20 - TORN IN THE SPOTLIGHT

20 - TORN IN THE SPOTLIGHT

CHERYL’S POV

The air around me stilled as my eyes locked on Aiden. It was as if the world had slowed down, leaving just the two of us in this unbearable tension. He stood there, stiff yet poised, his arm resting lightly on Anika’s, but his gaze… his gaze pinned me in place. I couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe.

I should’ve looked away. I really should’ve, but there was something in those dark eyes that held me captive, something unreadable that twisted a knot deep in my chest.

“Come on,” Damon’s voice cut through the haze, his hand resting on the small of my back. He urged me forward, but the weight of Aiden’s stare clung to me like a second skin.

We stepped closer, and suddenly, there was no avoiding it. We met halfway. Aiden and Anika stopped just a few feet away, and the air felt like it was crackling, charged with tension so thick I could’ve sliced through it with a butter knife.

Anika’s face lit up the moment she saw me, though her smile wasn’t the least bit friendly. Her eyes flitted over my dress first, narrowing slightly before darting to Damon. Something dark and sharp flashed in her expression, and her perfectly glossed lips curved into a sly smile.

“Well, well, Cheryl,” she said, her tone as sweet as poisoned honey. “This is the last place I ever expected to find you. And dressed like that? My, my.” Her eyes swept over me again, slow and deliberate, like she was sizing me up and finding me lacking. “Who’s your date?”

“Damon Bass,” Damon cut in smoothly, his voice low and steady as he extended his hand toward Aiden, completely ignoring Anika’s outstretched one.

“Anika Andrews,” she said, her voice dripping with seduction as she tilted her head, her perfectly styled curls cascading over her shoulder. She left her hand hanging between them for an awkward moment before letting it drop. Damon didn’t even spare her a glance; his eyes were locked on Aiden, sharp and assessing.

“And this,” I jumped in, trying to douse the tension sparking between the two men, “is my roommate—”

“Aiden Scott,” Aiden interjected, his voice calm but carrying an edge that sent shivers down my spine.

Damon’s lips quirked in a barely-there smirk as he clasped Aiden’s hand. Their handshake was brief, but the way they stared at each other, unblinking, was anything but. The tension was unbearable. It felt like they were having a silent argument, one I wasn’t privy to but could feel radiating off both of them.

“Okay, guys,” Anika said, forcing a laugh to cut through the testosterone cloud threatening to suffocate me. “I’m drowning over here. How about a drink?”

Aiden’s eyes flicked to mine, softening for a split second before hardening again as he nodded. His gaze lingered, something unreadable flickering in his eyes, and my heart thudded painfully in my chest.

Damon’s hand guided me forward again, but I couldn’t focus. Not even the bright flashes of the paparazzi cameras could pull me out of my head.

Why did my heart twist like that when I saw Aiden? Why did it feel like my chest was being squeezed in a vice when I saw him with her of all people? Anika. Of all the women in the world, why her?

I wouldn’t have cared if it had been Pearl or anyone else. But Anika, with her slithering smiles and sharp eyes that seemed to cut through people, sent me spiraling to an edge I didn’t want to fall off. Were they a thing? Was he fucking her? Kissing her like he kissed me, his lips soft over her fair and slender neck – God I have to stop.

I forced myself to look at Damon instead. Damon was safe. Predictable in his unpredictability. If Aiden could parade around with his snake of a date, then I could play this game, too.

As the cameras clicked and roared, I turned toward Damon, pressing my body into his. His hand immediately went to my waist, steady and possessive, and the heat of his touch grounded me. The flashes were almost blinding, but I kept my focus on Damon.

“Are you up for something dangerous?” I asked, my voice low, my lips curving into a smirk.

That glint of curiosity sparked in his eyes. “Surprise me,” he said, his tone both teasing and daring.

I didn’t give myself time to second-guess. Gripping his collar, I pulled him down toward me and crashed my lips against his.

The reaction was instantaneous. The paparazzi roared, their shouts blending into a chaotic mess of excitement as the flashes exploded like fireworks around us.

Damon didn’t hesitate. His arm tightened around me, his other hand finding the small of my back as he kissed me back with a heat that made me forget, just for a moment, everything else.

But then I made the mistake of glancing sideways through the corner of my eye.

Aiden was still there, standing just beyond the flashing cameras, his eyes locked on me. His expression was unreadable, but there was something in his gaze—a flicker of pain, or maybe anger—that sent a pang straight to my chest.

And suddenly, it wasn’t Damon’s kiss I felt. It was Aiden’s.

I pulled back, just enough to break the kiss but not enough to ruin the show for the cameras. My head was spinning, and it wasn’t because of the flashing lights or the heat of the kiss.

What was Aiden doing to me? And why couldn’t I stop it?