My Temptation

Juliet "Will you relax?" Chloe says. Ugh. I look around the huge ballroom. "How did I let you talk me into coming here? I feel so out of place." "I bribed you, that's how. Stop whining. You look hot. "True, and you are paying up. Dinner anywhere I want next week, remember?' "McDonald's sounds good.' "Tight-ass." Chloe is my best friend, whose magical talent is talking me into doing things that I don't want to do. "Remind me why we are here again?" I ask her. "Because I want to have s****l intercourse with Dr. Grayson,' she whispers as she rearranges her boobs in her dress. "You know this already.' I giggle. "I thought you just wanted to f**k him?" "That too.' Chloe is in lust with a doctor who works at our hospital. The problem is, so is most of the female population, and he doesn't even know who we are. "Who is that slapper he is talking to, anyway?" I glance over to the beautiful redhead talking to Dr. Grayson. "I don't know, but she's hot." "I could take her. "Totally." The night is a glamorous event, auctions and celebrity trivia, and while I would love to tell you that my mind is on charity, that would be an appalling lie. This is so far from my thing, but I do admit that something has caught my attention: the stranger across the ballroom. I noticed him the moment I walked in. Wearing a black dinner suit, he's laughing and talking with a group of people. Dark-brown wavy hair, square jaw, and the biggest dimples when he smiles. "I'll get us some more drinks. Same again?" Chloe asks. "Yes, please." I watch her walk off to the bar, and then my eyes drift back over to him. He's very tall, maybe six foot four. Broad shoulders and built, but there's something about the way he's talking to his group of friends. He's all animated and laughing, and they're hanging on his every word as he commands their attention. I look around the beautifully decorated ballroom. I've never been to anything like this before. A fundraiser for the children's medical-research wing at the hospital I work at. urses don't usually get invites to things like this, but I've become friends with one of the doctors, and he invited Chloe and me to come along. I glance back over to the gorgeous stranger, and for the first time, we lock eyes. We stare at each other for a beat longer than usual, and then, as if perplexed, he tilts his chin to the sky as he takes a sip of his amber drink. Even the way he holds the glass is hot. His legs are wide and his back is straight, dominance oozing from his every pore. I snap my eyes away, embarrassed that I was caught perving. His wife is probably loitering around here somewhere. I pretend to look around and then glance back to see Dr. Grayson walk over to him. They begin to chat like old friends, laughing and animated. I bite my bottom lip to hide my smile. They know each other. It could be double date heaven. Chloe arrives back with our drinks. "I just saw Helen at the bar, remember her?" "Not really," I reply without even trying. "Yes, remember, she worked in our wing a few years ago." She continues on this long-winded story. But I hardly hear her. My attention is lost. I can feel his gaze on my skin sense that he's looking at me. Over the next two hours, more of the same. Every time I casually glance over, he's staring at me. And the thing is, when I catch him, he doesn't look away. He holds my gaze in a silent dare, as if willing me to do something just what that is I'm not too sure. Can a look give you goose bumps? Because I swear his is. I can't even say anything to Chloe because the reason we are here, the d**k Dr. Grayson, hasn't even looked her way. "Is he going to talk to every f*****g woman here tonight?" Chloe whispers angrily with her eyes locked on him. "I'm over here. You haven't talked to me yet, you giant dickhead. "Right?" We watch Dr. Grayson for a moment. "What's his first name again?" I ask. "Blake. "Blake Grayson." I twist my lips. "Hot name." "The name isn't half of it." Chloe eyes him. "He'd be great in bed." "What makes you say that?" "Look at him, how could he not? He could just stand at the end of the bed naked, and I would orgasm." I giggle. "True." Dr. Grayson looks more like a model than a doctor, with sandy-brown hair and a square jaw, fit and buff. "And he's a pediatrician." She sighs dreamily. "That's the killer, I have to agree." I glance back over to the handsome stranger to find him staring at me again. My stomach flutters. I can feel the air between us swirling, s****l tension so thick that you could cut it with a knife. This man is a walking temptation. "Lord have f*****g mercy," Chloe whispers. "See it?" "Yep." I sigh. "He's a f*****g asshole," Chloe spits. "Whatever, I don't care what he does.' I act unruffled. "Can I tell him what I think of him?""No," I snap. "Forget him like I have. I'm going back to bed." "I'm sorry, babe." "Don't be. I'm not," I lie. "Breakfast in the morning?" she asks. I can 't believe this. I really don't want to spend all day tomorrow listening to disco tales of Henley James, and seeing Chloe tomorrow will open the gates for that. "I can't. I'm seeing my parents," I tell her. "Catch up next week?" "Sure, babe." She hesitates. "You okay?" No. "Of course I am." I smile sadly. "Bye." O I hang up, and with my heart in my throat, I torture myself and watch the video of Henley agam. The way he's all relaxed and happy. The way he looks at that girl's behind. The way it makes me feel. As reality sets in, an old proverb runs through my mmd: If something seems too good to be true, it usually is. Asshole.