I swallowed as I read his words. It was a mixture of disappointment and relief that spread through me. What if it all suddenly happened too quickly for him too?
My alarm bells rang and I got even more nervous. Bay had said that I shouldn't change the meeting place because it could get dangerous.
But this was Erik. Erik wasn't dangerous. We were friends and nothing would happen. Or was I being too naive?
The fact that he was typing for so long made me even more nervous. I finally wanted to see him, but somehow, I didn't feel ready.
I could no longer control my shaking. To make sure I didn't lose my phone, I quickly activated a live location for Larissa, slipped it back into my pocket and took another deep breath.
“Okay... You can do it,” I said to myself. No one could hear me here anyway. Then I pushed my way through the crowd dancing to Danza Kuduro by Don Omar and Lucenzo.
I felt as if the music had gotten louder. It was a wonder I didn't have a headache yet, because my body normally hated so much stimulation. Loud music, booming bass, colorful lights, the smell of smoke and sweet alcohol. All of this could have made me explode by now. But it was different. It was as if Erik had taken a place inside me from which he controlled all my thoughts. He distracted me so much that I actually made it to the exit, where I squeezed past people still queuing and high school kids smoking.
I paused for a moment because somehow, I still didn't feel ready. Erik was only a few meters away from me, somewhere out here. He would surely recognize me immediately by my insecurity and then it would be too late. I could still turn around. I could still go back to Grace, in front of whom Larissa couldn't ask any questions.
The fact that I finally left the club and found myself in the pleasantly cool parking lot was only thanks to the quiet voice inside me that called out for Erik's company.
There was no turning back now. I was actually going to meet Erik.
I walked slowly across the parking lot, where a few drunken teenagers were making out with each other.
I looked at every face, but no one seemed to be interested in me. I kept walking, moving away from the club, trying to suppress the anxiety building inside me until it suddenly brought me to a halt.
What if he wasn't here at all? What if he had meant a different club? A different university or even a completely different town with the same name? What if he wasn't from Blairville at all? And what if the whole time he was just...
“J?”
My breath stopped. Everything inside me tightened pleasantly. Time stood still. I slowly turned around.
“Erik...” I whispered softly and looked at the young man with the black suit jacket and white shirt underneath... a black mask covering the upper half of his face, except for his eyes. He was tall, at least two heads taller than me, and had broad shoulders, but it was too dark to make out the color of his hair, especially since it shimmered almost orange in the warm lantern light.
“Both of us wearing masks, what a coincidence.” His voice sounded warm, masculine, and immediately triggered a tingling sensation in my stomach. I thought I had heard it somewhere before, but that was impossible. “Are we now like the gods, who hide behind their masks while they do things that Olympus shouldn't know about?”
Through the shadows, I recognized a smirk on his lips. And I discovered dimples on his taut skin that gave me a pleasant tug in my stomach.
“As long as you're not Zeus, and I'm not Europa?” I replied unabashedly, glad that his manner helped me to overcome my nervousness, even though his presence seemed to intensify this strangely pleasant yet exciting feeling in my stomach.
He stepped closer so that only half a meter separated us and lowered his voice. “If I wanted to kidnap you, I would have invited you somewhere else.” I had to look up at him to see his soft smirk. “And don't you ever compare me to Zeus again, unless you want to be disarmed by me in a discussion.”
Erik didn't like Zeus. And I liked teasing him about it.
“Maybe that's what I want?”
He stared at me, seeming to study me, before he smirked again, and I felt that pleasant sensation again, this time in my chest, and then his gaze traveled down me, over the dress.
God, Julie, don't hyperventilate now.
“If I told you how much your dress flatters you, would you accept the compliment?”
I drew in a sharp breath. His gaze traveled from my dress up to my neck, then our eyes met.
“God, you are beautiful. Even though I'm not even allowed to see all of you yet,” he almost whispered.
My heartbeat accelerated. I felt incredibly warm from his words, which I definitely hadn't expected. I didn't know what to say, but I tried anyway.
“Erik, I...”
He didn't let me finish, but put his arms around my waist and pulled me close. Just wrapped me in his strong warm arms, close to him.
“Sorry for the awkward compliment, J,” he whispered in my ear, and goosebumps traveled down the back of my neck. “I've missed you, too.”
His warm breath on my neck was enough to heat up my entire body.
I couldn't believe it was really Erik I was hugging. I felt so comfortable, so...wanted.
I cringed inwardly the moment I realized that this was my first hug in years. Automatically, my arms went around him and I pulled him tightly against me, my heart racing.
“You're so cold,” he whispered, breaking away from the hug that I would have loved to stay in for longer.
He took off his jacket and put it around my arms.
My cheeks began to glow because I was too overwhelmed to protest.
I wasn't cold, which must have been because I could hardly feel anything except Erik's warmth and my racing heart. It was so different having him in front of me, and it made me much shyer than I already was.
