***POV ISA***
"Lie!" Alex, my best and only friend, exclaims incredulously, not caring about the people around him.
I take a deep breath, scanning the entire restaurant where we were having lunch to see if anyone was paying attention to our conversation. I invited my friend to lunch because I needed to talk to someone about last night.
"Isa, for God's sake, tell me you agreed to have a replay with him!" He looks at me anxiously for answers.
"As if you don't know me, of course I didn't agree, Alex," I sigh. "It was just one night. Just one night..."
Like a kind of magnet, my eyes wandered away from my friend and looked towards the entrance to the restaurant. There was the cause of my inner turmoil over the last few hours.
Noah Cooper.
My eyes pass over him, who is wearing denim shorts, a white T-shirt and a gold chain around his neck.
I watch as he says something to the man next to him, who nods and walks away. Noah plays with the chain around his neck and looks up, meeting my eyes.
I swallow my saliva with difficulty, unable to look away.
I barely notice when he stops in front of our table with a smile on his lips. And what a smile he has!
"Isabela Alencar," he greets me, and God, why does my name sound like that on his lips? So... so... seductive?
"Noah Cooper." I return the greeting to avoid being rude.
"I think we're meeting too often, don't you?" he asks, raising an eyebrow.
I open my mouth several times to answer him. I try to formulate a sentence, but I can't under his intense gaze.
"Maybe it's fate," he concludes.
We stare at each other for long minutes without saying a word, until a cough makes me look away from him.
Alex.
He feigns a cough to show his presence.
Noah takes his eyes off me for a moment and looks at my friend.
"Alex Roux," said my friend, standing up and extending his hand to Noah in greeting.
"Noah Cooper," he replied, shaking my friend's hand while still looking at him with his intense eyes.
"Would you like to join us?" Alex invites him to sit with us, receiving my furious look. I'm going to kill him. What does he think he's doing?
Noah laughed softly at my reaction.
"I appreciate the invitation, but I'm waiting for someone," he sighs, and Alex looks at him curiously. "I have an appointment here," he explains.
"Oh, of course. The invitation's already been made!" Alex smiles.
Noah nods and turns his gaze to me once more.
"It's good to see you again, Isa," he says with that damn smile.
I watched as he moved away from our table, heading towards where some other men were sitting. He positioned himself in a way that faced me.
"I can feel the sexual tension between you two from here," Alex says, catching my attention, and I glare at him seriously.
"What the hell were you thinking about inviting him to sit with us?" I ask.
"I just wanted to be polite," he defends himself, but I'm not convinced. I raise an eyebrow, questioning him, and he laughs. "Maybe I wanted to give you guys a little push. Come on, it's obvious you both want this replay!"
I smirked mockingly.
"That's not an option, Alex. I'm ten years older than him. He's the newest sports star; something about him is in the news every day."
Alex sighs impatiently at me.
"Forget about age, Isa. The chemistry between you two is so obvious," he sighs. "What's wrong with enjoying each other?"
My traitorous eyes glance toward the front table where he's sitting. Now, he's talking to the man beside him. He looks serious, but then he smiles and shakes his head, turning his gaze back to me and catching me staring at him.
"I just got out of a nearly 15-year marriage; I can't get involved with someone now." I give another excuse.
I have a list of reasons why this involvement shouldn't happen.
"You're so old-fashioned, Isa," he sneers. "You're not going to marry him; you're just going to enjoy each other's company."
We both know I'm not that kind of woman. I was brought up to be a housewife and the perfect wife and, until yesterday, the only man in my life was my husband. I'm 35, but I feel like a naive girl in today's world.
I may be single now, but it's not in my nature to stay with people just for the sake of staying. Which makes it surprising that I gave in so easily to Noah. It didn't take much effort for me to give in; just the look in his eyes made me feel so hot!
"I'm going to the bathroom," I told him.
I got up from my chair and walked slowly to the ladies' room. When I reached the restroom, I entered one of the vacant stalls, but I barely had time to think when someone slowly pushed my body inside and closed the small door.
I stared at that wall of muscles, wanting to scold her.
"What's that?" I asked, trying to pretend that her presence didn't bother me.
"Have you thought about what I told you?" he asked, looking me in the eye.
"I have nothing to think about..." I bit my lip nervously. "I've made up my mind," I concluded.
His eyes followed my every move, even when I bit my lip nervously. He brought his hand up to my neck and squeezed it gently. I sighed and, with his hand on my neck, he stroked my lips with his thumb. I closed my eyes, feeling his touch.
Why is that so good?
Why do I stand like that in front of this man?
"There's no point in you denying it," he sighed, tightening his grip on my neck and running his hand up the back of my neck, grabbing my hair. "We both know we have a lot of chemistry. Last night was...It's too intense not to repeat. I just want to be with you one more time."
I was about to give in when we heard a noise in the bathroom accompanied by female voices. There were two girls, and what were they talking about?
That's right, they sighed at how much more handsome Noah was in person and couldn't believe they were having lunch in the same restaurant as him.
I sighed when he loosened his grip on my neck and stroked it, sending shivers down my spine. His eyes remained glued to mine.
"What have we got to lose? She whispered.
I opened my mouth to answer him, but he put his fingers over my lips, silencing me.
"Shh, think carefully, beautiful?" He asked with his intense gaze, and as if it were a spell, I nodded in agreement without saying anything. I was completely mesmerized by his gaze once again.
He kissed me on the corner of the mouth and left the bathroom, leaving me alone, gasping for breath.
What the fuck is happening to me?