Chapter 7 #5
“Sounds great,” Silas says, and together, we all rise. Silas and Roberts shake hands one more time. I smile at Gloria, she nods at me, and then we part.
Silas takes my hand in his and keeps me close as he walks us through the crowd and over to the far wall, where we can scrounge up a touch of privacy.
“Was it worth it?” he asks when we’re finally out of range of other ears.
“Was what worth it?”
“Embarrassing me. Was it worth the minuscule leap you must have taken in his eyes?”
“Hey,” I say, pushing at his chest. “Don’t be mean. It’s a stupid story about your fly being undone. It’s not the end of the world.”
“It is when I have people all over this goddamn city trying to find information to print about me.” He shakes his head. “You don’t get it, Ollie. I’m not like you. I can’t float around this world without a worry or care. I have to watch my image at all times.”
“I don’t float around without a worry or care. I care very much, hence why I brought you to this stupid thing. And I panicked. I didn’t say those things to purposely embarrass you. It just happened.”
“Well, control yourself. Jesus. If you’re going to make moves in this world, in this career, then you’ll have to grow up, Ollie.”
I take a step back, his words hitting me harder than I expected because they sound like something my dad would say.
Journalism? Grow up, Ollie. Pick a real job.
And just like with my dad, it’s not something I take lightly, nor will I let slide.
“Don’t talk to me like that,” I say. “Just because you think you’re wiser than me doesn’t give you the authority to treat me like a child.
I fucked up tonight because I thought Gloria could see right through us.
That panic made me try to think of a more elaborate story that seemed more believable.
I’m sorry that I didn’t paint you as the golden boy of Vancouver.
My apologies. I didn’t know you needed your ego stroked that badly. ”
I pick up my skirt and turn on my heel, heading in a different direction. Any direction to get away from him.
“Ollie, wait,” I hear him call out, but I ignore him.
I then spot the buffet.
Bingo.
This girl needs a freaking crab cake.
With one thing on my mind, I bolt to the buffet where I pick up a plate and examine all the fine foods expertly crafted.
Fruits, cheeses, crackers, fancy vegetables cut to look like flowers. Mini beef things that look tempting, shrimp in a dollop of cocktail sauce, and . . . crab cakes.
Come to mama.
Don’t mind distracting the hurt Silas just caused by a delicious, perfectly fried crab cake.
“I heard the beef Wellington is delicious,” a familiar voice says. I glance up to find Yonny standing beside me, plate in hand.
“Ah, beef Wellington, I couldn’t think of the name. Doesn’t that take a while to cook?”
“Apparently, that’s why it’s such a delicacy to have as an appetizer at a buffet. Although, I’ve never seen it like this, in bite-size nuggets.” He smirks at me, and it feels . . . odd. The last time he smirked at me was when he found out he could eat prepackaged cookie dough and not get sick.
So what’s with the smirk?
Is he flirting? No, he can’t be flirting. That’s not what he does. He’s just being nice.
“Have you had a lot of experience with beef Wellington?” I ask. Might as well partake in the conversation. It’s not like the last person I talked to was being polite.
“Not as much as I’m making it seem.” He leans closer with a smile playing on his lips. “Am I fitting in okay?”
“Uh . . . yes,” I say, smiling back because, good God, he’s actually being playful. What’s going on with him? He must be high.
“Fantastic. I wasn’t sure about attending tonight, but Candace told me I didn’t have an option.” He looks over his shoulder and says, “I borrowed this tux from my dad. Does it smell musty?”
I chuckle. He’s definitely high. I lean in closer, giving his tux a sniff. “No, it smells like your cologne.”
“I can’t tell if that’s a good or bad thing.”
“A good thing,” I say just as a strong arm wraps around my waist, pulling me in tight to an even stronger chest.
“Hey, baby,” I hear right before a pair of lips presses against my neck.
I might be irritated with the man, but oh my God, that little kiss sends a tsunami of chills up and down my legs. Damn him.
When he pulls away—and when I say away, I mean like an inch—he asks, “Can I get you another drink?” His thumb makes small circles over my waist.
So we’re just going to ignore our little conversation from a minute ago? Not going to act like you just told me to grow up? Going to assume all is right in the world?
Super.
“Sure,” I say, feeling my breath catch in my throat from his proximity. It’s easy to forget just how large he is, how his presence can eat up all the air around you. I realized that the moment I first kissed him, and I’m realizing that now as he holds me protectively in front of Yonny.
Not just protectively but...he’s claiming me.
He’s showing everyone in the room exactly who I belong to.
“Be right back.” He lays another kiss on my neck before taking off.
“So,” Yonny says, clearing his throat. “You seem to be happy.”
I pick up some cheese and crackers, mindlessly putting them on my plate as I try to shiver off the feel of Silas’s warm, delicious lips on my neck.
“Yes, I am,” I answer.
“I’m glad you found someone,” Yonny says. “I know I didn’t treat you the way you deserved.” He glances down at me, our eyes connecting. “You deserved so much more than what I could offer you at that time.”
“At that time?” I ask, confused. “What do you mean by that?”
He just shakes his head. “Nothing to worry about. But I’m glad you found Silas.
” He glances over my shoulder at something behind me.
