Namjoon was well aware of the weekend ahead of him – all the pressure, work, and exhaustion he was about to face – and of his need to sleep well tonight in preparation for it all, but as he walked along with the beautiful girl beside him, he found himself wanting to linger in her presence. He found her utterly fascinating. They had already discussed a variety of subjects, and he found her well-informed on many topics. They had debated the merits of many things. It was a pleasure to pursue the intellectual with her. Their minds melded well together. But for some reason, they had both fallen silent as they neared her hotel.
Namjoon searched his heart for something more to say. Then he turned towards her as another thought crossed his mind. “Will you spend tomorrow taking pictures?”
She smiled up at him. “I had been planning to spend some of it with Grace before the concert, but I found out that Jimin invited her and Sanduni to attend your practice in the morning…So, yes, I will have some time to wander Chicago and take pictures.”
Namjoon detected a note of sadness in her tone. “You’re disappointed. You were looking forward to seeing her.”
She glanced up, up, up at him. He was so tall! She nodded her head. “I am disappointed. But I think Grace was considering staying with me and missing out.” Her eyes grew wide. “I could never let her do that! She’s nuts about Jungkook. I know she’s living a fantasy right now, but I want to let her enjoy it to the uttermost.”
“Would you think you were living a fantasy too if I invited you to come with me in the morning?”
Startled, she glanced up at him again. “To come with you?” she echoed. “You mean, to your practice?”
He nodded. Lydia’s heart soared. “You’d invite me to the stadium early?”
“Really early. We’re going to be there most of the day.” Namjoon reached into his pocket and pulled out a card. He handed it to her. “That is my personal business card. If you show it to any security guard, they know to come find me. I’m giving it to you because I don’t want you to run into any problems tomorrow.”
She stared down in wonder at the simple piece of card stock in her hand. Then she looked up at him.
“Can I pick you up at eight o’clock tomorrow morning?” he queried.
“You’re picking me up?” she asked, her eyes wide.
Namjoon smiled. “I finally got my driver’s license, but I won’t be driving tomorrow. I’ll have Jin swing by, and we’ll pick you up if you want to come with us.”
She nodded enthusiastically. “I would love to! Thank you.”
Namjoon stopped walking. Lydia followed suit.
On an impulse, he reached up and touched her cheek. He peered down into her eyes under the dim lamplight. Then his finger tickled her cheek as he wound one dark curl around his finger and pulled it back behind her ear. The pad of his finger lingered there on her earlobe. He smiled. “There. That’s better.”
Lydia stood rooted to the ground while electricity poured out of that finger into her skin and spiraled down into every bed of nerves throughout her entire body. She stared into his gorgeous, chocolate eyes. Chocolate was her favorite. Now she knew why. This man was beautiful, spirit, soul, and body. She couldn’t get enough of him.
He’d been so sweet tonight. They’d talked for hours. He had touched her heart. He’d seen into her soul and appreciated the person she was. She felt like he understood her. And now he was touching her skin. And it was pure magic.
She was living a fairy tale tonight. She knew it wasn’t real. That it couldn’t possibly last. But in that moment, she didn’t care. She was staring into Namjoon’s beautiful eyes, and his gorgeous grin, the one that unleashed his dancing dimples, suddenly disappeared as a serious note entered those stunning eyes, and as he stared down at her, she knew that he too could feel the current of pure heat that he was releasing into her earlobe.
Then, in the next instant, he broke the contact, smiled at her, and continued their walk to her hotel. She sighed in disappointment. So did he.
