Chapter 8
Sebastian
Last August
“Dude, stop speeding just because you can afford the fine. I don’t know about the others, but I’m too pretty to die and we’re not even in a hurry. Slow the fuck down,” Mattheo whines from the backseat, earning himself another one of those laughs from Aliena.
My fingers tighten on the steering wheel enough to turn my knuckles white, and without my brain’s command, my foot presses down harder on the gas pedal. Mattheo might not be in a hurry, but I need nothing more than to get out of the car and distance myself from the girl laughing in my backseat.
We just picked her up at her place since we’re going to a club tonight and as soon as she got into the car, her addictive scent invaded my nose. It’s like she put a fucking spell on me and now all I can think about is her. The way she looked as she walked to my car in her tight, short black dress. The way the hem of said dress rode up further on the back of her thighs when she hugged fucking Mattheo hello. Or how her revealed, slender back flexed when she squeezed him tightly .
My eyes flick back up to the rearview mirror and instantly find the golden-haired menace. Of course, her gaze is trained on my friend on her left side. The friend whose hand, I now notice, is placed on her naked thigh as he smiles at her.
I hate their relationship. Two fucking flirts in their natural habitat. It’s like they can’t help but be obnoxiously teasing whenever they’re together. Not even when there are three other people in the car, who absolutely don’t want to witness this shit again.
Well, I don’t know about Andrew and Lily, but I sure as hell don’t want to see it. Of course, the other two are unlikely to even notice what is going on in the car with how lovestruck they are. Even now, my friend is giving his girlfriend moon eyes from where he’s sitting in the back. She’s no better, always turning around in the passenger seat to meet his eyes.
And then there’s me. The driver. The newly appointed fifth wheel. I speed up further, enough to get Mattheo’s attention again.
“Dude, I wasn’t joking.”
“Dude, I don’t care,” I finally mock him. And again, my treacherous eyes find Aliena in the backseat. Only that this time, she’s looking at me too and our gazes lock. There’s a challenge behind those honey eyes, a silent question, and an understanding I absolutely despise.
The girl smirks and my gaze drops to those full lips. Fuck, I hate how fucking beautiful is. I force myself to look back at the street so I don’t crash the car. Whether I like it or not, everyone I consider a friend is in this vehicle, and I don’t need that number to go down any further by killing one of them .
Even though at the moment, I’m not sure I would mind if it was Mattheo. I mean, I know I would mourn him since we grew up together and all but right now, I’m just not feeling it.
I take a deep breath and ease the pressure on the accelerator. My friends all visibly relax, though some of the tension my outburst created lingers. That’s why I force myself to loosen my fingers around the steering wheel and throw a lazy smile back at Mattheo.
“There you go, princess. Any other demands?” I tease him, attempting to sound a lot more at ease than I feel. Meanwhile, Aliena’s eyes are burning into the side of my face. I don’t indulge in meeting her gaze this time. It’s not worth the satisfaction she would get out of it. No matter how exceptional the view may be.
When we reach the club, I park my car and finally leave the torture vehicle. I walk ahead until we reach the entry, greet the bouncers with a nod, and thank them as they let my friends and me inside. Then I fall back a few steps and let the others go ahead right before we reach the main hall.
As expected, Aliena stops in her tracks at the railing looking down on the dancefloor, her eyes wide and her body eerily still as she marvels at the sight. The others move on toward the VIP section, oblivious, but I linger, watching her watch the people below.
She’s so predictable. Every time we take her to a new location that I’ve long since gotten used to, she takes a minute to take it all in. I noticed it when she entered my upstairs lounge at the first party and every time since. I think it’s good for me, the reminder that what I have isn’t as natural as it sometimes feels. She makes me look at the beautiful places we go to, really look at them like a newcomer might and I can’t deny the gratitude it elicits inside me for all that I have.
After some time, Aliena comes back to herself and notices me standing behind her. She looks at me over her shoulder, then turns fully so her back is at the railing. It’s then that I notice how close we are. Close enough for me to see the faint freckles on her face. And the dark specks in those brown eyes that really, when the sun hits them right, are golden.
“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to this,” she says, her voice breathy and low as if she was scared to ruin the moment. I feel it too, the fragile spell that ties us together right now and grants us another one of these rare moments of peace. Those of which we might have had more of if only I hadn’t met her at the nursing home first.
I keep watching her, unsure of what to say. All I know is that the spell between us is calling me closer, making me step forward to erase some of the distance between us. So much so that she’s now looking up at me through her lashes, smiling softly. Fuck, she’s beautiful. It’s moments like this when I really understand why Mattheo calls her seductress. When she looks at me like this, in a moment as such, I’m not sure there’s a thing I wouldn’t do if she only asked.
“Thank you for taking me here,” she whispers, reaching out to touch my arm gently. My breath hitches at the electric current that comes to live inside me at the skin-to-skin contact. Is this the first time she has touched me? I can’t remember, but I know she hasn’t done it enough. Why does she, of all people, have to be the one that makes me feel this way?
Her eyes drop to the ink on my right bicep, so close to where her hand is, and she starts tracing my tattoo lightly. I use that momentary lack of attention to take a deep breath and close my eyes. In a second, we’ll join the others and the spell will be broken. I know that. That’s why I’m allowing myself to just soak it up now.
“How many do you have?” she asks. I reopen my eyes to find her still gazing at the sun on my arm, tracing each fine line.
