The Trouble with Love

❝ if you're gonna take me down ❞

He looked up, probably shocked by my easy surrender. "No problem, Lena," he said with a tired smile. I flashed him my brightest grin, then left his office, closing the door on my way out.

I kept dinner simple. I didn't feel creative today, so I threw some potatoes and chick in the oven to go with the leftover salad from yesterday. They had just finished cooking when my phone buzzed.

I picked up and put it on speaker as I took the pans out of the oven. "Hello?"

"Elena," a low voice greeted from the other end.

I almost dropped the potatoes. "Ashton?" Why was he calling me? And how had he gotten my number? Well, the last question wasn't really a mystery, considering he was Ashton Sinclair, though it was quite stalkerish if he had done what I thought.

"I'm gonna guess you forgot about our plans tonight?" he asked.

What? I set the food down before I could drop it. "I thought you were joking."

I could practically see him raising an eyebrow from the tone of his voice. "You seem to think I'm joking about a lot of things, Elle."

And there it was.

The strange nickname he had given me.

Over the past week or so, I had found I could guess what kind of mood Ashton was in by what he called me. If he was actually feeling happy, or something like that, he would use that nickname. If not, and usually it was not, it was just 'Elena'. I had also found that Ashton was one of the most unpredictable guys I knew. He could be glares and stony expressions and cryptic messages one day, then nicknames and jokes and teasing words the next.

It made my head spin.

I had no idea what I was supposed think of him.

I shrugged, even though he couldn't see me. "Well, I thought with everything that had happened..." I trailed off, knowing I didn't need to finish my thought.

If what I said got to him, he didn't show it. "I believe you owe me." His tone was still light, teasing. I guess he was in a good mood tonight. No telling how long that would last, though. I preferred the more cheerful version of Ashton, though it was pretty rare. Or maybe it was just me.

"It was a joke," I protested.

"You agreed," he reminded me.

"I'm busy," I lied.

"You're lying," he countered.

"You don't know that," I said.

"Are you really?" he asked.

"No," I admitted.

"Exactly."

Now I was confused. What I didn't get was why Ashton wanted me to go out with him so much. Shouldn't it be the other way around? I got the feeling that this was a game to him. It probably was. This whole thing was a game, I knew that. What I didn't know was what he expected to win from it.

"You owe me," he added when I didn't reply.

I sighed. "Fine." I turned off the oven and left the pans to cool as I walked upstairs.

"What's your address?" he asked.

I thought of Kaden downstairs. "I'll drive myself. What's the address?"

"Una Noche Bella. Know where it is?" he asked.

Well, shit.