•5•Eva

ADAM'S POV

“Oh my God. It's you!”

Hearing her say that, my heart began thumping wildly, excitement like I'd never felt before bubbling inside my chest.

Does she mean what I think she means? Is she confirming that she's the masked woman?

“You... You remember me?” I asked slowly, careful not to let any emotion show.

“Yes!” She exclaimed.

My heart soared even further. It was truly her. My amber-eyed masked beauty. After four months of torture, I was finally seeing her again.

I wanted to pull her into a hug and ask her where the hell she disappeared to, but before I could do that, her next words stopped me completely.

“Aren't you Adam Garcia?” She gushed. “Of course, you're Adam Garcia! The famous sports extremist.”

Disappointment crashed through me, nearly knocking the air out of my lungs.

She hadn't meant what I thought she'd meant. The only reason why she recognized me was because she was a fan of mine. She wasn't my amber-eyed beauty.

The disappointment must've shown on my face because the smile on the woman's face dimmed as she asked, “Hey. Are you okay?”

“Yeah." I answered, forcing a smile on my face even though I felt so pissed.

I wasn't pissed off at her. I was pissed at myself. I can't believe I got so excited at the possibility that she was the masked woman.

I can't believe I was going to tell her how crazy she has driven me in the past four months. That's the worse mistake any man can commit; letting a woman know that she has power over you.

And I had been about to do just that.

“So you're a fan of mine?" I said to clear the awkward silence that settled between us.

I'm not going to let thoughts of the masked woman ruin this moment like it has ruined so many others before.

"So you are a fan of mine?" I asked her, putting on a smile and hoping it looked as flirtatious as possible.

"No." Her answer came too quickly. "Yes. Well, maybe, I guess. I found you on YouTube last week and I've become so fascinated and..."

She trailed off, eyes widening as if she'd said something she shouldn't have. I leaned over, grinning teasingly.

"Hmm, tell me. In what ways do I fascinate you, sweetheart?"

She rolled her eyes and looked away, her obvious way of playing off my question. "You wish, huh? It's not about fascination. I just think you are weird, you and all the other people who do extreme sports."

"Hmm," I raised my brows and twisted my lips in a perverse smile. "Well, that's new. People have called me many things from suicidal to psycho, never just 'weird'. Why do you think we are weird?"

"Oh come on, do I need to spell it out?" She said in a 'duh' manner. "I've watched videos where people do rock climbing or stand at insane heights to bungee jump or skydive and they always look so creeped out like they could puke at any moment and yet still they jump."

The incredulous look on her face made me chuckle softly, my sore mood lifting. "And what's usually their reaction once they're in the air."

She shrugged, snorting. "They go like 'hooo' and 'hi-ha' but I think that's only for the camera so they won't look like cowards."

"Wow, that's some wild imagination." I said, unable to resist the smile that tugged at my lips. "What about me though? Why do you think I'm weird?"

"Because what the hell? You pull so many crazy stunts in all the videos I've watched of you. But you never look a bit afraid. Either you're pretending for the camera or you don't fear anything.”

"What's there to fear?"

"What's there to fear?" Her eyes widened. "People die, you know? I watched this documentary on how twenty people have died from bungee jumping."

"Bungee jumping started way back in the 1900 and only twenty people have died so far." I reasoned. "The fear is all in your mind."

"Well, even though I know luck loves me a lot, I'd rather not test its patience, thank you very much." She said dryly.

"How long have you been wishing you could do extreme sports?" I asked softly.

She looked at me like I'd lost my mind. "What makes you think I want to do any of that crazy stuff?"

I wasn't fooled. Her fascination with watching extreme sports videos was because she wanted to try it herself but she was obviously afraid.

“I can guide you." I suddenly said without thinking.

"What?" She asked, turning her gaze back to me.

I looked away, stunned that I'd made that offer. But I couldn't take it back now. "I said I can help you to overcome that fear you have in you. I can teach you how to have fun."

"Oh you mean teach me how best I can break my bones."

I couldn't help but chuckle at the horrified look on her face. "You make extreme sports sound like it's the country's capital punishment. But it's not bad at all. There's nothing like the feel of ice while you glide on an ice skate down the steep slopes, or the freefall of gravity when you jump from a plane thousands of feet high and soar through the air."

"Believe me, nothing you are saying is making me want to do extreme sports." She said, horror filling her voice.

"Seriously, let me teach you. You just have to come with me to Jackson Hole" I insisted.

She was about to say something when her phone rang with a notification. "Sorry." She said as she fetched her phone from the pocket of her denim shorts.

"It's my mum. God, I can't believe it's midnight already. I'm making a freaking presentation tomorrow. Damn you, Victoria." She muttered under her breath. "I'm sorry I need to go."

Disappointment washed over me as she turned to walk away, but as if on second thoughts, turned to look at me. "I had a...nice conversation."

"You'd better take my number in case you change your mind and want me to tutor you in extreme sports." I winked at her. "Or the no-strings-attached thingy."

She threw her head back and laughed, and it did things to my insides that I found all too alarming. "Sorry, playboy. Not up for any of those offers."

"I have a feeling you are going to change your mind so just take my number so that you won't suffer in looking for me later.”

"You are a persistent one, aren't you?"

She handed me her phone, a sleek Samsung of the latest version. Launching the phone app, I entered my digits and saved them before handing her phone back to her.

She glanced at the screen briefly, then turned her gaze to me. "Wild One, huh?"

"Don't you forget that, sweetheart." I waggled my brows at her. She turned to go, but I caught her arm before she could take two steps. "Hey, what about a goodbye kiss?”

"Haha, very funny."

She laughed and pulled her arm from my light grip. With one last dazzling smile at me, she started walking away. Just as she reached the exit door to the VIP booths, a sense of Deja Vu swept over me.

The same feeling I felt when the masked woman ran off after our kiss at the New Year's Eve masquerade party.

"Hey!" I called out. She instantly stopped and turned to face me. "I forgot your name."

She rolled her eyes. "That's because I didn't tell you, duh."

"What's your name then?"

She didn't answer me. She just turned and ran away. Just like the masked woman had done.

But at least she has taken my number.

༺❀༻

Something strange happened that night. For the first time in four months, I didn't dream about the masked woman.

I had a dreamless sleep.

When I woke up the next morning, I'd received a text from an unknown number that read;

HEY, THIS IS EVA. CAN WE MEET?

I didn't have to be told to know that it was the woman from the nightclub. I finally knew her name.

“Eva." I whispered, a smile curving my lips at the name as I texted back:

I KNEW YOU WOULD CHANGE YOUR MIND

Her reply came almost immediately.

THERE'S NO NEED TO BE ARROGANT ABOUT IT.

Laughing, I texted back.

WHERE DO YOU WANT US TO MEET?

She texted me the address. A restaurant that wasn't too far from my apartment complex. I texted back.

IT'S A DATE.

She texted back: IT'S NOT A DATE

WHAT IS IT THEN?

IT'S JUST A MEETING.

That made me laugh again. She was so hellbent on making things professional between us. But her body didn't lie last night. I knew she was attracted to me.

WHATEVER FLOATS YOUR BOAT, SWEETHEART. I texted back, then added. I'LL BE THERE.

I waited a minute for a reply but none came. A stupid smile still on my face, I tossed the phone beside me on the bed and lay on my back.

That was when something occurred to me. For the first time in four months, I didn't dream about the masked woman, and it only happened after I met Eva at the club last night.

Is that it? Is Eva the woman who can help me to finally forget about the masked woman?