Slide by Michelle Congdon Read Free Book Online Page A

an upbeat rhythm. I felt like a conductor while each jet was an instrument, and together we were playing in a grand symphony. A tiny smile crept up on my face as I hummed a random tune in my head.
    “ Evangeline? ”
    I spun around at the sound of my name. You have got to be kidding me!
    A few feet away stood Ryan, with yet another young, beautiful, blond woman in tow. Both were elegantly dressed; Ryan in a fine black suit and the girl in a black lace dress. What were the odds of running into him at the same hotel? What were the odds of ever running into him at all? New York was a big city and it wasn’t like I ventured out much. And how stupid had I been for drunkenly hooking up with him? Clearly, it wasn’t enough. The player needed to get his fix from someone else and that someone else was attached to his side.
    “What on earth are you doing here?” he questioned curiously.
    I wanted to ask him the same thing but kept my mouth closed instead.
    He covered the small distance between us with ease and the next thing I knew he was standing in front of me, towering down with that intimidating grin of his firmly in place. I felt my breath hitch in my throat as he leaned in closer. Control yourself!
    “Are you going to just stand there and act like you don’t know me? I’m finding it a little embarrassing,” he whispered into my ear. Although his words weren’t meant to be seductive, I felt my whole body shiver impulsively with delight.
    My eyes fluttered closed and I began to imagine what it would be like to have those soft lips kissing my entire body again, just as they had a week ago. When I opened them a short moment later, I came face to face with a wide, ear-to-ear grin and a twinkle of amusement in his eye as he studied me intently. Shit, what is wrong with me?
    “Hello, Ryan. Sorry… I’ve just got a lot on my mind right now,” I finally replied. I could feel the heat slowly rising in my cheeks. He was too close. Way too close.
    I somehow managed to take a step back out of the hot zone.
    “I can definitely see that. I hope I appear in there somewhere,” he teased just loud enough for only me to hear. He took a step back, giving me even more room to breathe again. The air around me cooled almost instantly but I struggled to relax knowing he hadn’t taken his eyes off me.
    “Are you going to keep me waiting while you flirt? You are such an ass sometimes, Ryan,” the girl behind him complained, throwing her hands up to her hips.
    I blushed again. Could this strange and awkward situation get any worse? Did all the girls he messed around with act like this? How could they stand him being this way?
    Our connection broke when I cowardly looked away. I swear I saw him blush but I had to be dreaming it.
    I heard him let out an exasperated sigh. “Annabelle, will you just shut it for one minute?” he said sternly with a hint of sarcasm in his tone. He didn’t turn away. He kept his eyes locked on me, leaving me completely dumbfounded. These two clearly had some strange relationship going on.
    “Stop telling me to ‘shut it’, Ry.”
    The girl stormed up to us, nudged him out of the way and held her hand out towards me. I eyed it warily for a moment before slowly accepting it. Was this some kind of a joke?
    “Hi, I’m Annabelle. I don’t often like introducing myself to any of the women Ryan has slept with but he’s acting rather strange so I thought I’d see what the fuss was all about.” The Annabelle girl actually looked me up and down before the smile on her face widened. “Well, this will be very interesting…” she muttered.
    I stood there utterly speechless. I didn’t know what to make of this bizarre situation. Was this his girlfriend? Were they in some weird open relationship? Maybe they were into the whole ‘swingers’ scene?
    Seeming to have collected himself, Ryan stepped in at that precise moment. “Annabelle, you’re such a brat. Stop terrifying the poor woman and quit embarrassing