TEMPTATION

Chapter 6

JUSTIN'S POV

“Okay, so let’s try that again then we can call it a wrap guys!” Nick Demoura, my choreographer and dancer instructed. I wiped the sweat off my forehead and prepared.

We all did the moves perfectly, well, I thought I did pretty great.

“Darn it Luke! What’s going on today?” Nick shouted.

“I don’t know man. Just not in my element today.” Luke answered, honestly.

“Do you wanna sit it out today? No pressure if you ain’t feeling good man.”

“No, I’m fine. I can do this!”

“You sure, man? You don’t look too good?”

“Nick ..”

“I think you should take a break man,” I spat and everyone turned around and looked at me.

Luke didn’t say a word, instead he picked up his bottle of water and walked away to the locker rooms. I heaved a sigh of relief and then tried to refocus my attention on the dancing but when I looked to my side I saw Camilla staring at me. She had this pained expression on her face that I had never seen before. I looked away and started dancing again but I knew for sure that something wasn’t right.

***

“So you gonna come to the show tonight?” I asked her as we walked out of the studio.

“No, I just wanna chill with Zoey!”

“Okay, I’ll see you later babe,” I kissed her cheek and then watched her enter the car to take her back to the hotel. I was heading to my meet and greet and then later I was going to be on stage performing for thousands of fans. It was riveting.

I watched as she was driven away and then I turned and entered my own car to head to the Meet and Greet.

Camilla’s POV

I was looking forward to getting back to the hotel and having a long bubble bath and just relaxing for the rest of the night. I really just wanted to be alone. We had just left the dance studio and I was sitting in the car staring outside the window when I saw Luke, walking on the side of the road.

My heart began to flutter and I felt the need to do something.

“Could you just pull over, I wanna pick someone up!”

“No problem,” the driver said.

The car slowed down and then finally came to a stop. I opened my window just as Luke was passing.

“Hey, want a ride back to the hotel?”

Luke looked up at me with an intense glare. He looked as if he was conflicted. His eyes showed a distant longing and yet they also showed rejection and betrayal.

“Nah, that’s probably not .... I’m fine, don’t worry about me.” he muttered.

“Luke, it's only 10 minutes away. I’m being nice, please just get in the car.”

I said that and he chuckled softly before walking to the other side and entering the car.

The drive was a silent one. None of us spoke, instead we just fidgeted and fiddled around with ourselves. I tried to stay calm even though his presence beside me made me feel a bit uneasy , it was this weird feeling of wanting to sit as far as possible from him but at the same time wanting to be held close by him, covered by his arms. I sighed at the confusing thought, a bit too loudly I presume.

“You alright?” his voice startled me.

“Yeah, I’m fine!” I lied.

“Why ain’t you going to the concert then?”

“Not in the mood I guess.”

“Right. Well I’m free tonight, wanna hang out?” he flirted, with a cheesy smile.

“Really?” I laughed, looking at him for the first time since he entered the car.

“Yeah really,” he giggled, his smile making me blush.

“Umm, what’s there to do in Dallas?”

“I don’t know. Have you ever watched rodeo?”

“Naaah, and I don’t know if I want to. Looks really brutal on tv.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be there the whole time.”

When he said those words, my throat suddenly became dry and I couldn’t find the words to reply. I didn’t know whether it was okay for me to be feeling like this.

We finally arrived at the hotel and we alighted in silence.

“So, pick you up at 6.30?” he asked from behind me, as I walked into the lobby of the hotel. A thin smile forcefully etched on my face and I struggled to find a reason to reject his offer.

“You mean, meet you at the lobby at 6.30?” I mused, and he laughed faintly.

“Yeah, that’s exactly what I meant,” he said, moving closer. We were in the middle of the lobby but for that moment, I could care less about everything else that happened around me as we stood there staring into each other’s eyes.

“Oh, I’d better get going. See you later, Luke.” I said, trying to sound as casual and composed as I could.