I look as well and catch Silas leaning against the bar, his eyes glued on me.
He doesn’t waver or hide the fact he’s staring.
Instead, it’s almost as if his gaze grows more intense with each passing second. “He seems infatuated with you.”
I turn away as I feel this tingling sensation pour through my body. “He’s, uh . . . very protective.”
“I can see that. I’m pretty sure every person in this room knows you’re off limits.”
“That’s only because he commands the attention.”
Yonny shakes his head as he picks up a beef Wellington nugget. “No, he commands nothing from the room other than your attention.” He picks up a napkin. “I guess I’ll see you around, Ollie. Oh, and since I didn’t say it enough when we were dating, you look stunning tonight.”
My cheeks heat, and as he walks away, I find myself watching him. Silently, even though he can’t hear me, I mumble, “T-Thanks.” What was with that? You look stunning tonight? Obviously high. It’s a good thing I no longer crave his attention.
I finish filling up my plate, and just as I turn around, Silas is at my side with a drink.
“Follow me,” he says, and because I feel all out of sorts, I do.
I follow him to a private seating area to the left near an expansive window that grants us a view of the city.
He takes a seat on an open couch and sets the drinks down on a coffee table in front of it, then helps me down as well.
He sets my plate on the table and slips his hand into mine, tugging me close so he can speak quietly in my ear.
“I’m sorry,” he whispers gently. “I wasn’t prepared for your story, and it embarrassed me.”
The cold, rough exterior I erected the minute we started fighting melts away, and I reply, “I’m sorry too. It wasn’t my intention to embarrass you.”
He pulls away just enough to cup my cheek and stare into my eyes.
From an outsider looking in, it looks like we’re head over heels in love.
But I like this. I like that this gentle man, who I’m coming to see could have an ego the size of Mike Tyson’s, has chosen to make our moment of apology look like something romantic.
I certainly chose a good one for my fake boyfriend.
“I know you wouldn’t intentionally try to make me look like a donkey-loving pervert.”
That causes me to snort. I lean my head against his shoulder, and he cradles me as we both chuckle.
“If the headlines tomorrow say Silas Taters is a donkey-loving pervert, I’ll take full responsibility.” I lift away from his shoulder and catch a slight smirk on his lips.
“If the headlines read that, the worst of my problems isn’t what the public has to say. Facing the boys would be an absolute nightmare.”
“Just direct them toward me, and I’ll be able to explain.”
“Pretty sure you lost all credibility when it comes to explaining or telling any kind of story. You’re a loose cannon, and I won’t allow it to happen again.”
“Probably the best move you can make at the moment.” I grab the plate and lift it between us. “Cheese and cracker?”
“Sure.”
* * *
“Do you go to those kinds of things often?” I ask as we sit in Silas’s car, sharing a large fry and sucking down milkshakes we got from a local joint that happened to be open.
“I go to more than I want to, that’s for sure.”
“So was that painful for you?” I pick up a fry and shove the crispy potato in my mouth.
“Parts of it.” He lolls his head to the side to smirk at me. “Other parts, not so bad.”
“I think we all know the painful part, and I’m pretty sure we’re over it, so there’s no need to bring it up again.”
“You’re the one who brought it up.” He nudges my leg with his index finger knuckle.
“No need to be right all the time, Silas. It isn’t an attractive quality.”
“Good thing I have no need to be attractive around you since we have a strict no whorehouse policy.”
“A policy I feel very strongly about.”
“Is that why you were flirting with Yonny tonight?” He sips from his straw as I stare at him in shock.
“Excuse me, sir, I was not flirting.”
“Could have fooled everyone in the room, even Candace. She stormed off to the bathroom when she saw you two at the buffet.”
“Stop. No, she didn’t.”
Silas nods his head. “She did.”
“Well, I wasn’t flirting. If anyone was flirting, it was Yonny. I was just being polite.”
“Flirting when he knows you’re attached? That’s fucked up.”
“Is that why you came over to me?” I ask, still curious about the neck kiss.
“I didn’t like that my girl was talking to another man,” Silas says immediately as if he didn’t need any time to think about his answer.
“Uh, I’m not your girl.”
He picks up a fry and says, “You are when we work a job together. I would never let that happen in reality, so it’s not going to happen when we’re fake dating either. I had to stake my claim.”
“Is that what was happening?” I ask, the back of my neck growing hot at the thought of him possessing and acting on that sort of attitude in real life.
I’ve read about these possessive men who want to control you but also give you space at the same time, but I’ve never experienced one.
Now, as I live and breathe, Silas Taters is stepping up.
And that feeling that flew through me with the feel of his lips on my skin was very...arousing.
“Fuck yes, it was,” he says. “I’m not about to have anyone thinking you belong to anyone but me when we’re in public. Now here, in the car, I can sit for twenty minutes, not giving two shits that you have dried milkshake crusted on the tip of your nose.”
“Oh my God!” I shout as I grab the visor and flip down the mirror to look at myself. And sure as the day I was born, I have chocolate milkshake on my nose. I pick up a napkin, lick it, and then rub. “Why the hell are you just letting me sit here with milkshake on my nose?”
He leans back in his chair with a grin. “Donkey pervert, Ollie . . . donkey pervert.”