Stolen Heart

Chapter 17

"What the hell, Jack?"

"Lana! What are you doing?"

"You were supposed to come and save me! Did you forget the signal?" She brought her index finger to her eyebrow to spark his memory.

Jack laughed. "No, I didn't forget the signal. I just needed a sec. I was going to pull you out of it soon!"

"Yeah, yeah sure! Thanks a lot! This might be the worst date I've been on in the history of dates!"

Jack laughed again, but this time it was deeper. Ugh, why is he so sexy when he laughs?

"Well, it can't be that bad. The poor guy looks like he's having a blast."

"Yeah, because he gets to hear the sound of his voice and all that powerful knowledge he has being recited."

"Ah, I see. We have a mansplainer. I was prey to that condition once. It's a deadly disease. You know what mansplaining is, right? So it's when a man tries to—"

"Jack! This is serious. I think my ears might start bleeding."

"Lana, if you wanted to go on another amazing date, you could've just asked me nicely. I would have gladly done it." Jack smirked and leaned in a little closer, his face mere inches away from Lana's in the confined space.

Lana was trying hard not to smirk back. She took a deep breath in, and his breath mingled with hers. The electricity in the air made her fiercely aware of his scent and the way he briefly ran his tongue over his lower lip.

Lana, don't be fooled by his charms. She leaned back and shook her head, snapping out of the daze that was nearing. "You know what? I don't need you to rescue me! I'm just going to call Chloe and see where she is."

"Okay, good luck with that." Jack cleared his throat and leaned toward the side to try to unlock the door.

Lana blocked his path. "Wait!"

He stepped back and waited for Lana to continue.

"What happened with Tammy? Is everything okay?"

"Yeah. Everything's fine. She's just upset about something I said."

"Did you break up with her?"

"What? No, it's not like that at all. Tammy is like a sister to me."

"Does she know that?"

Jack laughed. "Well, I hope she does since she's dating one of my good friends."

"Oh, okay." Lana looked down and then looked back at Jack, who was smiling. She wanted to ask more but didn't want to be nosy.

"Can I go now? Our dinner companions may think we have bladder problems at this point."

"Oh, yes." Lana unlocked the door and let Jack out. She tried calling Chloe and it went straight to voicemail.

Ugh. Chloe, where are you? I guess I just have to sit through this date and complain to you about it afterward.

Lana looked at herself in the mirror and fixed some flyaways before taking a deep breath and heading back out into the restaurant. She scanned the bustling place; Jack and Tammy weren't at their table anymore.

It wasn't until she glanced at her table that she stopped abruptly in her tracks. Her eyes grew wide and her mouth dropped as she saw Grayson and Jack sitting next to each other, laughing like they were old friends.

What is happening right now?

She continued cautiously, and both men looked up at her smiling. "Lana! Come meet an old friend of mine from college! Lana, this is Jack. Jack, this is Lana."