Chapter 48

Evan's POV

It felt like a stab in my heart when she said she was with someone else. But I had no right to be angry. Not after being with Lily in her absence.

"Hey guys, this is James. We've been seeing each other for a couple of months," Annie smiled shyly.

"Oh, it's nice to meet you!" Lily chirped. I am sure she is happy about this.

"Hey. Heard a lot about you guys," James smirked.

I watched him closely. He was as tall as me but with a slightly smaller frame. Jealousy welled up inside me as he wrapped his arms around Annie. I looked at Mike. His eyes were dark. I guess I wasn't the only one who was upset.

"I am Evan," I introduced myself. Trying my hardest not to sound hostile. I had no right to be mean to this guy. I had to play nice. For Annie.

"Ah, Evan. It's nice to meet you," James stared at me intently. His warm demeanor suddenly changed. His jaw hardened. I grinned. Annie must've talked about me a lot, otherwise, he wouldn't look so threatened by me.

"Well, I am Mike. Let's get something to eat, I am starving," Mike announced.

The atmosphere at the table was awkward, to say the least.

"So, how'd you two meet?" Lily asked in an attempt to make conversation.

"I saw a pretty cute girl struggling with finding her classroom so of course, I had to step in and help," James chuckled. "We became friends over the last few months, and I asked her out two months ago."

"I see. Couldn't help yourself to move in on her because she was helpless huh?" I said bitterly.

"Evan!" Lily gave me a warning glance.

"It wasn't like that," James narrowed his eyes at me.

"Um...should we order something? Or are we going to spend the whole day glaring at each other?" Mike asked.

"Right," I said and waved at the server to let her know we were ready.

Annie's POV

Things were going fine, except for the fact that Evan and James kept glaring at each other like they were rivals. Maybe this was a bad idea.

Evan kept staring at me intently, making my heart flutter. Please stop, I thought. I don't want my old feelings to come back and haunt me again.

"I need to talk to Annie in private," Evan announced and stood up. He extended his hand toward me, waiting for me to hold it.

"What...now?" I asked.

"Yes, right now," Evan said gruffly, his eyes glowing. He reminded me of the old Evan back in high school. Intimidating and demanding.

"I don't think that's a good idea," James said and moved in his seat as if to get ready to stand up to him.

"I didn't ask you. And I don't want to make a scene. Come with me, Annie," Evan demanded again.

"Take it easy, man," Mike said.

"You don't get to order her around," James said and stood up.

"Guys please...no need to act like this. I am going with Evan to see what he has to say," I said quickly and took Evan's hand.

"But Annie," James protested.

"It's okay, I'll be right back don't worry," I smiled reassuringly. James relented but he didn't look too happy about it.

Evan pulled away from the table and didn't stop until we were at the parking lot.

"Who the fuck is that guy? Why are you with him?" he asked me. He sounded hurt. It wasn't my intention to meet someone and hurt him but a lot can change in a year.

"I am sorry, Evan. It just happened. He was really nice to me so we became friends. He was there for me when I struggled with being blind. I had no one to help me. I wanted to wait for you but after a year, I thought I'd never see you again," I said. Tears ran down my cheeks as I couldn't hold it anymore.

"Little hamster," Evan said and gently wiped my tears away. "I understand you were alone and scared, but you can't tell me you love him."

"N... no... but I am like him, and I am with him now. It's too late for us to be together," I said quietly.

"No, it's not," he whispered then leaned down and placed a soft kiss on my lips.

"Evan please, don't do this," I whimpered.

"I love you. You can't tell me you don't feel the same way," he said and stroked the small of my back.

His touch sent a jolt of pleasure through my skin and I felt like I was going to melt. No no no, this was all wrong. I couldn't do this to James. I promised him I didn't love Evan anymore.

"I don't! I don't love you anymore," I cried.

"Liar," Evan said and smashed his lips on mine. But instead of pushing him away I parted my mouth and let him in. That familiar feeling of longing came back in an instance as his tongue danced inside my mouth. I felt like my heart was about to explode.

But it was just a brief moment where I lost all control. I pushed him away as I suddenly remembered how wrong this was. I couldn't do this to James. He was there for me when I needed someone.

"Stop! Just don't Evan! I am going to say it again. It's too late for us," I sobbed.

"That's not what I felt when we kissed, Annie. You are lying to yourself," Evan looked at me with heated eyes. They were a mixture of sadness and anger.

"Just don't come near me again. Go back home and forget about me," I said.

"Everything okay?"

I turned as I heard James’s voice behind me. I hoped he didn't see me kissing Evan.

"Everything is fine," Evan said curtly.

"Are you okay, Annie?" James asked me with his eyes full of worry. "Are you crying?" He turned to Evan. "What the hell did you do to her?" he glared.

"I am fine, let's just go home," I said and grabbed his arm.

James nodded and gave Evan a final glance before taking me home.