“Eighteen,” I reply. Her eyes meet mine and for a second, I could swear they were asking me to kiss her. Before I can decide if I’m reading her right and if I should just give in and lean down, she looks back at the sun.
“What does this stand for?” she asks.
“Argentina. It’s where my mother is from,” I tell her, surprised by how easy it is to tell her something private about me. As if she didn’t know enough already. I shake myself. It’s time for me to pull myself together now, the moment has lasted for long enough. Better to just get back to reality before I lose all my will to ever do so.
I take a step back with a deep breath and feel the regret bloom in my chest. In the end, I can’t deny myself the small pleasure of brushing the palm of my hand against her arm to lead her in the direction of our friends, saying, “Come on, it’s time we join the others.”
“You’re insatiable. And don’t give me those eyes, Seduttrice. I’ll be back on the dancefloor with you in a second. I just need a drink and a moment to catch my breath,” Mattheo complains, falling back onto the leather couch like a bag of rocks.
I try to look as unfazed and unbothered as possible as I lazily let my gaze slide over to them, but the sight of her smiling down at him widely as she ruffles his hair makes me feel anything but. I don’t even know why. I’m attracted to her, so what? I’m attracted to many people and I never give a shit about who else they give their attention to.
Aliena must feel me staring because she turns around the next second, giving me her attention for a change, rather than my friend. To my great satisfaction, her face sours as her eyes flick to the girl in my lap. She does not have the same control over her feature as I do, that’s for sure.
The girl in my lap gives my hair a tug, eager to be the center of my attention again, and I play along as if she’d ever been it in the first place. She smiles down at me, pouting just slightly before leaning in to whisper in my ear.
“I’m thirsty,” she tells me.
Her innuendo isn’t lost on me but since I have no interest in taking her up on that offer, I just smile and say, “Get whatever you want. It’s on me.” She seems happy enough to hear that and gets to her feet, giggling when I give her ass a playful parting slap.
I make sure to look after her for a few seconds before allowing my eyes to wander where they actually want to be. I’m not surprised to see Aliena still watching me and the pleasure it brings me is unheard of. I bring my drink closer to my face and give her a small nod before taking a sip, never breaking eye contact.
That’s when the unsettling smile spreads over her face. For a short second, I’m scared she tempered with my drink. Then she throws an arm over Mattheo’s shoulder and falls into his lap, looking really fucking pleased with herself. Mattheo doesn’t miss a beat and places a hand on her thigh, thereby making me want to put a hand around his throat.
My hand clenches around my glass and I only realize that I’m staring a hole into my friend’s hand when Aliena laughs softly. Mattheo’s whispering something in her ear but her eyes are locked on me. I don’t doubt that laugh belonged to me too.
As if that wasn’t enough, Aliena takes the game a little further and shimmies back on my friend’s lap. His smile turns wicked, his hands find her slim waist, and I watch with simmering fury how he pulls her against him the rest of the way, bringing her back right against his chest and placing her ass perfectly on his groin, no doubt.
I see red, but of course, Aliena isn’t done playing now. No, she loves the reaction she’s getting from me, I know she does, and yet, I can’t bring myself to look away and put an end to this. Maybe I secretly get a kick out of it too. Of knowing that it’s me she’s doing this for, not Mattheo. That it’s me she’s focusing on and maybe, just maybe, it’s me she wished she was sitting on top of.
I’m crazy to think her eyes become lidded because she follows my stream of thought and is thinking of my touch. That’s when I realize Mattheo is peppering her neck with small kisses while she holds my gaze.
My hands ball into fists but I don’t look away. No, I won’t do it if she doesn’t. I won’t extract myself from the moment and let it belong to him when it’s still me she’s giving that look to. Her hands rise to her neck and she brushes her hair over her shoulder and tilts her head, giving Mattheo perfect access to deepen the kisses against her skin. Then, her fingers move into his hair and her eyes briefly flutter shut.
When she opens them again, I know it’s me she wants. The eyes she’s giving me, the way her body is gradually turning more toward me. Seductress is right. I can feel myself get turned on by the little show she’s putting on, but it’s enough for me to know I’m not the only one. No, she’s getting restless too, I can see it in the way she keeps crossing and uncrossing her ankles, flexing her legs before relaxing them again.
Fuck, and now I’m looking at her long, smooth legs.
I’m saved from drooling all over her when my date of the night returns with her drink. She gets my attention by gently squeezing my shoulder and when I lean back in my seat, spreading my legs just a little wider, she quickly reclaims her place on my lap.
Not unlike how Aliena did it, she moves all the way back on my thighs. For just a second, I let my head lean back on the couch and just feel. Feel and imagine that maybe, it’s a woman dressed in black on my lap, rather than the raven-haired one in her silver skirt and halter top.
It’s a minor slip-up that lasts a mere beat of the pounding music but it’s enough to make me harder than I’ve gotten for anyone in a month. I open my eyes, look at Aliena, and then finally turn away to take another big sip of my drink. That’s it, we’re done. The spell’s broken.
I’m aware of Aliena getting to her feet, of Mattheo doing the same, and of them disappearing into the crowd outside the VIP section. Finally, I relax in my seat, knowing that things are back to what they always are now. The two of them are dancing out of sight and I’m people-watching with a nice girl in my lap, occasionally conversing with Andrew and Lily whenever they aren’t busy eating the other’s faces.