his chair and exiting the Restaurant.

Guilt hit my stomach like a ton of bricks. I knew brining Luca into it was wrong but I had no other choice. Or did I?

“Excuse me, I’ll be right back,” I told them, running after West.

By the time I got outside I saw him standing in the rain and it was really coming down.

“West, what are you doing? You’re going to be sick!” I yelled from under the small tent covering.

“I’m already sick, Maddie. How could you crawl on his lap?”

“Really? How could you bring her?” I yelled, feeling the heavy rain hit my skin as I walked toward him.

“I brought her because you won’t let me in. You’ve locked me out for five years. I thought if I brought her you might get jealous and fight for us,” he admitted, running his hands over his face.

“I want to fight for us but I already lost so much fighting for us the first time,” I told, looking down at the puddles on forming on the ground.

“What do you mean? What did you lose except for me?” he yelled, running his hands through his soaking wet hair.

“It doesn’t matter. Go back to Marilyn, it’s over between us. It has been for a while,” I said, turning to walk away from him.

Feeling him pull my arm, I ended up facing him again.

“Something like we had never ends. No matter how much you want it to and something tells me that you don’t want it to. Neither do i,” he said as his lips crashed on to my mouth.

Even the cold rain couldn’t put out the fire between us. But that was the thing about West he had this thing about him that sucked you in completely and as exciting as it was that’s how much it hurt when he left. Could I handle that again? I knew he would leave because men like him always do.