Ambryan blinked out of his daze. His female companion was nowhere to be found. Other women surrounded him in the middle of the rink. He started to roll away, estimating where he last saw a pair of hazel eyes.
He squinted and formed a plan.
Eve giggled as she zipped around a friend group. Her dress easily stood out among the rest. The best way to lure a certain CEO was to hide it, only teasing a glimpse before it disappears. Her skirt clung to her thighs and knees. She kicked the ruffles and gained speed. Her arms pumped, almost like whenever she went running.
She created a route among the crowd, passing through narrow spaces. Her roller blades never stayed straight. They zigzagged at every chance.
Oh, how she loved it.
Another skater saw her escapade. The teenage boy mimicked her movements, thinking it was choreography for the song. Eve laughed as he added more arm motions. He pulled his right hand up and down, pointing his index finger. She followed him as they glided on their right side.
A few of his companions trailed behind them and did the same thing. They created a train, slithering across the rink like a snake.
Eve used it as an opportunity to escape. She came to a full stop. Two columns of people whizzed on either side of her. She blended in among the sea of skaters.
The train continued on with her. Others crowded around it as if they made a maze. Voices sang along with the music. Hands clapped to the rhythm. Contagious energy thundered on the rink.
Eve kicked herself away in search of some air. The amount of people suffocated her. She took a deep breath and watched the fiasco, skating backwards. A small smile displayed on her face. This was one of the things she missed about the rink.
There were rarely any bad nuts who loved to ruin the fun.
A figure loomed in the shadows. The young woman was too engrossed at the display. She didn’t realize where her skates headed for. Her guard was down. It was the right time for an attack.
Still distracted, a muscular arm snared her waist from behind. Eve jumped but the grip only tightened and locked her in place. Her hazel eyes widened in surprise. She felt a warm presence on her back.
“Gotcha,” a whisper spoke in her ear.
An electric current sparked from the sound. It sent shivers down her spine. Her body shook from the sensation as a chuckle mocked it. It was low and menacing. The voice relished in her ears.
The predator now became the prey.
Ambryan turned her around to face him. His left arm wrapped around her lower back while his right hand held her left one. Eve had her right hand on his chest, keeping their bodies apart.
He lifted her up and raised her feet off the ground.
“Now, what should I do with you, Ms. Evangeline?” Ambryan wondered out loud, tilting his head to one side. His eyes glimmered wickedly.
“Re-Releasing me seems like the be-best option.” Eve stammered and breathed out a laugh. It seemed that her lungs forgot how to function. She gasped for some air.
“No,” Ambryan smirked. His thumb brushed on her waist. He felt her tremble under his grip. “At, least, not without something in exchange.”
“An exchange?!” He heard her exclaim. The once confident hazel eyes now became uneasy. He watched as an awkward smile stretched her lips. “For my freedom? Am I in jail?”
The joke made him grin. “Do you want to be?”
“No!” Eve practically yelled. She could just imagine how she’d explain her absence at work. ‘Oh, Sir Hathaway? I will be absent since I am in prison. How did it happen? Well, you put me in it!’
Ambryan thought for a moment, maintaining eye contact. “What you have to do is simple.”
“Really? Then, there’s no need to—”
Eve’s heart leaped out of her chest. He dipped her body until it was almost parallel to the floor. His left arm supported her balance and her weight. Their noses almost bumped together.
He emphasized each syllable as he spoke.
“Call me by my first name.”
Eve blinked. She replied before her brain processed the request. “I’m sorry but it’s a mouthful.”
Ambryan scoffed with his corner lip tilted upwards. He couldn’t believe this woman. “Are you mocking me?”
“Yes!” She beamed and fluttered her lashes. It was true. During her first week, she was too nervous to ask how it was pronounced. Thankfully, Avery visited, angered by something, and called him out. She noted it down right away.
‘Uhm-bree-yan.’
“Then, you have to be punished.”
Instant regret drenched over Eve. Her feet completely left the floor as Ambryan carried her. He hooked his right arm under her knees. Initially, he would have thrown her over his shoulder but he thought better of it.
He reserved it as punishment for worse cases.
Eve yelped as her arms wrapped around his neck. The new position turned her into a statue. They’d never been this close. The shock fried her fight-or-flight response. It made her idle and obedient.
She could hear his steady heartbeat, unfazed by the whole thing. She sent him a mental curse for his lack of discomfort.
It wasn’t fair!
The bodyguard stood beside the table, watching over their belongings—mainly their shoes, the jacket and the sling bag. Ambryan took Eve back towards it and let her sit. They still needed to return the shoes. Both removed them quietly.
Eve used her wig and hid her face. It fell like a curtain between them. Her cheeks must be inflamed, almost blending in with the wig color. She hardly breathed from the embarrassment. Her throat even clogged up.
How did things turn out this way?
“Are you alright?” Ambryan asked next to her. He stood up and took both pairs of shoes. He instructed his bodyguard to return them. His hands tucked themselves in his pant pockets, one of his signature poses.
It became only the two of them again.
Brushing on her skirt, Eve stood up. She grabbed her sling bag and hung it on one shoulder. Her arms folded over her chest. It created a barrier between her and the outside world. Her gaze refused to meet his.
Ambryan scowled. He’d seen this reaction several times from his mother. “Are you upset?”
“How wouldn’t I be upset?!” Eve suddenly yelled, snapping her head towards him. An angered grimace painted over her face. “Not only did you scare the soul out of me but you also carried me out of the rink!”
It was an unsettling experience. She didn’t dare look around. Many eyes must have seen it. What would they think of her now? Of him? Of both of them? It was a family-friendly establishment as well.
‘How humiliating!’ She wailed in her thoughts and hung her head.
“I thought women liked it when a man sweeps them off their feet.”
“Oh, don’t be a smartass,” Eve snapped, rolling her eyes. She shook her head in a random direction. She continued to avoid him.
Ambryan chuckled from the sight. “You’re quite the woman, Evangeline.”
This time, Eve turned to look at him. She hadn’t imagined it. He wore an amused smile on his lips. Her voice shook as she spoke. “And why do you say that?”
“Not everyone I just met would be comfortable with scolding me.”
It was a simple statement but, to her, it meant a lot. If she wasn’t looking at his face, she would have thought he was scolding her. Actually…, now that she realized it…, was he actually scolding her?
“Are you the one mad then?” Eve challenged, cocking an eyebrow.
Ambryan put his hand on her upper back and led her towards the exit. Since she talked to his face now, it must be safe to interact with her. “No, I don’t mind it.”
“Really?” She blinked. This day kept becoming weirder and weirder. Was it something they ate?
“Do you want me to?”
“No!” Eve screamed as she raised her hands in surrender. The tension finally left them. She did not want a second round of it. The bystanders probably thought the same.
“Anyway, let me take you back to your home.” Ambryan said, changing the topic. They reached the front doors and stepped outside. The sun already began to set. It loomed low over the horizon. The sky had been painted in warm colors.
“What’s the address?”
“It’s 221—” Eve choked on her own spit.
She almost gave the apartment’s address. The apartment that was rented by Andie and Eve. The Eve who wasn’t her at the moment. Not to mention the company car parked outside of it and the address on her work documents. Everything pointed it out as a dead give away.
What was she supposed to do now?
Materialize a building out of nowhere?
Where could she find a magic shovel and do that?
ns 15.158.61.20da2
