redeeming cupid 01 - struck by eros by jenn windrow

cloud?” He stopped tapping and ran his hand through his hair. “You’re not eight and this isn’t a game of finders keepers.”
    Where’s the cat to get Grayson’s tongue when you needed it? Screw that. Make it a lion.
    “Let’s see who her matching arrow is and we’ll go from there.” I worked hard to fill my words with confidence.
    “Whatever makes you happy.” The word “princess” was implied under layers of sarcasm.
    Flump, flump, flump . The rubber bottom of the revolving door scraped against the marble. Grayson and I both looked up. In walked Len with a bright, neon-blue arrow bobbing over his head. Cupid’s arrow dug even deeper, shattering my heart into a thousand tiny shards that pierced my vital organs.
    Tears filled my eyes, and I quickly wiped them away with the sleeve of my sweatshirt. Those fucking arrows erased my life of safety, stole my security, left me vulnerable to more hurt. Cupid was giving me a second chance to do the right thing, follow his orders, be a good little minion.
    Because what Cupid wants, Cupid gets.
    But Cupid couldn’t have my happiness. He couldn’t take away what I needed, what I had to have to secure my happiness. He couldn’t have Len, and neither could little Miss Business Suit.
    I ignored my trembling chin, my blurry eyes, the emptiness in my heart, and picked at the label of my water bottle, shredding the paper into tiny pieces that matched my heart. Grayson placed his headphones on the table and crossed his arms over his chest. He watched my world crumble. To his credit, he didn’t utter one single I-told-you-so. Didn’t touch me. Didn’t try to make it better. And that was fine because one act of kindness would have destroyed my carefully built wall of denial.
    When I felt like my words would come out tremor-free, I looked into Grayson’s eyes and laid down a challenge. “You’ll have to hog tie me to keep me from interfering.”
    Grayson held his headphones up and snapped the cord tight. “Think this cord’s long enough to wrap around your skinny ankles?” His joke was wrapped in pity, not humor.
    Len walked up to the teller’s window, passed a slip through the thin slit at the bottom of the divider, and carried on a polite conversation. He conducted a normal transaction, unaware that his fiancée sat across the lobby and that his supposed soul mate was ten floors up. Unaware that he was a pawn in Cupid’s sick game.
    “I’m serious. I won’t let Cupid win. I won’t let him take Len away from me so I can spend eternity with you.” I gathered my purse and water bottle and pushed back my chair.
    Grayson’s whole body went rigid. “What are you planning, Noel?”
    “I’m getting Len out of here before you can connect him.” I stood, placed one foot in front of the other, held my head high, confidence in every step, and walked right up to Len.
    I made sure Grayson watched every step I took in the opposite direction from him. I needed him to witness my act of defiance against Cupid. Against our relationship. Against the unfairness. Needed him to know that I wanted to make my own choices. Pick who I loved. I bent down and ran my hand up Len’s leg. “Noel?” He rubbed the back of his neck. “What are you doing here?” His greeting left a lot to be desired. Where was the usual kiss, the embrace?
    My mouth opened but no sound escaped. I shut it and tried again. “I…I…” My trap snapped shut, and stopped trying to force an excuse I didn’t have. All my stammering and stuttering just made me look guilty. I took a deep breath and calmed myself. “I saw you walk in and followed you.”
    “You’re far from your studio. Didn’t you say you’d be working late tonight?”
    The teller pushed Len’s receipt through the slit and wished him a good day. We turned and walked to the exit. “Plans changed, looks like I’m free for the rest of the day.”
    “No you’re not.” Grayson walked up, hands in the pocket of his faded loose fit